I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"Minister of State Affairs!!" Li Chengqian was shocked.

The Minister of State Affairs, a second-rank official, oversaw the six ministries and was in charge of the execution of national affairs, making him the true head of all officials.

However, Li Shimin had served as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat during the Wude era, so after ascending the throne, in order to avoid using his name and to prevent the centralization of power,

The position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was largely vacant, so only the Left and Right Vice Ministers were appointed to act in its place.

No one expected that Prince Ji, Li Shen, would actually ask for the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Even Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the throne, was somewhat stunned.

His younger brother had gone mad. Li Chengqian even wanted to call the imperial physician to examine Li Shen to see if he had suffered a relapse of his brain disease.

The others in the hall also stared at Li Shen with disbelief. Just moments ago, when Li Shen nodded and said he was willing to participate in court affairs...

Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.

But when Li Shen finally said he wanted to become the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, his dead heart was rekindled.

As expected, Prince Ji was still Prince Ji. He never disappointed them and was always so unpredictable and elusive.

How could he even say he wanted to be the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat? Didn't he know the rules of this dynasty?

Does he want to be on equal footing with His Majesty?

Or does he want to be like His Majesty, becoming emperor after serving as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat?

They really underestimated Prince Ji's ambition.

At this moment, everyone's worry turned into anticipation, eager to see how Li Chengqian would handle the matter.

"What's wrong? What kind of looks are those? Do you think I'm unworthy of the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat?"

Sensing the strange looks from others, Li Shen said defiantly.

"Tenth brother, do you know what the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat represents?" Li Chengqian took a deep breath and looked at Li Shen seriously.

Li Shen nodded:

"I know this, of course. The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is the highest official position in the Imperial Secretariat, the head of all officials, and the position of prime minister."

He was second only to the emperor, holding a position of immense power and influence, commanding respect and prestige.

Once I become the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, no one will dare to bully me anymore.

Those officials would all vie to become his disciples, and then the disciples could form the Ji Wang Party and engage in factionalism.

Everyone must obey his every word, then he can call a deer a horse and seize absolute power.

As Li Shen spoke, his gaze shifted, sweeping over everyone present, especially landing on Changsun Wuji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Upon hearing Li Shen's words and seeing the look in his eyes, Changsun Wuji couldn't help but shudder.

He actually saw a hint of mockery, amusement, and a special deeper meaning in Li Shen's eyes, and his heart tightened involuntarily.

"Damn it, is Prince Ji deliberately saying this for me to hear?" Changsun Wuji thought to himself, a terrifying idea suddenly forming in his mind.

Could it be that His Majesty instructed Prince Ji to come here today, and His Majesty is using Prince Ji to reprimand him?

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that his guess was almost correct. He began to wonder if he had done something wrong that made him unacceptable to His Majesty.

The others also had their own thoughts, and a few of them glanced at Changsun Wuji unintentionally.

The remaining people were shocked. Prince Ji had indeed gone mad. Was he speaking his mind, or was he playing hard to get and saying this on purpose?

He actually dared to say things like forming cliques for personal gain and seizing power. Isn't he afraid of being punished by His Highness the Crown Prince?

The hall fell silent again, no one spoke, and Li Chengqian's expression changed, finally settling on a look of helplessness.

He wanted to slap himself twice. Why did he ask this guy such a question?

His own father had wanted Li Shen to enter the court as an official for ten years, but had never succeeded. So it was obvious that this troublemaker did not want to enter the court.

The position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat—his father had said that Li Shen had made the same request years ago, but he never expected it to be brought up again in his own time.

Li Chengqian felt somewhat helpless. He had only asked Li Shen if he was willing to become an official on a whim.

It would be better if Li Shen were willing, but it would be expected if he were not.

I never expected Li Shen to pull this stunt. If you don't want to, you can just say so. There's no need to use such an excuse.

You still form cliques and pursue personal gain, and you still want to monopolize power.

"Tenth brother, isn't your ambition a bit...?"

As Li Chengqian spoke of this, the words his father had once told him suddenly flashed through his mind: the tenth prince's actions may seem erratic, but they are often driven by a purpose.

Purpose? Ambition, forming cliques for personal gain, seizing power, factional strife—every word Li Shen uttered flashed through Li Chengqian's mind.

Suddenly, Li Chengqian realized that the tenth prince was lazy and had given up his right to attend court and participate in politics because he got up too early. How could he have such ambition?

It's obvious that the Tenth Prince is trying to warn these people, and the most likely candidate is Changsun Wuji.

That's right, that must be it, otherwise Lao Shi wouldn't have spoken so bluntly, uttering such taboo words as forming cliques for personal gain and monopolizing power.

Having figured everything out, Li Chengqian's shocked and helpless expression disappeared, replaced by a calm expression, as if everything was under his control.

"Tenth Brother is indeed ambitious. With such aspirations, you are worthy of being a member of the royal family. I am very pleased that you have such lofty ambitions."

"What?"

Not to mention Li Shen, even Changsun Wuji and the others were dumbfounded after hearing Li Chengqian's words. What had they just heard?

Everyone stared in disbelief at Li Chengqian sitting on the platform, wondering if they had misheard.

Or perhaps I'm still half asleep, and everything before my eyes is just a dream.

Some people even pinched themselves to see if it hurt.

This is equivalent to Prince Ji saying he wanted to rebel, and the Crown Prince saying that rebellion is good, that they should rebel, and even boasting about his lofty ambitions.

Why is everyone in the Li family playing like this now? The old way of playing wasn't enough, so they've changed to a different way?

Li Shen was also dumbfounded. He had only come up with a reason to refuse to serve as an official in the court. How could he not know what the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat represented?

He used this excuse to fool his father back then, and now he's using it again to deal with Cheng Lu.

But to his utter surprise, things took an unexpected turn.

I already said that forming cliques for personal gain and that I want to seize power, and you still say that this is having lofty ambitions?

Aren't you worried at all that what I say might come true? Or do you simply look down on me?

Now it's Li Shen's turn to be speechless and helpless; he and his father don't play like this.

Li Shen suspected that Li Chengqian might also have a brain disease and was starting to go crazy like himself, otherwise why would he say such crazy things?

Li Shen is now considering whether to tell his father about this and ask him to find a royal physician to examine him. If it really is a brain disease, then they can make preparations as soon as possible.

"Tenth brother, what do you think of my suggestion?"

(Any like-minded people suffering from hemorrhoids?)