Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4819 Everyone gets what they need
Seeing that it was still early, Li Ji took Liang Jianfang in a carriage to visit the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion. When they arrived at the mansion, they got off the carriage in front of the gate, entered through the side door, handed the gifts to the housekeeper, and then, under the guidance of the housekeeper, walked through the courtyard to the main hall.

Li Jing also came out from the back hall. He had obviously changed his clothes after hearing that Li Ji was visiting. His hair and beard were all white, but his face was ruddy and he looked energetic. He smiled and asked the two to take a seat. He said to Li Ji, "Mao Gong is a rare guest."

He glanced at Liang Jianfang, who was acting reserved, and nodded slightly.

Liang Jianfang bowed with a military salute: "General Liang Jianfang greets Lord Wei."

"We are just discussing private matters, no need to be polite, please take a seat."

Although they did not interact much in normal times, they were familiar with each other after serving in the army for many years. Li Jing was not arrogant and was very kind and amiable.

Liang Jianfang then sat down.

It's no wonder he's so reserved. In fact, how many people in the current Tang army can be as relaxed as Li Ji in front of Li Jing? Although his career was in vain and his life was on the line, his prestige in the army is unmatched. Even Li Ji, who is now recognized as the "number one in the army", and Fang Jun, who is at the peak of his power, are much inferior to him.

The praise of "God of War" may be a little exaggerated, but it is only one step away.

The old servant served the tea. Li Jing motioned for the two to drink the tea and said with a smile, "Now I live alone in this huge mansion. My children and grandchildren have their own futures to accompany me. Apart from going to the Ministry of War, I usually write books in the mansion. There are few visitors and it is very lonely. I am very happy that you two old friends are here to visit. Don't leave later. I have asked the kitchen to prepare some small dishes. Let's have a few drinks."

Li Ji said, "I heard that Duke Yue gave you a lot of good wine before. The wine that boy can give away must be extraordinary. You are in for a treat today."

"It's just wine. No matter how good it is, it's not nectar. What we drink is the atmosphere and the friendship. As the saying goes, a thousand cups are not enough when you meet a good friend. As long as you are with the right person, it doesn't matter what you drink."

"Mr. Wei's cultivation has become more profound, and his mentality and spirit have become more relaxed. This is truly enviable."

"It is better to step back and weave a net than to envy the fish by the abyss," Li Jing said with a smile, "If you just take a step back, the world will be wider and the sea will be wider."

Take a step back?

Li Ji shook his head: "I am in this world with impure six senses. I cannot retreat, and I cannot retreat."

Being in the officialdom, one is entangled with the interests of all parties. How can one quit just because one wants to?

What's more, he doesn't want to retreat now. Military reform is complicated and full of obstacles. He has reached an agreement with Fang Jun that he must complete this unprecedented feat in his later years.

How to get rid of fame, wealth and karma?

Li Jing shook his head and said gently, "Everyone has their own aspirations. You and I pursue different things and walk different paths. What is there to envy? You are different from me. What I am good at is not in the court, while you are just the opposite. Since it is within your ability and ambition, why not do it?"

He had a complete failure in his official career. Fortunately, His Majesty Li II was broad-minded, otherwise, if he were to be replaced by another emperor, he would have been punished by having his family confiscated and his entire family destroyed. Today, he is trusted by His Majesty and has the opportunity to display his talents. He can teach in the academy, write books at home, and be a "consultant" in the "committee" of the Ministry of War. He can live a colorful life in his later years without being involved in power struggles. This is what he wants.

However, Li Ji was like a fish in water in the officialdom. He promoted military reform as a prime minister and left a significant mark in the history. So why would he want to retire?
……

Liang Jianfang was a good commander of troops in battles, but he knew nothing about politics, so he was completely confused by the two men's vague words and could not understand them at all.

But he was also an open-minded person. Since he didn't understand, he didn't listen. After the food and drinks came, he sat sideways on the side and acted as a "bartender", holding the jar of wine tightly, pouring a glass for the two and drinking two glasses himself...

While Li Ji was chatting with Li Jing, he pointed at Liang Jianfang who was drinking heavily and asked Li Jing: "Does Lord Wei think that this valuable item needs to be polished?"

"There are tools in the world, such as fine jade and chisels for carving mountains. The raw jade needs to be carved to become beautiful and priceless. But as long as the chisel is hard, what good is it even if it is coated with rouge and powder, inlaid with gold and jade?"

Liang Jianfang burped and nodded repeatedly: "What Duke Wei said makes sense. What kind of jade am I? I am satisfied if I can be a chisel to cut through the mountain and split the rock."

Li Ji said angrily: "Since you are a chisel for cutting mountains, you should go to the most difficult places. Why do you come to my house and shout about making progress?"

Liang Jianfang was a little embarrassed, and said with a silly smile: "I just want to make progress. As long as I can make progress, I can go anywhere, not to mention splitting mountains and rocks, or even mountains of swords and seas of fire."

Li Ji said to Li Jing: "Look, this guy is also tired of being lonely and is obsessed with being an official."

Li Jing still smiled, glanced at Liang Jianfang, and said, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to make progress, but coming to my house to ask for progress, I'm afraid you've worshipped the wrong god or entered the wrong door, right?"

