Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

Li Shimin stared blankly at Li Chengqian, whose tail was practically sticking up below.

Is this still his son who skips school every day and is infuriating?

This profound discourse is even more insightful than that of the great Confucian scholars in the imperial court.

Li Chengqian looked at the dumbfounded Kong Yingda and secretly felt smug.

Little brat, the conclusions drawn by countless people in later generations are not enough to deal with you, you stubborn old man.

"Grand Tutor."

Li Chengqian stepped forward and patted Kong Yingda's arm.

"In my Eastern Palace, there are hundreds more interpretations that are even more subversive than this. If you are interested, I will tell you about them slowly during tomorrow's morning lesson."

Kong Yingda was startled and looked up at Li Chengqian with a fanatical expression.

"Is Your Highness truly speaking?"

Kong Yingda grabbed Li Chengqian's arm with a force comparable to Cheng Yaojin.

Li Chengqian quickly pulled his hand away.

"Really, really, but..."

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Shimin.

"I haven't been feeling well lately, should we change the time for my morning class?"

Kong Yingda spoke without even considering it:

"Change it! Whatever time His Highness says class will start, that's when we'll start class."

Li Shimin was so anxious that he almost jumped off the table.

I invited you here to teach this brat a lesson, how come you were won over by him in just one meeting?

"Grand Tutor Kong! You..."

Li Shimin was about to speak up to remind him.

Kong Yingda bowed to Li Shimin with his hands clasped in greeting:

"Your Majesty! I request to go to the Eastern Palace immediately to discuss the classics with His Highness the Crown Prince."

I will not be attending the morning court session today.

After saying this, Kong Yingda didn't give Li Shimin a chance to refuse. He grabbed Li Chengqian's sleeve and hurriedly walked out of the hall.

"Your Highness, hurry, hurry. I can't wait to hear your insights on Mencius."

As Kong Yingda led Li Chengqian outside, he didn't forget to turn back and wave to Li Shimin, who was already disheveled in the wind.

"Father, I'm going to class now. Please attend court properly."

Li Shimin slumped on the dragon throne, feeling a tightness and unease in his chest.

Why is this script different from what he expected?

Just after the court session ended, Li Shimin sat alone in the Ganlu Hall, feeling so depressed he was about to vomit blood.

Li Junxian suddenly rushed in.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened."

Li Shimin rubbed his temples in annoyance and asked, "What is it now?"

Li Junxian raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, last night, the three secret manors of the Cui, Lu and Zheng families outside Chang'an were all looted."

The modus operandi was exactly the same as that of the group that looted the Wang family manor.

"What?"

Li Shimin felt a surge of anger rush to the top of his head, then his vision went black, his body swayed, and he almost fell headfirst onto the imperial desk.

Wang De was so frightened that he quickly stepped forward to support Li Shimin: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

Li Shimin shoved Wang De aside, panting heavily.

He finally understood.

Now I understand why Li Chengqian agreed so readily.

Now I understand why that little bastard didn't even haggle over the price and immediately agreed to give him 30%.

So that's what they were waiting for him.

The Wang family alone was robbed of over 100,000 strings of cash; what about the other three families?

"You are a traitor... you are a traitor."

Li Shimin was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth.

This little brat took a scrap and used it as a shield.

Li Shimin felt increasingly aggrieved. He had spent his whole life hunting geese, only to have his eyes pecked out by a sparrow in the end.

"His Majesty."

Li Junxian raised his head cautiously and said,

"This was definitely done by the same group of people. I believe that these people are lurking around Chang'an and pose a great threat. We must immediately mobilize the Imperial Guards to conduct a city-wide search..."

"Search my ass."

Li Shimin slammed his hand on the table and cursed angrily.

Li Junxian looked at Li Shimin with a blank expression.

What's wrong with my suggestion?

"What are you searching for? Don't you think I'm causing enough trouble already?"

