After the morning court adjourned, the imperial entourage returned to Changsheng Courtyard. Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong ordered their servants to collect the 1300 volumes of the 'Pearl of the Three Sects' and led a hundred eunuchs to deliver them back to the Fengchen Courtyard. After locking them up, they went to Changsheng Courtyard to see the Emperor. The Emperor did not immediately agree to confer them the title of Wangwang. The two Zhangs were very unhappy and wanted to strike while the iron was hot, urging the Empress to grant this proposal.
In truth, Wu Zetian had seen through Wu Sansi, Crown Prince Li Xian, and Prince of Xiang Li Dan's real intention in electing the two Zhangs as Wangwang. However, it was clear that her own son and nephew were hostile to the two Zhangs, so Wu Zetian could not reveal this to the two Zhangs.
As soon as the two Zhangs arrived, Wu Zetian understood their purpose. She smiled and said, "Wulang, Liulang, just because you wrote a book, you want to be conferred the title of Wangwang. Are you not afraid of being criticized by the world? We have our own plans for this matter. There is no need for you to say anything. Now that you are at our side, although you do not have the title of Wangwang, you have the title of Qinwang. Is this not enough? "
Before the two Zhangs could speak, Wu Zetian blocked his mouth and could only stop talking about this matter. The two Zhangs accompanied Wu Zetian for a while. When Wu Zetian was sleepy and wanted to sleep, the two Zhangs left the Changsheng Courtyard. On the way, Zhang Yizhi discussed with his brother and sent someone out of the palace to find Zhang Tongxiu.
The two of them ordered their men to leave the Palace and were about to return to the Fengchen Prison when they happened to see Yang Fan leading two imperial guards walking toward them. As soon as he saw the two of them, Yang Fan cupped his fists and laughed heartily from afar, "Wulang, Wulang, congratulations, congratulations! I heard that the Crown Prince, Prince of Xiang, and Prince of Liang jointly elected you as Wangwang. I am so envious! "
Zhang Changzong angrily said, "The eight characters haven't even been set in stone. What is there to be happy about?"
Yang Fan was surprised. "Why do you say that?" he asked. "Wulang and Liulang have always been favored by the Saints. This time, they have performed a great service and have been nominated by the Crown Prince, Prince of Xiang, and Prince of Liang. Who would be so ignorant as to oppose them?"
Zhang Changzong smiled bitterly and said, "The person who opposes it is the current Saint, what can I do?"
Zhang Yizhi glared at his brother reproachfully, not wanting him to say more. He turned to Yang Fan and said with a smile, "Conferring the title of King is not a small matter. The Sage is worried about giving out too many rewards, so he hesitated. In my opinion, Your Majesty is wise and farsighted, and your thoughts and concerns are far beyond what my brother and I can reach. Naturally, we should follow the wishes of the Saint. Hehe, actually, I only wanted to make a name for myself by writing 'The Pearl of the Three Sects'. Now that I have succeeded in writing this book, I can leave my name in history. My wish is fulfilled. As for whether I will be conferred the title of King or not, it doesn't matter. "
Yang Fan said, "Wulang is open-minded, it is admirable. In this Yang's opinion, if you can be conferred the title of King due to your great contribution, it will be well deserved. However, the Son of Heaven's words also make a lot of sense. If I can't be conferred the title of King this time, my humble opinion is that you might as well settle for the next best thing. If you can be conferred the title of Duke, you will only be a step away from the title of King. It will be easy to confer the title of King in the future. "
Listening to this, Zhang Changzong's eyes lit up. The two of them laughed and chatted for a while before Yang Fan cupped his fists and took his leave. As soon as Yang Fan left, Zhang Changzong immediately turned to Zhang Yizhi and said, "Wulang, Yang Fan is right! If you and I can't be conferred the title of King this time, we can settle for the next best thing and ask the Saint to confer us the title of Duke. If there is another opportunity in the future, I am not afraid the Saint will not agree to confer us the title of King. "
Hearing this, Zhang Changzong was also greatly moved. He nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. Let's wait for Da Xiong to arrive and we can discuss this further."
