Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"Your Majesty, we beg you to depose the Crown Prince!"

Looking at the officials from powerful families kneeling on the ground, as well as a large number of veteran ministers of the Wude clan.

Li Shimin's face instantly darkened.

The old ministers of the Prince of Qin's mansion who witnessed this scene were either shocked and furious or looked solemn.

Changsun Wuji's eyes instantly turned fierce.

"Insolence! Are you all trying to force me to abdicate?!"

A shout caused everyone present to change their expressions simultaneously.

Minister of Revenue Cui Minshi gritted his teeth and kowtowed.

“Your Majesty, we are not forcing the abdication. In fact, the things His Highness the Crown Prince did in Bingzhou are too numerous to count. In just over a month, more than five hundred people were beheaded on the spot, more than ten families were exterminated, and even the old, young, women and children were not spared!”

"Your Majesty! Please issue a decree that His Highness the Crown Prince return to the capital immediately!"

Du Ruhui snorted coldly.

His heart was filled with the Crown Prince's grand ambition of "establishing a heart for heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, continuing the lost learning of the past sages, and opening up peace for all generations," even though he himself was from the Du family of Jingzhao.

But at this moment, what prevailed most was the purest aspirations of a scholar.

As soon as Cui Minshi finished speaking, he immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty! I impeach Cui Minshi and the Cui family of Qinghe! They have colluded with traitors and disrupted the court!"

Cui Minshi was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.

"Du Ruhui! You're talking nonsense!"

Li Shimin's new personal eunuch, Eunuch Gao, immediately turned cold.

"Lord Cui, the imperial court is the highest place, and you come from a prestigious family. You should be careful with your words!"

The fact that this eunuch, Gao, was chosen by Li Shimin to succeed Wang De shows that he was quite adept at reading people.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cui Minshi's already flushed face turned even more purple.

I, an old man from the Cui family of Qinghe, a prestigious clan with a history spanning hundreds of years, was actually rebuked by a eunuch?!

However, Li Shimin didn't even glance at him.

"Minister Du, tell me, why do you want to impeach the Cui family?"

Du Ruhui glanced coldly at the gazes cast upon him by the aristocratic officials, though he had already received their warnings and threats.

But there was still no wavering in my heart.

"Your Majesty, on the very night His Highness the Crown Prince arrived in Bingzhou, he ordered the execution of the entire family of Wang Heng, the former Sima of Bingzhou. The evidence is irrefutable, and His Highness has already handed over the evidence and files to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice. I personally oversaw this matter, and all the evidence is irrefutable!"

"Wang Heng colluded with the Turks to smuggle our dynasty's ironware and lined his own pockets. He also forged documents under various pretexts to sell off our army's supplies. Your Highness's execution of this traitor is a great blessing for our dynasty and for the people of Bingzhou!"

"When the people heard that Wang Heng had been beheaded, they were all overjoyed and shouted that His Majesty was wise and His Highness was benevolent!"

"Now, Cui Minshi and his faction are all crying out for justice for him. The Cui family of Qinghe is truly despicable!"

Du Ruhui went all out, and his very first words softened the already gloomy expression on Emperor Li Er's face.

however.

Just when he thought it was his turn as emperor to set an example.

But then Du Ruhui suddenly took another step, his face full of indignation and righteous indignation.

"Your Majesty! I still wish to impeach!"

Li Shimin opened his mouth, his gaze subtly glancing at Wei Zheng, who was serving as an advisor.

These days, haven't you been spouting a lot of nonsense, you old scoundrel?

I want to renovate the palace, but you say I'm promoting extravagance.

I favor my concubines, and you say I don't care about the lives of the common people?

Even when I wanted to go hunting, you, Wei Zheng, thought I was going to shoot your elderly mother...

Wei Zheng's expression tightened.

He had only rushed over after hearing that powerful officials had joined forces to demand an audience with the emperor, and he still didn't know exactly what had happened.

