Tibet

In Chang'an, the festive atmosphere for the elimination of the vassal town has not passed yet. From time to time, the sound of gongs and drums can be heard. A few days ago, Chang'an held a grand parade to celebrate Hebei's return to the imperial court.

For several days, Chang'an was like the Chinese New Year. The whole city was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and the people were singing and dancing with joy from the bottom of their hearts.

Everyone knows that once the war ends, military expenditures will inevitably be greatly reduced, the war taxes that weigh on everyone will also be greatly reduced, and improvements in life will be seen soon.

The imperial court even announced a two-day holiday to celebrate, and at the same time announced to the world that all the victories were achieved under the leadership of His Highness the Regent, and even His Highness the Regent personally led the army to fight in Hebei.

The court's push was answered, with hundreds of thousands of people marching in the procession shouting, 'Long live the Prince Regent! Long live the Prince Regent! ’

This is the strong public opinion, and His Royal Highness the Regent's accession to the throne has been widely expected.

This afternoon, Dugu Lie came to his brother Dugu Ming's house. Dugu Ming was in a very good mood. His daughter Dugu Taiwei gave birth to a son at full term a few days ago. He was very strong and cute.

The wife also threw away all her prejudices and ran to the Regent's Palace to take care of her daughter and visit her grandson.

"Brother, you've come just in time. What do you think of the name Li Ju? It means climbing up a tree!"

Dugu Lie burst into laughter, his brother was naming his grandson!

"It's okay! The key is whether the child's grandfather agrees or not."

Dugu Ming chuckled, "I've already made a promise to him, and he said he must give me this face."

"That's good. Li Ju is a good name."

"I will tell the child's father later, and the naming rights will be given to me."

"I have something to ask you for!" Dugu Lie reminded.

Dugu Ming nodded, "Let's go to the study and talk!"

The two came to the study and sat down. Dugu Lie said: "Recently, there has been a loud call for the regent to ascend the throne, but there has been no movement from the court. Everyone is just talking about it. I want to give a boost and let the Guanlong noble family collectively sign the call. Submit a letter, what do you think?”

The Guanlong noble family, together with Lianzhiguaman, accounted for nearly 30% of the court officials, and their power was indeed considerable.

Dugu Ming pondered for a moment and said: "I considered this issue last year. After all, the emperor is still here and has not made any mistakes. If he is forced to abdicate, it will be inappropriate both rationally and legally. I think it is better for the emperor to retreat first than for the regent to advance." , to find an excuse for the young emperor to abdicate."

Dugu Lie nodded, "You are right. Everyone knows that the emperor is a fool and lives in his own world. How can such a person be the emperor?"

"So we need to publicize this, but it has something to do with the Zhang family. I suggest that the eldest brother talk to Zhang Li first."

Dugu Lie frowned, "Why should we talk to Zhang Li? Shouldn't he be the one who initiated it?"

Dugu Ming sighed, "I'm afraid Zhang Li wants to use this last opportunity to bargain."

Dugu Lie sneered: "If he was smart, he wouldn't do this. If he dares to do this, he will collapse in at most six months. If he takes the initiative and works harder, maybe the regent will really give him a face. I It won’t be troublesome!”

Dugu Ming nodded, "In that case, let Wei Jiansu go talk to him! My brother wants to make a joint petition, and I fully support it."

“Not only is it a joint petition, but it’s also a sign of auspiciousness!”

Dugu Lie whispered: "I want to take out the Yong Ding collected by the family, what do you think?"

Dugu Ming hesitated and said: "Although it is the Qin Tripod, it is not the real Jiuding. It is just a copy of the Qin Dynasty. I am afraid of being discovered."

Dugu Lie smiled faintly, "No one knows what the real Jiuding looks like. So what if I say it is Yong Ding, one of the Jiuding? Besides, it is the tripod of the Qin Dynasty and a symbol of the dynasty. Our ancestors received this during the Sui Dynasty. The tripod has been hidden in the secret vault for hundreds of years and has been unknown to the world. If we bring it to light again, isn’t that a good omen?”

