I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 761 Li Zheng's Thunderous Method

In the imperial study, ambergris burned quietly in the gilded beast furnace, and the green smoke rose straight up, but when it approached the beams, it was blown away by the autumn wind from the window. Li Zheng stood with his back to the palace door, his body stretched straight under the bright yellow dragon robe, his hands behind his back, his knuckles white from exertion.

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhang, the Minister of Rites, brought up the matter of the selection of concubines again at the court meeting." The chief eunuch Wang Dequan hunched over and lowered his voice to a very low level, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.

"Snapped!"

Li Zheng turned around abruptly, his sleeves pulling away the jade pen holder on the table. The priceless imperial pen rolled to the ground, and the splashed ink spread a hideous black color on the cashmere carpet that was a tribute from Persia.

"Selection of concubines?" The emperor sneered, his eyes as cold as a knife, "The old man of the Zhang family is really loyal, and he is eager to send his granddaughter to the palace to be an eyewitness!"

Wang Dequan knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold marble floor: "This old slave is too talkative, Your Majesty, please calm down."

Li Zheng ignored the trembling old eunuch and strode towards the "Officials Chart" hanging on the west wall. He poked his finger heavily on the names circled in red ink: "Zhao, Zhang, Wang. Do these noble families really think that I don't know what they are planning?"

A flash of lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating Li Zheng's angular profile. Thunder rumbled, as if the heavens were responding to the emperor's anger.

"Send it to Xiao Han."

In just half a cup of tea, a tall and thin man in black clothes appeared silently in the corner of the imperial study. He blended into the darkness like a shadow, and only the narrow black sheathed dagger at his waist occasionally reflected a cold light.

"How's the investigation going?" Li Zheng didn't look back, his fingers still moving slowly on the "Chart of Officials".

Xiao Han knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse as sandpaper: "Your Majesty, the Zhao family and the three governors of the northern border have exchanged secret letters seven times, and the contents have been transcribed here." He took out a roll of silk as thin as a cicada's wing from his arms, and had Wang Dequan present it to the emperor.

Li Zheng unfolded the silk and scanned the densely packed small characters with his eyes. Suddenly, a chilling smile appeared on his lips: "What a great 'joint effort'. Is old Zhao going to rebel?"

Raindrops began to hit the window lattice, sparse at first, but soon became a continuous roar. Li Zheng walked back to the dragon case, took out a red jade seal from the secret compartment, and pressed it heavily on another report presented by Xiao Han.

"Three things." The emperor's voice drowned out the sound of rain. "First, let 'Hongxiu' continue to lurk in the Zhao Mansion. I want to know the specific time of their next secret meeting. Second, send someone to contact Zhang Mingyuan, the illegitimate son of the Zhang family. Hasn't he always resented his stepmother for abusing his biological mother? I will grant him the position of Shaoqing of the Guanglu Temple. Third."

Li Zheng suddenly paused and turned his gaze to the outside of the palace. A thin figure was rushing towards the imperial study through the rain.

"Your son pays homage to His Majesty." Crown Prince Li Rui knelt outside the palace, soaking wet, holding a scroll of bamboo slips tightly in his hands.

Li Zheng's sharp eyes softened a bit in an instant: "Rui'er? It's raining so hard..."

"I just received an urgent report from Taiyuan!" The young prince raised his head, the rain running down his cheeks, he couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears, "Wang family privately opened an iron mine and forged weapons with the words 'clear the court' engraved on them!"

The air in the imperial study suddenly froze. Wang De's face turned as pale as earth, and Xiao Han's hand was on the hilt of the knife. Only Li Zheng remained motionless, as if he had turned into a statue.

"Good, very good." After a long while, the emperor chuckled, but the chuckle was colder than the winter. "I was just worried that I didn't have a suitable reason to deal with them."

He strode towards the prince, personally helped his beloved son up, and took the bamboo slips. When he saw the handwritten testimony of the governor of Taiyuan on it, the anger in Li Zheng's eyes almost turned into substance.

"Xiao Han."

"I am here."

