Chapter 917: One Whale Falls and Everything Comes to Life
The passing of a heavyweight political figure affects more than just himself.
Prince Li Tai of Wei, who had originally despaired of the position of crown prince, rekindled his hope. Now that the pillar supporting the position of crown prince has fallen, can the position of crown prince still be stable?
He is really smart. Among all the sons of Li Shimin that Luo Su has met, Li Ke is brave and decisive, Li Tai is outstanding in literary talent, one can be said to be a scholar and the other a martial artist. Among the others, Li Chengqian is kind and Li Zhi is also smart, but still too young. As the saying goes, a person who is smart when he is young may not be good when he grows up. The rest are average.
Luo Xuanye's funeral was very grand. Li Shimin posthumously awarded him the titles of "Sikong", "Situ", and "Grand Commander of Bingzhou", and gave him the posthumous title of "Wucheng". He was buried in Zhaoling Mausoleum together with Princess Pingyang.
When Luo Xuanye passed away, some people were overjoyed, some were grief-stricken, but everyone had a look of sorrow on their faces.
Li Chengqian cried his heart out at Luo Xuanye's funeral, but he didn't notice that anyone was targeting him.
No one knows which side the first person to take action came from, but his methods were extremely covert.
"The death of Prince Zhou is truly a great loss for the country. Your Majesty has lost a good assistant, and the Crown Prince has lost a good teacher. I heard that the Crown Prince did not listen to the advice of others before, but only listened to Prince Zhou. Now that Prince Zhou is gone, who will advise the Crown Prince?"
A completely fine sentence, and it only expresses concern for the country and the people.
Because this sentence is correct!
But only a very few people could sense that something was wrong, and they were people who knew the prince very well. These words implicitly expressed that the prince needed to be taught.
The most important thing is that Li Shimin felt that Li Chengqian had lost his most important assistant. Now Li Chengqian had to mature on his own. In other words, the previous methods of training the prince had to be picked up again, and he had to pick them up and use them.
Because no one can bear the consequences of letting the prince develop freely, since ancient times, the prince has never been allowed to grow up freely. The complete Prince's Mansion was built for the prince's education.
But Li Chengqian didn't buy it. He was physically disabled and had poor psychological quality. What he needed was encouragement rather than hardening. However, only the Luo family had this kind of education method. Outside the Luo family, people believed that a filial son is made under the stick, that it was education through suffering, and that after countless hardships, one would naturally become a useful person.
It was under such circumstances that Li Jing and Wei Zheng were called to Taiji Hall by Li Shimin.
The two of them sat there anxiously. Li Shimin hesitated for a moment, then slowly asked, "You two dear ministers have been teaching the crown prince for about two years. I wonder how the crown prince is doing now. Has he corrected his previous ridiculous habits? Can he shoulder the burden of the state?"
Why is this an open conspiracy?
Especially for Wei Zheng, it was too difficult to answer.
Because in this situation, he couldn't say that the prince had no problems at all. If he said so, and Li Shimin found out later that the prince was still wearing Hu clothing and singing Hu music, and had other little habits, he would have no way to defend himself.
As for whether he can shoulder the burden of the state, this is also a very subjective thing. The key is not whether the prince is capable, but whether Li Shimin thinks the prince is capable.
This is what is meant by “If they say you can do it, you can do it, even if you can’t; if they say you can’t do it, you can’t do it, even if you can.”
But it is impossible for Wei Zheng to say that the prince still has a lot of minor flaws, so how can he be a teacher?
When Prince Zhou was alive, it could be said that the prince's problems and hobbies were minor and would not affect his being emperor. He could even make fun of the emperor's past. But Wei Zheng knew that he did not have such a bold face. Facing a father who was very anxious about his son's situation, how could he guarantee that there was no problem?
Why did Kong Yingda and Zhang Xuansu compete to give advice to Li Chengqian? Because if the prince was strictly disciplined, at least if there was a problem, they could say, "I taught him, but he didn't listen."
If the prince is indulged, the blame for his playfulness will be put on the teacher.
The difficulties between teachers and parents have existed since ancient times. It is not easy to be a teacher of a prince.
Wei Zheng always only criticized Li Shimin, and he was very cautious about other things.
Wei Zheng thought of a solution in a hurry: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has made great progress, but no one is perfect, and there are still some shortcomings. I will teach him strictly and standardize his words and deeds. I will make him a pillar of the country. If he fails to do so, Your Majesty will remove me from the position of the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor."
day.
Li Jing looked at Wei Zheng in disbelief. You old man, are you trying to take this opportunity to run away?
Li Shimin frowned, paced around a few times, and said in a deep voice: "If you teach the prince well, I will give you more positions. King Wucheng has passed away, and the three prince teachers are vacant. It's time to raise your title of Third Master."
Wei Zheng and Li Jing left the Taiji Hall after bowing. As they walked in the palace, both of them slowed down their pace and sighed slightly almost at the same time. The title of Third Master was naturally extremely high, but it was a hot commodity.
Li Jing narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "The Minister of the Central Secretariat just said those words in the palace. Isn't he worried that His Majesty will be angry?"
Wei Zheng said indifferently: "Your Majesty will not care, but will think deeply. It is Zuo Pushe, now that King Wucheng has passed away, you are truly the first person in the military. You and I have great responsibilities in the East Palace, and Zuo Pushe should think deeply."
