Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 32: Zhenguan, you must act like Zhenguan [New book, please collect it]

"Kill! Kill them!"

"Kill them over there too! Kill them!"

"Hey, General Xue, slow down, kill slower!"

"General, we are about to capture Li Yi!"

"Haha, General Xue is indeed worthy of being the general chosen by my eldest nephew!"

Hearing this, Xue Wanche was like a chicken with its blood pumped up. He immediately spurred his horse and shouted, "Get out of the way! Let me do it—"

Li Yi's rebellion was like a farce.

He was quickly defeated by Changsun Wuji and Xue Wanche, and even his head was presented to Changsun Wuji by his left and right.

The person who benefited the most from this rebellion was naturally Zhangsun Wuji, followed by Xue Wanche.

In fact, Xue Wanche knew that he had not made any contribution by abandoning the dark and joining the light, but Li Shimin valued his talent.

Therefore, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he has been extremely cautious, fearing that he would make mistakes and be impeached by someone with ulterior motives.

However, no matter how careful and cautious he was, he was still a little panicked when he heard that his former leader Luo Yi had rebelled, and was even afraid that he would be implicated in the matter.

And it was at this moment that Changsun Wuji's appointment of generals made him feel like he saw a ray of light in the darkness, and he was overjoyed.

When he heard that it was King Zhongshan Li Chengqian who recommended him to Zhangsun Wuji, he was extremely moved.

The so-called scholar dies for a confidant.

He felt that Li Chengqian was his confidant and had been very kind to him.

So, the first thing he wanted to do when he came back was to visit Li Chengqian, but was stopped by Changsun Wuji.

Because Li Shimin did not allow his son to contact foreign officials.

Even his uncle, Changsun Wuji, could only see his nephew with Empress Changsun's consent.

During the period after Luo Yi's rebellion failed, Chang'an was relatively peaceful.

"Queen! I'm going to kill Wei Zheng! I'm definitely going to kill Wei Zheng this time!"

Although Chang'an was calm, the situation in the palace was hard to say.

For example, Li Shimin is now running angrily from Taiji Palace to Lizheng Hall, ready to find his sword and start a killing spree.

Empress Changsun, Li Chengqian and Li Tai seemed to have gotten used to this kind of scene. They each held a bowl of pork rib soup, gulped it down and watched his performance.

Don't say it yet.

His Majesty Li Er's performance is quite interesting, especially his two mustaches, which twitch up and down when he gets angry. If he were given a few skewers of lamb, he might be able to act like a Xinjiang uncle.

"Hey, if you're passing by, don't miss this freshly cooked lamb."

"puff--"

Thinking of the Xinjiang uncle who sold lamb skewers that he met in his previous life, Li Chengqian couldn't help but chuckle.

And it was this smile that instantly turned His Majesty Li Er's anger towards him. He glared at him and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"what?"

Li Chengqian was startled and quickly gave Empress Changsun a pitiful look.

Empress Changsun glared at him, then put down her bowl, wiped her mouth, and gracefully walked before His Majesty Li Er. She saluted him dignifiedly and generously: "Your Majesty, I congratulate you!"

"???"

His Majesty Li Er was full of questions, wondering what was going on. He hesitated and asked, "What is the Empress congratulating me for?"

"Shouldn't I congratulate the Tang Dynasty for having a good minister like Wei Zheng?" Empress Changsun said with a smile.

Li Shimin reacted for a moment and muttered to himself, "Yes, he is a good minister. If I kill him, he will be remembered for eternity, and I will become an eternal sinner. That's right, I can't kill him, I can't kill him."

As he spoke, he walked around the room a few times, calmed down his emotions, and gathered his mind. He looked at Empress Zhangsun helplessly and said, "With people like you around, it's impossible for me to be a tyrant!"

"How could Your Majesty possibly want to be a tyrant? Your Majesty must be a wise ruler for all time, and be a role model for the children!"

"This"

When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately realized that he had just been in the room looking for a sword and killing someone. He said with embarrassment, "Well, Queen, I have something else to do. You guys take your time eating."

After saying that, he threw down the sword in his hand. He came and went in a hurry.

The two brothers were stunned by what they saw.

"Mom is still amazing!"

After watching Li Shimin leave, Li Chengqian sincerely gave Empress Changsun a thumbs up.

But the fat boy Li Tai, a little late to react, ran to Empress Changsun, hugged her and said, "Mother, I'm scared."

"Haha, Qingque, don't be afraid, be good~"

Empress Changsun patted the fat boy's head, comforting him while saying to Xiangling, who had already knelt on the ground in fear, "Hurry up and put away your sword."

