Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Inside the Taiji Hall, all officials exchanged glances with each other, but no one stepped forward.

Then there was an eerie silence.

"Since everyone has no objection, today's court meeting will..."

Li Shimin stood up exhausted, ready to announce the end of today's court meeting, but he was unexpectedly interrupted by an ignorant voice.

"I still have something to say!"

What eye-catching bag is this!

Didn’t you see that the court meeting dragged on for a long time?

The faces of the ministers in the court turned dark, and they all shifted their gazes and looked in the direction where the voice came from.

The person who spoke was Cui Renshi, the Imperial Censor.

"What medicine did this old man take wrong today?"

"You have to keep pestering Du He."

"Don't you see what time it is? It's already the end of noon and there are still a lot of government affairs that have not been dealt with!"

All the officials were filled with resentment and looked at Cui Renshi with unfriendly expressions.

Most of them have multiple duties and have to deal with a lot of government affairs every day. If they don't finish them, they can't leave on time.

Moreover, there is no additional salary for working after the shift.

This is also the reason why these ministers are indignant.

Cui Renshi raised his tablet high and said, "The crown prince failed to control the people in the East Palace, allowing them to follow the King of Qi in rebellion. Isn't this the crown prince's fault?"

"I think your majesty should punish the prince for his poor management of people!"

The purpose of the King of Wei's followers attacking Du He was also to strike at the Crown Prince Li Chengqian behind him.

Since attacking Du He didn't work, they could only use the last resort and directly throw the dirty water on the prince.

The court officials, who had originally relaxed, became nervous again.

Cui Renshi has evil intentions. If Your Majesty really punishes the Crown Prince for this, it will cause severe damage to the Crown Prince's image.

For a crown prince, controlling his subjects is the most basic ability.

If he is punished for this lack of ability, doesn't that mean the prince is not good at employing people?

Li Shimin remained silent. He was in turmoil over his eldest son who was becoming increasingly rebellious.

In his early years, the prince seemed like a wise ruler, but in recent years he has done one ridiculous thing after another. Otherwise, he would not have taken Li Tai seriously and regarded him as a backup crown prince.

If Li Chengqian is no longer qualified to be the monarch, someone will step forward to take over his position.

Li Shimin worked hard to build the Tang Dynasty, but he did not want to end up like the powerful Qin Dynasty, which perished in the second generation.

Before other ministers could react, Du He, as a staunch supporter of Li Chengqian, was the first to stand up.

"Master Cui Ren is wrong. I think the prince is not only right, but even a little sad."

"The guards of the Eastern Palace are plotting a rebellion, but the Crown Prince is completely unaware of it. Does this mean that the Eastern Palace has been completely infiltrated by forces with ill intentions?"

"The prince is strict with himself and lenient with others. He also helps Your Majesty handle government affairs and share state affairs every day."

"But a group of people with ulterior motives are trying to frame the prince every day, making him walk on thin ice. I feel sad for him!"

At the end, Du He beat his chest and burst into tears.

This powerful empathy made Li Shimin's nose sore and the ministers looked ashamed.

"Your Majesty, today's confrontation in court is enough to prove the innocence of Dong Gong and Du He. I think this case can be closed." Imperial Censor Ma Zhou stepped forward and made a speech at the appropriate time.

"I second the proposal!"

Dali Qing Sun Fujia and Xingbu Shangshu Liu Dewei quickly spoke out in support.

The three main officials in charge of criminal law all supported closing the case, so no one was willing to stand up and cause trouble.

"Okay, I agree to close the case." Li Shimin nodded slightly, finalizing the decision.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

All the officials stood up and saluted Li Shimin.

It’s not easy. I finally have to leave the court. My butt is sore from sitting for so long.

The mood of all officials became extremely good at this moment.

When everyone was looking at Li Shimin and waiting for him to order the court to adjourn, Li Shimin suddenly spoke.

"Du He's performance today was good. He was powerful and resounding, and he had the character of Wei Zheng."

