Don't be a prince

How can this be believed!

As the main force selected by several companies, Cui Bei only felt that his eyes were staring at gold stars, and all the sage books in his mind had become fuel, which, together with resentment, fueled the raging anger.With a strange cry, he rushed towards the prince.

As expected of a military commander, Changsun Wuji was the only one who noticed Cui Bei's movements when all the officials except the five surnames he belonged to were relieved, and he threw the white jade wat board in his hand directly!

However, his movements were still a step slower.When the white jade wat board smashed into Cui Bei's head, Li Chengqian had already retracted his fist.

bang.

Cui Bei, who took two steps back, fell to the ground with a bang, his hands and feet twitched, obviously he got in the way.

Li Shimin, who was always singing in his heart, saw the sudden change, and was instantly furious: "Presumptuous! The Cui family of Qinghe, how dare to assassinate the prince in court?! Come, send these lawless people to the prison of the Ministry of Justice! "

As soon as the emperor's order was issued, the guards who had been waiting outside the hall immediately entered the hall, and the patriarchs who set up five surnames and seven watchmen dragged them out.

But standing on the court hall, officials belonging to the five surnames dared not come out to persuade the emperor.Because the anxious emperor had already skipped the dragon case and went to comfort the prince.

Chapter 161 Parasite + Emperor Science

Faced with his father's anxious inquiry, Li Chengqian could only open his arms to signal that he was fine.

Niu Jinda next to him laughed loudly and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Although His Highness the Crown Prince is young and lacks strength, with his skills, he can deal with one or two frail scholars."

After repeatedly confirming that his son was fine, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, and then casually rewarded Niu Jinda with the jade pendant hanging around his waist.A palm-sized jade pendant, only the emperor is eligible to wear it. After receiving such a reward, it can be put in the ancestral hall to show off to the ancestors.

Li Shimin, who returned to the throne, let go of the short-term tension, and returned to the identity of the all-powerful emperor.

"Cui Bei assassinated the crown prince in court. The crime is unforgivable. Those with the surname Cui in the same family today will be sent to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and will be executed tomorrow. The Cui family will act recklessly and pursue all Qinghe Cui surnames. The six families should have been guilty of the same crime, but I heard the crown prince said that God has the virtue of loving life, so they will not be held accountable. Each of them will be fined two thousand catties of copper."

Hearing the result of the emperor's disposition, many people breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

In today's court, although Cui Bei failed to succeed, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could not escape the charge of assassination.With this charge, even if the emperor directly swung the butcher knife at the Qi family, no one would be able to tell the truth.Now it is considered kindness to only attack Qinghe Cui's family.

The matter of the five surnames interrogating the emperor has come to an end, and the matter of the locust plague must be dealt with seriously next.This plague of locusts was the first natural disaster since the Zhenguan Dynasty and even the founding of the Tang Dynasty.A disaster affecting the entire Guanzhong!Compared with the expressionless generals, the civil servants are simply crazy.It is the job of generals to send troops to the outside world, and it is the duty of civilian officials to govern internally.

With the locust plague, as long as you can survive this catastrophe safely, you can get a lot of merit from top to bottom!

The civil servants were all excited, but at this moment Li Chengqian was frowning, because just as he was about to leave after retreating, his father grabbed the corner of his clothes and dragged him into the harem!

To the northwest behind the Lizheng Hall is the Liangyi Hall, where the queen lives.

It is obvious that she will give birth in another month, but the eldest grandson is still sitting on the rattan chair, basking in the sun and embroidering.

Seeing her husband dragging her son over, but there was no anger on his face, she was puzzled.

The eldest grandson is pregnant, so he doesn't need to salute when he sees the emperor, but Li Chengqian can't do it, he has to salute his mother.

After Li Chengqian stood up, the eldest grandson said with a smile: "Stinky boy, why are you wearing sackcloth if you don't have a good prince's uniform?"

Li Chengqian straightened his body and said: "Mother, the palace is full of locusts now, and even the imperial garden and other places have not been able to escape the mouth of the locusts. My son and minister are dull, and there is no good way to control the locusts. We can only distribute food to the victims. Share your worries for your father."

Zhang Yun, who had already passed the news out of the palace, had returned, and very thoughtfully brought the emperor a flagon, still spirits.

