In the Sweet Dew Hall of the Imperial Palace.
"Xiaogong's group should have left the city by now, right?"
Li Er softly asked from his throne.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has already left the city!"
Zhao Song bowed and replied.
Li Er's eyes narrowed as he muttered, "Whether or not the Great Tang's treasury can withstand the war with the Turks will depend on whether Xiaogong's Bureau of Shipping can shoulder the burden! And also, the Cui Clan, Cui Shanfu, hmph … "
Earlier, when Prime Minister Aluo Nashun of the Jienri Dynasty wanted to marry the Great Tang princess for King Jienri, Li Er was naturally unwilling. Changle was his most beloved daughter. How could he marry her off to a barbarian? But as the sovereign of a country, he could not let his emotions affect his decisions. Even if he was just going through the motions, he still had to listen to the opinions of his officials.
In the end, Li Zexuan's bravery and righteousness had satisfied him, but Cui Shanfu supported the marriage of the Great Tang princess and vigorously advocated for a peaceful marriage between the two countries. At that time, Li Er had wanted to kill Cui Shanfu, but he had never found a good opportunity.
He had never imagined that Cui Shanfu's name would be on the list of officials selected to go to Lingnan that Li Xiaogong had brought a few days ago.
Logically speaking, Cui Shanfu, as an official of the Chamberlain of Dependencies and one of the Nine Ministers, should not have been sent to Lingnan. But when Li Er saw the name 'Cui Shanfu' on the list, many thoughts flashed through his mind, and so …
The final list of the Bureau of Shipping shocked everyone!
After all, Cui Shanfu was not only an official of the Chamberlain of Dependencies, but also the successor of the Cui Clan of Qinghe. Did Li Er not take the great clans seriously by making such a decision?
But on second thought, many people realized that Li Er really did have the confidence to not take the great clans seriously. In the past, the Great Tang did not lack good generals, nor did it lack elite soldiers, but it lacked money. If a war broke out, the Great Tang's supply of provisions might run into problems. But now, the Imperial Court's treasury was abundant. It did not lack soldiers, generals, or provisions. If the great clans dared to be impudent, they would have to consider whether or not they could withstand Li Er's thunderous strike!
Would the great clans dare to be impudent?
Of course not!
Since Li Er had dared to make this decision, it meant that he had already made preparations for the counterattack of the great clans. If the great clans made any strange movements, they might just be playing right into Li Er's hands. After all, for Li Er, stabilizing the rear before dealing with the Turks was not a bad choice!
Because of this, East Commandery Duke Cui Junchuo, who had not been to court for decades, came to Ganlu Hall with a walking stick to plead for Cui Shanfu. Of course, Li Er did not neglect, but he did not agree. In the end, he sent Cui Junchuo back with the reason that "Cui Shanfu's trip to Lingnan is only temporary. Once the Department of Shipping is on the right track, he will be summoned back."
Just like that, under Li Er's strong insistence, the matter of Cui Shanfu following Li Xiaogong to the south was completely settled. However, even Li Er did not understand why Li Xiaogong would write Cui Shanfu's name on the list. If one were to say that this old man was talented, there were many ministers in the imperial court who were more talented than him. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed that Li Xiaogong had deliberately written Cui Shanfu's name!
But what enmity did Li Xiaogong have with Cui Shanfu?
Li Er was not too sure about this …
"Recently, pay more attention to the Cui family. If there are any strange movements, immediately report to me!"
A cold light flashed in Li Er's eyes as he instructed in a deep voice.
He was now really confident because the Ministry of Works' research on gunpowder had made great progress. If the great clans chose to make a strange move at this time, he did not mind giving them another round of "justice from the heavens"!
…
"Marquis, I have found the information you wanted!"
At night, in the study of the Marquis's residence in Yongle Lane.
Li Zexuan stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. Pang Feiji cupped his fists behind him.
"Oh? Tell me about it. "
Recently, he had not paid attention to the situation in the imperial court. After meeting Cui Shanfu on the road today, he had the heart to ask Pang Feiji to find out more information.
Pang Feiji cupped his fists and reported, "Marquis, according to my investigation, Cui Shanfu was in the first batch of officials selected by the Regional Prince to go to Lingnan City. Many people in the imperial court were against it, but I did not expect His Majesty to agree in the end. After that, the Cui family's ancestor, the East County Duke, personally went to the palace to plead for leniency, but it did not seem to have any effect! That is why Cui Shanfu went south with the Regional Prince today! "
"Oh! I see! "
Li Zexuan suddenly understood and then asked doubtfully, "But why did the Royal Prince want Cui Shanfu to go to Lingnan? He doesn't seem to have any enmity with Cui Shanfu, right? "
Pang Feiji's expression was a little unnatural as he said, "This … I asked Young Master Huairen. He said … he said that the Regional Prince did not like Cui Shanfu for a long time, so …"
"Did not like him?"
Li Zexuan was stunned. This reason was so strong and so willful! Well, I just don't like you and want to do you. What's wrong with that? People from the royal family are really awesome!
In fact, Li Xiaogong's dislike of Cui Shanfu mainly came from the time when the Prime Minister of the Jienri Dynasty proposed marriage for King Jienri. When he saw Cui Shanfu shamelessly insist on marrying the Tang Princess to a distant country, Li Xiaogong felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a knife. He did not know why, but when he saw Cui Shanfu's face later, he felt that this old man wanted to marry his daughter to another country!
(Perhaps this is the fate of the Heavens!) In history, Li Xiaogong's daughter, Li Xueyan, was married to Tubo thousands of miles away because of a political marriage. Although she left behind the beautiful story of 'Princess Wencheng came to Tubo', who knows the pain of the separation of father and daughter and the inability to see each other again?)
"Marquis, I inadvertently found out a piece of news about Young Master Huairen!"
Pang Feiji glanced at Li Zexuan cautiously and said in a low voice.
"Oh? What news? Tell me! "
Li Zexuan's interest was piqued and he quickly asked.
Pang Feiji said, "According to the news I found out, Young Master Huairen was very famous in the Nanyang area since he was young. He was even called the Fairy Child!"
Seeing that Li Zexuan was very interested, Pang Feiji continued, "It is said that Young Master Huairen's mother had a dream during the day. She dreamed that a meteor entered her mouth and swallowed it. When she woke up, she was pregnant and gave birth to Young Master Huairen 15 months later. This has become a legend in the area!
When Young Master Huairen was seven years old, he accidentally drowned in the river and disappeared inexplicably. His uncle only found Young Master Huairen's clothes by the river bank. Three years later, Young Master Huairen returned home. His uncle asked him where he had been all these years, but Young Master Huairen said, "The Fairy Child led me to drink the cloud juice, so I did not leave any ears." Marquis, do you think this is amazing? Young Master Biao must have met a boy by the side of a deity! "
The more Li Zexuan listened, the deeper his frown became. In the end, he said with a straight face, "Don't talk about strange things. Just some hearsay and you're scared to this extent. The monk is just a mortal. Don't talk nonsense. Get lost and go to sleep!"
"Yes, yes, yes! I will take my leave! "
…
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