Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 412: Less Routine, More Sincerity

"Is this true? Something went wrong at the Shangshi Bureau?!

"Is my son okay? Is my son okay?"

Empress Dowager Yang almost pounced on Li Ming, and her hands nervously groped Li Ming's body.

I was afraid that my precious son was missing a piece of flesh.

The day after the banquet, Li Ming had breakfast with his mother as usual.

Because the sisters have already started their own families, it is not convenient to disturb their little world of two.

So after Li Ming came back, the "responsibility" of chatting with his mother to relieve her boredom naturally fell on him.

A little prince outside and a big treasure at home.

So, when the eldest baby in the family accidentally mentioned last night's accident during the meal.

Queen Mother Yang literally jumped up and hugged Haodaer tightly.

Li Ming could clearly feel that his mother's body was trembling slightly.

Yang had experienced many life and death situations, and Li Ming had never seen her so panicked since he could remember.

"Mom, I'm fine. Um... you twisted my butt." Li Ming gently patted the shoulder of the person behind the scenes.

After making sure that Hao Da'er's car was original and intact, Yang let him go and sat back in her seat.

Just a turn and her expression changed immediately.

To be precise, it was expressionless.

"Thoroughly investigate the palace people."

The low voice, the statement without any ups and downs in the tone, implied murderous intent.

The word “thorough investigation” carries great weight.

Li Ming had never seen his mother so angry.

"Don't worry, mother. I think there is nothing wrong with the imperial guards. There is nothing wrong with the maids serving the dishes and the imperial chef either."

Li Ming quickly repeated to his mother the circumstances at the crime scene and his own speculations.

After listening to the whole thing, Empress Dowager Yang's expression finally relaxed a little.

Fortunately, the core departments have not found any problems yet.

"But we can't take it lightly. Suspicion cannot be completely ruled out..."

"Yes, yes, I just made a rough assessment. We have done all the necessary investigations, please rest assured~"

Empress Dowager Yang was like an ordinary mother sending her child to school, giving her many instructions and nagging.

Li Ming could only smile bitterly and reply one by one.

After making sure that everything was under control, Empress Dowager Yang finally felt relieved and her expression returned.

Li Ming also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The mother just now was a little scary...

The two of them lowered their heads and drank some porridge. Empress Dowager Yang spoke again:

"Ming'er, do you think it's possible to make use of yesterday's incident..."

Before his mother could finish her words, Li Ming directly refused:
"No."

Queen Yang wondered, "I haven't said anything yet."

Li Ming drank his porridge expressionlessly:
"Don't say anything, mother. I know everything you want to say."

Queen Mother Yang puffed up her cheeks and said aggrievedly:
"In your heart, is your mother an unrighteous person?"

After a while, she was still somewhat unwilling:
"Can't we use this opportunity to clean up the bureaucracy and frame a few annoying ministers... shouldn't we conduct a thorough investigation?"

Li Ming resisted the twitch of his mouth and refused bluntly:

"No."

We in the Li family don't keep idle people. Everyone has special skills...

My mother is really... becoming more and more like some of the famous empresses dowagers.

For example, Empress Lü or something like that.

She even took advantage of her own son's blood-stained life. Should we say that her mother is too politically savvy?
"Oh."

Queen Yang nodded, swallowed a mouthful of porridge, and calmed down for a while, but still didn't give up.

"why?"

Li Ming sighed helplessly:
"Because there is no need. The current official environment in the Ming Dynasty is...quite good.

“I don’t want to be the one who destroys the environment.”

To be fair, the atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty officialdom was tense, overtime work was a bit stressful, and there were more factions.

However, the competition among officials is still benign, rather than vicious involution, and is for the good of the country.

What they compete with each other is performance, not political conspiracy.

Besides, Li Ming’s personal prestige is high enough and the system design has sufficient checks and balances.

There is no need to use such off-the-board tactics to further strengthen one's authority.

It’s not that Li Ming doesn’t know how to plot and scheme, it’s just that there’s no need.

Less routine, more sincerity.

"Since you have decided, then do it. You are the emperor."

Empress Dowager Yang finally gave up the idea of ​​taking advantage of her son's suffering.

But she was still worried and continued to nag:

"You must not take it lightly. Although this matter fortunately did not become a big deal, it is of a serious nature.

“If the enemy had better luck, the consequences would have been disastrous!

"This case must be thoroughly investigated."

