Chapter 4917: Ambition
Li Shenfu returned to the house, took a hot bath under the service of the maid, and changed into a set of soft and comfortable cotton clothes. He placed a pillow on the floor by the window in the study, leaned on it and half-lyed, and took a sip. After drinking hot tea, I slowly exhaled and relaxed.
One has to submit to old age, tossing around in the mansion and palace, and standing in Wude Palace for a long time. My whole body feels like skin cramps, even more tired than when I took a red pill from a pretty maid two nights ago...
Words such as "old and frail" and "hard to save energy" are the most taboo words for the elderly, but now Li Shenfu himself thinks of these words first.
"Alas..."
He sighed again, feeling very melancholy.
Li Daoli knelt down and sat down to boil water and make tea. He kicked the waiters out. Hearing the sigh, he asked curiously: "Why do you sigh, uncle? Although King Wei was demoted, he deserved it. However, your majesty has a deep brotherhood, even the king of Jin." The rebellion was just a confinement. It would take only a few days to release the king of Wei and find a reason to return the king."
"What do you know? What does it have to do with us whether King Wei loses his title? But by doing this, he still made a big mistake. Even if His Majesty returns his title in the future, such a stain will never be cleansed in his lifetime. Worshiping ancestors without permission and despising the emperor is a great disrespect, which is only a little less serious than the rebellion of the King of Jin. It may not seem like much at ordinary times, but it is almost impossible to get to that position. "
Some mistakes can be made, as long as you understand them and correct them; but some mistakes cannot be made, and there is no room for turning back.
To put it bluntly, Li Tai's move was "usurping imperial power" and wanting to do things that only the emperor could do. This was a matter of principle and extremely serious.
If Li Tai still covets the throne, he can only fight his way out by stepping on his brother's corpse like Emperor Taizong did. It is almost impossible to ascend to the throne by "recommendation".
Li Daoli was stunned and lowered his voice: "In other words, King Wei is no longer useful to us?"
There must be an emperor. If Li Chengqian was to be overthrown, King Wei would have been the most suitable person to take over.
"The King of Wei was disrespectful and the King of Jin conspired to rebel. The two most suitable candidates were eliminated. But where are the identities of these two people after all? It is inevitable that the other princes would be unjust if they wanted to surpass these two people and ascend to the throne. It’s not smooth, there’s a lot of resistance.”
Li Shenfu frowned.
Li Daoli panicked: "What should we do? There must be someone to choose!"
If no suitable candidate is recognized by the government and the public after overthrowing Li Chengqian, the crown prince will inevitably ascend the throne... Then why are everyone busy?
Are you waiting for that boy Li Xiang to avenge his father's murder with everyone after he ascends to the throne?
Li Shenfu shook his head: "I am also at a loss what to do! But the arrow is on the string and I have to shoot it. The plan is already very detailed and cannot be delayed at all. I have no time to find a suitable candidate. What can I do?"
"Hmm? Delay?"
Li Daoli slapped his thigh and said: "What's so difficult about this? Since time is tight, let's proceed according to the plan. If we are successful, you can temporarily preside over the government affairs and take charge of Bai Kui, and wait until you are among the disciples of Taizong. Just choose a candidate that everyone agrees with and then ascend the throne.”
"Presiding over the government? Chief photographer Bai Kui? No, no! At my age, how can I give someone a reason to be greedy for power? We are only doing this to overthrow Li Chengqian and ensure everyone's interests, not for me. If you want to go further, absolutely not!”
"Oh, how can the uncle be so stubborn? It should be noted that everything should be flexible. It is better to leave the emperor's position vacant for a period of time than to hastily confirm the candidate. Otherwise, if you are not careful, you may suffer backlash! Besides, if you remove the uncle, With prestige, qualifications, and merit, who can still bear the heavy responsibility? ”
Li Shenfu stroked his beard and looked embarrassed: "This...can everyone obey?"
"You must obey! My uncle is doing this to stand up for everyone's interests, and he has to face criticism from both the government and the public. Who dares to disobey?"
"Having said that, you have to be informed in advance, right? If everyone agrees, I am bound to do it. If everyone doesn't agree, I will think of another way."
"That's how it should be! Don't worry, uncle, I will contact everyone early tomorrow morning to finalize the matter."
"We have a good nephew!"
……
After Li Daoli left, Li Shenfu closed his eyes and rested, thinking about the chances of success.
Li Sixian walked quietly to the study and asked in a low voice: "Can those people agree?"
He had been outside the study just now and heard clearly the conversation between his father and Li Daoli. He sincerely admired his father in his heart. He was really too high...
Li Shenfu opened his eyelids and snorted: "The current situation is like this, how can we allow them not to agree? King Wei's move is really self-defeating. Everyone can see it clearly. In addition, King Jin conspired first, which is the most powerful thing." The two people who are qualified to succeed to the throne have been eliminated one after another. How easy is it to choose the right person? But when things happen, there is no time to cherish the selection and screening. The best way is to have someone stand up to stabilize the overall situation temporarily, and then think about it in the long term. ”
Li Sicheng swallowed his saliva and felt hot in his heart: "His Majesty Taizong's three legitimate sons are all qualified to succeed to the throne, but the other sons may not. If my father gets more support, maybe he can go one step further..."
