Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 407: This Dynasty Relies on Bugs
Wow~
The rain was pouring down, and the crackling sound on the roof of the car was very annoying.

Li Shimin had an illusion that the rain was about to drip through the roof of the car and drown them all.

He shook his head, trying to drive this ridiculous idea out of his mind, and looked out the window again.

The originally bustling streets of the capital became much quieter due to the heavy rain.

But there are still many people on the street holding umbrellas, wearing straw raincoats, and walking in a hurry.

No matter how much it rains, we still have to work to earn a living.

Li Shimin looked at the street scene through the rain for a while, but felt bored, so he retracted his gaze and said with some amusement and helplessness:
"Your subordinates have quite a lot of opinions."

Li Ming was holding his head and facing the window, his eyes were empty, and he hummed absentmindedly:
"Is such that."

Li Shimin exhaled a breath and recalled his experience in the State Council Office.

"Everything is subject to your majesty's will." - After listening to Li Ming's story, Zhang Sun Wuji only answered with this sentence and kicked them out.

Well, this represents the opinion of one type of ministers, which is "what does it have to do with me?"

But Changsun Wuji's opinion does not represent the opinion of the entire bureaucratic group.

After all, it concerns their own food, so we have to ask for their opinions.

There are many different opinions on this.

Led by Yang Shidao, their opinions were basically the same as those of Empress Dowager Yang, and they advocated a "buffet" format in which all food could be prepared and each minister could take what they needed.

The major families in Hebei, represented by Cui Renshi's Cui family, basically hold this position.

By the way, Yang Shidao was the cousin of Empress Dowager Yang, and Cui was the in-law of Empress Dowager Yang's beloved daughter Li Ling.

Well, they hold the same attitude as Queen Mother Yang, what a coincidence...

However, the reaction of the old officials of Taizu's reign, led by Xiao Yu, was much more intense.

He completely opposed His Majesty Li Ming's proposal and advocated "dietary autonomy".

The royal power cannot and does not need to extend to the ministers' plates.

As for the idea that this move of Your Majesty could improve the physical fitness of the ministers, especially allowing Fang Xuanling to return to work, it is absolutely unacceptable...

"Ahem, no... What I meant is that Fang Xiang is old and has little energy, which has nothing to do with the amount of meat he eats.

"Your Majesty and Prime Minister Fang cherish each other, which is a beautiful story.

"It's just that metabolism is a natural law. Your Majesty, please don't be too reluctant. Let Fang Xiang beg for his bones, retire and return to his hometown, and return to his roots." -

This is what Xiao Yu said.

He definitely did not resist Li Ming's "three nutritious meals" plan out of selfish desire to prevent Fang Xuanling from returning to the center of power.

The group of old ministers who stood on the same front with Xiao Yu also had grievances with Fang Xuanling.

They must have made this decision out of a selfless attitude.

Of course, since there are ministers who desperately resist the infiltration of imperial power, there are naturally ministers who welcome it with open arms.

It is represented by the young and vigorous faction of the fourteen parties, including Changsun Yan, Fang Yize, and Yuchi Xunyu.

"Your Majesty Ming, your power as the emperor is unlimited!

"Whatever you want me to eat, I must eat it, even if it means poisonous fire!

"Give the order! Who do you want to poison?"

"Oh..." Li Shimin felt a headache and couldn't help rubbing his eyes.

Although the problem of eating is small, the problem it reflects is not small——

There are too many factions within the Ming Dynasty’s political arena!

They were all recruited by Li Ming at different stages of his life, and they have different backgrounds, personalities, and even ages.

Some are young boys, some are old men with yellow dust on their brows, some are idealists with great ambitions, and some are old foxes with deep scheming...

Everyone has his own opinion and his own reason.

Although within a great empire, unity is only occasional, and the proliferation of factions is the norm.

But there are too many of them!

Not to mention, the old men in the Tang Dynasty’s political arena have not been counted in!
Liu Li, Tang Jian, Wei Ting and other "Wei"...

Although they are still dormant now, sooner or later they will come out to form gangs and stir up trouble!
Maybe there will be a sharp confrontation with the bureaucratic group that originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and a battle of 300 rounds will be fought, making the court a mess...

"It's not easy for you either..." Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh.

Li Ming withdrew his gaze from the window, his face full of questions:
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Are you so dull that you are completely unaware of the problem, or are you so used to this problem that you don't even consider it a problem anymore... Li Shimin's mouth twitched, and he turned his head away and ignored him.

