Li Shimin stared at Xu Fenglei for a long time.
Xu Fenglei still looked like an old god was present and remained silent.
"You have to refuse to say it, right?"
Li Er said angrily,
"If you keep doing this, I'll be really angry!"
When Xu Fenglei heard this, he couldn't help but feel helpless.
"Your Majesty."
He said,
"Please don't embarrass me. No matter what happens, the Crown Prince is not someone like me, a foreign minister, who can make suggestions or even make decisions."
"Suppose I proposed to establish Prince A, but in the end you chose Prince B. After Prince B ascends the throne, he will definitely bear a grudge against me. How can I survive in the new dynasty?"
"On the other hand, I proposed to establish a prince, and His Majesty did indeed choose him. It seems that I have made a contribution to the proposal and support, and become a hero of the new emperor in the future. But this is not a good thing if you think about it carefully."
"The emperor should show kindness to his subjects in the world. How can a minister be so kind to the emperor? Or is it the great kindness that helped him ascend to the throne? How much more will the new emperor be ashamed of?"
"Perhaps, Your Majesty will also be worried that I will take credit for my pride, which will be detrimental to the new emperor."
What Xu Fenglei said was the truth in a nutshell, and not a single word was false.
"Others are naturally like this, but you are different!"
Li Shimin shook his head and said,
"You are the Crown Prince and Grand Master. No matter who becomes the Crown Prince, you have the gift of education and your status is different from that of ordinary ministers."
"Besides, I also plan to make you have a transcendent status in the new dynasty, and be an important auxiliary minister who can support the emperor! Like Grand Master Wen of the Shang Dynasty, or Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han Dynasty."
"So, I will never worry about you taking credit and being arrogant. Even if the new emperor ascends the throne, he is not qualified to be kind to you. On the contrary, you have to teach and admonish him all the time!"
"You can feel free to say it! We have been friends for so many years, and my trust in you is different from that of all foreign ministers!"
Li Er also understood what he meant.
I trust you, so I will give you a transcendent status!
With this commitment, what else is there to worry about?
"The reason why Your Majesty trusts me is because I have a solid foundation for advancing and retreating. I know clearly in my heart what I should do and what I shouldn't do."
Xu Fenglei responded,
"If it were the other way around, would Your Majesty still have such trust in me?"
"Just like this matter, I won't mess with it based on my temperament. These character traits of mine are the cornerstone of His Majesty's trust in me..."
Where does trust come from?
They are formed through mutual testing and grinding, and they are fragile, not a diamond that will last forever.
Especially the mutual trust with the emperor is even more difficult to maintain.
After hearing these words, Li Shimin was silent for a while, and then sighed:
"Listen, now I know why I am so willing to treat you as a friend, and I am willing to tell you everything that comes from my heart."
"Your sense of proportion is indeed the best..."
"Okay, I won't force you. I'll think about this matter myself."
Xu Fenglei grinned.
"This is the right thing to do."
While they were chatting, a fire suddenly burst out on top of the city tower.
The imperial guard secretly protecting the emperor stepped forward and opened the city gate. Guard Chang He quickly walked down the stairs with a solemn expression.
With Chang He's qualifications and status, there is actually no need to be on duty now.
But today Li Shimin still arranged for him to guard the Xuanwu Gate to ensure nothing went wrong.
"I have returned to the palace."
Li Shimin patted Xu Fenglei's shoulder and whispered,
"You also go back and get some rest early."
"According to the order." Xu Fenglei bowed his hands and turned to leave.
"etc."
Li Shimin suddenly stopped him again.
Xu Fenglei turned his head, looking a little confused.
"Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"
Li Shimin pursed his lips.
"In the case of Hou Junji... I was too willful. I was wrong."
Li Er looked at Xu Fenglei and said slowly,
"I regret now that I didn't listen to your earnest advice and ended up causing this trouble. In the final analysis, I am the one to blame."
"I hope you can forgive me."
Xu Fenglei smiled slightly.
It is extremely difficult for an emperor to put aside his dignity and pride to apologize.
That is, Li Er, how could any other emperor have such a posture?
"Forgive you!"
Xu Fenglei waved his hand generously and said casually,
"gone!"
After saying that, he turned around conveniently, leaving only Li Shimin standing there with a dark expression on his face.
"You're really out of breath when you say you're fat..."
Li Er muttered.
