Chapter 561: Reorganizing the Cui Family

“Oh, it’s Prime Minister Cui. I never expected to meet you here. Truly, one never knows where life will bring us together!”
Li Qing’an bowed with a smile, his expression filled with joy as if they had long been separated and now reunited.
“In Chang’an, how dare I call myself prime minister? Your Highness is mocking me.”
Cui Yuan smiled awkwardly. He hadn’t expected Li Qing’an to be so tactful, refusing to admit he had come to see him. Cui Yu, who was beside him, stepped in to ease the situation, explaining to Li Qing’an with a smile, “Your Highness doesn’t know—my elder brother came to Chang’an for the Cui family’s ancestral ceremony as a private individual. He rarely appears in public. It’s quite a coincidence that Your Highness ran into him today.”
“Hehe! Indeed, quite a coincidence.”
Li Qing’an also laughed twice. The three of them exchanged glances and burst into laughter together. There was no need to say more; everyone understood. The atmosphere in the room immediately became relaxed. The three sat down, and maids served them tea. Li Qing’an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked Cui Yuan, “Prime Minister Cui, I wonder how the livelihoods of the people in Chengdu are.”
Li Qing’an avoided discussing military matters or court affairs, focusing instead on people’s livelihoods, which made the conversation much more relaxed. As the right prime minister of Southern Tang, this was precisely within Cui Yuan’s responsibilities. He sighed slightly and said, “The lands in the south are fertile, and the climate is pleasant. Things used to be quite good there, especially in the Land of Abundance, where people have always lived in peace and prosperity. But these past few years… sigh!”
Cui Yuan shook his head. Although Li Qing’an’s question seemed light-hearted, the answer was heavy. Since Li Longji moved south, many nobles from Chang’an followed him to Chengdu. They lost their lands in Chang’an but tried to regain them in Bashu. With Li Longji’s tacit approval and support, land consolidation in the counties around Chengdu has become increasingly severe in recent years, causing widespread resentment among the people. As prime minister, Cui Yuan found it increasingly difficult to handle the situation.
Cui Yu, observing the situation, saw that the topic was sensitive and quickly changed the subject with a smile, “Let’s not talk about these. I heard the princess is pregnant again. Congratulations, Your Highness!”
Li Qing’an’s issue of having descendants had always been a hot topic in Chang’an. Whenever someone mentioned the prince of Zhao’s offspring, a crowd would gather to listen. Even court officials were concerned about Li Qing’an’s descendants, as it could affect the political landscape of the Tang Dynasty in the future. Recently, news spread that the princess of Zhao was pregnant again, drawing much attention. Li Qing’an smiled and did not deny it, saying, “Having few descendants has always been a source of worry for me. I truly hope to have another son, so that one day my family can thrive like the Cui family.”

At this point, Li Qing’an gave the Cui brothers a half-smiling glance. One of them understood his intent, and gradually the conversation turned to the Cui family. Cui Yuan and Cui Yu exchanged a look; by now, they had a vague idea of Li Qing’an’s true purpose in visiting—his aim was clearly the Cui family. Could it really be to use them to contain the power of the Pei family? It was quite possible.

Cui Yuan remained silent. After all, he was the prime minister of Southern Tang, and it was not appropriate for him to interfere in matters related to the power structure of Northern Tang. He simply kept his head down, drinking tea in silence. After pondering for a moment, Cui Yu simply asked directly, “I wonder if Your Highness has any good suggestions?”

“Regarding the Cui family?”

“Yes! Please offer your advice, Your Highness.”

“Hehe, the Cui family has been a prominent family for hundreds of years. What advice do I need to give? But…”

At “but,” Li Qing’an dramatically stopped speaking, smiling at them. Now even Cui Yuan couldn’t hold back and hurriedly said, “Your Highness, please continue.”

“Hmm!” Li Qing’an nodded and continued with a smile, “Actually, what I want to say is a truth applicable to every family. Talent emerges in every generation. For a family to thrive, the most important thing is to nurture its young members, allowing talented youths to take control of the family’s affairs as early as possible. Only then can the family remain vibrant and full of vitality. Yet I’ve noticed that in families like the Pei, Cui, Lu, and so on, few young people stand out—at least not within their own families. This is not conducive to the family’s continuation. Cui Huan is already 65, serving as both prime minister and family head. How can he keep up with everything? Hehe! This is just my humble opinion. Families naturally have their own systems; you two may just laugh it off.”

With that, Li Qing’an stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, “I was just passing by and decided to drop by to see Lord Pei. I still have military matters to attend to, so I must take my leave now.”

