Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 147 I compromised with Li Er, I pretended

its not right!
I love my father so much. I saved him twice and I defended my country. How could he suspect me of rebellion?
Although I fought against the local tyrants and divided up the land, although I established a new central government, although I formed a private army, although I became a bandit, although I established my own regime in Liaodong, although I did not communicate with him for several months...

But I think I still...

Forget it. I can’t continue.

Li Ming suddenly realized that because he was busy with reforms and fighting, and had no contact with Chang'an, he had completely ignored the feelings over there.

Emotionally speaking, it must be unpleasant to be suspected of treason by one's own father.

But rational analysis——

Just by making a few paper figures with armor and raising a few evil monks to spread a few prophecies, a feudal dynasty could be regarded as plotting a rebellion.

Just a few things he did...

From the perspective of the emperor and the court, the situation can no longer be described as a mess.

Although Li Er is three points at fault, don't I have the responsibility for the remaining ninety-seven points?

"Brother Ming, the court is full of weird rumors slandering you for rebellion!

"Fuck, is Taiji Palace the lair of insects?"

In the meeting hall, at the internal meeting of the 14th Party, Chang Sun Yan said indignantly.

After settling Li Shiji and his party, Li Ming specially organized this meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Being suspected by the emperor and the court is a difficult problem that is easy to puzzle people in any dynasty.

"We are fighting bravely on the front line, while the treacherous officials are only hindering us from behind and deceiving the emperor!
"They are no longer just ordinary treacherous ministers. We must strike hard and purge them from the court!"

Yuchi Xunyu was almost furious.

Fang Yize looked at Li Ming firmly:

"Brother Ming, please give the order! Head south! Explain the pros and cons to His Majesty!"

No, buddy, it turns out you guys are serious... Faced with these extreme friends, Li Ming was overwhelmed.

At the beginning: My destiny is in my own hands!
Now: Grandpa, I was wrong, I was wrong.

With his current weak strength, he must not challenge the imperial court.

To be fair, Li Ming did not want to rebel during Li Shimin's reign.

The oppressive power of the Khan is not to be underestimated.

Moreover, after experiencing the chaos of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms and the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was finally unified again and the people were at peace.

Anyone who jumps out to create division now will become a historical sinner.

Besides, he was not a cold-hearted person, and the father-son affection also made him unable to bear to go against his father with weapons.

Everything he planned was just to give him the capital to resist when the successor emperor came to settle accounts with Li Shimin.

It is too early to fall out with the court now.

“Although Your Majesty is inevitably influenced by the opinions of the court officials and misjudges the situation.

"But what we did in Pingzhou objectively gave those with ulterior motives an excuse."

It was Wei Daijia who said something fair to calm down the three little ones in Hong Wen.

Li Ming muttered unintentionally:
"Did we also have party struggles during the Zhenguan period?"

"What period?" Hou Junji snorted contemptuously.

As someone involved in the situation, he has the most say in what the court is like.

Human nature is the same at all times, and the tough men who founded the Zhenguan Dynasty were not gods.

There are still all kinds of attacks and alliances in the court, and it is very lively.

What makes it different from other periods is the emperor himself.

Li Shimin had great prestige, great skills, and rich emotions.

Only by combining kindness and severity can the restless ministers be suppressed and everyone can be united as one.

Capable ministers like Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and Hou Junji would easily turn into treacherous heroes in troubled times if they were placed in the hands of a weaker emperor.

And now, Li Shimin's health is deteriorating.

In order to consider their own future, the court officials had no choice but to stick together and stand in line.

However, as long as the Unity Party is embraced, new party struggles will inevitably be triggered.

When there is party strife, naturally there will be people who use a magnifying glass to look for loopholes that are not from the same party.

And it is obvious that Li Ming's gang is the least able to withstand investigation.

"We did go a little too far. Your Majesty has done the most by not attracting the Heavenly Army to attack us." Wei Daijia reflected:

"We should be more restrained and at least resume the implementation of the Zhenguan Law in Pingzhou and Yingzhou."

"But..." Fang Yize wanted to refute, but suddenly found that there seemed to be nothing wrong with implementing the laws of the Tang Dynasty on Tang Dynasty soil.

