Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 180 You Can't Beat the Prince

"Your Highness, calm down!"

Changsun Wuji had no choice but to shout out, stand up and kneel in front, saying: "Your Highness, please think twice!"

Gao Shilian could no longer sit still, "Your Highness, please think twice!"

Ma Zhou remained silent for a while and did not respond.

Fang Xuanling and others' eyelids also jumped.

The prince's words obviously hit the sore spot of the two men.

wrong.

It should be said that it hit the soft spot of the Shandong gentry.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for the two of them to provoke such a big reaction.

This is still in the East Palace. If it were in the court meeting, there would be even more people opposing it.

because.

Ma Zhou is your Majesty's staunch confidant and also the Imperial Censor.

To tell a fact that they themselves are reluctant to admit, Ma Zhou is more valued by His Majesty than they are.

The position of Chief Censor is simply a magical weapon held in the hands of His Majesty and a sword of divine punishment hanging over the heads of all civil and military officials.

It could fall at any time.

Ma Zhou will definitely faithfully carry out His Majesty's instructions.

During this discussion, the Crown Prince's characterization of the Shandong government was no less than giving Your Majesty an excellent excuse to target the Shandong gentry.

Originally, Your Majesty was furious with the Shandong gentry and wanted to deal with them.

Now that the righteous cause is in place and the Jiangnan gentry are waving their flags and shouting in support, Your Majesty will definitely not hesitate and will not miss such an opportunity.

The Shandong nobles want to use the boiling public opinion to coerce Your Majesty, but it is simply impossible and will only make things worse.

Under such circumstances, if the Censorate took action, the Shandong government would definitely suffer. Although they were punishing those officials, they were actually targeting the source of influence of the Shandong gentry.

These officials are definitely pro-Shandong gentry.

Many of them rose to high positions with the support of Shandong gentry.

Otherwise, how could they favor and protect the Shandong gentry?

The fall of a large number of officials was equivalent to a great loss of prestige for the Shandong gentry.

How can they exert their huge influence to influence the court and the people of the world?

What frightened the Shandong gentry the most and made them dare not speak out was that Li Daozon, the commander-in-chief of the imperial troops, had hundreds of thousands of imperial troops spread all over the north.

This is the absolute deterrent and a clear warning.

In other words, Li Shimin made his bottom line clear to the Shandong gentry.

If you want to resist, if you want to challenge him.

That can.

Fully accept your challenge.

But the Shandong gentry could only operate within Li Shimin's bottom line.

If you cross the bottom line he sets, don't blame him for being rude.

This bottom line can be said to be carefully laid out by Li Chengqian for Li Shimin.

If the Shandong gentry dare to overturn the table, they should think about whether they can bear the consequences and costs that will come with it.

Therefore, no matter how you fight or argue, there is a major premise.

Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian had no choice but to step forward.

There is still room for discussion now, but once it is sent to His Majesty, it will be too late to revoke it.

Otherwise, once countless officials in the Shandong government were dismissed, their strength would be greatly weakened, and they might even have disagreements with the Shandong gentry.

"Think twice?"

"Calm down?"

Li Chengqian said with a smile: "Duke Zhao asked me to calm down, and Duke Shen asked me to think twice."

"When have I ever been angry?"

"Why didn't I think twice before I act?"

Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Your Highness, I think there is nothing wrong with this. If you make a mistake, you must accept the punishment. This has been the truth for thousands of years."

"The Shandong government has acted perversely, abused its power, obstructed education, and violated your majesty's wish to educate the world."

"How can we let such a serious crime go unpunished?"

"How will the great cause of education in the Tang Dynasty be carried out in the future?"

Changsun Wuji was quite angry, and Gao Shilian was also very angry.

Wei Zheng, the country bumpkin.

They added fuel to the fire and the charges were further reinforced and exaggerated.

Li Chengqian looked calm. Behind Wei Zheng were the shadows of the Shandong gentry. In fact, he was not the core and did not receive much support from the Shandong gentry along the way.

He had been a Taoist priest, joined Wagang, followed Li Mi, and finally followed Li Jiancheng and fell into the hands of Li Shimin, and then stepped onto the stage of history step by step.

To say how loyal he was to the Shandong family would be an understatement to Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng's bottom line is very flexible.

Lu Fengxian always stepped back a little in front of Wei Zheng.

He was more of a proponent of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats, but he was not a representative of the interests of the Shandong gentry.

It's not his turn yet.

He is burdened by his reputation and wants to lick the ditches of the five surnames and seven families.

But people don't really want to pay attention to him.

Li Chengqian smiled secretly. It seemed that Wei Zheng had awakened now. He didn't want to lick the ditch anymore and wanted to be himself.

"Your Highness, the Shandong government was at fault, but some people were deceived. It was the people below who did it."

Gao Shilian said: "From what I have learned from my investigation, it is some officials below who, blinded by their own interests, were driven by others to do the wrong thing."

"The memorial submitted to the Ministry of Rites shows that Shandong officials can still be saved and they are not blindly following..."

Changsun Wuji glanced back without saying anything. Gao Shilian continued, "I think we should severely punish the main culprits and the scoundrels to serve as a warning."