Li Jing's face changed slightly when he heard this. In terms of politics, he was far inferior to Wei Zheng. After all, this man was the one who almost helped Prince Yin to overthrow the current emperor, and he was also highly valued in the Zhenguan Dynasty. He immediately bowed slightly and said, "Please ask the Minister of the Central Secretariat to solve my doubts."
Wei Zheng looked up at the sky and said slowly, "Zuo Pushe, look at the sun in the world. There is only one sun, and it alone enjoys all the worship. Since ancient times, the relationship between the prince and the king has always been very complicated.
He hopes that the prince will be strong enough to inherit the throne, but he also hopes that the prince will not be so strong that he will not threaten the throne.
So it’s difficult to be a prince.
Previously, King Wucheng wanted me to be the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, and I gladly agreed because I saw through the relationship between the Crown Prince, King Wucheng, and Your Majesty.
In everyone's eyes, King Wucheng is the Crown Prince's greatest pillar, which is indeed true, but in fact it is more than that, King Wucheng is also a stabilizing force for His Majesty to suppress the Crown Prince.
As long as King Wucheng is around, the Crown Prince's power will always be under Your Majesty's control, because King Wucheng is Your Majesty's man after all. When there is no conflict between Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, King Wucheng will protect the Crown Prince's status, including asking Your Majesty to ensure that the Crown Prince's position is stable and cannot be changed at will.
But whenever there was a conflict between the Crown Prince and His Majesty or something bad happened, King Wucheng would immediately let everyone know why His Majesty trusted him so much.
As the pillar of the Crown Prince, King Wucheng makes the Crown Prince strong but also weak. This is the complex relationship between the Crown Prince, King Wucheng and Your Majesty.
Now that King Wucheng is gone, who will fill this gap?
You and I are both considered members of the Eastern Palace now. I am actually fine, after all, I am just a civil servant, and you, Your Majesty must be wondering, do you want to do something?"
Wei Zheng's analysis was so insightful that it shocked Li Jing. He had wondered before, could His Majesty really be at ease if he transferred important officials such as himself, Wei Zheng and King Wucheng to the Prince's Eastern Palace?
Now Wei Zheng analyzed that it turned out that the key lies in King Wucheng. With King Wucheng's pressure, even if the Prince's Eastern Palace had twice as many important ministers, nothing could be accomplished.
Li Jing's face fell, and after a long while, he smiled bitterly and said, "I am already so old, and I am in a high position. Why should I follow the prince to cause chaos? What's the benefit?"
Wei Zheng said nothing when he heard this, but just looked at Li Jing thoughtfully. That look made Li Jing feel like he had said something stupid. He was not really stupid and he reacted quickly.
What does being old matter?
Besides, Li Jing is not truly a high-ranking official, at least he is not as good as Luo Xuanye now. The most important thing is that almost everyone knows that he wants to fight, he wants to lead troops to fight, and Li Shimin will no longer let him lead troops alone.
Not only that, Li Shimin has always been tolerant. Even people like Wei Zheng who once wanted to kill him were regarded as his confidants. He rarely suspected people, but Li Jing was one of them. Many people don't know that Luo Xuanye and many people's evaluation of Li Jing are both unreliable, but it is well known that the emperor does not trust Li Jing very much.
This is like a dark forest. No one knows whether Li Jing will harbor resentment in his heart or suddenly attack Li Shimin. Therefore, Luo Xuanye's death made Li Jing very uncomfortable. Sometimes, having an equally powerful opponent in the court is a good thing.
Li Jing pursed his lips and wanted to say something. After a long while, he walked to the gate of the palace and whispered, "Thank you for your guidance today, Li Jing is grateful. But as the saying goes, send the Buddha to the west. Does the Minister of the Central Secretariat have anything else to say to Li Jing?"
Wei Zheng was silent for a moment. To protect Li Jing was to protect himself. At least Li Jing couldn't be in trouble before he left the East Palace. "Forget about leaving the East Palace. Assist the prince well, keep your door closed and don't get too close to the prince. You can only be a lone minister. You shouldn't do anything else."
Wei Zheng's words suddenly reminded Li Jing of what the national teacher Luo Su had said to him. They were exactly the same. So in the eyes of outsiders, is this my destiny?
Li Jing suddenly asked: "Minister of the Central Secretariat, what if Your Majesty still supports the Crown Prince as before?"
Wei Zheng had already boarded the carriage. He turned around and smiled, "That is of course a good thing, but I am old and I am afraid I will not live to see the crown prince ascend the throne. And Zuo Pushe is also not young."
After saying this, he lowered the curtains and the carriage rumbled away.
Li Jing sat in the carriage, feeling a little lost. He felt that Wei Zheng's words just now had a deep meaning, "I am not young anymore."
Li Jing felt a chill. Would His Majesty really take me away before he dies and let me be buried with him in Zhaoling Mausoleum?
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Ancient books record that when a whale falls, all things come to life; when a tree withers, thousands of flowers bloom; the same is true for plants and trees. When King Wucheng died, the governors of the prefectures were replaced by twelve, the five generals of the twelve guards were replaced, and one prime minister was promoted. - Annotations to the Book of Tang
(End of this chapter)
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