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

Chapter 210 You have quite a few friends in the court.

"No."

If you ask Wen He for a suggestion, he'll give it a piece of his mind, but if you ask him to do it himself, forget it.

"Your Majesty, I am young, so we should choose someone with prestige for this matter."

Wen He pointed towards Changsun Wuji with her eyes.

Upon seeing this, the latter couldn't help but smile at Wen He.

'This brat still has some self-awareness.'

Thinking of this, he turned around and was about to volunteer, but Li Shimin spoke first, saying, "I didn't think this through. Since it involves craftsmen, let the Ministry of Works take charge."

Changsun Wuji looked up in astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Your Majesty, this is originally a matter for the Ministry of Revenue. If it is given to the Ministry of Works, then the previous issues will likely be difficult to resolve."

Li Shimin glanced at him indifferently, pondered for a moment, and then smiled.

"There's no need for such haste, assistant. I haven't forgotten you. This matter naturally requires your assistance. I'm merely having Yan Lide oversee it. Is that alright?"

His expression was calm, but his question, "Is it alright?" nearly made Changsun Wuji kneel down in fright.

"I was rash," the latter quickly bowed and apologized.

Li Shimin waved his hand with a smile and said, "We're all family, it's no problem."

“Since we’re family, you can’t just sit idly by. After all, you were the one who brought this up. Yan Lide is in charge, and the assistant is helping out. You can just act as an advisor.”

Li Shimin left no room for negotiation.

Wen He sensed that his mood was a bit strange, and that his smile seemed somewhat forced.

"The minister obeys the order."

Although Changsun Wuji was somewhat dissatisfied, he still agreed.

If this is done well, it will be a political achievement; if it is done poorly, Yan Lide and Wen He will be made to take the blame.

Your Majesty has considered everything very thoroughly.

If we ask him for assistance, given Yan Lide's unassuming and non-competitive nature, he certainly won't compete with him.

In the end, they still let him take the lead.

As for Wen He, he didn't take him seriously at all.

He's just a lucky guy who relies on predicting the future.

His Majesty will still need to rely on him in the future.

"Well, in that case, you should go to the Ministry of Works and find Yan Lide. Tomorrow I will have the Secretariat draft an edict. As for how to gather the merchants, that is up to you."

The emperor is in charge, but the specifics of how things are done are left to his ministers.

Even Li Shimin could not be perfect in every aspect.

Changsun Wuji accepted the order and then prepared to take his leave.

Wen He was about to follow when Li Shimin stopped him, saying, "Jiaying, stay here. I haven't inquired about the Prince of Zhongshan's studies for a long time."

Wen He paused for a moment, then turned around.

Just as he was about to leave, Changsun Wuji glanced at him, but said nothing and left on his own.

The people waiting outside then closed the door.

Inside the Lizheng Hall, only Wen He and Li Shimin remained.

"Auxiliary machine."

"Your Majesty, I know nothing, I heard nothing, and please don't ask me anything."

Before Li Shimin could finish speaking, Wen He immediately covered her ears.

He knew that Li Er had no good intentions in keeping him behind alone.

Surprisingly, he actually guessed right.

The question about the Prince of Zhongshan's studies was meant for Changsun Wuji's ears.

Li Shimin glared at him fiercely, then picked up a brush washer and threw it at Wen He.

"Snapped!"

Seeing the colorful porcelain shattered, Wen He felt a pang of heartache.

If he stays, his descendants will never have to worry about food and clothing.

"You were the one who told me about the future of the auxiliary machine, and now my worries about it are all because of you, you brat!"

Li Shimin glared at him angrily, like a wrathful Vajra.

Wen He looked embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, please just consider me young and ignorant, and that I was just being cheeky and making a careless remark, okay?"

Li Shimin didn't understand what "talking nonsense" meant, but based on the previous comment about being sarcastic, he roughly understood what Wen He meant.

"late!"

Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table and stood up. As he strode down the steps, Wen He was already prepared to escape.

Since there was no one outside, he opened the door and ran outside.

Then he immediately left the palace, not believing that Li Er could send the imperial guards to capture him.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly saw Li Shimin rush forward and grab his collar before he could react.

"You still want to run!"

Seeing Wen He about to turn around, Li Shimin immediately guessed what he was thinking.

"No, how could that be? His Majesty is wise and mighty, never scolds or beats his subjects, and is kind and approachable. He can be called the greatest ruler of all time. How could I bear to run away, right? Hehe."