Cui Yuan and Cui Yu quickly stood up as well, saying, “We wouldn’t dare delay Your Highness’s important tasks. Please feel free to visit our residence anytime in the future.”

“Sure! Definitely! Then I’ll be leaving.”

Li Qing’an gave Cui Yuan another meaningful look and said slowly, “I hope Prime Minister Cui will do his best to care for the people. No matter how the political situation changes, those who serve the country and its people will surely be remembered forever.”

Cui Yuan understood Li Qing’an’s meaning. He bowed deeply and said, “Your Highness’s words are invaluable. Cui Yuan will keep them in mind.”

……

After Li Qing’an left, the Cui brothers sat down again, both silent. After a while, Cui Yuan asked, “Did you understand what he meant?”

Cui Yu nodded and sighed slightly, saying, “He’s referring to Cui Ping.”

“Cui Ping?” Cui Yuan finally realized and exclaimed in surprise, “Are you referring to Cui Ping, the second son of Cui Mian? I thought you meant Cui Guangyuan.”
“Cui Guangyuan might be the other candidate, but he lacks the talent for governance. Li Qingan would only use him as a general, not as a prime minister. Cui Ping is different—he was a Jinshi in the early Tianbao era. He first served as a vice minister in the Ministry of Rites for five or six years before being assigned to various prefectures and counties, rising from county magistrate to governor, and eventually becoming the military advisor of the Hexi Circuit. He spent a full eight years in local government positions. Now he’s been recalled to the capital to serve as a vice minister under Li Qingan, which shows how highly Li Qingan values him. More importantly, he’s Li Qingan’s confidant. I believe Li Qingan intends to use him to replace Cui Huan and become the leader of our Cui family in the court.”
Cui Yu was well aware that the incident involving Guo Ziyi last time had far-reaching consequences. The Political Council tried to use Guo Ziyi to counter Li Qingan but was ultimately defeated by him. Pei Min was dismissed, and Pei Zunqing replaced him. At that time, Cui Huan also supported Pei Min for a while. Although Li Qingan didn’t deal with Cui Huan right away to quell the turmoil, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t take action against him later. By immediately transferring Cui Ping to the capital, Li Qingan had already laid the groundwork for removing Cui Huan. More than two months had passed, and the incident was almost forgotten, with the situation in Hebei temporarily calm. Now was the time for Li Qingan to settle accounts with Cui Huan.
By removing Cui Huan and supporting Cui Ping, the overall interests of the Cui family wouldn’t be affected. But once Cui Ping took power, the Cui family would become staunch supporters of Li Qingan. Therefore, raising Cui Ping’s status within the family was a necessary condition for Li Qingan to strongly support them. Cui Yu understood this very well.
Both of them were seasoned politicians with years of experience. They didn’t need Li Qingan to explain it—they both understood that Li Qingan wanted to restructure the power structure within the Cui family. Cui Yuan was also aware of this. Although he couldn’t interfere in the official affairs of Northern Tang, he had a say in family matters.
“Others might be fine, but Cui Ping is in a bit of a difficult situation,” Cui Yuan sighed. Cui Ping was the son of Cui Mian, who had a poor relationship with Cui Huan—there was even a personal grudge between them. As a result, Cui Ping’s relationship with Cui Huan was also terrible. Cui Huan even prevented Cui Ping from paying respects to his ancestors for two years, which was somewhat excessive.
Given their poor relationship, what would happen if Cui Ping replaced Cui Huan as the head of the family? Although Li Qingan’s interference in the Cui family’s affairs was somewhat objectionable, he could also bring the greatest benefits to the family. Weighing these factors, both Cui Yuan and Cui Yu fell silent.

