It was said that businessmen were people who would not wake up early if there were no benefits. Politicians were the same. They would not waste their energy on things that did not benefit them.
Therefore, when he heard that Yang Guozhong had suddenly come to visit him, and even when he was in poor health, Li Linfu's first impression was that something must have happened. He must still have some value. Otherwise, why would Yang Guozhong come?
"Alang, this morning, King Tan forced his way into the palace to pay his respects to His Majesty. The ministers and the princes also followed in."
Li Zhonglin had control of Li Linfu's intelligence network. Naturally, he would be able to find out what happened in the imperial court at the first instance. This was not difficult. It was estimated that many of the nobles and businessmen in the capital would soon know.
"What's the situation? How is His Majesty?"
Li Linfu asked excitedly.
"Alang, His Majesty's face is indeed a little haggard. However, from the tone of his voice, it should not be a serious illness. Perhaps it is really a small illness that he caught occasionally and is recuperating in his chambers."
Li Zhonglin replied.
Li Linfu nodded and said, "His Majesty has always been healthy since he was young, so he shouldn't have any serious illness! Right, King Tan was so reckless. Did His Majesty blame him? "
"He did not blame him. Not a single word of reprimand. His Majesty is tired and does not speak much. He let Yang Guozhong handle the government affairs in the political affairs hall. He also let the Crown Prince participate. He also asked about the Thousand Mile Sound Transmission plan. After that, everyone left."
Li Zhonglin told him all the information he knew.
Li Linfu frowned and thought for a moment. He said softly, "Don't let Yang Guozhong wait for too long. Let him in quickly. Open the door to welcome him. Help me up."
"Alang, your body is not well. There is no need to welcome him personally."
Li Zhonglin said with concern.
"It's fine. Even if I lie down all the time, I will not get better. Quickly open the door."
Li Linfu urged.
Since Yang Guozhong sincerely came to visit, he couldn't refuse him. Moreover, through the understanding just now, he had already guessed the purpose of Yang Guozhong's visit. He himself also wanted to cooperate with Yang Guozhong again. While he still had a breath left, he wanted to get rid of the biggest obstacle that threatened his children and grandchildren.
Although his health was not good at the moment, it was not a big problem for him to get up with the help of the servants. He needed someone to support him when he walked. In addition, he could not walk for too long, otherwise, it would cause him to be out of breath.
"Censor Yang, please come in."
Li Zhonglin personally opened the door and led Yang Guozhong into the residence. Only two of Yang Guozhong's attendants accompanied him.
Li Linfu couldn't go too far, so he stood at the entrance of the main hall and waited for Yang Guozhong.
"Right Prime Minister, are you feeling better?"
Yang Guozhong walked forward and looked at his former colleague who had become so haggard. He couldn't help but feel sad. Even though they were rivals for a period of time, there was always a feeling of sympathy for each other.
Li Linfu forced himself to be spirited and forced out a smile. He said in a soft voice, "I am very happy that Censor Yang can come. Serve the tea, all of you are dismissed!"
Before the servants left, they helped Li Linfu to sit down. However, they didn't go far and were just outside. As long as Li Linfu called for them, they would come in.
Yang Guozhong also dismissed his subordinates and took the gift from his follower's hand.
"What gift did Censor Yang bring me?"
Li Linfu glanced at the paper packaging. In fact, he had already guessed most of it.
"Right Prime Minister, this is freshly made candy. I know that you take medicine every day, so your mouth must be bitter. Eating some candy will make you feel better."
Yang Guozhong said with a smile.
Li Linfu wasn't surprised. He smiled and said, "Candy, what a timely gift! I like it very much, haha! "
As for the gifts, Li Linfu was no longer interested in them. He was about to die, so why would he care about the so-called gifts? It was already good enough that Yang Guozhong could come. The other ministers were still avoiding him. Especially those officials who looked loyal and devoted in the past, they all avoided him and didn't even visit him at his residence. Instead, there were more people who went to Yang Guozhong's residence, to the extent that the doorstep of the Yang residence was almost broken.
"Right Prime Minister, do you want to try a piece first?"
Yang Guozhong walked over lightly and opened the paper package containing the candy.
