"Then Zhangchou Jianqiong will take his leave."
Zhangchou Jianqiong understood that the two had matters to discuss, so he immediately retreated to the side. The other generals also dispersed, leaving only Wang Chong and The King of Song to calmly walk forward.
"Did you feel it during this court session?"
The King of Song and Wang Chong walked side by side, indifferently asking this question.
"Mm!"
Wang Chong nodded. Although it was only the first day, Wang Chong could already sense the turbulent undercurrents of the Imperial Court, the treacherous and extremely complicated currents.
"The situation back then was even more complicated than it is now!"
The King of Song indifferently said. This could also be considered an explanation for Wang Chong.
"Just who were those unfamiliar faces? So many people couldn't have suddenly appeared in the Imperial Court. Just where did they come from? "
Wang Chong asked.
"I can't answer you right now, but based on their records, these people are all perfect. Not even I can say anything against them!"
The King of Song said.
"So, it was the Grand Preceptor, right?"
Wang Chong suddenly stopped and looked forward. At this moment, his eyes became extremely sharp.
The Grand Preceptor was the leader of the civil officials, and almost all these unfamiliar faces were civil officials. With so many people and so many new faces, it would have been impossible without the Grand Preceptor's approval. And even if it wasn't the Grand Preceptor's doing, it definitely had something to do with him.
"I had the same thoughts as you before, but I'm afraid that the matter is not that simple. The Grand Preceptor truly is involved, but he is not the one controlling everything from behind the curtains. Moreover, I'm more worried about another matter … "
The King of Song solemnly said.
"Oh."
Wang Chong's brow rose, and just when he was about to ask a question, a mellow voice came from behind him.
"Your Highnesses, please wait!"
The two of them turned around and saw a tall and slender figure dressed in a red official robe of the first rank quickly approaching them from behind.
Seeing that figure, the expressions on the two's faces became somewhat subtle.
"Prime Minister!"
The King of Song was the first to bow, while Wang Chong, who was beside him, smiled calmly. With his hands behind his back, he remained motionless.
The one chasing from behind was none other than the leader of the group of officials, the prime minister of the dynasty, Li Genu.
"Your Highnesses are too courteous."
Li Genu walked over and hurriedly returned the greeting.
"What can I do for you, Prime Minister?"
Wang Chong said indifferently. He and Li Genu had just gotten into an argument in the royal court, and now that he saw him, he didn't have a good expression.
"Heh, Your Highness, King of Foreign Lands, The King of Song, perhaps the two of you have some sort of misunderstanding?"
Li Genu cupped his hands in front of him and smiled as if he was bathing in the spring breeze.
"This one was only discussing the matter of dissolving the prefectural armies on its own merits and had no other intentions. Moreover, if there is a need in the future, we can enlist more soldiers in advance, and we can even increase the size of the prefectural armies. All of this is not impossible! "
Li Genu spoke without missing a single detail, and his expression was carefree and magnanimous. His expression was even more amiable. He was like a ball of cotton, making it impossible for others to be angry at him. Moreover, as a first-rank official and the leader of the officials, Li Genu did not put on the airs of an official. This was extremely rare even among the officials, and it was one of the reasons why the Prime Minister of the Tang dynasty was so respected.
"Lord Prime Minister is too serious. This king had no such intentions."
A hint of confusion flashed through The King of Song's eyes, and some of the doubts in his heart seemed to dissipate as he hurriedly replied. Only Wang Chong's expression remained cold and unmoved.
If he did not know the background of this virtuous minister of the Tang dynasty, Wang Chong really might have ended up like The King of Song and all the other officials of the court, deceived by his reputation and smile. But Wang Chong was well aware that anyone who was deceived by his amiable demeanor would be eaten alive, not even their bones would remain.
There had been people who had been deceived by his appearance and smile in the past, in the present, and in the future, but Wang Chong was not one of them. This was because Wang Chong was well aware that this virtuous minister had an even more illustrious name: Li Linfu!
And there was another saying about this Prime Minister: 'honey on the lips and a sword on the belly'. The person before him was probably the most skilled at disguise in the history of the Tang dynasty, perhaps even in the history of the Central Plains!
Wang Chong did not believe a single word of what he had said. 'At the appropriate time, expand the prefectural armies' were just words that would never happen.
"Haha, Lord Prime Minister, the Governor of Yichun has asked me to send his regards!"
Wang Chong suddenly stepped forward and smiled as he spoke to Li Genu. However, such a simple sentence caused the high-ranking Prime Minister's expression to change. Even someone of Li Genu's temperament couldn't help but turn ashen and speechless for a moment.
But it was only for a moment. Li Genu quickly regained his composure, his face ruddy and brimming with a smile.
"Haha, it seems like the King of Foreign Lands has a very deep misunderstanding of me!"
Li Genu was not angry, and his face remained relaxed and carefree.
"The King of Song, King of Foreign Lands, this minister has some matters to attend to and will take his leave. I will come and explain to the two of you on another day."
