Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 104 The Prince's Conspiracy

"Hunting? But I'm busy."

Li Ming smacked his lips and scratched his head, subconsciously looking outside the study.

The Chang'an Newspaper Office is still as busy as ever.

In the noisy environment, the screams of "Editor-in-Chief" Pei Xingjian were particularly harsh.

"Lai Junchen, you used the wrong word again! Going to Liaodong is called 'the vast sea and sky' instead of 'the end of the mountain and the end of the water'!"

"Li Jingye, what does Liaodong mean by 'The emperor is far away, and we welcome you who are full of ambition'? Do you want Liaodong to become a refuge for bandits and fugitives? This is the imperial city! Do you want us all to be imprisoned in the prison?"

"And Li Xiaoyi, how could you spread rumors that His Majesty will relocate the people of Hebei to Liaodong? You are not respecting His Majesty, you are falsifying the imperial decree!"

Li Ming closed the door and the study immediately became quiet.

There were several guests sitting in the room, drinking tea calmly and pretending not to hear the outrageous talk outside.

The guests were Fang Xuanling, the chief secretary of Prince Cao, Wei Daijia, the secretary of Prince Cao, Li Daozon, the tutor of Prince Lu, and Hou Junji, the general of Prince Song.

These four people have very different personalities, statuses, and stances.

The only thing they have in common is that they are core members of the "Imperial Fourteen Parties" in the court.

"You see, I'm really busy." Li Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead exaggeratedly in front of his four confidants.

During these few days, he launched wave after wave of public opinion offensives, creating new hot spots every day and sparing no effort to promote Liaodong.

The contents of these soft articles are not groundless, and they all correspond to the court's series of support policies for Liaodong, but the wording is a bit exaggerated.

Therefore, these propaganda materials first triggered a heated discussion about Liaodong among the scholars in Chang'an.

This enthusiasm then seeped into the people of Chang'an through the mouths of servants, tavern waiters, and merchants, and set off a wave of "Liaodong fever".

Then, along with the merchants coming in and out of Chang'an, it slowly and steadily spread across the country.

Although this public opinion offensive has not yet produced any visible results, the world's impression of the Northeast as a "bitter and cold land" is slowly changing in a positive direction.

Being at the core of this public opinion storm, Li Ming was naturally very busy every day and had a slight understanding of Sun Fujia's working state a few months ago.

Then, today these four confidants suddenly visited him at the same time, asking him to put down his work temporarily and go hunting together in the North Forbidden Garden in a few days?
"Besides, I was too young to hunt or shoot arrows, so I just basked in the sun and fed mosquitoes."

Li Ming has already started thinking of excuses to skip classes.

Fang Xuanling nodded slightly:
"Your Highness is right. You can ask His Majesty for leave."

"Mr. Fang!" Wei Daijia, the youngest of the four, could no longer hold back:

“This autumn hunt is organized by His Majesty himself, and all the princes outside the capital have returned to participate.

"This is a serious matter. It is not your normal class. How can you allow Your Highness to skip class?"

Outside, Wei Daijia would never dare to speak to the Shangshu Zuo Pushe in this way.

However, within the "Fourteen Parties", there are not as many rules among colleagues as outside.

"It is exactly as Envoy Wei said." Li Daozon agreed with Wei Daijia's opinion.

"Shijun" is a respectful title for the Governor. Although Wei Daijia had not yet been officially assigned to the post, the very polite Minister of Rites had already called him up in advance.

"Your Majesty's intention for this autumn hunt is not hunting, but a major event concerning the royal family that needs to be announced in public."

Li Ming sighed:

"Father, the Emperor just wants to adopt two princes for my two uncles whom I have never met?"

Adoption is still very unfamiliar to Li Ming, who was the only child in his previous life.

"This matter was proposed by Wei Zheng, the farmer from Hebei. He is the prince's tutor." Hou Junji's tone was filled with resentment:

"The sissy prince in the East Palace probably felt that Prince Li Ming was below him in status but was restless and made him uncomfortable, so he instigated his teacher to expel you from the ranks of the princes."

Li Ming asked back:
"Adoption is just a formality. The fact that I am my father's biological son will never change.

"Can the emperor change the facts out of thin air with just one edict?"

"Yes." Li Dao Zong replied:
"According to etiquette and law, adoption means recognizing the father again.

