The meat was stewed in the pot, as well as radish and oil tofu.

Copper hot pot, large slices of pork belly, cut into large pieces of tender radish, and oily tofu with crunchy and loose oil. There are also a few dishes next to the pot, including green spinach and lettuce.

Wei Zheng was very happy to eat the meat. The pork belly was more than an inch thick and half a palm-wide fat. It was cooked so crispy and looked extremely greasy. However, Wei Zheng didn't put a slice of chopsticks in a bowl, and he didn't need to dip a seasoning or a little cold, and he didn't separate it. He just took a large piece of it in one bite, and his mouth was full of oil.

"This meat is delicious enough, it tastes better than the thin slices of lamb."

The meat was very hot, and Wei Zheng's mouth was trembling, but he enjoyed it very much.

Li Chao also likes to eat meat, but he is not as strong as Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng looks quite thin, but he is very good at eating meat. Li Chao is not good. He feels greasy after eating two slices of this kind of meat. He also prefers the radish and oil tofu in the pot.

The radish is cooked in the pot for a long time. Although it is large, it is already rotten and it melts in the mouth. Because it is a copper pot, after cooking the radish for a long time, the white radish becomes a little black, as if it is dyed with a layer of color, but it tastes very good.

It is not only the freshness of the radish, but also the aroma of the meat, and a unique taste of copper hotpot.

"Come on, drink."

Li Chao picked up the wine pot and poured a glass for Wei Zheng.

The two of them were drinking rice wine and high-quality rice wine. There were no lees and insects in the wine, and they did not need to be filtered. They were very clear. The wine was placed on another small stove and heated, but it was not hot.

At the end of the twelfth lunar month when there was heavy snow, two people crossed their legs on the kang, ate hot hot pot and drank warm rice wine, which was indeed very pleasant.

After eating several pieces of meat, Wei Zheng picked up the wine and sipped it.

"If you want to drink good wine, you can only come to the Li family to drink." Wei Zheng's old alcoholic suddenly felt the difference in this wine.

"The Wei Gong family's homemade brewing is also very famous. Many people want to do so."

"It's made by myself, not much, and in fact, it's just a slight move. The one who really does it is my wife, Weijia wine, which is actually brewed by my wife."

Wei Zheng put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Chao.

"Mr. Wei's father said it straight."

"Well, then I'll just say it. Why are Wen Yuan hesitating about? Your Majesty gave you the order of the Secretary of the Republic, but I refused to accept it?"

"Shangshu Ling, only Your Majesty has served this position in this dynasty. In the previous dynasty, Yang Su served as Shangshu Ling, but Yang Su's results were not good. Yang Guang rewarded Yang Su with the position of Shangshu Ling for helping him become emperor, but after Yang Su became Shangshu Ling, he was very suspicious. Yang Su fell ill, and Yang Guang hoped that he would die of illness as soon as possible. As a result, Yang Su did not even dare to take medicine and died of illness."

"I certainly know about the previous dynasty. You are the main scholar of the Sui Shi, and I am also an editor. But the previous dynasty is different from the current dynasty. Your Majesty did serve as the Shangshu Order, but that was different from now. Your Majesty had not been the crown prince before and had not ruled the world, and he had held many positions."

Wei Zheng knew what Li Chao was worried about. Now many people are rumoring that the master is so powerful that he is hard to reward. Some people even say that Li Chao has two hearts, and some say that the emperor is worried about Li Chao and is suspicious, etc.

In fact, these are just rumors from outside.

If the emperor wanted to give Li Chao the position of General Li Chao, then there was no need to object to him, and Wei Zheng would stand up and oppose him immediately. After all, General Tiance was not available in previous dynasties, and was specially created by this dynasty to reward the emperor who was still the King of Qin at that time.

But the Shangshu Ling is different.

The official position of Shangshuling was with the monks.

It was found in the Han Dynasty. However, when the Sui Dynasty had three provinces and six ministries as its core, the official position of Shangshu Ling was extremely powerful. But now it is different from the past. Now the court is headed by the subordinates of the Zhongshu, and the Shangshu Ling has fallen behind. Even if the emperor wants to restore the power of the Shangshu Province this time, the Shangshu Ling is not as good as before.

In the past, a Shangshu Zuo Pushe was the leader of all officials, but now a Shangshu Ling had to add the title of Pingzhangshi in the same class as the Minister of the Central Secretariat in order to join the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and become one of the prime ministers. He could only rank third among the prime ministers.

"Your Majesty still trusts you, and you should not believe the rumors outside, and it is impossible to be suspicious."

Li Chao smiled and sipped the rice wine in his mouth.

It is a bit early to say suspicion now, but the emperor definitely cannot trust him completely unconditionally. In general, he and Li Shimin are still in the trust stage. After all, Li Shimin has only been emperor for two years.

At this time, although Li Shimin also gained the trust of old martial officials such as Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda, and began to promote and reuse new people, the most important force in the court, Li Shimin's largest support group was still from his Qin Palace, his General Tiance Palace, from Li Chao Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, and from Long Yuanxun.

