Chapter 239 Contradictions
The emperor truly did what he did: drink from the golden cup together and never spare each other with a sword.

These people, after the founding of the country, became important officials in the court, held key positions at the core, assisted the emperor in governing the country and enjoyed great power. They were indeed drinking from the golden cup with the emperor.

And at this moment, the latter sentence was about to be verified. Qin Wang Li Shimin and Jin Wang Li Xuanba appeared together with the royal guards. It was obvious that they were going to send the officials in the palace on their way.

The two princes also had blank expressions on their faces. The King of Qin was still having difficulty walking, and the King of Jin had fallen ill again at the beginning of the year and was still coughing, but they did not dare to disobey the order.

Although the previous emperor's brother was a little indifferent, he could still feel the love between brothers and sisters and was considerate and caring towards them.

But after this incident, things seemed to have changed. This dirtiest job was directly assigned to them, and the two brothers both resented Li Yuan in their hearts.

After Li Jiancheng sat back at his desk, he quietly looked at the ministers in the hall, some of whom continued to beg, some cried bitterly, some stood there like a fool, and some started drinking heavily.

Half an hour later, the King of Qin ordered: "Bring them out!"

The guards entered and dragged people out. Many of them were still clinging to the tables and pillars of the hall, but facing the guards who had no regard for them at all, they were taken out with only a few cries of pain.

Li Jiancheng looked at the empty hall with a slight smile on his face. The problems that had been bothering him suddenly became extremely easy.

Soon the King of Qin and the King of Jin came back to report. Both of them looked unhappy, but Li Jiancheng didn't care at all.

"Prince Jin, please go back to your palace and rest. Prince Qin, you will confiscate the property of these royal families and exile the old and young to Wuchuan."

"promise."

The ministers and clan members kneeling outside the palace all looked at the King of Qin with disappointment. The Prince of Jin was frail and sickly and seldom participated in state affairs, but the King of Qin had made great military achievements, so why wouldn't he even say a word of advice?

Li Shimin naturally realized what they meant and did want to advise them, but he was also very clear that his identity was too embarrassing now.

As the second son of the retired emperor, if he said one more word at this time, he might be fatally suspected by his elder brother, and more people would die.

After Li Shimin led his troops out of the palace, the ministers knelt in the sun for more than half an hour before the emperor slowly walked out of the Wude Hall.

Still standing there and looking down, the slanting sunlight cast the emperor's huge shadow on his ministers.

"I have no choice but to do this for the sake of my country and the world. You should understand how difficult it is for me. You should also remember the righteousness between monarch and subject and assist me in governing the country."

"I respectfully follow His Majesty's teachings."

Li Jiancheng nodded, and the palace maids and eunuchs came in one after another. They quickly cleaned up the leftovers and set up a new table, which was still filled with fine wine and delicious food.

Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "Since we have made an exception today, please enjoy a good meal. From tomorrow on, we must still abide by the "Edict on the Prohibition of Slaughtering and Selling Animals."

The ministers naturally had no appetite, but who would dare to say no to His Majesty at this time?

So they sat down to eat and drink, but everyone was stiff. Although the food and wine were delicious, they tasted like chewing wax.

They had no appetite, but Li Jiancheng did. He had enjoyed such fine meals every day when he was young, but he had not enjoyed them since he ascended the throne.

He always abided by the principle that one should discipline oneself before disciplining others and that an emperor should be a role model for his subjects.

Xiao Cong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, now all the important positions in the court are vacant, and the affairs of the country cannot be stagnant for a day. Please appoint people to carry out the central government affairs." The Minister of State Liu Wenjing also said, "Especially the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of War. The Turks have not retreated yet, and the food and fodder must continue to be supplied."

This was originally a difficult matter, because for an official position of this rank, Li Jiancheng had to consider many aspects, and also see the attitude of Guanlong. If they were opposed, then there would be a great possibility that government affairs would be in trouble.

But now it is simple. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other confidants were originally assistant ministers of the six ministries, and they were just waiting to take their places after this group of people stepped down.

Just promote them directly now. Although they are not in the capital now, those ministries that have assistant ministers can temporarily take charge of the affairs of the ministry. For those that do not have assistant ministers, there will always be someone who can take over from the lower ranks.

Xiao Cong temporarily replaced the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin, was promoted to Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and Liu Wenjing, the Minister of the Court, concurrently served as the Minister of Personnel.

After receiving the order, the ministers left the palace. The news of what happened in Wude Hall soon spread throughout Chang'an and its surroundings. Officials and civilians kept silent and dared not speak out. Some even left Chang'an with their entire families to avoid the disaster.

This kind of thing is certainly not over with just a few dozen deaths. The subsequent reckoning is the most terrifying, and everyone is afraid of getting their family implicated.

As expected, in just a few days, the Ministry of Justice's prison was filled. The rarely seen palace guards, led by the King of Qin, confiscated property and beheaded families one by one.

There were rumors in Chang'an that if the King of Qin came to your doorstep, you would be in great trouble. He was said to be like an evil ghost, and his name could make children stop crying.

With so many important officials missing at once and people in a panic, mistakes and omissions were natural in government affairs. However, the emperor showed his usual leniency in this regard and did not blame anyone.

As expected, chaos broke out in the local areas. There were countless people who rebelled, abandoned their posts and fled, insulted the emperor in public, and even hanged themselves.

The literati also began to compare the emperor to Emperor Yang. The aristocratic families outside of Guanlong did not help the emperor explain, but instead added fuel to the fire.

The call from all over the world is for the emperor to issue an edict of repentance.

Because they were all afraid. If the emperor could kill even the Guanlong royal family without any scruples, wouldn't it be even worse for them?

Most of the time, the aristocratic families were in opposition to each other, thinking that there were only so many official positions in the imperial court, and everyone wanted to take as many as possible. If they couldn't take enough themselves, they would give them to their relatives.

But sometimes, the interests are the same, like in this case.

For a time, there were signs that government orders were difficult to get out of Chang'an.

Xiao Cong, Liu Wenjing and Wang Gui entered the palace to meet the emperor. After seeing the emperor, Liu Wenjing, who was the most impatient, said, "Your Majesty, should you postpone the decree you issued earlier, ordering the various provinces to gather 500,000 troops? Given the current situation, it is very likely to cause a major turmoil."

The newly promoted Minister of Civil Affairs Wang Gui said, "Your Majesty, when Goguryeo heard that you ordered the Duke of Xiangyang and the Duke of Rongping to send troops to Pyongyang, they were so frightened that they kept asking for forgiveness and wanted to send envoys to the court to ask the emperor to calm down."

Li Jiancheng looked a little haggard at this time. The officials had been useless for so many days, which meant he had to worry a lot.

Facing the opinions of his confidants, Li Jiancheng shook his head and said, "At times like this, we must not change our orders overnight. I have already ordered the Prince of Hejian and the Prince of Qin to go there personally, and Goguryeo was already in the plan."

Since internal conflicts are difficult to ease, it is necessary to go to war with the Turks. Only a great victory and the prestige brought by a great victory can truly solve the problem.

With an army of 700,000 plus the great men of the time such as Li Jing, Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, Xu Shiji, Li Mi, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xue Ju, and the foundation he had accumulated over the years, he did not believe that he could not defeat the Turks, who were full of contradictions.

………………

(End of this chapter)