Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 92 Li Shimin angrily signed an unequal treaty

September, the fourteenth year of Zhenguan.

A strange enthronement ceremony was held in the Taiji Palace in Chang'an.

The fourteenth prince Li Ming, who had the highest popularity, was finally officially conferred the title.

This is not surprising.

After the Jiucheng Palace Incident, everyone inside and outside the government was unanimous in their belief that this brave, resourceful, loyal and filial son of the Tang Dynasty would surely reach greater heights.

However, when the conferred position was announced to the world with an imperial edict, almost everyone was shocked.

What is this letter about?
"Jiedushi of Liaodong"?
What is a Jiedushi?
It doesn’t sound cool at first glance!
And it’s Liaodong?

Liaodong cannot be said to be uninhabited, but it can be said to be far away from human civilization.

What else does that place have besides Pingzhou, which is always preparing for war, and Yingzhou, which is of a vassal state?
There's nothing!
Everyone looked left and right, almost putting their eyes on the imperial edict.

However, apart from the unclear title of "Jiedushi of Liaodong", His Highness Li Ming had no other position.

There were no familiar titles such as King of Yan, Governor, and Commander-in-Chief.

Then, a storm of public opinion began to brew...

A few days later.

The humiliating enthronement of Prince Li Ming by the Tang Emperor once again became the biggest topic of discussion in the Tang Dynasty.

The straightforward subjects said frankly that His Majesty had lost all his dignity by sending an outstanding hero to the desolate Liaodong.

In Liangyi Hall, at the small court meeting, Li Shimin was very angry.

How come after Li Ming’s movement restrictions were lifted, I appeared on the hot searches at least ten times a day.

And it was sprayed on every time.

Damn it, was I too indulgent towards that guy?

Should I tear up the agreement and forbid that guy from publishing a newspaper among the people?

"His Majesty."

Wei Zheng took the lead and interrupted Li Shimin's sullenness.

"The prince wisely solved the case of Prince Hejian, followed the clues to find out the Turkic rebellion case, and rushed to Jiucheng Palace to rescue His Majesty, the Crown Prince and the rest of the imperial family.

"He is wise and brave, and is capable of taking on great responsibilities!"

You don't have to praise him in front of me anymore. My ears are almost callused from the past few days... Li Shimin patiently listened to Wei Zheng's praises and waited for the professional troll to say "but".

"But!" Wei Zheng's face turned serious, and he advised solemnly:
"For the great achievements made by the prince, Your Majesty only allowed him to rule the two states of Ying and Ping in Liaodong.

“This is not enough to bring out the wisdom and talent of His Highness Li Ming.

“It is a staggering waste for the country to let such talent go unused.

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Almost immediately, Dali Temple Minister Sun Fujia seconded the proposal:
“I think that sending His Highness Li Ming to Liaodong is more of an exile than a reward.

"To punish someone who has made great contributions will probably make people think that Your Majesty is not fair in rewarding and punishing."

Li Shimin's eyelids were twitching:
"How many times have I told you that he wanted to go to that damn place on his own!
"And what he asked of me was far more than what you saw..."

The ministers said: "Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Li Shimin's temples were bulging with veins, and he pointed at someone who was resting with his eyes closed:

"If you don't believe me, ask that guy about his history!"

When called by His Majesty, Fang Xuanling just replied calmly:

"It's true. I was there."

This absent-minded attitude makes people not believe it, or not believe it?

Then, the ministers were no longer sleepy.

Advice came pouring in like snowflakes, unanimously demanding that His Highness Li Ming's treatment be improved.

"Okay, okay, okay! I'll give him more! Give him more treatment!"

The small court meeting ended with Li Shimin's another compromise.

When the court was about to end, he called Sun Fujia:

"Why are you, a judge in charge of trying cases, interfering in the affairs of enfeoffment?"

I didn't abuse my son at home, and even if I did, it wouldn't be illegal. Why are you, a Supreme Court Justice, making such a fuss?
Sun Fujia said righteously:

“Every action of the king is a law, and the fairness of the king’s rewards and punishments is also related to the fairness of the laws.

"Since it is related to the law, I dare not ignore it!"

What he said made so much sense that Li Shimin didn't know how to refute it.

He narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice:
"Are you returning the favor because Li Ming solved the case for you?"

"That is absolutely not the case! I have always spoken up for justice!" Sun Fujia said calmly.

Well, this is as shameless as a city wall, and it is the same as those "Fourteen Parties".

Li Shimin sighed and waved his hand:
"Go."

My goodness, is Li Ming a succubus? He quietly abducted his Chief Justice.

If he continues to do this, I'm afraid half of the court will become fourteen parties.

The more Li Shimin thought about it, the angrier he became, so he wanted to call his companion.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, his expression dimmed, and he gently waved his hand to the bewildered eunuch beside him: "I will return to Lizheng Palace first and ask Concubine Yang to accompany me. The one in Lide Palace, don't find another Concubine Yang like last time."

The little eunuch was almost crying with fear:

"I am stupid, I deserve to die..."

"Hey, don't talk about death lightly." Li Shimin said gently:

"Also, bring Li Ming to Lizheng Hall. He should be at the printing house in the West Market at this time. You can't catch him alone, so ask a few more imperial guards to accompany him..."

