Tiantang Splendid

The human mind is always greedy and never rational.

When she knew that her lord was forgiven by His Majesty and the whole family was safe, and that she won the title of duke from the imperial court for nothing, Princess Baling's thoughts shifted from life and death to Fang Jun's intentions. Getting rid of the crime and getting the title bestowed by the emperor, does it mean that Fang Jun does not intend to "occupy" himself for a long time?
In this way, last night I sent him to the door regardless of shame, although I had a one-night pleasure, but in fact, it didn't make the other party "eating the marrow and knowing the taste" and "thinking about it day and night"?
It should be something to be thankful for, but why is there a bit of disappointment and anger in my heart?
What's the matter with some self-esteem...

Seeing the change of Princess Baling's expression, Wang said in a low voice: "In the past, although the Duke of Yue was a dude, he was not a fickle person. Both the wife and the concubine in the room treated each other with courtesy and loved each other. That Wu Meiniang treated her as a concubine. The identity is in charge of the Fang family's huge property. How have you heard of such a thing? Last night, although the Duke of Yue refused to speak, he turned around and advised the emperor, otherwise how could our family escape the crime of treason? Come to think of it, Duke Yue is unwilling There are favors in front of you, so as not to make you feel indebted... Although the means of treating you are a bit dirty, but his heart is sincere, and he may not be ruthless to you."

As a sister-in-law, she absolutely shouldn't say such a thing. Wouldn't it be pushing her siblings into another man's arms?Once this kind of thing gets out, not only Princess Baling will be notorious for being promiscuous, but her sister-in-law will be accused by thousands of people...

But what can she do?
Now my lord has been deprived of his title and exiled to northern Xinjiang, but Chai's family property has accumulated extremely richly over the years. If there is no strong support, he is afraid that he will be smashed to the bone and stripped of his wealth and family assets. But can Chai Lingwu be relied on?The Wang family thinks it's unreliable, those dudes are useless, as a child of the Chai family and His Majesty's son-in-law, he has such a solid background, but he can't even enter the three provinces and six departments, how can he protect the eldest family?
The only thing she can rely on is the princess in front of her.

And a mere princess doesn't have much right to speak. If Princess Baling can maintain a stable relationship with Fang Jun, this is a good way to make the house of Chai's family safe from being coveted by others...

Princess Baling is now in a state of confusion, unable to realize Wang's deeper intentions at all, she can only pursed her lips and nodded slightly, her heart was so confused that she couldn't say a word.

*****
The long wind blows, the withered grass dances, and the dark clouds in the sky press down on people's hearts like lead weights, creating a breathless depression.

The first snow in Zhenguan 18 years may not be far away...

Bashui gurgles, and the dry branches of willow trees on both sides of the river sway in the strong wind. From time to time, several boats pass slowly on the river.There is an endless stream of merchants on the bridge, with cars and horses rattling and coming and going.

There is a long pavilion under the embankment on the side of the bridge. The servants surrounded the pavilion layer by layer with veils to keep out the cold wind. Jie lifted the teapot and poured boiling water into a porcelain decanter, and then placed a delicate silver wine jug on it. Soon, a faint fragrance of wine wafted in the relatively closed space of the pavilion. .

Holding the pot to pour wine, he pushed one of the cups to Xiao Yu who was facing him. Liu Ji held the cups in both hands and said, "This trip to the south of the Yangtze River is a long way away. With this thin wine, I wish Song Guogong smooth sailing and a long life!"

Xiao Yu also raised his glasses, the two cups collided, and each drank it down in one gulp.

Putting down the wine glass, Xiao Yu stroked his beard, and seemed to have something to say, but when the words came to his lips, it turned into a long sigh, shaking his head and remaining silent.

Thinking about him, Xiao Yu was born in a famous family, and when he was young, he was the prince of Nanliang.Unexpectedly, the country was ruined and the family was destroyed, so he had to be forced to move north to Guanzhong, groveling in the former Sui imperial palace, lingering on his last breath, abandoning his dignity to the ground, and working with eunuchs.However, even in those darkest years, he never lost his mind, worked hard to seek a way to make progress, and finally supported Tang Guogong Li Yuan when he raised his troops, and helped him found the country and proclaim himself emperor, and thus embarked on the road of becoming a powerful minister in the Tang Dynasty .

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Xiao Yu has been one of the most important ministers in the court. He has won the trust of Li Yuan. Entrust important things.

However, time goes by and time flies, and today the body is old, but it is humiliating to go back to the hometown in the form of such shame, and the fame and fame of his life will be squandered, and even before leaving, there is only one Liu Jie who has a special heart to see him off. In the past, none of the subordinates and colleagues disappeared...

There are thousands of words in my chest, but my throat is choked, but I can't speak.

Liu Ji could also understand the unwillingness, sorrow, and despondency in the other party's heart. After a pause, he poured wine for Xiao Yu again, and said: "Now that you are returning to your hometown to take care of your life, the only way for the court to fight against the military is that there is no way to support it alone. If one day even the next one has to resign and retire, the whole court will probably become Fang Jun’s voice. Using military force to rule culture will inevitably lead to military violence, and until the treasury is empty and food supplies are exhausted, the people may be in dire straits. Precarious... In the future, I will be under the Nine Springs, how can I have the face to meet Emperor Taizong? Alas!"

