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

Chapter 96: Reaching a Consensus

In the study, Linghu Chu looked at Niu Sengru in front of him and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Therefore, sometimes, people really are different.

Putting everything else aside, it was precisely this keen insight and judgment that Linghu Chu felt he was far inferior to Niu Sengru in.

Keep in mind that, considering the timeline, he had only been back in the capital for less than half a month. Even though they had corresponded before and he had a general understanding of the situation in the capital, he was still far behind.

To be able to quickly sort out the political situation in such a short time and deduce so much from the smallest details is truly something that not an ordinary person could do.

After a moment of reflection, Linghu Chu frowned and continued to ask.

"But His Majesty clearly intends to give Li Deyu an important position now. Even if he has some doubts about him, he wouldn't necessarily turn his attention to you, would he?"

Although Linghu Chu was slightly less adept at political maneuvering than Niu Sengru.

But after all, he had been in the court for many years, and especially during this period, he had personally experienced many of the events that had occurred in the court. Therefore, he had a better understanding of the emperor's temperament.

Niu Sengru shook his head: "Having doubts is enough. What I'm thinking about now is not becoming a prime minister, but staying in the capital."

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chu was even more surprised: "You don't want to become prime minister?"

It should be noted that Niu Sengru is currently the most popular candidate to become prime minister in the court.

Moreover, the Niu Party has always intended to fully support his bid for prime minister.

Now, Niu Sengru himself has said that he does not want to become a prime minister.

Faced with Linghu Chu's reaction, Niu Sengru's face showed a bitter expression, and he said.

"It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't!"

Linghu Chu frowned, somewhat puzzled.

So Niu Sengru explained, "You, Lord Linghu, are aware of the proceedings in court today. Putting aside the fact that Li Deyu's recommendation of me to return to the capital was motivated by ulterior motives, didn't you, Lord Linghu, glean something else from this news?"

Linghu Chu pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "You mean, the Emperor never intended to reinstate you from the beginning, and only allowed you to return to the capital out of consideration for Li Deyu?"

Niu Sengru first shook his head, then nodded and said, "It is certain that the Emperor does not intend to give me an important position. However, the reason for sending me back to the capital may not be solely due to Li Deyu's reputation. More likely, the Emperor has also vaguely sensed that something is wrong with Li Deyu, so he has sent me back to the capital to see what Li Deyu is up to."

It's a sad story. Niu Sengru was once a high-ranking official, serving as a prime minister in the Secretariat-Chancellery. Yet now he has become a touchstone for testing his political enemies. This gives a glimpse into the complexity of the political situation.

But Niu Sengru's greatest strength was his tenacious character; he never gave up. In just a moment, he perked up, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and said...

"That is why I had the opportunity to stay in the capital. Since the Emperor intends to use me to test Li Deyu, he will naturally not let me leave the capital easily. But if I really become the prime minister, then there will definitely be another storm in the court."

"The Emperor is now determined to reform, and the establishment of the Shence Military Governor's Office is only the first step. The Emperor will certainly not allow the struggle between me and Li Deyu to affect this important matter."

"Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Emperor will likely choose one of the Imperial Academy or the Salt and Iron Commissioner to keep me in the capital..."

Linghu Chu's feelings were somewhat complicated.

On the one hand, he admired Niu Sengru's keen understanding of the situation; on the other hand, he was somewhat worried about the future of the Niu Party.

"If that's the case, then Li Deyu will likely gain the upper hand in the court from now on."

That's actually a bit of a euphemism.

After all, the two sides have been fighting for so many years, and they are familiar with each other's styles of doing things.

From Linghu Chu's perspective, Li Deyu claimed to be unwilling to form factions, but in reality, everything he did was inseparable from factionalism.

The Li faction views the Niu faction as politically conservative and tolerant opportunists, but the Niu faction also feels that the Li faction is hypocritical and seeks fame and fortune.

Now, Li Deyu is in high spirits. If Niu Sengru fails to become prime minister, then the days of the Niu faction will be more than just difficult.

