I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 179 Li Shanchang meets the emperor, Tang and Ming confront each other!

Ming Dynasty, the tenth year of Hongwu.

After receiving the imperial edict summoning him to the palace, Li Shanchang obediently went to the palace to meet the emperor.

Before entering the Wuying Palace, he repeatedly recalled what happened to him last night and today. He was sure that he had encountered something mysterious and supernatural, and he was also sure that he was not dreaming.

Because, it was not only him who saw Zhu Yuanzhang and his group of three people last night, but also the servant and the housekeeper in his house.

Also because the servants in the mansion were in chaos after coming out of the "tutoring class" today, they were looking for Li Shanchang everywhere in the house.

He really did enter a place out of nowhere where no one could find him, and His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were also there.

Coupled with the decree that he would be summoned to the throne, Li Shanchang was even more certain of this.

There aren't so many coincidences in the world. It's impossible that he had just had an inexplicable dream and then His Majesty, who had to be sneaky when meeting him, suddenly summoned him openly.

Li Shanchang took several deep breaths and prepared himself mentally before striding into the Wuying Hall.

The hall was solemn, empty and silent. There were no palace servants serving inside. Even the eunuchs who were supposed to serve tea were nowhere to be seen. They all stood at the doorway, far away.

He heard the sound of his own footsteps as he walked in, which sounded a bit muffled. He was so nervous that he was ready to die, and even felt like his soul was leaving his body.

"Old minister Li Shanchang, I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

He saluted solemnly, not daring to look directly at the lofty figure on the dragon throne, and his heart was quite flustered.

But the first voice that responded to him was not the expected loud voice of His Majesty.

"Duke Han, please get up first and come closer to talk. My father and I both have something to ask you."

Li Shanchang quietly raised his head and saw that there was another person sitting next to the tall dragon throne in the distance, on the side of His Majesty. His voice was very gentle when he spoke, unlike His Majesty, but much more polite than His Majesty.

It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, whom he had just met last night.

He replied "yes" and then walked forward, step by step to the area closest to the dragon throne. However, neither of the two people in front of him seemed to want to speak, so Li Shanchang tentatively went up the steps again. It was not until he walked along the steps to a place where Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were only one step away that he heard voices.

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly:

"Shi Bai, look up at us."

Li Shanchang originally stood there silently, his eyes fell on the tip of his shoes, not daring to say anything. But when he heard His Majesty speak, he raised his head with a start, and unexpectedly met Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze, encountering a pair of eyes that seemed calm but were actually full of suspicion and temptation.

He exhaled a breath of foul air, bowed and saluted again:

"I greet your Majesty and your Highness the Crown Prince."

Seeing that Li Shanchang deliberately avoided his gaze, Zhu Yuanzhang probably understood his current mental state.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, patted the seat beside him, and said:

"You are so old now, stop bowing and curtseying all the time, sit next to me and talk."

The more he did this, the more Li Shanchang broke out in cold sweat.

His Majesty's style over the years has always been to say whatever he thinks. Even if he wanted to take action against Hu Weiyong, he had already used various methods to threaten him before. For example, the recent plan to hold a special examination to recruit craftsmen was actually the most blatant threat.

But now, His Majesty is clearly suspicious of me, but he still pretends to be a good brother...

Comparing the two, Li Shanchang would rather he use threats and bribes on him like he did last night.

It would be better to be more direct. Cutting meat with a blunt knife is more terrifying than beheading!
He wanted to refuse, but when he caught a glimpse of Zhu Yuanzhang's cold eyes, he could only do as he was told in fear and sat on the other side of His Majesty.

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke with a smile, his voice was still very gentle, but the smile did not reach his eyes:
"Bai Shi, you should know what I want to ask you today."

"Let's not beat around the bush. Let's get straight to the point. What did you say to Song Shen in the office, what did you hear him say, and why did he call you in alone? Please tell me all these things in detail."

"Wait until you finish speaking. If you have any questions, Biaoer and I can explain it to you. How about that?"

"Fair enough, right?"

"We all went in during the Hongwu period. It's not easy to make a profit there. You are not only a duke and a former prime minister, but also an old friend of ours who has been through thick and thin with us for many years. As long as you tell the truth, we won't blame you."

What this means is that if what was said was not entirely true and he discovered it, Li Shanchang would be in big trouble.

