Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

No wonder Cheng Qian attaches so much importance to Du He. What he says is not only reasonable and well-founded, but also easy for them to accept.

This kind of honest advice, which is not unpleasant to the ear, makes people feel extremely happy.

Unlike Xiao Yu, who was old-fashioned and said harsh words, and also didn't give him, the emperor, any face, which really made him angry.

Li Shimin first glared at Xiao Yu with displeasure, then turned to look at the attendant Liu Li and gave him an order.

"Minister Liu, you will draft what Minister Du said later, and I will issue an imperial edict to issue it!"

"From now on, the concubines in the harem, the Eastern Palace, and the royal palace are not allowed to take in women from criminal families!"

When Liu Li heard that Li Shimin adopted Du He's suggestion, he felt slightly moved.

He quickly stood up and replied, "I obey your command!"

Although Liu Li did not understand Du He's attempt to stop Li Tai from deposing and enthroning the princess, Du He had always had his own opinions and there must have been some unknown reasons in his mind.

He was worried that refuting Du He's words might affect some of Du He's plans.

But he also felt a little regretful that such a good opportunity to weaken the King of Wei's strength was wasted.

When he goes to the Eastern Palace to teach Li Chengqian, he will have to find an opportunity to ask Du He to see what he really thinks.

Li Shimin stood up and said, "Since Yin Yushan is a woman from a family of criminals, she does not meet the requirements to be the Princess of Wei. Let's reject the request of the King of Wei."

"Zhang Shigui, your Ministry of Rites should give a reply to the King of Wei!"

Because the memorial submitted by Li Tai was to be handled by the Ministry of Rites, Li Shimin also left the task of rejection to the Ministry of Rites.

Zhang Shigui's expression changed slightly, and then he stood up and responded.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Next, Li Shimin chatted with several important ministers for a while. When he learned that the government affairs they were responsible for were progressing relatively quickly, a smile appeared on his face.

The territory of the Tang Dynasty is now larger than ever before, and the treasury is full of gold and silver.

With such a stable political environment and harmonious people, I believe that in a few years, the Tang Dynasty will enter an unprecedented period of prosperity.

And he, the Heavenly Khan, will become an emperor of all ages!

...

When Du He left the Taiji Hall, it was already noon.

He first went to the kitchen to have lunch, and then returned to the Ministry of Industry's exclusive office to rest.

There are currently three places to eat free meals in the imperial palace. One of them is the public kitchen that provides food for officials attending court meetings. It is located under the corridor in front of the Golden Throne Hall.

The second is the place that provides food to the prime minister and important ministers. It is called Tangchu, and the core officials of the three provinces and six ministries can go there to enjoy meals for free.

The third is the most common public canteen, which is called Lichu, Zuoshichu or Fushichu. Ordinary officials in the palace can go there to enjoy the food.

Officials who lived far away from the imperial city and worked in departments where there was no money to be made would eat their meals in the free canteen.

Over the years, you can save a lot of money.

Du He used to look down on the food in the kitchen and would run to the East Palace to eat and drink whenever he had time. Now that the chefs in the palace have been replaced by cooks, Du He is too lazy to run back and forth.

After all, the Ministry of Works is a long distance away from the Eastern Palace. In addition, carriages and sedan chairs are not allowed in the palace, so traveling back and forth is also a hassle.

In the afternoon.

This guy Xiao Kai knocked on Du He's office door, walked in with a smirk on his face and said.

"Brother Du, Du Jingtong has already been sentenced by the Dali Temple!"

"And the other six officials of the Du family were all sentenced to heavy penalties!"

After hearing the good news brought by Xiao Kai, Du He's face finally showed some interest, especially the Dali Temple's verdict on Du Jingtong.

Du He asked curiously, "Brother Xiao, how were they punished? Can you tell me in detail?"

"Hehe." Xiao Kai laughed twice, and then said gloatingly: "Du Jingtong was sentenced to 4 years in prison and needs to serve hard labor in Jiaozhou."

"Du Tao, the official in charge of farming, had all his property confiscated to fill the state treasury, and he was also sentenced to 10 years in prison and had to serve hard labor in Yelang."

"As for the others, apart from having their property confiscated, they just lost their official positions."

The new laws of the Tang Dynasty were relatively lenient. As long as the crime was not too serious, the principle of lenient treatment would basically be followed.

The reason why Du Tao was sentenced so severely was that he not only embezzled ten thousand taels of silver, but also committed other crimes.

Xiao Kai continued, "Du Ye committed a crime of insubordination, but his punishment was not severe. The Dali Temple only dismissed him from his post."

Because Du He and Fang Yizhi reached a deal that spared Du Ye from imprisonment, he only lost his official position.

I have to say that those people in the Dali Temple also serve dishes to people based on their appearance.

Du He smiled and said, "Brother Xiao, you must not slack off during this period. You must help me catch more corrupt officials of the Du family."

"After dealing with the nine Du clan members who are serving in Chang'an City, we also need to deal with the Du clan members who are serving in the prefectures and counties."

Now that Du Jingtong has been punished, Du Chuke is the only one left to support the Jingzhao Du family, and the other officials are not a concern.

I believe that when people from other aristocratic families see that the Jingzhao Du family has lost power, they will definitely seize the Du family’s resources.

Xiao Kai patted his chest and said, "Brother Du, just relax. Don't you trust my ability?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Du He with a strange expression.

"Brother Du, my father came to see me just now and asked me to thank you."

"What big problem did you solve for my father that made that old-fashioned guy come to thank you in person?"

No one knows a father better than his son. The father and son have lived together for more than 20 years and know each other's personalities well.

Xiao Kai knew how bad his father's temper was and how arrogant he was. He never expected that his father would actually thank a junior like Du He.

When Xiao Kai heard his father's words, he thought he had misheard.

Du He pinched his brows and said, "Brother Xiao, you should persuade your father more when you have the chance. He has been dismissed from his position as prime minister five times. You can't mess around anymore."

Then Du He briefly recounted the incident of Xiao Yu's confrontation with Li Shimin.

"Suck!"

Xiao Kai took a deep breath.

He widened his eyes and said, "Brother Du, is my father so crazy?"

"Fortunately you changed the subject in time, otherwise my father would have set a record for being dismissed from office the fastest!"

It is unfortunate for the Xiao family to have such a suicidal father.

At the end of November in the first year of Zhenguan, his father was reinstated, but before he had even completed five months, he was dismissed again for committing a crime.

The reason was that when Tang Jian was on a diplomatic mission to Turkic Arabia, his father asked Tang Jian to take a family letter to Empress Xiao who was taking refuge in Turkic Arabia.

Later, his father's political enemies discovered this and reported that his father had been secretly communicating with the late Empress of Sui Dynasty, and Li Shimin quickly dismissed his father from his official position.

Du He said softly: "Brother Xiao, your father is not young now, he is almost 70 years old."

“If I am dismissed again, I am afraid it will be difficult to be re-employed.”

"One day when he's in a better mood, give him some more advice."