"You go to Taiyuan in person and bring the 'shadow guard' with you." Li Zheng's voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, but it sent chills down the spines of everyone present. "I want the head of the Wang family's patriarch and the tongue of his legitimate son - let him come back alive and tell other families what the consequences of treason are." Xiao Han kowtowed deeply, and when he stood up, he disappeared into the rain like a ghost.

Li Zheng turned to the prince and wiped the rain off the boy's face: "Are you scared?"

Li Rui straightened his back, his eyes flashing with the same sharpness as his father's: "I only regret that I can't kill this traitor with my own hands!"

The emperor laughed and patted the prince on the shoulder: "Great! This is the son of my Li family!" He turned around and took a secret letter from the dragon table, "Take a look at this."

The prince unfolded the secret memorial and became more and more frightened the more he read it: "Father had already predicted that Wang would..."

"It's not expected, it's inevitable." Li Zheng walked back to the "Hundred Officials Map" and ran his finger over the positions of several aristocratic families. "These aristocratic families have been intertwined for hundreds of years. How could they be willing to be under the imperial power? What they are waiting for is an opportunity." The emperor suddenly turned around, his eyes flashing, "But I will not give them this opportunity!"

Amid the sound of rain, a burst of hurried footsteps approached from afar. The commander of the imperial guards knelt outside the palace, soaking wet: "Your Majesty! I just received news that the Zhao family sent people to the northern border!"

Li Zheng laughed instead of getting angry: "Sure enough, you can't hold your temper anymore." He took out a tiger talisman from his bosom and threw it to the commander of the imperial guards, "Mobilize the Xuanwu Battalion to block the north gate, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Also send a team of light cavalry to be stationed three miles away from the Zhao family's villa in the name of training."

After the commander of the imperial guards left, Li Zheng looked at Wang Dequan who had been silent the whole time and said, "Go, bring me my cinnabar."

The old eunuch trembled as he brought an exquisite agate box. Li Zheng dipped the cinnabar in it and drew a scarlet cross on the positions of Zhao and Wang on the "Picture of Officials".

"Father." The prince hesitated.

Li Zheng put down his pen, and his tone suddenly became calm: "Rui'er, do you know why I must eradicate these aristocratic families?"

The boy thought for a moment: "Because they threaten the imperial power?"

"That's not all." Li Zheng pointed to the palace in the rain outside the window, "Look at this majestic palace. It looks solid, but in fact, the foundation has long been eaten away by ants. These noble families are the ants - they annex land, monopolize official positions, and even privately raise weapons." The emperor's voice became colder and colder, "If you continue to tolerate it, within ten years, the world will be ruled by the Zhao and Wang families!"

A flash of lightning struck, illuminating Li Zheng's resolute face. He took a gold-and-jade ruyi from the table and broke it without hesitation.

"Decree: From now on, all the contacts between officials of the fifth rank and above and the noble families will be thoroughly investigated. Anyone who colluded with them, regardless of their official rank, will be punished." Li Zheng threw the broken Ruyi to the ground heavily, "Just like this thing!"

Wang Dequan knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please think twice! If you start a war like this, I'm afraid the court will be in chaos."

"Turbulence?" Li Zheng sneered, "I want this stagnant water to be turbulent!" He turned to the prince, and his tone suddenly turned deep, "Rui'er, remember, a king should make decisive decisions. If I take a step back today, they will dare to take ten steps forward tomorrow!"

The young prince kowtowed deeply and said, "I will remember your father's teachings."

The rain gradually subsided, and a ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone into the imperial study. Li Zheng walked to the window, looked at the imperial city washed by the rain, and suddenly asked: "Rui'er, if it were you, how would you deal with these noble families?"

Li Rui thought without hesitation: "I will follow my father's example and use drastic measures to intimidate the villains. But," he hesitated, "maybe we can give those children of noble families who have not participated in the rebellion a chance? For example, young people can enter the Imperial College, and talented people can be recruited according to their abilities."

Li Zheng turned around, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then turned into relief: "Good! You have thunderbolt methods, but also a compassionate heart. This is..." His words stopped abruptly, and his eyes suddenly shot sharply outside the hall.

(End of this chapter)