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

After Empress Zhangsun finished speaking, the concubines also stood up and followed her away.

They knew that His Majesty must have something to discuss with the Crown Prince.

Wang De also dismissed the unrelated servants, leaving only guards to protect the area.

"Father, is there something important to discuss? Should I excuse myself for a moment?"

Seeing this situation, Li Shen felt it must be a big deal, and it was better to know less, because knowing too much would make him vulnerable to being crushed.

"I am already aware of what happened in court today."

Li Shimin ignored Li Shen and spoke to himself.

Li Chengqian did not show any surprise, which was normal, as he was old and always paid attention to the court. Neither of the brothers spoke, waiting for what would happen next.

Li Shimin picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said:

"Old Ten did a good job today."

"Haha, Father, you flatter me, you flatter me." Upon hearing the rare praise, Li Shen immediately became smug, his mouth stretching to the back of his ears.

"Gao Ming performed very well today. If the two of you can continue to cooperate so sincerely in the future, I will be much more at ease."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian.

"Thank you for your praise, Father. I dare not take credit for today's matter. It was all done by my tenth brother. We have been planning the matter of the Vice Minister of War for several months, but we still haven't made any progress."

"It was only thanks to my tenth brother's intervention today that my wish was fulfilled; his contribution is invaluable."

Li Chengqian bowed humbly and said that what he said was true; the matter had been discussed several times, but he had never been able to win.

Li Shenyi took care of it immediately.

"Yes, you are able to win without being arrogant. You have grown, Gaoming. You don't need to belittle yourself. Although Lao Shi has made contributions."

But if you hadn't persevered these past few months, this position would probably have already fallen into someone else's hands.

I told you long ago that the imperial court is like a battlefield, a place where various forces vie for interests, and you represent the will of my royal family, vying for the interests of my royal family.

Li Shimin grew increasingly satisfied with Li Chengqian. He was mature, steady, and resolute, and such an emperor would at least not easily listen to slander.

"Father, isn't this just partisan strife? Why don't you punish them and convict them of forming cliques for personal gain?"

Li Shen stared wide-eyed from the side, asking in bewilderment.

In his view, today's situation is clearly a factional struggle, with the aristocratic families on one side and Changsun Wuji on the other.

Why isn't he being punished for something so obvious?

Li Shimin, unusually, did not reprimand Li Shen, but patiently explained to him:

"Tenth Brother, this doesn't belong to partisan disputes; at most, it's just a difference in political views."

"Isn't this blatant factionalism? They're only nominating their own people."

Hearing his father's words, Li Shen was even more confused.

"What you say is true, but it can also be described as a difference of political views. Since ancient times, the imperial court has been divided into several interest groups."

Emperors throughout history knew this, so why didn't they punish him?

That's because they didn't harm the court or the imperial power. More importantly, the emperor needed them to check and balance each other.

The most terrifying thing is when only one group exists.

Some things can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words. Li Shimin tried his best to explain it clearly, but Li Shen only understood the general idea.

"The Doctrine of the Mean again?" Li Shen muttered.

During those ten years, he suddenly realized something: political awareness is a matter of talent; not everyone has a political mind, and he didn't.

"That's right, that's the middle way. Rather than dealing with one faction on your own, it's better to let the two factions check and balance each other. As long as it doesn't threaten the imperial power, let them fight it out."

What the emperor wants are loyal subjects; who they are is sometimes not that important.

What difference does it make whether the Vice Minister of War is Han Yuan, Yang Hongli, or the former Cui Dunli?

After this incident, the relationship between the noble families and aristocratic clans was no longer so solid.

The Tenth Prince's sudden defection was truly brilliant; even I didn't expect it.

I had planned that if the two of you were no match for him, I would have Wang De issue an edict, on the grounds that I suddenly missed Han Zhongliang, to bestow favor upon Han Yuan and grant him the position of Vice Minister of War.

I never expected that you two would actually win. I'm very curious, how did you two manage to persuade Changsun Wuji?

Convincing him won't be easy.

Li Shimin smiled; his two sons' victory over the powerful clans and noble families was beyond his expectations.

It should be noted that these were two enormous forces that controlled more than 70% of the officials. He had already prepared a backup plan and was determined not to let the Crown Prince lose.

But who could have imagined that things would take such a dramatic turn, with Changsun Wuji switching sides to support Han Yuan, and all the nobles of Guanzhong standing on the Crown Prince's side.

This caught the powerful clans off guard, making for a truly spectacular show.

"How does Father know so much? Was Father present at the time?" Li Shen didn't explain, but was somewhat puzzled.

"I was listening from the back at the time," Li Shimin said without hiding anything. He had heard the whole thing from the back.

"Huh?" This time, not only was Li Shen surprised, but even Li Chengqian was somewhat taken aback. When did his father start eavesdropping?

Could it be that he's worried about not handling the affairs of state properly, so he came to eavesdrop? Who knows how many times my father has eavesdropped.

"Father also likes to eavesdrop." Li Shen, who was carefree, was much braver than Li Chengqian and blurted it out.

"You scoundrel, I was listening openly from behind, how can that be called eavesdropping? I am still the emperor, and that Taiji Hall belongs to me."

As expected, Li Shimin was furious when Li Shen finished speaking. This unfilial son couldn't say a word.

"Yes, yes, Father is doing this for my brother's own good. He's worried that my brother won't be able to handle state affairs well, so he can offer guidance at any time."

Li Shen quickly admitted his mistake, saying that this person had too much temper and was not like himself at all. He said that he was good at controlling his temper and never got angry.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and glared at Li Shen:

"Hmph, I'm not going there for the sake of being clever."

"What do you mean?" Li Shen was taken aback.

Li Shimin, too lazy to explain to Li Shen, waved his hand, and Wang De, standing to the side, immediately smiled and said:

"Your Highness Prince Ji, His Majesty went there for your sake."

"For me? Why?" Li Shen was even more puzzled.

"Why? Your sudden appearance at the grand court session makes me uneasy, what else could it be?"

Li Shimin spoke earnestly to Li Shen, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

He was used to sleeping in late, but today, before dawn, Wang De reported from outside that Prince Ji had gone to court.

Upon hearing this news, Li Shimin was no longer sleepy. Today was the last grand court assembly before the New Year, and Li Shen's choice to attend court at this time was certainly no small matter.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry and chosen this time.

Li Shen is bound to get injured when he goes to court; this is an experience he has accumulated over the past ten years. The only question is who will be injured today.

(Now we've reached the sideboard stage, do you guys have any creative ideas? Please post a picture.)