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

Chapter 243 I also have my reasons

"I? Did that nobleman just refer to himself as 'I'?"

The village head, Ge Dabing, outside clearly heard what Li Shimin had just said.

He was startled and asked the person blocking his way excitedly.

Zhang Wenxiao frowned and glared at him: "Shut up!"

Ge Dabing quickly covered his mouth, not daring to speak anymore.

Thinking of what Li Shimin had just said to him, he felt uneasy.

'That person is his father-in-law.'

His Majesty the Emperor is actually Wen He's father-in-law!

He was just a village head, not even a second-rate official. If Wen He wanted to crush him, wouldn't it be as easy as crushing an ant?

He was so terrified that his legs trembled uncontrollably.

At that moment, he wanted to leave this place and run as far away as possible, but the soldiers around him had completely surrounded the area.

"Sir, may I leave, sir?"

"No."

Putting aside the conversation between Wen He and him just now, which Zhang Wenxiao heard clearly.

This person actually dared to bully their young master before, and now he wants to leave?

If he weren't unqualified to go to the Hundred Riders' prison, they would have taken him down long ago.

Not to mention that His Majesty had no intention of letting him leave.

Ge Dabing shrank back when he was shouted at, and timidly looked towards where Li Shimin was not far away.

In the dilapidated courtyard, Li Shimin quietly looked at the confession that Wen He had submitted.

There isn't much content inside; a quick glance is enough.

But Li Shimin watched for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick.

Wen He suddenly noticed that many people present were becoming increasingly nervous.

Auxiliary machine.

Li Shimin suddenly put away the confession and called out to Changsun Wuji.

At this moment, Li Shimin suddenly summoned Changsun Wuji, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, causing many people's hearts to jump into their throats.

"The minister is here."

Changsun Wuji, however, walked out calmly and with proper bearing.

He was confident that he had nothing to do with the matter.

Based on his understanding of Li Shimin, if this matter involved him, he would not address him by his courtesy name.

"We bought some new grain before, so let all of you have a taste. Jia Ying, this grain was produced thanks to your 'fertilizer' method. It yielded an extra two and a half dou per mu. Such an increase is a great achievement for you."

amount……

Wen He stood there, stunned, looking at Li Shimin's overjoyed expression.

He was just reporting on embezzlement, how did he end up talking about grain production?

However, the extra two and a half dou per mu was beyond Wen He's expectations.

Although composting is effective, Wen He thought that getting an extra peck of compost was already quite an achievement.

"Yes, yes, Wenxianzi has done a great job."

Yuwen Shiji suddenly came out and praised him.

Xiao Yu, standing to the side, laughed loudly: "If all the land in the world could have these two bushels more, that would be a golden age."

"Yes, yes, if a prosperous era arrives, His Majesty will surely achieve something that will be admired by future generations. Wen County Magistrate's contribution is indispensable."

"Wenxianzi has achieved so much at such a young age; his future is limitless."

Seeing this, everyone else followed suit and praised Wen He.

It was as if the worry about even involving himself had never happened.

Li Shimin smiled, meaningfully scanning the expressions of everyone present, and then glanced at Wen He.

Seeing his speechless expression, I just couldn't help but laugh.

'Does this brat think I'm not going to deal with this matter?'

'If a mere military command in the capital has over twenty people, then how many more would be implicated in the entire Guannei Circuit and the hundreds of military commands across the ten circuits of the empire?'

Li Shimin sighed inwardly, but the smile remained on his face.

"After you have finished your meal, you may return to Chang'an on your own. I will be back in Chang'an before noon tomorrow. I hope you can give me an explanation then. The national treasury is empty, and I am in a difficult position."

"Furthermore, I believe that the Jingzhao Military Command is not an isolated case. I hope that you ministers can help me take another look and see where else there is corruption and filth. If you ministers cannot see through it, then I will send out another hundred cavalry."

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared in astonishment at Li Shimin, who was smiling.

Many of them couldn't help but lower their heads.

They originally thought that Li Shimin kept the confession in order to downplay the seriousness of the matter.

After all, he had only just ascended the throne and still needed to appease the people.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty's condition for minimizing the matter was that they return all the money.

If we cannot give His Majesty an explanation before noon tomorrow...

I'm afraid His Majesty will have to give them an explanation.

When the fragrant wheat porridge was served, most of the people present had no appetite.

But in front of Li Shimin, he had to force himself to eat it.

"Brother, this wheat smells so good."

Suddenly, a naive voice rang out, and they looked up.

