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

The Taiji Hall was quiet, and Li Chengqian, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound.

Li Chengqian cursed inwardly, "What a troublemaker! Yuanzheng won't even let him get a proper rest."

He turned to look at Li Shen, giving him a strange look, as if to say, "Can't you talk about this in private?"

Why does he have to stir up trouble in the court? What if he can't handle it later? Wouldn't that make him look bad?

Besides, you should let me know in advance if anything happens, so I can be mentally prepared.

"Oh? Is there something you need, Prince Ji? Why don't you tell me?"

He was thinking about it, but a look of curiosity appeared on his face.

He returned to his seat and asked Wang Zhong to pour him a cup of tea.

The other officials all looked at Li Shen with curiosity, but they weren't particularly surprised.

The fact that Prince Ji came to court today meant that something was bound to happen; this had become a common practice in the court.

Just now, when the Crown Prince announced the end of the court session, they felt something was off; it seemed like something was missing.

Only after hearing Li Shen's shout did they realize that it was because this prince was missing that things felt right now.

However, Li Shen's actions made the officials of the aristocratic families worry that Prince Ji might come up with some new tricks to deal with them.

Li Shen stood up, bowed, and said:

"Your Highness, I wish to recommend someone."

"Recommend someone?"

"What do you mean?"

Upon hearing Li Shen's words, people immediately began to discuss it.

Prince Ji's mansion rarely recommends anyone, let alone in the imperial court. They usually communicate with His Majesty privately and do shady things.

"Oh? Whom do you want to recommend?" Li Chengqian was also taken aback. What did Prince Ji mean? The New Year was coming soon. Couldn't they wait until after the New Year to discuss this?

"I have heard that there is still a vacancy for the position of Vice Minister of War. Since the previous Vice Minister of War, Cui Dunli, defected, there has been no candidate."

"I do have someone I wish to recommend to His Highness the Crown Prince; this person is qualified for the position of Vice Minister of War."

Li Shen bowed with his hands clasped in a graceful and dignified manner.

"Is that so? Then may I ask who Prince Ji has recommended?"

Upon hearing that Li Shen was seeking the position of Vice Minister of War, Li Chengqian frowned. This position was currently being fiercely contested by various factions, with everyone vying for it.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long without a candidate. There are many candidates, but no one is willing to let go.

Li Shen is also here today to compete for this position, but I don't know who he is recommending. Could it be for the sake of the Wei family?

Li Chengqian's mind raced. He wondered if Li Shenruo should give face to the Wei family, whose power in Guanzhong was immense, second only to the aristocratic families.

If we can win them over, it wouldn't be a bad thing. Moreover, with Li Shen around, the Wei family can be completely controlled.

The other ministers' expressions also turned serious; it was clear that Prince Ji wanted to steal the meat.

Representatives from all sides turned to look at Li Shen.

"Your Highness, the person I wish to recommend is Han Yuan, the Duke of Yingchuan County. His father followed the late Emperor in his early years and later fought alongside you in battles across the land, accumulating numerous merits and being granted the title of Grand Pillar of State."

Han Yuan was his son, a descendant of a meritorious official, born into a prestigious family, with outstanding conduct, erudition, and knowledge of administration, making him the perfect candidate for Vice Minister of War.

Your Highness, I request a decision.

After speaking, Li Shenshen bowed.

The hall was completely silent; no one had expected that Li Shen would recommend Han Yuan.

The members of the powerful families looked extremely grim. This position was rightfully theirs, but unfortunately, Cui Dunli had disappeared without a trace.

His Majesty concluded that he fled out of fear of punishment, solely because it was related to the assassination of Prince Ji.

But everyone suspected that Choi Don-rye had already been murdered, otherwise why would he not contact his family?

The Ministry of War is a powerful department, and aristocratic families have long coveted it and wanted to acquire it.

“Your Highness Prince Ji, Han Yuan is indeed the descendant of a meritorious official, but he is still young. How can he be entrusted with such an important task?”

"Your Highness Prince Ji has been absent from court for a long time, so why do you still want to interfere in matters of state?"

Suddenly, Choi In-ji stood up and said something in a sarcastic tone.

“That’s right. Han Yuan is not very talented and is currently just a figurehead. How can he be entrusted with such an important task?”

Lu Chengqing, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also stood up to echo this sentiment.

"Nonsense! How do you know that Han Yuan is lacking in talent and learning? Even if Han Yuan has some shortcomings, he is the descendant of a meritorious official and is extremely loyal to the court. He is worth cultivating."

It's a hundred times better than those scoundrels who only care about their family's interests.

"Oh, Your Highness, please forgive me, I was a little excited and made a rough draft."

Li Shen turned his head and gave a stern rebuke, then turned back to Li Chengqian and bowed, regaining his scholarly demeanor.

"You...you...you're disgracing our culture." Cui Renzhi wanted to retort, but in this court, he still had to consider his image.

More importantly, he didn't dare; the scene of Li Shen beating him back then was still vivid in his mind.

This bastard is very likely to strike again, and then we'll be utterly humiliated.

“Your Highness, Prince Ji used foul language in the main hall. I implore Your Highness to punish him.”

Lu Chengqing bowed and accused.

"Please punish him, Your Highness." The aristocratic official immediately followed.

"Please punish me, Your Highness."

Then more and more people stood up and asked that Li Shen be punished.

"Damn, am I that unpopular?" Li Shen looked back and saw that it wasn't just aristocratic families; some nobles were also with him.

At the very back, he could still see minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank.

"Hey, Minister Tang, do you have any conscience? I just handed over more than 16 million strings of cash to the national treasury, and there was also a dividend of more than 1.6 million strings of cash the day before yesterday."

"Shouldn't you be on my side? And Duke Lu and Duke E, what are you two doing? Don't think I can't see you."

Li Shen glanced around and suddenly realized that more than half of the important officials behind him had also stood up.

He spotted Tang Jian immediately, along with Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde, who were hiding behind him.

He was instantly furious. These old fogies are such opportunists, always siding with whoever is in the best position.

"Hehe, Your Highness, please calm down. Ever since Your Highness said that you wanted to form cliques for personal gain, this old minister has not dared to stand on Your Highness's side, lest people say that this old minister is forming a clique with Your Highness."

Tang Jian chuckled, his old face etched with cunning.

"Yes, yes, we can't get too close to him, or we'll easily get tricked." Cheng Yaojin nodded repeatedly.

"Hehe." Li Shen was so angry that he laughed.

These old geezers are all shameless; they just want to watch the show and aren't afraid of things getting out of hand.

It looks like nursing home prices will have to go up next year.

"Alright, Prince Ji is young and doesn't know the rules. I will personally discipline him later. Let's talk about Prince Ji's proposal first."

"Duke of Zhao, what do you think?"

Li Chengqian dismissed the matter lightly. Compared to Li Shen's past actions, this little incident was nothing.

He dares to admit to treason, what can you do with him?

Sometimes, bad kids actually have their advantages.

(I noticed that a lot of people use the 9-key keyboard; they all say it's for us old folks.)