Back in the palace, Li Shimin was in a complicated mood. On the one hand, I felt that I had indeed acted too hastily and suppressed the Yizhou gentry too violently in the court;
On the other hand, I also felt that Fan Jizhi's words were reasonable. He was a little arbitrary and did not regulate and mobilize all forces, which gave the Yizhou gentry an opportunity to slander him.
But then I thought about it, the Yizhou nobles first wanted to get rid of Wei Yan, and then sent assassins to assassinate him, and even blatantly hindered the local counter-rebellion...
How can people not get rid of such evil deeds?
Huang Hao and Zhang Yan were standing around. Seeing His Majesty sulking alone in front of the Long Case, they were worried.
"Brother Adou, if we go to find Fan Ji again, my little sister will definitely force him to speak clearly before giving up!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but smile when he saw Zhang Yan's angry look.
"You! He is not the only one in the world who has knowledge and insight. I will not hold on to Fan Ji!"
Even so, Li Shimin still hopes to hear different opinions. What Fan Ji said today is in line with Li Shimin's wishes.
"Forget it, let's not think about that much for now. You two will accompany me to the harem to relax. We will discuss the rest tomorrow!"
The two took the order, Huang Hao lit up a lantern and led the way, Zhang Yan carried a sword to guard the left and right, and the three of them went to the harem together...
After arriving at the Queen's Palace, Zhang Yan met her sister and then went to the temporary residence arranged for her by His Majesty in the palace. Huang Hao ordered two confidants to stay near the Queen's Palace and returned to his residence.
Before going to bed, Li Shimin told the queen about recent events, which made him feel depressed.
The queen comforted her and said: "Your Majesty has followed the late emperor and the prime minister since childhood, so naturally he has been influenced by it. I believe that your majesty has made a decision. Since your majesty is willing to visit Xiaoyao Gong again, you might as well bring Jiang Wan and other important officials from Jingzhou and Dongzhou for a private visit, so that they can I’ll also give you some advice.”
Li Shimin's heart lit up when he heard this, and he kissed the queen gently on the cheek, "You still understand me best. These old guys will only follow me behind me, it's time for them to stand up and share my worries!"
After saying that, the two of them were happy together.
After the morning meeting the next day, Li Shimin was thinking about the situation in Shu in his study. There was a vague idea of reconciling with the Yizhou gentry in his heart.
"I am willing to reconcile, but the xenophobia of the Yizhou nobles is too serious, and I cannot compromise easily, lest these guys take advantage of it..."
While hesitating, Huang Hao came to report, "Your Majesty, Jiang Wan and others have arrived."
Li Shimin calmed down, sat down at the desk, and said seriously: "Let them come in."
Jiang Wan, Deng Zhi, Zong Yu and other important officials from Jingzhou, and Wu Yi, Wu Ban, Fei Yi and other important officials from Dongzhou filed in after hearing His Majesty's order.
"All etiquette is waived. Sir, please take a seat."
Li Shimin first interrupted several people who were about to kneel down and worship.
"Huang Hao, you go and prepare first. We will leave the palace incognito in a short time."
Huang Hao accepted the order and exited the study.
Although Jiang Wan and others knew that His Majesty often left the palace to relax, they did not know about His Majesty's private meetings with Ma Cheng and Fan Ji. Everyone was worried, not knowing what kind of medicine His Majesty was selling in the gourd.
"Don't worry, gentlemen. I just heard some folk rumors on the streets of Chengdu, and I can't make up my mind. Today, gentlemen, please accompany me to the streets to listen, so that you can make up your mind for me."
Several people also knew almost everything about His Majesty after he recovered from a coma. When they heard His Majesty say this, they all felt that the matter was not that simple, but they couldn't ask, so they had to accept the order first.
Not long after, Huang Hao took care of everything. Li Shimin only asked Zhang Yan to guard him, and Huang Hao accompanied him to serve him. The rest only brought the princes of Jingzhou and Dongzhou, and the group disguised themselves as merchants and rushed to the streets of Chengdu.
Li Shimin had a clear goal, and along the way he only chose places near busy shops in busy and noisy places.
As expected, everyone heard a lot of rumors about His Majesty being a "tyrannical king, indulging foreign gentry to oppress local people, and engaging in military violence."
As he walked quickly to the high platform where Fan Ji preached yesterday, Li Shimin stopped.
"What do you think about the rumors?"
Jiang Wan and others looked at each other in confusion. Due to the crowds in the downtown area, they did not dare to discuss this matter directly.
Seeing how cautious several people were, Li Shimin shook his head helplessly.
"Then do you know what the high platform in front of you is used for?"
Seeing that no one was willing to answer immediately, Wu Yi was worried that His Majesty would be embarrassed, so he came to His Majesty's side and said respectfully:
"We have heard recently that Xiaoyao Gong, who was personally conferred by the late emperor, was preaching here. I think the young master should be no stranger to Xiaoyao Gong."
Li Shimin saw that everyone was nodding, so he said: "I learned that this man is a great talent. I visited and talked with Xiaoyao Gong yesterday. His words were very inspiring to me. Today I want to visit Xiaoyao Gong again and ask some questions in my mind. Come and see him together!" "
Now that His Majesty has spoken, several people have nothing to shirk and they all nod in agreement.