"That's not necessarily true..."

Niu Sengru shook his head again, a shrewd glint in his eyes.

Linghu Chu was somewhat puzzled: "Si'an, didn't you just say that the Sage wouldn't let you become a prime minister?"

Niu Sengru raised his head, staring intently at Linghu Chu for the first time, and said, "Just because I can't doesn't mean you can't, Lord Linghu!"

"Me?" Linghu Chu was somewhat surprised, then he couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Si'an, you must be joking. At my age, how can I still handle such heavy administrative duties as the Chancellor?"

Unlike Niu Sengru, who is still relatively young, Linghu Chu is already sixty-nine years old this year.

As one of the most senior officials in the current court, he has long since passed the stage of pursuing officialdom and fame.

The main reason he is still willing to get involved in the dispute between the Niu and Li factions is that he had a deep grudge against Li Deyu's father, Li Fengji, back then.

If we set that aside, in terms of political views, Linghu Chu actually leans towards the views of the Li faction in many ways.

However, in the vortex of factional strife, it is often a matter of either one or the other. Since Linghu Chu is in the Niu faction, he naturally has to unite the majority of the Niu faction in all matters.

It was precisely for this reason that Linghu Chu had always hoped that Niu Sengru could return to the court to take charge of the overall situation, while he himself could simply remain in charge as a senior minister of the older generation.

Now, Niu Sengru actually intends to make him go himself?

"Lord Linghu is too modest." As if on cue, Niu Sengru leaned forward and said, "Back when Emperor Muzong was in power, you were already the Grand Secretary. Although you are not yet the Grand Secretary, you hold the position of Vice Minister, which is equivalent to the head of the three provinces."

"As for age, if I remember correctly, Minister Wang is about two years older than you, yet he's still working in the Hall of State Affairs, isn't he?"

Linghu Chu looked somewhat helpless. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Even if I were willing, what about the Sage..."

Seeing that Linghu Chu's attitude had softened, Niu Sengru immediately said, "There's no need to worry about this, Lord Linghu. What I said to the Sage today was to lay the groundwork for this."

"The enmity between me and Li Deyu runs too deep, so the Emperor will not appoint me as prime minister. However, the Secretariat and the Chancellery will never allow Li Deyu to become too powerful. There must be someone to check and balance him."

"Moreover, if the emperor wants to implement reforms, he needs the cooperation of the entire court. Although Li Deyu has become prime minister, he may not be able to command the entire court based on his abilities alone."

This statement is somewhat blunt, but it is not without merit.

The Shence Reforms require the cooperation of various parties in the court, and currently, the two largest forces in the court are the Niu Party and the Li Party.

It's not easy for either of them to accomplish something, but it's not difficult to destroy something.

Of course, if the Niu Party were to actually do this, with a saint standing behind them, they would inevitably face a furious and relentless retaliation from Li Deyu.

However, this would lead to a return to one-party rule, where the party would try its best to eliminate dissidents and suppress the other party, and would always be trapped in the vortex of party strife.

Linghu Chu pondered for a moment and nodded, but then he hesitated and said...

"What you said is true, but there's still a missing opportunity..."

"I already have an idea for the opportunity, but..." Niu Sengru lowered his voice, and after saying a few words, Linghu Chu's expression changed immediately, and he said with suspicion, "Isn't doing this a bit too risky?"

Niu Sengru rose and bowed, saying, "Given this situation, there is no other way. Please rest assured, Lord Linghu, I will co-sign this memorial with you, and I will bear all the risks. This is the only chance, so please help me, Lord Linghu."

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chu's expression shifted several times, clearly indicating a fierce internal struggle.

After a long pause, he took a deep breath and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll take this risk with you. After all, we are both officials of the state, and there are some things we can't shirk our responsibilities for."

Upon hearing this, Niu Sengru was overjoyed and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, Lord Linghu. I will write the memorial now, and we will submit it together tomorrow..."