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Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Li Er’s royal decree appeared quite perplexing. What was a powerful minister?
A powerful minister was a high-ranking officer whose control over the levers of authority posed a threat to the supreme ruler. While it was commonly stated that there should be a balance of power in the court to prevent the dominance of the monarch or the ministers, one should not forget that when facing a single minister, the emperor naturally held the advantage.
Therefore, the circumstances that led to the rise of powerful ministers were typically found in times of national decline or under an inept ruler.
In prosperous times, the emergence of such ministers was highly improbable, though it might be conceivable during the early years of a dynasty. Nevertheless, even for those initial ministers, their lives were bound to be challenging.
Just consider Xiao He of the early Han Dynasty, appointed by Liu Bang as the top founding minister, virtually flawless as a subject. But didn’t he ultimately fall under suspicion and humiliation by Liu Bang, resulting in his imprisonment and execution?
Liu Bang, originally a street thug, couldn’t even tolerate the power of founding ministers after becoming emperor. Li Er, from a distinguished family and deeply knowledgeable about the ways of emperors, shouldn’t be any different. Yet, the unthinkable occurred!
Once the news was made public, the courtiers were utterly astonished. Logically speaking, given Su Li’s achievements, Li Er’s rewards to him were not unjustified.
However, once these rewards were bestowed, all it would take was a mere thought from Su Li, and he could transform into a powerful minister.
Why would Li Er intentionally create this sort of risk for himself?
There was perhaps only one explanation, Li Er placed an extraordinary level of trust in Su Li!
This level of trust exceeded ordinary favoritism and had no connection to their relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law.
Most courtiers could only secretly envy the special treatment Su Li was receiving. However, one person harbored discontent, and that person was Hou Junji.
On the same night the royal decree was issued, Hou Junji became heavily intoxicated at a banquet. Following this, he openly expressed his opinions, claiming that Su Li was arrogant due to his accomplishments and undeserving of the emperor’s favor.
He asserted that he had observed Su Li disobeying imperial orders and behaving recklessly during their expedition to the northwest. He argued that Li Er’s current actions were similar to nurturing a future problem.
Once these words spread, Li Er was furious and punished Hou Junji by reducing his pay and confining him to his residence. However, even within his home, Hou Junji continued to voice these sentiments to his close associates, clearly not changing his stance.
It was clear to everyone that Hou Junji held a deep grudge against Su Li. This wasn’t surprising, given that during Su Li’s campaign to pacify the northwest, Hou Junji had been left behind in Tubo while Su Li succeeded in stabilizing the Western Regions.
As one of the young generals who Li Er had highly favored, how could Hou Junji tolerate such humiliation?
In his heart, he had long viewed Su Li as an adversary. However, since Su Li’s return to Changan, he had been focusing on self-improvement, rarely interacting with others, and even avoiding court attendance.
Hou Junji couldn’t find an opportunity to confront him. This time, with Li Er generously rewarding Su Li, Hou Junji’s envy flared up, prompting him to seize the chance to express his dissatisfaction. However, his outburst seemed like that of a buffoon to most people. After Li Er confined him, Hou Junji’s influence rapidly dwindled.
…
Meanwhile, in the Princess’s Mansion.
“Your Highness, County Magistrate Lu Qiqing of Wannian has presented a greeting card,” a court lady hurried into the rear courtyard, holding a greeting card in her hand.
Su Li glanced at the card and said, “Decline it.”
The court lady received the order and withdrew respectfully.
“My Lord… is this the right course of action?” Princess Changle looked at Su Li with concern after the court lady left.
Since the imperial decree of rewards had been issued by Li Er, the usually tranquil Princess’s Mansion had become bustling once again.
Many people had come to present their greeting cards. This time, those who wished to pay a visit were not former comrades from the army or officers from the court.
Instead, they held even higher status—representing the various influential clans of the Five Surnames and Seven Surnames. Not a single prominent family was left out. The influential families of these lineages wielded significant political clout in the dynasty.
Starting from the early Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Han court began to stress the importance of scholar-officers, the influence of these influential families began to grow and had endured until now.
Over the centuries, these families had consistently fortified their power and solidified their positions through intermarriages and alliances.
The prominent families of the Tang Dynasty were displaying an increasingly unassailable dominance. In over 600 years, despite the apparent change of dynasties in the land of the Jade Dynasty, the emperors had primarily been selected from these influential families. The might of these families attested to their considerable influence.
This phenomenon was also the source of the well-known saying, “Emperors take turns ruling, and next year it’s my turn.”
In fact, throughout the millennia of history in the Jade Dynasty, there had been very few true instances of common individuals overthrowing an emperor and ascending the throne.
Apart from Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, such cases were exceedingly rare. Even in Liu Bang’s case, he could, at most, be considered a partial example.
The enduring legacies of these families had granted them immense strength. Some even boldly claim, “In this realm, there exist families with a thousand years of history, but we have yet to hear of a dynasty lasting a thousand years.”
While this statement might sound conceited, the emperors had little recourse against it. While imperial reigns changed with each new ruler, these influential families truly possessed the potential to endure for a millennium.
Navigating the realm of the Jade Dynasty, offending the emperor might not be too grave, and often upsetting high officials might not lead to significant consequences.
However, one thing was certain—offending the influential families, the gatekeepers of the dynasty, was an entirely different matter. Of course, this was merely a concern for others. Su Li did not need to worry about such matters.
Within a few days, he had declined the goodwill of numerous influential families. The most noble family in the Tang Dynasty, among the five surnames and seven, he had already rejected five families before. They were the Li Clan of Zhao County, the Cui Clan of Boling, the Cui Clan of Qinghe, the Zheng Clan of Xing Yang, and the Wang Clan of Taiyuan.
The person who had come to deliver the greeting card today, Lu Qiqing, was from the Lu family of Fanyang. Including him, only one more family remained, apart from the imperial clan, and that was the Li family of Longxi.
For all five of the Five Surnames and Seven Surnames to extend goodwill to the same person was a scene rarely witnessed in a millennium. What was even more astonishing was that Su Li rejected all of their greetings.
This matter, once made public, would undoubtedly cause a massive commotion. Changle was well aware of the power of these prestigious families. Even someone as mighty as Emperor Li Er was often constrained by these powerful clans within the realm of the Tang Dynasty.
Su Li was bound to attract endless trouble by turning down the goodwill of so many. Hence, though she usually refrained from interfering with his decisions, Changle couldn’t help but speak up now.
“My Lord, please don’t worry too much. The influential families are nothing more than a group of blood-sucking parasites. They are not worth fearing,” Changle said calmly.
These prestigious families acted like blood-sucking creatures for a long time, attaching themselves to the Jade Dynasty and growing stronger by draining its resources.
Despite all their claims of preserving culture and knowledge, many of their actions resembled those of profit-driven merchants.
The current rush of these families to approach Su Li was nothing more than an attempt to extract further benefits from him. Su Li had always been clear-minded about this.