Seeing his appearance, Li Shimin couldn't help but make a gimmick and said, "Don't be stubborn. It's better to do things well than anything. If you keep doing it for nothing, I'm still worried that you won't do it well."

Li Mu suddenly shouted as if he was stepped on his tail: "That's it! That's it! Your Majesty! I am not convinced. What's wrong now? I do things well, which arouses suspicion and hinders everywhere. It's fine for others to do it, but Your Majesty is like this. If I had known this, I would rather take a vacation and stop doing it. What is the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Ministry of Works, I will not do it!"

"Don't be arrogant." Li Shimin stopped shouting, but there was no much anger and said, "The reform of the Ministry of Works has been initiated by you, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also proposed it. If you say you do it, do it and don't do it. I am the emperor, and I am not as comfortable as you. After you left just now, how much pressure did I put in place to settle the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Now I say I don't do it? Where is my majesty? Others will think that you are so majestic that you are in Zhulu Marquis, and even I can't control you!"

"But..." Li Mu murmured, but couldn't say anything to refute.

Li Shimin thought he was victorious and said proudly, "Okay, this matter is settled. Later, I will issue an order to appoint you as the Minister of the Office of Internal Affairs, and be under the third rank, and not under the jurisdiction of the three provinces and six ministries. Are you satisfied?"

"This..." Li Mu was quite surprised. Although he thought that this would happen, he did not expect that Li Shimin was so generous and directly rewarded a third-rank official position.

Nowadays, the chief officials of the three provinces and six ministries are only the third rank. The ministers, the ministers, and the censors are also all the third ranks. Upwards, most of them are empty positions, and only the real positions are Shangshu Zuo Pushe. The Tang Dynasty did not have Shangshu Zuo Pushe, so Shangshu Zuo Pushe is the actual prime minister, and the official positions of the third rank are the prime minister.

From the third rank official position, not to mention that it is less than one person and more than ten thousand people. There are not many people who can control him. Moreover, the special nature of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is not related to the three provinces and six ministries. They can't control them even if they want to. Who has no eyesight to care about the emperor's pocket of money?

The most important thing is that Li Mu is only seventeen years old. The seventeen-year-old county marquis is already sensational. No one objected because of Li Yuan's decree that those who found the jade seal of the country would be granted the title of marquis regardless of their origin. But the seventeen-year-old is the third rank. It can be imagined that once this decree is issued, it will inevitably lead to discussions among the people of the world.

Li Mu was very moved. He knew that Li Shimin was an emperor who cared about praise the most. Even if he wanted to do many things, he would be worried about praise and endure it. Now he is taking the blame for him for his sake. Such a kind of kindness of knowing the favor is really touching.

"Your Majesty, I cannot accept the order." Li Mu refused. Just as he was about to give a reason, he saw Li Shimin wave his hand and said, "I know what you want to say. There will naturally be discussions, but can I stop doing things because of discussions? If you do well, the discussions will naturally dissipate. I made this decision because I have confidence in you."

When he said this, Li Mu couldn't refuse any more, so he stood up and saluted, saying, "I will definitely live up to Your Majesty's expectations."

"There is another reason that the chief of the Hall of the Imperial Office was originally a third-rank official position. Now that the Hall of the Imperial Office has been incorporated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you as the Chief Minister, you must be able to defend yourself from the third-rank. Therefore, it is natural that I entrust you to a third-rank official position. Even if there is any discussion, it is okay, and it is not considered an illegal system."

Li Mu said in surprise: "Your Majesty, do eunuchs have ranks?"

"Of course there is, otherwise what is the basis for the monthly salary paid in the palace?" Li Shimin smiled and said, "You don't even know these things if you are ignorant?"

Li Mu really didn't know, so he had to admit defeat and said, "Uh... I'm ignorant."

When Li Shimin rarely saw Li Mu admit defeat, he explained a few more words to him, saying: "The eunuchs, female officials, concubines, etc. in the palace all have ranks. Different ranks and different treatments. The palace jail was originally led by a normal official. After I ascended the throne, I followed me for many years and asked him to be the palace jail. Therefore, I was called the eunuch in charge."

"Oh." Li Mu suddenly realized, but couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, can this normal official position be replaced by eunuchs?"

"Why not?" Li Shimin asked strangely: "This is a matter in the palace and has nothing to do with the outer court. Besides, this is not the first one for me. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were Zhongchangshi and others. It was a very normal thing. Why do you find it strange?"

"No, it's okay..." Li Mu smiled and turned the conversation away.

He watched too many TV series in his previous life, and he always unconsciously applied the rules of the Ming and Qing dynasties. But in fact, if you think about it carefully, there are no certain rules. Didn’t the eunuchs in the Ming and Qing dynasties also "guard" everywhere? The nature is the same, and they are all for the convenience of the emperor, just another way of saying it.

After talking about the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Li Shimin remembered the double act that he was going to play today, and said unhappily: "Li Mu, what should you blame for your kid who missed me today?"

