Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 108 Li Shimin: Can that rebellious son jump higher than the sky? [Please subscribe]

"A thousand miles to Jiangling in one day, the east wind is weak and the flowers are withered."

"."

"A silkworm's death is the last straw to bring tears to the hero's collar."

"."

"I want to ride the wind back home, but I'm afraid it's too cold up there in the jade buildings!"

A weak figure stood at the highest point of Jiangling government office, holding a wine glass in one hand and leaning on the railing with the other, looking out, and spoke with emotion on his face.

Behind him were Li Yuan, Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben, Pei Xuan, Zhang Ping, Cai You, Du Caigan, and the heads of the four major families in Jiangling, who were raising their glasses and looking at him with smiles.

At this time, the autumn wind was howling, and even though it blew their lips blue, they did not feel cold.

Until that weak figure turned around and smiled: "Everyone, are you willing to follow me to the heights?"

"cheers--!"

Everyone smiled at each other and raised their glasses to encourage each other.

At this point, Jiangling fell completely into Li Chengqian's hands.

On the other side, Chang'an, Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin received a piece of good news today that he had expected long ago, that is, Yuan Junzhang finally surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

This warlord who had been separatist from the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty to the unification of the Tang Dynasty finally became a part of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin was very happy about this and appointed him as the governor of Anzhou, conferred him the title of Duke of Rui, gave him a fief of 500 households, and gave him 4,000 pieces of silk.

At the same time, Li Shimin also advertised to all provinces in the world, informing the people of the world of the complete news of the Tang Dynasty, and announced that his political achievements surpassed Li Yuan, and that the Wude Dynasty was a thing of the past and it was now the Zhenguan Dynasty.

"Hahaha--!"

A hearty laugh rang out in the Liangyi Hall of Taiji Palace.

You don't have to guess to know that the laughter comes from Li Shimin.

Recently, Li Shimin has swept away the previous haze, and good news has come one after another. First, there was the news that Yuan Junzhang returned to the Tang Dynasty, and then the Eastern Turks, with the assistance of Zhao Deyan, were in endless chaos and disasters.

If this continues, the Tang Dynasty will probably have to wait less than ten years to destroy the Eastern Turks, but only three or four years.

Li Shimin couldn't help but be unhappy.

But his happiness did not stop there. Good news had recently come from Lingnan. Feng Ang, the Lingnan chieftain who had been impeached for several years and had attempted to rebel dozens of times, had been appeased under Wei Zheng's advice and was now offering tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

You should know that although Lingnan had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty when Li Yuan was in power, it had never paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

Now that Li Shimin is in power, he actually pays tribute to the Tang Dynasty. How can this not make Li Shimin happy? This is another political achievement that is better than what Li Yuan did!
"hehe."

After laughing, Li Shimin still couldn't hide his joy. He looked around at the ministers present and said with a smile: "Zhenguan, yes, Zhenguan is great! My Tang Dynasty will continue to flourish and become a prosperous era that surpasses all previous dynasties!"

"Your Majesty has great ambitions, and we, your subjects, will do our utmost to assist you. May our Great Tang flourish and enjoy everlasting peace!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Xu Jingzong, a scholar from the Hongwen Academy, echoed him with a smile.

The other ministers also echoed: "May our Tang Dynasty be prosperous and peaceful forever."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and glanced at Xu Jingzong, then looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "Minister of the Central Secretariat, how is the Ministry of Personnel's assessment going?"

"Your Majesty, the assessment of officials in the capital has basically been completed. Now only the officials in various states need to be assessed!" Fang Xuanling said, holding a tablet.

"Well, we need to hurry up on this matter. My Tang Dynasty is in need of talented people!"

After saying this, he glanced at Xu Jingzong and continued, "Let the right talents go to the right positions, and let the unsuitable officials step down and make way for the virtuous. This is the Zhongzheng of my Zhenguan Dynasty. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Fang Xuanling bowed and said.

Pei Ji and other veteran officials of Wude had different expressions, and no one knew what they were thinking.

At this time, officials from the five surnames and seven families stood up.

But then a royal censor said, "Your Majesty, the imperial examinations of the Zhenguan Dynasty will be held in a few months. Since Your Majesty needs talents, you must start taking the imperial examinations seriously!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The imperial examination in the first year of Zhenguan was not taken seriously, so there was a shortage of talents. Now, Your Majesty needs a large number of talents to reform the civil service. The imperial examination should be taken seriously!" Another official of the Cui family echoed.

"Well, you have a point. When you are fighting for an empire, you win the hearts of the people. When you are ruling the country, you win the people's hearts."

Li Shimin smiled and nodded, then looked at the Minister of Rites, Master Yang, and said, "Leave this matter to the Ministry of Rites. I have no other instructions, only twelve words: equal opportunity, fair competition, and recruitment based on merit."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Yang Shidao held the tablet in his hand and bowed.

