Apart from Princess Taiping vaguely mentioned the Furong Garden, there was no talk about the court issues at the family banquet. ︾ After the banquet, Li Dan said that he was unable to drink and was physically uncomfortable, and he consciously said goodbye and avoided it. Princess Taiping also took Linlang and the nurses to serve the little guy Xue Linyu, leaving only Xue Shao and Wu Zetian.

"It's still early. Xue Shao, if you don't rush to go home, how about you come with me in the next round of Double Land?" Wu Zetian sent an invitation.

"I am willing to accompany you." Xue Shao agreed.

Wu Zetian loved Shuanglu, and everyone knows it inside and outside the palace. The former young master of Lantian was even a top master in playing Shuanglu.

At the beginning of the flag game, Xue Shao performed normally and did not leave any sympathy, and won a big victory. Wu Zetian not only did not feel embarrassed but was excited. Instead, she also said that this is why she always likes to play chess with Xue Shao, because Xue Shao is not like others who will deliberately lose chess to take care of her face and emotions. Even if she loses, she can gain real fun.

Including entertainment, Wu Zetian has the tenacity to challenge the strong and never admit defeat.

While playing chess, Wu Zetian suddenly said, "You have to discipline Taiping after you go back. Now in the limelight, don't do some things, and don't say some things randomly. Although she is a dignified princess, it's not a good thing to cause trouble to you."

"I understand." Xue Shao nodded, knowing in his heart that Wu Zetian was not referring to the private meeting with King Luling, but Princess Taiping kept saying "kill that old man with a stick."

Princess Taiping is not the kind of shrew in the Lin family who is so powerful in the street but dare not take action. She really knows how to say something - did Zhang Yaotiao die in Princess Taiping's anger at the beginning? Although Pei Yan was the prime minister of the dynasty who was powerful in the court, in Princess Taiping's opinion, there was no essential difference between him and Zhang Yaotiao.

The pride of the royal family is indeed not something that ordinary people can understand.

"When you leave Xiazhou and Shuofang Army, will something go wrong there?" Wu Zetian asked a more important question.

Xue Shao thought for a while and said, "Although I was a little hasty in my journey to Hebei, there was Li Duozuo left behind in Fengzhou, Liu Youqiu was in charge of the Governor's Office, and even the Yinchuan Army that was about to be developed, I arranged a dedicated person to be responsible for it. Unless there is a war, there should be no trouble."

"No," Wu Zetian smiled in praise and said, "In just two years, you have suppressed such a large area and saved so many things. In addition, I heard that all of you, the Eighteen Generals of Shuofang, can stand alone. Su Wei Taun, Liu Youqiu, Zhong Shaojing, and Li Xianyuan, have also achieved good results under your command. This is rare. This is the result of your importance to talents, cultivating talents and knowing how to use talents!"

Xue Shao smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager is over-reputable. In fact, most of the teams of Xiazhou and Shuofang Army are left to me by Gong Pei. The ancestors planted trees and later took advantage of the shade, but I just picked up a ready-made one."

Wu Zetian smiled slightly without comment and said, "Since Xiazhou and Shuofang will not change, you might as well stay in Chang'an for a while."

Xue Shao's heart moved slightly and nodded, "Okay."

Wu Zetian smiled, his expression very pleased and happy.

Xue Shao read from Wu Zetian's smile that she especially needs me to provide a help. Keeping me by my side is equivalent to leaving the 100,000 troops in Shuofang by his side. After the emperor was deposed, all the civil and military officials in the court were temporarily indifferent. Out of the inertial thinking of Confucian scholars, they were more willing to follow a male superior rather than support a woman, not to mention that there was Liu Yizhi on Pei Yan's side, who was the teacher of the new emperor Li Dan. Therefore, many court officials have already stood on Pei Yan's side. Now the conflict between Wu Zetian and Pei Yan is becoming increasingly sharp. Pei Yan's advantage is that he has a lot of support from ministers and has basically mastered the right to speak in the court. Wu Zetian's only advantage is that the new emperor Li Dan entrusts her to "temporarily" the dynasty.

How long can this "temporary" last? It depends on the struggle between Wu Zetian and Pei Yan, and when will the winner be decided?

At this time, Wu Zetian lowered his voice and said, "Pei Yan, Liu Yizhi, Liu Qixian and others, day and night, are thinking about letting our palace return to the inner court and return the power to the new emperor. Do you know what kind of heart they have?"

Xue Shao frowned gently and whispered: "The new emperor has been in the deep palace since he was young and has never been involved in the court. Except for Liu Yizhi as his teacher, he has no foundation or connections in the court. Once the empress dowager returns to power the new emperor, then the monarchy will be undermined and the new emperor will become a puppet. All the power of the Tang Dynasty will fall into the hands of Pei Yan and others. They will become... powerful ministers who control the Tang Dynasty!"

