Chapter 21 The eldest grandson Wuji has no scruples!

Three months later, an unexpected personnel transfer completely confirmed Gaozong Lizhi's idea. Xuan Suiliang is back. In the first month of the third year of Yonghui (652 A.D.), Hu Suiliang was conscripted back to the court while serving as the governor of Tongzhou. No matter what Li Zhi thought, anyway, Xuan Suiliang came back to Chang'an in such a grandiose manner.This minister who was demoted just two years ago for "seeking money in perversion of the law" unexpectedly resumed his position as prime minister as soon as he returned to the court, and he has single-handedly controlled the court's personnel power.

Don't ask why, because everything was planned by Changsun Wuji. Now Li Zhi finally understands that Changsun Wuji strongly suggested that Xuan Suiliang should be released, but it was just to let him escape criminal punishment and go out to avoid the limelight temporarily. What's even more exaggerated is that not long after Sui Liang returned to prime minister, he blatantly retaliated by demoting Li Qianyou, the imperial historian who had impeached him, and Wei Siqian, the supervisory imperial historian, one as governor and the other as county magistrate. Faced with all this, Li Zhi felt angry and speechless.

Just four months later, another incident that made him even more angry and speechless followed. This thing is Li Chu. In the third year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhicai was only twenty-five years old. He never thought about establishing an heir to the throne so early. However, many people are thinking for him. Queen Wang was thinking, her uncle Zhongshuling Liu Shi was thinking, and even Changsun Wuji, Xuan Suiliang, Han Ai, and Yu Zhining were thinking too. The emperor is not in a hurry, but these people are in a hurry. What are they in a hurry for? Anxious about their prosperity and wealth in the second half of their lives.

The crown prince is the future emperor, and whoever supports the emperor will of course have inexhaustible glory and wealth! At first, when Queen Wang kept babbling in Li Zhi's ear, Li Zhi always pretended to be deaf and dumb, and ignored her.Later Zhongshuling Liu Shi jumped out, and then Changsun Wuji also jumped out, asking Li Chujun's memorials to Li Zhi frequently.As soon as Changsun Wuji came forward, the other prime ministers agreed without exception. Li Zhi felt great pressure, and finally had to nod in agreement. Li Zhi was really depressed when he became the emperor. Since the day he became the crown prince, his fate has been arranged by others. In the past and now, he can't be the master. Now even the crown prince is established by others, and even the future has been planned by others early. Li Zhi's heart was really full of powerlessness and frustration.

After Chen Wang Li Zhong was established as the prince, Li Zhi knew that the most proud person was neither the queen nor Liu Shi.At best, they feel lucky, not proud. The most proud person should be Changsun Wuji. The reason is very simple. He once supported Li Shimin, the king of Qin, and Li Zhi, the king of Jin, and now he supports Li Zhong, the king of Chen. Shouldn't he be proud of a person who has supported three successive princes?Shouldn't a person who has almost become a "professional prince production household" be proud of his incomparable wisdom, ability and luck?

Of course Changsun Wuji can feel proud. However, he shouldn't get carried away as soon as he is proud. Has Changsun Wuji lost his mind? Yes, he had lost his mind, and he had forgotten all about it! Once, Changsun Wuji invited a group of dignitaries to hold a banquet in his home.After three rounds of drinking and singing and dancing, the eldest grandson Wuji looked around at the crowd and couldn't help expressing his emotions: "Wuji is not a talent, fortunately met the luck of Xiuming, because of favoring privates by fate, I am a high-ranking official, a noble person, It can be described as extreme!" ("Old Tang Book·The Biography of Changsun Wuji")

If he had only said so far, it would be nothing more than bragging, and it was no big deal, but he couldn't hold back, and forced the following words out of his mouth: "The public regards no taboo for wealth, why and Yue Gong (Sui Dynasty Shangshu) Ling, Duke of Yue Yang Su)?" Look at my wealth today, how does it compare with Yue Gong? Some of the people present were more cautious, saying that they were slightly inferior; some were flattering, saying that they were better than Duke Yue. Changsun Wuji looked at them with a smile, and finally said: "Sincerely, I don't envy Yuegong, but I am not as good as Yuegong: Yuegong is old, but Wuji is less expensive!" "A Tale of the Sui and Tang Dynasties")

I think that there is really no need to envy Duke Yue, because there is only one thing that is inferior to him: Duke Yue was already old when he was rich, but I was much younger than him when I was rich! Here, Changsun Wuji's pride is beyond words, and his arrogance and arrogance can be said to be vivid on paper! But he is not exaggerating, because the fact is what he said.His age is similar to that of Emperor Taizong. After Taizong came to the throne, the eldest grandson Wuji, who was just a year old, became the prime minister; He also married three princesses respectively, and each family produced a prime minister, a queen and four sons-in-law; as of Yonghui, he himself has been the prime minister for nearly 30 years, and the current emperor is supported by him, and he has always been respectful to him , Obedience to words, Changsun Wuji certainly has reason to be proud of all this.

However, it is one thing to be proud, and quite another to show it naked on your face. Throughout the ages, there are many people in the officialdom who are well versed in how to advance and retreat. The more powerful and wealthy they are, the more low-key and restrained they are, because they know the truth that when the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon is full, it loses.Not to mention far away, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing, Li Shiji and others who were officials in the same dynasty as Changsun Wuji are all typical examples of fearing fullness and keeping a low profile; A state of sincerity and fear, and a state of being humble.

Once upon a time, Changsun Wuji was like them, always humble and cautious, lest "power favors too much" and "deeply regards being full as a commandment", and his wise queen sister was always ringing the alarm for him, so Emperor Taizong had always trusted Changsun Wuji very much, and even praised him face-to-face for "avoiding suspicion" and "asking for the ancients, he should be incomparable" ("Old Tang Book·Biography of Changsun Wuji"). But now, Changsun Wuji has already left all this behind. He thinks that he is already an extremely powerful minister, with all the power in the court, and even the emperor is firmly under his control, and even the crown prince has been supported by him early, so what else should he worry about, and what should he be taboo about?

He thought that he was already the real ruler of the Tang Empire, that's why he acted so arrogantly, arrogantly, and arrogantly in front of the public. At this moment, Changsun Wuji is truly as his name suggests, he has no scruples about everything. Such a powerful and unscrupulous person is destined to be a dangerous person. Because one day, he will make those who have offended him, those who do not cling to him, and those political enemies, big or small, hidden or obvious, all disappear from this world! No one expected that this day would come soon. In November of the third year of Yonghui (652 A.D.), a shocking case broke out in Chang'an.Changsun Wuji took advantage of this case to become widely implicated and eradicate dissidents wantonly, setting off an unprecedented bloody storm in the political arena of the empire.Through this political purge, Changsun Wuji's personal power expanded infinitely, reaching the peak of his life.