He chuckled dryly, swallowing hard under Li Shimin's piercing gaze.

Holy crap, Li Er wouldn't really want me to deal with Changsun Wuji, would he?

"Your Majesty, actually, we discussed this matter last time. You are still young and in your prime. As long as you are here, Changsun Wuji will definitely not do anything rebellious."

The reason he was so agitated just now was because he was worried that Li Shimin had murderous intentions towards Changsun Wuji.

Although this was just his own guess.

Moreover, Li Shimin had no need to do that.

"Snapped!"

Li Er raised his hand and slapped Wen He on the head, coldly snorting, "You brat, do you think I'm suspicious of Fu Ji?"

"No, how could that be? Your Majesty knows how to recognize and use talent. As the saying goes, if you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. How could someone as wise as Your Majesty have such foolish ideas?"

As the saying goes, flattery never wears out.

He's already praised me so shamelessly, we should let him go.

"Shut up, you!"

Li Shimin glared at him.

Do you really think I don't know that you, you brat, are just saying these things to appease me?

He pressed Wen He down, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to sit down on the side.

"I am not suspicious of Fuji."

"Yes, yes, it's definitely not just suspicion." Wen He chuckled twice, which immediately angered Li Shimin, who raised his hand to strike her.

He quickly shrank his neck.

"You little rascal, be serious!"

"Okay, okay."

Wen He immediately straightened her posture, sat up straight, and looked at him seriously.

But this appearance, compared to his previous image, was rather comical in Li Shimin's eyes.

"Enough, enough. Just be more carefree. Among the civil and military officials in the court, only when you are here do I feel like I am not all alone."

Li Shimin sighed deeply, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

He had once desperately desired this position, but when he truly rose to the top and ascended to the throne, he realized that he no longer had a single person he could trust.

His former mentor and friend now only sees his own interests.

He even envied his father, who at least had Pei Ji.

Although Changsun Wuji hid his emotions well, how could Li Shimin not see through them after so many years of getting along?

He said the national treasury was empty, but not long ago a group of corrupt officials' assets were discovered. Where did that money go?
Since Changsun Wuji went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, his desk only had the monthly summary accounts of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but no details.

He can tolerate it now, but what about later?
Just as Wen He said, Changsun Wuji will enter the central government in the future and gradually become the chief minister of the Tang Dynasty.

If he were alive at that time, could he have tolerated it?

If he dies, can Gao Ming and Jia Ying deal with him?

Most importantly, he couldn't bear to see Empress Zhangsun heartbroken again.

The incident involving Changsun Anye almost caused her to suffer a stroke.

Li Shimin sighed inwardly, unaware that Wen He, seeing his expression, thought to herself, "So pretentious."

He's already the emperor, yet he still thinks so much.

Where is the promised decisiveness and ruthlessness?

"Snapped!"

As Wen He was thinking, she was slapped on the head again.

Why did you hit me again!

"Who told you to reveal the future of the auxiliary machine back then? Now it's difficult for me to suppress him."

Li Shimin glared at him.

Upon hearing this, Wen He was immediately enraged and glared back fiercely.

"What do you mean I exposed his future? It's because you didn't believe me back then, so I had to prove it to you. Besides, at worst, I can just not give him real power."

"Or promote Li Jing and let him and Changsun Wuji check each other. Your son did a good job in this regard, letting Li Shiji stand up against Changsun Wuji."

"You're Li Shimin, how could you not have thought of this?"

Wen He scoffed dismissively.

But he regretted it as soon as he said it.

After all, people only temporarily lose their rationality when they are angry.

Now that he's realized what's happened, he can't help but feel a little scared.

But Li Er didn't get angry; instead, he laughed, reached out, and when Wen He tried to dodge, he grabbed his head and rubbed it hard a few times.

"So you're one of my own mind, you brat. But it's not Li Jing's turn yet. I'm planning to win over the Yan family. What do you think?"

"This is Your Majesty's business, how would I know?"

Wen He pursed her lips.

Li Shimin snorted, looked at him with a half-smile, and said.

"You rascal, it's a good thing that the Yan brothers are on good terms with you, but you don't even speak up for them. Look at how long Fu Ji has been in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and he's already won over a bunch of confidants."

"And Xuanling, now more than half of the people in the Secretariat are his students and former officials. Keming is less so, but there are also many of his old friends in the Six Ministries."

