Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4789: Stealing Chicken Fails
All the civil servants were very depressed about this. The navy was too powerful. Not only did its authority and responsibilities cover all the territorial waters of the Tang Dynasty, but its influence was rampant throughout the world. No matter what the government order was, as long as it involved the sea, it could not bypass the navy and Fang Jun. Without Fang Jun's permission, the sea was a forbidden area for the civil servants and no government order could be implemented.

Seeing that the strategy they had been planning for many days could gradually bring Lingnan under the jurisdiction of the central government, Fang Jun suddenly intervened and seized the fruits of victory. All the civil servants present felt as if a handful of coptis was stuffed in their mouths, bitter and astringent...

But there was nothing we could do.

After all, the navy can only dominate on the water, but it can’t go ashore, right?

As long as the Feng family's ruling foundation is undermined, their power will quickly melt away like boiling soup pouring snow, and the huge profit space left will be enough for the civil officials to eat their fill. As for the profits on the sea, let the navy share some of them...

……

Li Chengqian is currently committed to "balance", which is the way of being a monarch he learned from Emperor Taizong. Both the temple and the local areas must be in a state of "balance" so that all parties can rely on the monarch to suppress each other. Only in this way can the monarchy be demonstrated. Otherwise, a dominant party will directly challenge the monarchy, which is a situation that must not occur.

Emperor Yang of Sui lost control of the local balance and had to resort to the eastern expedition to Goguryeo to weaken the forces of all parties and hope to regain the balance of power during the reign of Emperor Wen. However, due to the betrayal of the Guanlong clans and the abandonment of the Jiangnan gentry, the foundation of the empire collapsed and the empire fell...

We must be cautious about the lessons learned from the past.

"Since all of you have agreed to establish the Guangzhou Maritime Customs Office, who can be qualified to take on the post?"

"Your Majesty, I believe that Su Liangsi, a doctor in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, may be able to take on the task."

"Su Liangsi?"

Tang Jian said: "This boy is from the Wugong Su family, and is the empress's cousin. His father is the governor of Bazhou, Su Shichang... He is mature at a young age, has outstanding talents, and can handle important tasks."

Li Chengqian nodded: "Since he was recommended by the Duke of Ju, he must have outstanding qualities, but he still needs to be selected by the Ministry of Personnel before he can take up the position."

The emperor could naturally appoint and dismiss these fifth-rank officials, but according to the rules, the Ministry of Personnel had to recommend them and the emperor had to appoint them. He did not intend to break the rules on such a small matter.

Tang Jian nodded: "That's exactly what should be done."

Fang Jun said: "I recommend Wannian County Magistrate Lai Ji. He comes from a prominent family, has outstanding talents, is thoughtful and cautious. He has been very helpful in helping me deal with the affairs in Chang'an. He should be sent out to cultivate his talents. He will surely become a pillar of the empire in the future."

"Lai Ji? I am quite optimistic about this man. He is able to handle things with ease in the capital city. His talent is indeed extraordinary."

There are usually two people in charge of the Maritime Customs, so it is not wrong to recommend a few more people.

Moreover, Fang Jun's "ability to judge people" had long been famous in the court and the country. All those he selected and promoted became successful. Li Chengqian also hoped that the empire would have more capable, talented and motivated young officials. Otherwise, if they were all as lazy and indulged in pleasure as the nobles of Zhenguan, the country would no longer be a country.

Liu Li didn't expect that Fang Jun would actually want to interfere in the promotion of the Maritime Customs. Isn't it the tacit understanding that the Maritime Customs belongs to me and the Admiralty of the Navy belongs to you?
But His Majesty had already spoken, and he could not refute directly, so he secretly touched Tang Jian.

Tang Jian understood what he meant and said hurriedly, "Lai Ji is quite talented, but Wannian is an important place in the capital, and the county magistrate is already a fifth-rank official. If Lai Jiyuan is transferred to Guangzhou and still serves as a fifth-rank official, it will inevitably be seen as harsh. Moreover, if Lai Jiyuan goes to Guangzhou, who will succeed him as the county magistrate of Wannian?"

