Time flew by, and Li Shimin rested for the whole morning.
The tiredness from last night's secret discussion was swept away.
He came to the Purple Mansion Hall and prepared to review the memorials.
At this moment, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, Minister Du Ruhui, and Grand Marshal Zhangsun Wuji came to ask for an audience.
Li Shi Min was surprised.
Usually, only two out of the three of them would come to pay their respects.
If it wasn't for Li Shi Min personally summoning them, the three of them would rarely come to pay their respects.
Could it be that you have something important to discuss with me?
With doubts in his heart, Li Shimin asked the eunuch to summon him.
"Xuanfang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Zhangsun Wuji are to enter the hall!”
The voice of the summons reached the outside of the hall, and the three old ministers entered the hall one after another.
Seeing Li Shi Min, the three of them cupped their hands and bowed,
"Saint, greetings."
"No need to be polite. The three old ministers have come to see me together.”
Prime Minister Fang Xuanling said,"
"Your Majesty, I believe that the King of Shu should have arrived at the time of his fief.”
Minister Du Ruhui said,"
"The King of Shu has been crowned for more than a month. According to the laws of the Great Tang, he should have gone to his fief long ago.”
Li Shimin nodded.
As my third prince, it is indeed time to go to the vassal state.
Just as he was about to approve the memorial, Zhangsun Wuji suddenly advised,
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter should be discussed at length.”
Zhangsun Wuji's sudden words surprised the three of them.
Li Shi Min asked,"
"Oh? What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, although the King of Shu is already a crown prince, he is still young.
Moreover, there were many places to play in Chang 'an, so the King of Shu naturally wanted to stay longer.
Moreover, if he was ordered to be a vassal when he had just reached the age of crown.
Wouldn't it be a bit of a kick? I'm afraid it would hurt the King of Shu's heart.”
Zhangsun Wuji seemed to be defending the King of Shu.
But in reality, he was thinking about something else.
Now that the Crown Prince had his eyes on the King of Shu, it was a good time for him to support the development of the King of Jin.
If the King of Shu were to become a vassal at this time, the next thorn in the Crown Prince's side would naturally become the King of Jin.
Therefore, no matter what, he had to let the King of Shu stay in Chang 'an for a few more days!
No one knew about Zhangsun Wuji's plans.
He was the one who supported Prince Jin in secret.
In the eyes of outsiders, Zhangsun Wuji was a neutral official who did not participate in the factional strife.
Therefore, his words did not make the three people present associate it with the fight for the throne.
Li Shi Min felt that his words made sense.
It didn't matter if the King of Shu was pretending to be having fun or if he was serious.
He was Li Shiming's biological son.
How could he be cruel to his son?
Although Yizhou was not remote and barren, it was still much worse than Chang 'an.
If he was not summoned, the King of Shu would never be able to return to Chang 'an.
It was indeed too cold-blooded to chase him out in such a hurry.
After thinking about it, Li Shimin felt that he had to think about it carefully.
But Prime Minister Fang Xuanling didn't think so.
He said,"
"Your Majesty, we can't discuss this further."
Li Shi Min asked,
"Oh? What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"Your Majesty, I believe that there is a reason why the King of Shu deliberately pretended to be cynical.”
He deliberately paused and continued,
" There are many princes in Chang 'an. Apart from the King of Chu who has passed away, the King of Shu is the oldest prince under the Crown Prince.”
"The Crown Prince is naturally worried that the King of Shu will compete with him for the throne.”
"In order not to draw fire to himself, the King of Shu had to pretend to be cynical to confuse the public.”
Fang Xuanling's words were truly treasonous.
As an official, the Wang family was actually trying to speculate about the royal family.
Li Shi Min was a little angry and asked in a low voice,
"Fang Xuanling! Are you saying that all my princes want to fight for the throne?”
Fang Xuanling bowed and said bluntly,
"Your Majesty, I only mentioned one possibility.”