After taking a sip of wine, Li Shimin pointed to Li Chengqian and said to the queen: "The queen doesn't know, there are five surnames and seven hopeful generals in the main hall today. Cui Chengdao, Wang Yuebin and other immortals have come out to question me. Wujifang Although Qiao and the others are talented and famous, they can't get any benefits from them. In the end, the Cui family even moved out "Hong Fan", making it impossible for Fang Xuanling to advance or retreat."

Seeing the emperor drinking wine and beaming with joy, without asking, he knew that the plan of the five surnames and Qiwang had failed.

The eldest grandson smiled slightly: "The concubine is curious. Who is it who refuted the Cui family? Although I have only read a few books, I still know the name of Hong Fan in the "Book of History."

Smart as the eldest grandson, how could he not know that her husband came here specially to show off.Showing off to others will appear imposing, but in front of me, my husband will always have this temperament.

Pointing at his son again, Li Shimin smiled without saying a word.

The eldest grandson opened his mouth in surprise, and couldn't help asking Li Chengqian who was scratching his head: "Chengqian, is it true? You actually refuted the Cui family?"

It’s the first time I’ve tried the feeling of being praised in public. Before, I didn’t know why the students were so stupid to compete for the little red flower and the torn paper, but now I understand.

"I have no choice but to do this. Queen Mother, you should be the master of the child. At that time, the emperor forcibly threw this mess to the son. If the son hadn't been smarter, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to step down today."

Li Shimin laughed loudly, and didn't take the crown prince's complaints at all seriously: "That means that I know how to use people well, and you have broken the situation? The effect is surprisingly good. Even Cui Bei lost his mind because of your anger, haha. "

Looking at her husband who laughed from time to time, the eldest grandson shook his head with a smile.After many years of husband and wife, she knew that this was the happiest time for her husband.

He couldn't help being unhappy.

Most of the officials in the early Tang Dynasty were recommended.And the Five Surnames and Seven Wangs, who have infiltrated the court and occupied almost half of the country, can even occasionally dictate the direction of political affairs.And this is something the emperor can't do anything about.Maybe one or two recommendations can be regarded as not seen, or rejected, but a series of recommendations, can they all be rejected?

Even Fang Xuanling is the son-in-law of the five surnames, and when the five surnames ask him for business occasionally, they can only bite the bullet and accept it.Since he was greedy for women with five surnames at the beginning, now he has to bear the bitter fruit.

What directly caused the conflict between the royal family and the five surnames was not the so-called blood, the so-called theft, or having sex with sister-in-law and sister-in-law.In terms of the detached status of the five surnames, even if the emperor took the head of the Supreme Emperor now, it has nothing to do with them.

What really caused a direct conflict was the recommendation.Li Shimin is not Li Yuan, and he can't stand being directed at the court by a group of well-dressed turtles.Therefore, not only refused the recommendation of the officials below one after another, but even occasionally took the knife of the five surnames.

But this time it was all right, not only was the five surnames beaten to pieces by a head-on blow, but they could only frantically fight against the laughing stock that was spread this time.And the Qinghe Cui family was cleared out, and a lot of official positions were freed up.

Li Shimin wanted to, but he didn't dare to drive the power of the five surnames out of the court, otherwise the crime of assassinating the prince would not be too much to use.The clansmen of the five surnames mixed in various places in the Tang Dynasty are like parasites, if they are all deducted, the Tang Dynasty will be completely infested immediately.If you want to clear them without fluctuations, you can only spend a long time grinding.

No matter how happy you are, you can't drink spirits as water.In addition, the court hall in the morning is really...

Seeing the emperor's father passed out drunk on the chair, Li Chengqian could only order the eunuch to carry him back to the Ganlu Palace.The Hall of Erectile Dysfunction cannot be kept, and alcoholic creatures are absolutely forbidden around pregnant women.

The eldest grandson also knew that the emperor was happy, so he didn't even persuade him.

Today, the locusts have "patronized" Chang'an. As the emperor, Li Shimin should have expressed something, but the pleasure of defeating the five surnames even made him involuntarily let go of his duties as emperor.

I don't know how many memorials are piled up on the dragon case.

Unwilling to see Lao Tzu screaming, Li Chengqian simply left the palace.

