The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

Then, Li Siyuan warned, "People count as tigers, and tigers count as people. You can leak some of the Tongwenguan's affairs to him, let him have a taste of the sweetness, and try to gain his trust, but you have to pretend to be more realistic, understand?"

Li Cunli's heart sank. It seemed that he was doomed to be an undercover agent. "Brother, I understand."

Li Siyuan patted his shoulder and said solemnly, "In a few days, I will pretend to have a falling out with you and deprive you of your position as the leader of the Lizi Sect. I have to do a good job of pretending so that the emperor will believe your surrender. Sixth brother, don't worry, I will find someone to take over the position of the leader of the Lizi Sect for you first, and when you come back, this position will still be yours."

However, Li Cunli was not convinced by Li Siyuan's explanation, and he could not help wondering: Was his elder brother really acting? Did he really not have any doubts at all?

Thinking of this, he was terrified. He quickly suppressed the throbbing in his heart and agreed.

Regardless of whether Li Siyuan was trying to seize his power or really trusted him and wanted him to be an undercover agent, he had to show his loyalty now. He knew Li Siyuan's ruthless methods very well.

No matter what, Li Siyuan's purpose of coming here was finally achieved. "Sixth brother, I'm going back first."

Li Cunli quickly stood up and said earnestly, "Brother, I'll take you there."

Li Siyuan narrowed his eyes, neither refusing nor agreeing. When the two men reached the door, he spoke, "Sixth brother, please stay. I will go back first."

Li Cunli clasped his fists and saluted, his expression solemn, "Brother, take care!"

A luxurious carriage pulled by four pure white horses was parked at the entrance of Tongwenguan. Only after Li Siyuan entered the carriage did Li Cunli retract his gaze and turn back to the hall.

At this moment, looking at the dazzling array of delicious dishes on the table, he no longer had the appetite to eat. After ordering the servants to remove the dishes, he sat on the couch and fell into deep thought.

Before they knew it, a rift had appeared between the two.

······

After court dismissal, Su Ming returned to his bedroom and immediately changed into the emperor's regular clothes.

In front of the bronze mirror, Miao Chengtian, one of the Three Holy Princesses, was combing his hair. Looking at the different face in the mirror, he suddenly began to recall his experiences during this period.

It has been almost half a year since he came to this world. At the beginning, after knowing his identity and predetermined fate, he tried his best to survive.

Later, Su Ming seized the opportunity given to him by Yuan Tiangang, jumped up and became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, which completely changed the plot. At present, his life is not in danger, but he is still a little confused about what to do in the future.

First of all, he must be alive, and secondly, he must complete the role-playing progress as quickly as possible and strive to leave this world. But he also realized that the further he got, the harder it would be to improve the role-playing progress.

At this moment, he could no longer tell whether he was the fake Li Xingyun or Su Ming. As the saying goes, if you wear a mask for too long, it will become difficult to take it off.

However, who doesn’t wear a mask in life?

Even Yuan Tiangang, who had dominated the world for more than a hundred years, wore a mask and hid in the dark, treating the world as a chessboard and all living beings as chess pieces.

No one can be truly free and at ease. In the face of threats to survival, this is not a problem.

After this period of exploration, Su Ming had a guess that if he wanted to leave this world, he would eventually have to face Yuan Tiangang, or at least defeat him to achieve his goal, whether in terms of force or other aspects.

So now, he can only try his best to improve his martial arts, be a good emperor, expand his power, and compete with him.

At this time, Miao Chengtian, who was combing his hair, smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are becoming more and more like an emperor."

The sudden words brought Su Ming back to reality. He frowned and sighed, "There's no other way. I have no choice. There's nothing I can do." His words were full of helplessness and bitterness.

Miao Chengtian raised her eyebrows, and a gleam of light flashed in her beautiful eyes, "Your Majesty is now the emperor, who can force you?" At this point, she pretended to ask casually, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask, why don't I see Miss Xue'er? Didn't I hear that she has been resurrected?"

Sure enough, the empress became suspicious.

Miao Chengtian definitely would not ask these questions on his own initiative. If my guess is correct, it was the empress who signaled her to ask.

Su Ming frowned even more tightly, with a look of deep worry on his face, "I don't know how Xue'er is doing. I hope she's okay."

Miao Chengtian's heart sank, knowing that Ji Ruxue had an accident, but he didn't dare to ask further. He could only comb Su Ming's hair silently.

At this time, Su Ming closed his eyes and smiled secretly in his heart: The fish finally took the bait.

Whether it was the previous reply or the current answer, his target has always been the Empress.

According to the plot, the real Li Maozhen should have returned from Raojiang now. Once he comes back to take over the power of Qi State, the situation will be difficult to control.

He must take advantage of this opportunity to lure the empress to Luoyang and take control of Qi's troops in order to counter Li Siyuan.

