The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Tang He was stunned and subconsciously asked, "This isn't all of it?"

After hearing this, the eldest brother, Tang Songling, whispered an explanation from the side: "What's so strange about that? Whether it's money or antiques and calligraphy, you have to spend money and look at them, right?"

"What's the point of piling it up on the ground if we don't collect it?"

"It's perfectly normal to still have some hidden at home."

Upon hearing this, the three boys thought for a moment and nodded.

That's definitely the case.

Cheng Chumo spat and said disdainfully, "He's a real piece of work. Even my old Deng only dares to lend a hand after winning a battle. This guy is completely devoid of conscience."

Cheng Yaojin: "..."

My dear son, you are truly my good son.

He quickly gave Cheng Chumo a meaningful look, and the latter seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing and quickly shut his mouth.

Of course, since everyone was in the same room, Cheng Chumo's voice, though not quiet, still reached Li Shimin's ears.

However, he only glanced at Cheng Yaojin briefly, and then made no further comment.

The soldiers fought desperately and won the battle, so it was practically an unspoken rule that you should take a little something. Li Shimin himself tacitly approved of it and had nothing to say about it.

These matters are completely different in nature from those involving Pei Jiqian.

"He Ming, what was that big head you just mentioned? Speak up immediately," Li Shimin asked again.

This time, He Ming did not immediately write down Pei Jigan's actions, but instead made a request: "If the criminal confesses truthfully, could Your Highness please grant him a swift death?"

He was doomed to die anyway, and after saving his family, he only wanted to die without suffering.

Li Shimin readily agreed: "Alright, I promise you, I guarantee you will pass away without pain."

This time, He Ming didn't delay and started writing directly: "In fact, whether it was the business that my nephew Zhao Baishan forcibly took over, or the money that was embezzled due to the disaster, it only accounted for less than 50% of the total assets."

"The real big money comes from... lying about the extent of the disaster."

As the last four characters were written, Li Shimin's pupils dilated, Chen Huai'an sighed deeply, and even Cheng Yaojin was speechless: "A false report of the disaster?"

"What do you mean by falsely reporting the disaster?"

He Ming gave a self-deprecating laugh. What was originally a rather tragic scene, however, looked somewhat comical when paired with his swollen face.

But no one present laughed at him.

Because he had already continued writing: "During the Wude era, there were several reports of disasters that were not particularly serious, but in fact they were all false."

"Starting from the lowest-ranking officials, layer by layer, everyone joined together to exaggerate the situation in a region that originally had no disaster, or only a little disaster, to create a disaster that was serious enough to attract attention, but not enough to draw the attention of the entire Tang Dynasty, so that the court would issue disaster relief grain."

"Since there are no real disaster victims, these grains do not need to be distributed to the people. Therefore, as long as the account books are falsified, all these disaster relief grains can be divided up cleanly."

"Then wait for the right opportunity to sell it at a high price."

Tang Songling said in a daze, "How is this possible? If a disaster needs to be reported to Chang'an, it must be on a large scale. If something like this happens, His Majesty will definitely send people to investigate."

"How could a disaster be faked?"

Li Shimin sat in the chair, the anger on his face suddenly vanishing without a trace, only his fingers tapping incessantly on the armrest.

Tang Songling's problem is also his problem.

Disaster relief is no small matter; the process is quite complicated and involves countless officials.

To fabricate a disaster report, not only would it require the cooperation of officials in charge of disaster relief, but also officials from several other departments, and it would also be necessary to silence those sent by Li Yuan to investigate.

More importantly, each disaster relief effort is led by a designated official with several other officials assisting.

Could it be that all these officials were involved?

is it possible?

He Ming provided the answer, writing: "You're too naive. Nothing in this world is absolutely impossible. Over the years, I've followed Pei Ji around, helping him deal with too many dirty things, and I've come to realize a truth."

"This world has no black or white, only gray that is intertwined with white, which represents absolute self-interest."

"As long as there is enough benefit, even if you can't do it yourself, someone will come to help you."

He Ming paused here, then wrote a sentence that shocked everyone: "Has Your Highness forgotten who supported your Li family in becoming royalty?"

"Insolence!" Cheng Yaojin exclaimed in shock, immediately shouting, "How dare you speak ill of His Highness?"

"Let him speak!" Li Shimin said in a deep voice.

"Your Highness..."

"I'll speak! Let him speak!!!"

Cheng Yaojin hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and shut up.

Chen Huai'an had almost figured it out.

What did he say? He said, "How could someone as insignificant as Pei Ji possibly achieve such a feat..."

If powerful families were involved, then it would make sense.

He Ming continued writing: "I know what you're thinking. You just feel that there are too many officials who need to cooperate in making false reports about disasters. If one link in the chain breaks down, it's basically impossible to do it."

"But have you ever considered that we don't need to win over all officials to cooperate? We only need the participation of officials in key positions at each stage?"

"Therefore, there are also some rules to follow when falsely reporting disaster situations. It is necessary to make sure that the people there are one's own people and that everyone is of one mind."

"Even if some of them are morally upright, what's the use? Do they dare to speak out? Do they have anywhere to speak out? In the long run, faced with enormous profits, can they always maintain their original intentions?"

Cheng Chumo suddenly realized: "I remember the gentleman said that the officialdom is a huge dye vat, where everyone is a different color. If you are the only one who is white, then you are destined not to survive."

"Either be torn to pieces, or be dyed the same color as everyone else."

Cheng Yaojin's expression shifted slightly, but he remained silent.

Li Shimin said calmly, "So, Pei Ji amassed such a vast fortune through various means?"

"And if it weren't for those few kids' coincidences, would this matter have even come to light?"

He Ming nodded and knelt on the ground to write: "Yes, so don't think of this as difficult or even impossible. In reality, it's not difficult at all."

"Because everyone is greedy, we are all in the same boat. Those who didn't get on board are either ostracized or already dead, so the chances of them being exposed are very small."

Li Shimin said sarcastically to Pei Ji, "Lord Duke of Wei, you probably didn't expect this either, did you? Just because of a few teenagers, your supposedly flawless plan has been exposed."

"Isn't that ridiculous?"

"..."