"That's right." Wu Zetian nodded, put down the chess piece in his hand, and said seriously: "The power of the prime minister is too strong, and it has threatened the sacred power of the monarch. As you can see, the new emperor is a calm and uncontested person. Once he is really allowed to rule, the court of the Tang Dynasty will become Pei Yan's court. Sooner or later, the country of the Li family will become the country of the Pei family!"

Xue Shao just nodded, thinking that although Wu Zetian's words had a little exaggeration, they might not be unreasonable. The temptation of power is better than everything. Who can conclude that Pei Yan would not have the idea of ​​taking the emperor and replacing it after killing all his political enemies?

** and ambitions are not developed in one day, but are constantly expanding step by step!

"Pei Yan is now in power, and even I can't even check and balance him." Wu Zetian said, "his only weakness is his lack of military support. Otherwise, he would have been unable to wait to drive our orphans and widows out of the palace and replace him!"

Xue Shao frowned and said, "In the past few years, Pei Yan has been actively suppressing the leaders of the army and trying his best to penetrate into the army, hoping to gain some military power or win over the support of a group of generals. He previously established the Lord to kill Fu Nian in order to exclude Duke Pei. He was worried that Duke Pei would enter the cabinet after returning from his victory in the Northern Expedition and become his opponent."

"Yes!" Wu Zetian sighed softly, "It seems that killing Fu Nian is a very wrong decision now. I wanted to stop it at that time, but Pei Yan strongly advised the late emperor, and the late emperor was moved by him... I can do nothing to do!"

Xue Shao nodded without comment, thinking that Wu Zetian's words were true or false, it was no longer important. What is important is that Wu Zetian is actively searching for Pei Yan's "evidence" and is obviously preparing to liquidate Pei Yan!

"I actually know a lot of things Pei Yan has done to the army." Wu Zetian said again: "With Wenxi Pei's family and Pei Yan's own identity, his daughter will never marry Cheng Qizhi. But because Cheng Qizhi is Cheng Wuting's son, this marriage was accomplished. However, this time Cheng Wuting must have disappointed Pei Yan - haha!"

At the end, Wu Zetian's laughter obviously expressed a strong sense of praise for Xue Shao. They were both sensible people, and there was no need to say anything. Wu Zetian could definitely think in his heart that who else could be the one who could persuade Cheng Wu to leave at a critical moment?

Xue Shao just smiled and said, "Pei Yan had recommended Tang Huaibi to take charge of Xiazhou. It was an important military town in the Tang Dynasty. After Wang Fangyi led his army to the Western Regions, a vacant appeared. He hoped that Tang Huaibi could take charge of Xiazhou and control the army, but he didn't expect that Tang Huaibi could get into a huge mess. When I killed Tang Huaibi, I thought about whether I should take the opportunity to fight back against Pei Yan. Unfortunately, the war was urgent at that time, and I was really unable to do anything, otherwise I would have to go back to the court to study his book!"

"It's useless, it won't fall." Wu Zetian smiled slightly and said, "To this day, even if everyone knows that the mistakes in the three prefectures of Helong were Pei Yan's fault, we can't defeat him. Because Tang Huaibi has already taken most of the responsibility with his own head, Pei Yan only shoulders a joint and several liability at most. This crime is not enough to sue Pei Yan. Unless he himself made such a mistake!"

Xue Shao frowned tightly. Wu Zetian had already made it clear. Pei Yan was not so easy to be dealt with, because all the civil and military officials of the court now regard him as the leader. If there is no sufficient reason to attack him, he will only be beaten by the snake but will be bitten by the snake.

What people want is the greatest power of politics.

"What should I do?" Xue Shao asked tentatively.

Wu Zetian smiled slightly, picked up the chess piece and placed one lightly, and said a word, "Wait."

"wait?"

"Yes, wait." Wu Zetian said confidently, "A person with a strong ambition will definitely not be able to withstand loneliness. If he can't stand loneliness, he will take steps or stretch out his hand. Once he makes any moves, he will inevitably reveal his feet. This is called "God's evil will be violated, but he will not survive if he commits his own evil!"

Xue Shaoshen nodded with approval. Yes, this is Wu Zetian's style - having experience, being able to endure, being able to accumulate momentum, being good at seizing opportunities and taking action will be decisive!

"All these days, you should stay at home with Taiping and Qier." Wu Zetian changed his tone and smiled: "You have been married for only two or three years, and you have been marching outside most of the time. But it is a bit unfair to them, mother and son. You have to make good compensation for them during this period."

"Okay, I will." Xue Shao replied with a smile.

"If you have any trouble, you can come to the palace to see me," Wu Zetian said, "I have issued an order to the closest servants and the Imperial Guards generals, and you can enter and exit the inner court freely at any time."

"Okay..." Xue Shao laughed funny and said, "Isn't the only emperor able to enjoy the power of entering and leaving the inner court? The late emperor is gone and the new emperor is under house arrest, and the three thousand beauties in the harem... I seem to be unable to take care of it!"

"With Taiping watching you, I'm not afraid of you going around in the palace." Wu Zetian jokingly said.

"Cough!..." Xue Shao coughed with a bitter smile, OK, I seem to be thinking too much!
Chapter completed!