Li Ji said, "I just brought him here to pay a visit to Duke Wei, and I have no other intention. This guy is born to fight, and he is very brave on the battlefield, but he can't figure out the trend of the court. He doesn't know how dangerous Chang'an is, but he still rushes in. Fortunately, his temper is well known to everyone, and no one will think he has other intentions, otherwise I would have chased him away long ago."

Li Jing seemed to be thinking about something.

Life in the Duke of Weiguo's mansion was very simple. There were no extravagant feasts or delicacies, just ordinary meals, except for the good wine.

The three of them clinked glasses and Liang Jianfang drank most of the wine. When he left, he was drunk and his steps were unsteady.

After getting on the carriage, Liang Jianfang burped and was a little puzzled: "Didn't Lord Ying bring me here to ask Lord Wei for an official position? But why didn't I hear you mention this in any sentence?"

Li Ji put his hands in front of his nose and fanned them. The smell of alcohol was very unpleasant. He said helplessly, "You are such a blockhead. Just keep breathing. Don't think about other things. I brought you here to ask Duke Wei for an official position, but do you think Duke Wei will go to the palace to plead for you in front of His Majesty? Just go home and wait."

If Liang Jianfang had asked for an official position at any time in the past, he would have rejected it outright. At most, he would have helped transfer him to a cold and bitter place next to the border to hone his merits, rather than placing him in the core power area of ​​Chang'an to be eaten up and nothing left.

But now the situation is different from usual. Although the "attack on Jingzhao Prefecture" and "death of Li Jingshu" have caused the rebellion within the royal family to subside, the undercurrent still exists. In fact, the more silent it is and the more it is brewing, the more turbulent it will be when it erupts, and the slightest carelessness will be enough to annihilate everything.

Although he was known as "the best man in the army", his power in Chang'an was extremely weak. None of the left and right leading guards who guarded the palace, the left and right Jinwu guards who guarded Chang'an, and the Xuanwu Gate guards who guarded the gate of Taiji Palace were his men.

He didn't care before, but now that he has chosen another path, he has to prepare in advance.

*****
After Li Ji and Liang Jianfang left, Li Jing went to the flower hall alone and boiled a pot of tea. He drank it slowly and thought about things. After a long time, he sighed and muttered, "Everyone has a heart of a genius, as smart as a ghost. I am really lucky to have survived until today without being crushed to ashes!"

The old servant at the door was confused, not knowing what the master was mumbling...

"Go to the guest master's house and call him over, and tell him that I have something important to tell you."

"Here."

The old servant responded politely and turned to leave.

Li Jing finished a pot of tea and figured out some things, so he poured boiling water into the teapot and put it aside, then picked up a book next to it and started reading.

Half an hour later, Master Li came in a hurry. As soon as he entered the hall, he asked, "Brother, why did you send someone to call me here so urgently? What's the matter?"

Li Jing glanced at him and pointed at the teapot on the coffee table.

Master Li Ke reached out and picked up the teapot, touched the body of the pot to test the temperature, and seeing that it was completely cold, he simply drank half of the pot in one breath from the spout and let out a long sigh.

Li Jing put down the book and looked at his brother: "Write a letter of resignation and submit it to the palace tomorrow, and recommend Liang Jianfang to take your place."

Li Keshi was stunned for a moment: "Why is this?"

He is now the General of the Left Guard, and he and the General of the Right Guard, Zheng Rentai, are responsible for guarding the palace. The continuous mutinies have endangered the Taiji Palace, so Li Chengqian strengthened the palace guards. The generals of the left and right guards are both veterans of many battles, ensuring that nothing can go wrong.

As soon as he came in, he was asked to resign from his official position and recommended Liang Jianfang. Li Keshi was confused...

Li Jing didn't explain much, frowned and said: "You are reluctant?"

"What are you talking about, brother?" Li Keshi said hurriedly, "Brother, how could you not know what kind of character my brother has? I have always been impatient with such mundane affairs, but our family is weak now, and there is no one among the children who can stand on their own, so I have to take up a position with great difficulty, at least to give the family some confidence. Don't say that I don't care about this useless general. Even if I do, there is no reason for me to refuse as long as you ask. I just want to know the reason."

Li Jing nodded, asked the old servant to bring some cakes and brew a new pot of tea and placed it in front of Master Li, then he told him about Li Ji and Liang Jianfang's visit just now.

Finally, he sighed, "Li Ji is a very cautious person and never speaks nonsense. Since he hinted that my family should stay out of the power struggle, it must be that the situation is dangerous and there is a possibility that my family will be involved. Of course, this is only one aspect. It is also true that he wants to use the position of the General of the Left Guard to place Liang Jianfang."

Li Keshi thought about it, and said with some dissatisfaction: "This Niubi is really cunning. He asked us to give up the position of the General of the Sixteen Guards to him, and we have to accept his favor and be grateful. He is really calculating."

"Well, that's not the way to say it. If our family can get out of this power turmoil cleanly, we should be grateful to them. We each get what we need. This matter cannot be delayed. When you go back, write a memorial and submit it tomorrow morning."

Li Keshi was very straightforward: "Don't worry, brother, I know the seriousness of the matter."