Then, Li Shimin set his gaze on Wei Zheng and said with a smile, "Wei Zheng, you told me before that the emperor was created for the world, not the world for the emperor alone. I was deeply touched. Now, I plan to implement a new policy. Do you have any advice?"

Wei Zheng thought for a moment and said, "In ancient times, there was a ritual of the Three Dukes sitting together to discuss matters. Whenever there was a major event, the emperor and his ministers would discuss it together. Now, our Tang Dynasty has implemented the system of three provinces and six ministries. I believe that the ritual of the Three Dukes sitting together to discuss matters is no longer appropriate. It would be more effective to have the heads of the three provinces and six ministries discuss matters together to demonstrate the rule of great governance."

"Um"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Emperor Wen of the previous Sui Dynasty made all decisions on his own. Although it was physically and mentally taxing, it wasn't always rational. I will certainly not repeat the same mistake. So, after the court session, come to the Wude Hall and we will discuss this in detail!"

"Yes."

Wei Zheng responded and sat up straight.

Immediately afterwards, Li Shimin inquired about the disaster situation in various places and other minor domestic matters. After they were properly resolved, he announced the withdrawal of the court.

When he returned to Wude Hall, Wei Zheng was already waiting outside the hall.

"Haha, Wei Zheng, you're running so fast, your loyalty is commendable!"

Li Shimin smiled the first time he saw Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng replied calmly, "Your Majesty is wrong again. I am a good minister. Your Majesty has matters to discuss with me. I will do my best to gain a good reputation for myself and pass it down to future generations."

"Uh,"

Li Shimin couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed when he heard this, but he still smiled awkwardly and nodded: "Okay, okay, good minister, you are a good minister, okay!"

After saying this, he raised his hand and motioned Wei Zheng to follow him into the Wude Hall.

"sit down!"

After Li Shimin sat down, he waved to Wei Zheng again, and then said calmly:
"Wei Zheng, just now you said in the court that if I encounter a major event, I should discuss it with the heads of the three provinces and six ministries. I want to ask you, is the issue of appointing a crown prince a major matter?"

"Ok?"

Wei Zheng was slightly stunned, and then said in a deep voice: "This matter has been decided, there is no need to discuss it!"

"Okay! Then I'll ask you again, Prince."

"If Your Majesty wants to use me to cause trouble for the Crown Prince, please stop talking!"

Wei Zheng interrupted Li Shimin and said, "I recognize the Crown Prince. The entire court recognizes the Crown Prince!"

"Who said I was going to cause trouble for the Crown Prince? I wanted you to serve as an official in the Eastern Palace!"

"Ok?"

Wei Zheng raised an eyebrow, "But was it chosen by the Crown Prince?"

"What is this nonsense!"

Li Shimin's face darkened: "I am the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and I shall select and appoint officials to the Eastern Palace!"

"How is this possible?"

"Why not?"

Li Shimin was somewhat speechless. "Last time, you advised me to send an envoy to Lingnan to appease Feng Ang. Now Feng Ang has not only completely surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but has also paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty. I feel that my reward last time was too little, and I want to give you a promotion to compensate. Is there a problem with this?"

"This"

Wei Zheng hesitated for a moment and said, "That's indeed no problem."

"Yeah!"

Li Shimin smiled and was about to issue an imperial decree to reward Wei Zheng with the concurrent position of Right Secretary of the Eastern Palace, but Wei Zheng suddenly changed the subject: "But I cannot accept it!"

"Why?" "Because there is no order from the prince!"

"absurd!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he suddenly stood up and said: "My order is not as good as the prince's order?"

"No!"

Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "Your Majesty gave the Crown Prince the power to select officials for the Eastern Palace. Therefore, the Crown Prince should make the final decision on the officials for the Eastern Palace!"

"I've taken it back!"

"Then I cannot accept it!"

"why?"

"Because your Majesty is untrustworthy!"

"you!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he raised his finger and pointed, "How dare you slander the emperor!"

Wei Zheng suddenly fell silent.

Li Shimin glared at him and really wanted to kill him with a knife.

But with the experiences of the previous times, he quickly suppressed the murderous intent in his heart, and then fell into deep thought, ready to teach Wei Zheng a lesson so that he would not be humiliated in front of him every time.

After about a quarter of an hour, his eyes suddenly lit up and he laughed out loud: "Well, well, well, well, you are such a good minister, Wei Zheng!"

"Since you don't want a high position, I won't make it difficult for you. How about this? I will reward you with something you don't have!"

"What is that?" Wei Zheng was stunned.

Li Shimin stared at him with a half-smile and said, "Woman!"

"Uh,"

Wei Zheng's mouth twitched and he was speechless for a moment.