Li Ming put down his chopsticks and answered seriously:

"Yes, mother, I think so too.

"So I ordered Di Renjie to take charge of the case, and Yuchi Xunyu to assist."

Queen Mother Yang did not speak immediately. She first searched her memory for information about the young man, savoring the political significance behind her son's actions.

After a long while, she nodded slightly and said:
"Di Renjie...is a young talent with outstanding intelligence.

“Moreover, he has very few disputes with Tangzhou and Chang’an, and he is not from a noble family, so he is trustworthy.

"But... can Di Renjie shoulder this responsibility?"

Li Ming nodded confidently:
"Of course, Di Renjie is a rare talent and is destined to become prime minister in the future."

Empress Yang was still a little worried: "His ability is indeed good, but... can he handle the case?"

"Of course!" Li Ming said confidently.

Who doesn’t know the name of Detective Di Renjie?

"It's fine if you think it's okay."

The emperor's son had an idea, and Empress Yang no longer worried about it.

The two continued to eat breakfast and chatted idly.

"By the way, mother, I came to see you today for another important matter." Li Ming said while chewing the meat.

Queen Yang gently wiped the rice grains from the corners of his mouth and asked gently:

"What's the matter?"

"The treasury is in deficit, so we have to ask the landlords for some money." Li Ming smiled as if asking for pocket money.

The land in the Northeast and Liaodong regions formerly under the rule of the Ming Dynasty has been redistributed, and the redistribution of land resources in Hebei region is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

In other words, there is not much oil left to be squeezed out of the old territory.

However, the vast area south of the Yellow River has not been plundered... no, it has not undergone reform yet!
If we seize the power of the local noble families again and keep the land in the hands of the state, it will be a win.

Distributing land to the people and expanding the tax base is a win-win situation.

The tenant farmers who were dependent on the landlords were liberated and the labor market was enriched, which was a three-way win.

The family has lost its foundation, this is the fourth time it has won.

"Even though winning all the way like this won't completely solve our financial difficulties, it will greatly alleviate the situation where our income exceeds our expenditure.

"Fang Yize can finally have a good night's sleep."

Li Ming's face was full of joy, just like a naughty child who had found a new toy.

The gentleness on Queen Yang's face remained unchanged, with a faint smile and a gentle tone:

"Try not to cause any loss of life." "I have always adhered to civilized law enforcement. It depends on whether they know what is best for them." Li Ming showed a sunny smile.

The mother and son decided the fate of all the nobles in the world so easily and happily.

…………

"Father."

"His Majesty the Emperor"

"Grandpa~"

"I wonder what His Majesty the Emperor wants?"

Li Ming stuck to Li Shimin like a dog-skin plaster.

Li Shimin looked proud.

"Oh, grandpa~ It's just that I didn't invite you to have dinner with the ministers yesterday, why are you sulking~" Li Ming smiled and massaged Li Shimin's back.

"Hmph, Your Majesty is entertaining all the ministers, how dare I, a sinner like you, act rashly?" Li Shimin said angrily.

"Oh, grandpa, what are you saying? It's really embarrassing for me..." Li Ming smiled bitterly.

After breakfast, as soon as he left his mother's house, he turned around and headed straight for the palace where his father lived.

It’s not because the husband and wife are not getting along.

It was because the scumbag Li Shimin had too many wives and his harem was too large.

Concubine Wei, Concubine Yin, Concubine Yan, and a bunch of beauties and talents that Li Ming couldn't name...

Except for Li Ming himself, his mother and several brothers and sisters, all the people living in the palace are his father's wives.

After all, this harem was built for Li Shimin!

In this situation, especially after the stroke, he suddenly realized the legacy of Taizu (referring to having children after retirement).

It would be a bit inconvenient to put Empress Dowager Yang and Li Shimin and his wife in the same room.

"How is your mother?"

Li Shimin asked in a muffled voice, his tone a little softer.

"If you care about her, then just go and see for yourself." Li Ming said casually.

"Alas, you don't understand..." Li Shimin was a little depressed:

"In my current state and with my current status, how can I face the Queen Mother again?"

He looked up at the sky hesitantly at a 45-degree angle, expressing his feelings about the changes that had taken place in the world.

Just at this moment, the curtain door of the bedroom was opened without permission, and a lazy and delicate voice came out:
"Your Majesty...Exeunt!"