The Son of Heaven is the one who has strong soldiers and horses.

Su Ming has always been very clear that without soldiers loyal to him, the emperor is nothing but a joke, and he cannot deal with Li Siyuan like the Bad People dealt with Li Cunxu.

Therefore, he had to act according to the rules within the court system.

Chapter 41 The Price of Breaking the Rules, Hongwu Reign

It is easy to break the rules, but difficult to make them.

Killing without teaching is cruelty. Killing Li Siyuan directly is the lowest level of means. The real method is not the destruction of the body, but killing the person and destroying his heart.

Li Siyuan's strength did not lie in his personal martial arts, but in the fact that he controlled the Tongwenguan and had a large number of soldiers loyal to him. Three generations of people from the Jin State took root in the land of the Three Jins, and this was their base camp.

Li Siyuan is not just one person, he represents a huge interest group. If they kill Li Siyuan, they will nominate the next Li Siyuan.

There was such an emperor in the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

After the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty, Liu Zhiyuan took advantage of the situation to expel the Khitan and establish the Later Han Dynasty. He died shortly after he became emperor.

Before he died, he entrusted Liu Chengyou (Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty) to the care of those meritorious officials and generals who had helped him build the country. After Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, these meritorious officials often quarreled in the court and fought each other over disagreements. They disregarded the law and did not take Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty seriously at all!

This situation is actually very similar to Su Ming's current situation. Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne at a young age, and his foundation is unstable. He has no confidants and no army that is truly loyal to him.

The same was true for Su Ming. In the court, Li Siyuan was entrenched, and outside the court, there were separatist princes and vassal states, and there were internal and external troubles.

After discussing with his uncle Li Ye and others, Liu Chengyou, the Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, decided to set up an ambush at the gate of the imperial palace and kill all the domineering ministers, including Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang, who were about to go to court, and exterminate their three clans.

At the same time, Liu Chengyou also sent people to assassinate Guo Wei, the governor of Tianxiong Army who was guarding Yecheng. Guo Wei had no choice but to rebel after hearing the news. Soon, Guo Wei led his army to Kaifeng, and Liu Chengyou was killed by the rebels while escaping, and the Later Han Dynasty perished.

In this respect, he was very bad, far inferior to his predecessor Sima Yi. During the Gaopingling Incident, Sima Yi not only killed Cao Shuang, but also killed his followers who implicated him, and even the Luo River turned red.

Liu Chengyou only killed the leading minister but did not eliminate his followers, and also missed Guo Wei. He broke the rules but did not eliminate the roots, which led to endless troubles.

If Su Ming used the same method to kill Li Siyuan now, his followers would nominate another leader to replace Li Siyuan, unless he wanted to launch the "Gaopingling Incident" like Sima Yi.

By then, the whole country will be filled with smoke of war and the mountains and rivers will be in ruins. The Tang Dynasty, which had almost unified the north, will be torn apart again. By then, the imperial court will be in internal strife, its power will decline, and the feudal lords will be divided. He will become the next Emperor Zhaozong.

Directly killing Li Siyuan was a very bad strategy. In the sixth season, Li Xingyun and Zhang Zifan killed Li Siyuan but still failed to secure their rule. It was because of this mistake that Li Siyuan's henchman Shi Jingtang rose to power and completely buried the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, without sufficient political skills, if you sit on the throne, you can either be a puppet or fight hard. If you are lucky, you can create a prosperous and peaceful world. If you are unlucky, you will be like the Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, and die in one wave.

There are a lot of explanations, but you only need to understand one thing: if you cannot eliminate all of Li Siyuan's followers, don't kill him.

The same goes for Li Siyuan. He cannot kill Su Ming directly because it will cause the situation to get out of control.

Su Ming could die of illness, could be killed in battle, could die at the hands of a woman, but he could not be killed by Li Siyuan, even if assassins were sent, because if he died unclearly, Li Siyuan would be the biggest suspect.

Once the reputation of assassinating the emperor spreads, he will lose his reputation and legitimacy, and will not be able to stop people from talking nonsense. At that time, Li Siyuan will be besieged by many heroes.

Apart from this, the only thing Li Siyuan could do was to restrict his power, destroy his reputation, lock him in the cage of power, and turn him into a puppet emperor whose orders could not leave the imperial city.

Su Ming has always been clear about his purpose. Li Siyuan's repeated provocations were just to anger him and make him make a stupid move. Once he succeeds, he will be in a passive position.

······

"Boom!"

The melodious sound of the bronze bell resounded throughout the imperial city. The sky was cloudless and the sun was rising. The golden sunlight shone on the glazed tiles of the Taiji Hall, refracting clear light. The eaves and flying tiles, the red steps and the white jade railings were dazzling.

Since Su Ming ascended the throne, the Luoyang Imperial City has swept away its previous desolation and decline and regained its majesty and grandeur.

