Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 70: Resigning is a relief, but eating dirt is a funeral
"whee."

The palace maid held Li Ming's little hand, looked at his pouting face, and smiled with her hands covering her mouth.

"That" prince was famous, so when His Majesty really carried Li Ming into the Lizheng Hall, all the palace servants were as if they were facing a great enemy.

But unexpectedly, this little prince often acted like a demon to high-ranking officials and sometimes even behaved disrespectfully towards His Majesty.

But he was very nice to the servants.

Moreover, his kindness is different from the benevolence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin and the kindness of Princess Jinyang.

It is a kind of respect that treats them as "people" rather than "things" stipulated by the law.

So after a few days, everyone actually relaxed in front of him.

"What national affairs is Shishilang thinking about?" the palace maid asked with a smile.

Because Li Ming is the fourteenth child, he was given this affectionate title.

Li Ming asked three philosophical questions with a serious face:

"Where I come from, where I go, and what I eat at night."

The palace maid was amused even more.

But Li Ming is really thinking about these three questions seriously.

If Li Daozon's worries were true, and there really was a thief who could poison the imperial food, then Lizheng Hall must be a high-risk area.

It would be better for him to sneak back to Lide Hall for dinner and continue eating sunflower rice.

However, Li Ming felt that this speculation was not credible.

If it was really so easy to poison someone in a palace, history would have been a mess long ago.

So, my dinner should still be safe.

Back to another more realistic question -

Where should I go?

Meeting Li Tai today was obviously not a coincidence.

Because that guy usually licks Li Shimin very actively.

He must have known that Li Shimin had summoned his ministers tonight to discuss how to deal with the summer floods, and would not return to Lizheng Hall until very late.

Li Tai obviously had something to say to Li Ming.

"The Snow-Taking Cicada mentioned by Li Tai..."

Li Ming thought of the hunting that Li Tai mentioned out of the blue.

"Could it be that I am being compared to a hunting dog, Li Tai is being compared to prey, and Crown Prince Li Chengqian is being compared to the hunter?

"He wants to tell me that I, the hunting dog, am uncontrollable and has already made Li Chengqian feel threatened. He only refrained from killing me because he could still use it to bite Li Tai?"

After being immersed in the pile of old silver coins for a long time, Li Ming became accustomed to it and saw through the King of Wei's little plan at a glance.

Li Tai actually wanted to tell him that they were in a life-and-death relationship.

A symbiotic relationship where the dog is abandoned after the rabbit dies.

As long as Li Tai is alive, Li Ming can still be of use to the prince.

When Li Tai dies or loses power completely, it will be time for Li Ming to be respectable himself or to be respected.

In fact, Li Ming also had similar speculations.

Since Li Chengqian and Zhangsun Wuji have already become suspicious of me.

Then why didn't you do it in the end?

They could have easily arranged for a soldier to kill him with a knife that night and then put the blame on the Turkic Lieutenant General.

You don’t even need to be there in person.

Don’t you know that villains die because they talk too much?

From this perspective, Li Tai's conclusion is a reasonable explanation.

"So my good brother suddenly visited me to win me over and fight against the prince together?"

Li Ming smiled bitterly.

The King of Wei is too realistic.

Normally they turn a blind eye, but as soon as they smell something profitable, they immediately come over.

This also proves from the side that Li Ming has grown into a political force that cannot be ignored.

“However, just because my conclusion is the same as Li Tai’s, it doesn’t mean that my strategy will also be led by Li Tai.

"Li Chengqian would abandon his rabbit after it's dead, so why wouldn't Li Tai do the same?"

Thinking about it carefully, the King of Wei did not make any promises to him.

It is just a fable-like story to imply that both parties are in the same boat.

You can turn your back on someone at any time.

Then again.

Even if Li Taizhen formed an alliance with him and swore an oath by the Luo River, would it be credible?
The basic principles of palace fighting:
An unsigned treaty is toilet paper, a signed treaty is toilet paper with words on it.

What he needs to do is not to follow the second in command to fight against the eldest in command.