The most brilliant show was over, although it was not his intention to go up to the stage to perform, but the excitement was over, and the next step was pure disaster relief.

After leaving the palace, under the desperate request of the commander of the guards, Li Chengqian had to bring five hundred guards with him.And after Wei Zheng got into the carriage with the cheek, he had to circle around Chang'an.

Changsun Wuji moved very quickly. In Chang'an City, there were officials distributing grain everywhere near the grain stores.There is nothing more reassuring than sacks of grain piling up in the streets.

However, after looking at several places for bulk food, Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask Wei Zheng: "Mr. Zheng, since all the food stores have been set up, why are there so few people receiving food? I checked, and there are only a few Beggars, widows, the old and the weak are queuing up to receive them."

Wei Zheng sighed and said, "On the first day, how could there be so many people. When disasters arise, they all bite the bullet, or their stomachs are struggling. People are good-faced, and so are ordinary people."

Li Chengqian couldn't help sighing as he watched the Chang'an citizens hurrying to and fro on the street with distressed faces.

In the end, I still forgot to think in another person's place. If it was me, I'm afraid I would not give up looking for other ways out, until I couldn't hold back my stomach, I would hide my face and go to receive relief.Born in an orphanage, he attaches great importance to "self-improvement".Unlike other places, whether it is subsistence allowances or anything else, everyone is rushing to get it.There are even those who drive Mercedes-Benz and BMW to enjoy the five-guarantee household policy.

This is an era that has not been polluted, and the stubbornness engraved on the bones has not been washed away by time.

When they walked around Chang'an and wanted to go out, they saw a large group of people gathered at the gate of the city.Everyone held a sack in their hands, and just by looking at the wriggling inside the sack, they knew it was a locust.

Yu Qiusheng, the county magistrate of Chang'an County, carried thorns on his back and taught the people under his rule:

"Folks, we don't need to receive relief from the imperial court! A letter from Wannian County said that the prince's farm is harvesting locusts. As long as we catch the locusts, we can go there to exchange for food! I know what you are worried about, but I believe that the prince is benevolent. I will argue with you civilians. For the previous incident, I can only blame this official. You can go to exchange for food without worry, and this official will go to the prince to take the blame. Take all the crimes in your hand, although I will bring you I let you go there, but there is nothing wrong with it, and it is quite troublesome to be found in Wannian County..."

Passover, a necessary thing for the people of Tang Dynasty to leave their homeland and go to other places.Once there is no fault during the inspection, the minor ones will be treated as refugees, and the serious ones will be suspected of being bandits and robbers.Even some low-level officials must prepare official certificates when they go out.

I am afraid that there are only a few bigwigs in Chang'an who can run wild without these two things.

But Li Chengqian was not in the mood to think about these things at this time, but looked helplessly at Yu Qiusheng's messy back.

Forget about He Shou, did Yu Qiusheng get kicked in the head by a donkey?When it comes to apologizing, do you just play hooligans with your upper body bare, and then torture yourself with thorns on your back?Although it is an idiom to "plead guilty to the thorns", it is a bit too much to regard it as a code of conduct.

Seeing that Yu Qiusheng was going to take the citizens of Chang'an to the breeding farm, Li Chengqian hurried out of the carriage and ordered the guards to stop.

In the entire Chang'an City, someone who can command five hundred guards at every turn is by no means an ordinary person.So Yu Qiusheng, who saw the team from a distance, ordered the citizens to step aside and give way first.

But who ever thought that the road was given up and the team stopped.

Seeing the young man coming out of the carriage, Yu Qiusheng was so shocked that he would fall to his knees without hesitation.

He didn't kneel down, because Wei Zheng also got out and stood beside the prince.If this is kneeling, it is not an apology. If it is seen by other officials, it is impolite.

Jumping off the carriage, Li Chengqian said as he walked: "Okay, quickly get the thorns down, why are you all over and over again, just like this method of pleading guilty? Can't it be something new?"

Although Yu Qiusheng was the county magistrate of Chang'an, he was worse than He Shou at 01:30, neither was he clasping his hands with the thorns on his back, nor was he kneeling, and he was sweating embarrassingly.

"Okay, there's no need to apologize. Now it's time to take your people to exchange for food."

Wei Zheng just rightly helped Yu Qiusheng out of the siege.

