Two days later.
Tai Chi Palace, inside the Queen's bedroom.
Li Shimin leaned on his eldest grandson Wugou's bed and sat on the ground imagelessly.
One hand was still stroking his wife's palm.
The palm of my hand is warm and smooth, just like the feeling I had when I was eighteen years old...
"Mr. Guanyin, I finally decided to agree to Cheng Qian's request to resign."
He said softly,
"You...don't blame me, right?"
"Actually, everything else is secondary. Whether it's physical illness or talent, it's not the key."
"The key is to listen to what Ming said. He said that if Cheng Qian is not the prince, his health will be better."
"It's because of this that I decided to agree. You must also think so, right? It doesn't matter whether you are a prince or not. The most important thing is that the children are healthy..."
Li Shimin often staged such scenes of talking to himself.
Although he knew that his Guanyin Maid would not give any response, he still firmly believed that... Guanyin Maid could hear it.
"As for who to choose as the new crown prince, I'm actually quite confused."
Li Shimin squeezed his wife's hand and continued,
"If Cheng Qian doesn't want to be the prince, he can only choose between Qing Que and Zhi Nu."
"You know, I will consider making him a prince only if you give birth to a child. He is as virtuous as Li Ke. I don't even consider him at all. I have already sent him to Tuyuhun, where he is more suitable."
"Qingque or Zongnu...which one do you like more?"
"This kid, Qingque, has extremely high literary skills, even better than mine! But being an emperor is not just about this. As Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty said, the Han family has its own rules and regulations, and the king's tyranny is mixed! I am in his You can’t see this on your body.”
"As for the child slave... he does have a bit of a king's air, and he is extremely filial to me. However, he is too weak and not domineering enough. I am afraid that he will not be able to suppress others in the future..."
"Your brother's opinion is to establish a child slave. Fang Xuanling seems to prefer Qingque, but he didn't say it directly."
"What do you think? If it were you, who would you choose to be the new prince?"
The eldest grandson Wugao on the bed was quiet and calm, breathing slowly and making no movement.
But Li Shimin seemed to hear her voice.
"You must ask, who should I choose, right?"
He hummed softly and said,
"This boy is too slippery this time! I asked him many times, but he refused to express his opinion. It seems that it doesn't matter who he chooses."
"I estimate that his heart is still towards Cheng Qian. After all, he has been training him for so many years... Now that he has been replaced, he is probably feeling tired."
"I can barely understand him, hum..."
After saying these words, he was silent for a while before slowly getting up.
His eyes fell on Changsun Wugou's face.
"My hair on the temples has turned a little gray, but you still look so young."
Li Shimin smiled and said,
"When you wake up, people will say that we are an old husband and a young wife, or a father with a daughter, ha, ha ha ha..."
"Interesting, really interesting..."
After laughing for a while, his expression slowly calmed down.
"Do you still want to ask, who will I choose in the end?"
He said softly,
"I, the one I want to choose is the child slave."
"Do you know why? Because he is most like you, both in appearance and personality, they are very similar to you!"
"He is so popular with me. A filial child will never be too bad no matter what. Although it is taboo to abolish the elder and establish the younger, I have a reason this time and it is not a taboo."
"Be soft, just be soft. Anyway, Ting Ming is here and will do his best to help."
"You have never wanted your brother to be in charge, and I know your concerns, but if you understand this person, I think you will feel relieved."
"With his assistance in the future, I will give him some more privileges. Even if the child slave is not good at being an emperor, Ting Ming can still be a good Duke of Zhou of the Tang Dynasty. Are you right?"
This question was asked of Changsun Wugu.
I am also asking my own heart.
Since Li Zhi, a weak child, is to be chosen as the crown prince, a powerful assistant minister must be arranged, and the power must be great! Otherwise, we will not be able to control this world!
Appointing such an auxiliary minister is purely a lottery.
If you touch the good ones, they are Zhou Gong, like Yi Yin, like Huo Guang!
If you find the bad one, it’s Sima Yi directly...
What Li Shimin wants is someone who will never usurp power and will definitely assist Li Zhi wholeheartedly!
Changsun Wuji was already trusted by him, but he was still far from reaching this standard.
Only Xu Fenglei.
He meets this standard. Before he dies in the future, he can safely hand over the power to him and entrust Li Zhi to him!
At this time.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Master has arrived."
