354, A Heart as Pure as Ice in a Jade Pot (Please Order the Whole Book)

"I can save it."

Bai Gui pondered for a moment and replied.

Wu Huifei was very scheming, and he already knew it when he met Wu Huifei in the third year of Kaiyuan. At that time, Concubine Wu Hui gave him the Alchemy Sutra and scratched his palm. Her intention was obvious. Later, Concubine Wu Hui's thoughts were verified, and she took the opportunity to apologize and gave him two pearls in the darkroom...

Since he knew that Concubine Wu Hui had evil intentions, he had already been wary of Concubine Wu Hui. It was only in order to "better steal" power that he became deeply friends with Concubine Wu Hui.

The two briefly talked for a few more words.

Bai Gui resigned and left.

…

Although Bai Gui only told Concubine Wu Hui and Li Longji about his intention to step down as prime minister, some of his decentralization measures in the political hall have already made many officials with a keen sense of smell detect a clue.

None of the officials who have been in the officialdom for many years are simple.

However, there was no scene of people leaving the Duke Dai's residence to enjoy the cold tea.

Previously, Song Jing and other prime ministers were dismissed as prime ministers because the power was controlled by the emperor. The emperor no longer allowed them to be prime ministers, so they naturally had no power at all, and the world seemed to be in trouble.

But at this moment, Bai Gui is the real prime minister. He has no imperial power and has resigned voluntarily. He has a great reputation in the government and the public. Even if he is not the prime minister and is idle at home, he still controls all the lifeblood of the Tang Dynasty.

On this day, I arrived at the Taixue Academy for a lecture on Synodic Day.

The speech was delivered by party leader Bai Gui.

Eminent people from all over the country came together in their feathered robes.

Nearly a thousand people.

The scene is huge.

The people in the lecture included not only courtiers who were officials in the court, but also scholars who came to Chang'an to take the exam and elegant people in the opposition.

Bai Gui has presided over the government for so many years, using the imperial examination as a way to select officials who meet his political priorities, and these officials are often from scholars who participated in Taixue lectures...

This time and again, there are many party members.

However, the reason why so many people gathered today was because of the news coming out from the court that a generation of powerful ministers was about to step down from office. Everyone was surprised by this.

In recent years, although Bai Gui's prestige is unparalleled, he has also received a lot of criticism. Some people think that he is doing what Yi Yin and Huo Guang did, and some people think that he is a traitor like Wang Mang and Cao Cao, intending to rebel.

Although Bai Gui had been in power for many years, the Tang Dynasty ushered in an unprecedented prosperous age, but when Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp it, these voices were covered up by the praise of the prosperous age, but it was not impossible.

Today Bai Gui lectures on the Book of Changes. The lecture is finished.

"Recently there have been discussions between the government and the public, saying that Duke Bai wants to hang up his seal and leave. I wonder if this is true?"

When Bai Gui left the scene, someone finally couldn't bear their curiosity and asked.

This is the time for Taixue lectures. On the surface, there is no distinction between high and low status, and everyone can speak freely. The atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was open, and it was unlikely to be punished for words. Furthermore... the prime minister's belly is strong enough to hold a boat, and Bai Gui is not a petty prime minister, so even if it is slightly offensive, the consequences will not be serious.

"It should be true!"

Bai Gui was calm and calm as he replied.

should?

Everyone speculated on the meaning of Bai Gui's words.

Then it became clear.

The meaning of this sentence is that according to the fixed plan, Bai Gui will step down as prime minister. But if the situation changes, the word "should" will no longer hold, and the rule will continue.

To put it more simply, the voiceover is to warn some people that the Prime Minister wants to step down from the position of prime minister safely, but if there are some short-sighted people who can't even wait for this little time and make trouble, then he will You won't be polite, take the job for a while longer, and let some ignorant people give up.

And these "uninterested people" may be court officials, emperors, queen mothers, etc. who cause trouble. There is a certain possibility, after all, everyone will covet this supreme power.

A simple sentence, showing the style of a powerful minister!

