Tai Chi Palace, Liang Yi Palace.
Li Shimin sat in front of the imperial case and used a red pen to outline the list.
Below him, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were sitting.
Although these two were only third-rank ministers and servants, they were veritable prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty. Sitting in the Liangyi Hall, the emperor could ask questions about politics at any time if he had any questions.
"Why are there so many prisoners in Qiu Jue?"
Li Shimin turned over two pages and couldn't help but frown and said,
"In the Tang Dynasty, are there so many death row prisoners?"
Looking through the pages, the names were so densely packed that he felt a little depressed.
There are many death row inmates, which means there are many criminal cases.
This also means that he, the emperor, has political problems!
After all, under the rule of the ancient sage kings, the houses were not closed at night and the streets were not picked up, but under the rule of the ignorant kings, robbers and cholera broke out frequently.
"Return to Your Majesty."
Fang Xuanling raised her head and said,
"The reason why there are so many death row prisoners this year is not because of thieves among the people, but mainly because of the liquidation of rebel forces."
"For example, King Luo Yi of Yan, Li Youliang, the governor of Liangzhou, and other rebel kings. Although they died, their tribes and relatives must be liquidated. They are all guilty of treason and should be punished with death."
Li Shimin was silent.
"Are there any innocent people?"
He felt a little compassion and asked,
"Except for relatives, are there any people who are completely unaware of the rebellion and did not respond to it?"
"Yes." Fang Xuanling nodded, "Although Luo Yi and Li Youliang rebelled, except for a small number of personal guards and confidants, most of their subordinates did not follow, but were coerced. This is why they lost so quickly. , as soon as my army arrived, they switched sides."
Li Shimin nodded after hearing this.
"Yes, do these people also need to be sentenced to death?"
He pointed to the roster and said,
"Abandoning darkness and turning to light is considered meritorious, right?"
Li Er's mind is very clear.
These rebels and their families must be eradicated. Even if there are innocent people, he will not be soft-hearted.
But there is no need to kill all those subordinates and generals.
When he was fighting against the king, didn't he also take under his own control the subordinates who had rebelled against the king all the way, so that he became stronger as he fought?
Aren't these old anti-king troops, such as Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, etc., also loyal now?
With these positive teaching materials, Li Shimin naturally couldn't bear to kill them all.
"It's meritorious."
Du Ruhui said,
"But according to the "Wude Code", those who conspire and commit crimes will be put to death. This is an iron law and cannot be discussed."
"So, they have to die."
Li Shimin frowned.
"No, no."
He waved his hand and said,
"You can't do this, it's wrong."
"Let's not talk about the law for now. From my simple emotions, their crime will not lead to death. I will lock them up for five or ten years, even if they are exiled."
"The death penalty is too serious and should not be used lightly..."
After a pause, Li Er looked at the two prime ministers and asked:
"Can I be pardoned?"
"No." The two said in unison, both shaking their heads.
Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice:
"Even if the world is amnesty, there are still ten evils that cannot be forgiven. This crime of treason is the first one."
"In addition, Your Majesty is granting amnesty to a group of people now. If there are generals who rebel against the king and commit rebellion in the future, will they be pardoned again?"
"Your Majesty had better not do this kind of thing that is above the law. It will damage the justice and majesty of the Tang Code. It will make ministers and people despise the law. It will also make future emperors despise the Tang Code and indulge in arbitrary power. .”
Li Shimin: "..."
He held his forehead and looked helpless.
The emperor's power can be said to be great or small.
What you do is not only based on your own preferences, but also cares about the impact on future generations.
The one who created the figurines has no descendants...
"However, it seems that the "Buddhist Law" does not apply to the current national conditions."
Du Ruhuihu said,
"Your Majesty may amend the Tang Code and promulgate a new law, which will be called the Zhenguan Code."
Li Shimin: "?!"
Change the law of Tang Dynasty?
He had never thought about this. After all, the law is the foundation of the country, and any slight change will affect everyone in the world!
"Ruhui is right."
Fang Xuanling agreed,
"The new policies of kings in the past dynasties often changed the laws, whether they were strict or lenient, and all had their own style. This is also a good opportunity to convey your Majesty's thoughts on governance to the people of the world."
"Your Majesty, you should have your own style."
Under the words of the two prime ministers, Li Shimin was obviously moved.
"Change the law, change the law..."
He murmured,
"Style, yes..."
"I should have my own style, which is different from my father."
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Li Er's thoughts gradually became firmer.
"good!"
He said in a deep voice,
"If we want to change the laws, Zhenguan should have "Zhenguan Laws"!"