The county king goes one step further and is a prince, but he obviously means more than that.
"Presumptuous!"
Li Shenfu became angry and rebuked: "The reason why we act is of course out of consideration of our own interests, but more importantly, it is because Li Chengqian is indecisive, appoints treacherous people, and is not good enough to be a king! If we follow your approach, we will be fair and just." Isn’t it just to usurp the throne and cause rebellion? It’s so stupid!”
Some things can only be said but not done, and some things can only be done but not said.
My son always seemed quite shrewd, but unexpectedly, he was also incompetent. At the age of thirty, he couldn't even understand what he could say and couldn't do, what he could and couldn't say, which was really disappointing.
Li Sixian smiled apologetically: "Yes, yes, what my father taught me was that it was his son who was rebellious."
But he couldn't help but curse in his heart: Why should the two father and son be so hypocritical? I really thought I didn’t know the extravagant hopes in your heart...
*****
In the early years of Renhe, the New Year is approaching.
There have been many heavy snowfalls since the beginning of winter. Although "auspicious snow heralds a good year", heavy snowfall alleviates the drought in early spring and is more suitable for spring planting of crops. However, frequent heavy snowfalls have caused many houses in and around Chang'an to collapse and thousands of people have been affected. Jingzhao Mansion was quite nervous for a while.
Ma Zhou was furious in the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion and shouted angrily: "Jingzhao Mansion has provided assistance to the people within its jurisdiction for many years. Many dangerous and dangerous houses have been repaired, reinforced, and even demolished and rebuilt. The investment of manpower and material resources is extremely huge. It can be repaired." There were dozens of collapsed buildings in Zhengzhou and Dunhua. The most abominable thing was the delay in providing relief to the affected people, which resulted in one person freezing to death... Wannian County has no shirk in its responsibility!”
Li Anqi, who was sitting below, was helpless but unable to refute. He could only lower his head and say in a loud voice: "I know my mistake. I will arrange for people to inspect every place in the area before the year. If I encounter dangerous houses, dangerous houses, old, weak and widowers, I will help you immediately.”
He had just succeeded Lai Ji as county magistrate for ten thousand years, and this happened before the personnel affairs in the yamen were sorted out...
But after all, he is now the real magistrate of Wannian County. If something like this happens in his jurisdiction, he can't push it away even if he wants to.
Ma Zhou vented his anger and saw that Li Anqi didn't shirk the blame. He felt a little better and his face brightened a little: "It's not that I am a harsh official, but because we serve as officials and we should benefit the country. The people's houses collapsed and they were frozen in the snowy night. How can we sleep peacefully in the deep courtyard? It’s not like we’re asking you to build houses for the people yourself. It's just that you always supervise your subordinates. After you go back, you will check the accounts of previous years. If you are found guilty of corruption, you will be severely punished. No one is allowed to bend the law for personal gain. If anyone comes to you to intercede, please be patient. Push it to me and let him talk to me!”
Among county government officials, it is most likely to breed corruption among subordinate officials. However, these subordinate officials may seem to be of low status, or even have no rank, but they are often involved in many things, whether it is the prince's palace or that noble official, and neither of them is A mere county magistrate can afford to offend him.
Therefore, it is said that "three lives of misfortune, the magistrate of the county is attached to Guo; three lives of evildoers, attached to the provincial capital of Guo; full of evil, attached to the capital of Guo", being a county magistrate with the capital attached to Guo is really not something ordinary people can play...
Li Anqi was immediately overjoyed: "Don't worry, the governor, I will thoroughly check the account books and investigate corruption when I get back. Anyone involved will be severely punished!"
As the so-called "three things a new official needs to do when taking office", how can he successfully control power without burning the fire?
Now with Ma Zhou's support, those who dare not move or cannot move will be moved, and the entire Wannian County Government will have no constraints...
……
Li Anqi returned to the county government office and immediately sent people to the household department to hire several experienced accountants. He took out the account books for the past five years from the warehouse and placed them in a side hall. He ordered them to close the door and lock it, and immediately checked the account books.
The county government was suddenly in panic.
Duan Yuanliang, the county magistrate, walked into Li Anqi's check-in room with a gloomy face and asked in confusion: "The county magistrate Ming Jian, there are only a few days until the end of the year when the government office will be sealed. If there is anything we can't wait until after the year, we will have to cause trouble in the government office." Have a bad New Year?”
Li Anqi asked curiously: "I am just checking the account books under the order of the governor. Why would anyone think that this year will not be good?"
Facing the head of a county, Duan Yuanliang showed no fear and sneered: "Why should the county magistrate ask questions knowingly? Everyone knows what you want to do."
When a new official took office, he found that the power of the county government was all in the hands of assistant officials and subordinate officials. He was unwilling to accept it. Now he just wants to open up a situation with the help of the governor.
Li Anqi said angrily: "You have been embezzling public funds, bending the law for personal gain, misappropriating the money used to repair dangerous houses in the area, causing people's houses to collapse, and some people even freezing to death in the wind, snow and cold, and now you are obstructing my official from auditing the accounts." , do you still have the law in your eyes? Do you think you can do whatever you want by relying on the Duke of Xi behind you?”
Duan Yuan's conscience sank, secretly thinking that it was not good. (End of chapter)