Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

Setting down his teacup, Li Shen approached Changsun Wuji. The two were almost touching. Li Shen spoke in a chilling voice:

"Since that's what my uncle thinks, then let's follow the rules, but not the law, but military regulations."

My uncle may have forgotten that I am the Grand Commander of the Kunqiu Road Army, and the acting military supervisor. Yang Hongli and Xue Wanbei have violated military regulations and should be punished according to military law. The lightest punishment would be eighty strokes of the cane, or even beheading as a warning to others.

Uncle, which one do you think is better?

Li Shen looked at Changsun Wuji with a smile.

"Why must Your Highness Prince Ji be so heartless? In any case, they have made significant contributions to expanding the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

Why must we kill them? Aren't we afraid of demoralizing the soldiers?

Changsun Wuji's expression finally changed slightly; he hadn't expected Prince Ji to be so ruthless.

This was not a big deal; large-scale military campaigns were originally intended as a reward to encourage soldiers to fight bravely against the enemy.

But Prince Ji insisted on making a big deal out of it.

He glanced at Li Chengqian, only to find that Li Chengqian had no expression at all, as if he were listening to a storyteller.

It's obvious that the Crown Prince is on Li Shen's side, letting him do as he pleases, and the two brothers have joined forces.

"Hehe, I won't be disheartened. I only confiscated the money and valuables of these generals; I didn't confiscate the belongings of the other soldiers and officers."

Not only that, I also exchanged it for money for them.

Li Shen grinned slyly. He wasn't stupid. If tens of thousands of soldiers were there collecting their spoils, wouldn't he be hacked to death?

Those are all barbarian soldiers; they don't know any rules.

"..." Changsun Wuji was speechless. It was clear that Prince Ji had been prepared all along.

If it weren't for what happened today, who knows how Prince Ji would have used this as leverage against them in the future.

"Prince Ji, please speak frankly." In the end, Changsun Wuji sighed, knowing that they had lost this round.

Even if he's determined to fight to the death, what about the others? The Yang family of Hongnong and the Xue family of Hedong, if they knew he was disregarding all sentiments, would surely turn against him.

Other families will also be wary of him abandoning those in distress.

"I want Han Yuan to take the position of Vice Minister of War," Li Shen said in a deep voice.

"This is it?" Changsun Wuji confirmed after hearing it.

"That's right, that's all I ask. I think my uncle will help his nephew out of respect for my mother, right?"

Li Shen smiled and met Changsun Wuji's gaze. After a long while, Changsun Wuji smiled.

"Hahaha, as expected, heroes emerge from among the young. His Highness Prince Ji's prowess is undiminished. I have learned a great deal from him."

In fact, I also believe that Han Yuan is young and promising, exceptionally talented, and a descendant of a meritorious official. He should be nurtured and will surely achieve great things in the future.

That old fox changes his mind way too fast. I wish I had that kind of shrewdness.

Looking at Changsun Wuji's old face, which was grinning like a chrysanthemum, Li Shen cursed inwardly.

I am far inferior to these politicians; how many people can be so shameless?

They believe in not judging heroes by temporary success or failure; their vision is far broader than mine.

"Haha, Uncle is indeed very wise and righteous, which I admire. Then I will trouble Uncle. I have heard that Uncle likes to drink."

My nephew happened to have hidden a few jars of "daughter's wine" for my little girl. I'll send someone to deliver a few jars to my uncle later as a token of my respect.

Li Shen also laughed.

"Very well, it is said that the wine of Prince Ji's residence is famous throughout the world. This old minister has long admired it. I am honored by Your Highness's kindness, and it would be impolite of me to refuse."

"If Your Highness Prince Ji has some free time in the future, please visit this old minister's residence. This old minister is willing to drink three hundred cups of wine with Your Highness and talk by candlelight until late at night."

Changsun Wuji bowed and thanked him.

"No problem, no problem, Uncle, there's no need to be so polite. Father always says that you are a peerless scholar with extraordinary talent and wisdom. I have long wanted to hear your teachings."

I will definitely pay you a visit someday, and I hope you will be generous in offering your guidance.

Li Shen took Changsun Wuji's hand, becoming even more polite.

Li Chengqian looked up blankly at the uncle and nephew who were not related by blood, and a mouthful of tea dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly he felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.

How can a person be so hypocritical? Just a moment ago, he was so formal with the Duke of Zhao and His Highness Prince Ji, but now he's calling him uncle and nephew.

I'm his biological nephew, okay? I'm not even this close to him.

It looks like the two of them are about to hug each other.

In fact, Li Shen's words just now, "for the sake of his mother," had already convinced Changsun Wuji.

Li Shen was reminding him that the Crown Prince was the Empress's son, and that he should help and support the Crown Prince for the Empress's sake.

This reminded Changsun Wuji of his sister's advice to him and the Emperor's warning that day.

His Highness the Crown Prince is my nephew, and I must assist him.

"Alright, since Duke Zhao agrees with King Ji's opinion, let's go out."

Li Chengqian could no longer tolerate the shameless hypocrisy of the two, so he stood up.

Changsun Wuji and Li Shen quickly followed behind.

Suddenly, Changsun Wuji stopped and said to Li Shen:

"Your Highness Prince Ji, you are unaware of the matter concerning Yang Hongli and Xue Wanbei..."

"Uncle, rest assured. They are expanding the country's territory for the sake of the nation. What are these small matters worth mentioning? This is something that was already tacitly agreed to."

My nephew knows proper etiquette; from today onward, this matter will be considered closed and will not be mentioned again.

Li Shen replied with a smile that he did understand the rules a little, such as that chips could only be used once, otherwise the other party might easily fight to the death with you.

It's a pity that my hand of cards went to Han Yuan, a stranger.

No, I have to settle accounts with the Crown Prince later, otherwise I'll be the one who suffers.

The three returned to the main hall, where everyone had been waiting for a long time, wondering what Prince Ji would say to Duke Zhao.

It's obvious that Prince Ji is about to reveal his hand; I've never seen anything so blatant before.

Sure enough, with this troublemaker around, nothing is done properly anymore.

Li Shen and Changsun Wuji returned to their seats, and Li Chengqian also sat back down.

"Your Highness, after much deliberation, I believe that Prince Ji's words are reasonable. Han Yuan is the descendant of a meritorious official and should be treated well."

Moreover, according to the old minister's assessment, although Han Yuan is young, he is of excellent character and has great talent. With proper training, he will surely become a pillar of our Great Tang Dynasty.

The old minister Gu approved of Han Yuan's appointment as Vice Minister of War.

"Whoosh~~~~"

As soon as Changsun Wuji finished speaking, the hall erupted in an uproar. The Duke of Zhao had actually turned against him and sided with the Prince of Ji.

"How could this be?"

"What exactly did Prince Ji say to Duke Zhao just now?"

There was a great deal of discussion below, and all the officials from the Guanlong Group looked at Changsun Wuji.

"See, I told you, Prince Ji is good at bewitching people."

Do you think he knows some kind of sorcery?

"Is that even a question? He must know some kind of magic, otherwise how could he have persuaded that old fox?"

Two discordant voices came from behind Li Shen and Changsun Wuji, causing Changsun Wuji's beard to twitch involuntarily.

(I've discovered that this AI is incredibly intelligent. It doesn't know how to look up information, so it just makes it up for me.)

Luckily, I'm cautious and noticed something was wrong. They were actually giving me clips from novels and TV dramas as real history. Holy crap!

The first skill of artificial intelligence is lying.