At noon, in front of a mansion in Kaiming Fang, hundreds of cavalry guards escorted Li Qing’an’s carriage as it rushed in from afar and stopped at the entrance of the mansion. Cui Ping, who was watching at the door, immediately went up to greet him, followed by a well-dressed woman in a long dress—Cui Ping’s wife, Lady Pei. The attendants opened the carriage door, and Li Qing’an stepped out. Cui Ping promptly stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Your humble servant pays respects to the Great General!” A few months earlier, Cui Ping had still been the military commander of Hexi and was part of Li Qing’an’s army. Therefore, he, like the other soldiers of the Anxi Army, addressed Li Qing’an as the Great General, which also helped to bridge the gap between them. Cui Ping and Li Qing’an had been old friends since long ago. When Li Qing’an was still a middle-ranking general, Cui Ping heard that Li Qing’an had a close relationship with Gao Lishi. Desperate to find a way to become an official, he turned to Li Qing’an for help. Unintentionally, his desperate attempt to seek help changed Cui Ping’s life path. From then on, he relied on Li Qing’an, one of the most powerful figures in the Tang Dynasty, and even became one of Li Qing’an’s closest confidants. Cui Ping’s rise from magistrate of Xuyi to governor of Sizhou, then governor of Yuzhou and military commander of Hexi, all the way to his current position as vice minister, was influenced by Li Qing’an. Moreover, their personal relationship was very close. Back then, when Wu Yi was forced to flee due to pressure from the Cui family, it was Cui Ping who secretly sent word to her. For this reason, Li Qing’an had always been grateful to him. Cui Ping was a graduate of the imperial examinations, highly talented, and extremely shrewd and capable. His father, Cui Mian, had once served as an official to the crown prince, and his elder brother, Cui Han, was currently the governor of Qingzhou, making their family highly prominent. However, Cui Ping’s relationship with his clan head, Cui Huan, was poor. On one hand, Cui Huan had a personal grudge against his father, Cui Mian. On the other hand, since Cui Ping had lived in his uncle Cui Qiao’s household for a long time, he was always grateful to Cui Qiao. But Cui Qiao had a poor character and was despised by the Cui family, yet Cui Ping always defended him. This made Cui Huan dislike him even more, to the point that Cui Ping was not allowed to attend the family rituals the year before last and last year—a rather severe punishment within the family. Because of this, Cui Ping’s relationship with his clan head became extremely poor. The two hardly spoke when they met, and the rest of the family also looked down on him. But this time, Cui Ping was promoted to vice minister, a position of the third rank, which placed him among the highest ranks in the Tang Dynasty. This left the entire Cui family stunned and completely changed their prejudice against him.

Cui Ping was deeply grateful to Li Qingan and also utterly loyal to him. He had long realized that the Tang Dynasty would eventually fall into Li Qingan’s hands, so of course he had to stick closely to this towering “tree” behind him. Yesterday, he received a message from Li Qingan’s personal guards, saying that Li Qingan would visit his residence at noon—naturally to have lunch there. For this occasion, Cui Ping’s wife personally prepared a sumptuous meal.

It turned out that Cui Ping’s wife had some connection with Mingyue. Her surname, Pei, came from Pei Ming, the former deputy minister of justice, who was the nephew of Mingyue’s maternal grandfather, Pei Yaoqing. Thus, his wife could be considered Mingyue’s cousin. This relationship helped Cui Ping and Li Qingan develop a closer personal bond. However, today Mingyue went to Cien Temple to pray, and the Baoguan Temple incident involving heavy fog occurred, so she couldn’t come with Li Qingan.

Li Qingan returned the bow and smiled, saying, “I’m sorry for showing up unannounced and disturbing you and your wife.”

Cui Ping was the same age as Li Qingan, just two months older, but to lower his own status, he had gone to great lengths to make it seem as though he was born a few months later. This way, Li Qingan was three months older and could rightfully call him “younger brother.” This small detail showed how shrewd Cui Ping was.

He quickly replied with a smile, “Others can’t even get the Great General’s attention, yet he deigns to visit my humble abode. It’s a great honor for me!”

Hearing the word “humble abode,” Li Qingan glanced around Cui Ping’s residence. It covered about twenty acres—not very large, but as a private home, it was beyond the reach of most people. He couldn’t help but laugh and say, “When I first met you, you were constantly worried about buying a house. Now you’ve finally acquired a large mansion. How does it feel? Is it good?”

Cui Ping also remembered spending ten years living with his uncle, constantly worried about buying a house. Thinking back now, it felt like another lifetime. He sighed and said, “Life’s circumstances are unpredictable. Thinking back to those ten years feels like it was just yesterday. Back then, the Great General had just been promoted to lieutenant general. Now my eldest son is already fourteen.”

He turned and called over a young boy, introducing him to Li Qingan, “This is my eldest son, Yuanju. The Great General met him back then when he was only five years old. Now he’s as tall as I am.”

Cui Ping’s son was very well-behaved. He stepped forward and knelt before Li Qingan, saying, “Your nephew Yuanju pays his respects to his uncle!”

Seeing the boy’s handsome features and cleverness, Li Qingan liked him at first sight. He quickly helped the boy up and said, “My dear nephew, please get up!”