Tai Chi Hall.

As soon as he entered the court, Su Ming began to collect homework.

"Regarding the reign title of our Tang Dynasty, you are welcome to speak freely about your thoughts."

For a moment, the ministers in the palace looked at each other and discussed quietly. After a while, one minister stood up and said, "Your Majesty is the orthodox ruler of the Tang Dynasty and has revived the imperial cause. I think you should use Zhengtong as the reign title to show the world."

Wow, this year number is good, but it’s too ominous.

Upon hearing this reign title, Su Ming couldn't help but look at him more. This man's name was Ren Yuan, and he was Li Siyuan's most trusted minister. No wonder he spoke before Li Siyuan did.

Just as he finished speaking, another courtier in scarlet robes spoke up, "Your Majesty, I think the reign title should be Hongguang. Hong means expansion and striving, and Guang means bright and shining, symbolizing the future. The two words Hongguang indicate that Your Majesty will revive the glory of the Tang Dynasty and shine upon the world."

This man was called An Zhonghui, and he was also Li Siyuan's confidant.

This reign title is not bad, but the small Southern Ming Dynasty only lasted for a few decades before being destroyed by the Qing Dynasty. So forget it.

Immediately, the court officials started talking one after another, and names like De Zhao and Tai An came out.

However, after Su Ming's observation, he found that most of these ministers who spoke were from Li Siyuan's subordinates. It was understandable that the military generals did not speak, but apart from these generals, other ministers did not speak.

From beginning to end, Li Siyuan said nothing and let his men perform.

However, he did not want to speak, but Su Ming insisted that he speak. He did not comment on the suggestions of the ministers, but directly asked Li Siyuan, "The reign titles chosen by the ministers are all good. I wonder what the King of Jin thinks?"

Li Siyuan narrowed his eyes and glanced at Su Ming. There was no point in arguing about these trivial matters, so he was too lazy to speak. Unexpectedly, Su Ming took the initiative to find him. It was really interesting.

"Your Majesty, the reign titles chosen by Lord Ren and Lord An both have good meanings. The decision on which one to choose is entirely up to Your Majesty." Since Su Ming asked him to speak, he did not hide his support for his faction.

However, Su Ming did not adopt any of these suggestions. He looked at Li Siyuan and said slowly, "Prince Jin, I think the reign titles they came up with are not good enough. I have also thought of a reign title, Hongwu. What do you think?"

Hongwu means great martial arts and the power of showing off military affairs. These two words show Su Ming's ambition and ideas.

Hearing this, Li Siyuan also looked at Su Ming deeply and said in a deep voice, "The two words Hongwu have a very good meaning. Your Majesty is quick-witted and I admire you."

Since Li Siyuan had spoken, the court officials naturally would not object, so the court decided to use Hongwu as the reign title, which would begin in the first month of the next year.

Chapter 42: Winning over Li Cunli, Roaring in the Court

"My dear Minister Kong, how is the preparation of the list of return gifts that I asked you to prepare a few days ago going?" As soon as the words fell, the voices of the court officials in the hall suddenly stopped.

Kong Xianwen was also prepared and took out the memorial from his sleeve and presented it.

Su Ming opened the memorial and began to read it. This time, Kong Xianwen had learned his lesson. He reduced the gifts from various princes by half and also took back all the honors that were awarded.

However, the reward for Li Siyuan was also included in it, but he was too lazy to care about it. "Okay, just do it according to what is written here. The Ministry of Revenue should cooperate and coordinate, and don't make any mistakes."

At this time, Kong Xianwen breathed a sigh of relief, "I understand."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice reported again: "Your Majesty, the lists of criminals pardoned in various states and counties have been compiled one after another. Please review them as soon as possible." In any dynasty, the emperor must have the power to reward and punish.

The lists and files of local beheadings and killings would be transmitted to the imperial court. After review, the emperor would sign the final verdict. Under normal circumstances, the local governments had no qualifications to execute criminals.

Only after receiving feedback from the imperial court can the local authorities execute the criminals in the autumn.

Su Ming nodded, "I understand, please leave."

Afterwards, the court officials began to discuss government affairs. Su Ming made some decisions on the spot, while others were discussed later. When they were almost done, he stood up from the dragon chair and glanced at the officials, "I am very dissatisfied with the efficiency of the Secretariat in recent days."

"The officials of the Secretariat are passing the buck to each other, procrastinating on work, and delaying government affairs. Even if I give you ten heads, you still can't bear the consequences."

Hearing His Majesty's reprimand, the head of the Secretariat stood up and said bitterly, "Your Majesty, it's not that we are inefficient, but that the Secretariat is short of manpower."

Su Ming said with a straight face, "Really? If that's the case, why didn't you say it earlier? Are you unwilling to say it, or are you afraid to say it?"