I originally thought that Xu Fenglei would politely say something like "Your Majesty is not at fault", or something like "Your Majesty does not need to blame himself, the final outcome is good"...
This way I can accept it with peace of mind.
As a result, this kid came out like this and accepted the apology without hesitation!
Li Shimin is a bit incapable of handling this! It was as if he had really done something sorry for Xu Fenglei...
"I will see your Majesty at last."
Chang He ran up in a hurry, knelt down on one knee and saluted, and said cautiously,
"How is your majesty?"
He knew that today was unusual, and he was even more convinced when he saw Hou Junji and a group of people being tied up and escorted back to the palace!
"Well, I'm fine, let's go back to the palace."
Li Shimin turned around, waved calmly and said,
"I'm tired."
In front of other courtiers, he still had to maintain his image as a majestic king.
"According to the order!"
Chang He stood up and waved.
Two rows of guards cleared the way and escorted the emperor into the palace!
…
The next day.
News of an explosion spread wildly in Chang'an City! In the streets and alleys, taboo words such as 'rebellion' and 'treason' frequently appeared in the mouths of ordinary people.
The government, however, did not seem to stop it and allowed the rumors to spread.
Xu Guogong Mansion.
"Godfather, Godfather!"
"Big news! Last night Hou Junji pretended to pass the imperial edict and intended to rebel, but he was captured as soon as he entered the city gate!"
"There are rumors outside that it was you who strategized and anticipated the enemy, so you could easily overwhelm this rebellious minister!"
"Tsk, tsk... Listening to them brag about you, our daughter's face will shine!"
Xu Fenglei was getting up early to practice his martial arts when he heard a chirping sound.
Wu Erya rushed up excitedly and reported the latest news in Chang'an City.
As the leader of the dark web, she is naturally always on the front line!
"Oh, is it so?"
Xu Fenglei stopped his kung fu and wiped his sweat, and said with a smile,
"How do you praise me? Tell me?"
Wu Erya nodded repeatedly and said:
"It is said that you have a keen eye and know people. It is said that your third eye has long seen that Hou Junji is not a good person, so you have been prepared for him! On the contrary, the emperor was fooled and believed in this traitor! Fortunately, you are here Yes, otherwise Chang'an will be in chaos!"
"The common people all praise you as the pillar of the country. The emperor cannot do anything without you!"
"It is also said that just when Hou Junji was about to rebel, you captured him directly in the middle of the army. As soon as you raised your eyes, the fifty thousand soldiers did not even dare to move. That is so domineering!"
"And there's more..."
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"This... is too outrageous."
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
What happened yesterday was actually mainly due to the emperor's intimidation, and he was just doing the finishing work.
However, the emperor should not make unreasonable comments, so the focus was naturally placed on him, the crown prince and grand master. Seven rumors and eight rumors became more and more outrageous.
If he continues like this, I'm afraid he will have three eyes like Taishi Wen and Erlang Shen.
"I think it's quite interesting, hahaha..."
Wu Erya was quite excited and continued,
"My godfather is awesome! There's nothing wrong with him!"
"But give me a bad idea and stick in my waist for a while..."
She put one hand on her waist and asked,
"Then godfather... Hou Junji should definitely die this time, right? How will he be punished?"
"Lingchi execution? Extermination of nine tribes?"
Xu Fenglei touched his chin.
If it hadn't happened yesterday that he shot the emperor, it might not have been so serious.
But now...
"Probably yes, but the details still have to wait for the court's trial."
He said,
"After all, the Tang Dynasty is a country where laws are enforced..."
Wu Erya nodded, then leaned into Xu Fenglei's ear and asked in a low voice:
"What about the prince?"
"Will the prince be deposed?"
"Speaking of which...godfather, you must be very sad, right? Brother Chengqian doesn't know where he went wrong, and he ended up hooking up with Hou Junji."
When Xu Fenglei heard this, he laughed.
"How could I be sad? I'm so happy!"
He said,
"Your brother Chengqian is also very smart! This matter is actually a game of chess played by him!"
"Listen..."
Next, Xu Fenglei explained Li Chengqian's layout and plan to Wu Erya like a treasure trove, which made the girl's eyes shine with excitement.
"Wonderful!"
When she heard the end, she couldn't help but clapped her hands and praised,
"In this way, Brother Chengqian not only avenged you, but also took out himself. You can use this as an opportunity to abdicate."