Helping the young man up, he asked with a smile, “Where are you studying now? Do you have any plans for the future?”
“Reporting to my uncle, I am currently studying at home. Next year, I will go to Chongwen Academy. I plan to study hard there for five years, take the imperial examinations when I reach adulthood, carry on my father’s legacy, and continue to serve you, uncle.”
Seeing that his son was ambitious and eloquent, Cui Ping was overjoyed, but he scolded him, “You fool! How can you be so ignorant? Do you think passing the imperial examinations is that easy?”
Li Qing’an quickly interjected, “That’s where you’re wrong, my dear brother. If a young person has no ambition, isn’t it like living a hundred years in vain? Having ambitions is good, but one must rely on their own efforts, not on their family’s influence. Do you understand?”
Cui Yuanju bowed deeply. “I will keep your words in mind, uncle.”
The three of them chatted at the door. Finally, Cui Ping’s wife gently reminded her husband, “Jirou, the food might get cold.”
Cui Ping immediately snapped out of it and said, “General, please come inside. I was rude.”
Li Qing’an laughed and nodded at Lady Pei before following them into the house. From the outside, Cui Ping’s residence didn’t seem very large, but inside, it was exquisitely furnished—with pavilions, towers, corridors, and flower beds. There were scenic views in quiet corners, as well as a pond covering an acre, filled with schools of goldfish. Next to it stood a beautifully crafted pavilion for enjoying the fish. The lunch was to be held in this pavilion, with four maids already waiting there.
Once seated, Li Qing’an laughed and asked, “This must be your private residence! How much did it cost?”
A private residence was different from an official residence. Official residences were for those holding certain positions, and they had to be returned to the court if they were demoted or retired. A private residence, on the other hand, was one’s own property, which could be passed down to descendants. Even high-ranking officials usually had their own private residences in addition to their official ones.
Cui Ping blushed slightly at this question. He had spent over six thousand guan on this residence. With his salary, he could never afford it in his lifetime. Of course, part of the money came from bribes he had collected while serving as an official. Li Qing’an’s question put him in an awkward position, leaving him unsure how to respond.
His wife laughed and said, “Actually, this house doesn’t belong to Jirou. It belongs to his second uncle. He went to Chengdu the year before last, sold his old house, and bought this new one. Afraid of being blamed by the court, he put it under Jirou’s name. Otherwise, with Jirou’s meager salary, how could he afford such an expensive house?”
“Yes! It actually belongs to his second uncle. Alas! He can’t say so openly, so he has to bear the blame himself.”

Cui Qiao was the uncle in question. He had gone to Chengdu two years ago but wasn’t given any important positions there; he was only appointed as a vice minister in the Ministry of Works. Cui Ping couldn’t help but admire his wife’s quick wits. Li Qingan, however, smiled faintly—how could such an excuse deceive him? He knew very well Cui Ping’s past: when he was an official in Sizhou, he had accepted bribes. An imperial censor had investigated him at the time, finding that the amount involved was around 3,000 guan. Later, he invested that money in the tea business, using his position to transport more than a dozen ships’ worth of tea from Jianghuai to the capital for sale, making a profit of nearly 15,000 guan. After being transferred to be the governor of Yuzhou, he stopped taking bribes and engaging in business, earning a reputation for integrity.

Li Qingan also understood the principle that too much purity leads to no fish. He didn’t expect all his subordinates to be as upright and honest as Wang Changling. The key was to maintain a balance and not indulge in greed without restraint. Cui Ping’s ability to know when to stop showed he was sensible and could control his desires—this was exactly what satisfied Li Qingan.

Earlier, he had merely asked casually, mainly to learn about current housing prices. But Cui Ping, feeling guilty, exposed himself right away. It seemed Cui Ping wasn’t sharp enough, though his wife was quite good, able to compensate to some extent for his shortcomings.

Li Qingan stopped asking about it and ate and drank with their family. The atmosphere was very harmonious. After dinner, Cui Ping’s wife wisely took her son and left, knowing that Li Qingan’s visit wasn’t just about eating; they needed time alone.

When talking to Cui Ping, Li Qingan wasn’t as reserved as he had been with Cui Yuan and Cui Yu. Instead, he was straightforward and got straight to the point. He raised his wine cup, pondered for a moment, then asked directly, “I want you to become the new head of the Cui family. Do you have any thoughts on this?”

Cui Ping sighed and said, “To be honest, it’s very difficult. The key issue is that most people don’t support me.”

Li Qingan smiled faintly and said, “Of course I know it’s difficult, but it still needs to be done. Once you become the head of the Cui family, I’ll let you replace Cui Huan as the prime minister. I can also help you, but ultimately, it depends on you to strive for it.”