First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 432 Undercurrent
...

Seeing Li Jiancheng's distressed appearance, with no trace of His Royal Highness's Fengyi, Li Shimin's heart was extremely complicated, and he didn't feel a little bit of satisfaction.

He suddenly thought, if he failed to fight for reserves, would he end up like this in the future.

No, no, if it fails, the end will definitely be worse than the prison camp.

"Wei Ting, Wang Gui, and Wei Zheng were all demoted," Li Shimin said flatly.

Li Jiancheng fell to the ground after hearing the words, lost his mind, "Everyone is demoted? How come, this, Aye really want to depose me?"

Li Shimin was not in the mood to ridicule him, and shook his head directly when he saw this, and said: "No, Ah Ye asked me to pick you up and return to Beijing, let's let this matter go, you are still the prince."

When he uttered these words, Li Shimin was very unwilling and even hated.

He hated Li Yuan for not keeping his word, and clearly promised with his own mouth that he would be made the crown prince after Qingzhou was pacified, but in the end, he was so happy that the seeds in his heart had already taken root.

Hearing these words, Li Jiancheng raised his head suddenly, and after seeing Li Shimin's expression clearly, he didn't seem to be fake, he burst out laughing.

"Okay, I know this matter is not enough to abolish the prince, Erlang, you are going to be disappointed."

Seeing that Li Jiancheng was so easygoing, Li Shimin sneered, turned and left, only the voice came, "Let's go, my good brother, my younger brother will personally pick you up and return to Beijing."

Li Jiancheng cheered up and shouted: "Come here, I just want to take a bath and change clothes, and then let the chef come and die."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went back to Beijing in a splendid manner, and the cars on the official road rushed forward and back, very powerful. The Crown Prince was still the same Prince, still the Crown Prince of the country.

Entering Chang'an City from Mingde Gate, Li Jiancheng was full of ambition and deliberately changed to a horse.

Seeing the still prosperous Chang'an City, Li Jiancheng looked up to the sky and laughed, "Chang'an, I'm back alone".

Many people saw this scene.

Li Shimin's face was warm, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, as if he was happy that his big brother was out of trouble.

Since the prince returned to Beijing, for a while, in Chang'an's workshops, restaurants and teahouses, the voice of praising the prince has become louder and louder. Some radicals even think that the date of the prince's ascension to the throne is not far away.

These voices of praising the prince have intensified under the impetus of some caring people.

After Li Jiancheng returned to the East Palace, he also heard about it, and he was even more satisfied and very contented.

When Wei Ting and others were about to go to Bashu, they were the former assistant officials of the Eastern Palace after all, so Li Jiancheng arranged a banquet with wine and bid farewell.

"Your Highness, there are some rumors in Chang'an City, I believe you should have heard it, the minister is quite frightened," Wei Ting said bluntly.

Wang Gui knew what Wei Ting was talking about, so he was a little confused, so he said bluntly: "As the orthodox eldest son, the crown prince is deeply loved by the scholars and the people. This is the destiny. What is there to be afraid of?"

Wei Zheng on the side was much more alert, and he suddenly came to his senses when he heard the words, and he also looked worried.

"There is a saying in the "Customs of the East Han Dynasty": "The one who kills the emperor and the horse is also the one who kills the road." Those who praise are the ones who harm them. , it is inevitable to be suspicious."

Wei Zheng has a straightforward personality, and his words are very straightforward, and everyone understands them as soon as they hear them.

Li Jiancheng couldn't sit still after hearing this, "It shouldn't be the case, what Uncle Yugong said is reasonable. As a prince alone, it is only natural to have some prestige."

"Your heart is unpredictable," Wei Ting sighed quietly.

These three people felt it personally. On the one hand, Li Yuan suppressed the East Palace and relegated the three of them to Bashu, but on the other hand, he recalled the prince back to the capital. Let the past go, and Li Yuan's beating really made them feel pressure.

