Phi-Fic Chapter 25 is the beginning, although it was a bit troublesome.
Chapter 25 is the beginning, although it was a bit troublesome.
Li Mao, who was spying on everything from the next room, looked on in confusion!
This old fellow only has a silver note and some loose silver in his purse.
Why are there spares hidden in the soles of these shoes?
Miscalculation!
Upon seeing this, Li Mao gave a look to the person beside him.
The servants understood and turned around to enter the house from the other end, which was the entrance!
"What are you doing? This is Lord Li!" a servant shouted angrily.
"You're all blind! If the Prince finds out, won't he hold us accountable?!"
That shopkeeper reacted extremely quickly!
“We know that, but Old Wu, you also know that counterfeiting banknotes is a serious crime, and we dare not be careless…”
"What do you mean 'easily'? Men, apologize to Lord Li Linfu and pay him ten thousand taels in compensation. If the Prince weren't currently entertaining guests, I would have reported to him, and he would have punished you!"
The man known as Old Wu interrupted the shopkeeper with a loud shout.
Then he quickly apologized to Li Linfu.
The compensation of ten thousand taels immediately brought a smile to Li Linfu's face.
At the same time, he didn't forget to ask with a smile, "May I ask, Your Highness, which distinguished guest are you meeting?"
"Oh, some sons of military governors."
Upon hearing this, Li Linfu immediately became interested.
He accepted the silver notes from the shopkeeper.
Li Linfu looked troubled, but his hands moved incredibly fast. After a few quick counts, he pocketed the silver notes.
Li Linfu: "Oh dear, Prince Shou is too kind. How about I go and pay my respects to Prince Shou now to thank you in person?"
At this moment, Li Mao, who was in a secret room nearby, witnessed this scene.
A cold smile played on his lips!
—Okay, we've finally found the key, even though it's been a bit of a hassle.
......
On the other hand, Li Linfu did not pay his respects to Li Mao.
Instead, they took the money and ran away.
He went out and got into his carriage.
His face immediately darkened, and he quickly ordered the coachman, "Return to the manor immediately."
"Yes, my lord!"
On the way back, Li Linfu took out the silver note with ten thousand taels of silver.
A smug smile spread across his face as he muttered to himself, "Prince Shou, you're cunning, but this little bit of benefit isn't enough!"
The old fox and the little fox putting on a show for each other.
There are certain tricks to giving and receiving money.
But Li Linfu clearly felt that this was not enough.
That's far from enough!
late at night.
In the residence of Prince Shou.
The old steward, Uncle Yang, and several trusted confidants gathered around Li Mao.
One of these trusted confidants was in charge of the racetrack.
One person was in charge of the general manager of ordnance casting.
One of them is the head of the secret police.
"Your Highness, Li Linfu didn't seem to know his place after taking the money today, did he?"
"It's alright, he just wants money. If we really need him, money alone won't be enough."
Li Mao replied in a deep voice.
If money can solve the problem for Li Linfu...
Then Li Linfu will never be granted a title or become prime minister!
That old fellow was extremely ambitious and greedy.
He wants more than just a little money; he wants a lot of money.
They want to have more power!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have sided with his mother, Consort Wu Hui, back then.
This person's greatest skill is changing his stance according to the wind!
Li Mao then asked, "You had that little eunuch tell Gao Chen that Li Linfu came to my racecourse today and took the ten thousand taels of silver I gave him... Do you understand?"
"Your Highness, I have already sent the little eunuch back with a message."
“Very good. Next, it’s time for Gao Chen to fight Li Linfu. Li Linfu needs to know that he still needs to form cliques and pursue personal gain. And I am his best choice!”
The old steward, Uncle Yang, asked with some concern, "Your Highness, will Gao Chen fight against Li Linfu?"
"Don't worry, Gao Chen is the kind of person who would rather kill the wrong person than let the guilty go free!"
In one sentence, everyone present immediately understood.
They couldn't help but secretly give their prince a thumbs up; his ability to manipulate people was unmatched.
Go to court the next day.
Upon arriving, Li Linfu immediately planned to impeach several ministers in the court who disliked him.
Who knew that before he could even open his mouth, the eunuch Gao Chen would bite him right down on his "vital parts"!
"Your Majesty, the Censor-in-Chief is having a difficult time in office lately!"
Gao Chen reported to Li Longji, who was sitting high on the dragon throne.
"Why do you say that?"
"Your Majesty, I have discovered that Vice Minister Li has recently frequented gambling dens and brothels... the list goes on and on. How can someone with such conduct be fit to be the Censor-in-Chief of our Great Tang Dynasty?"
Gao Chen was an extremely special close eunuch to Li Longji.
He was even granted the title of a general of the third rank.
Therefore, reports from all directions were often first presented to Gao Chen and then forwarded to Li Longji.
This is something that even ordinary kings and nobles cannot match.
As for calling Li Longji a saint, it was Gao Chen who started the practice.
Ordinary officials could only address him as "Your Majesty," while those who were high-ranking scholars or had a good relationship with Li Longji could be called "Sage."
Otherwise, even Li Longji would feel offended by what you said.
At this moment, all the officials in the court roused themselves from their slumber.
Everyone watched with great curiosity what was happening in the court today.
Weird!
Why are Li Linfu and Gao Chen, who usually vie for favor, suddenly fighting each other?
As for Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling, he was also quite surprised.
Gao Chen didn't target the enemy today?
Instead, he chose a minor position as Censor-in-Chief?
Shouldn't the attack be directed at the Imperial Censor?
Weird!
Zhang Jiuling also perked up his ears.
Gao Chen's idea wasn't simply to deal with the enemy; he planned to eliminate all potential allies who might help Prince Shou.
This is called being prepared for a rainy day and eliminating problems at their root.
Gao Chen was well aware that the lack of capable officials in the court was precisely Prince Shou's weakness.
Therefore, once it was discovered that Prince Shou had even a few informants in the court.
He would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!
"Supervisor Gao! You're making baseless accusations!"
Eunuchs like Gao Chen, who were favored by the emperor, were addressed as "Grand Eunuch" by the officials.
"Insulting me? Why don't you take a look at the memorials your censors are submitting to impeach you?"
As he spoke, Gao Chen actually took out a series of prepared reports.
They were all written by the censors.
There are seven or eight letters in total.
Although there weren't many censors, the fact that seven or eight impeachments were submitted at once left Li Linfu completely bewildered.
What's the point of this?
Li Longji took the report that Gao Chen obediently presented, opened it, and then frowned.
He can do whatever he wants, but his subjects cannot.
Because the reputation of the Tang Dynasty originated from these officials.
He was a wise and virtuous emperor who created the prosperous Tang Dynasty. So, people could understand his tendency to be a little frivolous.
When it comes to playing with women, a good emperor is at most a romantic ruler, while a bad emperor is simply incompetent and foolish!
Li Longji was actually a very narcissistic emperor.