Instead, it dances on several eggs at the same time, waiting for an opportunity to seek development outward.

"It may be a good thing to be crowned a king now. King of Lu is King of Lu. If it is unlucky, it is unlucky.

“During this period of time, I have accumulated some strength and connections.

"We have Wei Daijia in literature, Hou Junji in the military, Fang Xuanling in the court, the sons of officials outside the court, and the weapon of public opinion. If necessary, the refugees can be incited.

"Add to that the royal grace I gained from selling my blood, which might save my life at a critical moment...

"It's not that there is no power to resist."

With people and a base, Li Ming's confidence also swelled.

Before the momentum starts, being crowned king is equivalent to putting a stake in the market and selling the first, which will lead to death in futures trading.

But today is different from the past.

He had already entered the sight of the Crown Prince, Zhangsun Wuji and the King of Wei. If he continued to bury his head in the sand, he would be deceiving himself.

With a fiefdom, one can accumulate capital quickly and legitimately to fight against the prince and other evil spirits.

And more importantly, if the situation in the palace was not good, he could find a reason to "go to the vassal state" and escape, at least until Li Shimin's death -

Because the current situation in Tai Chi Palace is rather mysterious.

Although Li Ming was favored by the emperor, if the prince was really desperate and killed him, a bastard, there would be no way to complain.

From a rational analysis, it would be inappropriate for the prince to take action against Li Ming after he was officially recognized as a hero who saved the emperor.

The problem is, looking at the prince's devilish appearance, who knows whether he is rational or irrational. If he was rational throughout, how could Li Zhi be the one who ascended the throne and ate PUBG in history?

Li Chengqian was a bastard who even dared to kill the emperor. How could he not dare to kill the emperor's younger brother?
Lizheng Hall is his safe house, and the guards here are enough to make any irrational person come to his senses.

In a sense, Li Daozon was right. He, Li Ming, could not leave Lizheng Hall at will.

But he couldn't stay in the safe house forever; he had to come out to consolidate and develop his party.

With Lu as his strong rear base, he could move forward and backward freely.

"It feels good to resign, but it's a waste of time to eat dirt in the crematorium." Li Ming smiled bitterly.

Although Li Shimin promised to confer the title of King of Lu on him, he had to wait until the emperor returned from Jiucheng Palace.

During this period of time, you can only stay in Lizheng Hall.

Fortunately, he still had a firm grasp on the base, and the ideological work on Hou Junji was coming to an end. The personnel base had been built up.

"Wait, if what Li Tai said just now really has a deeper meaning..."

Li Tai recalled another detail:

"And what does he mean by 'muzzling and trimming' the hounds?
“Could it be…

"Eliminate my power?!"

Li Ming's heart sank.

I began to take stock of my still developing wings.

Fang Xuanling? The prince is not high enough to move this old silver coin.

Lai Junchen and other lowly people, refugees and craftsmen? It was even more impossible. A prince would not be willing to associate with peasants.

Naughty kids? Besides Chang Sunyan, who can the prince control?

"You're not trying to snatch Hou Junji from me, are you?"

…………

The setting sun shone obliquely on the thatched cottage where Hou Junji was under house arrest.

Changsun Wuji stood up tiredly.

He didn't expect this guy to be so stubborn.

After persuading him for a whole day, he showed no sign of giving in.

"The Chancellor of the Eastern Palace is the highest-ranking official in the Eastern Palace and cannot be given to anyone at will. Duke Chen should consider other official positions."

Zhang Sun Wuji's throat was a little hoarse:

"Is your literary and political achievements comparable to those of Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou, and Cen Wenben?"

Hou Junji leaned his hands on the table and said casually:
“Since the Crown Prince is respectful to the wise and humble, he wants to summon a guilty minister like me to be his aide.

"Then you can let me be the left guard of the East Palace."

After going around in a big circle and returning to the original place, Changsun Wuji couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

He came on behalf of the Crown Prince to recruit Hou Junji and intercept Li Ming.

I thought that by promising him a high position and generous salary, I could make this guy defect smoothly.