He has a close friendship with the father and son of the Fang family, but now is not the time to discuss friendship. The interests of the civil and military parties are naturally conflicting, and he must stand on the side of his own interests.

Fang Jun had already prepared a response, and he said, "How about Li Anqi, the Deputy Minister of Rites?"

Liu Li was choked.

Li Anqi's father was Li Baiyao, a great Confucian scholar of the time. In the early Sui Dynasty, he assisted the Crown Prince Yang Yong. After entering the Tang Dynasty, he was once the right assistant of the Crown Prince Li Chengqian. He was an upright person who often spoke out and made suggestions. After the fifth year of Zhenguan, he lived in seclusion in his mansion and devoted himself to writing. He had an outstanding reputation among the scholars, and his students were famous. All the celebrities in the world admired him.

Many officials in the court today have been taught by Li Baiyao to varying degrees, and have some connection with him, whether close or distant.

Li Anqi himself is quick-witted, talented, calm, popular and has a very good reputation.

If Liu Li objected to Li Anqi's succession to the post of Wannian County Magistrate at this moment, the officials in the court who had received favors from Li Baiyao would rise up to impeach him, and Liu Li's reputation would inevitably suffer a fatal blow...

Liu Li glanced at Tang Jian, but this time Tang Jian kept silent and refused to act as his pawn.

In terms of intimacy, Tang Jian and Li Baiyao are much closer to him than he is...

"Li Anqi... not bad."

Liu Li could only hold his nose and bear it, feeling very depressed.

Originally, the establishment of the Guangzhou Maritime Customs was an idea that the Secretariat had come up with recently after brainstorming. In addition to the reasons for petitioning His Majesty, they also wanted to take the opportunity to win over and promote a group of people. Unexpectedly, not only did the military have an extra Guangzhou Governor's Office out of thin air, but even half of the Maritime Customs Commissioner's power was lost. The most important thing is that although Li Anqi belongs to the civil service system, he will not be grateful to him as the Secretariat Minister for getting the position of County Magistrate for Ten Thousand Years.

I worked so hard and thought so hard, but it seemed like I was just making wedding clothes for Fang Jun...

……

Coming out of the Wude Hall and exiting from the Chengtian Gate, Liu Li glanced at Tang Jian, who was traveling with him, and said with a little dissatisfaction: "Why didn't the Duke of Ju refute Fang Jun's words before? I am the Minister of the Central Secretariat and it is not easy for me to argue with him in front of the emperor, but the Duke of Ju can do it."

Tang Jian smiled bitterly and whispered, "I know that the position of Zhongshu Ling is for the benefit of civil officials, but Li Anqi is different from others after all. Li Baiyao has been bedridden for more than half a year, and no medicine can save him. He may pass away tomorrow. Under such circumstances, how can you ask me to oppose Li Anqi's succession as Wannian County Magistrate? It is irrefutable in terms of emotion and reason."

Liu Li was stunned for a moment. Li Baiyao's house had always been closed to visitors. Except for old friends like Tang Jian who visited from time to time, it was difficult for outsiders to get in, and they knew nothing about the changes in his family.

He also understood that Tang Jian's words not only meant that he could not bear to block Li Baiyao's son's path to advancement while he was dying, but also revealed another meaning, that since Li Baiyao was already beyond help and there was no way to save him, then what did it matter whether Li Anqi, the county magistrate for ten thousand years, succeeded him?

The Tang Dynasty had a system of mourning.

Since ancient times, all dynasties have advocated governing the country with filial piety, which led to the Dingyou system. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Dingyou system had become very complete. It stipulated that officials must leave their posts and go home to mourn for 27 months after their parents or grandparents died, and they were not allowed to participate in any official activities during this period.

