xymnovel Chapter 58: Why Not?
Chapter 58: Why Not?
The horse-drawn carriages, accompanied by a long, leisurely procession, disappeared into the corners of the streets and alleys.
Only then did Zheng Qin straighten up and let out a long sigh of relief.
He had a truly thrilling night.
Although the main person who answered the questions was Li Deyu, he felt his heart pound with fear just listening to those questions.
It was fortunate that Li Deyu was able to respond so calmly despite being completely unprepared.
"The Sage has left, Wenrao, let's go back too. I have several questions for you regarding your dialogue with the Sage just now..."
Relieved, Zheng Qin spoke while turning to look at Li Deyu.
Unexpectedly, the latter still maintained the bowing posture, and his body seemed a little stiff.
"Wenrao, Wenrao?"
Zheng Qin patted Li Deyu on the shoulder in confusion, and only after calling him a few times did the other party come back to his senses.
"Oh, oh, I'm fine."
Although he was still answering, Li Deyu's gaze remained fixed on the street corner where Li Ang's carriage had just left, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"It seems I've truly been away from the capital for far too long. The sage's ability to see into people's hearts is far more formidable than it was back then..."
The sound was so faint that Zheng Qin, who was standing next to him, couldn't hear it clearly.
"What?"
Li Deyu also let out a long breath, his expression finally returning to normal, and said, "It's nothing, I just feel that from this day forward, there is hope that our Great Tang Dynasty can once again relive the glorious era of Emperor Taizong."
After saying that, he took Zheng Qin's hand, and the two of them went back to the room where they had just been talking.
After sitting down again, Zheng Qin finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Wenrao, why did you... answer the sage's last two questions?"
As a veteran official who had been in and out of power for many years, Zheng Tan considered himself to be a man of rich political experience. However, there were still many parts of the audience he had just heard that he did not understand.
The only thing that could be realized was that this dialogue, which seemed to be a dialogue "without the proper etiquette between ruler and subject," was actually more dangerous than any formal dialogue.
Li Deyu remained silent for a moment, and instead of answering his question immediately, he poured a cup of tea, handed it to Zheng Tan, and asked.
"Brother Zheng, why do you think the Sage would personally come to my residence tonight?"
Zheng Qin frowned, pondered for a moment, and then answered without much hesitation: "Li Xun's faction is leaving. Once this matter is over, at most three, at least one, members of the Secretariat and Chancellery will be dismissed."
"The Emperor is looking for a successor to the position of Prime Minister, which is why he has summoned you back to the capital. However, you have been away from the capital for many years. If you are to be appointed Prime Minister, we will naturally need to have a more in-depth discussion with you."
This conclusion is not difficult to reach.
Because in fact, the last words the emperor spoke before leaving were a veiled message to Li Deyu that he could prepare to enter the Council of State Affairs.
However, upon hearing this answer, Li Deyu shook his head: "If he only wanted to have a deep conversation with me, why didn't the Emperor summon me from the palace, but instead condescend to come to my residence late at night?"
Zheng Qin was slightly taken aback; he hadn't considered this question before: "Perhaps, the sage really just had a whim?"
Even Zheng Qin himself found it hard to believe when he said this.
It was freezing cold and late at night, yet the emperor himself left the palace just to enjoy the scenery.
It's not impossible, but based on his understanding of sages, this person doesn't seem like the type to have such a refined taste.
Upon hearing this, Li Deyu remained silent for a moment, then looked up at the swirling snow outside the window, his voice becoming somewhat soft and low.
"Brother Zheng should know that although I have been staying at home these days, I have also kept in touch with some old friends. Later, the matter of the Eastern Depot caused quite a stir, but because it involved the palace, the details were hard to find. So, I sent someone to deliver a letter to Yang Shushi."
"In his reply to me, he mentioned that recently, in addition to the position of the chief eunuch in the Eastern Depot, the Emperor has added two new official positions called commanders?"
"Commander?"
Zheng Qin was taken aback, then shook his head: "I've never heard of that. Is there something wrong with this so-called commander?"
In a sense, this is where the Eastern Depot's convenience and secrecy lay.
Because it was located in the inner palace, most of its activities were not easily known to the outer court.
Unless it's someone like Li Deyu who's deliberately paying attention and probing, or someone like Ximen Jixuan who's actively making it public, most court officials don't really care much about a newly established inner court institution.
Li Deyu said, "The reply was vague, and it was clear that Yang Shushi was unwilling to say more. However, there was one sentence in his letter that caught my attention. He said that the duty of these two commanders was to investigate and spy, and to cooperate with the Eastern Depot in investigating cases."
Zheng Qin was still somewhat puzzled and pondered, "Since the Eastern Depot is responsible for investigating cases by imperial decree, it's common for them to have dedicated personnel for investigation and espionage. What's wrong with this?"
Seeing this, Li Deyu shook his head and explained, "When I first saw the reply, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it."
"But the sudden appearance of the sage today has made me re-examine this so-called commander of the Eastern Depot."
"Brother Zheng, please consider this: if it's just to cooperate with the investigation, is it necessary to specifically assign personnel to handle this matter? Moreover, the reply mentioned that the case information obtained by these two commanders, like the interrogation results of the supervising eunuch, was sent directly to the palace without passing through any other party."
"If the sole purpose is to investigate a case, why are these 'case details' sent directly to the palace instead of first to the supervising eunuch?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Qin's expression changed, clearly indicating that he had thought of something.
"You mean, this so-called commander is not only investigating the case, but also gathering intelligence on the capital?"
After saying this, he himself was somewhat shocked and frowned.
"How could a sage do such a thing?"
However, to everyone's surprise, Li Deyu remained much calmer, even showing a smile on his face, and asked in return.
"Why can't it be like this?"
Zheng Qin fell silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. After a brief pause, he finally said, "You just said that a ruler should select virtuous and talented individuals, and should be close to and trust them. As a sovereign, one should have a dignified demeanor. Such private spying is hardly..."
He instinctively wanted to say, "How could this be the behavior of a gentleman?" But the words caught in his throat, as if he were recalling an unpleasant memory, and he swallowed them back.
He even unconsciously looked around again.
This made Li Deyu laugh, saying, "Brother Zheng, there's no need to be so paranoid. Even if our guesses are true, this so-called commander is only investigating and spying, at most checking the movements in the capital. He wouldn't go so far as to chase us into the inner quarters."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin finally felt relieved, but then a strange look appeared in his eyes as he looked at Li Deyu.
"Wenrao, are you really not bothered by this at all?"
Li Deyu was silent for a moment, then said, "You shouldn't mind."
A question mark slowly appeared above Zheng Qin's head.
Li Deyu then explained, "Do you remember that the Emperor asked me a question earlier, namely, how can a ruler, who lives deep in the palace, know whether the officials in the court are virtuous or not? My answer at the time was, by relying on the court system."
"But now it seems that even a sage has his own ideas. The establishment of commanders may be a sign of distrust to his subjects, but for a sage, it may be a means of recognizing and understanding people."
"During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, there were embroidered-robed envoys who were ordered by the emperor to patrol the area and were in charge of cracking down on evil and handling cases. Later, this position was gradually replaced by the censors, but the censors were officials outside the capital, and there were some things that were inconvenient to do."
"If this commander is used properly, he may be able to help His Majesty identify treacherous officials."
These words have a rather profound meaning.
Looking at Li Deyu's smiling expression across from him, Zheng Qin quickly realized something.
"you mean……"
He didn't finish speaking. Instead, his expression changed several times, and he even stood up and paced back and forth in the room, asking a question.
"So, that's why you asked the sage to recall Niu Sengru?"