The little girl was gently shoveling mouthfuls of wheat rice into her mouth.

Wen He, who was standing to the side, also ate with great relish.

'Hmph, so stingy, it's just a bowl of wheat porridge.'

Many people despise it.

A simple bowl of wheat porridge was eaten as if it were a delicacy.

"Jiaying and Xiaorou have good appetites, would you like another bowl?" Li Shimin asked with a hearty laugh.

Wen He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said, "Your Majesty, I have done nothing wrong, so I have a good appetite. I feel at ease eating the grain grown by the farmers."

"That's absolutely right."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Zheng suddenly spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I enjoy this wheat rice, but I wonder who is having trouble swallowing it."

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly swept around his surroundings.

Except for a few people, everyone else avoided his gaze.

Just as Li Shimin put away the confession, Wei Zheng was about to speak.

He only stopped talking after the other person changed the subject.

But this doesn't mean he'll give up.

This place is not the Taiji Palace after all, and he doesn't know how many people are involved.

Once he has investigated, none of these people will escape his impeachment after he goes to court.

“Indeed, Jia Ying is absolutely right. Only those who uphold their true nature can eat this wheat porridge. Fu Ji, Ke Ming, may you both enjoy it?”

He asked Changsun Wuji and Du Ruhui.

While seemingly asking if they could eat the wheat porridge, the real question was whether the two of them were also involved in these matters.

"Your Majesty, I have already eaten a large bowl of this wheat porridge. It is much more fragrant than the wheat porridge I buy in my residence."

Changsun Wuji deliberately turned his bowl to the side so that Li Shimin could see it clearly.

He was indeed a little hungry after walking for so long today.

In addition, the texture of this wheat rice was indeed different, so he ate such a big bowl of it, which was quite unusual for him.

Du Ruhui, who was standing to the side, also laughed and said, "It is indeed fragrant. I wonder if you, County Magistrate Wen, would be willing to part with some of it and give this old man some?"

“Jiaying, this is where your farm is located. Keming has already asked for it, so you can’t be stingy.”

Li Shimin was in a great mood and pointed at Wen He, teasing him deliberately.

"If the Duke of Cai wants it, then of course it is available."

He actually didn't quite like the food.

In his previous life, as a southerner, he still preferred to eat rice.

I was so hungry today that I ate so much.

However, Xiao Rou really enjoyed eating; she almost ate two bowls in one go. If Wen He hadn't stopped her, the little girl would have even asked Li Ke to serve her more.

"Then it's settled. Don't be stingy, send some more to the palace."

"Yes."

Wen He nodded helplessly.

He waived the rent here, so if he wants wheat or rice, he has to pay for it himself.

Well then, let's just consider it a benefit for the farmers here.

"Do any of you ministers want anything else?" Li Shimin asked with a smile, but before anyone could speak, he continued.

"There's no need to be polite. After all, it's the people's hard-earned money that you're paid. You all serve the people, so it's no big deal for you to eat a little."

Li Shimin's words left everyone present speechless, and looking at the wheat in their bowls, they found it even harder to swallow.

Wen He glanced at Li Shimin, inwardly thinking, 'Shameless! He's eavesdropping on my lesson with Gao Ming again.'

"Jiaying, what was the second half of that sentence? I've forgotten."

Li Shimin suddenly turned to look at Wen He.

The latter knew that Li Er was deliberately trying to make those people's meal unpleasant.

He didn't care, since he'd been a plagiarist more than once or twice.

"Your salary and emoluments are the blood and sweat of the people; the common people are easily oppressed, but Heaven is hard to deceive."

"it is good!"

Wei Zheng immediately clapped his hands and cheered.

This interrupted Li Shimin, who was about to speak.

"The common people are easily oppressed, but Heaven is not easily deceived. This is the law of Heaven. I wonder which great sage said this. This person will surely be remembered for eternity. Your Majesty, how can such a talent remain in obscurity? He should be invited to the court to serve Your Majesty."

Wei Zheng was somewhat agitated.

Xiao Yu, who was sitting a few seats in front of him, looked at Wen He somewhat uncomfortably.

He was standing right next to Wen He when she said this to Li Chengqian.

Although he was taken aback, he didn't take it to heart.

Those common people were treated like dirt; they were bullied and then bullied. Would future generations really remember how they abused the people?
But seeing Wei Zheng's current excitement, he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

But he quickly calmed down and said, "These are the words spoken by the Prince of Wen when he was teaching the Crown Prince. At that time, I felt that these were the right words and had them written down."

