Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Li Chengqian was annoyed by a group of old men clinging to his legs and crying. He was thinking about how to use the "movable type printing" weapon to quell the situation and also get some benefits from the system.

But before he could even open his mouth to show off, the situation in Chang'an changed.

Without any warning.

The East and West Markets, which were bustling with activity the day before, seemed to have turned into ghost towns overnight.

"Closed! Closed! The owner is having a celebration, so we're taking a three-day break!"

"Oh dear, sir, what bad luck! The innkeeper has gone back to his hometown to visit relatives. Would you please come again another day?"

"No rice left! Not a single grain! Don't ask, the mice have taken it all!"

In Chang'an, more than 70% of the shops hung up "Closed" signs overnight.

From rice, flour, and cooking oil to cloth and silk, from medicinal herbs and spices to pots and pans, all industries closely related to people's livelihoods were instantly paralyzed.

At first, the people didn't think anything of it.

It's just closing down. Everyone has to take a break sometimes.

But a day passed, then two days...

The rice container at home is empty, the salt jar is empty, and we can't even buy clean cloth for the children.

Panic spread rapidly throughout Chang'an, like a plague.

"What's going on? Why are all the doors closed?"

"My wife is waiting for medicine to save her life! Why is the pharmacy closed?"

"I searched the entire West Market today, and I couldn't find a single steamed bun vendor! Is this any way to survive?"

You have money, but you can't buy anything.

This feeling is even more despairing than being broke.

Throughout Chang'an, people were filled with anxiety and rumors were rampant.

……

Taiji Hall, Ganlu Hall.

“Pah!”

With a sharp crack, Li Shimin's most beloved celadon teacup from the previous dynasty was smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"They've rebelled! They're rebelling!"

Li Shimin's eyes were bloodshot, like a lion that had been thoroughly enraged. He paced back and forth in the hall, almost tearing his dragon robe to shreds.

On the table in front of him were piles of urgent reports from the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Hundred Cavalry Division.

Each one records the ruthless counterattack of the powerful clans.

"The Cui family, the Wang family, the Lu family... excellent, very excellent!"

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few names, "I just killed a group of their main branches, and these hyenas from the collateral branches dare to jump out and bite me?"

"A joint strike, hoarding, creating panic... they're threatening me with the lives of millions of people in the city!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Changsun Wuji knelt on the ground, his face pale. "The best course of action now is to stabilize people's hearts. I have already sent people to persuade them, but... but those merchants all refuse to cooperate, citing the excuse that 'the owner is not here.'"

"persuade?"

Li Shimin sneered, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "Do we need to persuade these traitors who won't shed a tear until they see the coffin?"

"Issue my decree! Order Cheng Yaojin to lead the Left Guard to bang on every door of my residence!"

"Anyone who dares to refuse to open their shop for business will be punished for 'disrupting the market and plotting rebellion'! They will be arrested on the spot, and their property will be confiscated!"

"I refuse to believe that my sword is less sturdy than those few broken doors!"

"Your Majesty! You mustn't!"

Just then, Fang Xuanling, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up and stopped the eunuch who was about to receive the imperial decree.

He stood up, bowed deeply to Li Shimin, his face filled with solemnity and bitterness.

"Your Majesty, please calm down."

Fang Xuanling's voice was hoarse and heavy, "Swords can kill and intimidate, but... they can't force people to do business."

Li Shimin was taken aback, turned his head, and looked at him with incomprehensible anger: "Xuanling, what do you mean by this? Do you expect me to reason with these rebels?"

"Your Majesty, the truth is not on our side."

Fang Xuanling sighed and pointed to the somewhat desolate street outside the window.

"The laws of the Tang Dynasty did not stipulate when shops must open or close. Their reason for closing, 'the owner has something to do,' is legally and logically sound, and we cannot find any fault with it."

"If we forcibly break down doors and arrest people, it will confirm the court's crimes of 'competing with the people for profit' and 'being tyrannical and domineering.' At that time, if those remnants of powerful families lurking in the shadows incite further unrest, I'm afraid... the people's hearts will truly be thrown into chaos."

"This...this won't do, that won't do, am I just going to stand by and watch them turn Chang'an into a ghost town?"

Li Shimin slumped back onto the dragon throne, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness wash over him.

He found himself trapped in that familiar vicious cycle once again.

Force appears so ineffective when faced with this kind of "soft knife".

"Then... in your opinion, what should be done?"

Li Shimin rubbed his temples, placing his last hope in this strategist of the Tang Dynasty.

Fang Xuanling gave a wry smile and shook his head.

He had no choice.

This is an open conspiracy.

It was a deadly trap set up by powerful clans over hundreds of years. They used business rules to tightly control the imperial power.

A suffocating silence fell over the hall once again.

Just then.

A weak voice rang out from the corner.

It was Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue.

The old miser was currently holding an empty money box, looking miserable, and said:

"How about... we take the money from the last raid and import grain from other places at high prices? We'll be ripped off, but it's better than people starving to death..."

"it's useless."

Changsun Wuji directly rejected the suggestion, saying, "Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Not to mention that they also control the grain routes in other places, even if the grain is delivered, the salt shops, cloth shops, and pharmacies in the city will still not open, and the people will still not be able to survive."

"What should I do... what should I do..."

A group of top elites from the Tang Dynasty were now like a bunch of headless flies, frantically trying to figure out a way to break the deadlock.

Looking at his gloomy-faced ministers, Li Shimin felt the fire in his heart burning ever brighter.

He suddenly remembered that rebellious son again.

That little rascal who always manages to pull out something amazing when everyone else is in despair.

potato.

Fine salt.

Snow Dragon Rider.

Every time, it was he who turned the tide.

What about this time?

Does he have any other options?

Li Shimin's gaze, subconsciously, once again turned towards the direction of the Eastern Palace.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

I can't just turn to my son every time something goes wrong, can I? What about my reputation as emperor?

Just as Lee Se-min was caught in a dilemma.

Tang Jian, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, rushed in, stumbling and crawling, his face showing an even more desperate expression than Dai Zhou's.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The Confucius Temple... something has occurred at the Confucius Temple!"

"Kong Yingda, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, led over a thousand students from the Imperial Academy to kneel before the statue of Confucius!"

"They say...that the court's massacre of the gentry is an insult to scholarship, a tyranny! They demand that you issue an edict of self-reproach, and...and severely punish His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"What?!"

Lee Se-min suddenly stood up, his vision went black, and he almost fainted on the spot.

House seemingly endless rain.

The economic blockade hasn't been resolved yet, and now the information war has begun.

These powerful families really want to die together with him!

"quick!"

Lee Se-min leaned on the dragon table, his voice trembling.

"Go to the East Palace immediately! Bring that rebellious son to me... no, bring him here!"

"I'd like to see what tricks he has up his sleeve this time!"