Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 165 Li Tai: Can we reconcile?

At the grand court meeting on May 15th, when His Majesty the Emperor sat radiantly on the dragon couch, all the officials felt as if they were in another world.

The great general Tian Ce, who was so powerful that he could conquer thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, is back.

Although Li Shimin had some white hair on his temples, his face was a little thin, and he seemed a little hungry.

But my headache is gone, my hands are no longer numb, and I have more energy to do anything.

What made him even more overjoyed was that his mind became much clearer.

It's like returning to the peak state of my youth.

"Li Ming's advice actually worked wonders!"

Li Shimin felt very magical.

In fact, the three high problems can be quickly alleviated as long as you control your diet, exercise, and change your bad work and rest habits.

Li Ming had his hemorrhoids removed and stayed in the hospital for two or three days. His diet was adjusted by the hospital cafeteria, and his blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids dropped rapidly.

But in the eyes of the people of the Tang Dynasty, this was no less than a miracle.

Although Li Shimin did not really assign Li Shiji or Cheng Zhijie to the Liaodong military garrison in the end, he did not take Li Ming's polite words seriously.

He still rewarded him with large sums of gold, silver, cloth and silk.

All of them were packed up by Li Ming and sent to Liaodong as rewards for the first prize winners of the Liaodong "Labor Competition" in the first quarter.

By the way, Li Ming also copied the honor mechanism for model workers to Liaodong.

Farming, raising livestock and poultry, forging, mining, serving dishes in a tavern...labor models can be selected in all walks of life and given both material and spiritual rewards to encourage the masses to devote themselves to the hot construction.

And each prize is signed by Li Ming.

Although it was funded and sponsored by the emperor, in Liaodong where the emperor was far away, Chairman Li Ming was the only sun in everyone's heart.

"…Nowadays, the people of Liaodong live and work in peace and contentment, crops are harvested in abundance, and mineral resources are abundant. Not only can they use them for themselves, but they can also export them to the surrounding areas.

"I think the time is ripe. Liaodong no longer needs to be subject to stopgap measures. It should be incorporated into the national tax system as soon as possible."

Changsun Wuji was the first to fire at Li Ming.

Although he said all good things, his meaning was also very clear:
The imperial court should cancel the tax incentives for Liaodong and collect the portion of taxes that the local area should pay.

"I second the motion." A chorus of secondments was heard.

Zhangsun Wuji's uncle Gao Shilian went one step further:
“I heard that the Liaodong military garrison openly sold ironware to Goguryeo.

"This is an act of aiding the enemy. I hope Your Majesty will take back control of Liaodong's copper and iron ore resources as soon as possible!"

Having a young man forced into their home really stoked the two of them, and they attacked Li Ming with all their might.

"I second the motion." There was another round of seconding voices.

The second-rate court engages in party struggles, the first-rate court plays at governing the country, and the top-rate court does both.

This was the style of the court during the Zhenguan period. Of course, state affairs had to be taken care of, but party struggles had to be taken into account as well.

Attacking Li Ming's policies in Liaodong can have the effect of "I want it all".

Because to the Tang Dynasty as a whole, Liaodong is really an anomaly.

Smoothing out its edges, utilizing its resources, and bringing it back on the right track for the Tang Dynasty would undoubtedly be a good policy that would benefit the country and the people, both outside Liaodong and the state.

"You are right, my dear ministers."

Li Shimin started the conversation and then changed the subject:
“It’s just that Liaodong has its own people’s sentiments here, the land is barren, bitterly cold and barren.

“Although there were occasional good harvests, during the lean years, people had to gnaw grass for food.

"So, please put your ideas aside for now, my dear ministers. This expedient measure should not be withdrawn hastily."

The ministers looked at each other, feeling that His Majesty's words were familiar.

Isn’t this a variation of “Liaomincao”?
Well, the emperor even quoted the Liaodong Jiedushi's "clear words".

The ministers realized that it was wishful thinking to attack Li Ming on the core issue of "Liaodong" and had to give up.

Then comes the daily practice of playing duets.

Just like the previous topic, beneath the calm discussion of state affairs, there are four turbulent undercurrents.

The ministers were not fools and they had long seen through the situation of the four sons competing for the throne.

Those who should take sides take sides, those who should be neutral remain neutral, and those who should play dumb and wait for the price continue to play dumb and wait to be won over.

There is no real fool who can't understand the form.

From the current situation, Li Chengqian still holds the title of "Crown Prince" and is the first in line to the throne, so his power is still the strongest.