At that moment, a single glance from Emperor Li Er made him feel uneasy.

aside.

Fang Xuanling subtly slipped a memorial into the other person's hand.

The latter quickly nodded gratefully, opened the memorial and began to read it. Then, his expression instantly became serious.

The prince's courage and audacity are truly growing day by day...

The lands of powerful families and landlords were forcibly nationalized and then distributed to ordinary people for cultivation, exempting them from land taxes...

hiss! ! !

Wei Zheng glanced at the kneeling aristocratic officials around him, who seemed determined not to give up. He could already foresee that His Majesty the Emperor, and even the Crown Prince, would be in for a headache...

the other side.

With a vicious glint in his eyes, Du Ruhui turned his gaze back to Cui Minshi and the others kneeling on the ground, wishing they could kill him on the spot.

"Your Majesty, I impeach the Cui family of Qinghe, the Cui family of Boling, the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Lu family of Fanyang for disobeying the imperial orders, hoarding grain and weapons, and plotting a rebellion!"

"what?!"

"Du Ruhui! Don't spout nonsense!"

"You scoundrel, do you think the Zheng family of Xingyang is easy to bully?!"

As soon as these words came out.

The entire audience erupted in uproar. The aristocratic officials who had been kneeling on the ground became even more agitated and scrambled to their feet, as if they were about to rush forward and tear the frail old man, Du Ruhui, to shreds.

however.

Despite having several super tanky teammates on the field, Du Ruhui raised his head and looked arrogant and unrestrained, which stunned Fang Xuanling who was standing next to him.

It was as if I could see my old friend in his youth, brandishing his riding crop and declaring that he would make this era remember his name, Du Ruhui, with youthful vigor.

When Cheng Yaojin, Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde and the others saw that these aristocratic officials were actually about to rush up and beat up Du Ruhui, they quickly stepped forward and stood in front of them.

Du Ruhui stood in a circle around him, a human shield as solid as an iron tower.

Pointing at the aristocratic officials who were fuming with rage, he began to hurl insults.

"A bunch of hypocrites! Is this how a prestigious family raises you, these filthy soldiers who only know how to exploit the people and suck their blood?"

"Whenever you meet someone, you always talk about how your ancestors were ennobled and made high-ranking officials. If I were your ancestor, I would be ashamed and hide among my colleagues!"

"What, you want to hit me? Come on, hit me here! Let me taste the turtle-like fists that you inherited from your ancestors!"

"Lu Zhaojing, is all you can do is hide behind others and cheer them on?"

"Hahaha! Cui Minshi, Cui Mingan, you two belong to the Qinghe and Boling families respectively, why are your names so similar? I've wanted to ask you this for a long time."

"Could it be that your two mothers intend for the two families to merge, and thus have been secretly colluding with the heads of the two families...?"

"Aaaaaah! You old scoundrel! How dare you! Cheng Yaojin, get out of my way!"

"How can this not make sense? How can it not make sense!!!"

The entire imperial court instantly descended into chaos, resembling a bustling marketplace.

Cheng Yaojin and the others tightly protected Du Ruhui in the middle. Around them were several officials from the five noble families and seven prominent clans, including Cui Minshi, Minister of Revenue; Cui Mingan, Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; Lu Zhaojing, Minister of the Imperial Treasury; and Zheng Jiang, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

fly into a rage.

They looked like madmen, like vengeful ghosts, baring their teeth and claws at Du Ruhui, who was hiding behind Cheng Yaojin and the others, even through them.

They looked as if they wanted to devour him alive on the spot.

Everyone present, including Li Shimin, was completely dumbfounded.

Wei Zheng held the memorial he had just finished reading in one hand, but his mouth was wide open and his body was stiff as he stared at it. For a moment, he seemed to be able to suppress the aristocratic officials and ministers all by himself.

At this moment, I finally understood His Majesty's evaluation of Du Ruhui.