"Yes"

Seeing Xiangling carefully put away her sword, Li Chengqian seemed to remember something and asked, "Mother, I asked Xiangling to inform you about finding a blacksmith for me. Has anyone found one?"

"Ok?"

Empress Changsun was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "Yes, there is one, in the manufacturing bureau, but what do you want a blacksmith for?"

"When I was visiting the manufacturing bureau the other day, I saw the craftsmen struggling to lift the large vats, so I wondered if they could make a few pulleys to save some effort and improve production efficiency. It would be even better if my mother could find a carpenter or a potter for me," Li Chengqian lied without hesitation.

In fact, making any pulley is secondary. What he really wants to make is a fire bomb.

The effect is similar to that of a bomb.

But Empress Changsun was not happy that Li Chengqian wanted to help her. Instead, she scolded him sternly: "Chengqian, mother knows that you are talented, but you are still an eight-year-old child. Your focus should be on learning, not these tricks!"

At this point, he seemed to remember something and touched the little fat boy's face and said, "Look at Qingque. He has recently been praised by several great Confucian teachers. They say that he is well-versed in poetry and literature and has brilliant literary talent. Look at yourself again. Do you have an older brother as a role model? With you being like this, how can you..."

"Oh, mother, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me and stop nagging me. I promise you that I will get first place in the next teacher's assessment!"

Seeing that Empress Changsun kept talking, Li Chengqian quickly patted his chest and assured him.

Upon hearing this, Li Tai raised his eyebrows and thought to himself, if you get first place, what should I get?
However, he did not interrupt the conversation between Li Chengqian and Empress Changsun.

Because of the lessons learned from the previous times, he has become smarter and will never force himself to take the lead again this time.

What's more, studying is his strong point, and he believes that he will never lose to anyone.

So, this time he wanted to slap Li Chengqian hard in the face.

Empress Changsun nodded in satisfaction upon hearing Li Chengqian's assurance, and then instructed Xiangling, "Xiangling, take my token and arrange for the blacksmith, carpenter, and potter to be stationed in Chengqian's courtyard!"

"Yes, Queen."

Xiangling responded and did as she was told immediately.

Li Chengqian saluted to Empress Zhangsun with great joy, "Thank you, mother!"

After saying that, he rushed back to his own courtyard.

the other side.

Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall. Li Shimin, who had originally left in anger, returned with a calm demeanor and ran to Wei Zheng, offering an apology: "Just now, I was wrong. I won't do that again. Go ahead, whatever you want to say from now on."

"minister"

Wei Zheng was stunned for a moment, and was about to speak when he heard Li Shimin say:
"We've discussed reducing the number of kings many times, and today, no matter what, we must reach a conclusion!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Pei Ji and asked calmly, "Pei Sikong still disagrees?"

"Ah? This"

Pei Ji looked hesitant.

At this time, Feng Deyi interjected, "As the saying goes, the Yangguan Road is a single-plank bridge. Why is Your Majesty so obsessed with reducing the number of kings?
During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, Chao Cuo's proposal was adopted, and the feudal system was firmly weakened. But what was the result? The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms broke out!

In fact, the title of king of the Grand Emperor cannot be compared with the vassal states of the Han Dynasty. The court competing with the titled kings for profit is not worth discussing! "

"Yes, Your Majesty, with the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, the so-called burden is nothing to talk about!"

"Think twice, Your Majesty!"

All the ministers agreed.

Fang Xuanling stepped forward and said, "Considering the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, the burden of the kings can certainly be borne!"

"but."

Then he changed the subject and turned to Li Shimin, saying, "I think what we should discuss now is that the country has just been stabilized and the people have no wealth. If we want to strengthen the power of the court without increasing the burden on the people, we can only reduce the number of kings!"

"Not bad!"

Changsun Wuji echoed, "Conferring titles on the kings excessively is detrimental to the court and the people!"

"This"

Feng Deyi glanced at Pei Ji, and seeing that Pei Ji was unwilling to continue exerting his strength, he snorted and continued:
"Mencius said, 'What is profit? It is nothing but benevolence and righteousness.' Why should we, as a new dynasty, talk about profit? During the discussion the other day, Your Majesty also shared Wei Zheng's views on benevolence and righteousness, didn't he?"

"Ah!"

Fang Xuanling smiled and said: "Mencius did not talk about profit, not because there is no profit to talk about, but because he valued great profit and ignored small profit.

What is benevolence and righteousness?