"Actually, I feel very tired. Now that His Majesty has given him a fief, I really want to manage the territory. The court is the center of the vortex. After staying for a long time, it is always exhausting."

Li Chao does believe that Li Shimin will not have any suspicion about him now, but power will definitely be different over time.

Can Li Shimin rest assured that Li Chao has always held the power?

It is better to go home and start a business by yourself than to work for the emperor. Although the territory he runs is actually the branch of the emperor, at least he can have one-third of the equity of the branch, and if he goes there, he can make a decision.

Compared to being in the center of the court, it is much more free and relaxed.

In the past two years, Li Chao has felt very tired.

My heart is even more tired.

He was unwilling to be busy with documents all day, nor was he willing to run around every day, and even spent less time with his wives, concubines and children.

Although he traveled from modern times to the Tang Dynasty, he did not come from the initiative, but he never thought of becoming king. It is not a chaotic world now, so why bother so hard?

The troubled times have ended, isn’t it better to be a witness to the rise of a prosperous era?

It's actually good to enjoy life more.

If you say that Li Chao also wanted to do something, such as promoting feudalism and promoting the development of industry and commerce, these are not only considered for the family, but also want to make the Tang Dynasty more prosperous and powerful.

The same thing is said, I would rather be a peaceful dog than a person in troubled times.

Li Chao has also fought many wars and has seen the dangers of war with his own eyes.

"You are an alien."

Wei Zheng had no scruples when talking to Li Chao. Although Li Chao was far higher than him in terms of official position and title, the two of them had a close relationship in private.

"The territory on the frontier is really so attractive to you? A real man, shouldn't he seize the opportunity when he has the opportunity to stay in the temple? Don't you want to work with the emperor to create a story about the prosperous Zhenguan era? Don't you want to leave your name in history?"

For many scholars, it is the ultimate ideal that they can serve as one official position and become the prime minister of the court, especially assisting the king and creating a prosperous era. The so-called "goodness" means helping the world, which is exactly this idea.

But Wei Zheng couldn't understand Li Chao. Li Chao had the ability and ability, and he could be civil and military. When editing books, he said that he was a great master of Wenzong in the eyes of countless scholars, an academic master, a master of military tactics, and a famous general who used military forces.

Moreover, he has many skills in governing the country, not only knowing how to write and speak, but the key is to understand the economy and politics. Li Chao has been in the center for two years and has dominated many major events.

Whether it was to clear the remnants of separatist forces in troubled times, to resist the Turks, attack Tuyuhun, or even preside over tax reforms, implement disaster relief plans, etc., he did a very good job.

Such a person is still so young, two years younger than the emperor.

But he was only twenty-five years old and had been prime minister for two years, but he actually wanted to retreat bravely and to go to the border to become a lord and prince.

Wei Zheng couldn't figure it out and could not understand it.

A piece of broken territory will become a famous minister who has left his name in history?

"Managing the territory well will not only be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty and become a barrier to the imperial court, but also have great long-term benefits for the Li family in Bashang. If it is well managed, with this territory, the Li family in Bashang can become a truly famous family in the Tang Dynasty."

Wei Zheng shook his head.

This is another difference between him and Li Chao.

He is a scholar. He reads books of sages and thinks more about the world, the court, and the country. But Li Chao is obviously such a capable person, but he always thinks about home in his mind.

Wei Zheng felt that scholars should serve the court, assist the king, and create a prosperous era. However, Li Chao wanted to devote himself to building his own territory and strengthen his family.

"Duke Wei, if there is no small family, where will everyone come from? It is said that people will have a perseverance. When I run a territory on Bashang Li family, this territory will not be separated from the Tang Dynasty, but will only be part of the Tang Dynasty. Even because it is on the frontier, it will always become a barrier for the Tang Dynasty. The princes of the territory will not deviate from the court because of their own territory. On the contrary, the princes of the fiefdom have a closer relationship with the court, and they will prosper and lose the same. This is a relationship of affection with the country."

"Your Majesty will never agree to you leave the court at this time." Wei Zheng shook his head. No matter what Li Chao said, the emperor would not let Li Chao leave at this time.

Even if the emperor could understand Li Chao's words, he could not let Li Chao go to the territory just as he entered the court. In that case, others would only misunderstand and think that Li Chao was exiled by the emperor and was dismissed.

Moreover, the court really needed Li Chao very much.

"I want to go to the Censorate, you will still be the Minister of the Secretariat. In addition, you will tell you that Your Majesty will recall Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda. These two people still serve as the left and right servants of the Secretariat, and will be given the title of Pingzhang of the Secretariat. The three vacancies of the Secretariat are in place, and they all join the Secretariat and become prime ministers. Your Majesty has great expectations for the Secretariat." Wei Zheng stayed in the Secretariat for a while and understood that he was not good at those, but he believed that Li Chao was fully competent.

In fact, the emperor's intention to make Li Chao the Secretary of the Secretariat has long been discussed by the Secretary of the Central Secretariat and the court meeting. No one opposed this appointment, unexpectedly, and no one opposed it.

All civil and military officials all had surprisingly consistent attitudes, thinking that Li Chao was the only one to choose, and he was the only one!
Chapter completed!