Chapter 596: Chapter 76: Changing Circumstances and the Gu Clan’s Predicament
Li Longji was indeed a decisive emperor.
Whether it was his character since childhood or his experiences while growing up under the Gu Clan, all intensified his inherent confidence.
Especially after the Great Tang became increasingly prosperous.
All of this made Li Longji even more self-assured.
Such is human nature; when an emperor who is already at the pinnacle of power continues to succeed without obstacles, his mindset gradually changes over time.
Li Longji was no different.
As he aged, he began to indulge in pleasures and consistently believed he could control everything.
He entrusted daily governmental affairs to his ministers.
And naturally, at the beginning, it was the Gu Clan.
Li Longji’s affection for the Gu Clan needs no further elaboration, yet the talents of the Gu Clan’s younger generation had clearly regressed.
No matter how much Li Longji trusted them.
In facing the weight of the nation, the insufficiency of the Gu Clan’s talent became fully evident.
Under such circumstances, retaining their position became impossible for the Gu Clan’s younger members.
If it were others, they might cling to power and employ various means to appease Li Longji.
But after all, these were members of the Gu Clan.
The Gu Clan’s members couldn’t let their craving for power put the entire family in disrepute, nor could they let the Gu Clan be enemies with all officials.
Once the Gu Clan retreated from the court and focused on the Imperial Censorate,
the situation throughout the Great Tang promptly changed.
While there were many loyal and righteous officials in the court, to the now state of Li Longji, he naturally preferred those skilled in flattery.
Such is human nature.
Simply put, Li Longji was overly self-confident.
He believed in the current prosperity of the Great Tang and also believed he could always control everything well.
However, when these opportunistic officials were favored, the court’s atmosphere quietly shifted.
This was an inevitable result—
The influence of a powerful emperor’s preferences on the court is beyond most people’s imagination.
Who among the long-studied officials would willingly forfeit the chance for promotion?
In this competitive officialdom, since the emperor appreciated such individuals, the officials naturally adapted.
This top-down influence formed a powerful trend with increasingly intensified ripple effects.
Such is the impact of the larger environment!
The resultant chain reactions only grew more substantial, and while the Gu Clan maintained its watch over the Imperial Censorate, various problems started to emerge one after another.
The Imperial Censorate gradually became a thorn in everyone’s side.
In their eyes, at least, the Imperial Censorate was now blocking everyone’s path to progress.
The influence of the Gu Clan was indeed substantial.
But believing that in the absence of a leading figure to uphold such prestige, they could suppress all court officials, was equally a fantasy!
As expected by Gu Jing, the power of the Imperial Censorate was naturally significantly reduced.
This was not because Li Longji completely forgot the Gu Clan’s favors.
It was simply because he was too confident.
Lying deep within the palace every day, he assumed the realm outside was still the same realm left to him by Gu Jing; reducing the power of the Imperial Censorate was also indirectly protecting the Gu Clan.
Only because the Gu Clan’s younger members couldn’t withstand the targeting by so many in the power struggles.
This, too, was a political maneuver.
But this action also represented the unsealing of the last threshold of the Great Tang, and the weakening of the Imperial Censorate further heightened the turmoil within the officials.
At the same time—
External conflicts finally began to re-emerge.
Particularly with Tubo.
After years of civil strife, Tubo had now unified once more, and with the weakening of the Gu Clan and the passing of Gu Jing, there was no longer the slightest fear.
This led to the turmoil in the Western Regions.
It can be said that all internal and external problems of the Great Tang were exposed under these circumstances in an instant.
And this included land consolidation.
This is an unavoidably inherent factor in any feudal era.
No, it’s not just limited to the feudal era.
The fundamental reason this issue doesn’t manifest in modern times is simply due to the transformation of productive forces.
During the feudal era, productive forces were insufficient to sustain all this.
Even when the power of the Imperial Censorate was at its peak, it could only rigorously supervise, unable to completely stop all this.
Let alone now.
This series of chain reactions was continuously brewing storms in the shadows.
However, Emperor Li Longji, residing within the imperial palace, was completely unaware.
Countless thoughts rushed forth, and Gu Yi merely sighed lightly; there was both surprise and yet not when considering it all.
The surprise was—
Though the current situation seems dire, it’s not without room for reversal.
The non-surprise was regarding Li Longji.
Gu Yi indeed had once speculated about Li Longji, hoping that through the Gu Clan’s education and subsequent assistance, he might avoid some actions in his latter years.
But now it seemed, all of this ultimately led to Gu Yi’s disappointment.
A person’s character doesn’t change easily.
Just like Li Chengqian.
In historical accounts, he was both radical and pathological, and it was only under years of influence by the Gu Clan that his pathology transformed into resilience, but the radicality remained.
This actually indicates quite a bit.
The same goes for Li Longji.
His period under the Gu Clan’s influence was short, and with Gu Jing’s passing, his character was difficult to change significantly; instead, his continuous success amplified his arrogance.