Li Shanchang didn't know how much Zhu Yuanzhang knew about the Hu Weiyong case, and he didn't know how magical things were in that tutoring class. He really wanted to join Song Shen's group. At least from the situation in the tutoring class, everyone respected the young gentleman very much, and among so many students, the other party seemed to have an unusual relationship with the students during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty.

Your Majesty said that the Song Shen in the tutoring class is the blind Song Shen from Song Lian's family.

Song Shen himself claimed that he was just a person with the same name as him, so he was more interested in him.

After knowing the historical events related to himself, Li Shanchang wanted to believe Song Shen more emotionally, but reason told him that he should trust His Majesty, who would not lie to him about such a thing.

Li Shanchang was very confused about what to do, but he knew in his heart that he had no choice. He didn't dare to gamble, and he was not qualified to gamble with the lives of his entire family!

Perhaps His Majesty knew this clearly, so he did not tell him everything before he entered the office, but only told him some things that required extreme attention. As a result, Li Shanchang still doesn't know what the situation is in the tutoring class and what the purpose of this class is.

It seems like he has a choice, but in fact he has no choice at all, because Zhu Yuanzhang has blocked his retreat.

"Your Majesty, I had a private conversation with Mr. Song today, and he talked about the Hu Weiyong case..."

Li Shanchang told the whole story without leaving out anything.

Even though he is old, he has been writing for many years and has maintained a good reading habit even after taking up a sinecure. Therefore, he still has the basic qualities of a top civil servant and can fully recount what has happened recently and what he has heard.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know whether he believed it or not. He just nodded and asked:
"As for Hu Weiyong, what was the result last night? How did he react?"

Li Shanchang secretly cursed this old fox in his heart. He just said that as long as he told the truth, he would explain the tutoring class to him. But now he took the opportunity to ask about Hu Weiyong!

But he had no way to deal with Zhu Yuanzhang, so he could only answer in silence:

"Your Majesty, there are quite a few people at the banquet, all of them civil servants, either from the Secretariat, from top to bottom, or ordinary officials from the capital. There are also quite a few from the six ministries, many of whom took office after I left the Secretariat. I am old and my eyes are blurry, so I can't remember too much. If you need a list, I will come to court tomorrow and report the list to you after observing it clearly." "I talked to Hu Weiyong alone as you instructed, and told him that Your Majesty can no longer tolerate him, and asked him to make plans early, either to defile himself and be demoted and sent out of the capital, or to go home on the pretext of illness to avoid the limelight."

"But Hu Weiyong did not want to give up the position of Prime Minister that he had worked so hard to obtain. He only comforted me by saying that I did not need to worry, and that he had his own way to deal with it. He said that I was too timid, and that was why I was easily forced to retire by Your Majesty. He also said..."

"He also said that so many people came to the banquet today, and they are all the backbone of the court. They all support Hu Weiyong to be the prime minister. With so many people supporting him behind the scenes, even if you are determined to investigate him, dismiss him from office and investigate his crimes, these people will not agree."

"After the discussion is completed, they will come one after another to persuade Your Majesty to give up the idea of ​​holding the imperial examination. There are so many scholars in the world, many of whom are willing to die for their reputation. There are also many who want to curry favor with him as the prime minister. We don't even need to step forward to make you suffer. As long as this is done, Your Majesty will never think of taking action against him again in the future."

"That's roughly it."

Li Shanchang told the whole story in one breath without keeping anyone in suspense, nor did he take the opportunity to ask for anything like Zhu Yuanzhang did.

Because he knew very well that if he failed to pass this test today, he might not even have the chance to be blackmailed in the future.

Your Majesty's eyes now clearly say "I want to touch you". Life and death, continued wealth and glory or instant destruction of the family, all depend on your Majesty's thoughts.

This is what a subject has to do.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a long time and did not speak for a long time.

After a while, he didn't comment on it and changed the subject.

"I promised you that I would explain the tutoring class, and I won't break my promise."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son beside him and said:

"Biao'er, come and tell him about the situation in our class."

Zhu Biao had already gotten used to the daily routine of being the executive vice emperor. He looked at Li Shanchang resignedly and was about to explain.

suddenly.

A ding-dong sound was heard in the three people's heads at the same time, and then a light curtain slowly unfolded in front of them.

The images on the light screen included the familiar figures such as Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Cheng Yaojin, as well as two unfamiliar women, one big and one small.

The older beautiful woman looked to be in her thirties, with skin as white as cream and brows as red as distant mountains. Even without makeup, she still looked charming, but her complexion did not look very good. One could tell at a glance that she was probably in poor health.

