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

Chapter 193 Rewards are in hand! Let's row the oars! [Seeking monthly tickets]

After the rain prayer was successfully completed, Li Chengqian's reputation was greatly enhanced.

Don't underestimate the role of reputation in ancient times.

Those aristocratic families would do anything for their reputation.

Some families even gain a little bit of prestige after several generations of hard work.

Therefore, Li Shimin's recognition of Li Chengqian's ability to rebel was actually based on this reason.

As for why he felt that Li Chengqian's rebellion would not succeed? In addition to his confidence in his own strength, Li Chengqian's reputation was still not enough to shake him.

Li Chengqian didn't care that Li Shimin looked down on him now, after all, there was still a long way to go.

In addition, the most important point is.

Li Chengqian finally completed the seemingly impossible task.

Although the method he used was a bit strange, Li Shimin was just like that. If you didn't give him some stimulation, such as rebellion, he would never argue with you.

So, no matter what, this seemingly impossible task was finally completed.

But then Li Chengqian could not wait to shout: "System!"

[Here]

A familiar mechanical sound suddenly rang out.

Li Chengqian grinned: "Settlement system reward!"

[Okay, host. Congratulations on completing the system side quest. You have received the following rewards: an encyclopedia, a resurrection pill, and a death substitute talisman.]

"Cool!"

Li Chengqian received the reward and couldn't help but shout excitedly. With these things, the stone in his heart finally fell.

However, just as he was about to row his oars, Lai Fu, who was driving the carriage outside, suddenly said, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile: "I'm fine, drive your carriage and leave me alone!"

"Yes!"

Lai Fu responded respectfully, then seemed to remember something and said, "Your Highness, there is one more thing. Where are we going next?"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to support his forehead: "Didn't I tell you before?"

"No!"

"Then where are we now?"

"I just passed by Pei Sikong's residence, and turned a corner to reach Lord Changsun's residence."

"Pei Ji?"

Li Chengqian thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Turn a corner and go to Pei Sikong's residence first!"

On the other side, the imperial palace, Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin was discussing matters with his ministers.

Fang Xuanling was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, the disaster victims from various prefectures and counties have gradually returned! People from the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Household Department are preparing to go to the disaster area to carry out 'artificial rainfall'. This matter is only thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, otherwise it would not have been resolved in such a short time!"

"Humph!"

Li Shimin snorted and said, "That rebellious son only knows how to use these strange and lewd tricks. He doesn't act like a prince at all!"

Although his tone was full of disgust and criticism, the ministers smiled knowingly when they heard it.

It is obvious that the prince's ability has been recognized by the emperor, otherwise the emperor would not have said such sour words.

However, the father and son are being so hypocritical, and as a subject, there is no need for me to get involved.

Fang Xuanling gave a few awkward smiles and continued, "I, Lord Wei, Lord Changsun, and Commander Yun discussed the purpose of this hot air balloon. We feel that if it's only used to bring rain, it would be a bit of a waste!"

Li Shimin was immediately interested when he heard this: "What do you think? Tell me!"

Fang Xuanling smiled and continued, "Our original idea was that if we could form an air force to cooperate with the ground forces, our combat effectiveness would be greatly improved. But then we saw the Crown Prince riding in a hot air balloon, and suddenly realized that forming an air force might be a bit difficult!"

"What's the difficulty?" Li Shimin asked with a frown.

In fact, he had the same idea when he saw a hot air balloon carrying people into the sky for the first time, but because his relationship with Li Chengqian was not so harmonious, he was embarrassed to communicate with Li Chengqian.

Now that he heard Fang Xuanling talking about it on his own initiative, he was naturally happy to communicate with them.

Fang Xuanling then added, "Your Majesty should have noticed that the pilot the Crown Prince chose is short and thin, both in physique and height. Furthermore, the Crown Prince himself is relatively young, which suggests that this hot air balloon's carrying capacity is limited. If we want to form an air army, we can't just carry two or three soldiers in a gondola, right?"

"What's more, I inquired with the Ministry of Works about the cost of making a hot air balloon. Each one is over a thousand guan. With such a high cost, I'm afraid the court will not be able to produce it in large quantities!"

