Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 179 I ask you, who will rebel in the future!

"Your Majesty!"

Xu Jingzong took a deep breath and bowed to Li Shimin.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead, but he didn't even notice it.

He knew very well that if he revealed the confession he held, the Tang Dynasty would once again face bloodshed.

"This is the confession of Lin Sanhai, a minor official in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Two months ago, Qian Huai, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, reported that a thousand crossbows had been over-reported and manufactured by the Ministry of Works. Subsequently, these crossbows were not sent to Huizhou."

He felt terrified.

This is not simply embezzlement.

If the only goal was to make money, then money or falsifying accounts would suffice; why take the Divine Arm Crossbow?

Still a thousand.

As a member of the Hundred Cavalry, Xu Jingzong was well aware of the power of the Divine Arm Crossbow.

Even more terrifying is the unknown whereabouts of those thousand divine crossbows.

"Snapped!"

A teacup slammed heavily to the ground, and Li Shimin, his face filled with coldness, clenched his fists.

He asked in a cold voice, "Where is Qian Huai?"

"When I led my men to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he was already gone. I was negligent, and I beg Your Majesty for punishment!"

Xu Jingzong quickly apologized.

This can be considered a failure on his part.

But Li Shimin has no time to deal with this trivial matter.

"Send an urgent message to Yuchi Gong and Cheng Zhijie, ordering them to immediately lead their troops back to Chang'an. Gao Yue, you personally go to the Duke of Yi's residence and convey my imperial edict that he shall take charge of the four gates of Chang'an from this day forward."

Li Shimin was filled with rage at this moment; he had already become the emperor.

There are still people who are determined to do evil!
"Xu Jingzong, immediately send someone to retrieve Wen He. I want to see that brat. Also, I need to know where those thousand Divine Arm Crossbows have gone!"

"promise!"

Xu Jingzong dared not hesitate and quickly bowed and withdrew.

"I want to see who has such audacity!"

……

Xu Jingzong left the Lizheng Hall and didn't dare to stop for a moment. He first ordered Zhang Wenxiao to go out of the city immediately to call back Wen He, and then he hurriedly went to the prison of the Hundred Cavalry.

Not long after, Wenhe, who was halfway there, saw a cavalryman speeding along the official road.

The cavalryman had two red flags stuck in his back, as if he were charging forward recklessly.

"This is like an urgent dispatch from eight hundred li away!"

Seeing this, Lu Chengan was somewhat surprised.

Unless there is an emergency military situation, no one may use it without authorization.

"Could it be that something happened in Chang'an?"

He turned back in worry, only to see the faint outline of the city in the distance.

Not long after the 800-li urgent message left, another fast horse arrived.

"Xiao Langjun!"

Hearing the voice, Wen He felt it was familiar, and when she turned around, she saw Zhang Wenxiao.

The latter rushed over, not even having time to dismount, and hurriedly said, "His Majesty has decreed that the young master must immediately return to Chang'an to see the Emperor!"

The sudden imperial decree made Lu Cheng'an frown immediately.

Thinking back to that urgent message from 800 li away, he had a vague feeling that something big was about to happen.

Li Chengqian, who was standing to the side, asked, "Was I allowed to go back with them?"

"His Majesty only said he wanted to see the young master."

Zhang Wenxiao said respectfully.

Li Chengqian was somewhat disappointed; he had been hoping that Wen He would stay with him.

"Alright, it shouldn't be anything serious. Maybe His Majesty has something good for me. I'll go first, you don't need to be afraid."

Wen He knew that Li Chengqian was uneasy.

He smiled and patted his head to comfort him before letting Zhang Wenxiao carry him onto the horse.

The two turned their horses around and galloped towards Chang'an.

On the way, Wen He kept wondering what had happened.

He remembered that after Li Shimin ascended the throne, until the first year of Zhenguan, nothing major happened in the court.

Could it be related to the actions of the Hundred Riders just now?
He kept recalling in his mind what would happen during this time.

Moreover, this matter should be closely related to him.