The majority of the famous scholars headed by Cen Wenben and Liu Li, as well as the former marginal princelings, stood on the side of Wei Wang Li Tai.

If His Majesty had not made everything clear, they could have continued to conceal their position.

As for the two younger ones, Li Ming and Li Zhi, their momentum was obviously weaker than that of their two older brothers.

Although their followers were individually very powerful, Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji were the two pillars of the court's civil officials.

But they still lack the support of the vast majority of other bureaucrats.

To put it simply, there is a lack of soldiers to fill the line.

Although Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji had been working in the court for many years and had flourished, they each had a group of officials under their command.

However, the so-called "factions" during the Zhenguan period were not as bad as those in later generations, and they did not form an offensive and defensive alliance with consistent actions and orderly advances and retreats.

On the important issue of the crown prince, the officials under the two men still retained their own opinions.

As the saying goes, "My party leader's leader is not my party leader." Your Highnesses still have to personally win over their hearts and minds.

After all, even the emperor may not be able to satisfy his ministers with his choice of crown prince.

How could Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji force their officials to agree with their respective candidates for the crown prince?

This leads to a curious phenomenon.

On some issues, the two pillars have a unified voice; on other issues, they are not widely accepted.

In fact, in essence, they are just civil servants with higher status and more seniority.

The entire court still belongs to Your Majesty.

This is also what a healthy court should have.

Otherwise, powerful officials will manipulate government affairs.

"I impeach the Minister of Rites Li Daozong for reselling weapons and armor to the remnants of the Turkic tribe led by Li Simo."

Cen Wenben has been watching Li Daozon's impeachment for several months.

Li Shimin was a little tired of listening to this, so he asked the newly appointed Minister of War, Li Shiji:

"Weapons are kept and maintained by the Ministry of War.

"Are there any abnormalities in the weapons on the Dingxiang front? Do we need to send more people to check?"

Cen Wenben looked at Li Shiji with hope.

Li Shiji answered decisively without looking away:
"There is absolutely no such memorial. The clerks of the Ministry of War have been at the front lines, checking and counting the weapons inventory with the warehouse officials every day.

"Li Dao Zong disciplines his troops strictly, and no one is missing."

A hint of doubt flashed across Cen Wenben's eyes, and he quickly lowered his head.

"Well, Li Dao Zong's talents and virtues have won my trust, but since he is away from home, Elder Cen's concerns are not unreasonable.

"How about this, the Minister of War has just taken office and there are many complicated matters to handle, so the Censorate will send someone to Dingxiang City for an investigation."

With just a few micro-manipulations, Li Shimin dealt several blows to Li Tai, Li Ming and Li Zhi, and continued to maintain the balance.

The lighthearted and enjoyable impeachment issue just passed.

The next topic is still personnel.

"Zhang Liang has gone to Hebei Province to take up his post, and the position of Minister of Works is vacant." Hou Junji reported.

According to convention, the chief assistant minister is usually promoted to the position of Shangshu.

But Li Shimin stroked his mustache and had another idea:
"Has Xue Wanche returned from Yingzhou?"

Hou Junji was startled and replied:
"It's only been a few days."

"Let Xue Wanche be the Minister of Works." Li Shimin said lightly.

Xue Wanche? That rough guy who lacks women?

What does he know about manufacturing? What does he know about engineering?
The young ministers immediately submitted a memorial asking His Majesty to reconsider, and many people also recommended themselves.

They are not modest either, no one knows more about plastering than them.

However, all the objections were rejected by Li Shimin. His Majesty had already decided that a rough man named Xue would be the Minister of Works.

The old foxes in the court, regardless of their positions, remained surprisingly quiet.

According to your Majesty's usual character.

If a military general is suddenly promoted to an important civil position, it is likely that the country will go into war with the neighboring country, and the military general will be the main general.

For example, before Hou Junji went to Gaochang, he had just been promoted to Minister of Personnel.

Your Majesty has promoted two military generals to ministers at once. Could it be that Li Shiji is the chief military commander and Xue Wanche is the deputy chief military commander?

This is going to be a big deal. Which country is so unlucky?

…………

"Is this what the new Minister of War said?"

In the Wude Hall, Prince of Wei Li Tai raised one eyebrow.

"That's right." Cen Wenben informed him of everything that happened in today's court meeting.

Li Tai smiled:

"Generals trust each other and do not suspect each other. This is a blessing for the Tang Dynasty."

"Yes, yes." Cen Wenben listened to his leader's nonsense and left in a hurry.

