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

Li Shimin looked around. Everyone was sitting under the tree, except for Chen Huai'an, who was fishing with a rod in hand. He laughed in exasperation.

Saying it but not saying it does seem to create a more artistic atmosphere, or what is commonly known as having a high level of sophistication.

"Bring me a fishing rod too!"

Li Shimin immediately gave the order, and Zhang Anan was completely numb.

In this desolate wilderness, where is he going to get a fishing rod in such a short time?

Chen Huai'an knew this would happen, so he casually said, "I brought more than one fishing rod; they're all in the carriage behind. Go get them."

Zhang Anan felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly went to get his fishing rod.

"Is Your Majesty satisfied with your appearance this time?" Chen Huai'an asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Why do you ask that?" Li Shimin clapped his hands and asked casually.

"What else could it be?"

Chen Huai'an's gaze returned to the water: "Now, not to mention Chang'an, countless officials have been dismissed in various regions, and thousands of people are involved in the case."

"At this critical juncture, instead of having His Majesty oversee the overall situation in the capital and have us assist him from the sidelines, he led us all out of the city."

"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't make sense."

Fang Xuanling and the others remained silent; they shared the same thoughts as Chen Huai'an.

They could understand Li Shimin's desire to leave the city to collect the remains of the fallen soldiers, and they could also understand his desire to collect them personally.

But Li Shimin could have only brought the Crown Prince, plus Chen Huai'an, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, and even Empress Zhangsun.

Unfortunately, he brought all his trusted confidants with him.

Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng—which one of them isn't a heavyweight in this struggle?

They took them all away from Chang'an, and they were gone for three days.

They absolutely refused to believe that Li Shimin had no ulterior motives.

"Aren't you curious about something?" Li Shimin asked with interest, not annoyance.

Just then, Zhang Anan returned with several fishing rods and distributed them to everyone.

Then, everyone who was sitting down simultaneously cast their fishing rods.

"What's the problem?" Changsun Wuji asked, puzzled.

"Look," Li Shimin said calmly, "what a commotion Huai'an caused by faking his death! How many forces lent their support?"

"So many officials have stepped down, creating so many vacant positions."

"If it's not replenished in time, there will probably be a lot of chaos throughout the world."

"However, apart from the Jingzhao Prefecture and Chang'an, which I can immediately control, I need to designate who will fill the vacant positions left by the resigned officials in other places."

"What about remote areas?"

Du Ruhui pondered and said, "The Emperor directly controls Chang'an and Jingzhao Prefecture, and he has ordered designated people to fill the vacant positions, so there has not been any major trouble."

"In remote areas... the major families and noble families certainly don't want any trouble to happen at this time, so they will also arrange for people to step in in time."

"This was to be expected."

"Your Majesty, is there a problem?" Fang Xuanling asked.

The purge isn't over yet, but everyone has already started to seek their own interests, all in order to keep the world from descending into chaos.

Isn't this something everyone tacitly agrees on?

"No, no, no!" Li Shimin disagreed. "Of course there's a problem."

"Replenishing personnel is no problem, ensuring the world remains peaceful is also no problem, but aren't you all curious about how the interests in the distance will be divided after we're all gone?"

"Does it mean that Chang'an and its surrounding areas, including Jingzhao Prefecture, belong to me, while the remote regions belong to them?"

"Do you still believe that Chang'an, Jingzhao Prefecture, and some remote areas should all belong to me?"

After hearing this, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other in bewilderment, Changsun Wuji paused for a moment, and Wei Zheng dared not speak.

Li Shimin said a lot, but he only meant one thing.

He wanted to see how these people would divide the profits.

How much was allocated to him, and how much did these families who helped him dare to take?

This is a rather sensitive issue.

Throughout history, the uneven distribution of benefits has caused far too many problems to count.

In this siege, Chen Huai'an was undoubtedly the mastermind behind everything, getting himself involved and causing the deaths of two families.

Li Shimin was the first to raise the butcher's knife and launch a bloody massacre to cleanse the country.

Apart from Lu and Zheng, the five surnames and seven prominent families, along with numerous large and small families from the north and south, were all helpers.

Without them, even if Li Shimin had wielded the sword, he could have at most killed some key figures, but he would not have been able to eradicate the two forces on such a large scale.

Therefore, the distribution of benefits is quite interesting.

Chen Huai'an sighed, "These are years of natural disasters. We can retreat when we need to, but we must also be ruthless when necessary."

Li Shimin gave him an approving look: "Indeed, it is precisely because of this year of natural disasters that I can yield when necessary."

"It's not that I'm afraid of them, but rather that I made a compromise for the sake of stability."

"But now, I have already won this round. If they dare to interfere further..."

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, his voice icy and chilling: "I wouldn't mind chopping off their claws!"

Fang Xuanling felt a chill run down his spine. At that moment, he finally understood Li Shimin's purpose in bringing them out.

In order to maintain stability, when cleaning up remote areas, everyone tacitly began to distribute the benefits.

This was permitted by Li Shimin.

But while it may be permitted, and you may take it, there must be a limit.

Just like when soldiers win a battle and accomplish their tasks, you can take what you're entitled to, but the lion's share must go to Li Shimin.

If they take more than they need, they will definitely face serious consequences.

Because this is an unspoken rule: if you do a good job and take some money, Li Shimin will turn a blind eye.

Taking too much becomes a sin.

The same principle applies to the current distribution of benefits. In order to maintain stability, all major powers will definitely fill vacancies, and as long as it is within a reasonable range, Li Shimin will turn a blind eye.

But if it goes beyond this range, then problems arise.

Who gave you the authority to appoint so many officials without authorization? Was it approved by higher authorities? Was it approved by the Ministry of Personnel?

Are your actions compliant with regulations?

As soon as Li Shimin and his ministers left Chang'an, you did this? Do you still respect him as the emperor?

Does this world truly belong to you, or to the Li family?

Chen Huai'an shook his head: "After this incident, everyone will have to behave themselves. At least for the next few years, they definitely won't dare to cause any trouble."

"They will know what they're doing."

"If that's the case, then that would be for the best." Li Shimin nodded slightly. "However, if they dare to interfere further, I wouldn't mind launching another round of attacks!"

"..."