Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Shen Lian said calmly: "Some countries definitely have some plans, but some countries may just know something and don't want to miss this opportunity. They also want to join in the fun, so they also came along."

Shen Lian's words were a little vague, but Li Shimin quickly understood what he meant.

Shen Lian said it very clearly. Among these countries, there must be some that are secretly united, but no one knows what they want to do.

There are also some countries that, through unknown channels, learned that those countries wanted to do something, so they also joined in the fun. They may not be in the same group as those countries, but there is no doubt that if they have the opportunity to gain some benefits, they will never let it go.

Li Shimin frowned, thought for a while, then looked at Shen Lian and said, "If that's the case, then it means that no matter who it is, they have ulterior motives towards our Tang Dynasty. In this case...then what do you think, should we still agree to let them come over like this?"

Shen Lian raised the corner of his mouth and said with a meaningful smile: "Why not let them come over?"

"But didn't you say they had bad intentions?"

"No."

Shen Lian laughed and said, "First, these countries applied to visit our Tang Dynasty through normal channels. If our Tang Dynasty disagrees, wouldn't that mean we are giving them the right to speak?"

"They can say that we, the Tang Dynasty, look down on them and therefore don't allow them to go on a diplomatic mission! They can also say that we, the Tang Dynasty, are cowardly and afraid of them, and therefore don't allow them to go on a diplomatic mission... In short, as long as we refuse, they will definitely have a hundred ways to ridicule us, which is extremely detrimental to the image of the Tang Dynasty as a great power."

Li Shimin thought about it, then sighed helplessly.

He has had a lot of contact with those countries, so he knows very well that what his son-in-law Shen Lian said will definitely come true.

There has always been nothing but malice between countries.

"As for the second one."

Shen Lian raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said with a smile: "I have just said that not all countries are of one mind. At least those countries that have been hostile for decades have no trust basis for cooperation at all."

"And doesn't this give us an opportunity? They can unite privately, so why can't the Tang Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, don't forget that the Tang Dynasty is a powerful country. As long as we extend an olive branch, there will be many countries that want to befriend us. So it's just about forming cliques. Who are we afraid of?"

"Not to mention, they came to Chang'an, which means they came to our territory. How can they cause trouble on our territory?"

"and……"

Shen Lian looked at Li Shimin and said, "Only if we let them come over can we know what their real intentions are! If we refuse, we may not know what they want to do."

"What if many countries really unite to threaten the Tang Dynasty, but we know nothing about it and have no preparations... That would be a real danger to the Tang Dynasty!"

"So, anyone can be cowardly, but we, the Tang Dynasty, must never be cowardly!"

"Not only will we not stop them from coming, we will also publicize it in a high-profile manner and let everyone know that all nations are coming to pay tribute. Let everyone know that these countries have taken the initiative to send envoys to our Tang Dynasty to discuss world affairs! What does this show? It shows that our Tang Dynasty has status and strength. Otherwise, why would they take the initiative to come to our Tang Dynasty, instead of our Tang Dynasty going to other countries?"

Li Shimin's heart suddenly moved.

He suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "It's just to build momentum. They have bad intentions anyway, so why should we be polite?"

"Your Majesty, all nations will come to pay tribute... This is what I hope for. I hope that the Tang Dynasty can truly stand at the top of the world! There will really be foreign nations coming to pay tribute and bow down to us! This is the chance!"

"Everything in this world is a double-edged sword! For example, this time, they came with bad intentions and are dangerous to us! But what if we handle it perfectly? Then the image of the Tang Dynasty as a great power will take root in these countries!"

"We may even be able to get a few vassal states to submit to us directly. By then, bad things may really turn into good things!"

"A tribute from all nations with ill intentions may...become a tribute from all nations that is truly worthy of being recorded in history books!"

Brush it!
When Li Shimin heard Shen Lian's words, he stood up immediately.

He stared at Shen Lian with wide eyes, and felt his blood suddenly boiling.

His whole face turned red due to excitement.

He looked at Shen Lian, and said with a trembling voice: "Shen... Shen Qing, you... you, are you telling the truth?"