Does this make sense? It makes sense.

If we think about it rationally, Pingzhou is good in every way except that it is not like the Tang Dynasty.

It seems like I have gone a bit overboard...

Chang Sunyan also fell silent.

"Pingzhou's current policies are all stopgap measures" - this is how he argued to His Majesty in Chang'an.

This shows that he knew in his heart that if he messed around in Pingzhou like this, nothing would be done publicly and problems would arise sooner or later.

"What about the Red Turban Army?" Yuchi Xunyu asked in a muffled voice.

Wei Daijia held his head and tapped the table, thinking:

"Your Majesty can allow Murong Yan to raise a private army, so we can naturally keep the Red Turban Army as well.

"But the scale is definitely not this large, and the armor must be handed over to the Ministry of War for safekeeping, so as to prevent Your Highness from being criticized."

His thinking was very clear. As the governor of two states, he could be far away from the emperor.

But Li Ming had to return to the palace frequently.

It would be embarrassing if Li Ming was thrown into prison for treason because of a mistake made in Liaodong.

"But...ah!" Yuchi Xunyu felt very embarrassed and slapped his thigh angrily.

Hou Junji said nothing throughout the whole process and just crossed his arms.

He was the most rebellious one among the few people, so he did not feel aggrieved like the other true loyal ministers of the Tang Dynasty. Instead, he had no psychological burden.

If the preparations for rebellion have been discovered, then continue to lie dormant. As long as you are still alive, you can try harder next time.

"Hmm..." Li Ming said nothing and fell into deep thought.

Although he didn't intend to rebel, at least he didn't want to rebel under Li Shimin.

But as for overthrowing everything in Pingzhou and reversing history, he had never even thought about it.

Because the main contradiction was not resolved, and the contradiction was never with Li Shimin.

In order to resist the purge by the next emperor, he must allow Liaodong to maintain a certain degree of independence and implement new policies to enable Liaodong to accumulate strength quickly.

Besides, the people have finally been able to live a good life, how can we let them suffer twice?
In order to cope with future crises, it is inevitable to create current crises.

Difficult, difficult...

"Jun Ji." Li Ming suddenly remembered something:
"I remember that before you went up the mountain, you received the 'magic trick' sent to you by Mr. Fang?"

Hou Junji was stunned for a while before he slapped his forehead:
"There is indeed such a thing, which was handed to me personally by Fang Xuanling's followers.

"It is said that His Highness will open it only when he encounters a critical moment."

Li Ming stretched out his hand: "Now is the time, take it out."

"You didn't take it out when we were besieged by 150,000 Goguryeo troops. I thought you forgot about it."

Hou Junji muttered in confusion and took out a small brocade bag:

"Now that the enemies have been driven out, the situation has become critical?"

Li Ming smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Compared with the enemies within the Tang Dynasty, what is Goguryeo?
He took the treasure bag from Hou Junji.

It was so light that he briefly suspected it was empty.

Compared with the bundles of "magic tricks" that Lao Fang had sent before, it is considered to be very faithful to the original.

Is there really a brilliant plan that can instantly turn the situation around hidden in this small pouch?

To be honest, Li Ming himself was also very skeptical.

It's not a big opera, so there's no need for such dramatic performance.

However, considering the quality of Lao Fang's old silver coin...

He took a deep breath, pulled the thin rope at the mouth of the bag with ease, and reached into the bag with two fingers.

A small piece of paper was clipped out.

Because of the passage of time, it has turned slightly yellow.

Li Ming gently spread out the note.

There was only a short line of words on it.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Li Ming just took a look and then laughed out loud with his head tilted back.

Laughing and shaking his head:
"Mr. Xuanling, Mr. Xuanling, it has to be you!

"You have to understand me, and you have to understand the emperor!"

Wei Daijia and the others looked at each other, unsure whether Li Ming was crazy with joy or had lost his mind.

Hou Junji couldn't help but be curious. He crossed his arms and stretched his head to see what was written on the note.

Li Ming was very open and directly slapped the note on the table:
"Look!"

Everyone took a closer look.