Li Linfu glanced at it and said indifferently, "Leave it there first! I'm sure Censor Yang didn't come just to give me candy! If there's anything, you can say it now. "
After all, his sick body couldn't support him for too long. If they exchanged pleasantries for too long, Li Linfu would be tired and they wouldn't be able to discuss the important matters.
"Does Right Prime Minister know that His Majesty hasn't been feeling well these few days?"
Yang Guozhong first needed to lay the groundwork before he could say his purpose.
Li Linfu nodded lightly and said, "I know, of course I know. I heard that His Majesty is fine. Today, in the palace, he even asked for Censor Yang to handle the state affairs. This old man must congratulate Censor Yang!"
"Not at all, not at all. This official still has many things to ask Right Prime Minister? Haha! "
Yang Guozhong said politely. He paused for a moment and continued, "Right Prime Minister should know that the Crown Prince is also involved in the state affairs. This official's relationship with the Crown Prince is just as bad as the relationship between Right Prime Minister and the Crown Prince. With the Crown Prince holding me back, I'm afraid that when I handle the state affairs, it will be more troublesome!"
These words were the truth. Anyone in power would choose to promote their own trusted aides. If an official who submitted to them made a mistake, they would think of ways to settle the matter. However, if their political opponents and their trusted aides made a mistake, they would be dealt with harshly. In short, it was impossible to deal with things fairly.
For example, it was very common for officials to be corrupt, especially in ancient society. Any official would have made a mistake. In other words, almost all of the officials couldn't withstand an investigation. As long as there was an investigation, a lot of problems could be found and they could be removed from office and investigated. However, if an official who supported the investigation made a mistake, he would naturally be lenient. If an official who had a grudge with him made a mistake, then there was no need to be polite at all. He could do whatever he wanted to do, even to the point of death.
However, if an official who was in charge of the investigation had an opponent who was supervising him, then it would be impossible for him to continue doing things his own way. The official's actions would be greatly restricted.
For example, Yang Guozhong was in charge of handling the affairs in the Political Affairs Hall. If he saw comments that were unfavorable to him, or if someone reported his trusted aide, he was likely to suppress the matter and let it go. However, if the Crown Prince also saw this matter, it would be more difficult for him to suppress the matter.
In history, there were many officials in power who suppressed many things that were unfavorable to them. In other words, if the officials below them had to report some problems, there were many things that couldn't be sent to the Emperor. It was very likely that they would be intercepted halfway. Even the people who wrote the memorials would suffer a series of revenge attacks.
In many dynasties, when the enemy army attacked and the frontline was at a critical juncture, the Emperor was still singing and dancing in the palace. Even when the enemy army had reached the outside of the capital, the Emperor knew that his subordinates had hidden such important information from him, leading to the defeat of the Empire.
When Li Linfu was in power, he made many unjust and false cases in order to eliminate dissidents and stabilize his position. At this moment, Yang Guozhong obviously wanted to do the same. However, the Crown Prince was allowed to participate in political affairs. This added another layer of constraint. It would make Yang Guozhong feel like there was a thorn in his back when dealing with political affairs. He couldn't deal with his own affairs as he pleased. If he didn't do it well, he might even expose his mistakes and be attacked by the Crown Prince.
"Imperial Censor Yang should understand that the Crown Prince is the future Emperor. Participating in political affairs is also a kind of training. This is unavoidable. Didn't King Tan also participate in political affairs some time ago?"
Li Linfu said.
This was equivalent to reminding Yang Guozhong that King Tan was a chip that could be used to balance the Crown Prince. After all, they were both the Emperor's sons. Moreover, King Tan was older than the Crown Prince and was the Crown Prince's elder brother. It was even more natural for him to inherit the position of Crown Prince. Moreover, the Emperor seemed to be grooming King Tan and the other princes to be prepared to replace the Crown Prince at any time so that the Crown Prince would not be the only successor of the Empire. This would divert the attention of the court officials and let them choose to be loyal to different princes so that they could control the situation in the court.
Of course, since they wanted balance, they couldn't be biased towards any side. Whoever appeared to be stronger would be attacked. Whoever appeared to be weaker would have to be supported. Thus, both sides would always maintain an equal level of strength.
