The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

Pei Ju was the Minister of Revenue. After his death, his position became vacant. Someone had to take over quickly. There were still many things waiting for the superiors to deal with in the Ministry of Revenue. Originally, after Pei Ju fell ill, the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue took over. The position of the Minister should have been settled.

"In addition, Pei Ju's son Pei Xuanji was promoted to Zhong Daifu."

Li Shimin promoted Pei Xuanji by one level, which was a comfort to the Pei family.

Besides, even if he was promoted, he was a casual official.

Li Fu sat in the hall and did not interrupt.

Speaking of which, I didn't know much about his previous deeds in the past, but the words the old man said before he died, plus the things I heard from Li Shimin about him, think carefully, he was quite powerful when he was young, but the things he did were also quite controversial.

For example, when Emperor Yang of Sui visited Jiangdu, the world was in chaos, and the rebel army rose up everywhere. Counties and counties everywhere reported to the court, and Pei Ju reported to Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang was furious and asked him to return to Chang'an to receive the foreign envoys, but Pei Ju claimed to be ill and did not go. Later, Emperor Yang of Sui was arrogant and extravagant, and Pei Ju just flattered him and did not dare to make any criticism.

Then there are the words in Pei Ju's last words.

The exchanges with the various Hu in the Western Regions were a waste of tens of millions...

This matter had a lot to do with him, because of this, Pei Ju was promoted.

In the fifth year of Daye, Emperor Yang of Sui went on a tour to the right of the river in the west. Pei Ju sent envoys to lobby Gaochang King Qu Boya and Yiwu Tutunshe and others, promising them huge benefits and asking them to send envoys to the court. In March, Emperor Yang went on a tour to the west and arrived at Yanzhi Mountain. The King of Gaochang, Yiwuse and other people and the rulers of the 27 countries in the Western Regions personally welcomed him, wearing gold and jade, wearing brocade, burning incense and playing music, singing and dancing, and letting the people of Wuwei, Zhangye and other counties dress up to watch, and the carriages and horses were blocked for more than ten miles to show the strength of the Central Plains.

This operation made Emperor Yang of Sui happy from the bottom of his heart, and he promoted Pei Ju on the spot.

The following year, Emperor Yang of Sui went to Luoyang, the eastern capital. Pei Ju suggested that Emperor Yang of Sui summon artists from all over the country to display a hundred plays on Duanmen Street in Luoyang on the grounds that "many barbarians came to pay tribute", so that officials and people could dress up and watch at will. The shops in the three markets also set up curtains and banquets to entertain the barbarians. The barbarians sighed and called the Central Plains a fairyland.

In this way, the scene was done well, and the monarch and his ministers didn't care about spending money at all.

He did a great job of saving face and made Emperor Yang of Sui very happy.

Maybe he had experienced too much in his later years. Looking back at his life, he realized that the mess he had done when he was young was simply wrong.

But since Pei Ju returned to the Tang Dynasty, he did not do anything messy. Instead, he had been conscientious in handling court affairs and had never made any mistakes. Even Wei Zheng would praise him.

In other words, after the fall of the former Sui Dynasty, Pei Ju became different.

After Yu Wenzhi launched the Jiangdu Rebellion and killed Emperor Yang of Sui, Pei Ju became a minister. After Yu Wenzhi became emperor, Pei Ju became Shangshu You Pushe, Guanglu Dafu, Hebei Dao Appeasement Ambassador, and was named Duke of Cai.

In fact, Pei Ju experienced more than just four major dynasties.

In between, there were also Yu Wenzhi's Xu and Dou Jiande's Xia.

When Li Fu went to Pei's house, he met Pei Xuanji, the son of Pei Ju. At that time, he was also wondering, Pei Xuanji was also old, why didn't he make a name for himself in the court?

Pei Ju was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and his son was a fifth-rank official.

The court valued Pei Ju, and spent money to support Pei Ju's son, giving him face.

It is estimated that the things Pei Ji did in the past also affected the future of his own children.

In addition, Pei Xuanji may not have special talents to be valued by the court.

The important official positions in the court are now controlled by Li Shimin's people.

Pei Xuanji has no special ability and no wisdom in dealing with people, so the court can't find a reason to use him.

Pei Ju used the mistakes he made in the first half of his life to remind Li Shimin before his death.

Especially when Li Shimin happened to have the title of Heavenly Khan.

This warning came at a very timely moment.

From then on, whenever Li Shimin thought of the Western Regions and the reception of the Hu vassal states, he would think of Pei Ju's death and the words he reminded himself before his death.

Just think about it, an 84-year-old man was exhausted to death by supplying food, military pay and other supplies in the rear because the court sent troops to fight the Turks.

An emperor must have a hurdle in his heart.

This old minister, a loyal minister, before his death, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and the emperor, exposed his scars and advised, telling you clearly that you are a wise monarch, a saintly monarch who can make the Tang Dynasty prosperous, and you must not make the mistakes of the previous dynasty.

How could this make the emperorForget?

Therefore, when Pei Ju passed away, Li Shimin was sad and emotional.

After returning from Pei's house and discussing these things in Liangyi Hall, he was always in a low mood.

It will probably take a day or two to slow down.

After the people in Liangyi Hall dispersed, Li Shimin stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the vast world outside.

"There is one less good minister of the Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin sighed: "Huairen, in fact, I still have complicated feelings about Pei Ju."

In fact, he heard what Pei Ju said to Feng Deyi in the Shangshu Province.

But he kept silent.

Feng Deyi died, and there was no need to make a fuss just because he heard some words.

"Eighty-four years old, not young." Li Fu said.

It is rare to live so long in this day and age.

"Yes." Li Shimin sighed and nodded: "They all use this reason to persuade, but those who should be sad are still sad, and those who don't care, still don't care."

"Those words Pei Ju said before his death must be remembered firmly, these are all bloody lessons." Li Shimin said softly: "Since I ascended the throne, I have been worried, I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty will be as good as the previous dynasty, and as bad as the previous dynasty, so I have tried my best to avoid various mistakes."

"I have to say that the celebration banquet at Taiji Palace did make me happy for a long time, and I was also proud that the 29 countries in the Western Regions respected me as the Heavenly Khan."

Now calm down and think about it, you should be proud, but you must not always have this mentality.

As Li Fu said, what they respect is the strength of the Tang Dynasty, not the monarch himself.

"At your age, my second brother should be proud of his achievements. It's human nature." Li Fu said, "But after the happiness, life still has to go on as usual. It's no different from usual."

Li Shimin nodded slightly to show his agreement.