Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 177 The Purge Committee in Action
Just when Li Shimin was feeling proud of the harmonious Taiji Palace.

Li Ming is also planning to make a big news in Taiji Palace.

He came to the secret base where the trouble was caused with great confidence.

The Chang'an Newspaper Office was not a secret at all, but was rather opened in a very high-profile manner in the bustling area of ​​Xishi.

No one could have imagined that inside this loudspeaker that was famous both inside and outside the Tang Dynasty, there existed a new secret organization——

All Tang Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries Committee.

"Just wait at the door." Li Ming instructed the group of high-profile bodyguards around him.

The newspaper office was already crowded, and with a bunch of soldiers rushing in, I'm afraid it would be out of order.

"Yes, sir." The bodyguard cooperated very well.

His Majesty has specifically instructed that in situations where all the people are Li Ming’s “own people”, there is no need to keep a close eye on them.

His Highness Li Ming's subordinates will not stab him in the back.

…………

“There are so many people today…”

As soon as Li Ming stepped into the crowded Chang'an Newspaper Office, he felt as if he had bumped into something soft.

"Oh!" was the cry of a grown girl.

But after looking left and right, I found nothing.

"Where are you looking? This way!"

The voice got louder.

Li Ming looked in the direction of the voice and suddenly found that a person suddenly appeared beside him.

It wasn't that he suddenly appeared; he had always been there, but I just didn't notice him.

She was a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, much taller than Li Ming, and very...

average.

The kind that people forget once they see it.

How come I didn't notice such a big living person? Is it because there are too many people in the newspaper office...

"How can you be like this, kid? You bumped into someone without making a sound?"

The girl covered her chest and started yelling.

In the busy Chang'an newspaper office, no one noticed this suspicious woman.

Yes, there are often enthusiastic citizens coming to the newspaper to provide news materials, so perhaps everyone is used to it.

"Oh, sorry."

Li Ming apologized, left the strange woman and walked towards the study.

After he had walked a few steps, the newspaper staff seemed to suddenly notice Li Ming's presence and greeted him one after another.

"Brother Ming!"

"Mr. Ming~"

"Your Highness Li Ming."

Hello, comrades... Li Ming waved to his loyal subordinates.

"You, you, you...you are Master Ming?!"

The female voice trembled a little.

Li Ming turned around following the sound and finally located the girl with an ordinary face again in the crowded newspaper office.

In fact, the person had been following him all the time, but he ignored it.

"Call me Master Ming...Are you Lai Junchen's subordinate?" Li Ming pondered.

The girl's attitude completely changed, and she shook her head like a pug:
"No, no! I will always belong to you, Master Ming!"

"Don't...don't say something that can be misunderstood in public..." Li Ming couldn't help but cover his face.

…………

When I entered the study, Lai Junchen and Di Renjie were already waiting there.

Behind them stood a row of spies.

There are men and women, young and old, tall and short, fat and thin.

"Mr. Ming, these are the capable men carefully selected for you. They are all good spies who are good at infiltration."

Lai Junchen introduced it with pride in his tone.

Since they want to cause trouble in the palace, it is naturally unrealistic to let Li Ming, a commander without any troops, do it himself.

Planting nails in the palace is a basic operation.

This is why Li Ming begged his grandfather to recruit palace maids early this morning.

If you don’t recruit new people, there will be no chance for trouble.

The masterminds of the Jiucheng Palace Incident had placed their stakes in the imperial guards and Lide Hall.

It was reasonable for him to retaliate by placing a few palace maids in the palace!
only……

"Since the people to be sent into the palace are maids, why are there still men?" Li Ming asked.

Do you also want to learn from my brother Cheng Qian?

Just give up. You are far inferior to him in terms of foundation. Do you understand?

"As long as I can enter the palace to assist Master Ming, the inconvenience under my crotch is not an obstacle!"

There was a fanatical light flashing in the eyes of the male spies, and they had the generous spirit of "I laugh at the sky with my sword in hand".

"That doesn't have to be the case..."

Li Ming used coaxing and persuasion to finally get these overly enthusiastic brothers out.

When only women were left in the candidate team, Di Renjie finally realized something was wrong:

"Huh? Why does it feel like... there's one person missing?"

He counted the female spies standing on both sides, but he always felt that the numbers didn't add up.

"Are you talking about her?"

Li Ming pointed behind him.

The girl with average looks and little presence finally caught everyone's attention.

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and she nodded coldly to the two leaders who ignored her:

"I'm late."

"Oh, it turns out that Hu Sanniang was blocked by Mr. Ming. No wonder she wasn't noticed." Lai Junchen said casually.

No, she is so much taller than me, haven’t you seen it?
Li Ming was very surprised and suddenly realized something. He turned around excitedly and held Hu Sanniang's hand tightly:
"What else to choose? It's her!"

The presence is so thin, it's like sneaking into the holy body!
"Eh hey hey? Master Ming... Master Ming!"

