I have already established my power and prestige, so how did Li Shimin come back to life?

"Killing all the noble families might be easy, but what happens next? How do we fill the vacancies of local officials? This is the most difficult problem."

"Xianyang National School is able to continuously cultivate outstanding students. Now, young officials from Xianyang account for half of the court."

"Is it the same in other places? All officials cannot come from Shaanxi Province. There will be chaos."

"Is Shaanxi the only province in the Tang Dynasty? We need talents from all over the country to ensure long-term peace and stability in the Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhang Xianhuai nodded seriously, the fierceness in his eyes gradually faded away, replaced by a calmness after deep thought.

He knew very well that His Majesty had to think long-term and should not act impulsively out of momentary anger.

"I will tolerate these noble families for a while longer. Xianhuai, go inform Mr. Qi later and tell him that the seedling cultivation plan has started, and he will understand."

Li Chengqian gave the order in a firm tone, with a flicker of determination in his eyes, like a chess player laying out his plans, ready to deal with a complex situation.

"Yes! I obey your order."

Zhang Xianhuai accepted the order in a solemn tone.

Li Chengqian picked up another secret report from Chang'an, looked at it carefully, and frowned even more tightly. The wrinkles on his face were like ravines, deep and solemn.

His eyes were fixed on the contents of the secret report, as if he wanted to find some hidden mystery in it.

"Xian Huai, have you carefully checked this secret report codenamed 12003?"

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked at Zhang Xianhuai with a questioning look in his eyes.

When Zhang Xianhuai heard Li Chengqian mention this, his expression became serious and he took it seriously and nodded.

"Your Majesty, I have carefully investigated this matter."

There was a hint of confidence in his eyes, and he was proud of his careful investigation.

Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Xianhuai with some approval, and a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.

"It seems like you really learned something. Tell me what you think."

There was some encouragement in his tone, hoping that Zhang Xianhuai could express his own insights.

"Yes!"

Hearing Li Chengqian praising him, Zhang Xianhuai suddenly became excited, his chest slightly puffed out, and his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels.

"Your Majesty! This piece of information may seem insignificant, but it actually has many suspicious points."

"I specifically asked 12003. This so-called personal guard of Li Ji had eaten hot pot with Li Ji, Yuchi Jingde, and Cheng Yaojin at Songhe Tower the night before."

"The scene seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, there were many suspicious points. He also paid the bill in the end, and even packed ten bottles of Xiaobaigan when he left."

"At the time, there was a waiter named Xiao Jiang, whose full name was Jiang Si. He was a student in the third term of Xianyang National School. His performance in school was average, nothing special. He then went to work at Songhelou to earn a living."

"It's understood that most of the people Xiao Jiang talked to were this personal guard. His words and actions didn't seem like those of an ordinary personal guard."

"The other three generals showed great respect to this personal guard, which is even more strange."

"The most suspicious thing is that General Li Ji went to Zhaoling early the next day and brought everyone with him except this personal guard."

"And this personal guard slept in and went to the second floor of Songhe Tower to enjoy the service."

"What caught my attention the most was that it was during the late emperor's mourning period. Everyone followed the proper etiquette, and even though Your Majesty arranged for the funeral procession to stay at Songhua Garden, no one dared to overstep the bounds in the slightest."

"The only people who dared to go out for dinner at that time were the three generals and the personal guard."

"The rest of the people were quietly waiting in the room for our food distribution. Therefore, I concluded that the guard was not ordinary. Since it was not a serious matter, I did not report it to Your Majesty."

After listening to Zhang Xianhuai's report, Li Chengqian closed his eyes, as if thinking about something, leaned weakly on his golden nanmu armchair, and did not speak for a long time.