…………

More than an hour later, the imperial guards finally captured the Liaodong Jiedushi who was wandering around and took him back to the study in Lizheng Palace.

"Grandpa, looking for me?" Li Ming was held in the hands of the third gatekeeper general and blinked his naughty eyes at his father.

Li Shimin twitched his lips, sent the gatekeeper away, pointed at Li Ming, and said displeasedly:
"You've earned all the fame, kid, but I've got to take the blame.

"The world only knows that I am mean and ungrateful, and that I gave you the two most marginal states of Ping and Ying.

"But who could have known that the price you offered was much more expensive than it looked!"

Yes, Li Ming certainly would not be polite to Li Shimin.

He exchanged the two lower states of Liaodong for Xuzhou and Yangzhou, so of course he had to make up for the difference.

The specific method is:

They want power! They want money! They want people! They want food!
Li Ming attached a long list, demanding a large amount of money, food, copper, iron and other benefits for Yingzhou and Pingzhou.

Li Shimin once doubted whether this guy wanted to rebuild Yangzhou and Xuzhou in Liaodong.

But compared with the other conditions Li Ming proposed, this little bit of material benefit was nothing.

Li Ming also demanded tax autonomy for the two states!
Mining rights!

The right to mint coins!
The right to conscription!
legislative power!
When accepting these conditions, Li Shimin felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation.

He felt that he was no longer the Heavenly Khan, but a coward who signed an unequal treaty.

However, irrelevant people in the government and the opposition cannot settle this account.

They only know that Your Majesty sent a great hero to exile in Liaodong. Your Majesty is unfair. The Tang Dynasty is doomed!

"Alas, it's human nature." Li Ming said with deep feeling:
“People’s eyes are only attracted by the big words in the title, but they ignore the devil hidden in the details.”

As expected of an expert in setting the pace... Li Shimin chuckled:
"You should thank Sun Fujia. He has secured benefits for your Liaodong military garrison."

The military town was something that Li Mingxin created, covering Yingzhou and Pingzhou under the rule of Li Ming, the governor of Liaodong.

Thanks to Li Ming's crazy asking price, in Li Shimin's dictionary, military town = a country within a country.

"Oh? Sun Tingwei is so righteous!" Li Ming's eyes sparkled, and he rubbed his hands in a mercenary way:
"The promised one million catties of iron and one hundred thousand catties of copper are finally going to be allocated to me?"

Li Shimin took a deep breath and replied as patiently as possible:
"Impossible! The annual mining volume in the country is only one or two million kilograms. How can it all be transported to Liaodong?!

"At most, there are 100,000 catties of iron and 10,000 catties of copper. No more than that!"

Li Ming's mouth suddenly shrank, and his eyes were filled with tears:

"We in the Northeast are really miserable. We have to defend against Goguryeo in the east, Turks in the west, and harassment from fishermen and hunters in the north. We have guarded the border for hundreds of years, but we can't even afford iron tools. We can only dig the soil with our hands. The people are so poor that they have to eat grass..."

"Alright, alright! At most, double it!" Li Shimin's head was about to explode, and he waved his hands angrily:
"Two hundred thousand catties, if there are more, other states and counties will have to eat grass!"

Li Ming stopped howling immediately, tilted his head and calculated for a while, then the cloudy sky turned sunny:
"Okay!"

Li Shimin glanced at him and sneered:
"What do you need so much copper and iron for? There are not many craftsmen in Liaodong."

"That's right!" Li Ming slapped his head and looked at Li Shimin eagerly.

Li Shimin just wanted to slap himself.

"Ah~ Ye~" Li Ming began to chant.

"I know, I know! I'll allocate some more craftsmen to you!" Li Shimin interrupted in time.

After friendly consultations and in-depth communication, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on the construction of the Liaodong military town.

Li Shimin exhaled lightly and said:
"I have practically ceded two states to you, so you should be satisfied now, right?

"Can you ask the so-called 'newspapers' out there to stop smearing the imperial court?"

Besides the Liaodong military garrison, opening up the newspaper industry was the second price Li Ming asked his father for.

The printing house finally made a major breakthrough in movable type printing, and it could be barely put to practical use.

This also provided Li Ming with the material conditions to start a newspaper.

Of course, the "openness" here is subject to conditions and restrictions, and not everyone can come and get a piece of this bowl of rice.

Specifically, this qualification is only open to Li Ming -

The public opinion front is too important, so he will not hand over this key front to the invisible hand of the market.

He wants to monopolize.

"The newspaper is independently written by journalists and editors, and I have no right to inquire about its content. But as far as I know, it contains information that ordinary people are concerned about in their daily lives. There may be some exaggerations, but there is absolutely no unwarranted smear campaign."

Li Ming threw the blame away first, then changed the subject:
"For example, the newspapers criticized the court for being stingy. Isn't it stingy that you are unwilling to meet my small request?"

Li Shimin frowned slightly:
"Which condition do you have that I haven't agreed to within my ability?"

"The power to appoint and dismiss personnel in Pingzhou and Yingzhou."

"This is absolutely not okay."

Li Shimin vetoed it almost immediately.

(End of this chapter)