Li Xian picked up another memorial. This memorial was half hanging by the side of the imperial desk, almost falling to the ground by him.
Li Xian casually flipped it open and saw that it was a memorial from the Prince of Xiang, Li Xian. He angrily pointed at the list of meritorious officials and said to Consort Wei, "Wife, look at this one. This is the Prince of Xiang's memorial. His Prince of Xiang's estate's Sima Yuan Shuji. We have already worshipped him as Prime Minister, but he is still not satisfied and wants to bring Doulu Qinwang into the Hall of Government Affairs.
Doulu Qinwang is still in his own place, how can he have any merit? Who in the world doesn't know that Doulu Qinwang was once a subordinate official of the Prince of Xiang's estate, and that Doulu Qinwang's niece is his side fei? That's right, Doulu Qinwang's son is engaged to Taiping's eldest daughter. They are forming a clique, forming a clique! "
Li Xian fiercely threw the memorial to the ground and indignantly said, "All of them want their chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven! Jing Hui even submitted a memorial to his family's teacher to be promoted to an official position! The entire court has become their people, so what use do we have? We originally only had one mother-in-law, but now it's been replaced by a group of mothers-in-law. Everyone is pointing fingers at us, and we can't even refuse! "
Li Xian was like an angry bull as he circled around the desk. "On the second day, on the second day, Zhang Jianzhi told us that we should have the High Scholars stop studying the 'Official Conduct' and start studying 'Laozi' again. We agreed, but said that it would be best to wait a bit. If there was anything else to announce to the world, we would announce it together. That old man was immediately displeased and arrogantly demanded that we immediately issue an edict. He even ruthlessly lectured us, telling us what a ruler should do.
Yesterday, they took out a pile of things that needed to be reformed for us to issue an edict. Something like changing the name of the country, ancestral temples, the state, the mausoleum, the hundred officials, flags, uniforms … Shouldn't these be things that we announced to the world when we ascended the throne? In the end, we first became the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and then the Emperor of the Tang dynasty!
On the second day, couldn't we announce the matter of stopping the 'Official Conduct' together with these things? They didn't allow me to refute them with a word or two, but I issued an edict in all seriousness just to stop learning the "Official Conduct". Only a day later, I issued another edict, and it was related to the reform. What would the people of the world think of me? Could it be that my mind is in a mess and I'm acting on my whims? "
Wu Zetian had ordered people to compile the book and personally reviewed it. After that, she ordered the High Scholars to stop studying the Tang dynasty's textbook, 'Laozi'. Instead, they had to study the book. Now that Li Xian had ascended to the throne, he naturally wanted to restore the Tang system and stop studying the book written by Wu Zetian.
However, on the second day of the second month, the imperial court had solemnly issued an edict to stop learning the book. On the fourth day of the second month, another edict was issued, announcing that the name of the country would be restored to Tang. The ancestral temples, the state, the mausoleum, the hundred officials, flags, uniforms, etc. would all be restored to the old system of Tang Gaozong's Yongchun era. The capital of Luoyang also reverted to its old name of Dongdu.
When Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, the twenty or so new characters, with the exception of the 'Si' character, were all removed. The reason why the 'Si' character was not removed was because this was the name that Wu Zetian had chosen for herself. As a son, he couldn't possibly change his mother's name.
All of the imperial court's actions were to erase the traces left behind by the Wu and Zhou dynasties. Naturally, stopping the study of the book was also for this purpose. In the end, the small matter of stopping the study of the book was issued in a separate edict, but the restoration of the name of the country, the change of the ancestral temples, the mausoleum, the hundred officials, and many other important matters were listed together in a single edict. Moreover, these two matters were only one day apart. This gave people the feeling that the imperial court was in chaos. No wonder Li Xian was so angry.
Concubine Wei gazed at him, her expression abnormally calm. Seeing his wife's expression, Li Xian slowly calmed down. Concubine Wei then said, "Husband, what do you plan to do?"
After venting his anger, Li Xian once again recovered his cowardly nature. He thought in a daze for a while before stammering, "What else can I do? They … they have performed great services for the country, have done us a great favor. Besides … besides, they all possess great power. We still need to rely on them, so we can only … can only agree to them … "
Concubine Wei gently sighed. Hearing this, Li Xian's face once again swelled red. Concubine Wei lightly walked to his side and pulled on his arm. In a soft voice, she said, "Do you now know why I insisted that you allow Yang Fan to increase the number of cavalry?"
Li Xian was astounded. "You mean … hah! What's the use of that? Isn't he still part of the party of meritorious officials? "
Wei Fei shook her head and said with slight anger, "You ah, if Yang Fan did not open the Black Tortoise Gate, no matter what scheme they have, it would be impossible for them to succeed. But what position did they place Yang Fan on the memorial? At the bottom! In addition, they only proposed to give Yang Fan the title of a county count. As soon as this concubine saw the memorial that Zhang Jianzhi and the others drafted, I knew that Yang Fan was definitely not one of their people. "
Li Xian said, "If Yang Fan isn't one of their people, he also isn't necessarily one of our people. I heard that he and Taiping …"
Concubine Wei lightly tapped his forehead and angrily said, "You don't understand the principle of buying a horse's bones with a thousand gold? Besides, are you planning to start a war with the entire world in one go? There has to be both roping and beating. Compared to those so-called officials who are arrogant because of their achievements, at least your brothers and sisters are reliable. How can you not rope them in?
Besides, Yang Fan saved your life. Now, it seems that his closeness with the Wu Clan is actually just a perfunctory method that he used when the Wu Clan was powerful. We have misunderstood him. As long as Husband shows kindness and tries to rope him in, how can we know that he definitely won't rely on you? You are the Emperor, ah. Who doesn't want to hug that thickest and biggest tree? "
Li Xian listened and nodded his head repeatedly. Concubine Wei glanced at him again and softly said, "Husband, ah, it's time for you to develop your own power!"
