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

Well, once Chen Huai'an realized he couldn't fool himself, he actually had no resistance to entering the court as an official.

The position of Minister of Works perfectly suits what he is about to do.

Since Li Shimin dared to offer it, he naturally dared to accept it.

"...Alright." Li Shimin's eye twitched, and he waved his hand. "In that case, appoint Chen Aiqing as Minister of Works, and later assist him in the Ministry of Personnel, working with Keming and Xuanling to complete their duties."

After saying that, he said to Wen Daya in a gentle tone, "Minister Wen, you are not in a hurry to step down. Take a sinecure in the Ministry of Works and help Minister Chen."

"Otherwise, if the position of Minister changes too quickly, chaos may easily ensue."

"Once this year is over, I will grant your request to resign and retire to your hometown early next year. What do you say?"

Wen Daya immediately expressed his gratitude: "Your Majesty, I thank you. This arrangement is perfect."

"Alright!" Li Shimin said immediately, "Let's settle this matter here."

"Come, everyone, let's drink!"

The banquet continued, but many officials found their minds becoming heavy.

Chen Huai'an was granted the title of Duke and appointed Minister of Works, marking the birth of another powerful Duke.

Such a duke is different from those dukes who only have the title.

To put it another way, powerful dukes like Chen Huai'an, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji could even be unafraid of princes.

They truly stood at the pinnacle of the Tang Dynasty.

As for Chen Huai'an's background, he came from a poor family and was originally a member of the former Crown Prince's faction, but later submitted to Li Shimin.

Both of these identities are too special.

A poor man from a humble background, and a newly appointed official.

This has caused some concern among the two powerful interest groups in the government and the central government.

One side consisted of a powerful family, while the other side comprised former officials of Li Yuan.

However, people like Changsun Wuji were quite happy.

As both were confidants of Li Shimin, they were naturally close; otherwise, they wouldn't have strongly recommended Chen Huai'an earlier.

Li Shimin saw through this, but he said nothing and continued to happily urge everyone to drink.

After the banquet ended and the officials gradually left, only Chen Huai'an, Wei Zheng, Fang Du, Changsun and other trusted ministers remained in the hall.

"What are your thoughts on Luo Yi?" Li Shimin asked in a deep voice.

Chen Huai'an frowned and said, "The Turks were actually scared off. Luo Yi will probably be afraid after receiving the news."

"This is both a good thing and a bad thing."

"Out of fear, he might submit to His Majesty, or he might..."

He spoke only to the point, but everyone present was shrewd enough to understand his meaning instantly, and their expressions turned serious.

Li Shimin said with a grim face, "This is not impossible, so I plan to send someone to persuade them to surrender first, while keeping a watchful eye on things to deal with any possible internal strife."

Du Ruhui pondered and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but based on my understanding of Luo Yi, I estimate that he is more likely to rebel."

"Why?" Li Shimin asked.

As soon as the question was asked, Du Ruhui immediately understood that Li Shimin definitely did not want Luo Yi to rebel.

This is understandable. Having finally dealt with the Turkic invasion, what Li Shimin wanted most now was to secure his position, rather than facing various external threats and internal strife again and again.

In the long run, this will have a huge impact on him.

Next, Du Ruhui went into detail about Luo Yi's personality and so on, basically concluding that Luo Yi was more likely to rebel and that they had to be on guard.

The others readily agreed.

Chen Huai'an only said one sentence: "Those who possess sharp weapons naturally harbor murderous intent!"

One sentence completely dispelled Li Shimin's wishful thinking, and he closed his eyes heavily: "I understand."

Wei Zheng then spoke up: "If possible, Your Majesty should still try to persuade them to surrender. We can take Xue Wanche as an example. If we can persuade them to surrender, that would be the best outcome."

"After all, if Luo Yi rebels, it will give the Turks, who were just retreating and were extremely unwilling, another chance."

Fang Xuanling sighed, "We must also be wary of Liang Shidu."

Li Shimin was getting a headache just listening to this.

Why does it feel like we finally got some good news, but then one bad news after another keeps coming?

Can't a person have some peace and quiet?

"Never mind that, let's not talk about that now." Li Shimin waved his hand. "Is there anything else?"

"If not, I'd like to rest."

Since the appearance of Meirenguan, it instantly became the best wine in the Tang Dynasty. When Li Shimin held banquets, he naturally drank Meirenguan.

Although he didn't drink much, he was still a little tipsy.

Changsun Wuji and the others were fine and shook their heads.

Chen Huai'an, however, pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to ask."

"What is it?" Li Shimin asked, puzzled.

"Your Majesty, it's time to establish a Crown Prince and an Empress!" Chen Huai'an said earnestly.

Unlike the original history, this situation was special, so Empress Zhangsun had not yet been established as empress at this time.

There wasn't even an empress yet, let alone a crown prince.

Chen Huai'an's words awakened the others.

Changsun Wuji fell silent, a rare occurrence, while Fang Xuanling spoke frankly: "Your Majesty, what the Duke of Anguo said is correct."

"The emperor, who receives his mandate from Heaven, is called the 'Son of Heaven,' while the empress is called the 'Mother of the Nation,' corresponding to the balance of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang."

"Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, you have not yet established an empress, which is against the rules of propriety."

"Your Majesty has already decided on the reign title for next year. According to the system, the enthronement, the appointment of the empress, the establishment of the crown prince, the change of the reign title, and the general amnesty will be completed. Only after these are completed will it mean that Your Majesty's rule is in accordance with the rites and laws and that a new dynasty has been fully established."

Wei Zheng agreed wholeheartedly: "Yes, whether it is the position of Empress or the position of Crown Prince, they are matters of great importance to the country and cannot be taken lightly. They must be established as soon as possible."

"Only when the positions of Empress and Crown Prince are firmly established can the officials feel at ease and the local authorities feel at ease; otherwise, it is very easy to trigger a coup and internal strife."

Li Shimin had long wanted to establish an empress, but it was only because of the Turks that it was delayed until this time.

Now that even his trusted confidants were saying this, he replied almost without hesitation, "Good, you're right."

"It's time to establish an empress and a crown prince."

"..."