Li Longji knows better than anyone what kind of person Li Linfu is.

Of course Gu Qing also understood what Li Longji was thinking. He asked Gu Qing about his evaluation of Li Linfu. In fact, what he wanted to hear was not how Li Linfu was, but his consideration of Gu Qing.

Li Linfu has been in power for nineteen years, and the emperor and his ministers have loved and killed each other for half their lives. The topic of "party formation" mentioned by Gu Qing is strictly speaking a tacit understanding reached by Li Longji and Li Linfu.

Li Linfu needed to form a party to consolidate the power of the prime minister, and Li Longji needed to form a party in the court to separate factions to facilitate his balance.

The emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty had not tasted the bitter consequences of party strife. In this era, party formation was regarded as a status quo where the benefits outweighed the disadvantages and could be tolerated by default.

Before the middle period of the Tang Dynasty, the world was dominated by the noble families. In fact, the clan itself was a deep-seated clique. Wu Zetian weakened the power of the noble families and vigorously promoted scientific examinations. Students from poor families had the opportunity to leap over the dragon gate, but the power of the noble families still exists. Nowadays,

Most of the ministers who can stand in the court are from noble families.

For example, Li Linfu is a distant relative of Li Longji and the fifth descendant of Tang Taizu Li Hu. For example, Li Guangbi seems to be careless, but he is actually from the Li family in Liucheng. There is also Guo Ziyi, who ranks as a general.

Descendants of Dr. Lu Guo Guangyi.

All the ministers in the court came from powerful families, and there were inextricably linked and grievances between them. Party formation was unavoidable, so Li Longji's acquiescence to the formation of factions in the court was not a cowardly one, but

Knowing that he couldn't stop it, he took advantage of the situation and simply used the courtiers to form cliques to achieve his goal of balancing the court.

The emperor acquiesced in forming a party for the sake of balance, and the courtiers formed a party for personal gain. But the prime minister formed a party, which was a disaster.

Gu Qing's evaluation of Li Linfu was actually from his heart.

In his previous life, he had only been a company leader and had never governed a country. But he still understood the truth. In his previous life, he had seen other companies forming small groups within small hills. Such companies often did not survive long, with too many people and too many people to do things for their own purposes.

, everyone is fighting for the interests of the small group, and after internal strife, bankruptcy is inevitable.

The Tang Dynasty is almost like this now. Flowers are blooming, fire is cooking oil, and behind the infinite glory, there are already dangers. Party disputes in the court, Jiedu envoys support their troops to respect themselves, the powerful enclose the land, the number of refugees is increasing day by day, the army is getting old, and the emperor is growing tired.

There are too many problems such as stupidity, useless ministers in the court, etc.

Each problem is actually a small problem when viewed individually, but if so many small problems are added together, with just a slight push from external forces, many small problems will break out and become a big problem that cannot be saved.

Li Longji didn't see this. He was immersed in the gentle countryside composing his "Song of Colorful Clothes and Feathers". The dignitaries didn't see it. They were busy occupying land and buying property. The courtiers didn't see it. They were busy fighting and fighting.

Even the people at the bottom did not see the struggle for fame and fortune. They thought that this prosperous age could last for many more years.

Everyone was drunk, but Gu Qing was the only one awake.

Unfortunately, when Gu Qing commented on Li Linfu's words, Li Longji's reaction was only two words, "Haha".

He was very sincere, and it was obvious that he was distracted, but Gu Qing knew that Li Longji didn't take it seriously.

The attitude of the emperor determines the loyalty and treachery of his ministers. If it were Taizong Li Shimin, when the emperor and his ministers were fighting against each other, even if he disagreed with the ministers' words, Taizong's attitude would still be solemn and humble.

Li Longji's acting skills are obviously not as good as Emperor Taizong.

"What Gu Qing said makes sense, haha, makes sense." Li Longji lightly stroked his green beard and smiled, saying: "Prime Minister Li has made merits and demerits in his life, but his 'faults' are not cliques."

Gu Qing said with a smile: "Yes, Your Majesty has indeed seen further than I do. My evaluation of Prime Minister Li is just a child's talk. It is very childish and makes Your Majesty laugh."