Happiness came too suddenly, and the spy named Hu Sanniang was so excited that she almost fainted.

The other female spies who were selected as candidates looked disappointed.

The reason why they were so enthusiastic about entering the palace as undercover agents was not just out of loyalty to His Highness Li Ming.

"Once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea." This is the sigh that only petty bourgeois women would have.

For these spies who came from the lower classes, they could live in the palace, eat food provided by the palace, and even get money from the palace.

You can also admire and serve Li Minghuo Bodhisattva up close.

What kind of magical position is this?!

As for strict regulations like “no one is allowed to leave the palace without permission”, compared with the guaranteed income within the system, they are nothing!

So, this is the reason why so many male compatriots were willing to sacrifice their lives just now.

"You go."

Lai Junchen and Di Renjie waved to the eliminated women, indicating that they could leave.

"Wait, why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Li Ming called out to the dejected female spies.

Lai and Di looked at each other:

"Hasn't the person who will infiltrate the palace been chosen?"

"Only the main attacker was selected." Li Ming pointed at the other female spies whose enthusiasm suddenly soared:

"Who said there was only one maid who sneaked into the palace?

"Everyone, come to the palace!"

The enemy has a dragon on their face, so what's wrong with me sending a few more spies to steal their minerals?
…………

"Such as this, such as this...

"The date of action was set for the Dragon Boat Festival in more than a month, and the location was in the imperial palace.

"Hu Sanniang, and the rest of you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Li Ming explained his plan in detail to the low-profile girl named Hu Sanniang and other female spies who were planning to sneak into the palace as palace maids.

According to his idea, the traitors and usurpers would be brought to justice and wiped out at one stroke during the Dragon Boat Festival more than a month later.

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the three major festivals in the Tang Dynasty. According to tradition, on the night of the Dragon Boat Festival, the royal family would gather in the Beineiyuan inside the harem to light lamps, paste talismans to ward off evil spirits, eat rice dumplings and drink calamus wine.

During the festival celebration, the target will die in an "accidental" way, in public.

It was a surprise to others.

For those with bad intentions, the memory must be much more unforgettable.

"Their deaths were both a demonstration and a warning to the public. They were worthy deaths."

There was a slight smile in Li Ming's calm tone, as if he was discussing a very profitable business.

"There is still more than a month left, which is enough time to prepare thoroughly. There has also been plenty of rain this year, which is very helpful for my plan."

Everyone present could hear his heavy breathing. Mr. Ming seemed particularly scary today...

"Do you understand?" Li Ming raised his voice slightly.

"Yes... yes!" Everyone was tense.

…………

Di Renjie and Lai Junchen, the two brothers in distress, supported each other as they left the secret room.

They were like two kittens with their fur standing on end, their movements stiff.

The two of them had been staying in the peaceful environment of Chang'an, unlike Yuchi Xunyu and the others, who accompanied Li Ming in the sea of ​​blood and corpses in Liaodong.

So, when Li Ming suddenly burst out with overwhelming murderous intent.

They were not mentally prepared at all, and they just felt a chill in their hearts.

"Ming... Master Ming actually has such a scary side..." Lai Junchen was better than Di Renjie and also kept shivering.

I was young and ignorant, and I had even taken advantage of Mr. Ming and embezzled the benefits that belonged to the newspaper...

After being caught in the act by Master Ming, he actually dared to express dissatisfaction with his subsequent personnel arrangements...

I'm so stupid, really...

It’s not that Master Ming can’t deal with me, it’s just that he’s too lazy to bother with me…

Lai Junchen inexplicably felt a sense of palpitations as if he had survived a calamity.

From now on, he would never dare to take advantage of Li Ming again.

Di Renjie looked even paler.

He used to think that Lai Junchen, who liked to interrogate and torture prisoners, was a pervert.

I only now realize that people from the same family tend to stick together.

Brother Ming is the real pervert!

Will I become like this in the future... When Di Renjie thought of this terrible possibility, he couldn't help but shudder all over.

…………

In the following days, the rain belt in the south moved north to the Guanzhong region, and it was cloudy and rainy.

During the warm and humid Tang Dynasty, Chang'an actually had the artistic conception of misty Jiangnan.

"Your Highness, please accept the examination."

The guards at the palace gate stopped a military governor who was running around.

"What kind of weapon can I bring? Let me in quickly. I don't have an umbrella! If I catch a cold, you'll be exiled to Shazhou to fight the Turks!"

Li Ming was yelling outside the door.

The guard had long been accustomed to the rogue behavior of this little rascal, and held an umbrella for him familiarly, but he did not dare to neglect the body search.

After a series of vicious incidents targeting the royal family, if the palace guards still dare to turn a blind eye, they will have to wait for His Majesty's just punishment.

"what is this?"

The new gatekeeper general found a small cloth bag from Li Ming's arms.

Li Ming suddenly became excited:
"Give it back to me! Give it back to me!"