"This is a big and important matter! Go ahead and pass on the message. After lunch... tell the time!"
"All the ministers who discuss government affairs come to the political affairs hall to discuss politics, including those who are not in power, and those who are in the fifth rank or above in the court are all here. They are not allowed to be absent, especially Xu Fenglei, who has been absent several times recently!"
The two prime ministers looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
Just as he was talking, he heard an announcement coming from outside the hall:
"Your Majesty, Bachelor Xu Jingzong would like to see you."
"Oh?" Li Shimin asked doubtfully, "What is he doing here now? Ask him to come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure entered the palace, and saw Xu Jingzong covering half of his face, lowering his head, and walked to the emperor to salute.
"I, Xu Jingzong...see your majesty!"
He bowed down.
All three eyes fell on half of his face.
"Well, Pingsheng...Hey, what's wrong with Xu Qing's face?"
Li Shimin frowned and said,
"Who hit you?"
The red slap mark on this face is too conspicuous...
Someone must have given him a big pussy!
Who is so bold as to beat up an official of the imperial court? !
"Your Majesty, it was... the Crown Prince and Grand Master Xu Fenglei who hit me!"
Xu Jingzong covered his face and said aggrievedly,
"He...he is too arrogant!"
Li Shimin: "??"
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui: "?!"
"Grand Master Xu Fenglei?"
Li Shimin was shocked. He said in surprise,
"What's going on? Why did he slap you?"
"Speak clearly!"
Fang and Du also stared at Xu Jingzong intently.
Very rare!
Although the grand master has a bad temper and is a bit independent, he seems to have never hit anyone.
"Return to Your Majesty..."
Xu Jingzong burst into tears and complained,
"Wei Chen was ordered by His Majesty to take the examination of all the emperor's heirs in the south study room today. I originally did well in the examination, but the Grand Master suddenly barged in."
"He was very aggressive when he came up. He first said that the test paper was not good, and then said that he would take the prince and others out to fly a kite, which made the entire examination hall agitated. The rules of the examination room were trampled to pieces!"
"Wei Chen wanted to stop His Majesty because of his life, but he didn't want to be slapped hard in the face by him!"
"He even said arrogantly... Just go to His Majesty and sue him!"
"Your Majesty, he, he, he... he is so arrogant!"
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other with strange expressions.
This arrogance is indeed the style of the Grand Master. After all, this is a master who has angered even His Majesty and dares to point his nose and scold him.
But the strange thing about this thing is...it's such a small thing, why don't you do something about it?
Both of them turned their attention to Li Shimin, but they saw that Li Shimin was also speechless.
"Is that the reason?"
He stood up and walked to Xu Jingzong, looked at his face carefully, shook his head and said,
"Xu Qing, Xu Qing, why did you provoke him?"
"Originally, the Crown Prince Wei and the others were not included in the exams. It was my negligence. They should not have been allowed to take these ordinary exams..."
"He wants to take the prince and the others away, so just obey him. Why bother with him?"
Xu Jingzong was slightly choked.
"But Your Majesty, he has no respect for his superiors and despises you..."
He originally wanted to seek justice from the emperor, but he didn't expect His Majesty to say these words, and he suddenly became anxious.
"alright!"
Li Shimin waved his hand and said,
"I know what you want to say."
"I will not make rash judgments based on your one-sided words. You should go back and take a rest for a few days. I will send an imperial doctor to see you."
"I will go to the Grand Master to understand the situation. If he is really domineering and unreasonable, I will reprimand him."
"Go!"
Xu Jingzong: “@#￥%……&*@#”
That's it?
Did you just peel it off so lightly?
I’m not convinced!
However, although he was unwilling to do so, the emperor issued an order to expel guests. Even though he felt aggrieved in every way, he could only respectfully obey the order, cover his face and bow before retreating.
In the main hall, the three of them looked at each other.
"Xu Fenglei slapped Xu Jingzong, interesting, interesting, ha..."
Li Shimin casually threw a piece of pastry into his mouth and asked with a smile,
"Whose problem do you think this is?"
Since the beginning of the Zhenguan Dynasty, there have been many beatings between ministers. For example, Yu Chigong often beat people when they disagreed with each other. Because of this, he had been angrily reprimanded several times.
But Xu Fenglei's beating of someone... was truly unprecedented.
Therefore, Li Shimin's first reaction was not to be angry, but to find it interesting.
Fang Xuanling raised her head and said:
"Back to Your Majesty, although it was said that the Grand Master beat Xu Jingzong, the cause and effect of the matter have not yet been ascertained. As Your Majesty said, we cannot make rash judgments yet."