After all, it is for the benefit of the world!
Didn’t Mencius say that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important?
So is the king the ruler? No! Is it the state? No!
Our great Tang Dynasty has powerful enemies in the north. To enrich the country and strengthen the people is the greatest benefit to the world and the embodiment of benevolence and righteousness.

Why is it unkind and unjust for the kings to give up what they can give?"

"Uh"

Feng Deyi's mouth twitched, and he was speechless for a moment after being refuted by Fang Xuanling.

Although Pei Ji had consulted with their group of old ministers of Wude, if Emperor Li II wanted to take action against them, it would be best not to force his way in.

But he felt that being suppressed all the time was not a good thing.

Otherwise, even if he was driven out of the court, he would not gain any significant benefits.

It would be better to be like Wei Zheng and fight to the end. Maybe Emperor Li II would give up greater benefits in order to get rid of these difficult old ministers of Wude.

So after a moment of silence, he set his gaze on Pei Ji again: "What do you think, Pei Sikong?"

"Ok?"

Pei Ji was shocked and thought to himself, I am not the emperor, why are you asking me?

But Feng Deyi's question not only shocked Pei Ji, but also Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others.

"Well, I think the Right Servant's words are not entirely wrong. Xiao He built the Weiyang Palace, which was tall and magnificent. Emperor Gaozu of Han thought it was too ornate, close to the extravagance of the Qin Dynasty. Xiao He said that without grandeur, it would not be enough to show the majesty of the emperor.

Emperor Gaozu of Han readily accepted it. He believed that being the Son of Heaven was the destiny, and that what was meant to be must be granted.”

"However, the title of king belongs to the royal family. The decision is still up to His Majesty!"

Pei Ji said vaguely.

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and the others looked at each other with strange expressions, wondering what had happened to old Pei Ji today? Had he changed his ways?

However, before Li Shimin could comment on Pei Ji's words, Feng Deyi decisively stood up and sighed, "The title of king belongs to the royal family, and there should be differences in treatment. This is the grace of heaven. If the title of king is reduced, it will inevitably undermine your majesty's majesty!"

"Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly laughed out loud. He then pointed at Feng Deyi and said to his ministers, "Damage to the majesty of heaven? Did you all hear that? What the Right Prime Minister said is worth pondering!"

"hehe."

The ministers smiled knowingly.

At this time, Wei Zheng's voice suddenly rang out: "In order to make the King of Gaochang and the chieftains of the Western Regions respect the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of Sui actually wrapped street trees with silk when he received them in Luoyang, allowing them to take them freely in the market without paying.

Anyone with common sense knows that this is called falsehood. I believe that self-respect is indispensable.

Because they are no different from animals, and they don't show enough respect to guests, but their excessive self-respect is bound to make people laugh at them!"

"you!"

Wei Zheng's words made Feng Deyi so angry that he blew his beard and glared.

Li Shimin smiled and nodded with great satisfaction: "What the counselor said is very true. As of now, the royal palace has surpassed that of Emperor Gaozu of Han. As for reducing the treatment of the kings, does it affect the image of the emperor? I think..."

Having said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something, looked at the group of Wude old ministers, and said;

"Some time ago, the Emperor said something to me. He said that my merits and demerits will be judged by future generations. I think that makes a lot of sense. As a humble servant, I should do my job today. Why should I overthink things?"

"in addition."

"The Grand Counselor once told me that the Son of Heaven was established for the benefit of the world, not the world for the benefit of the Son of Heaven. This means that the Son of Heaven was established for the benefit of the world, not the world for the benefit of the Son of Heaven alone."

"The current situation is that the treatment of the kings has affected the national strength of the Tang Dynasty and is not conducive to the well-being of the world. As the Son of Heaven, I must consider the world.

As the saying goes, we share wealth and adversity. Since they are the royal family's kings, would it damage my image if I let them share my adversity?"

At this point, the whole audience fell silent.

Even Feng Deyi was speechless.

"Well, since you, my dear ministers, have no objections, then let us announce the decree!"

Li Shimin made a prompt decision with a wave of his hand.

Soon, Wushe produced an imperial edict and read aloud, "Announcement, the Emperor of the Great Tang orders that all county princes be demoted one rank."

As the decree was conveyed, the kings who had remained silent at the scene were filled with indignation.

However, the kings far away at the border were still unaware of this news.

If they knew, there would be a new round of unrest.

This is also a considerable pressure for Emperor Li II.

But His Majesty Li II was very confident in himself.

"Zhenguan, one must behave like Zhenguan"

Watching the kings in Chang'an leave with a wave of their sleeves, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly and his vision gradually became blurred.

　[Seeking monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, follow-up reading, collection]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)