"What did Wenxianzi say?"

Wei Zheng stared at Wen He in disbelief, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I can attest to this; it was indeed Wen He who said it."

Even Li Shimin endorsed it, so there's no need to question it.

Changsun Wuji opened his mouth, but ultimately did not speak.

He glanced down at the freshly delivered wheat porridge and immediately lost his appetite.

'That brat, he's shameless!'

"Snapped."

He lost control of his grip and broke the chopsticks.

"Auxiliary machine, what are you doing?"

This scene caught Li Shimin's eye, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Everyone turned their gaze toward Changsun Wuji.

Why did you break the chopsticks for no reason?

Changsun Wuji reacted quickly and said indignantly, "Your Majesty, I couldn't help but feel angry when I thought of those corrupt officials, which is why I behaved improperly in front of Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"So that's how it is. Since Fu Ji has brought it up, then I shall announce something: starting tomorrow, Wei Zheng and Changsun Wuji will work together with the Ministry of Justice and the Hundred Cavalry to investigate the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the military governors of various regions."

"Those who return the money before noon tomorrow will be demoted by one rank; those who fail to return it will have their property confiscated and be exiled to the army."

For a moment, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

Those who remained calm were few and far between.

There were only Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui, Xiao Yu, Yuwen Shi, and a few others.

Oh, and Wen He too.

However, he still thought to himself, "In this respect, Lao Li is still not as good as Lao Zhu."

But he also knew that the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were different.

Most of those from Huaixi who rose to power alongside Zhu Yuanzhang were peasants, and those civil officials were just minor clerks before.

Killing them won't have much impact on the Ming Dynasty.

However, the Tang Dynasty was different, with powerful clans and aristocratic families deeply rooted in the society.

If the Li family hadn't risen to power through rebellion and fought their way to the top, he wouldn't have been able to control those people.

Just like the Sui Dynasty established by Yang Jian.

They were constantly controlled by the Guanzhong Plain.

Otherwise, after Yang Guang ascended the throne, he would not have been so eager to intervene in the war against Goguryeo in order to prove himself and establish his prestige.

The major defeat of the Sui Dynasty was largely due to Yang Guang's poor micromanagement.

Therefore, it is already quite remarkable that Li Er was able to achieve this.

"The ministers obey the order."

Everyone stood up.

I simply couldn't eat this meal anymore.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Shimin told them to go back.

Only Changsun Wuji, Wen He, and a hundred cavalrymen remained.

He was not staying in the dilapidated house that Wen He used to live in; instead, he specially transferred a tent from Chang'an.

Wen He felt that going through all this trouble was not as good as going back to Chang'an.

"You brat, are you secretly criticizing me?"

When only Li Shimin and Wen He remained, the former slapped the latter on the head.

"Your Majesty, you've gone too far! You're suspecting me!"

Wen He covered her head and retorted angrily.

Although he did grumble about it in his heart.

But you, Li Er... never mind, you're the emperor, so what?

"Hmph, I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at your expression. But you should know that killing doesn't solve anything. Indiscriminate killing will only lead to unrest among the people."

"I have my own difficulties, learning from past mistakes."

Li Shimin raised his hand and patted Wen He's head.

It was as if she was comforting him.

Wen He was surprised that Li Shimin would actually explain this matter to her.

He understood perfectly well, but at this moment, he had to pretend not to.

"I was just thinking about an emperor in later generations who started with a bowl and built a dynasty no less than the Tang Dynasty. He was ruthless towards corrupt officials, skinning them alive and stuffing them with straw as a warning to others."

"And then, can all the corrupt officials be eliminated?" Li Shimin asked rhetorically.

"Uh, no, and there are more and more of them."

I don't know if it's because the Zhu family is stingy, or some other problem.

From the moment the door opened until the end, more and more people became greedy, eventually corrupting the entire country.

"However, this problem has existed in every dynasty."

"Yes, this has happened in every dynasty. So if I really have to start a bloodbath, how many of the civil and military officials in the Tang Dynasty do you think will still be able to attend court?"

Li Shimin looked at him with a hint of helplessness.

"What if they don't give it to us tomorrow?" Wen He asked.

He wondered if Li Er would pick up a knife and strike.

"The imperial examinations are about to begin."

Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the night sky.

The imperial examinations are about to begin, and there will be people who can replace them.

Even if we can't kill those important officials, we can still make an example of them.

If killing the chicken doesn't work, then we'll have to kill the monkey.

(End of this chapter)