A young "toffee" stretched lazily and walked out of the bedroom with a spring-like look.

When he saw another "Your Majesty" there, he was so frightened that he trembled all over, his voice was trembling, and he fell to his knees on the ground.

Looking at the extremely embarrassed look of the young "stepmother", Li Ming had a stern face:

"It's a child I don't know..."

The case was solved, and the reason why the father didn't look for the mother was found.

"How can that be true? How come you haven't seen it before? Who has lived in the palace for a long time without your judgment?"

Li Shimin said without shame:

"You are so noble and forgetful."

"..." Li Ming didn't want to pay attention to this shameless scumbag, so he waved away the light bulb toffee and changed the subject:

"From today on, I will take action against the remaining aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty, father."

"Okay!" Li Shimin slapped his thigh hard and almost staggered to his feet.

Li Ming was startled and quickly supported him.

"Grandpa, you are not a child anymore, don't get excited so easily..."

"Great, very good!" Li Shimin murmured excitedly:

“That group of powerful families annexed land, plundered tenants, and hid the population. Not only did they make it impossible for the imperial court to govern the area, they couldn’t even collect the head tax. I’ve wanted to punish them for a long time!

"My loss to you is not a completely bad thing. At least you can stir up trouble for those nobles!"

Li Ming's temples jumped when he heard this:
"...I'll take that as a compliment."

"Alas, time is running out. Why are you still dawdling here? Tenants and serfs all over the world are waiting for you to liberate them!"

Perhaps Li Shimin was influenced by the Ming Dynasty's ethos, and he had the spirit of "ten thousand years is too long, one must seize the day", so he kicked Emperor Li Ming out of the room without saying a word, leaving him to race against time to reap the benefits of the gentry.

As for whether Mr. Li's impatience has anything to do with the young "stepmother", Little Li is kept in the dark for the time being.

…………

After leaving the emperor's bedroom, Li Ming, with the same expression, visited his two brothers Li Chengqian and Li Zhi respectively.

After taking a walk around, he got in the car and left the palace.

As the palace gate got farther and farther away, his originally relaxed expression slowly faded.

Visiting their fathers and brothers and comforting their fragile hearts by not inviting them to dinner are just superficial reasons.

In fact, everyone who understands understands.

In last night's accident, those three gentlemen were the most likely to have been responsible.

If you win, you can instantly transform from a prisoner to the emperor. Who can resist this temptation?

However, Li Ming did not show his doubts, nor did he reveal the arson incident at the Shangshi Bureau yesterday.

Just talking about meaningless empty things.

And judging from the performance of the three people, it seemed that they really didn't know about this.

There was no panic, nor any surprise, everything was normal.

Of course, considering that each member of the Li family has the quality of an award-winning actor, the on-the-spot performance of these three of them alone cannot prove anything.

Li Ming did not relax his vigilance against them.

"His Majesty."

A piece of paper was stuffed in from the window. It was the voice of the chief eunuch, the one with the beautiful big beard.

Li Ming opened the piece of paper and found a short report inside.

After a quick glance, Li Ming tore the pages into pieces and burned them in the incense burner in the car.

"Three of you, haven't you found any problems yet..."

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said to the outside of the window:
"Check again."

"As you command." The steward replied briefly.

Li Ming leaned against the car seat and fell into thought.

He was relieved that the three people with the greatest motive for the crime were temporarily cleared of suspicion.

However, the question of who the assassin was has become increasingly confusing.

who can that be?

…………

"Renjie, what do you think?"

After returning to the State Council, Li Ming found Di Renjie first.

Poor little Dee Alexander.

For some reason, His Majesty Li Ming seemed to particularly like asking him what he thought.

How can he see? He can see with his eyes...

"I, I'm still checking..."

"Come on, don't be nervous. I have confidence in you. I let you take charge of this matter despite many people's doubts, so don't be nervous. I still have other government affairs to take care of, so I will leave this case to you." Li Ming patted Di Renjie on the shoulder.

“I, I, I, I…” Di Renjie was unable to speak.

After successfully motivating (?) his subordinates, Li Ming went up the stairs as usual and returned to his loyal office.

He has to get down to business.

When I pushed open the door of the study, Changsun Wuji was already at his workstation, looking helpless.

There was a figure sitting on Fang Xuanling's seat, but it was not the old man with expressionless face.

But a young girl.

Li Mingda.

(End of this chapter)