The Court Envoy

Li Shimin was angry and went to the Xuanzheng Hall of Empress Changsun’s bedroom. In his heart, only this wife who shared worries and woes could soothe the anger in his heart.

When the palace maid from Xuanzheng Palace saw Li Shimin coming, she was about to greet him, and then reported to Empress Changsun, she heard Li Shimin say lightly, "I won't report back, I'll go in by myself."

"No" the palace maid replied.

When Li Shimin walked into Empress Changsun's bedroom, he saw Empress Changsun chatting with Hou Junji's wife Zheng. The two of them didn't know what they were talking about, and they were talking and laughing, but they didn't even notice Li Shimin came in.

"So I will meet the emperor" the palace maid's voice interrupted the conversation between the two, and then they realized that Li Shimin was standing in front of them.

Empress Changsun and Zheng quickly stood up to salute Li Shimin. Li Shimin held Empress Changsun, "You are pregnant, don't be too polite." Then he turned his eyes to Zheng, "Get up."

Zheng knew that Li Shimin must have something to tell Empress Changsun when he came to Xuanzheng Palace, so he took the opportunity to say goodbye to Li Shimin and Empress Changsun. Empress Changsun just symbolically kept her for a while, and then stopped talking, just told her that she would often come to the palace in the future. Zheng also immediately agreed to Empress Changsun's request.

When Zheng left Xuande Hall, Li Shimin said angrily, "Don't they know what they are thinking about? They are all thinking about themselves, when will they think about the Tang Dynasty, and the people of the Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, what happened is that you are so unhappy." Empress Changsun asked Li Shimin to sit on the collapse and asked persuasively.

Regarding Empress Changsun, her wife who has been childhood sweethearts since childhood, shared life and death, and hardships, Li Shimin told her without any hiding the fact that Liangyi Palace discussed the war in Yunzhou with her ministers.

After hearing Li Shimin's words, Empress Changsun smiled slightly, "Is the emperor angry with my brother, right?" Then, when she saw Li Shimin not answering, she knew that Li Shimin had agreed to her guess, "It's really wrong for brother to do this, no wonder the emperor is angry. However, the emperor cannot be angry with Feng Deyi, Fang Xuanling and others."

"You have learned to plead for them." Li Shimin said lightly.

"I am not just extorting them from love, but the fact is just about their own thoughts. Regarding the peace talks with the Turks, I never thought about Feng Deyi and Fang Xuanling. This was just a suggestion from my brother himself. Therefore, the emperor suddenly decided to negotiate with the Turks and asked them who was the candidate for the peace talks. They had not thought about this matter in their hearts, so it would be difficult to answer for a while."

"Oh," Li Shimin didn't expect Empress Changsun to say such words, and felt much more comfortable. Then, while carefully savoring the meaning of Empress Changsun's words, he felt that he had really blamed everyone. If they said the candidate who had not yet thought about it in order to deal with them at that time, it would be that they would not consider the Tang Dynasty or the people.

When Li Shimin thought of this, his expression on his face relaxed a lot and his tone also sootheed a lot. "What did Zheng come to the palace just now and I see that you are talking and laughing." Li Shimin is a person who doesn't want to discuss political affairs in the harem, and he also knows that Empress Changsun never asks about political affairs. So he changed his words and asked.

Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Emperor, Chengqian is fifteen years old this year, and he should be sixteen next year, so he should also watch the ceremony. We should also decide for him about his marriage." When Empress Changsun said of Li Chengqian, her mother's smile appeared on her face.

"Is it because of this?"

"It's for the princes' marriage, but not for Chengqian, but for Ke'er." Empress Changsun smiled, "I heard that Hou Junji's daughter and Ke'er hit it off at the Lantern Festival. Hou Junji was so thin-skinned. I'm embarrassed to tell you about this, so I can only send Zheng to tell me."

"Li Ke?" Li Shimin asked in confusion, "How did he know Hou Junji's daughter?"

"Your Majesty, Ke'er is already fourteen years old. This year is fifteen, and his marriage should be arranged. I'm thinking, after we have done Chengqian's marriage, we can't let Ke'er's marriage go, and Qingque's marriage can't be left behind." Empress Changsun said of the prince's marriage, which showed her majesty in the harem of the mother in the world.

"Queen, let me leave this matter to you." Li Shimin sighed, "The foundation of the Tang Dynasty was unstable. I was busy with state affairs all day long and neglected the education of the princes. I have forgotten all their marriages until now. Fortunately, you, the queen, think about them and worry about everything, it is really a pain for you."

"Emperor." Empress Changsun leaned her head on Li Shimin's shoulder, "It is the happiest thing for me to be able to share the emperor's worries and solve problems."

