Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

In classical societies, it was best for the emperor to stay within the imperial city at all times.

Once the emperor makes a move, the state's administrative organs must also move accordingly, which is a rather troublesome matter.

Now that Li Shimin has moved, important officials such as Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang, and the Six Ministries also have to live in the Daming Palace.

The cleanup and prosecution of the Donggong Group has now been completed.

Li Yuanchang, Du He, Zhao Jie, Li Anyan, Helan Chushi, and Hegan Chengji were all beheaded.

Among the disgraced officials, the one who caused the emperor the most heartache was the betrayal of Marquis Junji, the Duke of Chen.

It should be noted that Hou Junji entered the Prince of Qin's residence very early.

This person served Li Shimin diligently and made many contributions.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Hou Junji's contributions could even be ranked among the top five.

Hou Junji was among the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion.

Unexpectedly, the slightest discord between the ruler and his minister could lead to such serious consequences.

He actually instigated the crown prince to rebel!

Being betrayed by a trusted subordinate is not a pleasant experience.

However, Li Shimin did not carry out the massive purge of nine generations of relatives; he only executed Hou Junji, and his immediate family members were exiled to Lingnan. His other relatives were not implicated. Even Hou Junji's portrait in the Lingyan Pavilion was preserved.

When someone is punished, someone else will be rewarded.

Yu Zhining and Zhang Xuansu, who vehemently opposed the Crown Prince's rebellion, were rewarded by the emperor. Yu Zhining was even promoted, which can be described as turning misfortune into blessing.

Of course, the information about the Crown Prince's rebellion was originally leaked to the Emperor by Yu Zhining.

In other words, this rebellion was doomed to failure from the very beginning.

Li Chengqian's feeling about the Eastern Palace was correct; every wall there was drafty.

Li Shimin did not execute his eldest son, but instead demoted him to a commoner and placed him in the remote Qianzhou under strict supervision.

Not long after Li Chengqian's defeat, voices in the court and among the people began to dominate in support of the Prince of Shu as the crown prince.

Li Shimin initially favored the Prince of Shu, but the last words his eldest son spoke to him before his death still influenced the emperor's heart. Therefore, the emperor decided to postpone his decision and did not make one immediately.

After reading the memorials for a while, Li Shimin's thoughts returned to the matter of establishing an heir.

He's getting old, after all, and he should start thinking more about what will happen after he's gone.

"Go out and find out what the King of Shu did today."

The eunuch received the order and immediately went out.

The emperor had spies everywhere in the capital, and nothing, big or small, could escape his notice.

Soon, news of Li Tai's movements that day was relayed.

"The King of Shu would rise at 9:00 AM and read books all morning; in the evening he would go to the Literary Academy; at night he would return to his residence and hold a banquet for the brothers Wang Chongji and Wang Jingzhi, which would end at 9:00 PM."

The translation is as follows: The King of Shu got up at ten o'clock in the morning and read books all morning. He then went down to the literary academy for a stroll. In the evening, he returned to his residence and hosted a banquet for the brothers Wang Chongji and Wang Jingzhi, which lasted until ten o'clock.

Li Shimin reviewed the intelligence and found nothing wrong with it.

Wang Chongji and Wang Jingzhi were the two sons of the former prime minister Wang Gui.

The Wang family they belong to is the Taiyuan Wang family, one of the five surnames and seven prominent families.

Wang Gui initially served Li Jiancheng, but after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he quickly switched allegiance to the new dynasty and did a pretty good job.

Later, Li Shimin arranged for Wang Gui to teach Li Tai. The two spent many years together and developed a very deep bond.

Therefore, it is reasonable for Li Tai to be on good terms with his descendants.

As drowsiness overcame him, the emperor burned the intelligence report in his hand in the candlelight, and then went to his bedchamber.

The following day, Li Shimin chose a side hall and summoned Fang Xuanling alone.

"I intend to make the Prince of Wei the Crown Prince. What do you think, my dear minister?"

Fang Xuanling paused for a moment, then replied, "This is Your Majesty's family matter, and it is not in my jurisdiction to comment."

"It's alright, I just want to know your opinion of the King of Wei."

What is the evaluation of the King of Wei?

Was the King of Wei very capable?

Was the King of Wei really that bad?

It seems like no matter how I say it, it's not appropriate.

However, as the emperor's most trusted advisor, Fang Xuanling's opinion was extremely important.

Old Fang cupped his hands in greeting: "May I ask Your Majesty, are you still troubled by the Crown Prince's palace coup?"

Li Shimin sighed and said, "Chengqian... has indeed disappointed me."

"Your Majesty, I have something to say that may offend you. Please forgive my slip of the tongue."

"It's alright, go ahead and say it."

"In my opinion, Your Majesty seems to be too harsh on the Crown Prince, while showing too much favor to the Prince of Wei. Whenever a courtier impeaches the Crown Prince, Your Majesty will reprimand the Eastern Palace; but when the Prince of Wei makes a mistake, Your Majesty will let it go lightly and not say a word."

Fang Xuanling's words left Li Shimin silent for a long time.

"What you say is very true, my dear minister."

Seeing that his superiors had listened, Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief.

Previously, this task was usually done by Wei Zheng, but now that Wei Zheng has passed away, ministers like Fang Xuanling and Chu Suiliang have taken on more of the role of advising the emperor. Fortunately, Emperor Taizong (Li Er) was not an old stubborn man who refused to listen to others' opinions.

Fang Xuanling considered for a moment, then continued, "No one is perfect. Now that the Crown Prince has lost favor, there are two relatively outstanding princes: the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Wu. Of these two, it seems better to establish the Prince of Shu. However, Your Majesty should use both kindness and severity to cultivate a more outstanding heir."

As for why it would be better to establish the King of Shu, Fang Xuanling did not explain.

At this time, Prince Li Zhi of Jin was virtually unknown, and Fang Xuanling didn't know much about him, so he didn't say anything.

In conclusion, Li Shimin did not have many options.

Fang Xuanling's statement also contained another layer of advice, namely that Li Shimin had shown excessive favor to the Prince of Shu.

If someone else had brought this up, the emperor might have remained noncommittal; but since it was Lao Fang who pointed it out, the emperor might really have to think about it carefully.

Li Shimin stood up and paced around the hall.

"Xuanling, what about Prince Li Ke of Wu?"

"This... I dare not speak presumptuously. However..."

"But what?"

"Your Majesty may be interested in the Prince of Shu, and the Prince of Shu is indeed quite talented and capable, but no one can predict what the future holds. Therefore, the Prince of Wu should also be involved in government affairs, and neither should be neglected."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin stopped in his tracks, his eyes flashing.

Fang Xuanling's suggestion was quite interesting: to use Li Ke, the Prince of Wu, as a backup.

If Li Tai, the Prince of Shu, is proven unsuitable to be the crown prince after ascending the throne, then Li Ke will be chosen instead.

In theory, any son of the emperor has the potential to inherit the throne.

"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy."

Fang Xuanling walked out of the side hall and paused outside for a moment to think carefully about the dialogue he had just heard.

Feeling that his suggestion was correct, Lao Fang breathed a sigh of relief and walked in another direction.

……

Fang Xuanling returned to his temporary office and began to review the tax documents submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.

At this time, the position of Minister of Revenue was concurrently held by Changsun Wuji, but the actual person in charge was Li Wei.

Fang Xuanling was in charge of general affairs, and the Ministry of Revenue held the reins of the nation's economy. In addition, this year was a turbulent one, and the national policy for next year included a war plan against Goguryeo. Money was needed everywhere, so he paid special attention to the tax documents submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.