"Well, you have a point!"

Li Shimin nodded and pondered, "An army would have at least several hundred men. Even if only half of the hot air balloons were produced, it would still cost a lot of money. With the court's current financial resources, it is indeed impossible to produce one."

"Your Majesty, I remember that when the prince came down, he said that he saw ghosts and monsters in the sky, and he also showed you a piece of paper. Can you show me that paper?" Du Ruhui suddenly said.

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, then looked around at his ministers. To be honest, this request was a bit beyond the line.

After all, this is their little secret between father and son.

But Li Shimin was the kind of emperor who valued his ministers very much. He was stunned for a moment, then stood up from his seat, walked to the desk, picked up the paper, handed it to Du Ruhui, and said, "Take a look, but the rebellious son's drawings are a bit messy!"

"It doesn't matter."

Du Ruhui smiled and nodded. He naturally knew what "a bit messy" meant, so he took the paper without saying much.

It wasn't until he noticed something strange on the paper that he wondered, "What do these symbols mean?"

"Let me see!"

Li Shimin quickly walked up to Du Ruhui, then glanced at the place Du Ruhui pointed at and said thoughtfully, "They should be people. In front are us around the altar, and here should be the disaster victims outside. This should be Chang'an City!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help revealing a look of surprise: "I didn't expect Chang'an City to be so big!"

Hearing this, the other ministers also came over.

Then he looked carefully at the piece of paper in Du Ruhui's hand, ignoring the pictures of ghosts and monsters, and looking at the entire paper, it was like a bird's-eye view map.

"So this is what Chang'an City looks like inside and outside, with these markets, like small grids, and the layout of the imperial palace."

Having said that, Fang Xuanling did not continue speaking, but the shock on his face was indeed quite great.

Changsun Wuji suddenly realized, "No wonder Cheng Qian said this hot air balloon is so useful. It turns out that when you fly to a certain height, you can see everything on the ground. Nothing can escape your sight!"

"If two armies are fighting, no matter how high the city walls are, they cannot stop the hot air balloon from detecting us. This is really a good thing!" Fang Xuanling smiled.

Du Ruhui nodded, then looked at the paper and pondered it carefully. "There's also information about the area outside Chang'an. This should cover an area of ​​several dozen miles in radius, and it's very clearly described, even the tributaries of the Wei River and the paths through the farmland are marked."

"Dozens of miles in radius?"

Li Shimin was slightly startled, then immediately looked at the paper again, then smiled and said, "It seems that I was careless before and overlooked the true purpose of this paper. If this hot air balloon is sent to the front line, whether it is for early warning or reconnaissance, it will be a great help to the soldiers on the front line!"

Upon hearing this, the ministers smiled and nodded.

Li Shimin thought for a moment and made a quick decision: "It's not easy to make hundreds of hot air balloons, but a few can still be made. Lord Du, I'll leave this matter to you!"

"Yes!"

Du Ruhui responded with a smile and returned the paper to Li Shimin.

At this moment, Fang Xuanling spoke again: "Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince has successfully prayed for rain, we should also take major action next!"

"what do you mean?"

"The list of officials to be dismissed by the court has been released. It totals 643 people. In my opinion, it can be announced now!"

"This"

Li Shimin was surprised for a moment, wondering why there were so many orders, but after a moment, he made up his mind: "Okay! Go and draft the decree!"

"promise!"

Fang Xuanling nodded and prepared to get up and leave.

At this moment, Xiao Yu stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, although the reduction in officials this time is mainly based on the performance of the Ministry of Personnel, cutting so many officials at once may cause problems for the subsequent operation of the court. Please reconsider!"

"Left Sergeant, you're worrying too much. The officials I asked the Minister of the Central Secretariat to cut are all those that can be cut without affecting the operation of the court. There's nothing to worry about."

Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked at Dali Temple Minister Dai Zhou and said, "Dali Temple Minister, has the case of the disaster victims' disturbance that day been heard?"

"Your Majesty, the trial has been completed. Just as the Crown Prince expected, it was the people from the Five Surnames and Seven Families who were secretly instigating this!" Dai Zhou said with a bow.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Then how are you going to punish them?"