Zhang Tongxiu was currently serving as the Assistant Minister of Rites; normally he did not have anything serious to do. Suddenly he received a message, asking him to see Er Zhang. Zhang Tongxiu immediately followed the messenger into the Palace. He went to Fengchen Jian to see Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong.
Er Zhang wanted him to come because he wanted him to mobilize the Zhang party to put forward a proposal to the Son of Heaven, to elect the two brothers as Kings. How could Zhang Tongxiu have any opinion? His wealth and fame came from Er Zhang. Since Er Zhang had a request, naturally Zhang Tongxiu would comply.
Zhang Tongxiu repeatedly agreed. He said, "Zhang Shuo and Li Jiao were involved in the compilation of the 'Pearl of the Three Sects', if we ask them to come forward to ask for the title of King, it would be tantamount to showing off their own merit, it is not appropriate. Let Xiong find Su Weiwei and Ji Xu, tell them to come forward to persuade you. "
Zhang Yizhi said, "Alright! Zhang Yizhi said, "These two people's influence is somewhat weak, let Wei Chengqing and Wei Sili also come forward. This matter must be struck while the iron is hot, better sooner rather than later. Da Xiong will go back now. Oh right, tell them to be more flexible. If the title of King is impossible, please confer him the title of Duke. "
Actually, in the beginning Zhang Yizhi also wanted an official position in the imperial court, but he did not expect that Wu Sansi in one step pushed him to the position of a high-ranking minister. Wangye! This title of nobility was something that he could not help but be moved. Therefore, the thought of grabbing an official position in the imperial court had long disappeared without a trace. Right now, he wholeheartedly wanted to be the King.
Su Weiwei and Ji Xu had used Er Zhang's connections to return to the capital, so they naturally became Er Zhang's disciples. However, this was only Er Zhang's wishful thinking. Su Weiwei was known as the 'Ambiguous Hand', always leaving leeway when doing things, so how could he be willing to stand on Er Zhang's boat?
Ji Xu had just been riding on the crest of success when he offended Wu Yizong in the imperial court and was demoted and exiled. Now that he had returned, his temperament was much more cautious. They were attached to Er Zhang, but they were not his staunch allies. Er Zhang could have used some matters to establish a relationship of common weal and woe with them, thus making them wholeheartedly follow him, but Er Zhang did not have the means to control people.
At that time in the imperial court, Su Weiwei and Ji Xu had already guessed the true intentions of the Prince of Liang Wu Sansi, the Crown Prince Li Xian, and the Prince of Xiang Li Dan. In the golden hall, they did not say anything in agreement, hoping that Er Zhang would understand the pros and cons. Who could have expected that Er Zhang would be blinded by greed? Not only had he not seen through the trap, he was actually extremely passionate about it.
Su Weiwei and Ji Xu smiled bitterly in their hearts, but they did not want to offend the Wu clan and the Li clan and bind themselves to Er Zhang. Of course, they would not expose this matter. Since Zhang Tongxiu had an order, they readily agreed. They agreed to write a memorial tonight and present it to the Emperor the next day.
Wei Chengqing and Wei Sili were brothers born from the same mother. Wei Chengqing was now the assistant minister of the Heavenly Official. He was in charge of the three selections and was a powerful official in the Ministry of Appointments. Wei Sili was the assistant minister of the Phoenix Pavilion. He also had a high position in the imperial court and was young and promising.
The Wei brothers' father was the former Prime Minister Wei Siqian. He was also a descendant of the Prime Minister and came from a family of officials. However, this family of Wei was not the Wei Clan of Jingzhao in Guanzhong, but the Wei Clan of Hanoi. Their county seat was in Hanoi's Yangwu.