"Xiao Yu goes without saying, as do Yuwen Shiji, Chen Shuda, and even the nearly dead Feng Lun, all of whom are close friends, confidants, and students of the court."

As he spoke, his smile deepened.

But Wen He felt a chill creep over her.

It felt like he was reading a death list.

"You have quite a few people around you now: Prince Li Daozong of Rencheng, Li Jing who was just enfeoffed as Duke of Dai, Xu Jingzong of the Hundred Cavalry, Huang Chun, Li Junxian and Duan Zhixuan seem to have a good relationship with you as well, oh, right, there's also Wu Shiyue, and..."

He listed them one by one, and Wen He felt her scalp tingle as she listened. She quickly interrupted him, "Don't say anything more. Your Majesty, putting aside everything else, just look at that bastard Li Daozong. How can I have a good relationship with him?"

“If I could beat him, I would have done so long ago. As for Li Jing, I have nothing to do with him. I admit that I have a good relationship with Lao Xu and Lao Huang, but that is only within the Hundred Cavalry. As for the others, I don’t even know where their residences are. What kind of good relationship do we have?”

"That's because you're useless!" Li Shimin snorted.
"Why don't you try to make connections? You've made so much money from the Ministry of Revenue, why don't you hold a banquet at home? And all that tea, besides the tea sent to the palace, you only gave it to Xiao Yu. What about the others? Why didn't you send any?"

"Because he's afraid of dying." Wen He chuckled helplessly.

Li Shimin was speechless for a moment, then calmly looked at Wen He for a long time before reaching out to pat her head.

"Can't you just lie to me and say that you are selfless, devoted to the public good, have never formed any factions, and that all the people you associate with are pillars of the Tang Dynasty?"

"His Majesty must be tired of hearing this, so I won't repeat it," Wen He said with a smile.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

He's figured it out now.

Li Shimin didn't distrust Changsun Wuji; rather, he distrusted all the civil and military officials in the court.

He had only recently ascended the throne and hadn't even changed the era name yet.

However, those who followed him out of the Prince of Qin's mansion were already eager to form cliques and eliminate dissidents.

No wonder he made those remarks just now.

The phrase "a lonely man" is not just a figure of speech.

"Have a pure heart, do it well, interact more with people in the court, don't stay at home sleeping all day. Li Jing is not young this year, but he has no one to inherit his skills."

"I am very worried."

Li Shimin's words were clearly an implication that Wen He should go and learn skills from Li Jing.

Upon hearing this, the latter pretended to be confused.

"Yes, but Your Majesty need not worry. There's still Li Shiji to come. Besides, on my last trip to Huizhou, I met two more famous people, Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang. The former is quite..."

"Su Dingfang?"

Before Wen He could finish speaking, Li Shimin suddenly remembered this person.

"Is it that Su Lie?"

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty must have seen it, right?"

When the army returned to the capital, Li Shimin, as was customary, went to review the troops and meet the soldiers who had made great contributions this time.

Su Dingfang had previously launched a surprise attack on the Turkic rear, disrupting the army's formation and causing chaos in Jieli's forces.

Even if it wasn't the most important contribution, it was still quite significant.

“He’s an arrogant fellow, so I plan to keep him in check.”

When Li Shimin said he wanted to suppress Su Dingfang, Wen He was about to utter the word "Don't" when he swallowed it down.

Li Shimin just said that he has made many friends. If he pleads for Su Dingfang now, wouldn't people think he is trying to win people's hearts?
However, in the original history, Su Dingfang rose to prominence during the campaign against the Turks in the fourth year of the Zhenguan era.

Now, because of his butterfly effect, he has been suppressed by Li Shimin ahead of time.

Wouldn't that mean Li Jing would lose a powerful general in the future?

However, Li Shimin noticed his hesitant expression earlier.

'This brat won't even open his heart to me anymore?'

Li Shimin was somewhat displeased.

Just then, the boy beside her said hesitantly.

"Your Majesty, actually..."

After thinking about it, Wen He decided to talk about Su Dingfang's matter.

"Actually, Su Lie is a bit arrogant, but he is very capable. He can be suppressed, but Your Majesty, you can't just suppress him and then forget about him."

"Have I forgotten him?"

When Wen He spoke, Li Shimin felt a surge of pleasure.

But after hearing what Wen He said, he couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

(End of this chapter)