Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Du He looked at the elegant and handsome Yin Yuhe not far away. His originally confused thoughts suddenly became extremely clear.

If his guess was correct, the person who gave advice to Li Tai should be Yin Yuhe, the remnant of the Yin family.

Du He looked at the elegant Yin Yuhe, and thought of the fact that they, the brother and sister, supported Li Tai's rebellion. He couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

"Yin Yuhe is a very talented person, but it's a pity that he is not using his talents in the right way."

"If I can serve the imperial court, I may become a famous official!"

The children raised in such large families have been exposed to all kinds of political affairs since childhood, and their talents are higher than most of the children from poor families.

Unlike the complicated thoughts of the ministers in the hall, Li Shimin was particularly excited.

He turned to look at Du He and said, "Du He, today is such a joyous day, and all the officials admire you so much, you, the great Tang poet, must write a poem!"

Li Shimin's proposal was immediately responded to by all the court officials.

"Du Shangshu has indeed not written any new poems for a long time. I have memorized several of his masterpieces by heart!"

"It's time for Du Shangshu to show off his skills!"

"Please write a poem for Du Shangshu to help with the fun!"

“Although Du Shangshu has unparalleled poetic sentiment and the ability to compose verses fluently, can he still compose good poems without any preparation?”

I rely on!

How did you bring this topic to me?

Du He, who had been calmly drinking and eating meat while paying attention to the little movements of Li Tai, Zhang Liang and Yin Yuhe, now became a little uneasy.

These guys want him to show off again?

Faced with the instigation and jeer of a group of civil and military ministers, Du He did not immediately stand up to compose a poem, but waved his hand to decline.

"Your Majesty, I have drunk a lot of wine today, and my mind is a little confused. I am afraid I can't write a good poem!"

"Today is a festive occasion for your Majesty to host a banquet for all the ministers, so I won't mind my appearance being ugly."

Now, writing poetry would not be of much benefit to him except winning the applause of civil and military officials.

Moreover, every time I recite a good poem that I remember in my mind, it will be one less good poem, so I have to do myself some good in this way.

When the ministers saw that Du He declined to write poetry, they all showed regret on their faces.

Especially ministers like Yang Sina, the governor of Fengzhou, Fang Renyu, the governor of Yangzhou, and Xue Shiliang, the governor of Jiangzhou, they had long admired Du He, who had unparalleled poetic talent.

If I could see Du He composing poetry today, it would be worth the trip.

"hey-hey!"

Cheng Yaojin, the tough guy, grinned twice, then stood up and said carelessly.

"Your Majesty, Du He thinks you didn't give me a prize!"

"If you add a little bit of luck, Du He will definitely be able to come up with three or five excellent poems!"

Good guy!

Cheng Yaojin is truly worthy of being the one who has inherited the true teachings of Wagangzhai. He even has his sights set on Your Majesty.

This group of ministers, who were forced by Cheng Yaojin to bring generous gifts and attend the wedding banquet of Xi Junmai and Cheng Ying, immediately cursed Cheng Yaojin in their hearts.

Yuchi Gong also stood up with his wine jar raised and said, "What old Cheng Yaojin said is right. If Your Majesty doesn't add some color, Du He won't even bother to think."

"Your Majesty, why don't you offer a large sum of money as a reward? Whoever among the ministers writes the best poem will receive the reward!"

"My Lords, do you think this makes sense?"

When the ministers heard Yuchi Gong's suggestion, their eyes suddenly lit up and they all became interested.

Originally, Du He was just being asked to write a poem, but now it has turned into a competition among ministers, which makes it even more interesting.

Li Chengqian also smiled and said, "Father, if the civil and military officials write poems at today's banquet, it will surely become a good story if it gets out!"

"And if you add a little excitement, the ministers will work harder."

After hearing the suggestions from the Crown Prince and his two trusted generals, Li Shimin nodded in approval.

He immediately stood up and said, "My dear ministers, today I will give you a hundred taels of gold as a reward!"

"Whoever writes the best poem within one stick of incense will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold!"

Li Shimin then gave orders directly to the eunuchs, asking them to immediately prepare writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and to take out one hundred taels of gold from the treasury and bring them to the Taiji Hall.

A group of talented and knowledgeable officials who had written some poems immediately showed anticipation on their faces.

The purchasing power of one hundred taels of gold is equal to 1000 strings of cash, which is a huge sum of money!

Even Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and others were somewhat tempted and planned to participate in this poetry writing competition.

Du He didn't expect that after he declined, Li Shimin would give him such a generous reward as a prize. A smile immediately appeared on his face.

Du He's little action was also noticed by Cheng Yaojin, who pointed at Du He and laughed.

"Hahaha!"

"Your Majesty, this kid Du He is laughing secretly. He must have thought of a poem in his mind."

"In my opinion, you might as well just let Du He recite the poem and then take the reward."

"Anyway, no one can rival Du He in poetry writing, so the other ministers don't need to embarrass themselves."

A group of civil officials who were eager to show their talents immediately became angry and glared when they heard the sarcastic words of Cheng Yaojin.

Ministers specially invited by Li Shimin, such as Chu Liang, Yan Qinli, Xiao Deyan and Linghu Defeng, pointed at Cheng Yaojin and cursed him.

"Duke Lu, you really underestimate me!"

"We haven't competed yet, so it's still unclear who will win or lose!"

"You can't even read a few words, and you can't tell whether a poem is good or bad, so don't come out and embarrass yourself!"

"You're right. In a competition between our civil officials, what does a barbarian like him know about good and bad?"

Cheng Yaojin, who had angered everyone, was not afraid at all. He shrugged indifferently, then sat down to drink and watch the show.

Just as the ministers were denouncing Cheng Yaojin, a large group of eunuchs had already brought pens, ink, paper and inkstones and placed them on the banquet table of each civil official.

The eunuch who was responsible for taking gold from the treasury also placed several large gold bars in front of Li Shimin's desk.

The civil and military officials looked at the large gold bars on the imperial table, and their breathing became rapid.

Li Shimin ordered the eunuch to light a stick of incense in front of the imperial platform, then waved to the civil and military officials and said with an expectant look on his face.

"My dear ministers, let's start writing poetry now!"

Before the incense stick was lit, these civil officials had already been thinking in their minds, and as Li Shimin's orders were issued, they closed their eyes and began to think.

As for the military generals, they rested their hands on the banquet table and looked at the civil and military ministers in a joking manner.

Cheng Yaojin saw that except for Du He who was leisurely sipping wine, the other ministers were deep in thought, so he sneered in a low voice.

"Chi~"

"No matter how much you think, you can't beat that brat Du He."

Although Cheng Yaojin's voice was not loud, it was so quiet in the Taiji Hall at that moment that his voice was still quite obvious.

Li Shimin immediately turned his head and glared at Cheng Yaojin with a warning look on his face.

In response to Li Shimin's warning, Cheng Yaojin was so frightened that he immediately shrank his neck and dared not utter a single mocking sound.