Because of the influence of the typhoon, the storm was particularly fierce. The dense rain curtain was blown up and down by the wind like waves. The dragon chariot was like a small boat sailing in the stormy waves.

If such strong winds and rain had occurred in other cities of the Tang Dynasty, buildings would have collapsed, floods would have occurred, and a waterlogging disaster would have occurred.

But the capital of the Ming Dynasty remained unmoved in the storm.

The houses were very solid and the municipal drainage was unobstructed, so pedestrians on the road were not frightened by the disaster but simply felt that the rain was somewhat troublesome.

Everything was in order, as if it was just an ordinary summer rainstorm.

There is no doubt that the Ming Dynasty's infrastructure capabilities are far ahead.

And he was able to mobilize massive amounts of manpower and material resources to transform a remote, barbaric and rebellious empire into a beacon of civilization.

It is unimaginable without an effective bureaucratic system.

The question is, how did these bureaucrats, who are all from different factions and have different positions, come together to accomplish such a great feat? !
Is it because there are too many forces and factions, and the power of each party offsets and checks each other?

As a result, no one can gain absolute advantage in the court, and everyone has to rely on the "emperor", the supreme third party, which in turn strengthens the royal power?

What is "this program relies on bugs to run"...

No wonder Li Ming had no worries at all about the empress dowager, the emperor emeritus or any other "Tai" usurping power, and dared to hand over power so confidently to old foxes like Empress Dowager Yang, Fang Xuanling or Zhangsun Wuji, who were obviously power-hungry.

The Ming Dynasty's court is in chaos!
Apart from Li Ming himself, who else has the prestige and ability to cover up the matter?

If someone else comes up, forget about covering the lid, the porridge pot will overflow in a minute and swallow the person!
No wonder Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji, who occupied the prime minister's position second only to the emperor, abdicated and the other died of illness.

I have the responsibility to govern the country but I don't have the ability to exercise absolute power. It seems that I only have obligations but no power in this position!

Hiss...Hey?

A strange idea suddenly flashed through Li Shimin's mind.

Could it be that Li Ming was the one who intentionally created the Ming Dynasty's "mixed" power structure that resembles a color palette?

"There is."

Li Ming snapped his fingers.

"Ok?"

Li Shimin woke up from his deep thoughts and asked his son in confusion:
"What's left?"

"Of course, how can we make Fang Xiang come back obediently...how can we make all officials get enough nutrition through three meals a day." Li Ming said, looking at him with some concern:
"Grandpa, you've been distracted since a while ago. What happened? Or is your head blocked again..."

boom!
"Hmm? Did you say anything?"

Li Shimin stroked his aching finger joints.

"No, nothing..." Li Ming touched the big bump on his head.

"Alas, should I say you are childish or..." Li Shimin hesitated, paused, and changed the subject:

"So, what are you going to do next? Will you listen to your mother's advice, or your uncle's, or someone else's?" Li Ming smiled mysteriously:

"Hey, I have a plan."

You have plenty of good ideas... Li Shimin complained in his heart.

"Come to think of it." Li Ming raised his voice.

"After conquering Jinyang and swallowing up the Tang Dynasty, I have not yet held a celebration ceremony to reward the three armies."

Li Shimin, who was captured in Jinyang and led his people to surrender, couldn't help but twitch his mouth and said unhappily:
"What? Are you going to take my head and offer it to the ancestral temple?"

"Oh, what are you talking about, Father~" Li Ming said in a long tone:

"The three armies have already been rewarded. I just found an excuse to gather all the officials for a meal so that the Ming and Tang colleagues can get to know each other."

Humph, whatever you do is right... Li Shimin glanced out the window, too lazy to pay attention to this unfilial son.

I'm so upset! How could I be stepped on the head by this arrogant brat?
If I hadn't had a stroke and my condition hadn't been affected, I wouldn't have lost to this guy! Let's fight again if you can!
…………

Of course, a war was out of the question, and Lao Li didn't even utter this complaint.

Because even though Li Ming didn't say it, he knew in his heart that he was actually the monarch of the previous dynasty who was violently overthrown.

We have lost the battle, have some shame.

However, Li Ming did not actually hold a "triumphal dinner" to offend the Tang Dynasty leaders.

The name of the dinner was rather forced, as it was to "celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival" - even though the Dragon Boat Festival had already passed almost a month ago.