Unexpectedly, Hou Junji made an exorbitant request, turning the negotiations into bargaining and reaching a stalemate.

"The Zuowei Commander is the highest military commander of the Eastern Palace."

Zhang Sun Wuji patiently refused for the nth time:

"Even if you, Duke Chen, are brave and good at fighting, does our Tang Dynasty lack brave and good fighters?
"How do your military achievements compare to those of Li Jing and Li Shiji?"

The Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty was equivalent to a "shadow cabinet". The official positions of the Eastern Palace corresponded one-to-one with those of the imperial court, and the crown prince could make a seamless transition after taking over.

In other words, Hou Junji said he would become the future military and political leader.

"This is not acceptable, and that is not acceptable. I have to doubt the sincerity of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in respecting the wise and humble."

Hou Junji sat in the shadow of the setting sun, and his expression could not be seen clearly.

Zhang Sun Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly:
"I think Duke Chen is not sincere.

"Are you deliberately rejecting the Crown Prince's kindness?"

Hou Junji kept silent.

"Is it because of His Highness Li Ming?"

Chang Sun Wuji laughed without any smile:
"Just because of the childish words of that naughty little prince, Duke Chen is determined to follow him wholeheartedly?

"I really didn't know that you still have a childlike heart."

Zhang Sun Wuji did not hide his sarcasm and spoke the most straightforward truth:
“His Highness Li Ming doesn’t even have his own palace, and yet you are going to lose the favor of the Eastern Palace because of this.

"Do you need me to explain the pros and cons to you?"

Hou Junji still didn't answer, but just served the tea steadily.

see a visitor out.

Chang Sun Wuji was not annoyed, and said coldly:
“Although I don’t have the ability to spread rumors like the naughty boy to incite the ignorant people and force the court to revolt.

"But we still have the ability to let you rest in the Dali Temple for a while."

Walk away.

Hou Junji sat in the shadows, motionless, like a sculpture.

After a while, he suddenly grabbed the Zhenguan Law on the table and threw it towards the bookshelf angrily.

Detailed geomancy maps of various regions in the Central Plains were knocked to the ground.

"Shameless! Even more shameless than me!"

He growled under his breath.

…………

Nightfall, Wei Mansion.

Wei Daijia was sitting at the desk, holding a lamp and nodding his head.

Because the recent predecessor, Prince Cao and future Prince Lu, was completely disciplined by the current Prince Lu's tutor, leaving him, the Prince Cao's secretary, with nothing to do.

I would only occasionally go to the porridge stall to chat with the poor, and go to the workshop to discuss production techniques with the craftsmen.

He had a feeling that his youth had been wasted.

At this moment, there was a noise outside the door, which woke him up from his sleep.

"Father?" Wei Daijia rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"What happened in the court that made you come back so late?"

Wei Ting complained:

"The Wei River in Yongzhou is flooding, and Your Majesty has summoned all the ministers to discuss countermeasures.

"But I am the Imperial Censor who supervises all officials, not the Minister of Works. What does the dam collapse have to do with me?"

Wei Ting was full of resentment about being called to work overtime for no reason.

After hearing this, Wei Daijia couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted:
"Yongzhou is just outside the capital, and is an important area of ​​the capital. I'm afraid the number of refugees fleeing to the capital will double again...

"What happened? This year's rainstorm was not more severe than in previous years, so why did the dam still burst?"

Wei Ting curled his lips in disdain:

"The local rural rabble worked but did not put in any effort.

"In addition to corvée labor, the court also provided money and grain to allow Yongzhou Prefecture to hire labor to repair the river embankment, but it was not completed even in summer.

"Not only does it take too long to build, but the dams that have been built are also unusable and will collapse as soon as the flood comes."

Wei Daijia immediately understood the problem and recalled a famous quote from His Highness Shishilang:

"If you want a horse to run fast, how can you not feed it grass?
"The civilians are unwilling to work. Is it because the funds allocated by the court were embezzled by the state government?"

He just said it casually.

But my father suddenly stopped talking.

Wei Daijia looked up and saw the other party looking at him in surprise.

(End of this chapter)