Why use the phrase "decisive and resolute"?

"Gudong..."

Wei Zheng couldn't help but look towards the throne, and his gaze met Li Shimin's calm eyes.

He was so frightened that his body trembled instantly.

The emperor said nothing.

But that look in his eyes clearly conveyed his message.

"I have no shortage of capable ministers around me. If you, Wei Zheng, don't do something, then you're no longer needed!"

"enough!!!"

After watching the powerful families' outbursts of rage for a while, Emperor Li Shimin, sitting on his throne, finally shouted an order to stop this absurd farce.

Yuchi Jingde grinned, touching his face where he had been injured by some cunning villain. His fierce eyes swept over Cui Minshi and the others.

With the emperor's order, everyone present, no matter how angry the aristocratic officials were, had no choice but to return to their original positions and straighten their clothes.

Minister of Revenue Cui Minshi, with a sorrowful expression, knelt down once more in the main hall.

"Your Majesty! This scoundrel Du Ruhui has framed and slandered loyal officials! We beg Your Majesty to do justice for us!"

"Waaah, Your Majesty! We only came here to pay our respects for the sake of peace and stability, but we never expected that our sincere patriotism would be accused by Du Ruhui of harboring evil intentions and that we would be accused of plotting a rebellion!"

"Your Majesty! If Du Ruhui is not severely punished today, I will kill myself right here in the Taiji Hall! I will prove the innocence of the Zheng family of Xingyang with my death!"

The aristocratic officials knelt down in despair once again.

Li Shimin snorted coldly and looked at Du Ruhui.

"Minister Du, is there any basis for your impeachment proposal?"

Du Ruhui straightened his clothes and stood tall with his head held high.

"Your Majesty, everything I have said is true!"

"You let go..." Cui Minshi was about to curse, but a dangerous look from Li Shimin made him swallow back his words.

Du Ruhui let out a cold laugh and spat in the direction of the aristocratic officials.

"Your Majesty, I did not frame any loyal officials. Rather, the actions of these powerful families are an insult to the very word 'loyalty'!"

"Your Majesty! Minister Cui and his ilk keep saying it's for the sake of the court and the stability of the country, demanding that Your Majesty stop the new policies, and even want to dismiss His Highness the Crown Prince. But I don't know why they're in such a hurry?"

"It's because His Highness wants to distribute land to the people of our Great Tang, and even used the Eastern Palace's savings for this purpose!"

"Of course they're anxious!"

"But why the rush? Is it for the country and the people? Hahahaha!"

Du Ruhui pointed at Cui Minshi and the others kneeling on the ground with a look of disdain, and sneered.

"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty by the Retired Emperor, the equal-field system has been implemented. Logically speaking, the Tang Dynasty has just quelled the chaos in the Central Plains, and its national strength is exhausted, and its population is scarce and impoverished. The implementation of the equal-field system, and the fact that the Retired Emperor and His Majesty have also reduced taxes and exempted corvée labor on many occasions, are all reasonable measures."

"But why, after all these years, is my Great Tang still suffering?!"

Du Ruhui paused slightly at this point, pointed at the faces of Cui Minshi and the others, which were turning pale and then flushed, and then made another sarcastic remark.

"You lot dare to talk about serving the country!"

"The Emperor Emeritus decreed that all male citizens of the Great Tang Dynasty aged eighteen and above shall be allocated one qing of land, of which eighty mu shall be allotted land and twenty mu shall be permanent land. However, how many citizens of our dynasty can actually obtain enough land according to the laws of the Great Tang Dynasty?"

"How many people have had their land, let alone their permanent land, even their allotted land, exploited and annexed by you!?"

"hehe!"

Du Ruhui bowed to Li Shimin, who was sitting on the throne.

"Your Majesty, since the late Emperor established the nation and its policies, powerful clans like Minister Cui have been finding ways to seize land from the people."

