Li Shimin no longer wanted to deal with these officials.
The moment the words "forcing the emperor" appeared in his mind, he wanted to draw his sword and slaughter all these officials!
But just as he was about to descend the imperial steps, he suddenly heard someone shouting loudly outside the hall.
Report~~~~
Report~~~~
The sound grew closer, approaching from Chengtian Gate.
Quick, send them in!
Li Shimin's expression brightened, and he returned to his dragon throne to instruct Deng Dengjie.
If the guards were shouting like this with such urgency, there must be something major!
It could be military intelligence or a natural disaster!
Otherwise, daring to make such a commotion in the palace was a capital offense!
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the people from the State of Tan have arrived and wish to report an urgent matter to Your Majesty in person!"
A guard, drenched in sweat, rushed into the hall and knelt on one knee to report to Li Shimin.
"Quick, bring them in!"
"Yes!"
"Yangzhou Protectorate Military, subordinate Godly Spear Camp instructor, Lu Huo, pays respects to Your Majesty!"
"The Protectorate has a memorial to present to Your Majesty!"
After Lu Huo entered the hall and bowed to Li Shimin, he took out a memorial from his pocket, held it over his head with both hands, and said loudly.
Deng Dengjie quickly retrieved the memorial and presented it to Li Shimin.
After reading the contents of the memorial, and then glancing at the signature and date below, Li Shimin's anger could no longer be suppressed.
He first glared at Lu Huo and reprimanded, "This memorial is from five days ago! Why did it only arrive now!"
"There are cement roads and tractors. It should not take more than two days to get from Yangzhou to Chang'an!
But this memorial took five days to be delivered."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. The tractor's tire exploded halfway there."
Lu Huo's words instantly rendered Li Shimin speechless.
"Damn it!"
It wasn't his fault that the news was delayed. It was already remarkable that he could deliver the memorial within five days even with a tire blowout.
Lu Huo was not to blame, but Li Shimin's anger did not subside. He stood on the imperial steps, glanced at the officials still kneeling in the hall, and then looked at Li Jing.
"Duke of Wei!"
"This minister is here!"
"Issue an imperial edict to summon three thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers and ten thousand Central Protectorate Army soldiers! We will travel to Shandong Circuit!"
The murderous intent in Li Shimin's voice sent a chill down the spines of all the civil and military officials.
"Your Majesty, has something happened?"
When everyone impeached Fang Er earlier, Li Jing had not stepped forward to speak because he trusted Fang Er.
But now, Li Shimin was summoning troops and bringing three thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers along, which made him nervous.
"Look, this is the memorial from the State of Tan. See what it says!"
Li Shimin, with a grim expression, had someone pass the memorial to Li Jing and others for them to read.
After the ministers of the Six Ministries and various dukes had all finished reading it, they all looked with icy eyes at the more than one hundred civil officials kneeling in the hall.
Their purpose of forcing the emperor was clear!
These people were supporting the Kong family!
This was the Kong family's counterattack against Fang Er!
Originally, the memorial should have arrived in the capital three days ago.
And Fang Er should have arrived at Langya Commandery at that time.
Zhang Gongjin's immediate dispatch of this memorial was to protect Fang Er and give the court some preparation.
But due to an accident, the vehicle broke down halfway!
These are not the main points!
The main point is that even if Fang Er destroyed the Kong family without saying a word after arriving at Langya Commandery, there would only be three days for them to report and rally!
The distance from Langya Commandery to Chang'an is two thousand li!
Within three days, the news was delivered, and they were able to rally so many officials to force Li Shimin.
One could imagine how determined the Kong family was!
Countless fine steeds must have died along the way!
At the same time, so many officials coming forward to speak for the Kong family, and these are just the officials in the capital!
If the entire Tang Dynasty were like this, would the empire belong to the Li family or the Kong family!
Analyzing it this way, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a chill!
Similarly, Li Jing and others also thought of these things. This empire was won by them with their real swords and lives, how could they allow the Kong family to dictate!
Even if they were descendants of Confucius the Sage, it was the same.
Scholars should focus on studying and educating the masses!
The saying in the Fang Family Manor school was good.
To establish the heart for heaven and earth, to establish the destiny for the people, to continue the lost scholarship of the past sages, and to bring peace to all generations.
These are what a upright gentleman should do, not collude with officials and disregard the suffering of the people in the world!
"This minister obeys the imperial decree!"
Li Jing bowed and then turned directly to leave the Taiji Palace.
This matter brooks no delay!
"Your Majesty! This minister requests to accompany you!"
Li Ji (Xu Shiji) stepped forward.
"Your Majesty! This minister requests to accompany you!"
This was Changsun Wuji.
"Your Majesty, this minister requests to accompany you!"
This was Liu Hongji.
Several other generals also stepped forward one after another, vying to accompany Li Shimin.
But Li Shimin smiled slightly and looked at the more than 170 officials still kneeling there.
"Ma Mingda, Zhu Yixiang, and everyone else, since you are pleading for the people so much, you will accompany me to Shandong Circuit."
After speaking, he called out to the guards outside the palace, "Guards!"
"Your Majesty!"
A team of guards rushed into the hall.
"Send all these esteemed ministers who are still kneeling to their homes, pack their personal belongings, and bring them to the Protectorate Army outside the city!"
"Yes!"
There were too many officials, and the few guards who entered were clearly not enough.
The leading guard took out his walkie-talkie and called for another team.
Soon, nearly three hundred people arrived, a vast black mass!
Leading them were none other than Yuchi Baolin, Cheng Chumo, Zhang Da Xiang, Chai Zhewei, and others!
During the court assembly, the doors of the Taiji Palace were open, and the guards outside could hear everything that was happening inside.
With the status of these second-generation officials, they had long been familiar with the guards. Although no one dared to reveal the details of the court session to them, a simple hint that someone was targeting Fang Er was enough.
This had stirred up a hornet's nest!
In the minds of these second-generation officials, Fang Er was an absolute idol!
If you dare to target my idol, I'll make sure you can't have an easy time.
Coupled with Li Shimin's tone, which was clearly not polite, they directly started their actions without hesitation.
The civil officials were dragged out of the Taiji Palace one by one by their collars. Li Shimin did not react to this.
Dragged out by the collar?
Heh, it can only be said that these young brats are still too green!
If it were that kid from the Fang family, he would probably use a stick to beat them out of the palace, right?
After these civil officials were taken away, Li Shimin immediately announced the adjournment of the court, leaving only Fang and Du, Li Ji, Liu Hongji, and Changsun Wuji.
After some discussion, Li Ji and Liu Hongji were chosen to accompany him.
The rest were to remain in the court to assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country.
Li Shimin personally handed each of them a cigar and said earnestly.
"My esteemed elders, this time, it will be a tough battle!"
"Duke Fang, keep a close eye on the treasury!"
"Duke Du, open your eyes wide and keep a close watch on those in the court who are colluding with the Kong family!"
"Wuji, you and Yaoshi will guard Chang'an!"
"Also, send imperial edicts to Zhijie, Jingde, and the other protectors, ordering them to guard their respective territories properly!"
"With my departure, I fear the entire Tang Dynasty will begin to be in turmoil, but that is good, it will allow those with disloyalty to show themselves, and we can round them all up!"
"Don't worry, after this matter is over, the Tang Dynasty will be peaceful and calm!"
ps: I apologize, I had something to do during the day, so I posted this late. Please forgive me.