There are many people gathered at the gate of the city, and there is a tendency of more and more people.If they were to take the locusts to the farm, it would be too far away, and it would take a long time to come and go.

Yu Qiusheng, who threw away the thorns, simply put on a piece of clothing, and waited beside Li Chengqian, waiting for orders.

"Magistrate Yu, you should let these people keep the locusts first, and the orphan will borrow some guards from the imperial father to send the grain and meat in the warehouse outside Chang'an City, and exchange them outside the city, which can save a lot of time. .”

Yu Qiusheng cupped his hands and went down to announce the news.

Although the Tang Dynasty did not have a circle of friends, the speed of news transmission was still very fast.

Until the evening, people from Sanyuan County even brought locusts to exchange food.

It's all about losing face, and I was still hesitating whether to receive the relief food from the court, but suddenly I heard that the prince can exchange locusts for food.As long as they are paid for their hard work, they can eat with peace of mind.

It was only a day since the locust plague had passed, and Li Chengqian had consumed most of the grain he had hoarded, and around Chang'an, there were still people who came to exchange grain regardless of the distance.

"Since the common people are willing to exchange locusts for food, and are not willing to give relief to white-collar workers, then the food brought by the imperial court from Longyou and other places should be sold to your East Palace at a low price."

Li Shimin, who had sobered up, was still a little tired, but after hearing Baiqisi's report, he generously sold the imperial court's grain to the East Palace.

In the end, it would be a disadvantage for the court to trade at a fair price, because the price of these grains would have to double no matter what.If the imperial court sells grain at a low price, if it is analyzed by the means of the market, it will hurt people with its own foundation.But in the face of disaster, even if the imperial court loses money, it is willing to lose money.It's just that those grain merchants who planned to make a fortune, after experiencing this turmoil, some were drunk and cried bitterly, and some committed suicide.The rest of the businessmen, seeing the tragedy of their colleagues, couldn't help but feel sad.

"Father, your attack this time is too ruthless. My son heard that there are more than a dozen grain merchants who committed suicide in Chang'an alone."

Li Shimin, who was half lying on the brocade floor, drank the porridge one mouthful at a time. After hearing Li Chengqian's words, he put the porridge bowl on the table and said, "Chengqian, I'm here to ask you, if you fill the bucket with water Seal it and put it in the courtyard in the cold winter, what will it be like?"

Li Chengqian said without hesitation: "It will be cracked by the ice."

"That's the truth. There is a folk saying that you can eat as much as you have a big belly. People can't always think about opportunistic, or even opportunistic, or even plundering. Businessmen are low-level businesses. I have seen many businessmen, especially big businessmen, fight Rushing to do some good things in the village, hoping to use a good reputation to offset the influence of one's own identity. I think this is very good, but once a person who is morally corrupt and takes "seeking profit" to the extreme, death is not enough Unfortunately.

As an emperor, you can't deviate from the overall situation just because of the life and death of a few people.Think about it, what would happen if I let them go?Food prices soared, and the people suffered so much that they were likely to follow the old path of the end of the Sui Dynasty.I don't want the Tang Dynasty to die in two generations like the Sui Dynasty. "

Li Chengqian nodded, facing his father's education, he didn't know what to say.

An ordinary person would never use the term "kill decisively".The emperor's father called him over today, probably to teach him some things that he needs to be an emperor.And these are things that Li Gang cannot teach.

"I know that you are dissatisfied with my secret hoarding of food, but you don't make it public. But Chengqian, the five surnames need to be suppressed after all. You look through the resumes of the official department, regardless of the son-in-law of the five surnames, just the five surnames, How many official positions did we occupy in the Tang Dynasty? Since the time of the Supreme Emperor, they have already had the ability to influence the decision of the emperor. If this continues, will our Li family be the emperor or they will be the emperor?

Over the years, no matter whether it is the Supreme Emperor or Zhen, they have tried their best to suppress the rich and reduce taxes and labor, in order to let the people recuperate.However, if officials from the wealthy family occupy a dominant position in the court, I can guarantee that even if the emperor wants to make a decree of tax reduction or exemption, it will be very difficult.Those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a region. You only see the people in Guanzhong suffering disasters and rushing to Chang'an to get enough food, but you don't see the fangs of the aristocratic family stretching out to the royal family! "Remember in one second on the mobile phone → .B\\.\ provides you with wonderful novels to read.