Never argue with a headstrong person. In short, whatever he says is right. Gu Qing learned this in his previous life.

Li Longji is in an increasingly good mood. The problems and worries brought to him by Li Linfu's death have gradually faded away. After the death of a powerful prime minister, the court will still operate as usual. As for the subsequent problems and worries, they can be solved slowly.

.

"Gu Qing, follow me for a walk up the mountain. It's getting dark. We, the monarchs and ministers, might as well go out on the moon to look for plum blossoms. It would be a nice conversation."

Gao Lishi said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, this is a mountain road. The prison has not yet paved the way. It is difficult to see at night and the mountain road is rugged and difficult to navigate. If your Majesty makes a mistake..."

Li Longji waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, just let Yu Linwei light the torch. The terrain of Lishan Mountain is not considered steep, so even if you slip and fall, it won't be a big deal."

After speaking, Li Longji walked up the mountain first. Gu Qing and Gao Lishi looked at each other and had no choice but to follow.

…………

The nights in the mountain forest are especially cold. The north wind blows by, and the depressed tree trunks tremble and make sharp whistles, as if a group of ghosts are screaming miserably in the night sky.

Halfway up the mountain in a small col with leeward wind, Brother Zhao and two other deserters huddled beside a natural tree pit. The three of them hugged each other tightly, shivering as cold as three Hampis.

"Brother Zhao, I really can't stand it anymore, let's light a fire to keep warm..." one of the deserters said sadly.

Brother Zhao's eyes were colder than the cold wind, and he scolded: "What nonsense! We are skipping work. Do you think we can just find a pile of firewood to make a fire when we are still farming at home? When there is a fire at night, the general at the foot of the mountain will be the supervisor.

The guards must have followed the fire to find us, and if we were caught, we would have been exiled for at least a thousand miles."

Another person said with a cry: "But if this continues, we will freeze to death..."

Brother Zhao said coldly: "Then you have to endure it. After finally escaping, I can't bear this little pain. If you are caught by the officers and soldiers, the consequences will be even worse than now."

"Brother Zhao, you said we would escape from Lishan when it gets dark. It's already dark now, why don't you leave?"

Brother Zhao shook his head and said: "Wait until late at night before escaping. At this time, the officers and soldiers have not slept, and the security is still tight. There is not much hope of escaping."

The three of them were talking in low voices, and suddenly one of them noticed someone walking on the mountain road not far from them. The distance was very close, and they could faintly hear their voices. Most of the crowd were dressed as officers and soldiers of the Yulin Guard, and the two leaders were wearing regular clothes.

, the other young man was wearing official uniform.

The three people hiding in the col were immediately frightened, especially when they saw the Yulin Guards, they became more and more frightened.

"Has our escape finally been discovered by the general? So officers and soldiers were sent up the mountain to arrest us..." one person said with a face as pale as earth.

"That must be the case, otherwise why would these officers and soldiers go up the mountain even after dark?" Another person was so frightened that he trembled all over.

Brother Zhao was the calmest. He lowered his body calmly, quietly moved forward, and carefully looked at the Yulin Guards on the mountain path. The more he looked at it, the more frightened he became.

Although Brother Zhao seems to be the most ambitious and courageous person among the three, he is just a commoner escaping from the corvee. Before the corvee, he was just an ordinary farmer in the countryside, regardless of his knowledge or character.

, he is far from competent as a leader.

Seeing the Yulin Guards on the mountain path, Brother Zhao immediately made what he thought was the most correct judgment.

This group of officers and soldiers is really here to arrest me. Those beasts in charge are so cruel. The three of us just escaped from the corvee and did not raise an army to rebel. Is there any need to use such a large array to arrest us?

"Brother Zhao, let's run! It will be too late if we don't run!"

Brother Zhao's cheek muscles twitched slightly, looking like a cornered animal that had fallen into a hunter's trap, his expression and eyes became more and more fierce.

