Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

The Palace Province, the Shangcheng Bureau.

Du He sat in his exclusive office, frowning, writing intermittently on a slightly yellowed piece of rice paper.

In his plan, Li Chengqian's reformation was only the first step, and making a significant contribution as soon as possible was the key step.

Two years ago, in the 15th year of Zhenguan, the manuscript of "Guodi Zhi" edited by Li Tai was completed.

The book arranges 358 states according to the ten prefectures of the Tang Dynasty, and then uses each state as a unit to describe the history, geographical location, myths and legends, and major historical events of each county under its jurisdiction.

This book contains extensive citations and preserves many precious materials from geographical books of the Six Dynasties.

Li Shimin was overjoyed and collected the work in the secret library of the royal family.

Prince of Wei Li Tai had such a high starting point, so what Du He thought of for Li Chengqian couldn’t be too simple.

Otherwise, the comparison between the two will only make Li Tai stand out more powerful.

knock knock knock.

Outside the door, Yang Yuhui, the director of Shangcheng, knocked on the door.

"Sir Fengyu, His Majesty summons you to the Taiji Hall." Yang Yuhui tried to lower his voice as much as possible, for fear of upsetting Du He.

He was Du He's deputy. When Du He was a hands-off manager, the Shangcheng Bureau relied entirely on him to direct its operations.

Du He raised his head and glanced at him, then said calmly, "Okay, I'll go now."

Du He knew very well the reason why Li Shimin summoned him, which was nothing more than the killing of Hegan Chengji.

Du He put down the brush, blew dry the ink on the paper, then folded the paper and put it in the bag in the inner seam of his clothes.

Things that have been used to gain merit must be kept well, otherwise if they are leaked out, it will be a waste of time.

The Dianzhong Province is right in front of Chengtian Gate, only a stone's throw away from the Taiji Palace, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.

Du He was the first to arrive at the Taiji Hall. Li Shimin glanced at him and waved his hand to ask him to wait aside.

"Oh my god, Li Shimin, what do you mean by this attitude?"

"I am your son-in-law after all. Wait until you are old and see if I will support you."

Du He cursed Li Shimin in his heart.

After satisfying his craving for food, Du He began to look around.

He found that the ministers did not stand when attending court, but sat on cushions with a desk in front of them.

On each desk were placed the four treasures of the study for the ministers to take notes.

"Li Shimin still has a conscience. He lets his ministers sit down when he holds court, and he also takes minutes of the court meetings." Du He complained in his heart.

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism influenced and penetrated each other. Under this influence, the court ceremony was transformed into meditation.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Xi Junmai, the prison warden Li Gan, and a group of Dali Temple jailers arrived at the Taiji Hall one after another.

Du He and Xi Junmai exchanged glances, both of them with very indifferent expressions.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the relevant personnel have arrived." The eunuch respectfully reported to Li Shimin.

"Yeah." Li Shimin nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Zhang Xingcheng, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice.

"Zhang Xingcheng, tell Du He and the others what your Ministry of Justice is questioning."

"Follow the order."

Zhang Xingcheng lowered his head and spoke out in an orderly manner according to the case process review written by the Dali Temple and the questions raised by the Ministry of Justice.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and said to Du He in a cold voice: "Du He, the Ministry of Justice and the ministers in the court impeached you, saying that you went to the Dali Temple to see the criminal suspected of treason in order to kill him and silence him. What is your explanation?"

If it weren't for Du Ruhui, Li Shimin would really be reluctant to marry his beloved daughter Princess Chengyang to Du He.

In Li Shimin's mind, Du He was a second-generation young man who was ignorant and did whatever he wanted.

There is not a single good thing about him.

However, Du Ruhui's eldest son, Du Gou, had to inherit the title of Duke and could not marry the princess.

Otherwise, marrying the princess to Du Gou would definitely be a thousand times better than Du He.

Du He saluted Li Shimin and said calmly, "Your Majesty, there is no need to explain the reason why I was imprisoned. You can confirm it with the prince."

"Before I entered the Dali Temple, I had the permission of the Minister of the Temple, Sun, and was personally supervised by a group of jailers."

"Those who impeach me for murder can ask the Dali Temple jailer about the situation at the scene."

Li Shimin turned his gaze to the prison warden Li Gan: "Tell me about the situation at the scene."

Li Gan looked very pale at the moment because of nervousness. After paying his respects to Li Shimin, he reported every detail from the moment he met Du He.

He voluntarily omitted the part about slapping himself.

Immediately afterwards, a group of jailers took turns to recount what they had seen and heard.

Their answers were exactly the same as the case files written by the Dali Temple, all of which proved that Du He had nothing to do with the criminal's death.

Li Shimin's expression eased a lot. He asked the court officials, "Everyone, do you have any questions about the case?"

Wei Ting, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was the first to step forward and said, "Du He, why did the criminal suddenly attack you?"

Du He didn't look at him directly, but shook his head and answered: "I don't know either. After all, I'm not a worm in the criminal's stomach."

Wei Ting's face darkened. He pointed at Du He and shouted, "Did you say something to provoke the criminal, tempting him to attack you in anger?"

Du He glanced at him and said, "Every word I said when I entered the prison was just repeated by the jailers. Do you think there is any doubt?"

Wei Ting paused for a moment, then continued, "Why did you pause for more than ten breaths after you scolded the criminal?"

As expected of a former Imperial Censor, Wei Ting noticed this small detail.

When the court officials thought there was a breakthrough, Du He said in a provocative manner.

"I haven't read many books, so is it okay if I run out of words?"

The ministers fell back and almost sprained their waists.

What a shameless person, he seems to be justified in talking about his lack of knowledge and skills.

"Well said." Hou Junji cheered silently in his heart.

As Wei Ting ran out of tricks, the Tai Chi Hall suddenly became quiet.

Li Shimin looked at Du He with doubts and found that this son-in-law whom he disliked was not a dandy boy at all.

His answer was well-thought-out and clearly-organized, and was on par with that of the Imperial Counselor.

"Could it be that he has studied hard in private and reformed himself?" Li Shimin thought to himself.

There is an allusion that goes "When a man has not been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes." Li Shimin also believed that Du He had turned over a new leaf.

Li Shimin looked around and asked loudly again: "Are there any more questions?"

"Your Majesty, I have a question." The cuckolded Wang Fang Yiai stood up.

Fang Yiai turned to look at Du He and asked coldly: "Du He, you are a person who enjoys life on weekdays. How could you end up in a dirty prison? You must have some ulterior motive!"

Du He looked at him jokingly and said with a smile: "For example?"

My goodness, Fang Yiai is tall, strong and masculine, but I didn’t expect that he is not only henpecked, but also cuckolded and has to help watch the door.

If he hadn't carried the memories of later generations, no ordinary person would have been able to imagine it.

Fang Yiai gritted his teeth and said, "For example, you and the prince were suspected of treason, and you went to jail just to kill people and silence them!"

"Haha, you piece of shit, don't put the blame on the prince and me. If you don't have any evidence, I will report you!"

After Du He finished speaking, he saluted towards Li Shimin with a serious expression.

"Your Majesty, I would like to report Fang Yiai, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. He has slandered the Crown Prince and me for treason without any reason. Please convict him!"

Fang Yiai's heart trembled, and he hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, I have no intention of doubting the prince. I just suspect that Du He is suspected of treason!"