"This"

Dai Zhou hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "They have three conditions for commuting their sentences: one, they have made meritorious contributions; two, they are royal relatives; and three, they are scholar-officials. These three conditions conform to the three provisions of the Tang Dynasty Code for commuting sentences!"

"What kind of royal relatives are they? Why don't I know about them?" Li Shimin frowned.

"Your Majesty, among the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, the Zheng, Cui, Wang, Li, and Lu families were all consorts of the retired emperor. Therefore, they should be considered royal relatives!"

"Ridiculous!" Li Shimin was immediately displeased when he heard this: "How can they be considered royal relatives? They are just some concubines' daughters who were presented as tribute!"

"Then, let's put aside the royal family issue and the other two."

"Don't worry about the other two. They have committed unforgivable crimes and must be severely punished!" Li Shimin waved his hand to interrupt what Dai Zhou wanted to say and said without question.

"Yes! We must punish them severely and show no mercy!" Changsun Wuji echoed.

Dai Zhou thought for a moment and then said, "Since we want to punish them severely and execute them, there are some details that we must consider carefully, such as how to execute them, whether it will be hanging, beheading, or something else?"

"Beheading!"

Du Ruhui made a decision immediately.

Fang Xuanling frowned and pondered, "Your Majesty has just announced the dismissal of over 600 central government officials and executed officials from the Five Surnames and Seven Families in Chang'an. Will this affect next year's imperial examinations or the selection of officials for the imperial court?"

Hearing this, all the ministers fell silent.

In fact, killing these officials from the Five Surnames and Seven Families was not a big problem. The biggest problem was the subsequent impact of killing them.

Now, although the court is implementing new policies, they require talented people to implement them.

Given the influence of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, if they were to cause trouble to the imperial court because of this matter, it would be a big problem for the imperial court to introduce talents in the future.

Thinking of this, Changsun Wuji said thoughtfully: "In my opinion, how about this? Let's spread the news that they are going to be beheaded first and see how the Five Surnames and Seven Families react. If the reaction is mild, we can directly take them to Caishikou and behead them. If the reaction is strong, we can use other methods to execute them. In short, we must not let them go!"

Li Shimin hummed a sound and nodded, "Let's do as Wuji said and test their strength first!"

"Yes!"

At the same time, at Pei Ji's mansion.

Li Chengqian was looking at him with a smile and said, "Pei Sikong, as far as I know, you have been very close to officials from the Five Surnames and Seven Families recently. Can you tell me if the assassination in Haozhi County last time was related to them?"

"This"

Pei Ji hesitated for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Your Highness, you have misunderstood. I, an old minister, am not very close to the officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Families. We only interact on official business. This was also the case when the Supreme Emperor was here."

"is it?"

Li Chengqian smiled suspiciously, then glanced at the teacup on the table and said with a smile, "It seems Pei Sikong also likes to drink Jiangling's round yellow tea!"

"Yes, this tea has a refreshing fragrance and a sweet aftertaste, and its color is golden. It is truly a fine tea. Thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's efforts in Jiangling, this old minister is able to taste such fine tea!"

After saying that, he smiled, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and changed the subject, "I wonder how the emperor is doing in Jiangling?"

"It's okay. I play after eating, sleep when I'm tired, and continue eating after waking up. Anyway, I just eat, drink and play, and have a lot of fun!" Li Chengqian said casually.

Pei Ji's mouth twitched. He thought, isn't this just like raising pigs? How can this be possible?!
He cautiously probed again, "Then, Your Majesty, do you have any other ideas?"

"I wonder what Pei Sikong means by thoughts?" Li Chengqian blinked and asked in confusion.

In fact, how could Pei Ji's little thoughts be hidden from him? However, he still wanted to get something out of Pei Ji, so he started to argue with him.

But Pei Ji laughed again and said, "Just go back to Chang'an to take charge of the situation! Chang'an can't do without the emperor!"

"But doesn't my father have the Emperor in Chang'an? Can't my father take charge of the overall situation?"

"Uh, this."

Pei Ji was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.

At this moment, a hurried voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Master, something terrible has happened!"

"Ok?"

