The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

He picked up Kong Yingda's self-defense statement again, glanced at it briefly, and then tossed it back onto the table.

Although that brat was arrogant, Li Shimin had indeed run out of patience with Yu Zhining and Kong Yingda.

He dismissed all the Crown Prince's tutors, such as Linghu Defen and Li Baiyao, leaving only Yu Zhining and Kong Yingda. He spared them because he valued their reputation as great Confucian scholars of the time and also because he remembered their past advice to Li Chengqian. He allowed them to remain in the court without being harshly punished.

But as he witnessed these events, the last vestiges of compassion in Li Shimin's heart gradually faded.

"That brat, I will personally send someone to punish him."

"However... if I remember correctly, your father is now over seventy years old, isn't he?" Li Shimin said to Kong Zhixuan.

"...Yes, Your Majesty." Kong Zhixuan's heart skipped a beat as he replied.

"At your age, you still need to take good care of yourself," Li Shimin said. "Although Chancellor Kong is of noble character, he is still staying in prison while ill. If this gets back to the ears of the court officials, wouldn't they say that I am mistreating my ministers?"

"It is the right thing to return to your residence and rest as soon as possible. Later, I will send several imperial physicians to the Confucius residence to examine the situation of the Chancellor."

This is... an implication that the father has requested to retire!

Kong Zhixuan trembled slightly. It seemed that, as his father had predicted, those arrogant words had finally reached His Majesty's ears.

On the day his father failed to curry favor with the King of Wei and fainted, he already knew that his future in officialdom was hopeless.

Fortunately, there is still the "Correct Meaning of the Five Classics". As long as the court still wants to promote the "Correct Meaning", even His Majesty will try to protect the reputation of the chief compiler.

As for retiring from office—my father was already quite old and took the initiative to retire, which, compared to many other tutors of the Crown Prince, can be considered a graceful retirement.

Moreover, his father had been in charge of the Imperial Academy for many years, and his students were all over the court. It can be said that his influence was so great that his students did not speak but naturally attracted many people. Many noble families were on good terms with him, the Kong family.

Even his brothers, Kong Zhixuan and his siblings, all held positions as instructors and lecturers at the Imperial Academy, their futures promising. By retiring and returning home, their father could avoid the slander of that brat and properly cultivate his reputation.

The best outcome would be for him to be hinted at resigning by the emperor.

"Your Majesty's compassion for my father is like a second birth to me, and I am deeply grateful. After I return, I will persuade him to put aside his miscellaneous duties at the Imperial Academy, return home to recuperate peacefully, and stop worrying about his health," Kong Zhixuan said.

Li Shimin nodded. Kong Yingda was quite sensible; he didn't linger and refuse to leave.

As for the Imperial Academy—he already had a plan in mind.

In his hand was a memorial submitted by Sun Fujia, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, concerning the number of people from poor families recommended by the Imperial Academy for the imperial examinations in recent years.

Sun Fujia was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Wude era. That year, there were more than ten other poor students who passed the imperial examination along with Sun Fujia.

However, twenty years later, fewer and fewer children from poor families are passing the imperial examinations each year. In the last five years, the number has dwindled to just a handful each year.

The Imperial College, which is responsible for cultivating talent for the nation, is indeed to blame for this matter.

However, the Imperial Academy is the face of the nation's education and culture, and it involves many powerful and influential families. Anyone involved with such families must be extremely cautious. It's perfect timing; now that that brat has made a scene, I can give Kong Yingda, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, another warning.

Those aristocratic families would probably not dare to be so arrogant and would be able to restrain themselves for a while.

The most important matter for the Tang Dynasty now is still the selection of an heir... Li Shimin does not want to easily get bogged down in the quagmire of entanglement with powerful clans.

Whether it's Kong Yingda or the matter of the Imperial Academy, let's try to downplay it for now.

Li Shimin was lost in thought.

Suddenly, a series of hurried, almost frantic footsteps came from outside the palace, accompanied by a eunuch's panicked cries: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

A young eunuch scrambled into the hall and knelt down with a thud.

His voice trembled uncontrollably: "Your Majesty! The Vermilion Bird Gate...something has happened at the Vermilion Bird Gate!"

"The emperor's grandson, Li Xiang, is blocking the palace gates."

"They claimed they wanted to 'submit a petition to the emperor,' and even said they wanted to 'knock on the imperial gates and seek justice.' The city gate guard was helpless and could only urgently report to His Majesty for action!"

"What?" Li Shimin frowned, his thoughts immediately thrown into disarray.

"Blocking the palace gates? What is that brat Li Xiang up to? Is he plotting a rebellion?" Li Tai asked in surprise and uncertainty.

Li Shimin's face had darkened. From the four words "submitting a petition to the emperor," he had already guessed that the brat was still relentless and wanted to escalate the matter.

A surge of intense displeasure and rage—a feeling that things had spiraled out of control—instantly overwhelmed him. He said coldly, "Why didn't you stop him immediately! This brat is truly insolent!"

"By imperial decree, have him bound and taken back to Longqing Ward!"

"Arrogant and unruly, disrespectful to the emperor and father, and now they even dare to interfere in matters of state!"

"This... Your Majesty..." The young eunuch looked troubled.

Cold sweat streamed down his face, and his knees trembled even more violently: "Dozens of students followed closely behind the imperial grandson, their emotions running high, shouting 'The imperial examinations are unfair, and the poor have no way out.'"

"Many more people gathered to watch and echo, crowding the area outside the Vermilion Bird Gate and blocking even Vermilion Bird Street."

"The reason the city gate commander dared not stop them was precisely because he feared it would incite a popular uprising!"

"What?" This time, even Li Shimin was stunned. Zhuque Avenue, as the central axis of the entire Chang'an City, was extremely wide.

Even Suzaku Avenue was blocked; just how many people had gathered there?

"What is that brat's request to petition the Heavenly Palace?" Li Shimin asked.

"Speak! Explain everything clearly!"

He didn't think that something that happened only in the Imperial Academy could attract so much attention from the people.

Seeing the eunuch trembling like a leaf, Li Shimin knew that the brat must have uttered some treasonous words again.

"Your Majesty... Your Highness has declared that the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Academy are colluding to monopolize the imperial examinations, engaging in corrupt practices, and selling official positions..." The eunuch was almost in tears, fearing that the enraged Li Shimin would take his anger out on him.

"They even claimed that this was the biggest scandal since the founding of the nation, and that if it wasn't thoroughly investigated, the Tang Dynasty would lose the hearts of the people and its fate would be sealed..."

"presumptuous!"

Li Shimin slammed his hand on the imperial desk, causing the jade tablet and memorials on it to fall to the ground with a thud, startling all the officials in the hall.

That brat... He was mentally prepared, knowing that the brat's words would surely be shocking and outrageous.

But to everyone's surprise, that brat dragged the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites into the mess as well, and even escalated the matter to the level of monopolizing the imperial examinations and selling official positions.

When people in the past knelt before the emperor to submit petitions, they did so alone, strictly adhering to the proper etiquette between ruler and subject, and behaving in a very proper manner.

But that brat even managed to turn the act of submitting a petition to the emperor into a farce! He incited dozens of scholars, coerced hundreds of commoners, blocked the palace gates, and made inflammatory pronouncements…

How could he possibly downplay the seriousness of the matter?

This is clearly an attempt to slap the emperor in the face in front of all the officials and the people! To force the emperor to abdicate!

That brat still wants to provoke me into killing him!

"Someone come here!"

"Set up the carriage at the Vermilion Bird Gate!"

Li Shimin once again lost his composure as an emperor. His face darkened, and he spoke sternly.