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

After saying this, Li Shimin was still furious. He kicked the table over and paced back and forth, his face frighteningly cold.

Empress Zhangsun dared not speak at this moment.

She suspected that things might not be simple; otherwise, given Chen Huai'an's style of doing things, he wouldn't just hit people casually, especially with the Crown Prince involved.

At worst, let Cheng Chumo and the other kids do it. In the end, it'll just be said that the kids were ignorant, and they'll be taught a lesson and that'll be it.

Unfortunately, Chen Huai'an not only took action himself this time, but also brought Li Chengqian with him.

It turns out that the equal-field system had been changed.

What is the Equal-Field System? It is the foundation of everything in the Tang Dynasty. Only with the Equal-Field System could there be the Fubing System (a military system for conscripted soldiers). Otherwise, the loyalty, combat effectiveness, and safety of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty could not be guaranteed, and even the livelihood of the common people could not be guaranteed.

Of course, everyone knows the truth: the emperor is far away and the central government is far away.

Li Chengqian just pointed that out as well.

Further afield, they all knew that it was impossible for a hundred acres of land to be completely distributed to the people, unless there was a local official with a powerful background who was dedicated to serving the people.

Otherwise, we'd be lucky to get even 70 or 80 acres.

But that's a place further away, and what place is this?

Wannian County, located under the jurisdiction of Chang'an, is right under the emperor's nose!

If you dare to do this kind of thing here, what about other places?

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Shimin, hands behind his back, his chest heaving violently, laughed in extreme anger, "What a fine Wannian County! What a fine Zhou Keji!"

"They not only fooled the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and Chen Huai'an, but they also fooled me!"

"I... and Huai'an worked so hard to order people to reclaim wasteland and repair water conservancy in the Guannei region, with huge sums of money flowing out every day, and what a waste."

"While I am painstakingly reclaiming wasteland, they are racking their brains over there to annex land."

"Great, very good!"

Li Shimin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart: "What is Chen Huai'an doing?"

"Your Majesty, the gentleman should be verifying the information," Li Chengqian said, bowing. "From what I understand, the gentleman intends to give the people an explanation."

"It's always better to admit your mistakes proactively than to have them exposed by the public later."

"Moreover... if we don't make a big fuss, the gentleman might not have the opportunity to investigate further."

"Hmm." Li Shimin didn't say anything. "Investigate! Send people to investigate for me, investigate throughout the night, and go now!!"

"Also, summon Yang Gongren, the Prefect of Yongzhou, to see me!"

Li Chengqian remained silent.

Yongzhou was also known as Jingzhao Prefecture, and Chang'an and Wannian County were under its jurisdiction.

As the Prefect of Yongzhou, he bears an unshirkable responsibility for what happened in Wannian County, regardless of whether he was involved or aware of it.

Li Shimin naturally sought him out.

"Your Highness," Li Shimin's expression softened somewhat, "you should go back and get some rest."

"Yes, Father."

Li Shimin: "..."

Ah... It's Father again.

"......"

The next morning, at the time of court.

Wei Zheng leaned closer to Chen Huai'an and asked in a low voice, "What happened to you yesterday?"

"Breaking into the Wannian County government office and assaulting people was far too impulsive. You will surely be impeached by the censor today."

"I was really angry yesterday and couldn't help myself." Chen Huai'an touched his pocket, where there was a memorial and two secret reports, which were his gains from last night.

"However, His Majesty later sent people to give them a beating. Let them impeach me then. Anyway, I've already lost my title of Duke. Can they really remove me from my positions as Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue?"

"That shouldn't be possible." Wei Zheng laughed.

In the imperial court, many people were eyeing Chen Huai'an's position. After all, he occupied two positions, which meant that those who originally hoped to take the position would not be able to do so until Chen Huai'an stepped down.

It's impossible to say that no one in the imperial court wanted Chen Huai'an to suffer misfortune.

However, Chen Huai'an firmly held the positions of Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue, leaving those who wished to do so powerless.

"That's just a fine, at worst a beating, no big deal," Chen Huai'an said, unconcerned.

No joke, he has never received a salary. It was always delivered to his home by people from the Ministry of Revenue. Either Yunyan or Chen Sujin accepted it, and he never cared about it.

As for being spanked... you know what, it actually feels pretty good when you get hit with that thing.

"What exactly happened?" Du Ruhui also came over. "I heard that His Majesty was furious yesterday, and Yang Gongren has been imprisoned."

"Hmm?" Wei Zheng asked in surprise, "Yang Gongren has been imprisoned?"

"Yes." Du Ruhui's expression was solemn.

That's the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, a high-ranking and powerful official!

Chen Huai'an briefly explained the situation, and both of them were stunned.

"No way?" Du Ruhui exclaimed in disbelief. "In Chang'an, is there really anyone who would dare to do something like this?"

"This kind of thing happens more or less in other places, but I really didn't expect it to happen in Chang'an. These people are really too bold," Chen Huai'an sighed.

While Wei Zheng understood, he couldn't help but chuckle.

No wonder Chen Huai'an was so impulsive yesterday; he was fooled after all.

"Don't be so sure, looking at it from another angle, this might not be a bad thing," Fang Xuanling said quietly, having appeared beside them unnoticed.

"Think about it, the locust plague is getting worse, and they still dare to do this. It's a good opportunity to catch them and make an example of them. Report it to the imperial court and let them be infamous for eternity."

"People in other places will be more or less restrained, and the common people will be overjoyed to have their land reclaimed."

"So it's not entirely a bad thing."

"Whether it's a bad thing or not depends on His Majesty's perspective." Wei Zheng shook his head. "This isn't ordinary corruption; they're disrupting the equal-field system."

"As the saying goes, a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. To put it mildly, this is just a case of corruption. To put it more seriously, it is digging up the very foundation of the Tang Dynasty. His Majesty will probably have to kill someone again."

"Why keep them alive for New Year's Day if they're not going to be killed?" Du Ruhui said coldly. "The equal-field system is absolutely a taboo subject that His Majesty cannot touch. These people deserve to die."

"If such an incident occurs around Chang'an, how can we talk about governing the country if we don't give the people an explanation?"

Wei Zheng, unusually, did not refute: "Let's go, it's time for court. It'll probably be quite lively today."

Chen Huai'an glanced at him sideways: "Why do I get the feeling you're in such a hurry to go to court? What, you want to see me make a fool of myself?"

"How could that be? Mr. Chen, do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"do not you?"

"Yeah?"

"...Damn you, old man, you're practically smirking! And you still say you're not?"

"..."