The princess consort of the current Crown Prince Li Xian came from the Wei Clan of Jingzhao. Thus, the Wei Clan of Jingzhao was close to the Crown Prince and could not be attached to Er Zhang. Although the two brothers from the Wei Clan of Hanoi were attached to Er Zhang, they were not wholeheartedly devoted to him. They were attached to Er Zhang because Er Zhang had tried to win them over in many ways. They did not dare to offend him, so they feigned civility.
Under these circumstances, even though they could see the intentions of Wu Sansi, the Prince of Xiang, and the Crown Prince, they would not expose the inside story to Zhang Tongxiu. In a short time, Er Zhang had managed to win over all sorts of talented people, but not a single one sincerely assisted them. As a result, Er Zhang was the only one who was drunk when everyone was sober.
These people received Er Zhang's signal and naturally began to submit memorials to recommend Er Zhang. The Crown Prince's Faction, the Prince of Xiang's Faction, and the Prince of Liang's Faction all submitted memorials, one after another recommending Er Zhang to the Empress for the title of King. Er Zhang asked around from Wan 'er and found out that memorials recommending the two of them to the Imperial Palace were pouring in like snowflakes. He couldn't help but be overjoyed.
The two of them immediately went to see Wu Zetian and presented her with a dance that they had just rehearsed. The two Zhang brothers personally took to the stage, pretending to be Hu 'er and doing their best to dance. Although it was the tenth month of autumn, the two of them were sweating profusely from exhaustion. Wu Zetian understood why the two of them were trying to please her, and she couldn't help but sigh to herself.
When the dance was over, Er Zhang, still dressed in Hu 'er clothing, ran to Wu Zetian's side without changing. One of them massaged her legs, the other massaged her shoulders, attentively attentive to her needs.
Wu Zetian was too old, and when she moved from Luoyang to Chang 'an, she was weary from the long journey. Her body was exhausted beyond endurance, and the matter of bed had gradually faded away. She rarely called them over to make love. Most of the time, she only hugged and kissed them, enjoying the intimate caress of youthful and charming youths.
Wu Zetian was very satisfied with Er Zhang's service. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Wulang, Liulang, do you really want to be conferred the title of King?"
Zhang Yizhi said obediently, "Whether to be conferred the title of King or not, Yi Zhi will follow the instructions of the Sage. Yi Zhi understands that in this world, anyone who doesn't treat us brothers well is not a Sage. The Sage cares for us brothers very much, and any decision of the Sage must be for our own good. "
Wu Zetian laughed and poked his forehead, "You, you, your little mouth is always so sweet."
Zhang Changzong, however, was a straightforward person, and said, "Sage, I just think that if I can be conferred the title of King, how impressive it would be. Besides, the Wu family has so many nephews, a total of more than 20 people, and all of them have been conferred the title of King. What contribution did they make? Isn't it because they are close to the Sage? I have made great contributions, why can't I be conferred the title of King? In fact, it is secondary whether I am conferred the title of King or not, I just feel wronged. In terms of closeness, I am not as close to the Sage as they are. "
Wu Zetian shook her head and said, "Aren't you afraid of being roasted on fire?"
Zhang Changzong said, "With the grace of the Sage, who dares to roast us on fire?"
Even a person like Wu Zetian couldn't help but blush when she heard the implied words. She said angrily, "You're asking for a beating! You really can't compare to your brother's intelligence. Haven't you heard of the saying that the tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind? "
Zhang Changzong heard that her tone had softened, so he quickly pulled her hand and said coquettishly, "Sage, Changzong is relying on you, a towering tree. What wind can blow on Changzong?" Seeing that Wu Zetian was in a good mood, Zhang Changzong wanted to strike while the iron was hot. But the Chief Chamberlain, Xiao Hai, suddenly reported that Princess Taiping wanted to see him.
Ever since they arrived in Chang 'an, Wu Zetian had not seen her daughter for a long time. Hearing that she was here, she said happily, "Let her in." In the first few years, when Wu Zetian met with the ministers and nephews, she would ask the second Zhang to leave. But now it had become a habit, and she had no intention of asking them to leave.
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