When Shen Lian saw Li Shimin's excitement, he knew that he had touched upon Li Shimin's innermost thoughts.

For Li Shimin, who has always wanted to become an emperor like the Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi, perhaps... having all nations come to pay tribute is Li Shimin's greatest wish.

So Shen Lian directly touched Li Shimin's heart.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "It's up to people to plan and it's up to people to accomplish things. If you don't try, how can you know if it will work?"

Li Shimin looked at Shen Lian deeply, his eyes fixed on him.

Suddenly, he said, "How sure are you?"

Shen Lian thought for a moment and said, "I haven't really come into contact with them yet, so I can't say for sure, but I'm still 50% sure."

"Of course... the premise is that Your Majesty fully supports me. Otherwise, if someone stands in my way and interferes with my plans, that may not be the case."

"Fifty percent..."

Li Shimin's eyes kept flickering, and his whole body was caught in a dilemma and struggle.

Radical or cautious?
Give up or take a gamble?
Will the emperor of all ages stop here?
After an unknown amount of time, Li Shimin suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen Lian, his eyes gleaming. He laughed loudly and said, "Hahaha, Mr. Shen, I believe you!"

"Just go ahead and do it. Whoever stops you in this matter will be against me!"

Shen Lian seemed to have known Li Shimin's thoughts for a long time. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Traveling among dozens of countries, forming alliances, and changing the world's situation silently... This is also something that I am very interested in. I will do my best to do it."

Li Shimin nodded heavily.

At this moment, the heart of Li Shimin, the greatest emperor of all time, completely exploded because of Shen Lian's words.

He was unwilling to accept that in history books, he only had the name of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!

He wants to be as famous as the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor, and be praised by future generations!

With all nations coming to pay tribute, this is his only chance!
In this way, Li Shimin accepted Shen Lian's suggestion and agreed to the requests of various countries.

At this moment, the general situation in the world began to gradually change amid the undercurrent.

A quarter of an hour later.

Shen Lian left the hall.

Walking out of the palace, he looked up at the scorching sun above his head and stretched his body slightly.

"All nations are coming to pay tribute..."

Shen Lian raised his lips slightly: "At this time, you suddenly want to come to Datang...what does it mean?"

"Beidou Society, Beichen... Does this have anything to do with you?"

Shen Lian remembered that the purpose of the Beidou Society was to stir up world affairs in secret and make the world's situation run according to their wishes.

So, was it them who were responsible for the coming of all nations to pay tribute this time, which was clearly enough to change the world situation?
Although there is no evidence, Shen Lian feels that at least 90% of it was done by the Beidou Society.

Purpose... Could it be that Beichen was specifically playing a game with me, and was really doing as he said that day, using various countries as chess pieces and fighting on the chessboard?
"He is really a madman, but..."

Shen Lian smiled, his eyes flickering: "Interesting!" Shen Lian withdrew his gaze and was about to leave the palace.

"Lord Shen."

At this moment, the chief eunuch, Eunuch Zhao, suddenly called Shen Lian.

Shen Lian looked at Eunuch Zhao in confusion, and saw Eunuch Zhao sneak up to Shen Lian, put a piece of paper in Shen Lian's hand, and whispered: "Master Shen, this is what His Majesty asked me to give to you."

Li Shimin?
I just said goodbye to Li Shimin. What's the matter? Why can't Li Shimin tell me in person?
And we want to treat Eunuch Zhao like a thief?
Shen Lian felt a little puzzled.

But he was not stupid enough to ask directly. Since Li Shimin did this, he certainly didn't want other people to know, so he decided to find a place where no one was around and take a look at it himself.

He thanked him and left the Zichen Palace.

Walking in the corridor of the imperial palace, with no one around, Shen Lian opened the paper that Eunuch Zhao had stuffed into his hands.

As soon as he opened the paper, Shen Lian glanced upwards, and a gleam of light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

The corners of Shen Lian's mouth curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty, you are really a great father-in-law. Should I find time to propose marriage? Marry my wife in a formal ceremony?"

There were dozens of names densely written on the paper.

And there is nothing except the name.