"You are being wasted as the Imperial Court Imperial Secretary. I appoint you as the Imperial Counselor. I want you to be able to give free rein to others' opinions."

After hearing Li Shimin's reward, no one stood up to object. Fang Yiai, Chai Lingwu and others shook their heads in disdain.

Because Du He was promoted from Shangcheng Fengyu, a lower fifth rank, to Jianyi Dafu, a higher fifth rank, which was only a small promotion of one level.

Moreover, the Counselor was a censor and did not hold real power.

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Du He bowed and accepted the reward.

Although it was only a small upgrade, Du He did not look down on it like others.

Because he was transferred out from the Shangcheng Bureau for retirement, he served as a censor in the Menxia Province and had to attend court meetings every day, so he had many opportunities to make meritorious deeds.

This is a very good sign.

After receiving the reward, Du He pointed at Xi Junmai beside him, and then said to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the reason why I was able to escape from the hands of the criminals safely was all thanks to the highly skilled Donggong Gatekeeper and Deputy Leader Xi Junmai."

"I also learned that in the 15th year of Zhenguan, Xi Junmai led only 120 cavalrymen to quell the Tuyuhun civil strife, beheaded the three brothers of Prime Minister Xuan Wang, and killed more than a thousand enemies."

After Du He pushed Xi Junmai out, he stopped talking and waited for Li Shimin to speak.

Upon hearing that there were such powerful people in the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin immediately turned his eyes to Changsun Wuji, Li Jing, Fang Xuanling and Hou Junji.

There was confusion in the eyes of these kings and ministers.

How could they not know that there is such a young and powerful general in the court!

Du He took in all their expressions and felt very helpless.

No wonder Xi Junmai, who had achieved brilliant results, was lost in the crowd after just showing off once.

Not to mention that Li Chengqian did not value him, even Li Shimin and a group of ministers did not take this powerful general seriously.

There are too many capable and battle-hardened generals in the current Tang Dynasty, and the most powerful ones are those who have followed the emperor.

For someone like Xi Junmai, who came from a small family and had no connections with any military generals, it would be extremely difficult for him to make a name for himself.

After all, to get into the officialdom, one needs not only strength but also connections and background.

Du He glanced at Xi Junmai, who had a confused expression, and felt sad for his unfortunate experience.

"Xi Junmai, let me be your mentor."

It just so happened that Li Chengqian had no trusted military generals under his command, so it would be a good idea to push Xi Junmai, who had a clean background, to the top.

Big shots like Hou Junji are only partners to Li Chengqian and cannot be treated as confidants.

"Your Majesty, the Tuyuhun civil strife in the 15th year of Zhenguan was quelled by Xi Junmai, the then Guoyi Commandant of Shanshan City. His military achievements are consistent with what Du He said."

"After the civil unrest was quelled, His Majesty asked me to go and comfort the people."

The Minister of Revenue Tang Jian stood up to confirm to Li Shimin.

"When I was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, I also followed Shangshu Tang to Tuyuhun to comfort them, and I also met General Xi." Ma Zhou also stood up and said.

With the confirmation from two important ministers, Li Shimin turned his attention to Xi Junmai and said after thinking for a moment.

"Xi Junmai, you have made great military achievements, and you were previously a brave and resolute commander stationed at the border. It is a waste of your talent to be a deputy commander of the Eastern Palace."

"I appoint you as the Lieutenant General of the Left Thousand Bull Guards, and concurrently the Commander of the Left Thousand Bull Guards of the Eastern Palace. You will be responsible for protecting the Crown Prince on weekdays, and will be deployed to fight with the army in times of war."

Xi Junmai looked at Du He with gratitude, then bowed excitedly and said, "I will live up to your majesty's trust and protect the prince's safety with my death!"

The bet was right!

At this moment, the person Xi Junmai is most grateful to is Du He. If it weren't for his promotion and opportunity, he would still be guarding the gate of the East Palace.