The Dugu family has a secret warehouse, which is a top-secret warehouse that stores the world's treasures. Only a few people in the family know about it. Currently, only Dugu Lie and Dugu Ming know about it, and it is controlled by Dugu Ming.

During the reign of Emperor Kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty, a fisherman fished out a large tripod from the Wei River. The head of the family, Duguluo, got the news. He immediately bought it for a thousand guan and hid it in the secret treasury. Even Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty did not know about it. .

At first, Duguluo thought it was the Yong Tripod among the nine tripods in the world. After several years of research, he determined that it was not the real tripod. The real tripod was in the tomb of Qin Shihuang. It was just the Yong tripod among the nine tripods that Qin Shihuang ordered to imitate.

But even so, it is of extremely high value, especially because there is an inscription on it, when the Yong Ding comes out, the world will prosper, so it is very appropriate that the Yong Ding appears as an auspicious sign.

Dugu Ming also agreed, and the two brothers decided that it would be better to come out of the Weihe River.

………..

The reason why Zhang Li was able to become the left prime minister of the Tang Dynasty as a minor official was certainly related to his daughter, Queen Mother Zhang, but more importantly, he was able to assess the situation and be good at adapting. When the eunuch party was strong, he supported his daughter to cooperate with the eunuch party, thus Let King Ding take the throne.

At the same time, he secretly contacted the powerful Qi King Li Ye and even sent his eldest son to Chang'an to serve.

So when the eunuch party was defeated, he was the first to stand up and support King Li Ye of Qi in power, and asked his daughter, Queen Mother Zhang, to declare Li Ye as the supervisor of the country as the queen mother.

In return, Li Ye also appointed Zhang Li as the left prime minister and made him the Duke of the country.

According to the agreement at that time, the transition period was two to three years, and the earliest that the emperor should abdicate was next year. However, the situation changed too quickly. It has only been about a year and a half, and the time for Li Ye to take the throne has been ripe, and his prestige has reached its peak.

Zhang Li also knew that it was time for him to express his position. At this time, he pretended to be deaf and dumb, which violated the highest interests of the regent. He and his family would definitely not have a good end.

While the Dugu brothers were secretly discussing the auspicious omen, Zhang Li also came to Wei Jiansu's official room.

Wei Jiansu hurriedly invited him in, and the two of them sat down as host and guest, and asked the tea boy to serve tea.

Zhang Li said slowly: "I came here today to discuss privately with the prime minister about the current emperor's problem."

Zhang Li was very tactful. He did not mention the regent's ascension at all, but only talked about the current emperor's problem.

Wei Jiansu asked calmly, "Is he not doing well now?"

Zhang Li nodded, "It was his eighth birthday a few days ago. I went to visit him yesterday. I know what he was like when he was a child. I thought he would be better when he grew up, but in fact..."

Zhang Li smiled bitterly and said, "His condition is getting worse and worse. I stood in front of him for nearly half an hour, and he never looked up at me. He was still playing with his small wooden blocks. He had been playing with the wooden blocks when he was four years old, and he has been playing with them until now."

Zhang Li sighed and said, "I think we should not deceive ourselves anymore."

"Then what should we do?"

Wei Jiansu asked, "Does Prime Minister Zhang have any suggestions?"

"I suggest that the Political Affairs Hall or even the Military and Political Affairs Council make a comprehensive assessment of the emperor, at least to let all officials understand the emperor's status, and then everyone will vote to decide, so that there will be no rumors and criticisms!"

Wei Jiansu secretly praised that Zhang Li was very thoughtful. First, the emperor abdicated, and then considered who would succeed the throne.

Instead of talking directly about the regent, which would lead to the unfavorable criticism that the regent wanted to seize the throne.

Wait until the emperor abdicates before considering the succession to the throne, which will reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble for the regent.

Wei Jiansu smiled and said, "I agree with the military and political assessment. When does Prime Minister Zhang think it is better?"

"No time to lose, tomorrow morning!"

"Does the queen mother agree?" Wei Jiansu asked anxiously.

Zhang Li nodded, "She agrees, and she also thinks it is more appropriate for her son to do so."