Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 51 Father and Son's Common Rival
"Ah!"

In the study room of Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin sneezed violently.

Concubine Wei brought a bowl of warm wine and said angrily:

"Your Majesty, you don't take care of your health. No matter how hot the weather is, you shouldn't eat ice cream as a meal."

Su Shan is the Datang version of creamy ice cream.

Lizheng Hall is the emperor's bedroom located outside the harem, which is convenient for the emperor to summon his close ministers.

As the head of the four concubines, Concubine Wei gradually enjoyed some of the privileges of Empress Changsun, such as being allowed to serve the emperor in Lizheng Hall.

Li Shimin looked at the wine bowl and his face fell:

"Don't you know I don't drink?"

Concubine Wei smiled gently:
"This is realgar wine. People in the south use it to repel mosquitoes in the summer. It can be taken internally or applied externally, like this."

She gently tapped Li Shimin's forehead and the back of his head.

Li Shimin smelled the scent of realgar medicine, and his tense body and mind relaxed a little. He smiled bitterly and said:
“I can’t help it, I can’t calm down if I don’t eat something cold.

"What are those incompetent officials doing? The case of Li Xiaogong has not been fully investigated yet, and the case of Hou Junji is still pending!"

Concubine Wei gently advised:

"You can't blame them. The ministers can only act according to the rules, so they are naturally stupid. The only one who can be above all rules and make decisions on the spot is you, Your Majesty."

I wish I had unlimited power… Li Shimin sighed silently.

At this time, the eunuch came to report:
"Gao Shilian and Wei Ting request to see you."

Concubine Wei wisely withdrew, but the two men had not yet entered the palace.

During this brief period of time, Li Shimin sat alone on the dragon couch.

There were some things he was not comfortable saying in front of Wei Gui.

It's not the civil officials that he is annoyed with.

But it is the aristocratic families behind the civil officials.

The Tang Dynasty was not as centralized as the later Ming and Qing dynasties, and the imperial power was still constrained by aristocratic families.

Li Shimin relied entirely on his outstanding military achievements to bring together various forces.

Even so, the gentry would still sing a different tune.

For example, the nobles opposed the attack on Gaochang because it was not profitable for them.

It is impossible for these landlords in the Central Plains to annex the land far away in the Western Regions.

Just set up a vassal state and let the locals govern themselves with a high degree of autonomy.

But when he ignored the opposition and appointed Hou Junji, a lone minister who had no relationship with anyone, to lead Xue Wanche, who had a shallow foundation, and Heli, a foreign elite from the Tang Qibi, to attack and destroy Gaochang in one fell swoop.

These nobles are up to no good again.

He found a reason and threw Hou Junji into prison.

Hou Junji has been Li Shimin’s confidant for many years!
What if this becomes a serious problem? !
In addition, with the death of Li Xiaogong, Li Daozon was the only capable member of the royal family left, and he could not hold on alone.

The delicate balance maintained by the three forces of the court, namely the nobles, the clans and the wives, is at risk of being unbalanced...

"His Majesty."

Shangshu You Pushe Gao Shilian and Yushi Dafu Wei Ting entered the study to pay their respects.

Li Shimin exhaled a breath of foul air and put on a pleasant expression:
"Many people in Hebei love to cling to the rich and powerful, and the local powerful families also collect more gifts in the name of marriage in order to accumulate wealth.

“I think this trend is very bad and harmful to education, so in the sixth year of Zhenguan, I ordered you to compile the “Clan Records” to correct the surnames.

"It's been eight years now. How's your editing going?"

It is just an excuse to say that it hurts education.

Li Shimin wanted to use the official authority to rank the world's major families and take the opportunity to suppress the gentry, especially the less obedient gentry in Shandong and Hebei (the area east of Taihang Mountains and north of the Yellow River).

"Your Majesty, we have traveled far and wide to collect public opinion and have compiled a total of 293 major surnames and 1,651 families."

The chief monk Gao Shilian reported:

"Among them, the largest clans have five surnames and seven hopes."

"That's right." Li Shimin listened with his chin in his hand, feeling confident.

There was a reason why he chose Gao Shilian and Wei Ting as the editors-in-chief of "Clan Records".

There is no need to say much about Gao Shilian. He is the uncle of Changsun Wuji and Empress Changsun, and is from the Gao family of Bohai.

He was not only a relative by marriage, but also had a good relationship with the Hebei gentry.

Wei Ting was also of good descent, born into the Jingzhao Wei family and the father of Wei Daijia, a former Cao Wang Dianqian.

Moreover, he and Concubine Wei were both descendants of Wei Xu, the governor of Southern Binzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and could represent the Guanlong gentry.

Both of them have identities that convince the public, and since they are both on the same side, they will definitely be able to deeply understand the leader's intentions...

"The largest family in the world is the Cui family of Boling, and the second largest is..."

"Wait." Li Shimin interrupted Gao Shilian's chanting.

Where are our own people?
What about the agreement to suppress the Hebei gentry together?

Why do you rank the most powerful aristocratic family in Hebei first?
And in turn consolidate their position?

Did you do it on purpose or accidentally?

"Your Majesty." Wei Ting took over Gao Shilian's words:
"I have visited all the major families and all of them think that the Cui family of Boling is the largest, so we rank it first."

"I asked you to rank the surnames in the world, not to pick out which surname is the largest!" Li Shimin's voice was full of anger.