Li Shimin blocked Empress Changsun in his arms, and his face showed a happy expression. He handled state affairs every day and worked day and night, and only here can he feel the feeling of home.

The next morning, Li Ke did not come very late, but when he arrived at Tai Chi Hall, the ministers were already waiting to see Li Shimin step by step.

When he greeted Feng Deyi and others, and greeted Li Chengqian, Li Tai and others, Li Chengqian's surprising politeness made him a little uncomfortable. At the same time, he felt that something might happen to him today.

"Your Majesty, morning court." Wang De's voice was still so slender. Li Ke was used to his shouting in the morning court. He followed the ministers into the Taiji Hall. After standing still, he saw Li Shimin coming down from the Qianniu Guard to Liangyi Hall, walked up the jade stairs, and sat on the dragon throne. Li Ke followed everyone to bow to Li Shimin and shouted long live. When Li Shimin said he was calm, he stood up with the ministers.

"Suzhou City was broken and Yunzhou was invaded by the Turks again. I think everyone is familiar with this matter, right?" Li Shimin's voice seemed extremely grand in the Tai Chi Hall. "How has the Ministry of War formulated the charges of Zhang Gongjin, the governor of Daizhou?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, the Yunzhou War Report is not very clear about the death toll, the money robbed and the casualties of the war. Therefore, it will take more time to conclude Zhang Gongjin's crimes, and then the statistics of these numbers will be completed before a conclusion can be made." Du Ruhui, the Minister of War, came out to rank and said.

"This matter must be handled as soon as possible, and it is necessary to give an explanation to the people of the two states." Li Shimin said in a deep voice. As long as he decides something, he will not delay it.

"I received the order." Du Ruhui bowed and retreated.

"The Turks plundered tens of thousands of people in Suzhou. I wanted to launch an army to attack, but Zhang Gongjin sent troops without authorization, which made him fall into the Turkish trick to lure the enemy, causing the city of Yunzhou to be destroyed. Now, the northern expedition of the Turks is no longer practical. The most important thing is to solve the vitality of the people of the two states and rescue the people of Suzhou at the hands of the Turks.

Yesterday, Sun Wuji, Secretary General of the Ministry of Personnel, proposed to me that he would negotiate with the Turks and redeem the people of Suzhou with money. I decided to adopt his opinion. As the saying goes, saving people is like putting out fires. Since we want to negotiate with the Turks, we should go as soon as possible. So, today I will recommend to see who is suitable for the Turks."

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, he heard a "buzzing" sound, and the hall suddenly burst into pieces, and the ministers started to discuss it in a silence. Li Ke was used to such morning courts and stood silent. Li Tai glanced at everyone and listened to everyone's discussion with great interest.

Li Shimin sat on the high platform, looking down at the ministers in the hall, with no expression on his face.

After about a moment, everyone still talked about it, and no one dared to come forward to recommend it to Li Shimin. Those who could stand here are not ordinary people. How could they not know that this peace talk was a thankless and offend the people. Furthermore, civil officials wanted to keep their names in history, so they were all very noble people. Therefore, they did not want to ruin their reputation for life because of such peace talks. After all, it is a shame to redeem the people with money, and it can even be said to be a sell-off for the country and seeking honor. The military generals were even more reluctant to go on missions to negotiate. If you let them lead troops to fight and kill enemies in front of the battlefield, they would never hesitate. However, if they wanted them to negotiate with the Turks like literati, they could only choose to avoid it. After all, this was not something they could do. Therefore, everyone chose to avoid it and remain silent.

Li Shimin waited for a long time but didn't see anyone standing up and talking. The expression on his face became increasingly ugly. He glanced at Changsun Wuji who was standing in the third row on the left, "Changsun Wuji, do you have any good candidates?"

"When you return to the emperor, no one can recommend me." Changsun Wuji said.

"What about you?" Li Shimin's eyes swept to Fang Xuanling.

"No one can recommend it," Fang Xuanling replied.

"Don't you either?" Li Shimin said angrily, "Isn't there anyone in my great Tang Dynasty who dared to go on a mission to the Turks? No one is willing to do something for the host and the people?"

The hall was very quiet, and Li Shimin's voice actually echoed in the surprisingly quiet Tai Chi Hall. Li Ke forced himself to suppress his urge to step forward, and he said to himself in his heart, "Low, low-key, be sure to be low-key."

"Father, my son wants to recommend one person." After Li Shimin finished speaking, Li Chengqian suddenly came out to speak. His voice seemed loud and powerful, which shocked everyone in the hall and turned his eyes to him.

"Oh? Let's talk." Li Shimin's face changed. Although his tone was still cold, he had a little affection for Li Chengqian. Although this son has always been cowardly, he can still stand up at critical moments.
Chapter completed!