The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

Chapter 115: Li Deyu's Response

Hearing Li Deyu say this, Zheng Qin finally felt relieved.

But soon, a question arose in his mind.

"Since you knew they were deliberately provoking you, then why did you just now...?"

It's worth noting that Li Deyu's reaction at the time didn't seem like he was completely indifferent.

"I'm naturally unhappy that these scoundrels succeeded. Since they've provoked me, I might as well say a few more words..."

Li Deyu had completely calmed down by this point and spoke with a smile.

"Besides, as the saying goes, those who climb high are more likely to fall hard. Since they think they've won, I naturally have to satisfy their vanity. Otherwise, how could they let their guard down?"

Zheng Qin nodded upon hearing this.

With his worries about Li Deyu's impulsive actions gone, the anger that had been suppressed in his heart surged up.

"These scoundrels from the Niu faction are simply after the Emperor's desire to eradicate the long-standing problems of the Divine Strategy, which is why they colluded with the Governor's Office in secret and caused today's incident."

"Now that the court is undergoing reforms, they are making a fuss about investigating military records. It's simply a power grab that disregards the nation's interests."

There was a hint of personal resentment in his tone.

After all, Linghu Chu's move today truly caught the Li faction off guard.

"Wenrao, they have succeeded today. I think the Emperor will appoint Linghu Chu as Prime Minister no later than after the New Year. At that time, you..."

A look of worry appeared in Zheng Qin's eyes.

However, Li Deyu remained calm and said, "Compared to Niu Sengru, Linghu Chu is actually more prudent in his actions. He would be much better as prime minister than Niu Sengru."

"Moreover, although the Niu Party is a group of villains, they are numerous. If we examine them closely, they are indeed the only ones capable of conducting this investigation into military personnel."

As a mature politician, Li Deyu certainly has his own likes and dislikes, but he will not let these likes and dislikes affect his judgment of objective facts.

Compared to the Li faction, which followed an elite route, the Niu faction preferred to recruit officials from the middle and lower ranks. Therefore, it did have an advantage over the Li faction in matters of public opinion at court and in matters involving the balance of power among various parties.

Zheng Qin nodded, but his expression still showed some resentment. He said, "So, are you really just going to abandon the matter of checking military records like this?"

Li Deyu shook his head and said, "We certainly can't ignore it completely. If such a major policy is handed over to these petty people like the Niu Party, it will inevitably turn into a mess. Since the Emperor is determined to investigate, we should naturally get involved."

"How do I participate?" Zheng Qin asked, frowning.

"General!"

Li Deyu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Since we are going to investigate the military register, the Shence Prefecture must first send personnel to conduct its own investigation. Therefore, the selection of the military officers responsible for the investigation is of paramount importance."

"This investigation into private loans within the military has uncovered many corrupt elements within the military. These people will definitely be dismissed, so the most pressing issue now is who will take over these positions."

"and……"

At this point, Li Deyu's gaze sharpened slightly, as if he were looking through the window at someone's smug face, before he spoke.

"The main reason why Niu Sengru and his group were able to catch us off guard this time is that they joined forces with Wang Ya and Liu Hongyi. Putting Wang Ya aside for now, the Shence Prefecture would never agree to something that would not benefit them without a reason."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something, and he asked, "You mean, what did the Niu Party promise Liu Hongyi and the others?"

Li Deyu nodded and said, "In recent days, apart from investigating private loans in the military, the biggest disagreement between the Secretariat and the Shence Army has been on how to select and appoint these vacant military officers."

"The opinion of the Central Secretariat is that the Ministry of War should conduct examinations among the serving military officers, compile a list, submit it to the Shence Office for review, and after the Shence Office approves it, send it to the Central Secretariat for review and finally issue an imperial edict for appointment."

"However, the Shence Army was very dissatisfied with this. They insisted on following the old practice of the Shence Army, whereby the Shence Army would nominate candidates and submit them to the Emperor for judgment. After receiving the Emperor's approval, the candidates would be sent to the Secretariat for an imperial edict."

"Because of this matter, Liu Hongyi and I have been summoned to the Emperor's court many times, but we have been unable to reach a consensus until now..."

"I see." Zheng Qin nodded subconsciously, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.

The core objective of this reform of the Shence Army was to loosen the eunuchs' control over the army and strengthen the court's control over it.

Therefore, establishing the Shence Military Governor's Office and incorporating it into the outer court's organizational structure was only the first step.

The reason why the Shence Army was always firmly controlled by the Shence Lieutenant was that the power over personnel, finances, and troop deployment was all in the hands of the Lieutenant.

Therefore, the core changes after the reform will inevitably focus on these issues.

The most important of these is, of course, the power to appoint personnel.

"So, you think that Niu Sengru and others will give up interfering in the personnel appointments of the Shence Army in exchange for their support in the investigation of military records?"

Li Deyu nodded: "Liu Hongyi and the others don't have a deep relationship with Niu Sengru. If there's anything that could move them, it's probably this."

Zheng Qin frowned, as if he had thought of something again, and asked, "Do Wang Ya and Jia Su have no objections to this?"

Upon hearing this, Li Deyu sneered and said, "Recently, there have been a series of impeachments against Jia Su in the court. Everyone says that he is a henchman of Li Xun and should have been dismissed long ago. Although the Emperor has not made any statement, if nothing unexpected happens, he is considering the successor rather than protecting him. He can hardly protect himself, so how dare he participate in this struggle?"

"As for Wang Ya, I used to respect him as a veteran of six dynasties and was unwilling to praise or criticize him too much. But now it seems that his style of governance is not much different from that of the Niu Party. Putting aside this investigation of military records, he repeatedly yielded when Yan Ying summoned him for an audience. He also said in private that since the old system of the Shence Army was like this, there was no need to compete too much with Liu Hongyi and others on this matter."

"Presumably, since he and Linghu Chu submitted their memorial together this time, they must have reached an agreement in private. Otherwise, Liu Hongyi and the others wouldn't have cooperated so readily..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin's face flashed with disdain, and he couldn't help but say coldly, "A bunch of scoundrels."

But then he hesitated and said, "Wenrao, this matter is of utmost importance. I know you and Governor Yang have some personal connections. Even if we can't get him on our side, asking him for information privately would at least prevent us from being in such a passive position when we report to the emperor in the future, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Deyu gave a wry smile and said, "Brother Zheng, how can a little personal friendship be of any use in such an important matter? Besides... besides, if Yang Qinyi had such intentions, then today's events would not have occurred."

In fact, Li Deyu wanted to say that they had some misunderstandings before Guo Zhongwen's case came to light, but considering that it was a secret meeting, he didn't say it.

But the result is actually the same. When they reach this point, their positions are different, and no matter how good their personal relationship is, they can only go their separate ways in the end.

Moreover, the relationship between the Shence Mansion and the Central Secretariat was already sensitive. Even without that incident, it would have been difficult for them to continue their close relationship.

Zheng Qin sighed, his expression complex: "So what do you plan to do next? Are you really just going to wait for them to collude with the Shence Prefecture?"

Li Deyu pondered for a moment and said, "No rush, let's take a look first. Investigating the military register is no small matter and cannot be completed in a day or two. Right now, let's focus on the matter at hand and have the Jingzhao Prefecture conclude the private loan cases as soon as possible."

"In addition, we should quickly find some qualified and capable military generals to prepare for the subsequent struggle for personnel control of the Shence Army."

"As for Niu Sengru, I'd like to see what kind of trouble they can come up with..."