After he left, Li Tai sighed softly.

"It seems that brother Zhinu doesn't think highly of me as his brother."

After he sent a letter to Li Zhi expressing his wish to "appreciate Changdi together", he never received a reply.

With Li Zhi's knowledge, he would not be unaware of the hint of Changdihua.

Therefore, he asked Cen Wenben to name Li Shiji at today's court meeting to test the attitude of the Sima of the Prince of Jin's Mansion.

The result of the test was that Li Zhi had no intention of forming an alliance with him.

I don’t know if it has anything to do with Li Mingda. “Alas… Father has laid everything out on the table, making the situation seem boring.”

Li Tai took a leisurely sip of tea.

Originally, Cen Wenben and his men could have disguised themselves as the prince's party, stirred up discord in government affairs, aroused the emperor's disgust, and put the blame on the prince.

This is how he manipulated the Liaodong affairs.

This can not only arouse his father's suspicion towards Li Ming, but also sow discord between his father and Li Chengqian. He can reap the benefits while the two sides are fighting.

Unexpectedly, Li Ming turned the tables on this sure-win game.

Not only did he regain his father's trust, but he was also adopted by his mother, the Queen Mother, and officially became qualified to compete for the throne.

The plate is so small, if one more person comes to share it, the interests of both him and Li Chengqian will be harmed.

Not only that, the emperor also changed his strategy for choosing the crown prince and brought in Li Zhi, allowing the four brothers to compete openly.

This was all aboveboard, which made Li Tai, who was good at conspiracy, very uncomfortable.

Moreover, in the past, it was his father who focused on supporting him as a prince to compete with the crown prince.

Now there are two more people.

This caused his status in his father's heart to decline again and again.

From the chief whetstone, he became one of the three whetstones.

"If interests are damaged, they have to be made up from somewhere else."

Li Tai put down his teacup and thought:
"Alliance is the highest form of compensating for interests. Li Zhi refused, and Li Chengqian obviously would not form an alliance with me.

"That……"

There is only Li Ming.

Do you want to form an alliance with that destabilizing factor?

And because of the Liaodong incident, there were some minor conflicts between the two of them——

Specifically, his followers, under the name of the crown prince, have been impeaching Li Ming for more than half a year.

Is reconciliation possible?
Li Tai felt that this was feasible and very possible.

Because Li Ming's number one enemy is undoubtedly the prince.

When it comes to being the crown prince, Li Tai has experience.

From the perspective of practical interests, Li Ming has the motivation to unite with his brother.

As for the little misunderstanding between the two of them, how to resolve it...

"For such a small matter, I only need a few words to convince him."

Li Tai immediately started writing the letter.

…………

"Li Tai wrote me a letter?"

Li Ming was stunned holding the letter sent by the eunuch.

First of all, Wude Hall is not far from Lizheng Hall.

Is there anything you can't just say?

Tsk, it’s troublesome when intellectuals speak and act.

He opened the letter and found Li Tai's main point among the long-winded greetings:
His retainers and scholars discovered a Han Dynasty underground palace outside Chang'an, with exquisite bricks and stones and unique murals, and invited him to go on a tour.

“You have to go underground without a helmet.” Li Ming immediately bared his teeth.

He felt that he had seen through Li Tai, and while Li Tai was in Liaodong, he arranged for his followers to pretend to be the prince's gang and cause chaos.

Li Ming originally found this strange.

Changsun Wuji and the Crown Prince were not so stupid as to launch a counterattack against him immediately after the Jiucheng Palace incident.

After Li Shimin's series of moves, the truth finally came to light.

It turned out that the Wei Wang party was pretending to be loyal and instigating discord between the two sides.

Not only did he attract a lot of hatred for the prince, but he also gradually lost the favor of his father.

This also made Li Ming suffer from Li Shimin's suspicion and almost led to a conflict with the Tang army.

"Li Tai is a man with intelligence, but he uses it all in his schemes and intrigues to gain power."

There have been such rulers in history.

My stepmother Wu Zetian, the Taoist priest Zhu Houzhao, and the Empress Dowager Cixi who challenged the whole world, are such politicians.

Yes, instead of concentrating on governing the country, he used all his intelligence and talent on political manipulation.

Li Ming felt that such a smart and selfish politician could only be called a "politician", not as good as Emperor Hui of Jin who refused to eat meat and remained a saintly person.

Li Tai belongs to the category of politician.

God knows what other schemes he has up his sleeve.