There is no explanation of what these names are for, nor why they were written.

If other people saw this paper, they would be absolutely confused.

But Shen Lian understood Li Shimin's meaning instantly.

Li Shimin just told him that someone was impeaching him.

These names were given to me right after.

If Shen Lian still doesn't know what these people are doing, he would be too stupid.

After his eyes swept over these names, Shen Lian tore the paper into pieces, spread out his palms, and the scraps of paper flew away with the wind.

These names are already memorized in Shen Lian's mind.

It would be fine if Shen Lian didn’t know.

Now that he knew this, given his personality, there was absolutely no reason for him to suffer any loss.

Moreover, he believed that Li Shimin did not give him these names to make him swallow his anger. Li Shimin deliberately told him who were the people who smiled on the surface but stabbed him in the back.

Shen Lian is very experienced in dealing with such people.

"It's best not to get involved, otherwise, tsk tsk, I, Shen, have a really bad temper lately."

Shen Lian laughed, and his mood was not affected by these names. With his intelligence, he was not smart enough to be affected by these insignificant bugs who only dared to mess around behind his back.

He stretched and slowly left the palace.

After leaving the palace, he saw Sishe waiting there in a carriage. Shen Lian got on the carriage, said "Go back to the yamen", and closed his eyes to rest.

Shen Lian did not sleep well in the yamen last night and his sleep time was short, which made him particularly tired at this moment.

He had just used up some brain cells, so as the carriage swayed, Shen Lian was about to fall asleep again.

Bang.

But just when he was about to fall asleep, the carriage suddenly stopped, causing Shen Lian to rush forward due to inertia, and his forehead hit the carriage directly.

The pain woke him up immediately.

Shen Lian rubbed his forehead, feeling very unhappy, and said: "Sishe, you'd better have a reasonable explanation, otherwise I will beat you so hard today that your mother won't even dare to recognize you."

Just when he was about to fall asleep, he was suddenly woken up in such a brutal way. Shen Lian's mentality was about to explode.

Sishe's voice was tense, and he quickly said, "Master, I didn't mean to do that. It was just that a carriage suddenly rushed over at the intersection ahead, and we almost hit it, so I quickly stopped the car."

After Shen Lian heard this, he thought about it and understood what was going on.

They took a shortcut to the yamen, which was a small alley that could only accommodate one car, so when a car suddenly came in front of them, they had to stop.

Fortunately, this alley is not long, so you can just step back and make way.

Although Shen Lian was in a bad mood, he was not in a hurry to compete with anyone for the road, and he did not have any urgent matters.

"Then exit this alley and let the other side go first." Shen Lian said.

"Master, I can't do this!"

"Ok?"

"Because there was a carriage behind us, and that carriage didn't want to back out, so we were stuck in the middle, unable to move forward or backward."

When Shen Lian heard this, his eyebrows suddenly raised.

Something is not right.

Shen Lian had a good memory and remembered clearly that this alley was relatively remote and apart from him, few people would come across horse-drawn carriages.

And even if you encounter one, you won't encounter two at the same time.

Not to mention, these two cars sandwiched him directly in the middle, and neither of them gave way. Why did it feel like... they were doing this to him on purpose?
Shen Lian lifted the car curtain and walked out.

He stepped on the shaft of the cart and looked around. Just as Sishe had said, he was trapped in the middle.

These cars have been stuck here for such a long time, and no one in those two cars came out to say a word.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Since you two have come to me on your own initiative, why do you have to hide your head and show your tail? Whatever you want, just say it directly. I don't think you really want to be blocked here for a whole day, right?"

When Sishe heard Shen Lian's words, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

Only then did he realize that there was something wrong with the traffic jam.

Sishe quickly gripped the hilt of the knife and became alert.

At this time, a calm voice came from the carriage in front: "Lord Shen, you are really smart. You figured out what happened so quickly."

I seem to have heard this voice before.

Shen Lian suddenly recalled a name on the list Li Shimin gave him.

"Minister Lu Xie?" Shen Lian suddenly spoke.

"Minister Lu Xie?" Shen Lian suddenly spoke.

(End of this chapter)