The younger one is not fully grown yet and is not very tall, probably just over ten years old. However, she is already a beauty. Just standing there quietly with her head bowed is enough to amaze people.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who had already met Li Shimin across time and space, were fine, they just had some doubts.

However, Li Shanchang, who had just entered the tutoring class for the first time today and had not yet figured out the space, was in a bad situation. He was so frightened by the sudden appearance of the light curtain that he almost fell off his seat!
Seeing this, Zhu Biao first said to comfort him:
"Don't panic, Mr. Han. This is the function of the tutoring class. You can see each other's appearance across time and space with your classmates from all dynasties in the class."

"It's not a ghost, calm down."

After all, this was his Prince's Tutor. If Zhu Biao was unwilling to appease him, would he wait for Zhu Yuanzhang, who was already hoping that Li Shanchang would die soon, to speak?
Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang did not care about Li Shanchang who was frightened, but frowned and looked at Li Shimin in the picture.

"Li Er, what's wrong with you? Now that the test paper has been completed and there is no need to communicate anymore, how can you still meet with me at your place?"

Li Shimin laughed loudly, obviously very happy:

"You don't know this, right? I told the system that I wanted to discuss the marking with my classmates and understand your thoughts so that I can better judge the scores, and then I opened it!"

"It seems that no one except me has thought of trying this, including you, haha!"

Veins popped out on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead.

If they were not now one in the Ming Dynasty and the other in the Tang Dynasty, he really wanted to drag Li Er out of the light curtain and beat him up.

This guy deserves a beating, he's so despicable!
Zhu Biao was afraid that his father would swear on the spot, so he quickly pulled his sleeve under the table and took the initiative to talk to Li Shimin, changing the subject and blocking his mouth:

"Student Li Shimin, is there something you want to talk to us about?"

Li Shimin smiled slightly, and did not answer directly. Instead, he pointed at the little girl standing quietly on the side and asked:

"Do you know who she is?"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao frowned at the same time.

Zhu Biao seemed to confirm, and also seemed to be affirming his own guess, and said to himself:

"If I remember correctly, that was the ninth year of Zhenguan? The ninth year of Zhenguan..."

Even Li Shanchang, who had just recovered from the fright, now vaguely understood the situation, and his face was full of confusion when he looked at the girl in the light curtain.

Zhu Yuanzhang might not be aware of this, but Li Shanchang and Zhu Biao were both well-versed in history books.

At this time, there was only one girl who could speak in front of Li Shimin, Empress Zhangsun and other founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty, and that was Princess Changle, Li Lizhi, who was favored by Li Shimin. But it was obviously not her, because Princess Changle had married Zhangsun Chong in the seventh year of Zhenguan, and she would not continue to live in the palace. Moreover, how could this princess still be a yellow-haired girl like the one in front of her now that she was married?
No matter how beautiful a girl is, it is impossible for her to get married at the age of ten.

There was another princess in history who was also favored by Li Shimin, that was Princess Jinyang Li Mingda, but it would not be her. Even though her specific birth and death years are unknown, historical records clearly record that when Empress Zhangsun died in the tenth year of Zhenguan, Li Mingda was still a baby, that is, a baby who had just learned to laugh!
The ninth year of Zhenguan was considered the early to middle period of Zhenguan. This time point was very delicate. Empress Zhangsun had not died yet, Li Shimin had not lost his wife, and so Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who still had a mother, had not started to go crazy yet. Naturally, there would be no Wu Zetian...

and many more!

A flash of lightning flashed through Zhu Biao's mind, and he said in disbelief:
"Is this Wu Zetian?!"

The only empress in her teens? !
The smile on Li Shimin's face grew wider and wider, and he looked even more mean.

"That's right, her name is Wu Ruyi now, and she will only be called Wu Ruyi in the future."

"Moreover, she has just analyzed the affairs of your Ming Dynasty with me and others. Guess what conclusion she came to?"

At this point, His Majesty Li Er's smile suddenly disappeared, and he asked in a deep voice:
"Zhu Yuanzhang, can you and Mr. Song Shensong meet and talk in private--"

"Don't try to deceive me. If you deny it, I can explain the reasons and flaws that Wu Ruyi just mentioned to you and Zhu Biao one by one!"

"Also, I contacted you today not to threaten you. It's just that everyone in the class wants to talk to Mr. Song and get some advice, but you can talk to him alone. Isn't this a bit unfair?"

(End of this chapter)