"If I follow him into the basement, I'm afraid I'll be knocked over and buried by a shovel."

Li Ming replied decisively with only one word:

Don't go!

…………

"Eh? Brother Ming, can't you see that I'm writing this letter based on the story of 'Duke Zhuang of Zheng digging the ground to see his mother', to express my apology to him and to hope for a reconciliation?

"That shouldn't be the case. He's so smart, he wouldn't fail to understand."

Li Tai held up the reply letter that Li Ming had personally thrown at the entrance of Wude Hall, and looked left and right, trying to read some metaphors or hints between the lines.

But this "letter" only has two words in it, and I really can't figure out what other meaning it may have besides "rejection".

Li Tai put down the teacup heavily, and it made a crisp sound on the saucer.

The serving maid was frightened and gasped.

Li Tai still had a gentle smile on his face:

"Can you get me a pen and paper?"

…………

"The King of Wei wrote to me?"

Xue Wanche had just returned to his happy hometown after half a year from the bustling Northeast, when his old friend Qibi Heli came to visit him with a letter from Li Tai.

"I don't know his intention either." Qibi Heli, a Turkic "Confucian" general who was well versed in the Tang Dynasty, was still dressed in white.

"When I attended the annual Qujiang Poetry Festival, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei asked me to pass this letter to you..."

Xue Wanche was tired of listening to this nonsense, so he opened the letter on the spot without thinking much about it.

"Hey hey hey! Brother, how could you open the letter!" Qibi Heli almost screamed sharply.

Xue Wanche was stunned:
"Isn't this a letter for me?"

"No, this..." Qibi Heli didn't know how to explain it for a moment:

"Brother has been away for a long time, and he doesn't know the intricacies of the court.

"Now, four princes including Li Ming and Li Tai are competing for the throne.

"The matter of establishing a crown prince is of great importance. We must not get involved in it casually!"

This confusing explanation made Xue Wanche, a rough man, even more confused.

Isn’t our Prince Li Ming planning to rebel directly?
Why are they fighting over the reserves again?

Originally, I wanted to wash away the shame of being chased up the mountain during the Xuanwu Gate Incident. So, should our Red Turban Army still rebel now?

Qibi Heli looked at Lao Xue's pair of clear and stupid eyes and could only say:
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei wants to win over Brother Xue."

"Ah?" Xue Wanche was totally confused.

I have already joined the organization, and I have an identity and a position in Liaodong!

The King of Wei is doing this again?
"Brother is the new Minister of Works. He is expected to shine in the next attack. And brother is also the trusted and beloved general of the Liaodong Jiedushi. He is very popular."

The enthusiastic Turkic elder brother Qibi Heli explained the situation in detail on behalf of Brother Xue, who remained as kind as ever.

"Oh, you mean, the King of Wei is trying to steal Li Ming's girlfriend?" Xue Wanche finally understood and couldn't help laughing:

"How could he succeed? It has always been His Highness Li Ming who poaches people, such as Xue Ren from Yingzhou Governor's Office..."

Xue Wanche was halfway through bragging when he shut up in time.

"Xue Ren?"

"Uh...it's okay."

It was a close call. The secret of the Red Turban Army infiltrating the Yingzhou Governor's Office was almost leaked...

"The letter has already been opened, so what's the harm in taking a look at it?"

With the purpose of being here since he was already here, Xue Wanche glanced at Li Tai's letter.

Fortunately, Li Tai also knew Xue Wanche's rough nature and did not use any metaphors like "a pearl covered in dust".

Instead, it says bluntly:

Come to me, I have money and status!

"Tch, boring."

Xue Wanche casually threw the letter into the bucket, and it turned into a puddle of mud.

Such a decisive attitude surprised Qibi Heli:
"We are all princes, there is no such thing as treason.

"The price offered by His Royal Highness the King of Wei is quite generous, why do you disdain it?
"It is often said that a man will die for his confidant. Could it be that the governor's subordinates have shown me kindness?"

This statement surprised Xue Wanche:
"Brother Qibi, didn't you notice?
"The King of Wei is far inferior to His Highness Li Ming."

"Why do you think so?" Qibi Heli raised his eyebrows curiously.

Although he had made up his mind not to take sides, but...

It is always beneficial to listen to more information from different sources and learn from others.

"Uh..." It was really a bit difficult for Xue Wanche to compare and sort out the strengths and weaknesses of the two people from management to strategy.

He could only pick out the most obvious truths:
"Because His Highness Li Ming introduced me to a wife!"

(End of this chapter)