On the wrinkled straw paper, five words were scribbled:
New wine in old bottles. On this point, Fang Xuanling and Li Ming agreed - what about Murong Yan and Goguryeo? Are these considered big disasters?
The real threat to Li Ming always comes from within the court and from the Taiji Palace.

When Fang Xuanling learned about Li Ming's new policies in Pingzhou, he immediately realized that this would be the biggest point of conflict between this reckless young master and the court.

In line with the senior civil servant thinking of "if the contradiction cannot be resolved, then cover it up", Lao Fang left this great trick.

"Yes, yes, what Mr. Xuanling said is right!" Li Ming showed a sincere smile:

"How can we not implement Tang laws and establish Tang troops on the Tang land of Pingzhou?"

The fourteen party members looked at each other.

They didn't know what Li Ming was thinking.

But based on past experience, this guy must be planning something big.

"Jun Ji." Li Ming called affectionately.

"Hmm...hmm?" Hou Junji, who had been calm and composed, was now unsure about his fate because of his young master.

"Please give me the results of the official assessment for the 14th year of Zhenguan. I need to carefully select officials for Pingzhou and Yingzhou and report to the court."

There was a strange light flashing in Li Ming's eyes:
"On the land of the Tang Dynasty, of course we must employ officials from the Tang Dynasty bureaucracy."

Personnel power is the core power that Li Shimin has always been unwilling to give up completely.

Li Ming can choose from the pool of court bureaucrats, but he must never jump out of the court's framework system and just find anyone to be an official.

Okay, I'll listen to you and put your mind at ease!
"Okay... I'll prepare it right away."

Hou Junji was so frightened by this momentum that he called himself "subject".

The power core in Liaodong was busy planning how to fill the emperor's old bottle with new paralyzing medicine.

…………

A few days later, the messenger came to report:
"Report, the King of Goguryeo has arrived!"

After the death of the previous king Go Geonmu and the complete collapse of the Goguryeo army, Goguryeo's new powerful figure, regent Yeon Gaesomun, had been sending envoys to seek peace.

Li Ming's attitude towards the Goguryeo envoy was also very clear: You bastard, are you worthy? Let your family's Da Molizhi come and talk in person!

Obviously, Goguryeo could not bear the continued bloodshed of this war and was eager to seek peace.

So after hastily dealing with several forces in the country, Yeon Gaesomun abandoned the chaotic royal court and personally came to this mountain village in a remote state of the Tang Dynasty.

The military and civilians of Pingzhou also made preparations to receive the ruler of the neighboring country according to their own traditional customs.

That is--

A military parade was held opposite the meeting hall where the negotiations took place.

"Goguryeo Regent, come in person to negotiate peace..."

In the farmhouse where he was staying, Li Shiji stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window at the murderous Red Turban Army.

"His Highness Li Ming is truly an extraordinary person, to be able to make the most respectable Lord from the West condescend to come here."

During his time in Pingzhou, he refreshed his understanding of Li Ming every day.

Putting aside the political achievements of providing people with ample food and clothing in barren areas, which could be regarded as "sprinkling water" in other places and building ancestral temples for local officials, in Pingzhou it can only be regarded as political achievements.

As the commander-in-chief of the Tang army, this was the first time he felt contempt here.

No matter where these Tang troops went, the eyes of the common people seemed to say:

A coward wearing a helmet.

The elite heavenly soldiers, the warriors who suddenly made the Eastern Turks become good at singing and dancing, and the Asura who could stop the children of the Rongdi people from all over the world from crying at night!
In Pingzhou, he actually became a coward?

What kind of tiger and wolf people are these? !

Therefore, although there were no restrictions on travel, they still chose to stay in the barracks.

Want face.

"If we want to resist an enemy that is several times larger than us, we really need such courageous people.

"His Highness Li Ming is very good at governing the people..."

Li Shiji talked to himself, but his face became increasingly gloomy.

It is certainly a good thing that the prince is talented.

But if a talented prince has rebellious intentions, then that would be a big problem.

The world was just beginning to settle down, and the Tang Dynasty could not withstand a second Xuanwu Gate attack.

Because who knows whether the second Xuanwu Gate incident will get out of control and turn into the second chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty?