This was the first time that father and son had such a sincere conversation, and it was also the first time that Li Shimin, as the emperor, taught part of the emperor's theory to his son.

There is a joke that goes, "Children make choices, but adults all have to." Although it is humorous, it still has some truth.If you are a child, you will only choose what you like based on your likes and dislikes.And adults, sometimes for their own goals, can accept things that they don't want to accept.

It doesn't take long for Li Chengqian to tell the pros and cons of what the old man said.

Indeed, if the five surnames were really allowed to dominate, it would indeed be a disaster for Datang.And the delay of the imperial court's disaster relief, although it will suffer for those people who are a little far away from Chang'an, it will not lead to too serious consequences.

Chapter 162 The Fisherman's Profit

Once there is a beginning, there will be a follow-up.

So every afternoon, Li Chengqian would go to the harem to pay his respects to his parents, and by the way, accept the emperor's theory taught by the emperor's father himself.

In fact, many times, things that are originally very simple will be confusing and even intimidating after being heavily packaged.The Emperor Technique is one of them.It seems to be an important knowledge that cannot be passed on, but in fact, it is the same as the carpenter's apprenticeship, which is the inheritance of some skills.

As long as Li Chengqian enters the harem and stays with Li Shimin, the eldest grandson will take the initiative to avoid it.In the entire hall, only a few loyal eunuchs guarded the surrounding windows.

"Doubt is not a vice. On the contrary, it is a virtue of the emperor. No matter what you look at, you can't completely trust it. An emperor can never give more than six points of trust. Even if you see it at some point has become a given. As for the facts, you can't relax, because the danger often appears the moment you succeed..."

After saying this, Li Shimin naturally picked up a memorial on the table and handed it to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian took it with both hands, unfolded it, and was startled when he saw the package.

This turned out to be Baiqisi's [-]-urgent secret report. Hongling's urgent envoy is already the fastest way to deliver news in this era, and Baiqisi's [-]-urgent secret report is even faster than this.Remember in one second on the mobile phone → .B\\.\ provides you with wonderful novels to read.

After reading this secret report with a serious attitude, Li Chengqian thought for a while before asking: "Father, are you planning to send troops?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "It doesn't matter what my plan is, what matters is, if you were me, what choice would you make?"

Just like when he was in court on the day when the locust plague came, Li Shimin threw another difficult question to Li Chengqian.

Baiqisi's [-] urgent secret report only mentioned two things.First, in the territory of East Turkic, Xieli did not know what the wind was, and he started fighting with Tuli.Tuli is also a khan, although its status is not as good as Jieli Khan, but it is also an important part of East Turkic.Once these two people have a conflict, for others, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.Especially in Datang, the shame of Weishui is still there, and this is the best opportunity to avenge its shame.

The second thing is that Tuli has sent envoys to visit Datang, hoping to get help from Datang.The border officials were afraid that the envoys of Tuli would learn about the locust plague in the pass, so they dared not put them into the territory.

Recalling the indomitable appearance of Jieli on the bridge that day, Li Chengqian couldn't help but clenched his hands.For Datang, this can be said to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "If it should be done, then it will be broken" is still the truth learned yesterday.

But....

After closing the secret report and handing it back to Li Shimin with both hands, Li Chengqian said seriously: "Father, if you are a son, you will definitely not believe this. How could Tuli and Jieli fight? Even if Baiqisi's investigation is correct, there must be something strange in it .Although the Turkic people are barbarians, they should not be unclear about the truth that internal struggles will inevitably lead to external aggression. When Zhou Yu beat Huang Gai, one was willing to fight and the other was willing to suffer. The Three Kingdoms matter is not far away, so how can they be easily fooled now?

What's more, we are suffering from a plague of locusts in the customs. Although the treasury and the food conscripted can supply the disaster, it is far from enough to send troops.Even if they could barely gather the food and grass needed for the expedition, the Sixteenth Guards Army had many people from Guanzhong, and it was difficult for them to exert their combat power because they were worried about their hometown.Still struggling in adversity, this is what you do when you have nowhere to go.To lure Datang, Xieli did not throw enough bait. "