"Other unrelated persons should be given warnings and punished."

"A large-scale arrest would only cause some unnecessary unrest in Shandong. Now is the time for spring ploughing, and the top priority is to ensure that the ploughing is completed."

"Your Highness, please think twice and give the Shandong government a chance to correct its mistakes."

Are you not confused now?
Changsun Wuji felt very strange. His uncle was confused at one moment and clear-headed at another.

Is it really because of old age?
"Your Highness, this matter is nothing more than the officials acting arbitrarily. Shandong is also a place of education. How could they hinder the great cause of education?"

Chang Sun Wuji continued the conversation.

Xiao Yu sneered and said, "If Shandong is a place of enlightenment, how could it not accept the emergence of newspapers?"

"How did the Duke of Song know that Shandong would not accept it?"

"Duke Zhao, isn't this obvious?" Gao Shilian said, "What do you mean by obvious? Those were the work of some insects. Duke Song, please don't misunderstand and generalize."

"So Shandong is popular in the newspapers." Li Chengqian said, "I thought it was really as Duke Song said."

"Your Highness, Shandong is under the rule of the Tang Dynasty. If newspapers can appear in Chang'an, there is no reason why they cannot be allowed in Shandong." Gao Shilian said loudly.

Li Chengqian took a deep look at Gao Shilian, then looked at Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou and others who were neutral.

"it is good."

"It is a great blessing for the world that Shandong has a heart for education."

He said: "In this case, then this matter will be handled jointly by the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate."

"What do you think?"

Hear the words.

Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ministry of Personnel was under the charge of Gao Shilian. Although he did not hold the title of Minister of Personnel, he was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel as the Right Prime Minister.

The prince asked the Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel to handle the matter jointly, which was equivalent to giving the Shandong gentry an opportunity.

But this opportunity was gained through the education of Shandong.

"I second the proposal."

No one had any objection, and even though Xiao Yu was a little unhappy, he had no choice but to agree.

He also understood that it was not realistic to let the Censorate go alone.

"Then let's ask His Majesty for his approval."

"Yes!"

The ministers walked out of Xiande Hall one after another.

Ma Zhou walked the fastest, and Gao Shilian had no chance to call out to him to stop.

He had no choice but to discuss the matter in a low voice with Changsun Wuji.

A group of people also went to Taiji Hall to meet Li Shimin.

After reading the memorial, Li Shimin's eyebrows raised slightly and a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

The prince's work saves him a lot of worry.

Five surnames and seven families.

A Shandong family.

You can't beat the prince.

This forced Changsun Wuji and his men to abandon their pawns and calm the situation.

That’s all I can do.

But what is the prince selling?

Why would he make concessions and compromise when he could obviously take down a lot of people in one go?
Can Shandong really do a good job in education?

"I'm sure."

Li Shimin said calmly: "I am very happy that Shandong has the heart to educate people."

"But I hope I'm not just saying one thing and doing another."

"I don't like that."

These words made Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian completely relax.

Your Majesty did not pursue it relentlessly, but instead lifted it high and then put it down gently.

"Duke Shen, please stay."

The others left, and Gao Shilian played dialogue with Li Shimin.

"Why do you do something that goes against the duties of a subject?" Li Shimin asked.

Gao Shilian felt bitter, but he did not try to excuse himself. He said directly, "Your Majesty, I am old."

"Sometimes I get confused and do things I shouldn't do."

"This time I know I was wrong, and I cannot forgive."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to accept the punishment."

Li Shimin asked: "What?"

"Are you telling me that you want to resign and retire?"

"I had this idea at the end of the 16th year of Zhenguan, but I didn't have time to tell Your Majesty. Now that I have made a mistake, I think it's time to tell Your Majesty."

Gao Shilian said.

Li Shimin was a little doubtful. Was he really going to retreat or advance?
With power in hand, could Gao Shilian give it up so easily?
"Does the prince know?"

He did not respond directly.

"The prince doesn't know yet. I will look for him after I get out." Gao Shilian said.

"Then you should go find the prince first. You are the prince's uncle, so you should also ask for his opinion. The prince doesn't know about it, and if you want to retire, it will not look good if there is a commotion."

"I understand."

Gao Shilian bowed and took his leave, and Li Shimin was silent for a moment.

Gao Shilian retreated.

Who will take over his position?
"Someone is coming."

"Call the Imperial Censor."

"Yes!"

……

East Palace.

After Li Chengqian finished his business, he was playing with his cub.

The Crown Princess gave birth to a newborn baby and named him Xin, which means respectful and quiet.

"Your Highness, Duke Shen is here."

"Please come in quickly."

"Yes!"

Gao Shilian came in and saluted the prince. Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Uncle, come and see Sanlang."

"This little guy is crying hard, it's really loud."

Gao Shilian smiled, took a look and said, "You are nothing like him. In the past, he was much more lively than this."

"Why does my uncle bring up what happened back then?"

Li Chengqian pretended to be angry and handed the baby to the nurse. He grabbed Gao Shilian's hand and said, "Uncle, this is all thanks to you."

"My new concubines are also pregnant one after another."

"My offspring also need to prosper, and the Eastern Palace will soon be filled with people."

(End of this chapter)