"The Supreme Emperor was unwise and visited the south of the Yangtze River three times, causing external and internal troubles. At that time, the Turks were attacking, the country was unpredictable, and the emperor was indulging in pleasure. Fortunately, Duke Bai saved the building from falling and saved the people from the fire..."

"Baigong has been in charge of the world for more than fourteen years. He has good governance and harmonious relations, and all wastes are prosperous. The Tang Dynasty is wider than the four barbarians. Nanzhao, Tubo, Persia, Japan, and the Western Regions all surrendered and worshiped. All nations came to court. The people accepted the world. , the people of Semu, Kunlun (slaves), Xiyi, and Rouran followed them. They regarded themselves as Tang people and were happy with Se..."

"Now that Mr. Bai has retired from office and returned to his hometown, he is abandoning the wishes of all the people!"

"Please Mr. Bai think twice!"

Suddenly, a high-ranking scholar came out of the queue. After saluting Bai Gui, he spoke loudly.

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply.

"Please Mr. Bai think twice!"

The scholars came out one by one and bowed their heads in obeisance.

Although Bai Gui's reputation is slightly flawed, people can never be flawless. Although many of the scholars who are now on the march have selfish motives, the ability to follow them also shows that Baigui's good reputation is what everyone expects.

The common people and scholars in the world have no time to think about whether Bai Gui is arrogant or usurping power. What they look at is whether there is much food left in the rice barn at home, whether the taxes are heavy, whether culture and education are better than in the past, whether the court accepts many talents, and other things.

As for these, Bai Gui has done well, with a high level of internal affairs and an impressive external record.

It is understandable that such a person has a large group of supporters.

Of course, some people thought so, but among those who stepped out, there were also many people with different ideas, trying to retreat in order to advance, forcing Bai Gui to abdicate.

"Please don't persuade me anymore..."

"I have made up my mind. After retiring, I will retreat from the world and practice Taoism, and will no longer be involved in the affairs of the court."

"Also, although I am leaving, the Imperial Academy has agreed that you, the wise men who share the same ideals as me, will carry on the past and open up the future. The country of the Tang Dynasty will not collapse..."

Bai Gui narrowed his eyes, looked at the many scholars who bowed to him, and replied calmly.

He was indeed right.

After he stepped down from the position of prime minister, he had two layers of insurance.

One was that Zhang Jiuling, the wise prime minister, would inherit his position. Although Zhang Jiuling had conflicts with him privately because he abolished and established things, he and Zhang Jiuling were gentlemen, and the friendship between gentlemen was as light as water. Zhang Jiuling and his political views were still consistent, so the politics would not end with the death of the prime minister. Secondly, there are these scholars invited by the Imperial Academy. These people are his disciples, who will follow the moral principles and do things without hesitation.

Hearing Bai Gui say this, the scholars invited by the Imperial Academy have no reason to persuade him anymore. Bai Gui has made up his mind and wants to leave the court and retreat to practice Taoism. If they try to keep him, it will be difficult for them to speak.

Retreating from the world and practicing Taoism is to seek immortality. They can't let Bai Gui give up the idea of ​​immortality.

At this time, the atmosphere of practicing Taoism is strong. It is a very common social phenomenon to be an official in the court and a Taoist in the wild. For example, Li Bai once fooled Du Fu to "find immortals, find immortal herbs, and practice immortal pills" together. In the middle, he found Gao Shi and the three of them went together.

Of course, Du Fu finally woke up and quit.

Another point is that now Bai Gui said that these scholars can take on the responsibility and shoulder the responsibility. As long as they are scholars, they always have some ambition. Now it is the highly prestigious Bai Gong who said this. They can't say that they can't do it.

As the lecture was coming to an end, all the scholars wrote poems to Bai Gui.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was very common to write poems to each other after attending a party. Not to mention that it is such a meaningful event now, so writing poems to each other is normal.

Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Meng Haoran, Wang Zhihuan and others wrote poems.

The titles are all presented to Bai Gong.

Among them, Wang Changling even wrote the famous sentence "A piece of ice heart in a jade pot".