General Tiance's Mansion in the Capital
After Changsun Chong was transferred back to the capital, he had been doing some idle things. Li Xiang could see that this guy was not happy in these positions. Li Shimin had already made up his mind that he could not let the three people of the Changsun family have too much power. Even for Changsun Wuji, whom he trusted the most, some things had to be considered for the sake of his descendants.
So even if some people say that it is a waste of talent, Li Shimin will never let Changsun Chong return to the front line. Now Changsun Ze is already working in the Annan Protectorate. If Changsun Chong is allowed to return to the front line, coupled with Changsun Wuji's status in the court, he will be able to establish a clan soon.
Since Li Shimin ascended the throne, he has been trying to eliminate the influence of these great families. If another one were to emerge under his own hands, wouldn't all his efforts be in vain? Take the new nobles in Chang'an City for example. Although they are powerful in various places, it is basically impossible for them to become the same as the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans of the past.
He couldn't even catch up with one-fifth of the other party's strength. When Li Xiang was away fighting, Li Shimin was not idle. He remembered all the officials in the court and the distribution of some prominent families in various places. Under normal circumstances, some subtle actions could not be seen, but when you gather all the domestic intelligence together, you will know what Li Shimin is doing.
With the help of those men in black, Li Shimin often weakened the power of the aristocratic families at the most critical moments. Although other aristocratic families felt the crisis, they had no other way to fight back because Li Xiang was in charge of external affairs and Li Shimin was in charge of internal affairs. They could not even show any signs of fighting back. Once they showed any signs, you would be the next target.
Of course, Li Shimin was now very experienced in his administration. He constantly fed these aristocratic families with sweet talk, for example, he often entertained them with banquets, making them think that they had become an indispensable part of the Tang Dynasty court. So when Li Shimin took action, these people naturally felt that it was impossible for them to die, and that their friends would die instead of him.
But when it came to them, they found that they had been betrayed by Li Shimin. If they had united before, they could at least make their voices heard in the court. However, because they did nothing when others died, their alliance had become as loose as it could be. Even if you had the idea of resisting, they would not have that idea when they thought of Li Xiang who was leading troops outside.
However, among all the aristocratic families who had their power taken away, Chang Sun Chong was definitely an exception. Li Xiang now transferred Chang Sun Chong to the Imperial City Office, which was responsible for collecting intelligence from all over the world. Of course, in order to limit Chang Sun Chong's power, Li Xiang could only let him be responsible for foreign intelligence. Li Xiang also found other people for some domestic intelligence.
Although power is limited, it is much better than holding a sinecure.
So after Chang Sun Chong got to this position, he also developed his own characteristics. Today was the time for reporting, and Chang Sun Chong came to Li Xiang with a lot of information and waited.
"Master Changsun."
The General Tiance's Mansion has a queuing system. Every day, no one knows how many people have to come to Li Xiang to report on their work, so everyone has to go according to their numbers, just like calling numbers in a bank in modern society. If it is not your turn, then you have to wait behind.
Of course, there are some things that are more urgent. Once you think it is urgent, you can use the express channel, but if you use this right indiscriminately, you will be punished in the future. Although the information reported by Chang Sun Chong today is very important, it is not yet to the point of using the express channel, so he chatted with the adults present while waiting.
Many people say that the General Tiance’s Mansion is a small court. At that time, many people did not believe it, but as long as you come here and take a look, you will know how true it is.
In Chang Sun Chong's eyes, calling this a small court was a bit of an understatement. Just look at the adults present. They were all powerful figures in various government offices. When the court was in session, there were also some symbolic officials.
Those people are in high positions, but they don't have much power, and they often make comments on some unimportant things. However, in a place like the Tiance General's Mansion, there is no need for such vague officials, because every matter solved by the Tiance General's Mansion is related to social and people's livelihood. As for those vague things, you should talk to the emperor. Li Xiang doesn't have the time to listen to your nonsense.
After Chang Sun Chong got his number, he went to the pavilion next to him to wait. Compared with the title of Lord Chang Sun, he preferred the title of General Chang Sun. He started to change his career in his twenties and made his own contributions in the army, but unfortunately, because of the need to balance the family power, he had to return to the capital.
Fortunately, he can still work in the Imperial City Office. Although it is not a regular army, it is also a military management method. It is also a powerful department. Compared with being an idle position in other departments, this is already a very good placement. Therefore, Changsun Chong is also very grateful to Li Xiang. If it were not for Li Xiang's special arrangement, he might not know where he is now.
What Chang'an City lacks the least is positions to accommodate such people. Among the major departments in Chang'an City, there are many people who are busy with trivial matters every day and have no serious work. They come here and there, and apart from wasting the court's resources, they do not play any positive role at all.
However, you cannot delete such positions. Such positions are used to balance the major families. Each family must have its own people in the court, but if they are not capable, they can only be given an empty position.
Of course, everyone wants a position with real power, but there are only so many positions with real power in Chang'an City. Sometimes, even if it is an empty position, many people want to pursue it, just like Long Jinwei in Dream of Red Mansions.
After waiting for about half a decade, it was lunchtime. The other officials had gone to eat nearby, and Chang Sun Chong was also preparing to eat at the Datang Hall in the Tiance General's Mansion. Unexpectedly, General Xia arrived with his men. It seemed that they would have to eat at Li Xiang's place at noon today...