Biggest ≠ No.1, don’t you understand this?
Wei Ting looked confused and really didn't understand His Majesty's logic.

Gao Shilian looked at Wei Ting and didn't say much.

Li Shimin also saw the other party's micro-expression, took a deep breath, and said as gently as possible:
"This is a serious matter. I hope you can check it more strictly."

He didn't want to be accused of "manipulating academic research" and be considered by people around the world that the book he compiled was unreliable.

"This is."

Wei Ting's head was full of question marks.

But since the emperor had spoken, they had no choice but to send it back and rewrite it, and then retreat with Gao Shilian.

"Imperial Censor Wei." Li Shimin called him.

"His Majesty?"

"How is the trial of the Prince of Hejian going?"

Wei Ting told the truth: "This case is mainly handled by the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. It is said that there has been no progress."

"What about the Hou Junji case?"

"Duke Chen has confessed to corruption and embezzlement. His punishment will be announced soon."

"Okay, okay." Li Shimin gritted his teeth and waved his hand:

"Just back off."

well.

You are not good at relieving my worries, but you are an expert at causing trouble for me, right?
Who are you, the Wei family, helping?

Are all the noble families in the world in collusion? !

"Father."

A childish voice.

Li Shimin interrupted his thoughts and looked up to see Li Zhi waiting obediently at the door of the study.

He rubbed his temples and tried to smile:
"Is today's class finished?"

"Yes, father, so I greet you." The good boy Li Zhi answered appropriately.

Seeing that his and Empress Changsun's little son was so well-behaved and sensible, Li Shimin felt a little happier and waved to Li Zhi:

"Come, show Grandpa today's homework."

As we all know, checking homework is a long-standing tradition of the Chinese nation.

Li Zhi was used to his grandfather's trick and had brought an article with him, which he presented with both hands.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with this honest, studious and filial son.

Unlike a certain former King Cao who made friends with evil people, beat up his teachers, and disobeyed his parents.

"On the Aristocratic Family?" Li Shimin couldn't help but frown when he saw the title of Li Zhi's article.

The further he read, the deeper his frown became.

The general content is that the gentry inherited from the nobles of the Spring and Autumn Period. They are born noble and have a wealthy family background, so they are virtuous and not greedy.

Because of their poor backgrounds, common people are good at scheming and are more greedy. They will do anything to climb up the ladder and are prone to corruption.

Therefore, the way to be a king is to give priority to selecting scholars of noble birth, and so on.

This idea is not new. It has been widely circulated since the late Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it is likely to become a social consensus.

At least that's the case in the upper classes.

The descendants of scholars are still scholars, the descendants of farmers are still farmers, and the descendants of untouchables are still untouchables.

If everyone stays in his or her position, the people will be stable and society will not be turbulent.

"Hiss~" Li Shimin stroked his mustache.

For some reason, the more he read these cliches, the more uncomfortable he felt.

"Father...Emperor?"

Li Shimin immediately resumed his smile:

“Well written, well-reasoned.

"Which teacher taught you this?"

Except for a certain prince who skipped classes and wished to remain anonymous, all the princes enjoyed n-to-1 service.

Li Zhi immediately realized that a certain gentleman was going to be in trouble, and he did not dare to hide it, so he answered truthfully:
"Replying to Your Majesty, it is Mr. Xu Jingzong."

"Oh, the Xu family in Hangzhou is also a family with a long history..."

Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said kindly:

"Are you tired from studying? Go back to your room and take a rest."

Li Zhi did not dare to delay his father's temper and left quickly.

Li Shimin watched his eldest son's back disappear and suddenly knocked the wine bowl to the ground.

Realgar mixed with alcohol gives off a pungent smell.

Li Shimin watched the pale-faced palace maids trembling as they cleaned the mess on the floor, and forced himself to calm down.

His eyes suddenly became deep.

The Cui family in Hebei, the Wei family in Guanlong, and the Xu family in Jiangnan.

Different regions, different origins.

However, these noble families, who relied on their ancestors' military achievements and generations of wealth and glory, had surprisingly consistent positions.

They have grown stronger and are ready to compete with me for dominance over the world!

The tentacles even extended into the Lizheng Hall!

What are these nobles doing to my princes?
Remodeled as they intended?!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

An unexpected figure came into the study.

Still Wei Ting.

At this moment, he no longer had the solemn demeanor he had just now. His hair was disheveled and he looked miserable.

"call……"

Li Shimin let out a long breath, restrained the sharpness in his eyes, and asked gently:
"what happened to you?"

Wei Ting pulled his beard, slapped his chest, and lamented:
"As a subject, there are some things that must be kept secret from the respectful ruler.

"But if a father has an upright son, his family will not be destroyed; if a monarch has an upright minister, his country will not be destroyed. As a minister, I must speak out against the emperor..."

"Just say it, I'm happy to hear your criticism." Li Shimin said generously.

"Li Ming, it's His Highness Li Ming!" Wei Ting complained in anger:

"Your Highness Li Ming caused a disturbance in my thatched cottage for no reason and injured my servants!"

"Oh? Oh~"

Li Shimin's mood suddenly brightened and he sat forward with interest.

"Elaborate."

For the first time in his life, he thought the naughty kid was not naughty enough.

Why didn’t they just tear down the Wei Mansion?
(End of this chapter)