"Those who still have some sense of shame either use the pretext of renting cattle, horses, and farm tools, or lending money to the people, to gradually seize the land from them, or even force the people to become their clan's tenant farmers!"

"And then there are the shameless ones... just like the one our Minister Cui and his comrades are speaking out for, the former Sima of Bingzhou, Wang Heng, who directly relied on his family's influence in the area to forcibly seize land and even kill the people!"

Li Shimin's gaze had become exceptionally dangerous, and the once arrogant aristocratic officials, with the exception of a very few, now all lowered their heads.

"The powerful families such as the Cui clan of Qinghe and the Cui clan of Boling have obstructed the decrees of the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty to restore the people's livelihood. I impeach them for outwardly complying with the court's orders while secretly hoarding grain and fodder!"

"This is concrete evidence!"

"In order to oppress the people, seize land, and secretly train servants to guard their homes, they intend to rebel!"

"What's wrong with that statement?!"

Suddenly.

Li Shimin looked calmly at the group of people who were already sweating profusely.

His body, transformed by the Dragon Essence Fruit, made him look at the ugly faces of these powerful families, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Why not recreate the universe?

Fortunately, as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the first generation to establish the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Er's basic rationality allowed him to take a deep breath and temporarily suppress this crazy idea.

However, everyone present clearly noticed that their emperor seemed to be emanating a familiar aura.

"Cui Minshi, do you have any rebuttal to what Du Qing said?"

Cui Minshi: "...This, Your Majesty, all the land in my family is ancestral property, this..."

Changsun Wuji, seizing the opportunity, acted as a peacemaker.

"Hehe, Your Majesty, why not simply send people to the clan territories of these officials present to take measurements? Perhaps, as Minister Cui said, it is all a misunderstanding."

"Even if there is some extra land, it can be distributed to the people on the spot..."

Upon hearing this, Cui Minshi nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

They've come today to oppose the new policies in Bingzhou!

They never imagined that the new policies, which hadn't even been implemented in their country yet, would be implemented so quickly.

"Your Majesty! Even if Your Highness's distribution of land to the people is a benevolent policy, how can you force people to sell their land at such a low price?"

"Twenty-five strings of cash, and there's even a limit on the amount of land you can own... isn't this tantamount to extortion?! It goes against the heart of a benevolent ruler!"

Li Shimin frowned slightly.

He murmured something incredulously.

"Going against the heart of a benevolent ruler? Heh, Cheng Yaojin, how come I've never heard of my crown prince saying he wanted to be a benevolent ruler? Have you heard of that?"

Cheng Yaojin immediately chimed in.

A loud laugh, like a hoarse gong, echoed in the Taiji Hall.

"Haha, Your Majesty, I, Old Cheng, have never heard Your Highness say that you want to be a benevolent ruler. On the contrary, Your Highness has said more than once that you want to seize all the beautiful women from the five noble families and seven prominent clans and bring them to the Eastern Palace to dance for him."

Yuchi Jingde, who was standing to the side, burst out laughing on the spot.

"Hahahaha!"

Changsun Wuji wanted to laugh too, but he held it in.

However, the veteran generals who had followed Li Shimin in conquering the world completely ignored Cui Minshi and the others' dark expressions.

Instantly, laughter erupted once again in the Taiji Hall.

Pei Ji, the veteran minister of the Wude era who had remained silent all along, sighed inwardly as he watched this scene.

The emperor's decree is like the will of Heaven, and ultimately cannot be stopped.

Fortunately, my son is now on His Highness the Crown Prince's side, so the Pei family of Hedong can be considered preserved.

Suddenly, amidst the laughter, Cheng Yaojin seemed to have a sudden realization.

He walked up to Cui Minshi and the others with a sly grin on his face.

“Minister Cui, I, Old Cheng, have just had an idea. Why don’t you give it a try and send your daughters to His Highness the Crown Prince? If it works out, perhaps His Highness will give you a way out for the sake of your future Crown Princess.”