Li Mu could not argue about this matter. If he had any mistakes, he had to admit it. He had to stand up when he was beaten. He said obediently: "I know that I am wrong. I will come to court tomorrow. I will definitely not be able to cause trouble and do what Your Majesty asked for."

"Forget it." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Today's order is issued, there will definitely be a lot of discussion tomorrow. I don't know your temper yet. I will quarrel again at that time. Liangyi Hall is a solemn place. How can you let you mess around? If there is no important thing in the future, I would like to advise you to come less."

"That's really a pity." Li Mu suddenly looked regretful and said, "I am just trying to participate in the court discussion more and listen to the teachings of Your Majesty and the Lords."

"Haha," Li Shimin chuckled and said, "If I believe your words, I will be a fool."

"Your Majesty must not say that. Your Majesty is unprecedented in his wise and magical martial arts, and there will be no one to come after him. You must not be deceived..."

Li Shimin was furious and said, "Are I praising you?!" As he said, pointing at Li Mu and scolding, "Just like you, if you hadn't had some talent, I would have exiled you for three thousand miles long ago so as not to wander in front of me and make me upset."

"I know that your Majesty is reluctant to leave." Li Mu said with a smile.

At this time, lunch came. A square table was placed on the soft collapse, and Li Shimin and Li Mu sat opposite each other.

Li Mu has always been unable to adapt to the kneeling position. It’s okay to say that the time is short, but it’s really numb after a long time, and his legs are sore and back pain. But when he saw the others, it seemed that they were fine, and he couldn’t help but wonder, was he not mastering the key to kneeling?

However, at this time, he didn't care about this. He woke up too early in the morning and didn't have a good meal. He stood in Liangyi Hall for a whole morning, and his stomach was already roaring. He heard Li Shimin say the word "eat," and he started to move. He had no appearance and was eating voraciously.

Li Shimin was a little excited to see him eating happily, but he claimed to be his identity and could not be as ridiculous as Li Mu, so he held back. He ate alone slowly. Suddenly Li Mu raised his head, Li Shimin was stunned for a moment and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Li Mu pointed to the rice in Li Shimin's bowl and said, "Your Majesty eats so slowly, but he loses appetite?"

"I……"

"Hehe," Li Mu reached out and brought Li Shimin's bowl up, and took half of the unmoved rice into his own bowl, and said, "Your Majesty, who knows that every grain of food on the plate is hard. Food cannot be wasted, Your Majesty can't eat it, I will eat it for you, I'm not full yet."

Li Shimin: “…”

Li Shimin has lived for more than 30 years, and it is the first time that he has encountered such a thing. He is so shocked that he can't speak. There is still someone in the world who dares to touch my food. What is this! But for some reason, the anger just rose and saw Li Mu eating it, it dissipated again. Seeing that Li Mu was about to finish the half bowl of rice, Li Shimin didn't care about his reserve and took it up. Only half bowl was left, and he snatched it away. The emperor was going to starve.

Li Shimin, who ignored his demeanor, ate at all, and was not slower than Li Mu. The two of them put down their bowls and chopsticks at the same time. Li Mu suddenly pointed on his chin. Li Shimin subconsciously raised his hand and touched it. He felt a rice grain. He was about to throw it away, but somehow the poem that Li Mu had just recited sounded in his head and ate the rice grains.

Li Mu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to do, I want to tell you."

"What's up?"

"Wei Zheng wrote a letter to His Majesty a few days ago. Does Your Majesty still remember this?"

"Are you referring to the road construction?" Li Shimin snorted coldly and said, "I have rejected it and scolded him. The damn Shandong gentry is thinking about good things. How can I do what he wants?"

"Uh..." Li Mu swallowed and whispered: "Your Majesty, Wei Zheng found me, I promised to lobby for him. I knew your Majesty's thoughts, so I naturally refused, but he tried to force me and harasse me. I had no choice but to agree."

"Oh?" Li Shimin smiled and said, "When did you become so easy to talk?"

"Hehe," Li Mu smiled and said, "You really can't hide anything from your Majesty. Wei Zheng gave me 100,000 yuan to ask me to help me make this happen."

"Hundreds of thousands!"

Li Shimin was so surprised that his voice changed. He grabbed Li Mu's sleeve and said, "Has he had 100,000 coins?"

"He is so poor, how could he have it?" Li Mu carefully pulled out his sleeves and explained to Li Shimin, saying, "This money should be paid by the Shandong gentry."

Li Shimin frowned slightly and said, "Have you taken the money?"

Li Mu nodded and said, "Just as I said last time to Your Majesty, the ultimate benefit of road construction must be the court, which is beneficial or not. Besides, there are still these 100,000 yuan, and I feel that there is no reason to refuse."

Li Shimin didn't speak, and after a long time, he spoke, "You are right, I'm acting irritable. But you shouldn't ask them for money. They will give you 100,000 yuan today, and they will inevitably exploit the people more severely in the future. People's lives are already hard, so how can I bear to let them increase the burden? You can return the money."
Chapter completed!