"Your Majesty, Li Shimin, the son of Li Yuan of Taiyuan, requests an audience outside the palace.”
Yuwen Huaji, who was feeling depressed, said first,""What Li Shi Min? Can't you see that His Majesty is busy? Let him wait outside the palace!"
Although the Li family was also one of the four gentry families, their influence had been greatly reduced after they were banished to Taiyuan. Their trusted aides in the court had also been completely excluded. Even Li Yuan couldn't be compared to Yuwen Huaji, let alone Li Yuan's second son, Li Shimin.
"Yes…"
The young eunuch replied with a trembling voice. He turned around and wanted to leave. Even in his eyes, Li Shi Min was not a big shot.
"Wait!"
Yang Guang's eyes flashed with a trace of light as he smiled and said,"No matter what, Li Shi Min is Zhen's nephew.”
Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts, but no one dared to object.
After a while, a tough young man with a body full of wind and frost strode in. He half-knelt on the ground and said loudly,"Li Shi Min greets Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty a long and peaceful life!”
Before Yang Guang could speak, Xiao Cong, who was at the side, took the lead and said,"Li Shi Min, why didn't you take a bath before coming in? Do you even have His Majesty in your eyes?”
On the other side, Yuwen Huaji also stood to the side with Xiao Cong and said sarcastically,""Li Shi Min, are you trying to show off to His Majesty? Such an unseemly act, did he still have the demeanor of a royal relative?”
Li Shi Min kneeled on the ground, his knuckles cracking. His head was lowered, and his eyes were filled with anger. At this moment, his heart was filled with anger. This was because the last time Li Yuan entered the capital, he had been scolded by Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong for not having a ruler in his eyes because he had changed his clothes first.
This time, he had learned his lesson. After entering Jiang Du, he did not dare to delay at all and rushed over directly. He was actually attacked by Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong. These two people were really too much!
However, Li Shimin knew very well that the Li family had long lost their power in the court. His aunt was only a lowly concubine in the harem, not comparable to the imperial concubine and the empress. Even if he argued with reason, Yang Guang would most likely side with Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong.
Therefore, Li Shi Min didn't say anything to avoid being snubbed. However, he secretly remembered this matter in his heart.
Yang Guang sat on the main seat and took in everything. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up into a smug arc. He knew that he had favored the Li family several times, which had already made Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong wary of the Li family. This was also the result he wanted to see.
Yang Guang's plan was very simple. If he wanted to control the entire imperial court, he had to cut out the Yuwen and Xiao clans 'forces. The best way was to cultivate an opponent who could fight against the Yuwen and Xiao clans, and use this opponent to gradually weaken their influence in the court. And he himself was the judge of this battle, firmly standing in an invincible position. This was the technique of an emperor.
With Li Shi Min's current power in Jiang Du, he naturally couldn't shake the Yuwen and Xiao families. However, with his secret help and the advice of Zhangsun Wu Ji, the young master of the Profound Secrets Pavilion, he would be able to do so. Yang Guang had absolute confidence that he could make these three great gates perish together!
The first step of this plan was to make Li Shimin a big shot in front of the Emperor and boost his reputation in the Jiangdu officialdom. This kind of false reputation wouldn't bring much benefit, but it could draw the hatred of Li Shi Min, forcing him to fight back and become a gun used by Yang Guang.
As his thoughts raced, Yang Guang stood up with a smile and walked down from the platform to personally help Li Shimin up. He said kindly,"Good, good, you are indeed a talented person. My Great Sui has another outstanding talent. Since he is already here, stay for a meal and tell me about Taiyuan's customs.”
Yang Guang's action shocked Li Shimin. He never thought that the legendary fatuous ruler Yang Guang would be so amiable, like a generous elder. Thinking back to the incident with the Jade Plum Ballad and the protection of the Golden Snake Guards, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel touched. He felt that Yang Guang really valued the Li Family.
After taking two steps with Li Shimin, Yang Guang turned around and said,"The two of you can stay here too.”
"Yes…"
Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong welcomed him with joy on their faces. Even with their power, they didn't have many opportunities to eat with the Emperor.
The banquet was filled with fine wine and delicacies. Every dish was pleasing to the eye, fragrant, and delicious. Yang Guang didn't have any scruples. He picked up his chopsticks and started tasting each dish.
Li Shiming, who was sitting next to Yang Guang, was not so relaxed. He was still restless. He rarely experienced such a warm family banquet even in his own home. Yang Guang's kindness touched him, but at the same time, he was a little at a loss. Therefore, Li Shi Min didn't take his chopsticks and started to talk about the situation in Taiyuan.
Yang Guang was eating happily. He didn't know if he heard Li Shimin's words, but he nodded from time to time. By the time Li Shiming finished speaking, he was already half full.
"That's right, Taiyuan is located in a desolate place outside the pass and the environment is harsh. Your Li family has done a good job and didn't let down the previous emperor's trust. Especially you, Li Shimin. I heard that you not only led the army to exterminate more than a dozen bandits, but also had great achievements in the field of civil governance. I called you to the capital to share my worries.”
Li Shimin was flattered and said,"Your Majesty, you flatter me. I don't deserve it."”
"En, zhen remembers that the Ministry of Revenue is lacking an assistant minister. You should go and train yourself.”
As soon as these words came out, Yuwen Huaji and Xiao Cong, who had been silent, immediately changed their expressions. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue was a real second-grade official with real power. He held the money bag of the court in one hand. The two families had been fighting for this position for a long time, but they didn't expect Li Shiming to take it out of thin air.
Li Shi Min was also shocked by Yang Guang's generosity. He immediately got up and knelt on the ground, kowtowing,"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Yang Guang couldn't help but laugh in his heart. Although he wanted to show enough favor to Li Shi Min, he wouldn't give up this position of real power. These words were just a sweet date that he had thrown out. The stick was still waiting behind.
The journey of training Li Shimin was an endless joy.# Daguan Review Passed: Daguan Time:011720192:32PM
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