"Based on my understanding of the grand master, he shouldn't beat the minister at will. There may be other reasons for this."
"I second the proposal." Du Ruhui immediately responded and expressed his agreement.
He regards Xu Fenglei as his savior and is a die-hard supporter of the Grand Master.
"rational."
Li Shimin nodded, put his hands behind his hands and said with a smile,
"Then I'll go ask him now!"
"It's time to go, let's go, you all go have lunch."
After saying that, he raised his feet and walked out of the Liangyi Hall and ordered:
"Showing the East Palace...forget it, I told you to exercise more, I'll just walk by myself!"
…
East Palace.
"Higher, higher!"
"Ah, little ancestor, you can't go any higher, otherwise you won't be able to see me!"
"Be high, be high, be taller than them all!"
"..."
Above the empty East Palace Square, several colorful kites fluttered in the wind, flying higher and higher, so that the naked eye could almost only see a small dot!
The five guys, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Li Ke, Li Qingquan, and Li Lizhi, had a great time. Each of them was accompanied by several eunuchs and maids.
"My highest, highest!"
Li Chengqian said excitedly,
"Higher, put it up! Run!"
He urged, and the sweaty eunuch running beside him couldn't help but look helpless.
The thread in this hand is gone, no matter how high it is, it can't go any higher!
But the prince beside him kept urging him, so he had no choice but to continue running in circles.
Suddenly, his hand relaxed.
A thin line floated softly from mid-air, and the kite...it was free.
"Your Highness, the kite is broken..."
The eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a slight flinch.
"Do you want to die!"
Li Chengqian was so excited that he couldn't accept this "bad news". He suddenly raised his eyebrows and angrily said,
"Bring it back to me! Otherwise, let's see how I punish you!"
The eunuch was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed:
"This slave did something wrong. I'll go look for you now. I'll go find you now..."
He rolled up and was about to turn around to look for it when he saw a slap on Li Chengqian's head.
boom!
"Gu Gu Gu, you are so big!"
Xu Fenglei frowned and said,
"Who told you to call yourself that? Did I teach you?"
"Ouch!" Li Chengqian was in pain.
When he turned around and saw the master, his aura suddenly dropped by half, he rubbed his head and grinned:
"It's Master Xu Jingzong from Nan Shufang. He said that the prince should call himself an orphan, so..."
boom! boom! boom!
Xu Fenglei raised his eyebrows and hit him three times hard, almost making Li Chengqian burst into tears!
"Master, what are you doing...ouch."
He said with a cry,
"It hurts!"
"Master Xu Jingzong? What a bastard, master! That man is not a good person." Xu Fenglei said sternly, "Don't listen to anything he says from now on. If you listen to him, that's fine. I will expel you from the master immediately. From now on, You are no longer my disciple!"
Li Chengqian: "!!!"
He didn't expect that his master would say such serious words. His heart was so excited that he ignored the pain in his head.
"Yes Yes……"
He quickly said obediently,
"My child knows, master, don't be angry..."
Xu Fenglei's expression softened slightly.
"Do you know what mistake you made just now?"
he inquired.
"ah?"
Li Chengqian was a little confused, shook his head and said,
"My child doesn't know..."
boom!
Another slap on his head, this time it really made him cry!
"Don't you know that Kang Long has regrets? You learned Qian Gua in vain! Have you given back everything I taught you?"
Xu Fenglei said,
"The kite is already high, and it wants to go higher, even higher!"
"The mind is swallowed up by desire. If it is too far away from the ground, it is no longer under control! It can only become a kite with broken strings. In the end, it will end up in an unknown place or become a piece of waste paper!"
"Although the kite is just a plaything, it can see your heart!"
"Cheng Qian, please be careful, young people, don't be too arrogant! Don't be controlled by desire! Do you understand?"
After hearing this scolding, the other children all learned the lesson and silently took back the string and let the kite fly to a suitable height.
"……yes."
Li Chengqian rubbed his head and cried,
"My child knows..."
Only then did Xu Fenglei let him go and signaled the eunuch beside him to get a new kite for him.
This time, Li Chengqian kept half of the line in his hand and let the kite fly low and low on the palace wall.
Children are children after all. After scolding and crying, they became happy again while playing, and the smile on their faces once again filled their faces.
Xu Fenglei looked at him and sighed softly.
Children’s education must be monitored at all times.
If you accidentally deviate from the track, all your previous efforts will be wasted...
(End of chapter)