The attendant came to report.
"Um."
Li Shimin nodded slightly, stood up and left the room.
Xu Fenglei stood in the courtyard, bowed his hands and said:
"See Your Majesty."
"I wonder why your Majesty summoned me?"
Li Shimin frowned.
"Why, you seem to be in a hurry to leave?"
He said somewhat displeasedly,
"What do you mean when someone wants to treat you to dinner?"
Xu Fenglei smiled.
"There are so many people who want to treat me to dinner. I estimate that I will gain several pounds during the New Year."
Li Shimin rolled his eyes.
"Okay, just for a while, I won't delay your meal."
He waved and said,
"sit down."
"I came to you for two things... or one thing."
"I have decided to agree to Cheng Qian's request and remove him from the position of crown prince."
"All your years of hard training have been in vain."
Xu Fenglei nodded.
This decision came as no surprise to him.
"My hard work is not in vain, but I am quite happy that Cheng Qian has also found his way."
"Everyone has his own path that suits him. Maybe being a prince or an emperor is not the path he should have taken. Now that he is on the right path, he will definitely be happy, and I will be happy for him."
Li Shimin snorted softly.
"What you taught me is not a fuel-efficient lamp. I regret letting you teach these children of mine."
He said angrily,
"Every one of them only cares about themselves, and they don't think about me or the country!"
Xu Fenglei scratched his head.
"You can't say that. If you think about it from another perspective, His Majesty's children are the best among people and can reach the top in various industries."
"Just like Qingquan and Lizhi, if talented women like them get married early and take care of their husbands and raise children, it would be a complete loss to the Tang Dynasty! Don't you think so?"
Li Shimin hummed again.
There is nothing to refute this, after all, he is also enjoying the dividends brought by the talents of these two girls.
If you want money, ask your daughter for it.
If you are sick, let your daughter treat you.
These two have become caring little cotton-padded jackets in the true sense!
"Okay, let's stop talking nonsense and get down to business."
Li Shimin said seriously,
"Since Cheng Qian's position as crown prince has been removed, he must be downgraded to a prince."
"Tell me, which account is better to give him? I really have a bad idea."
The prince stepped down peacefully without any fault, which was also very rare in history. He could not find a reference.
"Although Cheng Qian is no longer the prince, he is still your eldest son, so he will naturally use the title of king."
Xu Fenglei responded,
"There are five noble kings, Qin, Jin, Chu, Qi and Wei."
"Among them, Qin and Jin are the most respected."
"The King of Wei is a green bird, and the King of Jin is a child slave. Then there are only three titles to choose from: Qin, Chu, and Qi."
"My suggestion is to give him your original title of King of Qin. This has two benefits."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? Tell me."
Xu Fenglei stretched out his finger and said in a deep voice:
"First, it can be regarded as compensation for Cheng Qian. After all, as the prince, he not only had no fault, but also did a good job, and even caught a rebel. The reason why he abdicated was really because of his poor health. Lift,"
"Under such circumstances, if His Majesty removes him from the position of crown prince, he must be given the most noble treatment as a king. Even if it is a little detached, it is still appropriate."
"Secondly, it can calm the hearts of people all over the world and stop the mouths of many people."
"One thing will inevitably change when it is passed down. If the court says that the prince resigned from the position of crown prince because of illness, the people will immediately turn into countless versions, that the prince is rebellious, or that the prince is promiscuous in the harem and the emperor discovers it. , all kinds of outrageous rumors will pop up, which will undoubtedly do great harm to Cheng Qian’s reputation.”
"So, by giving him the title of King of Qin, Your Majesty proves to the world that the eldest son Chengqian has a transcendent status and his favor is still the same! Removing him from the position of crown prince is really a last resort."
After hearing these words, Li Shimin nodded repeatedly.
"That makes sense, but I didn't consider this..."
"It's better you who are better..."
Xu Fenglei's face darkened.
"I just thought more carefully. Your Majesty, could you not omit the words when you praise someone?"
Li Shimin was stunned and subconsciously glanced into Xu Fenglei's crotch.
"Uh... ugh."
He joked,
"You still care about this?"
"Besides, you don't need it if you have it..."
Xu Fenglei: "@#￥%...&@#"
These words choked him and made him speechless!
"Hahahaha...I won't tease you anymore."
