hsntnovel Chapter 2262 Li Shimin's Entrustment
Chapter 2262 Li Shimin's Entrustment
"I came to this nursing home today to recuperate. I didn't expect you all to come visit me. I'm very pleased."
At the beginning, Li Shimin gave a definition: I came here for conditioning. You came here on your own, not me asking you to come.
"Your Majesty, your words are too serious. This is what a subject should do.
Besides, I usually come here to recuperate whenever I have nothing to do. This place has beautiful scenery, green mountains and clear waters, and it is a good place to recuperate."
Li Jing spoke first, and he did come here to live often.
"Yes, visiting His Majesty is what we, the subjects, should do." Someone immediately echoed.
Li Shimin was very moved:
"There are no outsiders here. All of you present are meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty. I am very pleased to have you here.
I have been ill these years and have been recuperating, leaving state affairs to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince is young and ignorant, and it is thanks to you, my dear ministers, that our Tang Dynasty can be so stable and prosperous.
Thank you all very much.”
As soon as Li Shimin said this, all the nobles stood up, looking flattered.
Everyone was wondering why His Majesty said this. Why did it feel like he was entrusting an orphan to someone else?
Is His Majesty ill? Many people looked worried.
"Haha, sit down, everyone. There's no need to be so nervous. I'm in good health, but I feel guilty about you."
As if he could see what everyone was thinking, Li Shimin explained with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is what we should do." Changsun Wuji took the lead and said.
"Thanks to Your Majesty for not abandoning us, we will certainly serve the court." Ma Zhou echoed.
Li Shimin smiled even more, waved his hand, motioned everyone to sit down, and continued:
"I know that you are all my loyal subjects, so I am relieved to entrust the country to you.
Although this country belongs to my Li family, it also belongs to you.
It was you or your fathers who built this kingdom together with me. I hope you can assist the Crown Prince well and make the Tang Dynasty even stronger."
"We will obey the imperial decree!" Everyone saluted again.
"Thank you very much, gentlemen." Li Chengqian also stood up and saluted to express his gratitude.
But Li Chengqian was a little surprised. He guessed that today was because of the matter in Xizhou, but he didn't expect that his father would open the conversation for him first.
Li Shimin first played the emotional card, and then got back to the point:
"My dear ministers, I heard yesterday that the Xizhou rebels attacked your workshops, which made me extremely angry.
I didn't expect the rebels in Xizhou to be so rampant. I have already issued an order to let Prince Ji send troops to encircle and suppress them.
I will definitely give you all justice."
Here it comes, everyone knows that this is the main topic.
"Your Majesty, the incident in Xizhou Prefecture has caused us heavy losses. I suspect this was no accident and was most likely orchestrated by someone.
Otherwise, why has it been safe and sound for so many years? I implore Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation."
As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Chu Suiliang stood up and said.
His words attracted everyone's attention, even prime ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji looked at Chu Suiliang.
These words were clearly directed at Prince Ji. Everything had been fine for so many years, but something went wrong when Prince Ji went there.
"Are you suggesting that someone is colluding with the rebels? What is his purpose in doing this?"
Li Shimin's expression remained calm.
"This...I don't know, maybe it's for money." Chu Suiliang couldn't find a suitable reason for the moment, the most likely reason was for the cotton.
"In that case, the Crown Prince should send someone to investigate." Li Shimin turned to look at Li Chengqian.
"Replying to Father, I sent people to Xizhou yesterday. I believe there will be results soon."
Li Chengqian quickly stood up and reported.
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and continued:
"My dear ministers, I know that you have suffered heavy losses this time, just like the incident that happened to Prince Ji's Mansion in Xizhou last year. Prince Ji's Mansion also suffered heavy losses.
Until now, I am still puzzled as to how a mere shopkeeper could do evil in Xizhou for several years without anyone knowing.
No news reached Chang'an.
Sometimes I think, fortunately I am just a shopkeeper in Prince Ji’s Mansion. What if a provincial governor or a commander-in-chief rebelled?
He was able to accumulate millions of strings of cash in just a few years and exploit the local people without anyone knowing.
What a terrible thing.
I would like to ask you, my dear ministers, if you can help me understand this, do you really have no idea what Wang Wencheng did?"
After Li Shimin finished speaking, a cold look flashed across everyone's face.
It seems calm, but it hides murderous intent.
Everyone present was involved in cotton planting in Xizhou and had large tracts of land. Some of them had built factories and warehouses, and some had built workshops, and they had made a lot of money in the past few years.
Each company suffered losses to varying degrees in this incident.
Because of this, they have been operating in that place for many years and it is impossible for them not to hear or see anything.
After being questioned by Li Shimin, they fell silent and no one knew what they were thinking.
His Majesty brought up the past at this time, and I wondered what the implication was. Everyone waited in silence.
Li Shimin looked around and found that no one spoke, so he continued:
"I think many of you have heard some news, but did not report it.
But I don't blame you, and Prince Ji doesn't hold a grudge against you, even though he has lost millions of strings of cash over the years.
He once said that he did not want to bring trouble to me and the court, so he chose to remain silent that time.
Prince Ji is young and ignorant, and sometimes he makes mistakes. As his uncles, you should be more tolerant and not hold it against him.
Prince Ji is stubborn and narrow-minded by nature. This is all due to my teaching. If you want to blame someone, just blame me. After all, he is my son.
Among all my sons and daughters, Prince Ji is the most filial, which shows that he has good character.
If they are taught carefully, they may become useful people in the future. As elders, you should give them more support.
He is still young and has a long way to go. When he grows up, he will understand your good intentions and will repay your descendants generously."
Li Shimin spoke with great earnestness, as if he was chatting about family matters, as if he was entrusting his son to someone else's care, and even more like a plea.
His tone was flat and emotionless, but when he talked about Li Shen, he seemed to be disappointed in him.
Especially the sentence "He is my son", which is full of reluctance and helplessness.
If an ordinary person heard these words, he would be quite moved. It tells the story of an old father who is worried about his ignorant child.
But none of the people present were ordinary people, and none of them were not versatile.
In Li Shen's words, those who can get into the court have a heart as thick as honeycomb coal, with more tricks than fishing nets.
What was that buzzing in the tree? It was buzzing all night yesterday. It didn’t seem to be a cicada.