But then Li Shimin asked again: "Why, you don't like women?"

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I already have a wife!"

"Hahaha--"

When Li Shimin heard Wei Zheng's words, he burst into laughter unexpectedly.

Wei Zheng frowned and thought to himself, what the hell are you laughing at?
I'm already old, can't I have a wife?!
However, he did not get Li Shimin's point this time, which made Li Shimin laugh for a long time before he heard Li Shimin say again: "Of course I know you have a wife!"

"Since Your Majesty knows, please don't embarrass me anymore!"

Wei Zheng said expressionlessly that he did not think this was a funny thing.

But Li Shimin disagreed and said, "Wei Zheng, I gave you beauty, and you said I was making things difficult for you. That's your fault!"

"My humble wife and I have shared hardships and life and death together. I do not want to abandon her!"

"Ah!"

Li Shimin laughed: "Wei Zheng, Wei Zheng, do you really not understand, or are you pretending to be confused? Who told you to abandon her? Look at this whole court, who has only one wife or concubine?"

"This"

Wei Zheng said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Perhaps I am ignorant of the world, but Your Majesty, please give this reward to someone else!"

"No!"

Li Shimin said without a doubt: "No one else is worthy! I will give it to you today!"

"This, this, Your Majesty, I'd better not accept it."

"Wei Zheng! Are you going to disobey my order?!"

"Your Majesty."

Wei Zheng was rarely at a loss for words in front of Li Shimin, and looked embarrassed, which made Li Shimin laugh.

After a long while, Wei Zheng finally said tentatively, "How about this, I go back and discuss this with my wife?"

"no!"

Li Shimin said with a stern face: "I am the emperor! What I say is what is done. What are you discussing?!"

"But, but your Majesty."

Seeing that Wei Zheng was about to be forced to suffocate, Li Shimin changed the subject and said lightly: "Okay, I will give you a privilege and let you go back and discuss it with your wife!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Don't be too happy! I want you to answer me as soon as possible!"

"Yes, yes, I will go back and ask right away."

As he said this, Wei Zheng became flustered and stumbled out of the Wude Hall, even forgetting why he came to the Wude Hall.

Li Shimin seemed to remember nothing. He watched Wei Zheng leave the Wude Hall and then burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha, hahahaha—”

The laughter spread throughout the Wude Hall, causing the historian who recorded the emperor's daily life to express emotion.

"Your Majesty has been in a really good mood recently!"

"Hearing His Majesty's laughter, my heart instantly felt much more at peace. It seems that the Tang Dynasty will only get better and better in the future. It's a pity that I will never be able to witness the grand spectacle of that night again."

"Yes, I have no regrets in my life for having experienced what happened that night!"

"You're all desperate, yet you still dare to discuss what happened that night? Didn't you notice that His Majesty's laughter was slightly different this time? Before, there were at most eight, but this time there were a full nine. Write it down quickly and record this in the annals of His Majesty's life."

"Yeah"

Upon hearing this, the historians immediately started writing.

The Left Historian records words, the Right Historian records actions, and the Central Historian urges compilation.

Li Shimin's laughter only subsided when Yunduan hurried in from outside the door.

"What happened?"

Li Shimin asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the people from the Hundred Cavalry Division report that the Crown Prince is reclaiming wasteland in Jiangling, which has aroused the attention of the entire Jiangling population. The situation is unbelievable. Your Majesty, please make a decision." Yunduan lowered his voice and said.

Li Shimin immediately stopped smiling and asked gravely, "You said the Crown Prince is reclaiming wasteland in Jiangling? What kind of wasteland is he reclaiming that would inspire the people of Jiangling?"

"It's said that they bought a barren mountain to plant new crops, but since no one was working on it, they hired people from Jiangling at a high price. Now they're charging fifty coins a day to do the work!"

"Fifty cents a day for clearing the wasteland? Where does he get so much money?"

"I don't know about this. The people from the Hundred Cavalry Division only reported this much," Yun Duan shook his head.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, then smiled dumbly: "It's just clearing the land, it's no big deal. I guess he wants to do something for me to see. Let him go. I want to see how high he can jump."

"But Your Majesty, will the Crown Prince cause the people of Jiangling to..."

"What could happen? He could even jump up into the sky?!"

Li Shimin interrupted Yunduan with amusement and jokingly said, "Hasn't that rebellious son always been resourceful? He thought that after leaving Chang'an, he would be free as he pleased? But in the end, he went off to open up wasteland and grow crops."

Then he waved his hand and said, "Just leave him alone and let him suffer outside!"

"Huh? How can this be done?"

"Just do as I say!" Li Shimin ordered without question.

　[Seeking monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, follow-up subscriptions, full subscriptions, and one chapter is being written]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)