Otherwise, Li Shimin wouldn't have summoned him; instead, he would have gone to find Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling.

Zhang Wenxiao sped all the way to Xuanwu Gate, where he found Gao Yue already waiting for him.

After Wen He bowed to him, Gao Yue suddenly picked her up.

"excuse me."

"I can actually walk by myself."

He's not really a child anymore, and it's quite uncomfortable for him to be held like this every day.

Gao Yue didn't dare slow down and explained, "Young master, please don't joke around. His Majesty is very anxious."

"I'm not joking."

Wen He had no choice but to give up when she saw that he was so determined.

Despite her advanced age, Gao Yue has surprisingly good stamina. She walked from Xuanwu Gate all the way to Lizheng Hall without stopping for a moment.

They arrived outside the Lizheng Hall.

Wen He suddenly noticed that she was surrounded by the Xuanjia Guards.

There were no eunuchs or palace maids around.

Normally, the sixteen guards take turns protecting the imperial city.

In the event of war, the Imperial Guards and the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat would be in charge.

But now he saw the Xuanjia Guards here.

This shows that Li Shimin had become suspicious.

After escorting Wen He to the outside of the Lizheng Hall, Gao Yue withdrew, allowing him to enter on his own.

When he went inside, he was surprised to see Li Shimin wiping a horizontal sword.

He looked at the knife that gleamed coldly in the candlelight, and his heart skipped a beat. He even had an urge to turn around and run away.

But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Li Shimin probably won't lay a hand on him... right?

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty..."

"No need for formalities."

Just as Wen He was about to bow, Li Shimin interrupted him, looking up at him with cold, sharp eyes.

"come over."

"Well, actually, it's quite nice for me to stand here."

Wen He swallowed hard.

You're holding a knife, and you're telling me to come over? Nobody would dare go over there.

Seeing his timid appearance, Li Shimin was amused and said, "This sword is for killing enemies, what are you afraid of!"

"It is not that I am afraid of this sword, but that I am afraid of Your Majesty's imperial might. Your Majesty's domineering aura makes me want to kowtow and bow down."

How could he possibly admit that he had been fooled by Li Shimin?

However, he was also puzzled as to why Li Er's face suddenly looked so menacing. "Then what are you waiting for?" Li Shimin suddenly asked.

Wen He looked at him blankly: "What did Your Majesty say?"

"You wanted to kowtow and bow, didn't you? I'm waiting." Li Shimin sheathed his sword, stood up, and stared at him.

Wen He felt a little embarrassed.

Can't this person tell that I'm just flattering him?
"Um, Your Majesty, you summoned me here in such a hurry, there must be something urgent."

Not wanting to actually kowtow, Wen He had no choice but to change the subject.

Judging from his appearance, Li Shimin guessed what he was thinking, but he was too lazy to expose him. He simply said, "Then why are you still standing there when I called you here?"

"Yes, yes, yes, what's past is past."

Wen He walked over helplessly, while Li Shimin sat down again, pointed to the seat opposite him, and told him to sit down as well.

The former casually sat down cross-legged.

"I ask you, do you know who rebelled after I ascended the throne?" Li Shimin suddenly got straight to the point.

Wen He was stunned; he was startled.

rebel?

He suddenly woke up and connected everything.

No wonder there were cavalrymen delivering urgent messages over 800 li just now, no wonder Li Shimin was in such a hurry to send him back to Chang'an.

"Has the Hundred Riders found out anything?" Wen He asked.

This matter must have been discovered by the Hundred Riders while they were investigating something.

Otherwise, Li Shimin wouldn't have let him leave Chang'an in the first place.

"You're quite smart."

Li Shimin chuckled and then recounted how the Ministry of Revenue had embezzled soap and glass.

Upon hearing this, Wen He immediately slammed her hand on the table and cursed, "You beasts! Those bastards actually took my things and sold them, and for more than I paid! I..."

He was foul-mouthed, spewing out a string of words that would otherwise be strictly censored.

This stunned Li Shimin.

"You people of later generations have so many swear words?"

