Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Even though Zhang Xingcheng was only acting as the Minister of Justice and not actually promoted to the position, anyone who knew Li Shimin's temper knew it.

If they do not dissuade him now, Zhang Xingcheng will definitely be the new Minister of Justice in a year.

In response to the dissuasion of civil and military officials, Li Shimin frowned and waved his hand.

"My dear ministers, the Ministry of Justice is one of the six ministries, and the position of Minister cannot be vacant for a long time."

"I have not yet decided on a candidate for the Minister of Justice. Now issuing an order to have Zhang Xingcheng take over the position of Minister of Justice is just a temporary measure."

"I have made up my mind, my dear ministers, please do not bring it up again."

The Minister of Justice needed to be a fair, strict and non-partisan person, and this person also had to be familiar with Tang law. Li Shimin thought about it for a long time but could not find a suitable candidate.

Therefore, promoting Zhang Xingcheng, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and letting him temporarily take charge of the Ministry of Justice is the best arrangement at the moment.

After hearing what Li Shimin said, all the civil and military officials swallowed their words. They looked at Zhang Xingcheng, who was in high spirits, with reluctance on their faces, as he accepted the order.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Zhang Xingcheng received the order with a choked voice, then slowly knelt down and kowtowed respectfully to Li Shimin.

He is a criminal, but he didn't expect that His Majesty would still entrust him with such an important task. What a trust!

Li Shimin looked at Zhang Xingcheng with a serious expression, and then gave him instructions in a deep voice.

"Zhang Xingcheng, you must manage the Ministry of Justice on my behalf. You must put aside your selfishness and remain fair and strict. Do not neglect your duties again!"

"If even the people in the Ministry of Justice cannot remain impartial, how can we convince other officials?"

Because the Minister of Justice was held by military generals such as Li Daozon in recent years, Li Shimin made the Dali Temple, which was familiar with Tang laws, the main trial department.

The Ministry of Justice only participates in trials when encountering major cases, and most of the time it plays the role of review and supervision.

When Zhang Xingcheng heard Li Shimin's instructions, he kowtowed again.

"I will not let your majesty down!"

Seeing that the position of Minister of Justice had been decided, Du He turned his head to look at Lu Chengqing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, then shrugged at him with a helpless expression.

Lu Chengqing had previously asked him to talk to Hou Junji and Liu Li and ask them to put some pressure on His Majesty.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin did not consult any ministers, but directly appointed the Minister of Justice.

"Get up." Li Shimin waved to Zhang Xingcheng, and then said to the Minister of Rites Zhang Shigui: "Zhang Shigui, call in the envoys from the vassal states!"

Later, after receiving the envoys from the vassal states and showing them the treasures displayed by the Tang Dynasty, today's grand court meeting and grand display will be over.

"According to the order!"

Zhang Shigui responded, then left the Taiji Hall with his head lowered, accompanied by Yan Liben, the Minister of Rites, and other officials.

After a cup of tea.

Over a hundred envoys from vassal states, with different looks and dressed in strange costumes, walked into the Taiji Hall with a reserved look, led by officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Last year, the Tang Dynasty quickly annihilated the four kingdoms of Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje and Xueyantuo with lightning speed, which made them very nervous.

Even in the cold winter, they still stationed heavy troops on the border.

After the envoys from various countries walked to the center of the hall, they knelt on their knees and kowtowed respectfully to Li Shimin.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Khan of Heaven. May His Majesty be healthy, powerful, and live forever!"

"I wish the Tang Dynasty good weather, good harvests, thriving livestock, and peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

Looking at these envoys from vassal states who took the initiative to kneel and kowtow, Li Shimin and a group of civil and military ministers all showed proud expressions on their faces.

In the past, when the envoys from these vassal states came to pay tribute, they held their heads high and were very tough, and did not consider themselves as subordinate countries.

Another purpose of their tribute was to exchange seeds, books and various advanced technologies from the Tang Dynasty.

Now that they have seen the Tang Dynasty showing its fangs, they are all scared as hell, fearing that the iron hoof of the Tang Dynasty will once again step into their country.

"Hahaha!"

Li Shimin laughed out loud and then waved his hand casually.

"You are welcome, envoys. Our banquet will begin soon. Please take your seats."

The Tang Dynasty accepted tributes from the envoys of these vassal states and also invited them to have a big meal in the Taiji Hall and let them enjoy Tang Dynasty music and dance.

By displaying these advanced cultures of the Tang Dynasty, the eyes of these barbarian envoys were broadened and they became more yearning for the Tang Dynasty.

This method was quite effective. Many states in the desert areas came here to become vassal states of the Tang Dynasty.

"Thank God, Your Majesty Khan."

The envoys from the vassal states knelt down and saluted once again, then sat down in their respective seats under the guidance of the eunuchs.

The Minister of Personnel Zhang Shigui glanced at Du He, then spoke proudly to the envoys.

"The delicacies at the banquet later are all made by our Tang Dynasty using the latest cooking methods. It will be worth your life if you are lucky enough to taste them!"

Now cooking in iron pans was popular throughout the court, and the chefs all followed the recipes created by Du He to cook.

Even many people from merchant families in the private sector began to behave like this.

Not long after, pots of steaming delicious food were brought up by a large group of eunuchs.

When these envoys looked at the meat in front of their tables and the meat of the Tang ministers next to them, they had complicated expressions on their faces.

The envoys from powerful vassal states such as Eastern Turkestan, Tibet and Persia cursed in their hearts.

"The Tang Dynasty calls itself the Kingdom of Heaven. How disrespectful!"

"Their officials eat mutton, but they give us cheap pork!"

Not to mention that the officials of the Tang Dynasty did not eat pork, even the envoys themselves were equally dismissive of it.

Because they all have the same idea, that is, pork is only eaten by poor people, and now the Tang Dynasty is clearly insulting them by asking them to eat pork!

Li Shimin looked at the envoys from the vassal states with strange expressions on their faces, and he smiled and spoke loudly.

"Everyone, start eating!"

"This is not ordinary pork, and its taste is more delicious than you can imagine!"

A group of civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty started eating the delicious mutton and other delicacies.

The envoys from the vassal states hesitated for a moment and cursed in their hearts.

"Pork is delicious, why don't you Tang officials eat it?"

"It's simply too much!"

"How dare you treat our vassal envoys as non-human beings!"

They cursed a few words in their hearts to relieve some of the resentment in their hearts, but finally they gritted their teeth and picked up the chopsticks to take small bites.

"press!"

After they tasted the braised spareribs, their eyes widened.

"It's delicious!"

The envoys no longer complained that pork was low-class meat. They threw a whole piece of ribs into their mouths and started chewing it in big mouthfuls.

Li Tai, Li Ke and other princes, as well as a group of civil and military ministers, all showed contempt on their faces when they saw the envoys from the vassal states wolfing down their food.

The short and ugly Japanese envoy stood up and asked curiously.

"Tian Khan, why is this pork so delicious?"