Pei Ji's expression changed, and he subconsciously glanced at Li Chengqian before scolding, "What's the big deal?! Can't you see I'm talking to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"But sir"

"roll!"

Pei Ji scolded him harshly and was about to continue discussing Li Yuan's affairs with Li Chengqian when he heard Li Chengqian suddenly say, "Pei Sikong, let's listen to what he has to say first. I also want to know what big thing happened!"

"This"

Pei Ji hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asks you to speak, then just speak!"

"Yes!"

The servant outside the door bowed respectfully to Li Chengqian and then reported truthfully: "Your Highness, your Highness, my Lord, news has come from the Secretariat that His Majesty has issued an edict to dismiss 634 officials, most of whom are veteran officials of martial virtue. Now, you, my Lord, are the only veteran official of martial virtue left in the court!"

"What!?"

Pei Ji was shocked when he heard this.

Even the teacup in his hand fell to the ground, his face full of disbelief.

Li Chengqian, standing by, was also somewhat surprised, thinking, "Is His Majesty Li Er so cruel? He actually launched a purge so quickly!"

Six hundred and thirty-four court officials!
Were the government agencies of the Tang Dynasty so bloated?
Laying off so many officials, and it didn't affect the government's operations?!

If this happened in later generations, it would be unimaginable.

You know, there are tens of millions of them in later generations, and I heard that it is still not enough.

"I'm going to look for His Majesty! Prepare the carriage!"

Pei Ji came back to his senses from the shock and became furious. He was about to go find Li Shimin.

At this time, the servant said, "Master, there is one more thing. It has been reported from the Dali Temple. I heard that the Dali Temple has sentenced Cui Yushi and Wang Shilang to death by beheading. They are in consultation with the Ministry of Justice to decide whether to execute them later or immediately!"

"What!?"

Pei Ji was startled again when he heard this. He stumbled back a few steps, and only managed to steady himself by holding onto the screen behind him. He asked in doubt, "Is this true?"

"This is the news from Lord Wei, it shouldn't be false."

"It's over, Wude Dynasty, it's really over."

When Pei Ji heard this, he immediately collapsed to the ground.

Because he already understood what it meant when the Dali Temple Minister sentenced the officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Families to death by beheading.

It is even obvious why all the old ministers of the Wude Dynasty were dismissed and only he was left.

This was Li Shimin's warning to him.

If he dared to make trouble in the matter of dismissing officials, he would most likely be implicated in the collusion between him and the officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

In this way, even if he is not sentenced to death, he will be dismissed from office.

And this was the preferential treatment that Li Shimin showed him because of Li Yuan.

"Alas, this is the only way, this is the only way."

Pei Ji sighed helplessly, and then murmured in despair: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for you!"

"Uh,"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but asked with embarrassment: "Pei Sikong, are you okay?"

"minister"

Pei Ji reacted in an instant, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and struggled to crawl to Li Chengqian's side, saying unwillingly: "Your Highness, is the Wude Dynasty really over?!"

"Wu De Dynasty?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, then asked strangely, "Pei Sikong, are you really talking about the Wude Dynasty?"

"Yes! This old minister is referring to the Wude Dynasty!"

"Oh!"

Li Chengqian nodded suddenly, then slowly stood up from his seat, looked down at Pei Ji, and said calmly and majestically: "Pei Sikong, do you know what crime you should be punished for saying this?"

"what?"

Pei Ji was at a loss and said quickly: "Your Highness, I am the only old minister left in the old dynasty. I am afraid that I will not be able to serve for long. If the emperor..."

"Pei Sikong!"

Before Pei Ji could finish his words, Li Chengqian interrupted him harshly, saying to him with a sullen face, "When was the Wude Dynasty? How do you still remember it?!"

"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Alright Pei Sikong, today I'll just chat with you, just pretend I haven't been here. I hope you take good care of yourself in the future and don't make any more mistakes! Goodbye!"

After saying this, Li Chengqian turned around and left the room, leaving Pei Ji standing there in a daze, his face full of confusion.

"It's over, it's over, it's completely over."

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　[Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket. If you get 1000 monthly tickets, I will give you more chapters.]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)