He was quite knowledgeable and knew many outlaws, but he had never heard anyone curse more filthy than Wen He.

"Your Majesty, kill them all! Leave not a single one alive!"

Those bastards have really encroached on Wen He's interests.

He hadn't even sold his soap and glassware yet, and now those people from the Ministry of Civil Affairs had gotten there first.

Li Shimin thought Wen He felt that the Ministry of Revenue was selling people at too high a price.

In fact, Wen He felt that they were selling it too cheaply.

Uncle's!
These corrupt officials deserve to be skinned alive.

"Enough! That's not what I wanted to talk about!"

Li Shimin glared at him with annoyance.

Wen He, who had been agitated, gradually calmed down and said with a forced smile, "Yes, yes, you wanted to ask about the rebellion, but it's also your fault. If you hadn't tried to lower the price back then..."

"I will compensate you!"

Li Shimin glanced at her sideways, and Wen He quickly changed the subject: "Yes, yes, rebellion, uh, but what does this have to do with rebellion?"

He was puzzled; at most, it was just corruption by the people in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

“The Ministry of Revenue falsified accounts and manufactured an extra thousand crossbows, which are now missing. Xu Jingzong is interrogating them, so I wanted to get some information from you,” Li Shimin said.

Wen He suddenly realized, and he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"To be honest, there are quite a few people who will rebel in the future, such as Li Yuan, Li Xiaochang, Li Chengqian, and Li You. Your Majesty, your Li family is quite good..."

He looked up and saw that Li Shimin's eyes were full of coldness. He blinked blankly and quickly explained, "No, Gao Ming will definitely be filial in the future. Only Li You, we'll just beat him a few times in the future."

"Will Goro rebel in the future?"

"what."

"Why didn't you say so before!" Li Shimin roared, slamming his hand on the table.

Wen He suddenly felt the table in front of him trembling.

"I, I forgot."

Wen He had truly forgotten; if Li Shimin hadn't asked him about it today, he wouldn't have remembered Li You's rebellion.

"Besides, you didn't even ask. This really isn't my fault. And the reason Li You rebelled was because..."

Wen He was speaking when he suddenly noticed Li Shimin's unfriendly gaze, and he immediately shut his mouth.

But the latter can guess what he's going to say.

In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, Li Chengqian had already been deposed, so Li Youcai thought he could also make a gamble.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin glared at Wen He, his body trembling with anger, and finally sighed helplessly.

“Starting tomorrow, Goro will also be sent to your place.”

"What? If Li You comes again, I'll really become a nursery!" Wen He exclaimed in surprise, then quickly added, "Your Majesty, you can't bring disaster upon me just to thwart their ambitions!"

Wen He disagreed.

Li Er has gone too far!

"I'll give you an extra 100 guan a month."

"no!"

Wen He refused without hesitation.

Is he the kind of person who loves money?
"One hundred and fifty strings of cash!"

"Two hundred strings of cash. If you don't give it to me, I'll kick Li Tai and Li Ke out of the house."

"it is good."

Li Shimin was somewhat at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

Wen He knew she couldn't refuse, so she might as well fight for some benefits for herself.

"Now you can talk about Li Yuan and Li Xiaochang."

Li Shimin had been suppressing his anger, but what was even more devastating to him than the two men was the thought that his son would rebel in the future.

That's why he asked Li You first.

But that child is only six years old.

He was then sent to Wen He's place, thus completely ending his hopes.

But Li Yuan and Li Xiaochang, they actually dared to do it too!
"That's right, Li Yuan!"

Wen He suddenly remembered.

"I remember now, he was the first to rebel!"

Just as Wen He was about to speak, a gong suddenly sounded outside.

Li Shimin frowned and said to Wen He, "Go out and bring the person in."

"Forehead."

Wen He was taken aback. He looked around and realized that he was the only one who could go out.

We can't expect Li Shimin to personally go out and summon people, can we?

He got up and went outside the Lizheng Hall. There was no one around, except for the Xuanjia Guards standing guard a hundred paces away.