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

Li Shen didn't understand Li Chengqian, but he understood his father, Li Shimin. If Li Chengqian hadn't done a good job, he wouldn't have needed him to handle state affairs long ago.

Over the years, Li Shimin had been paving the way for Li Chengqian, and those who posed a threat had long been replaced by Li Shimin.

Those who remain are all talented and astute individuals who know how to assist the Crown Prince and understand what His Majesty wants them to do.

Li Shen didn't believe that if the court was really in such chaos, his father wouldn't step down.

Do you really think you're a complete novice?

Li Chengqian was at a loss when he saw that Li Shen was unyielding. However, he was not too disappointed, since even his own father couldn't get Li Shen into an official position.

"Then tell me what reward you want, remember, money won't do."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shen.

Li Shen was taken aback by the question. What did he want? He didn't lack anything.

After a long while, Li Shen finally replied:

"What I want, you can't give me, brother."

That's the truth. Li Chengqian hasn't ascended the throne yet, so there are many things he can't decide. And Li Shen didn't actually want any reward.

Li Chengqian was aware of this as well, so he nodded:

"Alright then, I will report to Father. As for the reward, Father will decide."

"Then there's nothing left at all," Li Shen muttered.

"By the way, why did you come to court today to recommend Han Yuan? Do you perhaps know Han Yuan?"

Li Chengqian began to change the subject.

"I don't know him. I don't have time to know him." Li Shen shook his head.

"Then why did you recommend him?" Li Chengqian asked, somewhat curious. He also felt that Li Shen and Han Yuan shouldn't have any connection.

“I accompanied my wife back to the Lu family a few days ago. I found out about it while chatting with her father, so I came over to join in the fun.”

Li Shen didn't hide anything and told Li Chengqian about his conversation with Lu Shuang that day.

Li Chengqian then realized what was happening and felt even more grateful to Li Shen, especially after hearing that he was in trouble.

Li Shen did not stand idly by, but chose to lend a helping hand immediately; not everyone has this kind of heart.

At this moment, he thought of Li Tai and Li Zhi, who often came to court. They were brothers, so why was there such a big difference in their character?

"I am deeply grateful to my tenth brother for his help. I offer you this cup of tea instead of wine."

Li Chengqian picked up his teacup and said to Li Shen.

"It was nothing, brother, it's nothing to mention. I was just bored, so don't worry about it."

Li Shen raised his teacup modestly and said something, and the two of them then drank it all in one gulp.

"Brother, today I discovered that the factions of these noble families in the court are quite large, but I don't quite understand why they are willing to expose their factions in order to compete for the position of Vice Minister of War."

"Since the Vice Minister of War is only a fourth-rank official, there's no need to be so insistent, is there?"

Setting down his teacup, Li Shen voiced his doubts.

Today he felt that this was a bit too much. He was just a vice minister of the Ministry of War; there shouldn't be such a big show of things.

More than 70% of the officials from both sides have stood up to support their own camp. If they were accused of forming cliques for personal gain, wouldn't they be afraid of death?

"Hahahaha." Li Chengqian laughed heartily and personally poured Li Shen a cup of tea.

"Tenth brother, do you think that what they were fighting for in court today was just the position of Vice Minister of War?"

Seeing that Li Shen did not move, Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

“Isn’t that right?” Li Shen retorted, for that was exactly what he saw.

Li Chengqian shook his head:

"Of course not. This is a partisan struggle. They are fighting for face, for momentum, and for the right to speak."

Currently, the court is divided into three factions: the aristocratic families, the Eight Pillars of Guanzhong led by Changsun Wuji, and the neutral faction composed of those from humble backgrounds with no power.

The most powerful faction at present is Guan Long's faction, and even my royal family belongs to this faction.

They were not just fighting for the position of Vice Minister, but for the power of discourse. Although it seemed that I had won this time and recommended Han Yuan.

In reality, Guan Long's faction won. This was both a deterrent to the enemy and a demonstration of strength, because Changsun Wuji had betrayed them, and Guan Long's faction ultimately prevailed.

"No, elder brother is wrong. If that's really the case, then our royal family still wins, because we have Changsun Wuji under our control."

If we're really going to be serious, I'd say my royal faction won.

"This was obtained by my younger brother exchanging those sixteen million strings of cash; otherwise, they would still be deadlocked."

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Shen expressed some dissatisfaction. If he hadn't intervened, the two groups would still be criticizing and slandering each other.

"Hehe, Tenth Brother is right, you've been a great help this time." Li Chengqian chuckled.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Shen asked:

"So, from what you're saying, elder brother, you're intentionally letting them fight each other?"

This was something Li Shen hadn't expected. He thought Li Chengqian had no say, but it seemed that Li Chengqian's attitude was different.

“Tenth brother, it is better for them to be on opposite sides than for them to unite.”

If you hadn't shown up, I would have set them up against each other in court anyway, but in the end, the choice for Vice Minister might have been Yang Hongli.

But your appearance today not only fulfilled my wish, but the result remains unchanged.

The fact that the nobility has won over the powerful and influential families will inevitably create a rift between them.

This is the way of balance that Ayer spoke of.

Li Chengqian explained with a smile that he was no longer the naive young man he once was.

After listening, Li Shen pondered for a moment before sighing:

"So that's how it is. Is this what's known as the Doctrine of the Mean?"

He had no idea there was a deeper meaning behind it all. He had only come to get involved to simply compete for the position of Vice Minister.

He had no idea there were so many twists and turns involved; it seems he was still quite naive.

"Tenth brother, I'm curious, why did you think of keeping evidence of Yang Hongli's crimes? Did you hear something beforehand?"

Li Chengqian inquired, and he also did not expect that Li Shen would be able to pull out Yang Hongli as his trump card at the critical moment, directly controlling Changsun Wuji and forcing Changsun Wuji to suddenly turn against him.

"Hehe, how could I possibly have the ability to predict the future? Besides, Xizhou Prefecture is a long way away, what news could I possibly hear?"

The reason I recorded Yang Hongli's crimes is simply because he was surnamed Yang and belonged to the Hongnong Yang clan.

I think that if a conflict arises in the future, I can use this to retaliate against them. With such a serious crime, it would be no problem to demote Yang Hongli to a commoner and never employ him again.

"They could easily take his head."

Li Shen chuckled twice. He was acting entirely out of instinct towards aristocratic families; he had to seize any opportunity to exploit any weakness they might have.

They thought they could scam as many people as possible, but unexpectedly, it actually came in handy. It was a case of unintended consequences leading to unexpected success.