Li Shimin saw that he was in a good mood and smiled,
"I will listen to you and change the title of Cheng Qian to the King of Qin. I will use my former king's title and my honor will remain the same!"
"Then the next step is who should be chosen as the prince."
Xu Fenglei immediately closed his eyes and prepared to turn on the 'Aba Aba' mode.
"Ah ok!"
Li Shimin almost laughed angrily and spat,
"Stop pretending, I have already made a decision. I will make Qingque the crown prince!"
Xu Fenglei's expression did not change at all, and he nodded naturally.
"Okay, okay, Your Majesty."
Li Shimin frowned.
"I accidentally said something wrong just now. I made Zhinu the crown prince, not Qingque."
he said again.
Xu Fenglei nodded again.
"Yeah, the young slave is also a good boy, Your Majesty is wise."
Li Shimin: "..."
He originally wanted to trick Xu Fenglei and get some information from his face, so as to judge who he was more inclined to.
Apparently... his hopes were dashed.
"You damn girl, you really can't get enough of it."
Li Er said helplessly,
"Okay, okay, I finally decided, it's a child slave."
"I don't want to tell you why, and you probably don't want to listen either. After all, you will only yell a few nonsense words about His Majesty's saints."
After a short pause, his expression became a little serious and he said:
"Now that the result has been determined, we have to consider what will happen after Zhinu becomes the crown prince."
"This kid is good in other aspects, but he is relatively weak. Moreover, he is too young and does not have full support from the court. Even if he does have support, it is selfish. I don't trust those kind of ministers."
Xu Fenglei nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth rising unconsciously.
Li Shimin finally chose Li Zhi, which was no surprise to him.
Can we say that Li Zhiwen is weak?
Pull him down, this guy is very sinister! A group with a deep city!
If nothing else, just by looking at his 'weak' disguise and his ability to deceive you, you will know that this kid has been smart since he was a child!
"Just like the auxiliary engine."
Li Shimin said in a deep voice,
"He clearly supports the young slaves. It stands to reason that Qingque is also his nephew, so why can't he be treated equally? Is Qingque bad?"
"So, his intentions are very thought-provoking."
Xu Fenglei shrugged.
What's this?
It is nothing more than locking in the greatest merit of following the dragon in advance. In the future, when the new emperor ascends the throne, he can use this as a bargaining chip to monopolize power!
It can be said that Changsun Wuji and himself have two opposite personalities.
"The more he behaves like this, the more I will think of Maid Guanyin's words."
Li Shimin said slowly,
"So, it is not his turn to support the first minister of the new crown prince."
"gotta be You."
"Listen Ming, are you willing?"
Xu Fenglei nodded decisively without any hesitation.
"Of course I am willing. I will fully support whoever Your Majesty chooses to be the new crown prince."
He smiled and said,
"As a mascot who doesn't care about anything, my biggest role now is probably this."
Li Shimin laughed.
"Mascot? This word is similar to auspiciousness, hahaha..."
"You are not a mascot, you are the pillar of the country! The pillar does not need to be moved around every day. As long as it stays there, it can give people the greatest peace of mind!"
Xu Fenglei looked stern and raised his hand towards Li Er.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"How can Your Majesty need your support?"
These words were indeed a very high level of praise. In the Tang Dynasty, there was no second minister who was qualified to receive such a comment.
"You're welcome, I'm just telling the truth."
Li Shimin said seriously,
"As for how to support it, it's very simple."
"I will continue to let you hold the title of Crown Prince and Grand Master, and add the title of Crown Prince and Grand Master. I will transfer your title of Duke Xu to Duke of Jin, and grant you a thousand households."
"That's enough."
Xu Fenglei: "???"
Good guy!
With this breath, his official position, which was already unpromotable, was suddenly raised a lot!
Especially when Xu Guogong transferred his title to Jin Guogong, the political signal was indeed too obvious!
It can be said that in one fell swoop, he was tied to Li Zhi's chariot and became the most solid new princeling!
"How about it? Are you willing?"
Li Shimin asked with a smile.
"Yes, yes!"
Xu Fenglei continued,
"What's the difference between being promoted to a high official position and getting a real estate? This is like pie in the sky."
"I'm so willing! Your Majesty, please honor it immediately, otherwise I'm afraid you will regret it."
"...Hahahahaha!" Li Shimin was startled, and then laughed loudly.