What he meant was,"Don't you know your own son's personality?"
Li Shi Min was still furious.
However, the other party was the prime minister of a country and a founding minister.
Even if he was angry, he couldn't punish him.
Moreover, Prime Minister Fang's words are not without reason.
Li Shi Min had personally investigated the King of Shu.
He was also certain that Li Ke's cynicism was definitely an act.
Fang Xuanling's explanation was the most reasonable.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Minister Du Ruhui said,"
"Your Majesty, why don't we listen to the opinions of the officials in the court tomorrow?
After all, the matter of the vassal state was a major matter that concerned the country. It was not a child's play.”
When Zhangsun Wuji heard this, he wanted to persuade the Emperor again.
However, Li Shimin stopped him.
He rubbed his brows and said,"
"This matter will be handled according to Minister Du's instructions.”
"Yes, sir!"
The three of them left the Purple Mansion Hall.
Outside the Imperial Palace, the Eastern Palace's henchmen were secretly plotting to court the King of Shu.
The night passed, and Chang 'an was still brightly lit.
The next day at dawn.
The Great Ming Palace's Zichen Hall.
Li Shimin sat on the soup while the officials lined up in the main hall.
The group of princes, led by the crown prince, stood beside the dragon throne.
The ceremonial eunuch loudly announced,"
"Court ginseng! If you have this report, you will withdraw from court!"
After paying some taxes as usual, Wei Zheng suddenly stepped forward.
He opened his mouth and said loudly,
"I have a memorial!"
The ceremonial eunuch replied,"
"Allow!"
"Your Majesty, the King of Shu has been crowned for several months. According to the laws of the Great Tang, it is time for him to go to his residence and become a vassal.”
As the Crown Prince's Grand Preceptor, Wei Zheng's report was clearly the Crown Prince's intention.
Li Shi Min understood and said,"
"I also want to take this opportunity to ask everyone what their views are on the matter of the King of Shu becoming a vassal.”
Hearing this, Crown Prince Li Chengqian couldn't help but secretly rejoice.
He thought to himself,"It seems that my father also has the intention of letting Li Ke quickly become a vassal."
The ministers hesitated.
On the other hand, Wei Zheng's subordinates were overjoyed.
In an instant, more than 30 people stood up and expressed their views.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the King of Shu should immediately leave for the vassal state.”
"Your Majesty, if the vassal king returns to the vassal state as soon as possible, the foundation of the Great Tang will be stabilized.”
"Your Majesty, with the King of Shu guarding Yizhou, the south of the Great Tang will be safe.”
In order to make the King of Shu surrender as soon as possible, these people would say anything.
He clearly felt that the King of Shu was a playboy.
However, with the King of Shu around, Yizhou would not be able to say such things.
Looking at the one-sided situation in the court, Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly stood up and said,
"Your Majesty, we should consider the matter of the King of Shu becoming a vassal!”
As soon as Zhangsun Wuji finished speaking, the people from Prince Jin's faction also stood out one after another.
"Your Majesty! The King of Shu has just reached the age of crown and is still young. You must not rush to the vassal state.”
"Your Majesty! The matter of returning to the vassal state is an important matter for the country. You must not be impatient!”
"Your Majesty, the King of Shu is still young and should not be a vassal at this time!”
For a time, two opposing forces formed in the royal court.
On one side was the vassal faction led by Wei Zheng.
On the other side was Zhangsun Wuji's faction.
Looking at this chaotic scene, Crown Prince Li Chengqian was astonished.
The officials were surprised.
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were even more confused.
Li Shi Min also started to doubt himself.
Could it be that Zhangsun Wuji was a descendant of the King of Shu?
But when did the Third Prince gain so many followers?
The King of Shu has really made me look at him in a new light!
After such a ruckus in the court, Li Shimin thought that…
His Third Prince had obtained the support of Zhangsun Wuji and a group of courtiers.
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