Chapter 691: Wind rises, clouds stir; wind stops, flowers fall

The next day's court assembly.

After the tedious procedures were completed, Han Zhongliang respectfully said, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Revenue has already prepared the disaster relief supplies according to your request; all that is needed is a disaster relief envoy to dispatch the supplies immediately."

Li Chengqian pondered, "That's fine, but for the disaster relief envoy to Shandong, does anyone have a suitable candidate in mind?"

The disaster relief envoy is the same as the disaster relief commissioner.

Such candidates for disaster relief either hold extremely high office or possess sufficient prestige in the disaster area; otherwise they cannot fulfill the role.

Moreover, now that Li Chengqian is regent, he does not want any mishap in this matter.

Therefore, Li Chengqian has a few candidates in mind for the disaster relief envoy, but he has not yet decided which to use.

"Your Highness," said Linghu Defen, Ministerial Attendant of the Rites Ministry, stepping forward, "I believe Xu Shiji, the Governor of Bingzhou, is fit for the post of disaster relief envoy."

Upon hearing this name, Li Chengqian was momentarily startled.

Xu Shiji is currently the Governor of Bingzhou, and Li Chengqian is naturally familiar with him.

Bingzhou borders Shandong, and Xu Shiji, coming from the Wagang Army, wields great influence among the populace and the powerful clans in Shandong and Hebei.

Moreover, he has long guarded the northern frontier and is extremely familiar with the geography and local conditions of Shandong.

Sending him to relieve the disaster would both deter potential troublemakers with his military presence and efficiently allocate supplies.

At present, Xu Shiji is indeed a suitable candidate.

However, after Linghu Defen spoke, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui barely furrowed their brows.

Evidently they were dissatisfied with Xu Shiji serving as disaster relief envoy.

On the surface, Xu Shiji is indeed a good choice for disaster relief envoy, but the matter cannot be considered one‑sided.

Xu Shiji's prestige in that region is already high; if he continues as disaster relief envoy to aid the victims, his prestige would likely increase further.

This would be unfavorable for both Xu Shiji and Li Shimin.

Therefore, even if Xu Shiji is fit for the post, he cannot be allowed to take it.

Yet neither Fang Xuanling nor Du Ruhui spoke up at once; they waited calmly, wanting to see how Li Chengqian would handle it.

Below, seeing Li Chengqian show a hint of inclination and some hesitation, Chang Sun Wujì could not sit still.

For this nephew, he naturally wanted to help.

But he must not step into this pitfall!

"Your Highness!" he stepped forward and said gently, "I think it would be better to transfer the disaster relief envoy for Shandong from Chang'an; Xu Shiji is far from Chang'an, and if he were to serve as envoy, we would first have to bring the supplies to him, wasting considerable time."

"We can afford to wait, but the people in the disaster area cannot."

"The Ministry of Revenue has already prepared the disaster relief supplies; considering officials from remote areas would be inappropriate. It would be better to dispatch directly from Chang'an, issue the order today, and strive to have the supplies set out within these two days, rushing to the disaster zone as quickly as possible."

Li Chengqian gazed steadily at Chang Sun Wujì, understanding that his uncle was opposing the choice, silently reminding himself not to use Xu Shiji, and gave a slight nod: "I also think it too troublesome, so Linghu Defen's proposal will be set aside for now; if no suitable candidate is chosen today, we will then employ Xu Shiji."

Linghu Defen felt a little disappointed, but said nothing more.

"Then, Uncle, do you have a better candidate?" Li Chengqian asked again.

Chang Sun Wujì mused, "Your Highness, I believe the Minister of Rites is capable of serving as disaster relief envoy."

Upon hearing this, Gao Shilian, who had been slightly narrowing his eyes, planning to glide through today's court assembly peacefully, was startled in his heart.

How did this get dragged onto him again?

Li Chengqian unconsciously glanced at Gao Shilian, saying nothing.

Who is Gao Shilian?

He is the maternal uncle of Empress Changsun, and of course also the uncle of Chang Sun Wujì.

【37, more importantly, Gao Shilian has shown great kindness to the Chang Sun siblings; when they were at their lowest, it was Gao Shilian who sheltered them.

More importantly, Gao Shilian has a great debt to the Changsun siblings, and when the two were at their most destitute, it was Gao Shilian who sheltered them.

This is why the Chang Sun family later had a chance to rise, and why Empress Changsun exists today.

For this reason, even when he sees Gao Shilian, he must respectfully call him "great-uncle."

Naturally, in today's discussion, Gao Shilian is indeed a very suitable candidate.

First, he once served in Shandong for many years, familiar with local conditions, not inferior to Xu Shiji in this regard.

Second, Gao Shilian enjoys extremely high prestige, acts prudently, excels at coordination and allocation, and is well suited to handle large‑scale disaster relief supplies.

Yet Li Chengqian had never considered Gao Shilian, and softly said, "Uncle, the road to Shandong is long and arduous; traveling far is already exhausting, let alone managing every batch of supplies, comforting the victims, and implementing the Replace Disaster with Labor policy—each of these tasks consumes considerable effort..."

Li Chengqian spoke tactfully, but who present is not a shrewd person?

Especially Chang Sun Wujì, who instantly grasped the implication.

He could not help but turn his head to glance at his own uncle, only to see that his uncle's hair was already mostly white, and his body no longer as upright as before.

Gao Shilian gave a faint smile: "Fujī, Your Highness, I am old."

Those words made Chang Sun Wujì and Li Chengqian feel a pang of sorrow in their hearts.

Chang Sun Wujì seemed to have subconsciously regarded Gao Shilian as the uncle who once sheltered him and his siblings from wind and rain, but he forgot that was already many years ago.

Time is like a blade, fleeting in an instant.

Now, Gao Shilian is about to turn sixty.

Old!

"...... Sorry."

Chang Sun Wujì's lips trembled, his voice hoarse, and he finally managed to utter only these two words.

Gao Shilian chuckled softly: "What is there to apologize for? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are simply the natural course of life."

"Earlier, Wang Gui said, 'Between heaven and earth, human life is like a white horse passing through a crevice—this sums up the vicissitudes.'"

"Now I say, 'Wind rises, clouds stir; wind stops, flowers fall; the road of life is long, and I am nearing its end.'"

"It is time to halt our steps and rest awhile."

Finally, Gao Shilian paused, then said calmly, "The post of disaster relief envoy should be given to a capable young person."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengqian instantly understood his meaning and immediately discarded all the backup candidates he had previously kept in mind.

A few names floated into his mind.

Li Chengqian's gaze swept over Ma Zhou, Han Zhongliang and the others, lingered on Han Zhongliang for a moment, then moved on.

After that, he thought of someone.

"Sun Liqing!"

Sun Fuja heard Li Chengqian call his name, and when he looked up, a brief bewilderment flashed in his eyes.

As the top scholar of the first year of the Zhenguan era, he could rise to his current third‑rank position within just a few years, so he was certainly not foolish.

Recalling Gao Silian's earlier words, Sun Fuja instantly understood why Li Chengqian had called him, and a surprise rose in his heart.

"I am here!"

"I intend to appoint you as the Shandong Resident Pacification Commissioner, responsible for soothing the disaster‑area populace, mobilizing relief supplies, and implementing Replace Disaster with Labor. Do you have confidence?"

"......"