Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

"Close the door to the room."

Liu Li knelt in the main seat and spoke coldly to Du He who had just walked in.

As the door closed, the officials outside gathered together instantly.

"Hehe, judging from Minister Liu's tone, he's quite angry."

"Minister Liu is ruthless and will not let him off easily."

"Du He is going to suffer."

"Hahaha..."

All of these people had smiles of gloating on their faces.

Inside the room, the situation was completely different from what they had imagined.

Du He was seen sitting cross-legged comfortably, holding a basket of fruits in his hands and eating with gusto.

Beside him, the Imperial Court Minister Liu Ji changed his expression and tried to persuade him earnestly.

"Hey, nephew Du, what can I say about you? Can't you be more low-key?"

"When you came in, you also heard what your colleagues said about you, right?"

"Why did you mess with Kong Jijiu when you can mess with anyone else?"

"Kong Jijiu is famous all over the world and has many friends in the court. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult for you to gain a foothold in the court in the future."

Liu Li had a severe headache and his old heart was extremely tired.

The reason why Liu Li treated Du He so kindly and called him nephew is that there is an unknown history behind it.

In his early years, Liu Li worked for Xiao Xin as the Imperial Secretary, and later led his army south to conquer Lingnan.

In the fourth year of Wude, Xiao Xin was defeated by Li Xiaogong's troops and died in the battle.

Liu Li knew that he was no match for the enemy, so he submitted a letter of surrender to the Tang Dynasty and was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Nankang Prefecture Military Governor's Office.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, Du Ruhui, then Minister of Personnel, promoted Liu Li from a local position.

From then on, Liu Li, who was outstanding in his abilities, had a smooth career path and was promoted all the way to the high position of Huangmen Shilang.

After Du Ruhui died of illness in the fourth year of Zhenguan, Liu Li still remembered his kindness and took good care of Du He and his brothers.

"Hiccup~"

Du He had almost finished eating the fruit and burped.

Putting down the fruit basket, Du He smiled and asked, "Uncle Liu, do you know why I impeached Kong Yingda?"

Liu Li nodded: "I know."

He was different from those subordinates outside who took things out of context. Before calling Du He over, he had already found out the actual situation.

It was a good thing that the prince sent the Turks away, and he also gave them a generous compensation.

Kong Jijiu scolded the prince without any reason, which was totally wrong.

Liu Li was also ordered by Li Shimin to teach the prince together with Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben and Chu Suiliang.

From his point of view, Du He's reasons for impeachment and his accusations against Kong Jijiu were very correct.

Moreover, he and Ma Zhou and others also felt that the requirements of the Crown Prince's Left Assistant Yu Zhining, the Crown Prince's Right Assistant Kong Yingda, and the Crown Prince's Left Assistant Zhang Xuansu were too harsh on the Crown Prince.

As the saying goes, everything has its limits. If you exceed that limit, it will backfire.

Du He continued, "Uncle Liu, since you know the reason for the incident, I won't explain any more."

"The current important task is to bring the prince back to the right path. If we don't remove the stumbling block, we will not be able to succeed."

"Although I will offend these old officials, I have to do it. I must be the villain."

Du He knew very well that he and the prince were now completely tied to the same boat. As long as the prince succeeded to the throne, he would be second only to the prince.

On the contrary, if the King of Wei came to power, even if he had climbed to the high position of Shangshu Zuo Pushe now, he could be easily overthrown.

In this case, it doesn’t matter how many court officials he offends.

Liu Li nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Nephew, you have the same character as Duke Lai. You have already made judgments in your mind before doing anything."

"Now that you're grown up, I won't nag you too much, lest you find me annoying."

"But uncle still wants to remind you that the court is not a game of house. If you are not careful, you will be doomed. You must think twice before you act."

Du He felt warm in his heart when he heard Liu Li's caring words.

Even when the Duke of Lai's Mansion was on the decline, he was still treated like this. Liu Li was a grateful person.

"Thank you Uncle Liu for your concern. I understand." Du He stood up and saluted him.

Liu Li nodded slightly, then waved his hand: "That's all I have to say, uncle, you can go and get busy."

"When you go out later, don't put on a smiling face. You have to pretend that I scolded you and that you are very angry."

Hearing Liu Li's reminder, Du He smiled and bowed, saying, "Don't worry, uncle. I'll take my leave."

After saying this, Du He's face turned gloomy again. He opened the door in anger and left Menxia Province without saying a word.

"Deserve it!"

"See if you are still proud of yourself."

"Minister Liu did a good job. He should have dealt with this troublemaker."

Seeing Du He's look, a group of officials in the Menxia Province became excited instantly.

The anger I felt towards Du He had now mostly dissipated.

...

Wude Hall.

King Li Tai of Wei sat high up in the hall.

At the bottom, Du Chuke, the Minister of Works and Chief Clerk of the Prince of Wei's Palace, sat on the left, and Wei Ting, the Minister of Taichang Temple and Chief of the Prince of Wei's Palace, sat on the right.

"You two, Kong Jijiu has now been dismissed by our father as the prince's teacher. What do you think I should do?"

The news that Kong Yingda was impeached by Du He and subsequently dismissed as the prince's teacher by his father had long reached Li Tai's ears.

Li Tai was very excited when he heard the good news.

So he quickly summoned Du Chuke and Wei Ting, his two right-hand men, to the Wude Hall to discuss the matter.

Wei Ting bowed and said, "Your Highness, King Wei, Kong Jijiu has a strong appeal among the scholars. Why not invite him to the King Wei's mansion to serve as a teacher?"

Du Chuke also nodded in agreement and said, "Brother Wei is right. Since the prince does not recognize talented people, we can invite Kong Jijiu to come and strengthen the king of Wei."

The Prince of Wei’s palace now has everything except the configuration of a tutor for the Crown Prince.

Now that Kong Yingda has been recruited, this deficiency can be made up for.

Li Tai's eyes lit up, and he immediately decided: "Okay, I will go to my father and ask Kong Jijiu to be the teacher of the Prince of Wei's mansion."

Prince, the person you don’t cherish, I regard as a treasure!

Li Tai acted decisively and he immediately went to Ganlu Palace to ask for an audience with Li Shimin.

Inside the Manna Hall.

When Li Shimin heard the purpose of his beloved son's visit, he motioned Li Tai to sit down and asked with a smile.

"Qingque, what is your purpose in inviting Kong Yingda to be the teacher of the Prince of Wei's Mansion?"

His beloved son was extremely intelligent and had high literary attainments. He was very proud of the "Guodi Zhi" he edited in the 15th year of Zhenguan.

Li Tai replied tactfully, "Father, I like literature, and Confucius is a world-renowned scholar. I want to discuss academic matters with Confucius."

"In addition, Master Kong is upright and just, and I hope Master Kong can point out my shortcomings."

Li Tai's words sounded like he was eager to learn, but in fact he was being petty.

The fact that he praised Kong Yingda so highly just proved that Li Chengqian and Du He were ignorant of talent and were jealous of the virtuous.

If it were in the past, Li Shimin would definitely be unhappy and might even scold the prince.

But what Du He said to him touched Li Shimin's heart.

It is true that Kong Yingda is a famous teacher and scholar, but he is too harsh and strict, and is indeed not suitable to teach the current prince.

Li Shimin did not think badly of Li Tai's words. He simply thought that his obedient and well-behaved son was studious.

"Qingque, your request has been granted by the Emperor."