He raised his head and drank a glass of wine.

These words obviously concealed his thoughts, he did not blindly mention the dangers of Fang Jun's "power in hand, and power in the court", because now Xiao Yu has been forced to retire from office, he may not care who has the final say in the court .

But when it comes to civil and military disputes, Xiao Yu must not sit idly by.

In the final analysis, Xiao Yu used to be the head of civil servants and the leader of Shilin, and now almost all the civil servants above the court have served under him, and have received his promotion and favor. kindness.

But if the military is in power and civilian officials are suppressed, who can take care of his old boss far away in the south of the Yangtze River?
Although Xiao Yu has retired, but the favor of so many years is in his hands, this is what Liu Ji values ​​most.

After all, when it comes to seniority, he is far inferior to Xiao Yu. If Xiao Yu can hand over all the connections and relationships he has mastered over the years to him before he leaves, he will be able to gain the complete support of the civil society and have the strength to fight the military to the end .

However, to his disappointment, Xiao Yu may have been disheartened. He was not worried about the affairs of the court. He shook his head slightly and changed the topic: "Throughout the ages, there have been many wise emperors, but when it comes to the word 'benevolence', it is not too much. Your Majesty now."

Liu Jie frowned, and echoed, "That's true. Rebellion is the first of the ten evils, and it is an unforgivable crime. However, His Majesty was able to forgive one side, and his benevolent heart has shined through the ages. The title of 'benevolence' is well-deserved. "

Even the most picky person can't deny the generosity and broad-mindedness Li Chengqian showed after two consecutive mutinies. Except for those who died before and after the mutiny, he never sentenced anyone to beheaded.

But in Liu Ji's view, this is the flaunt of the "benevolent monarch", but not the work of the "Mingjun".

The most basic way of being a king is to "distinct rewards and punishments". Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have done wrong will be punished. If even those who commit the serious crime of "rebellion" cannot be sentenced to capital punishment, how can we deter those who are small and how can we set an example to others?
Another meaning of "benevolence" may not be "weakness"...

Xiao Yu drank a glass of wine, felt the warmth of the warm wine piercing his throat and entering his stomach, exhaled a mouthful of alcohol, and said: "I know that you don't care about Your Majesty's 'benevolence' in your heart. In fact, many people think that Your Majesty So "benevolence" is covering up his "softness"... But to say a word from the heart, who would not want a monarch who is "softer"? People are not sages and sages can have no faults. Instead of making a little mistake Being punished severely, how can the emperor be lenient and pardoning, and let the past go."

It is an ancient Confucian precept that punishment should not be punished by high officials and common people should not be treated with courtesy.

His violation of the law is in the Eight Discussions, not in the punishment book...

However, since the Western Han Dynasty deposed a hundred schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, how many dynasties have practiced this etiquette without violating it?
Not to mention, just before the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was arrogant, tyrannical and harsh, and frequently imposed capital punishment on court ministers and literati.
All officials in the court are trembling, and the day is precarious. At that time, who doesn't want a benevolent king to rule?
What's wrong with being soft?
the softer the better...

However, now that I meet a benevolent monarch, I dislike him for being too weak, unable to kill and make decisions, without the image of a wise monarch...

Insufficient greed is the extreme.

Liu Ji was silent.

In fact, how could he not know that it is a great thing to meet such an emperor who does not kill people?But it is precisely because Li Chengqian is weak-tempered, obeys Fang Jun's words, and has no decisiveness, which leads to Fang Jun's control of the government sooner or later, and the military suppresses civil servants. How can he, the minister, go further and fulfill his lifelong ambitions?
The two drank silently, and the atmosphere was slightly silent.

After drinking a pot of wine, Xiao Yu put down the glass.

Realizing that it was late, Liu Ji asked, "What does Duke Song think about the fact that the imperial court is about to measure the world's acres?"

This is his trump card. He doesn't believe that Xiao Yu can't feel the huge threat of measuring the land to the aristocratic family. Although he doesn't know what His Majesty's intention is for now, since the huge amount of land that the aristocratic family depends on for their survival is at stake, how could he be negligent?

As the world's number one patriarch, can Xiao Yu really turn a blind eye?

Xiao Yu shook his head and said calmly: "It doesn't matter if your Majesty is overjoyed or has no calculations. Since we are the subjects of the king, we should be loyal to the king's affairs. We must never dare to obey the law and disobey it. This matter can just go with the flow."

Nowadays, the ruling and opposition parties have a lot of speculation about the measurement of the world's acres of land. Some say that His Majesty is very happy and wants to draw an extremely accurate map of the empire, which will be passed on to future generations; some say that the imperial court wants to take back the land. To re-own the previous land, you need to pay for the purchase and register it...

But Xiao Yu knew that His Majesty and Fang Jun must be sharpening their knives right now, waiting for someone to be the first to stop the measurement of the field. bird.

No matter who wants him to stand up against the imperial court, that is absolutely impossible.

Your Majesty doesn't like to kill people, Fang Jun doesn't care about killing more...