"After the ceremony, all the officials will treat you as a prince, not an emperor."

The royal family is different from other ordinary families. The relationship between royal members must comply with certain behavioral norms.

And this norm is called "ritual".

There is no shortage of content that goes against human nature, but it is an indispensable condition for ensuring the stability of the core of state power.

On this matter, the Minister of Rites Li Daozon has the most say.

"Is that so...ah." Li Ming couldn't help but sigh again.

It seems that the "adoption" thing not only changed his reputation, but also caused substantial damage to his actual interests.

Let’s not talk about the difference in treatment between the prince and the crown prince.

As a nephew rather than a son, it would be difficult for him to act coquettishly and cutely to his father and seek political benefits in the future.

Even existing interests may be lost.

For example, the franchise rights of Chang'an Express, and the great power of Liaodong Jiedushi, which was almost like "king of the mountain". If Li Ming's power was not as great as it is now half a year ago, he would have been eager to be adopted.

It would be even better if we could just kick him out of the clan in one go and make him just like everyone else.

However, now, times have changed, and his struggle strategy has also changed accordingly.

Now that he has his own base, he is even more determined to cling to the emperor.

They constantly earned and used the emperor's grace, and severely squeezed the surplus value of the emperor's grace and used it in the construction of Liaodong.

It was at this very moment that he was deprived of his title as the emperor's own son.

How can I straighten my back and use the skill "My father is Li Shimin" in the future...

"Etiquette, etiquette, everything is etiquette." Li Ming crossed his arms and muttered unhappily:

"According to etiquette, Empress Changsun is still my mother, and Changsun Wuji is still my uncle.

"The Queen is not talking about this, but has my uncle ever taken care of my nephew?"

There is no care, but "special attention" is indeed indispensable.

In response to His Highness Li Ming's treasonous remarks, the four trusted ministers could only lower their heads and pretend they didn't hear anything.

This complaint is indeed not without reason.

He has no right to enjoy the rights, but he has to bear the obligations.

The huge mountain of "etiquette and law" came pressing down on us.

This is an open conspiracy by the prince's party.

Taking advantage of the momentum of "vindicating" Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, he legitimately seized Li Ming's throne.

Everyone fell silent, and Li Ming also fell silent.

After a while, he asked softly, as if talking to himself:

"Do you think my father will really adopt me out?"

He has saved Li Shimin twice. It's not too much to ask Li Shimin to call him dad, right?

Hou Junji snorted coldly:
"Your Majesty only follows the overall situation when doing things. Have you ever cared about your children's personal feelings?"

The irony in the words hits me.

As a big "Jiang" who made great contributions but was thrown into prison and almost barbecued, he felt that he had a say in Li Shimin's character.

Li Ming fell silent.

What Hou Junji said makes sense.

When it comes to politics, the only thing that matters is practical interests.

All other emotions have to take a back seat.

And adopting a son obviously brought huge practical benefits to Li Shimin.

It is impossible to take back a decision just because of a romantic relationship...

"Is there any solution?" Li Ming asked the group of wise men.

The wise men looked at each other, and all remained silent.

Li Ming turned his gaze to Fang Xuanling.

This old man doesn't talk much and his expression remains unchanged. I don't know what he is planning.

If it weren’t for Hou Junji and Li Daozon’s “strong invitation”, Lao Fang actually didn’t even plan to come today.

"I think all this is just a fuss for the sake of mediocrity." Fang Xuanling said slowly:

"The will of God cannot be changed by a few words from us, and it is useless to worry about it."

It sounds harsh, but it is true.

"I am still too dependent on my father's support..." Li Ming couldn't help but sigh.

Looking back now, everything he has now was given by his father, the Emperor.

Famous ministers to assist him, newspaper franchise, funds, and the entire Liaodong.

Although, he could proudly say that he had earned all of this by making indelible contributions to the royal family.

But, ask yourself.

If he fell out with Li Shimin today, everything he had now would be easily taken away from him.

Therefore, expanding your own base and enhancing your own strength is the hard truth.

"Minister Fang is right. Since we have to attend the Hongmen Banquet in the Northern Forbidden Garden, there is no point in worrying about it." Li Ming seemed to have made up his mind, his eyes clear:

"Next, I have something really important to discuss with you."

(End of this chapter)