Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Li Chengqian could tell that his sister was not angry, nor was she jealous of Du He.

He glanced at Du He and then said with a smile.

"Royal sister, Du He's Duke of Korea's Mansion is still vacant. The Princess' Mansion is full, but there's still room for a hundred or so people over there!"

"If there's still not enough room, I'll allocate a palace for you to live in in the Daming Palace, which is about to start construction."

Well...

Li Yi's expression was slightly stunned.

She pouted and said, "Brother, you have changed. Now you don't even love the imperial sister."

Looking at Li Yi acting coquettishly, Li Chengqian laughed heartlessly.

Although he was joking with Li Yi, he felt in his heart that Du He still had not enough concubines.

Which of the other dukes doesn’t have many wives and concubines?

In particular, Duke Zhangsun Wuji of Zhao had the most concubines, with 12 sons and 23 daughters.

As his right-hand man and smart as he is, Du He should have more children.

If Du He's son had 70% of Du He's ability, that fat guy Li Jue could sit back and relax and be a hands-off boss.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian glanced at Li Jue who was eating the Overlord Ox's Hoof with big mouthfuls, and a hint of anger arose in his heart for no reason.

Eat! Eat!

I’m almost becoming fat!

When he thought of Li Jue's figure, he thought of the fat Li Tai, and anger came to his heart.

Li Lizhi, who was sitting on the side, frowned and asked, "Brother, do you want to rebuild the Daming Palace?"

"The imperial court has been engaged in warfare for the past five years. Should we rest for a few years before considering rebuilding the Daming Palace?"

"Conscripting people for forced labor now is a waste of money and manpower!"

The construction of Daming Palace was stopped at that time because the imperial court had been at war for years and the people were suffering. In order to allow the people to recuperate, my father ordered to stop the construction.

In the past five years, wars in the Tang Dynasty have been more frequent than before. Although the imperial court is wealthy, ordinary people are not much better off.

The people are living in hardship, they need to rest and recuperate!

Li Chengqian smiled and explained, "Lizhi, Du He suggested that I rebuild the Daming Palace. This wasn't conscription, but rather paying the people for their labor."

"Du He is currently formulating a plan. I will discuss it with my father and the officials when the time comes."

He had mentioned this matter to his father before, and his father was in favor of it.

After all, the court can help the people earn more during the slack season, and provide them with three meals a day. I'm afraid the people will rush to sign up.

As for the officials, it wouldn't be a big problem with Du He persuading them.

“Pay the people their wages?”

“That’s a good decision!”

Both Li Lizhi and Li Yi agreed with Du He's proposal.

The court and the aristocratic families have money, but this is false wealth. Only when the common people have money in their pockets can they be truly wealthy.

Li Lizhi looked at Du He with her beautiful eyes. She praised him softly, "Your Majesty is right. Prince Consort Du is truly a kind-hearted man!"

Du He smiled and replied, "I can't say I have a kind heart. Many officials privately call me the Living King of Hell."

In fact, Du He quite likes the title of Living King of Hell.

In the novel he compiled for Li Shimin, he wanted to give himself the identity of a living king of hell, but he gave up the idea because he thought it did not fit the image of Wenquxing.

The banquet lasted for more than an hour before the guests left one after another.

After everyone else has left.

Li Chengqian asked in a low voice, "Du He, King Jiangxia came to see me today and urged me to show mercy to these princes."

"Now that the Tang Dynasty has conquered more and more territory, only by enfeoffing all the Li clan members can they help me guard this vast territory."

"What do you think?"

Did Li Daozon ask Li Chengqian to intercede for those princes?

After thinking about it for a while.

Du He said softly, "Your Highness, the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty alone have no fewer than 30 descendants. Excluding the dissolute princes like Li Feng, Prince of Guo, and Li Yin, Prince of Shu, there are no fewer than 20 princes with virtuous reputations."

"Besides that, you should also give at least some fiefdom to people like King Jiangxia Li Daozong and Duke Xun Li Xiaoxie."