"What is this?" the general said seriously.
"Your Majesty has ordered that no dangerous items be brought into the palace."

"This is not a dangerous item! Give it back to me! Otherwise I will complain to your leader!" Li Ming said with his claws and teeth bared.

Of course the gatekeeper general ignored him, said "excuse me", and weighed the cloth bag.

It has a bit of weight and you can feel the graininess.

Is it a poison bag? Or...

"Hey, hey, hey, don't move! You will be responsible if anything happens!" Li Ming became increasingly unstable.

The general completely ignored his words, carefully lifted the cloth bag to his eyes, and slowly opened the package with a feeling of nervousness and excitement.

Inside were fat giant grub worms as thick as thin bamboo poles, which tasted like crispy chicken at first glance.

The general's mouth twitched. Through the thin cloth bag, he felt these things with ten times the protein of beef squirming in his palm.

Goosebumps started from the palms of his hands, went down his arms, and exploded in his heart.

My hands shook and I almost scatter these giant insects.

The guards on the side stood in awe, consciously took a half step back, and resolutely drew a clear line.

Li Ming was laughing at the side, but he immediately put on a serious face and said:
"Hey, hey, be careful! If you kill them, you're responsible!"

"Your Highness, this is..."

The general endured the pain of his scalp bursting with anger, wrapped the cloth bag again, and then, pinching two fingers together, coquettishly handed the bag of bugs back to Li Ming.

His two fifth daughters are not clean anymore...

"This is a secret of the palace, and I shouldn't tell you about it."

Li Ming said mysteriously:

"The King of Wei loves to eat this bug. I brought it to him."

Wow, your royal family's quirk is really weird... The guards were in awe and vowed to keep the secret at all costs. They watched His Highness Li Ming enter the palace with the bag of bugs.

Li Ming was holding an oil-paper umbrella that he had obtained for free from the guards, stepping into the puddles and watching the eunuchs and maids in the palace busying about.

With the special advice of Grand Marshal Changsun Wuji and Shangshu You Pushe Xiao Yu, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stepped up the preparations in the palace to welcome the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was very innocent and had no idea what was wrong with those two important officials and why they suddenly became concerned about such trivial matters in the palace.

Isn't there still more than a month left?

But there was nothing they could do.

In order not to offend those two trusted ministers, His Majesty specially issued an imperial decree, asking them to hurry up and make repairs and arrangements.

The eunuch didn't dare to speak back and could only prepare under great pressure.

"Come on."

Li Ming murmured to the busy palace servants, holding an umbrella, and walked through Yongxiang and returned to Lide Hall.

It was still early, and the women were watching the rain under the eaves with their sleeves tucked in.

Seeing the little master coming, they greeted him warmly.

Only Aunt Wang pretended not to see Li Ming, holding her head high with her nose facing him.

Li Ming ignored her and went straight into the house.

Yang was busy mending clothes under the light, while two new palace maids were helping her sweep the floor and fold the quilts.

"Are you back? There are some freshly made sweet buns in the kitchen. Ask the maid to get them for you."

Yang said without even looking up.

After several talented palace maids were added to Lide Hall, the snacks and food became more abundant.

When the palace maids were assigned, Yang actually refused.

But when His Majesty told her that this was Li Ming's filial piety, she accepted it.

Li Ming has a typical straight male mindset. He doesn't know how to, and doesn't need to, do these ritualistic things to show his "filial piety".

So, this little guy must be up to something bad.

Of course, he didn't say and she didn't ask.

"Okay."

Li Ming naturally went into the kitchen.

The kitchen seemed empty, with no one in it.

"Hu Sanniang?" Li Ming called softly.

"Your Highness."

Hu Sanniang suddenly appeared and scared Li Ming.

Of course, she had actually been standing next to the steamer the whole time, but Li Ming didn't notice her.

"The goods have arrived." Li Ming lowered his voice and handed over the cloth bag.

Hu Sanniang swallowed nervously, took it firmly, and put the squirming mass of protein into her arms.

Born into a poor family, she is not that pretentious about insects.

"Are you ready?" Li Ming asked.

Hu Sanniang nodded: "I'm ready."

Li Ming picked up a gold-plated plate and threw it to the ground.

Snapped!
With a crisp sound, the porcelain plate broke into pieces.

"You're useless!"

Li Ming roared loudly, as if he was really furious.

Hu Sanniang stood aside with her head down.

She doesn't need any acting skills. As long as she stands there, no one will deliberately cast a critical eye on her.

"What happened?" Yang rushed in.

Li Ming was furious, with tears in his eyes:
"This useless maid smashed my favorite plate!

"Kick her out of Lide Hall and make her do heavy work! Go to the inner garden to repair the lampstand!"

…………

It was cloudy and rainy.

Hu Sanniang came to the inner palace of the imperial palace where the Dragon Boat Festival celebration was about to be held.

Facing the towering Dragon Boat Festival lanterns by the sea pool, she weighed the cloth bag in her arms.

(End of this chapter)