"But I don't know why he doesn't want to be the prince. The prince! The future emperor! If it were me, I would never give up!"
"The supreme power, the scenery on the highest mountain, it's good to touch or stand for a moment."
Xu Fenglei shook his head.
"Everyone has his or her own ambitions, and not everyone desires power."
He said,
"Just like me, I'm not that greedy for power, I just like to mess around."
"Don't be too greedy for power. Don't go too far. Don't let the power of the dark web expand indefinitely. If you touch Nilin one day, you will be punished."
Wu Erya stuck out his tongue.
"knew……"
She responded and then praised,
"It seems like Brother Chengqian is still very smart."
"Killing two birds with one stone, his strategy was a complete success!"
Xu Fenglei nodded.
"Well, once this storm is over, the emperor will find a time to find a reason to remove Cheng Qian from the position of prince and reduce him to a prince."
He smiled and said,
"There are very few people in thousands of years who can retire from the position of Crown Prince without any injuries."
"Chengqian is a strange flower."
"As for me, I have nothing to be dissatisfied with. Since he has found the path he wants to take, I will support and encourage him."
Wu Erya imitated Xu Fenglei's habitual movements and also touched his smooth chin.
"Then, who will take over the crown prince position?"
She mused,
"let me guess……"
"I guess...it's Li Zhi!"
Xu Fenglei raised his eyebrows.
"Why did you say that?" He was a little surprised.
This girl is quite good at guessing! Although there are only a few candidates, it is still difficult to judge accurately at once.
after all. Even Li Shimin is still undecided at the moment, struggling with what to do.
"The intelligence told me."
Wu Erya said with a smile,
"His Majesty now loves this ninth prince very much, and even takes him by his side to raise him personally."
"Coupled with the benevolence and filial piety shown by the Ninth Prince Li Zhi, this is the most rare quality among the older generation."
"Also, Changsun Wuji is very close to Li Zhi. Although he is the uncle of three direct princes, only Li Zhi is very close to him. To be honest, the others are closer to you as their master. "
"So I think Changsun Wuji will definitely do his best to support Li Zhi in power."
Xu Fenglei's face darkened.
"So you still reached into the palace?"
"Everything in the palace is a secret! If you are found to have touched the emperor's bottom line, you will be finished! The entire dark network may be blamed!"
Wu Erya curled his lips.
"Don't be afraid, I have a great supporter like my godfather!"
She raised her head and said,
"I won't fall until my godfather falls!"
"One day my godfather passes away, then I will naturally restrain myself... Moreover, the eunuchs and maids in the palace are really easy to bribe! They don't even need to be bribed, they are all eager to sell the secrets of the palace!"
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"These bastards dare to reveal forbidden Chinese!"
He frowned and said,
"You collect some evidence, and I'll find a chance to fix them."
"This is outrageous!"
When Wu Erya heard this, he was immediately dissatisfied and said:
"Isn't this because I cut off my arm..."
Xu Fenglei said seriously:
"This is not about cutting off one's arms. You can get the information in the palace, but you can't get it so easily."
"The fact that it is easy for you to obtain it means that others can also obtain it easily. If some seemingly useless information falls into the hands of a deliberate thief, it will lead to catastrophe!"
"This matter must be resolved in advance. If His Majesty waits for his anger, then the arm of the Dark Network will really be severed!"
Wu Erya also immediately changed his mind and nodded.
"Well, then I have no choice but to sell them."
Only then did Xu Fenglei's expression soften.
You can be careless about small things, but you can never be careless about big things.
"Godfather, let me tell you, you have to have a good relationship with this Ninth Prince. You are still his master in name, so you have to teach him and give him some teachings, right?"
Wu Erya said in a mean tone,
"If he is really elected as the crown prince, then the person who will have the closest relationship with him in the future and who will contribute the most to supporting him will be Changsun Wuji!"
"As the saying goes, once the emperor passes away, you will have to step aside and be ranked behind Changsun Wuji!"
"Are you willing to do this?"
Xu Fenglei sneered.
"What's the point of being unwilling to do this? I had originally planned to retire."
He responded,
"What's the good thing about being a powerful minister? You're busy with this or that all day long. You also have to worry about the emperor's suspicion, and you have to suppress those below who want to replace you."
"Maybe it won't end well in the end."
"Your words reminded me that I have to stay away from Li Zhi. It's best if he just ignores me. Only in this way can I live in seclusion and be at ease!"