"Even with the territories we have conquered so far, I'm afraid they won't be enough to distribute."

There was a pause.

Du He continued, "You will have many descendants in the future. If you don't leave them more land as fiefs, I'm afraid they will seize Li Jue's throne!"

After hearing Du He's analysis, Li Chengqian suddenly came to his senses.

In addition to the royal family, he also wanted to give Du He a large fiefdom, and Xue Rengui, Xi Junmai and others also had to be given a small place.

From this perspective, the territory conquered by the Tang Dynasty is still too small!

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian asked, "Du He, the territory of the Tang Dynasty is still not large enough. When do you think it would be appropriate for the court to mobilize troops again?"

Du He thought for a moment and said, "After you ascend the throne, you will be able to send troops to deal with Tubo, and then you can conquer Tianzhu in the east, west, south and north."

There were capable people in Tubo. After they conquered Central India, they were not in a hurry to expand outward.

During this period, Tubo was digesting the territory of Central India.

However, even though they sent 10 Indian captives to the Tang Dynasty, they themselves could not obtain many new recruits.

In addition, Tubo and Central India had a blood feud, and the people of Central India would not submit to Tubo.

"That's good!"

Li Chengqian nodded with relief.

The two chatted for another half an hour until the sky gradually darkened. Only then did Li Chengqian return to the palace under the escort of hundreds of soldiers.

Because Du He had a new concubine, Li Chengqian gave him three days off.

During this period of rest, Du He was not idle. In addition to writing novels, he was also thinking about the reconstruction plan of the Daming Palace.

Three days flew by.

The night before going on duty.

The Minister of the Dali Temple Sun Fujia, the Imperial Censor Tang Lin, and the Minister of Justice Zhang Xingcheng all came to the Princess Chengyang's mansion.

In the lobby.

Sun Fujia reported, "Duke Hanguo, according to the reports sent back by General Xin Mao, Junior Minister of the Dali Court, and Yuan Gongyu, Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, they have killed many of the princes' followers and imprisoned them along with the corrupt officials."

"Do you think we should bring all these criminals to Chang'an for sentencing?"

Tang Lin and Zhang Xingcheng also spoke up. Their questions were the same as Sun Fujia's.

As they spoke, they handed 35 lists to Du He.

Du He took a look at the list of charges written by Cui Shenji and found that Xiangyi County King Li Shenfu, his family members, and officials in the fiefdom were basically all on the list.

The crimes committed by these people are not minor, and many of them are punishable by immediate execution.

I took a quick look at a few lists.

Du He said solemnly, "Bring all these people to Chang'an and sentence them according to the provisions of the Zhenguan Law!"

"I will announce this matter at the court tomorrow!"

The three of them looked at each other, then bowed together.

"As ordered!"

As expected of a Korean man!

He didn't take these princes seriously at all.

...

early morning.

A meeting of hundreds of officials.

When it was Du He's turn to report on government affairs, Du He directly told Li Chengqian and a group of ministers about the incident of escorting 35 vassal kings to Chang'an.

"Your Highness, those 35 princes who embezzled birth subsidies and robbed Western Turkic women have closed the city gates, organized their tenants and followers to block the gates with weapons, and resisted the investigation by the Three Departments!"

"Under the charge of the palace soldiers, these people have been subdued, and the guilty have been brought to Chang'an for punishment."

As Du He finished speaking, a low buzzing sound suddenly sounded in the Tai Chi Hall.

Especially Zhangsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang and others, their reactions were the biggest.

"what!"

"Have these princes been subdued?"

"How could it be so fast? So easy?"

After a long time.

Yu Zhining stood up and said, "Du He, how dare you order the palace soldiers to slaughter their own comrades?"

Then Chu Suiliang, Yuwen Jie, Yu Zhining and others also spoke out to condemn Du He, and even tried to encourage other ministers to get involved.

"hehe."

Du He sneered, "Do you think I'm bluffing?"