"Then what should I do?" Li Jiancheng hurriedly asked, it would be too late if he didn't ask, the three of them were going to Bashu soon.

"Hide your strengths and bide your time", Wei Ting said lightly, cherishing words like gold.

"Gentle, courteous, thrifty and conciliatory", Wei Zheng said bluntly: "Since your highness is out of trouble, you must restrain yourself and return to courtesy, use stricter standards to discipline yourself, be lenient to others, and never annoy the sage again."

Wang Gui is an upright gentleman, and he echoed the words, "Your Highness is the foundation of the country, and you must never do anything illegal. If your Highness has no morals, the Lord of the Eastern Palace will be unshakable."

Except for Wei Ting, these three people, Wang Wei and Wang Wei are all upright and strict people, but it's a pity that Li Yuan put so much painstaking efforts in appointing such a loyal and upright person as the official of the East Palace, after all, he failed to save Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng responded solemnly, returning to his usual gentle and elegant demeanor, "I have remembered what the three gentlemen said. It is a long way to go to Bashu Mountain. Take care."

The three of them sighed a little when they heard the words but drank them all in one gulp.

"Bashu is remote, and the three of you have suffered. When you are alone, you will not forget the three great virtues." Li Jiancheng raised his glass again and said solemnly.

As soon as this remark came out, Wang Gui's expression darkened immediately, and he put down his wine glass heavily.

"Your Highness is careful to say that thunder and rain are the kindness of the king. When the ministers release the states and counties, they will also put the country's people first. They will report to the country and put them in peace with the people. It is not bitter."

Wei Zheng shook his head and sighed, "Your Highness should stop talking about such things. If anyone with a heart hears them, there will be a storm."

Li Jiancheng was a little disapproving in his heart, but he still nodded in response.

At the same time, in Chengqian Palace, in the study, the door was closed tightly.

Li Shimin sat at the head, Gao Chong, Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling sat on the left and right, and there was a sick Xue Shou in the corner.

"Everyone, the prince has returned to Beijing, and the princelings are getting more and more rampant. If you don't take any action, your momentum will drop." Li Shimin lowered his eyebrows, and his words were full of unwillingness.

Changsun Wuji nodded when he heard the words, and said in a hateful voice: "Today, when I am on duty, Zheng Shilang has made things difficult for me in every possible way. Checking the accounts of my taxes and awards is nothing more than a dog's power."

The eldest grandson Wuji was appointed as a doctor of the Ministry of Bibi, and he was ranked in the fifth grade. He was in charge of the internal and external affairs of the Ministry of Punishment, such as collection of taxes, awards, redemption of stolen goods, and debts.

To put it simply, ransacking the house and dealing with stolen goods is his job. This is a fat job and an important job.

The former servant of the Ministry of Punishment was Li Shuliang, the king of Changping County. Li Shuliang was Li Shimin's cousin. He had followed Li Shimin to put down Xue Qin, and had a close relationship with the Qin Palace.

It's just that there is no holiday, and in the fourth year of Wude, the Turks invaded and plundered south. Li Shuliang was ordered to resist and took the lead. Unfortunately, he lost his body and died on the spot.

The successor Minister of the Ministry of Punishment was surnamed Zheng. Hearing this surname, he probably knew that he was from the Zheng family of Xingyang. The current Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin was from the Zheng family of Xingyang.

Seeing Changsun Wuji's resentful expression, one can know how wronged he is on duty in the Ministry of Punishment.

After hearing this, Li Shimin could only comfort him and said, "You are not the only one, Yizhen was impeached today."

After finishing speaking, Li Shimin became more and more angry, and he burst into foul language, "Zhiniang thief, Yizhen rode back from the camp in the north of the city, but was impeached for riding a horse. He is a general, the commander of the horse army. If he doesn't ride a horse, can he ride a donkey? "

Thinking of the tall and burly Cheng Zhijie riding a little donkey, Gao Chong laughed out loud.

Li Shimin stared, "You can still laugh, it seems that you have a countermeasure?"

(End of this chapter)