Concubine Wei pulled Li Xian to sit down on the imperial chair and patiently said, "Husband, ever since you ascended to the throne, although this concubine has been in the inner palace, this concubine has seen everything that you have encountered. This concubine has seriously considered Husband's current situation and thought about what to do in order to establish Husband's supreme authority. This concubine has a few shallow opinions for Husband's consideration. If it is a woman's opinion, I hope Husband will not blame me. "
Li Xian held her hand and said, "Wife, what are you saying? You and I are husband and wife, there is no need to distinguish between us. If you have any ideas, quickly say them to me."
Concubine Wei said, "From now on, Husband should downplay the coup. Don't keep mentioning Zhang Jianzhi and the others' contributions to you. Husband should respect Mother Empress."
Li Xian was surprised and asked, "Why is that?"
Concubine Wei said, "Don't those people consider themselves to be meritorious subjects? Husband should downplay their contributions to support the throne. "
Li Xian suddenly understood.
Concubine Wei's willowy eyebrows slightly raised, her face revealing a bewitching coldness. "Husband wants to announce to the world that Mother ascended to the throne because Xu Jingye rebelled in Yangzhou. When the Empire was in danger, Mother had no choice but to step forward and save the Empire. Now that the world is stable, Mother will pass the throne to you.
Since Mother becoming Empress is in accordance with etiquette, then it is also reasonable and legal for you to inherit the throne. What does that have to do with Zhang Jianzhi and the others? Can they still act like they did today, putting on the ugly face of the Emperor's great benefactor and doing whatever they want in front of Husband? "
Li Xian happily nodded. Concubine Wei continued, "Of course, if they are willing to be tactful, that would be for the best. However, concubine believes that since they have already grasped great power and tasted the sweetness, no matter what, they will not retreat in the face of the current. What does Husband think? "
Li Xian sneered. "That goes without saying. They have already obtained hereditary wealth and honor, but they are still not satisfied. Right now, they wish they could stuff their family's gatekeepers into the Imperial Court to become officials. It would be strange if they were willing to let go!"
Although Li Xian had once hated the fact that he was born in an imperial family, he was now the Emperor. Even though he was an Emperor with a group of mothers-in-law, he still felt the supreme honor and glory of an Emperor. This kind of feeling made him dizzy and intoxicated. He was not willing to give up the power in his hands. Using oneself to measure others, would others be willing?
Concubine Wei said, "That's right. That's why they revered the Empress and played down the Divine Dragon Rebellion. It was to let the people of the world feel that they did not have any merit in changing the world. If Husband wants to seize back the power that should have belonged to you, you must cultivate a group of people that completely belongs to you. "
Li Xian excitedly said, "Wife's words have awakened a person from a dream! That's right, I must immediately start cultivating my own power! I want … "
Halfway through his words, Li Xian's voice suddenly stopped. His excited expression slowly turned into a blank one.
It would take a long time to cultivate his own trusted aides from the insignificant officials. If he wanted to immediately use them and use them immediately, then he could only use his old connections. His old connections were very simple. One was the imperial family, one was a subordinate official in the Eastern Palace, and one was the Empress's family.
There was no need to mention the imperial family. His brother Li Dan was also someone who had the qualifications to be Emperor. He instinctively wanted to be on guard.
The subordinates of the Eastern Palace included the officials he had been the first Crown Prince and the officials he had been the second Crown Prince. As subordinates of the Eastern Palace, these people included Wei Yuanzhong, who had already been demoted to Lingnan by Wu Zetian. There was also Wei Anshi, Li Huaiyuan, Tang Xiucan, Yang Zaisi, Zhu Qinming, and others.
Originally, Cui Xuanhui had also been a subordinate official in the Eastern Palace, but now he clearly belonged to the faction of meritorious officials. Moreover, he had become the backbone of the faction and was no longer reliable. The problem was, could the remaining people be used? Wei Yuanzhong had been demoted because he had resolutely opposed the Second Zhang, but Yang Zaisi was in the Second Zhang's faction and was currently in seclusion.
These subordinates of the Eastern Palace had all developed in their official careers over the years. Now, they were divided into many factions. Could they still work together to support him, the Emperor? To say nothing of anything else, if he protected Yang Zaisi and then transferred Wei Yuanzhong back from Lingnan, the two of them would immediately fight to the death.
The subordinates of the Eastern Palace could not be used, but Consort Wei's maternal family could. Just like how his mother had used the Wu clan in the past, she could use the Wei clan's relatives to balance the faction of meritorious officials, the Prince of Xiang's faction, the Taiping faction, and the Liang faction. This could also be considered a good method. But the Wei clan seemed to have no one to use … …
The reason Li Xian had been kicked off the throne by Wu Zetian a month after ascending to the throne was because he had just become Emperor and wanted to vigorously promote his father-in-law, Wei Xuanzhen. Because of the opposition of the ministers, he had even said that he wanted to hand over the throne to Wei Xuanzhen. As a result, Wu Zetian had something to use against him.
After he was placed under house arrest in Fangzhou, his father-in-law's family was also implicated and exiled to Qinzhou (Guangxi). During their exile, Wei Xuanzhen died of illness. Then, the leader of the barbarians in Qinzhou, Ning Chengji, took a fancy to his sister-in-law and wanted to marry her. But his mother-in-law, Lady Cui, did not agree. As a result, Ning Chengji, in a rage, killed his mother-in-law and his four brothers-in-law.
Li Xian suddenly realized that he, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, was so pitiful that he had no one he could use … …
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