Li Shimin pointed at Li Junxian's nose and cursed.

"Find out who did it, and then what? Should I apologize to those powerful families? Or should I return the money I've already swallowed?"

Li Junxian was completely stunned.

Money swallowed?

What does Your Majesty mean by that?

Could it be that His Majesty secretly orchestrated this?

Thinking of this, Li Junxian's gaze towards Li Shimin changed.

No wonder His Majesty was not angry when he heard that the Wang family had been robbed; on the contrary, he was somewhat excited.

It turns out that this group of people were raised by His Majesty himself, specifically to suppress powerful clans.

Li Junxian, thinking he had guessed the truth, quickly said:

"Your Majesty, I am foolish and ignorant! Please enlighten me."

Seeing Li Junxian's "I understand" expression, Li Shimin felt even more frustrated.

You don't know anything.

I'm a victim too, okay?

But he couldn't say these words; he could only keep them to himself.

"Issue my decree."

Last night, a large group of Turkic cavalrymen fled to the vicinity of Chang'an. Although the Hundred Cavalry Division gave it their best, the thieves were too cunning, and they only managed to recover some of the Wang family's property. As for the other three families... the thieves escaped.

"Your Majesty, I obey. However..."

Li Junxian hesitated for a moment.

"The other three families wield considerable power in the court. What if they cause trouble and demand an explanation from the Hundred Cavalry Commandery?"

"Explain? Explain what?"

Li Shimin sneered.

"If they dare to cause trouble, just ask them how much money is hidden in those secret estates."

If they dare to give the truth, I will immediately order the Ministry of Revenue to investigate their accounts. Let's see if their tax payments match up."

Li Junxian's eyes lit up.

What powerful families fear most is auditing their accounts. If you can use this to control them, they'll have to suffer in silence.

"I understand, I will take care of it immediately."

Li Junxian turned around and left.

Li Shimin sat there, increasingly feeling that he had been taken advantage of.

"Wang De".

"This old servant is here."

"Prepare the carriage for the Eastern Palace."

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and walked outside.

"I'm going to see today just how much good stuff that little brat has swallowed."

......

The Eastern Palace.

Inside the study, Li Chengqian sat in the main seat, holding a cup of hot tea, looking at Kong Yingda.

Kong Yingda, however, sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, holding a copy of the Analects, his face showing humility and a desire to learn.

"Your Highness! You just said, 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.' Doesn't that mean that if I hear the truth in the morning, I can die peacefully in the evening?"

Li Chengqian sighed, looking at Kong Yingda with a disappointed expression, and said:

"Grand Tutor, please use your brain and think about it."

What kind of physique did Confucius have? He was a burly man, nine feet six inches tall, strong enough to lift a city gate.

Would he, an old man, utter such frail words?

Kong Yingda was stunned: "Then what does Your Highness think?"

"What this means is: if you find out the way to your house in the morning, you can go die tonight."

Li Chengqian slammed his hand on the table, his imposing aura directly pressing down on Kong Yingda.

Kong Yingda was so shocked that he dropped the Analects in his hand to the ground.

"This...this..."

"besides."

Li Chengqian didn't give him time to process it at all, and continued:

"Since we're here, let's make the best of it. How did the Grand Tutor interpret that?"

"Now that you're here, why not stay?"

Kong Yingda answered instinctively.

"Wrong! Utterly wrong."

Li Chengqian stood up and walked to Kong Yingda.

"The real meaning of this sentence is: Since you dare to provoke me, I will bury you here."

Kong Yingda felt a sudden buzzing in his head.

His lifelong study of Confucian classics was suddenly overturned at this moment.

But for some reason, after following Li Chengqian's line of thought, he actually felt that... it made a lot of sense.

When Confucius traveled around the states, he encountered countless ambushes and blockades. If he didn't have some martial prowess and ruthlessness, how could he have survived?

Is the so-called "persuasion through reason" the same as the principle in physics?