"It's too late! Since the officers and soldiers have gone up the mountain to arrest us, there must be officers and soldiers guarding the bottom of the mountain. It will be a dead end for us to escape down the mountain." Brother Zhao said with a desperate expression.

"Then what should I do? If I had known this, I might as well have not escaped. I have committed a crime for nothing, and I don't know if I will be beheaded by the government after being caught..."

Brother Zhao tried his best to regain his composure, and after taking a few deep breaths, he slowly said: "I don't know what you think, but I will never go back to work at the construction site. I will die sooner or later if I stay at the construction site, so I might as well risk my life."

, if we can escape tonight, we will be reborn, and there are plenty of ways to survive outside waiting for us."

The other two people looked hesitant. In fact, after seeing the officers and soldiers on the mountain road, these two people wanted to run out and surrender voluntarily. However, Brother Zhao's words seemed to make sense. After surrendering, they might be exiled thousands of miles away in the wilderness.

Spending the rest of his life in an uninhabited land, he might not be punished, but he would still have to work on the construction site until he died of exhaustion.

After hesitating for a long time, the two looked at each other, then gritted their teeth and said, "We listen to Brother Zhao. We will do whatever you say."

Brother Zhao was immediately filled with confidence. He suddenly felt that he was born to be a leader, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a genius.

"It's not difficult to avoid this group of officers and soldiers on the mountain road. What's difficult is the officers and soldiers guarding the mountain. If we want to escape, we must first break up the formation of the officers and soldiers guarding the mountain and let them get into chaos. Only then can we escape down the mountain." Zhao A

Brother said confidently.

"How to disrupt the position of the officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain?"

Brother Zhao smiled: "When I was young, I heard an old scholar in the village tell a story called 'Surrounding Wei and saving Zhao'. I can't remember the original story. In short, it is to make the enemy at this end chaotic first, and then the chaos will come."

Attract the enemy on the other side to come to our rescue, so that the other side becomes empty and we can take the opportunity to escape down the mountain."

Another person said cautiously: "This story...shouldn't it be called 'Trying the Tiger to Leave the Mountain'?"

With a muffled bang, Brother Zhao successfully maintained his leadership authority with his fists.

"Still have any questions?"

"Brother Zhao, what should we do specifically?"

Brother Zhao stood up and looked at the location and approximate number of the officers and soldiers on the mountain road. After his eyes flickered for a while, he squatted down inexplicably and picked up a withered yellow leaf from the ground. He folded it gently with his fingers.

Simply break into two pieces.

I gently tossed half of the fallen leaves in my hand, and the fallen leaves floated in the other direction with the wind.

"Brother Zhao, what are you doing?"

Brother Zhao's confidence grew more and more. He smiled as if he had a pearl in his hand and said: "We will set fire to the mountain!"

The other two people were surprised: "Why use fire?"

"The winter is dry and there has been no rain for many days. There is a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground. In addition, the wind is blowing from the north and the wind direction is south. When the group of officers and soldiers continue to walk up the mountain, we will be behind them.

They piled up trees and set fire to them, cutting off their path. Then a group of officers and soldiers walked up the mountain through the woods and lit a fire in front of them, cutting off their way forward. The front and rear roads were cut off, and the group of officers and soldiers were surrounded by the fire.

They were trapped tightly, and a fire broke out on the mountain. When the officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain saw it, they would definitely send troops to rescue..."

"There is chaos on the mountain and below. The officers and soldiers are busy saving themselves. How can they think of arresting us again? We will have a chance to escape." The more Brother Zhao thought about it, the more brilliant his idea became.

The other two people were less knowledgeable than Brother Zhao. After hearing this, they immediately praised: "Brother Zhao is smart. I am right to follow you."

Brother Zhao pointed at one of them and said: "You immediately go up the mountain through the woods and light a fire in front of the group of officers and soldiers. You keep an eye on the situation here carefully. Once you see a fire starting here, you also light a fire immediately, both ends."

Set fires, close doors and beat dogs, if you don’t trust the officers and soldiers, they won’t cause chaos!”

…………

Gu Qing and Li Longji walked very slowly, at the speed of an ordinary walk.
To be continued...