This time, when the Emperor was sick, the Crown Prince appeared to be weak and didn't do anything. However, King Tan and the others had made some small moves. This made the Emperor feel that King Tan's mentality had risen and the Crown Prince seemed to be more well-behaved. As such, he naturally needed to support the Crown Prince and let him be more proactive. From there, he would have the strength to oppose his opponents and form a force that made him feel at ease.
"This is His Majesty's intention. It is really hard for us to understand. Can the Right Prime Minister see which prince His Majesty likes?"
Yang Guozhong asked.
Li Linfu smiled contemptuously and said softly, "His Majesty is the Son of Heaven. His Majesty's will is hard to fathom! Even I can't guess it. However, we are all fathers and have sons. As fathers, we should be able to understand the feelings of fathers, right? "
This was to tell Yang Guozhong that both the palm and the back of the hand were flesh. In theory, the Emperor doted on each of his sons. However, at the same time, it could also be said that he didn't dote on any of his sons. However, he doted on his sons because they were all his biological sons. On the other hand, he didn't dote on his sons because he didn't want his sons to threaten his ruling position. Once one of his sons grew strong, it wouldn't be good to threaten the Emperor's position.
After all, the Emperor's family was different from ordinary families. The heir could have the entire Empire. Therefore, since ancient times, the struggle for power in the Emperor's family was often the most intense. If one wasn't careful, if it wasn't the death of the father, the elder brother, or the younger brother, the tragedy of human relations was unavoidable. Li Longji himself also relied on political tactics to rise to power. He understood this very well.
Moreover, from the historical situation, Li Longji didn't forget to play political tactics in the later stages. Unfortunately, it was a mistake. After the An Lushan Rebellion, because of a series of wrong decisions by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the rebel army broke through the Tongguan defense line and threatened the capital's An Lushan.
At this critical juncture, the Emperor and a large number of officials all fled to Central Sichuan. They were like stray dogs. On the way, the Crown Prince and his confidant plotted to kill Yang Guozhong and Yang Guozhong. Then, under the excuse of restraining the rebel army and establishing the determination of the people to resist the enemy, the Crown Prince escaped from Li Longji's sight. After arriving at Lingwu in the north, he quickly ascended the throne and honored Li Longji as the Retired Emperor.
In fact, this was no different from usurping the throne. Moreover, it was a blatant usurping of the throne. However, Li Heng's usurping of the throne had a certain foundation. He ascended the throne with the support of a large number of officers in the north, and these officers controlled more than half of the elite troops of the Tang dynasty. They were the main force to quell the rebellion. With the support of these officers, Li Heng's usurping of the throne could be said to be full of confidence.
For this reason, Li Longji could only accept it. After all, because of his muddleheadedness in his late years, he caused the An Lushan Rebellion. His prestige as the Emperor had been greatly reduced. This could be seen from the fact that the northern generals elected the Crown Prince to ascend the throne.
However, he was very unwilling to let Li Heng control the entire Tang dynasty. He still had the extravagant hope of continuing to rule the world as the Retired Emperor. Therefore, when he learned that Li Heng had secretly ascended the throne, although he admitted this fact, he immediately issued an edict to let his many princes hold the title of Jiedushi in order to resist the ascending Li Heng. The most famous one was Li Gui, who was the Governor of Jiangling.
After Li Gui ascended the throne, he had the idea of ruling a region independently. However, because this guy did not have any real ability, he failed miserably in the end. Furthermore, the act of conferring the princes as Jiedushi made Li Longji very unhappy. Therefore, after Li Longji returned to the capital, Chang 'an, Li Heng was very unfriendly to his father. He even drove away the most capable person by his side, Gao Lishi. It was as if he wanted to suffocate the Retired Emperor to death. In the end, Li Longji died of depression.
Everything was predestined. Li Longji was very unfriendly to his son. He tried every means to limit his son's power. In the end, he died miserably in his later years.
"His Majesty originally liked Prince Shou, Li Mao. Unfortunately, because of the Imperial Concubine, it is unlikely that Prince Shou will become the Crown Prince. However, other than Prince Shou, although Prince Tan and Prince Yong are also favored by His Majesty, they both have flaws. I'm afraid that it will be difficult for His Majesty to be completely satisfied. This is a difficult matter!"
Yang Guozhong looked at Li Linfu with a troubled expression.
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