Moreover, "If the mourning period for parents or husbands is not over, the mourning clothes should be removed and put on auspicious clothes, and the person should be sentenced to three years in prison." If the mourning period is not over, the mourning clothes should be removed and put on auspicious clothes, which means "removing mourning clothes and putting on auspicious clothes." "Removing mourning clothes and putting on auspicious clothes" means that the mourning period has ended early. This kind of indecent and unfilial behavior seriously violates the mainstream moral values, so it is punished with a heavy penalty of three years in prison.

The regulations are extremely complicated and detailed. Once violated, one's official career will basically end.

Of course, "it is difficult to be both loyal and filial". When being loyal to the king conflicts with one's own filial piety, the regulation of "depriving of affection" was introduced to avoid chaos in important official positions due to mourning. Some officials holding important positions in the court would be specially approved by the emperor to continue to serve after dealing with the funeral when they encountered "mourning".

But what kind of important position is a mere Wannian County Magistrate? It is impossible for the emperor to "take away love" for such a fifth-rank official...

Liu Li smiled and shook his head, bowed and said goodbye to Tang Jian, and breathed a sigh of relief after watching him get on the car. Anyone who can stay in the officialdom for a long time is not simple, and they are getting more and more evil...

*****
Inside the imperial study, the eunuch placed a few exquisite side dishes, two bowls of rice porridge, and a small pot of rice wine on the low table by the window. The dishes on the two low tables were exactly the same. Li Chengqian and Fang Jun sat on the ground opposite each other and had their meal together.

There are only three or four taels of rice wine. You can't drink too much at noon so as not to affect your afternoon work. You have to eat all the food.

After the eunuchs took away the dishes and brewed some tea, Li Chengqian took a sip from the teacup and said with a smile, "Erlang has always been smart, but this time he was fooled by Liu Sidao."

Perhaps it was because he rarely saw Fang Jun being humiliated, and now that he was fooled by Liu Li, he was very happy.

Fang Jun was puzzled: "What does your Majesty mean by this?"

Li Chengqian said, "The Ministry of Rites sent a memorial two days ago, which roughly means that Li Baiyao has been bedridden for a long time and is now in a coma. Medicine is ineffective and his time is running out. Please propose a posthumous title for him in advance."

Fang Jun was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said, "Li Baiyao was a great scholar of the time, a teacher of the world, knowledgeable and talented, upright in character, and a role model for our generation. His passing is a great loss to the empire."

Before the Ming and Qing Dynasties, anyone who could be called a "great scholar" could basically be described as "simple and simple, with few desires, and dedicated to learning", "if he was knowledgeable, he could rule the world; if he was poor, he could be independent and have a noble reputation; he could not be killed by the heaven, buried by the earth, or defiled by the times of Jie and Zhi". They were basically role models of the time and guarantees of character.

Li Baiyao's title of "great scholar" is well deserved. The death of such a figure is a loss to Confucianism, the empire, and the world.

Li Chengqian was surprised, "Erlang was just lamenting that Li Baiyao was about to die, but he didn't care that Liu Sidao had lied to him for a while? Once Li Baiyao passed away, Li Anqi would have to return home to mourn, and the position of Wannian County Magistrate would fall into Liu Sidao's hands again."

"A mere magistrate of Wannian County is nothing compared to the death of a great scholar. Moreover, the reason why I recommended Li Anqi was not to control the magistrate of Wannian County, but simply because I was dissatisfied with Liu Li. This person is extremely talented and quick-witted, and there are few people in the court who can match him. However, he is narrow-minded and lacks vision. He may be a minister, but not a prime minister of the country. Emperor Taizong only took him with him as a secretary but did not allow him to stay in the court. It can be seen that he is good at judging people."

Li Chengqian's smile dimmed. Emperor Taizong had a good eye for people. He did not allow Liu Ji to be in the court. If I pushed him to the position of prime minister, wouldn't that be the exact opposite? He had a poor eye for people and was confused and foolish?