The father and son maintained a tacit understanding and avoided talking about some sensitive topics in the process of nation-building.

This "New Year's Greetings" party was held in the banquet hall attached to the State Council Yamen.

Although it was still raining heavily in Tangzhou.

But a little rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of the ministers to see the emperor.

The banquet hall was brightly lit, with strong kerosene lamps illuminating the huge space like daylight.

All the civil and military officials in the capital were present, and the meeting was attended by all the wise and talented people (in a commendatory sense) and the generals were shining.

The seating arrangement tonight was very interesting.

In order to avoid confrontation between the Ming and Tang regions, the seating arrangements were made entirely according to rank, not origin, and everyone was scattered and sat together.

Therefore, Liu Li, the chief rebel who was publicly publicized in newspapers as "spreading evil words to confuse the people and instigating the retired emperor and Emperor Yin of Tang to rebel", sat between Hou Junji and Li Daozon.

The same goes for the "Martial Temple Duo" of Li Jing and Li Shiji. They are both the highest military commanders of the empire, so naturally they have to sit side by side.

Li Zhi's former teacher Ma Zhou sat in the same seat as his current teachers Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu.

There were many similar pairings that happened by chance, and an awkward atmosphere filled the banquet hall.

"What do you think is His Majesty's intention in doing this tonight?" Li Daozon leaned his head out from an empty seat and whispered to Hou Junji who was not far away.

Hou Junji crossed his arms, tilted his ears slightly, and shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Who knows? Your Majesty always has his mind set on something..."

"Ahem."

A dry cough interrupted the crickets behind the two of them.

Hou and Li turned around at the same time.

The Prime Minister Liu Li, the Imperial Court Minister of the Tang Dynasty, with a red face and head down, inserted himself between the two of them and sat in the middle seat.

Tsk...Hou Junji smacked his lips impatiently and glared at this shameless defeated subordinate.

Old Liu lowered his head even more, but kept his back straight, kneeling in front of the table, like an elementary school student who was punished to kneel in front of a banquet, and was so embarrassed that his toes were about to cramp.

If possible, he would rather stand by for the rest of his life than sit between these two jackals, tigers and leopards.

But, there was nothing he could do. Everyone in the audience sat down, and he was the only one standing, which was even more embarrassing...

Perhaps he felt that silence was more unbearable, so Liu Li coughed a few times and spoke:

"Your Majesty must have a reason for asking everyone to gather together."

Li Dao Zong laughed awkwardly:
"Haha, Minister Liu said this as if he were talking."

Old Liu stopped talking, his head almost drooping on the table.

A similar situation occurred at another table.

Li Jing and Li Shiji sat together, looking at each other in silence.

"Hello."

"Hello."

silence……

"have you eaten?"

"No, I'm waiting for dinner. What about you?"

"What a coincidence, so am I."

Silence again...

On the windward side of the hall, on the left and right sides of the dragon throne.

The prime minister and deputy prime minister sat upright, not saying a word.

Fang Xuanling's body swayed slightly. He was very thin, like a dry bamboo in a typhoon that would be uprooted by the strong wind.

His Majesty is hosting a banquet, so he has no reason to continue to escape due to illness and must attend.

He suspected that this "Hongmen Banquet" was related to him, but he had no evidence.

Opposite the old house, across a dragon throne, sat his old colleague Changsun Wuji.

Zhang Sunxiang also had a solemn expression and was not smiling.

He also suspected that His Majesty Li Ming's move was related to that so-called "three nutritious meals" plan, but he also had no evidence.

Amidst the embarrassment, people from different backgrounds had a common thought in their hearts:

Where is His Majesty? Let's start the banquet, eat and leave, and put an end to this painful embarrassment!
Just as everyone present was eagerly waiting, His Majesty Li Ming finally arrived.

All the officials breathed a sigh of relief, and under the leadership of Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji, they all sang in unison:

"My lord, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

Li Ming sat in the main seat, looking down at the heads of people who were bowing to him one after another, and couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

All the stars of Zhenguan were gathered by him alone!
Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Jing, Li Shiji...

Together with Li Shimin and Li Zhi.

All the well-known names are now under his command, bowing to him, and working hard for his kingdom under his command!

For the first time, His Majesty Li Ming truly felt the generous sentiment of "the world is in my hands".

While he was sighing, he suddenly had another absurd idea:

If something happens here and now.

The world will be in chaos...

(End of this chapter)