Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 28 Let's witness a more prosperous Tang Dynasty together!
Li Yuan glared at Li Shimin with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

"Good, very good! You truly are worthy of being my son!"

He gritted his teeth and forced out those words.

Li Shimin lowered his eyes, cupped his hands, and said, "Your son wouldn't dare!"

"Hmph!" Li Yuan didn't say anything. He flicked his sleeves and went to the table at the head of the Xianchi Hall. He wrote the decree on a piece of silk and then stamped it with his personal seal.

Wen He, who was standing not far away, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without a doubt, this imperial decree was to appoint Li Shimin as the crown prince.

Although this decree did not bear the imperial seal, as long as it had Li Yuan's private seal, it would become an official decree once it was sent to the Secretariat.

It should be noted that the current Grand Secretary of the Tang Dynasty, who was nominally the chief minister, was Li Shimin.

"roll!"

Li Yuan threw down the silk cloth inscribed with the title of Crown Prince, his eyes bloodshot, and roared furiously at Li Shimin.

Upon hearing this, the latter actually let out a long sigh of relief, glanced at Wen He, and gestured for him to go out together.

Wen He carefully and quickly walked to Li Shimin's side, and together they left Xianchi Palace.

Just as they stepped out of the palace gates, they heard a heart-wrenching wail from inside: "My dear brother!"

Wen He looked up at Li Shimin and saw that he was holding the silk tightly. Although his face was calm and his eyes were slightly moving, it was unclear what he was thinking.

Pei Ji and the others, who had been waiting outside the palace for a long time, rushed forward to greet the two of them when they came out.

They had all retreated to a distance after hearing noises inside the palace.

On the steps outside Xianchi Palace, only Yuchi Gong, holding a spear, stood.

"Your Highness, do you know the Emperor?"

Pei Ji was somewhat anxious.

When Emperor Wen of Sui died suddenly, martial law was declared in the palace. On the surface, it was said that Yang Jian died of illness, but in secret, the rumor that Yang Guang had murdered his father was circulating.

He was genuinely worried that Li Shimin would come out and tell them the news that Li Yuan had "died of illness."

"Father is well, but I am troubled by the affairs of my eldest brother and fourth brother. I would be grateful if the Duke of Wei could visit the palace often to offer some guidance."

Upon hearing Li Shimin's words, Pei Ji breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, "I dare not trouble you with this matter. In recent years, Your Majesty has been discussing Buddhism with eminent monks. This old minister may invite him to come and enlighten Your Majesty."

"Venerable monk, was that person named Faya?"

Wen He, who was standing to the side, suddenly asked.

Pei Ji looked at Wen He in surprise. Although he was displeased that a junior had suddenly interrupted him, this person had just entered Xianchi Palace with the Prince of Qin, a privilege that even Yuchi Gong did not have, which showed how much the former valued him.

This young man will inevitably become a rising star in the court in the future.

"Young man, you must have heard of this eminent monk, he is none other than Fa Ya." Pei Ji stroked his beard with a smile.

Now that this young man knows, His Highness the King of Qin will naturally not stop him, right?

"No need. The palace is in turmoil right now, so let's keep outsiders away from Father Emperor." Li Shimin's expression remained unchanged, but his voice was somewhat low.

Upon hearing this, Pei Ji's smile froze on his face, and he gave a dry reply.

"Jingde, the safety of the Emperor is now in your hands. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible!"

At this time, the person he was able to assign to monitor Li Yuan was undoubtedly his most trusted confidant.

Yuchi Gong couldn't help but feel smug, and a smile spread across his face.

This time, something unexpected happened in the process.

After saying this, Li Shimin greeted all the old ministers, took Wen He's wrist, mounted his horse, and headed towards Xuanwu Gate.

On the way, he suddenly started talking about Falla.

"Do you also have records of this monk in later generations?"

"Yes, historical records state that Faya was punished for his words, but the history doesn't say what happened to him. However, Pei Ji was dismissed from his post and had half of his fiefdom taken away by you because of this, and was sent back home. Later, some people felt sorry for Pei Ji and said, 'Pei Gong has talent.' When this reached you, you exiled him to Jingzhou. By the time you wanted to recall him, he had already died there."

Wen He leisurely spoke of Faya and then Pei Ji. Just a monk, yet Li Shimin suddenly became distracted and asked about him under such circumstances; the implication was rather intriguing.

After he finished speaking, Li Shimin gave a light snort: "I asked you about Faya, why did you talk about Pei Gong? Remember this, don't talk nonsense to others."

"I understand." Wen He smiled knowingly.

Falla was punished for his words, which was originally a minor matter, but it brought down a prime minister.

Who is Pei Ji?

Li Yuan's close friend.

For Li Shimin after he ascended the throne, he was the most troublesome figure in the court.

Using this incident, Li Shimin not only demoted Pei Ji, but also made an example of him to deter Li Yuan's important ministers from taking action.

"However, I am curious, what exactly did Faya say?" Li Shimin actually wanted to ask this.

Wen He chuckled, but soon he remembered something.

"It seems there is no record of what he said, but in the first year of Zhenguan, Hebei suffered a severe drought, and in the second and third years of Zhenguan, Guanzhong experienced locust plagues and droughts. I suspect he may have attributed these natural disasters to you, which is why you had him captured."

After Wen He finished speaking, she looked at Li Shimin again and saw that his face was pale.

"What you said is true!"

"Uh, yes, these are all recorded in later generations."

Wen He understood why Li Shimin was so excited.

In this era, any natural disaster that occurs is attributed to the emperor's lack of virtue.

You are the son of God, and because you did something wrong, God has punished you.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, there seemed to be few peaceful years; there were either droughts, floods, or locust plagues.

"Is there any way?"

Li Shimin took a deep breath and said solemnly.

"Raise more poultry, such as chickens, ducks, and geese, and let them go to the fields to eat locust eggs. In addition, we definitely need to build water conservancy projects and dig more wells..."

"I will send someone to invite you to discuss this matter in a few days; let's leave it aside for now."

Li Shimin interrupted Wen He.

He was well aware of his current position and that such a crucial matter required him to convene his ministers for discussion.

Whether it's encouraging people to raise more livestock or building water conservancy projects, these are not decisions he can make on a whim.

At present, the Tang Dynasty is in dire need of reconstruction, and the national treasury is not even enough to cover a year's expenses.

If we are to do these things, we must have a foolproof plan.

"Alas, I am already overwhelmed with worries even before I have come to power. I cannot imagine how much effort I will have to put in to lead the Tang Dynasty to prosperity in the future."

Li Shimin looked down at Wen He with a bitter expression and chuckled, "If it weren't for you, my pressure would probably be much less than it is now."

“That’s not right,” Wen He retorted indignantly. “With me, things will be much easier for you. There will be simpler papermaking techniques, more powerful gunpowder, and… many other things. I can help you with all of that. Maybe the Tang Dynasty in the future will be even more prosperous than I know it in history.”

Seeing his confident expression, Li Shimin was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Very well, then I will accompany you to witness an even more prosperous Tang Dynasty!"

Having said that, he spurred his horse and galloped towards Xuanwu Gate.

Just as the two of them were heading towards Xuanwu Gate, a fast horse was coming towards them.

The man on horseback was none other than Zhang Shigui, who had returned after leaving.

Some readers commented that the previous chapter was too watery, so I deliberately sped up the pace of this chapter.

The story of the Xuanwu Gate Incident is about to come to an end.

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(End of this chapter)