Li Genu said.
"Lord Prime Minister is too polite. We will meet again another day."
The King of Song clasped his hands and watched as Prime Minister Li Genu left. Only when he was out of sight did he turn to Wang Chong.
"Wang Chong, why did you suddenly mention Li Shizhi? Do you also believe in that matter? "
"It's not that I believe it, but that it's the truth!"
Wang Chong indifferently said as he gazed in the direction that Li Linfu had vanished.
The Governor of Yichun, Li Shizhi, had once been highly regarded by the Holy Emperor, but Li Linfu had tricked him into retiring so that he could return to the capital and get close to the Holy Emperor. But in the blink of an eye, Li Linfu had deceived the Holy Emperor that Li Shizhi was old and sickly, so he asked the Holy Emperor to take pity on him and have him retire so that he could live out his remaining years in peace.
When Li Shizhi realized that he had been tricked, he revealed the matter.
But not a single person in the court, not even Li Linfu's political enemies, believed him. This was because Li Linfu had the reputation of being a virtuous minister and would never do such a thing.
Eventually, Li Shizhi died of depression.
This matter caused quite a stir in the court for a time, but there was no conclusive evidence and no one believed it, so it was ultimately left unsettled.
Not even the King of Song had expected that Wang Chong would dig up this matter. As he looked at the serious expression on Wang Chong's face, the King of Song became pensive.
"So, Your Highness has been avoiding me for some time because of Prime Minister Li Genu, correct?"
Wang Chong suddenly said.
"Buzz!"
The King of Song instantly paled.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go!"
The King of Song suddenly grabbed Wang Chong's arm, glanced around, and then silently pulled Wang Chong forward.
Outside the city gate, the King of Song pulled Wang Chong onto a carriage. After taking a seat, he gave a long sigh.
"Wang Chong, you're very clever. Even if I didn't tell you about this matter, I know that you would have found a way to uncover it for yourself. But the Imperial Court is full of people, and it's a place of quarrels, not a place to talk. "
"Haha, the soldiers of Khorasan have already been withdrawn, and the strength of the protectorates has been reduced. Even the prefectural armies are being reduced. What could be more important than this?"
Wang Chong said with a self-deprecating smile.
The King of Song fell silent.
"So, Your Highness, just what happened that day?"
Wang Chong got straight to the point.
"Haaa! At this point, there's no need to hide anything. "
The King of Song sighed as he slowly recounted the events of that day. Wang Chong had learned a great deal about what had happened that day from his big uncle, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and the other officials, but the King of Song had filled in the most important piece of the map.
As it turned out, the King of Song had long ago learned of the proposal to withdraw Khorasan. As an important and authoritative leader of the Imperial Court, it was essentially impossible to hide many decisions from the King of Song. Many reports would be read by the King of Song before they were even sent to the Imperial Court.
At the start, the King of Song had not taken the proposal to withdraw from Khorasan to heart. In his view, it was simply impossible to pass, the product of some impulsive civil official.
But in the Imperial Court, The King of Song finally sensed that something was wrong. Firstly, Wang Gen was not present, and secondly, Zhangchou Jianqiong, the Minister of War, was nowhere to be seen. What made The King of Song most uneasy was that this anti-war proposal had received the support of many civil officials in the Imperial Court. It did not seem like the product of some impulsive civil official at all.
Even worse was that The King of Song had discovered that these civil officials had come prepared, and with the Grand Preceptor at their head, they had formed an alliance with King Qi. In the Imperial Court, King Qi had mobilized his subordinates to fully support this proposal. But what had truly allowed this proposal to pass was the stance of another person.
"Li Linfu!"
Before the King of Song had even said it, Wang Chong had already guessed at the answer.
"You're right. It was the Lord Prime Minister!"
The King of Song sighed.
"Wang Chong, you've never interacted with the government of the Imperial Court before, and this is your first time attending a court meeting, so you don't know that the Prime Minister is not just a status, but has another meaning among the officials. The Lord Prime Minister rarely interferes in the affairs of the Imperial Court, and when he does, it means that it is not just his will, but also His Majesty's will.
"Lord Li understands the will of the heavens and is adept at grasping the meaning of the Holy Emperor. In the last ten-some years, he rarely spoke, but when he did speak, it was always in accord with the Holy Emperor's will. All proposals approved by the Prime Minister would ultimately be passed by His Majesty. There were even times when it was inconvenient for His Majesty to express his will through the Lord Prime Minister. Thus, after all these years, everyone tacitly agreed that Lord Li's will was actually the Holy Emperor's will.
"When the Lord Prime Minister stepped forward in the Imperial Court, I originally believed that he was representing the Holy Emperor and would oppose this proposal. I didn't expect that in the end, he would step forward and vote in favor! And this vote caused the entire Imperial Court to undergo a massive reversal. Even many generals were forced to abandon their positions and change their attitudes.
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