Li Shimin ordered Huang Hao to go to the streets of Chengdu to find Mr. Xiaoyao and meet him at the high platform. The rest of the people just found a relatively quiet place near the high platform to chat and wait.
Huang Hao took the order and left. Li Shimin took advantage of the opportunity before Xiaoyao Gong arrived and said to Jiang Wan and others: "I want to invite Xiaoyao Gong to his home for a drink and chat. You all should help me persuade him."
Jiang Wan and others also knew the origin of Xiaoyao Gong. Since His Majesty wanted to promote him, everyone agreed to follow His Majesty's wishes.
While everyone was chatting casually, Huang Hao led Fan Ji back.
Li Shimin coughed lightly first, then nuzzled at Fan Ji who was not far away, and finally walked towards Fan Ji and the others with a humble face.
"Ah! Mr. Xiaoyao, I benefited a lot from what you said yesterday. Today I want to invite Mr. Xiaoyao to his home as a guest. Don't you know Mr. Xiaoyao?"
As soon as Li Shimin saw Fan Ji, his mood was surprisingly smooth, and his words were full of love and admiration for Fan Ji.
Fan Ji heard His Majesty's intention to let him enter the palace as a guest. He couldn't help but frown. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Wan came out from behind His Majesty and said:
"A learned and talented hermit like Mr. Xiaoyao has long been well-known in our circle. I hope that Mr. Xiaoyao will reward my young master..."
Fan Ji saw that the people who followed His Majesty today were all very young, completely opposite to yesterday, and he also had some concerns in his heart.
I am afraid that His Majesty led the important ministers of the court to come here to look for him, but he really does not want to show his face in the palace.
"this……"
Fan Ji thought of the rumors he heard on the streets of Chengdu, and then looked at His Majesty. He couldn't say these polite words of rejection.
"Looking at this situation, Your Majesty may have encountered unbreakable shackles in governing the country..."
Thinking of this, Fan Ji felt grateful for the late emperor and His Majesty's courtesy.
"Since the young master doesn't mind the trouble, I have no choice but to obey!"
Li Shimin was overjoyed. Fan Ji was not only a wise man in Li Shimin's heart, but he was also one of the representatives of Yizhou's powerful families. What's more, his reputation was also quite influential in Shu.
"Even if this person is not an official in the court, as long as this person can stand on my side and speak for me, the situation in Yizhou will be easier to control, and I will be able to integrate the advanced system of the Tang Dynasty into Shu more smoothly... …”
The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more he looked forward to it. He hurried forward and took Fan Ji's hand, "Without further delay, let's leave now!"
Everyone was chatting and laughing all the way and headed straight to the palace.
When he arrived at the palace, Li Shimin walked specifically to places where government offices were densely packed inside and outside the palace, chatting and laughing with Fan Ji and others along the way. Along the way, all the major officials in Beijing knew that His Majesty was traveling with Duke Xiaoyao.
Li Shimin naturally had his own considerations in doing this. He just wanted the Yizhou nobles to see that the most famous local sage in Yizhou had a harmonious relationship with him, and even came to the palace to talk to him freely as a Qing monk.
Fan Ji was certainly not stupid. Since he agreed to accompany His Majesty to the palace, he was also ready to stand on His Majesty's side in the contest between the noble clan and the imperial power one day. For the kindness of two generations of monarchs, and for the Yizhou nobles to follow His Majesty to a higher level.
Everyone went to the imperial study room, and Li Shimin ordered Jiang Wan and others to go back and think about ways to dispel the rumors, and report them in time once they had countermeasures.
Jiang Wan and others understood that His Majesty was sending everyone away on the pretext of rumors, so they accepted the orders and left without further ado.
In the royal study, Zhang Yan stood around, while Huang Hao was ordered to prepare fine wine and meals. When His Majesty wants to meet Duke Xiaoyao, he will drink and talk about national affairs in the royal study.
After everything was ready, Li Shimin raised his glass and said, "I am deeply honored that Mr. Xiaoyao is willing to give me this face today. I would like to toast Mr. Xiaoyao with this glass!"
Fan Ji raised his glass to greet him, said "Thank you" and drank the wine in one gulp.
After drinking for three rounds, Li Shimin put away his previous casual chatting topics that had nothing to do with political affairs, and said seriously:
"Now I am on the same level as the Yizhou nobles. The Yizhou princes in the court have repeatedly opposed me, but I have shown no mercy and suppressed the Yizhou nobles. From Xiaoyao Gong's point of view, is my method applicable?"
Fan Ji heard that His Majesty finally got to the point, and then he became serious. He put down the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile:
"Then according to Your Majesty's wishes, how should I answer? Should I agree with Your Majesty, or should I put forward some different opinions?"
Li Shimin knew that Fan Ji was testing his bottom line to see how much advice he could accept.
"Don't you know that in the last life, I was also a wise king who obeyed remonstrances very well? Didn't I do nothing to Wei Zheng, the trouble-making king who refused to back down?" Faced with Fan Ji, I didn't do anything to him. Li Shimin murmured in his heart as he was testing.
"If Duke Xiaoyao has your opinion, just say it. What I hope is to effectively solve the problem of the Yizhou gentry. If you want to make me happy, let the flatterers in the court say it!"
Fan Ji couldn't help but admire His Majesty's wisdom.
"The poor Taoist would rather be respectful than obey orders!"