"After I introduced myself and confirmed that we were from the Tang army, His Highness seemed to still be ready to attack..."

Li Shiji kept recalling the details of that day.

As a famous coach, what he pays most attention to are the details that others tend to overlook.

Li Jing was able to infer that Hou Junji had rebellious intentions from the fact that he kept his head down and refused to dismount from his horse.

Li Shiji was also able to infer that Li Ming and Hou Junji were restless from the way they arranged their battle formations against the heavenly soldiers.

If not, why would I feel so guilty?

Li Shiji walked to the desk and drafted a secret letter to His Majesty.

Before he started writing, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Ah... am I worrying too much, or..."

This matter is of great importance and concerns the fate of a prince, so we must be cautious.

Having experienced turbulent times, he did not want to leave behind the seeds of future chaos.

But at the same time, he was unwilling to wrongly accuse a talented prince for this.

There is no doubt that the people of Pingzhou are extremely supportive of His Highness Li Ming.

If you deal with it hastily, it will backfire...

Li Shiji picked up the pen several times, but put it down several times, not knowing how to put it.

Just as he was hesitating, there was a knock on the door.

When I opened the door, it was still that familiar, smiling little chubby face.

"General Li." Li Ming said with a smile.

In the past few days, he would go to Li Shiji's house every few days to get close to him, chatting about all sorts of things, and would come to call him to eat in person every time it was time for dinner.

Treat each other equally, as if they were old friends.

As a prince, this kind of superficial effort can greatly increase his favorability.

The reason why Li Shiji was so hesitant when he was telling tales was inseparable from Li Ming's good emotional play.

"Li pays respect to His Highness." Li Shiji clasped his fists respectfully and pretended to be puzzled.

"The leader of Goguryeo has arrived. How come you have time to come here, Your Highness?"

Li Ming curled his lips:
"I came to you for this matter."

"Oh?" Li Shiji raised his eyebrows.

"You are the reinforcement sent by the court, and you have received orders from my father. Of course, you have to be the one to take the lead in the peace talks." Li Ming said very frankly.

"Is that so..." Li Shiji let out a sigh.

Fortunately, fortunately, I must have misunderstood.

Although His Highness Li Ming's actions were somewhat unconventional, he still had the court in his heart.

"Then I will be disrespectful in rejecting your offer."

…………

In the council hall, a burly warrior with a long beard sat opposite Li Ming and Li Shiji.

He is Yeon Gaesomun, and this time he is no longer drunk, but angry.

He was a man who cared a lot about his reputation. His crown and clothes were all decorated with pure gold. He was surrounded by people wherever he went, and he needed other nobles to act as stepping stones for him to mount his horse.

Such a man was forced to wander all the way into this small mountain village. He must not be in a very good mood.

He had a stern face, facing Li Shiji who was sitting opposite him with an equally stern face. He naturally turned his eyes away and looked at Li Ming who was sitting next to Li Shiji.

Haha, little kid, you look easy to bully.

I heard that he is a prince and the master of Pingzhou?

It's obvious at first glance that he sits on this seat because of his father, the emperor.

The real manipulator is actually the general next to this kid, right?

Yeon Gaesomun felt that he had found a breakthrough, so he gave Li Ming a warning:

"Humph, you Tang people really know how to entertain guests..."

Yeon Gaesomun had just begun to speak in a hoarse voice when Li Ming raised his hand and interrupted him:

"I am the governor of Liaodong, and this is Li Shiji, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Road.

"If you have anything to say, talk to him first.

"Before the peace talks begin, I just want to say a few words."

He did not stretch his neck and shout like Yeon Gaesomun.

He just folded his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said in a very calm tone:

"Talk, the door is open. Fight, I'll fight you to the end."

After this sentence was spoken, the meeting hall fell silent.

At this moment, the Red Scarf Army outside the venue shouted in unison:

kill!kill!kill!

Yeon Gaesomun's Adam's apple moved, and he suddenly dared not look directly at the child. He turned to the general next to him as if escaping, and his attitude suddenly became elegant and easy-going:

"Then, General Li... shall we start first?"

(End of this chapter)