The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"The moon occults the sun..."

Du Ruhui remarked with some emotion, "Speaking of which, this kind of celestial phenomenon is indeed very rare, but under the current circumstances, the occurrence of a lunar occultation is certainly noteworthy."

"Yes!" Fang Xuanling said solemnly, "Our Tang Dynasty has almost perfectly interpreted the lunar occultation, resulting in border invasions, frequent natural disasters, and so on."

"March is approaching, and spring planting will soon begin. Since Mr. Chen mentioned last year that there would be a locust plague this year, I have been keeping an eye on this matter."

"Your Majesty, scattered locusts have already appeared among the people. Although few in number, the locust plague is already beginning to emerge and must be taken seriously."

Li Shimin nodded in agreement. The current situation was indeed very complicated. At this time, the appearance of a lunar occultation was bound to cause suspicion.

Moreover, locust plagues are beginning to appear in rural areas.

Li Shimin had a terrible headache just thinking about the impact of the locust plague.

He had seen locust plagues before; it was no exaggeration to describe them as overwhelming. Wherever they went, not only grain, but even a single hair was devoured.

The only good news was that Chen Huai'an had warned them of a locust plague as early as last year, so Li Shimin had made considerable preparations.

The Ministry of Works also made every effort to reclaim wasteland and focused on clearing the area around the river, where they unearthed a number of locust eggs.

After a winter, all the eggs were frozen to death.

"Your Majesty," Xiao Yu said, bowing slightly, "I have some different opinions regarding the moon occulting the sun."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin extended his hand. "Minister Xiao, please speak."

"At this time, the occurrence of a lunar occultation is not entirely a bad thing," Xiao Yu said eloquently. "Think about it, everyone. The interpretations of a lunar occultation are: yin encroaching on yang, ministers obscuring the ruler, and inferiors overpowering superiors."

"The so-called 'subordinates overthrowing superiors' means, in layman's terms, that someone below is deceiving and disrespecting the ruler?"

"At this time, the Lu Zheng case broke out, involving too many officials. We can take advantage of this to issue a court report and accelerate the purge with more forceful and ruthless methods."

"This both reduces the influence of both companies and provides an explanation to the world. By shifting the blame onto the two companies, isn't that wonderful?"

Chen Huai'an grinned.

Everyone says he's a heartless person.

But which of these officials isn't ruthless?

Look at Xiao Yu with his thick eyebrows and big eyes. He used to be royalty, but he's still just as ruthless.

Fang Xuanling wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. Since both families' reputations are already ruined, it won't be long before they become infamous throughout the world. We might as well continue to make them suffer and let them bear the infamy, so as to maintain stability."

"Otherwise, once the locust plague fully breaks out, and someone mentions the moon obscuring the sun, it may be detrimental to Your Majesty and the court."

"Good!" Li Shimin was thrilled when he heard the phrase "let the noble families suffer a bit," and immediately agreed.

He was afraid that if he disagreed with the Ku family, Wei Zheng and Chen Huai'an would find a way to make him suffer.

They are absolutely capable of doing something like that.

Besides, if you can make your family suffer, why make yourself suffer?

Changsun Wuji pondered and said, "In that case, it depends on how this matter is handled. We can't just look at it as a bad thing. If it's handled well, the appearance of the moon obscuring the sun can't be entirely considered a bad thing."

"That should be the case." Du Ruhui thought for a moment and agreed.

"Ahem..." Wei Zheng coughed twice at this moment. "That may be true, but I would still like to suggest that Your Majesty do what needs to be done. The first interpretation of the 'moon eclipsing the sun' is that the ruler's way is flawed."

"Your Majesty...it's time to issue an edict of self-reproach."

Li Shimin: "..."

As soon as Wei Zheng spoke, the hall fell silent for a moment. The ministers looked at the floor, the roof, or their fingers, all pretending not to hear.

In fact, Xiao Yu had already hinted at this idea earlier.

It was just said rather cryptically.

Wei Zheng didn't care about any of that and immediately asked Li Shimin to issue an edict of self-reproach.

Chen Huai'an glanced at Xiao Yu. He suspected that Xiao Yu might not have been hinting at His Majesty, but rather saying it on purpose to get Wei Zheng to say those words.

Xiao Yu's completely unsurprised expression confirmed Chen Huai'an's guess.

Chen Huai'an couldn't help but sigh, "The people in the imperial court are indeed all old foxes who have been around for a thousand years."

None of them are easy to deal with.

All sizes are counterfeit goods.

The worst part is that they're all heartless, and they even insult him.

"Issue an edict of self-reproach?" Li Shimin sighed. "Since I ascended the throne, I have been diligently handling state affairs, rising at dawn every day, doing my utmost, and never slacking off for a moment."

"I am not boasting, but judging from the situation in the past two years, I have surpassed many emperors in history."

"However, natural disasters are not what I wanted, and I have already caused one once."

"Now I've issued another edict of self-reproach. If next year is another year of natural disasters, I might have to issue another one."

"Having ascended the throne for three years, he has issued edicts of self-reproach every year. How am I supposed to conduct myself in this situation?"

"Can't we just not play this time?"

He still wanted to try his best to get it.

If he could, he really didn't want to issue an edict of self-reproach.

"Your Majesty has misunderstood." Wei Zheng's expression was unusually moved. "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, your actions have been witnessed by the entire world."

"If you go to the common people and ask them what kind of emperor the current emperor is, they will all praise His Majesty as a sage ruler."

"However... with the successive natural disasters, coupled with the theory of divine intervention, and now the lunar occultation... Your Majesty, you should make plans as soon as possible."

Li Shimin's eyes dimmed somewhat.

He knew what Wei Zheng was talking about.

It's simply saying that he rose to power through the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and his accession was illegitimate. Moreover, natural disasters have been frequent since his ascension to the throne, which is also a fact.

Even with Chen Huai'an's help, he still managed to govern the country well during the famine years, preventing the people from suffering heavy casualties. However, some people might say that it was because he had obtained the throne illegitimately that he had angered Heaven.

Therefore, issuing a self-criticism and admitting one's mistakes is the best option.

"Why does Your Majesty sigh?" Chen Huai'an said with a smile. "I remember Brother Xuancheng once said that admitting one's shortcomings is not a shameful thing."

"A wise ruler should transform what is lacking in virtue into what is virtuous under Your Majesty's governance."

"It should be known that a fine sword is forged through tempering, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold."

"Read widely and select carefully; accumulate knowledge and then express it concisely. Study extensively, inquire thoroughly, think carefully, discern clearly, and practice diligently. Do not be arrogant because of your talent, nor domineering because of favor."

"Your Majesty, it's all the same principle."

"Everything we are going through now is perhaps a test from God."

Li Shimin was lost in thought, then chuckled softly, "Indeed, I was too obsessive."

"A fine sword is forged through tempering, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold."

"A beautiful poem, a beautiful poem."

"..."