Inside the Renshou Hall, Li Hong knelt very respectfully in front of his parents, his back straight, looking very energetic.
Li Zhi, who was standing opposite him, was holding a health ball in his hand and taking a sip from a teacup, looking relaxed: "Hong'er, do you have any different opinions on my arrangement?"
Li Hong shook his head slightly: "I have no opinion, but... I have some doubts."
"Tell me about it." Li Zhi raised his head slightly.
"My parents want Chen'er to serve as an official in the court, which is bound to cause a huge shock. Aren't you two adults worried about shaking the foundation of the country?"
Li Zhi was not displeased by his son's question. Instead, he nodded with appreciation: "Hong'er's worry is not unreasonable...but this matter is far from being serious."
"Please enlighten me, Grandpa!"
"In a big way, this is my intention to reform the law. But in a small way, it's just a matter of a girl's body." Li Zhi chuckled and put down the teacup. "If it were an ordinary girl, it might be a little troublesome, but as my daughter, it's not unacceptable."
After hearing his father's answer, Li Hong thought about it carefully and nodded to show that he understood.
After all, Li Yuechen is not an ordinary woman, but a royal princess.
It seems understandable that a father loves his daughter and is reluctant to let her talent go to waste, so he gives her a stage to display her talents.
From this perspective, this is the emperor himself...
"Hong'er, remember!" Li Zhi reminded him, "As an emperor, sometimes you still need to be willful once in a while!"
Li Hong was slightly stunned, then he understood Li Zhi's intention.
People are habitual. If someone demands himself to behave like a good person, as long as he does something that does not meet other people's wishes, he will be scolded.
On the contrary, if this person looks like a gangster on a daily basis, but occasionally does something good, people will feel that "this person is not that bad."
So it is the same when being an emperor. If you label yourself as a wise ruler, you will naturally be expected to treat him with extremely high standards by your ministers.
If something goes wrong, you have to just bear with it.
The simplest example is Emperor Taizong, who was often scolded by Wei Zheng until his face turned red.
But in order to maintain his image as a wise ruler, even if he cursed him with the most vicious words in his mind, he had to obey him obediently on the surface, even to the point of smothering his beloved pet bird to death with his own hands.
Think about it from another angle. When the emperor pushed down Wei Zheng's tombstone after his death, could it be that he was venting his anger?
Father Li Zhi did a better job in this regard . Whether it was when he made Wu the empress or now he was planning to have Chen'er serve as an official in the court, he was always prepared to act autocratically to make himself dizzy.
It not only consolidates the imperial power, but also makes his own character less tiring, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
As an emperor, being willful and foolish occasionally would let these ministers know that the emperor has a bottom line and they cannot take advantage of him.
Thinking of this, Li Hong respectfully put his hands on his forehead and saluted: "I understand, I will remember Grandpa's teachings!"
Li Zhi folded the health ball in his hand, with a gratified smile on his face, and nodded.
After Li Hong left, Wu Zetian put down the brush in her hand and sighed slightly: "Your Majesty's worry is not unreasonable. Compared with Chen'er, Hong'er is inferior after all."
"Different perspectives." Li Zhi nodded in agreement. "Hong'er is willing to ask questions, but he is used to asking for advice. Chen'er is more inclined to find ways to solve problems, and dares to think and act!"
Wu Zetian smiled: "In this respect, she is quite similar to Zhinu!"
"What a pity! As an emperor, he is prone to suffer losses." Li Zhi had a worried look on his face. "Thank God Chen'er is here, otherwise, I would really be worried!"
…
Two days passed in a blink of an eye. That morning, after Li Yuechen finished practicing yoga with her two sisters and Shangguan Wan'er, she dressed neatly and ran to the court.
Not only to listen to the news, but today Li Zhi announced that she would enter the court as an official, so she had to go and see it.
After entering the court and coming behind the screen, the officials had just finished their salutes, and Li Yuechen leaned against the wall and listened.
After talking about a bunch of useless news, Li Zhi cleared his throat and asked, "My dear ministers, do you have anything else to report?"
After a few seconds of silence, Li Hong, who was kneeling in the front, suddenly stood up and walked out, bowing respectfully and saying, "Your Majesty, I have something to report! In recent years, droughts have occurred frequently, leading to continuous famine. As the crown prince, I have no way to solve it. Fortunately, Princess Taiping has researched a way to increase grain production in time, which is truly a great merit..."
Watching the prince mumbling, the ministers below all looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what he was going to say.
Li Hong continued after muttering a lot of flowery words: "As the crown prince, I am not worthy of the position! Therefore, I request to step down! I will appoint Taiping as the crown prince instead! I beg Your Majesty to agree!"
"What?"
The ministers below were unable to react for a moment and just stood there in a daze.
Not to mention them, even Liu Rengui, who had guessed a lot of things, suddenly widened his eyes and looked up at Li Hong in front of him.
It was already outrageous enough that the emperor asked me to test the princess some time ago. Now even the crown prince is about to resign. What is going on with this family?
None of the ministers reacted, but Li Zhi nodded seriously: "Well, that makes sense! The increase in grain production is a blessing for our Tang Dynasty! With such merits, it would be a good thing for you to be the crown prince..."
"Your Majesty, no!"
It was not until this time that the ministers below reacted. There was a loud "bang" and they all shouted that it was not possible. For a moment, the whole court was in chaos like a vegetable market.
The Imperial Censor Le Yanwei stood up and ran out in a hurry, then fell to the ground.
Then, regardless of the pain in his body, he straightened his upper body, his voice and the tablet in his hand trembling violently at the same time: "Your Majesty! No! This... absolutely cannot be done!"
This panicked look was just seen by Li Yuechen, who stuck half of his head out from behind the screen, and then he leaned against the wall and laughed silently.
It's not that they are mocking him, but usually these ministers look mysterious, but now they are so panicked. The contrast is quite interesting.
"We second the motion!" The remaining ministers all spoke in unison, their voices extremely loud and uniform, as if they were going to overturn the Zhenguan Hall.
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, asked lightly, "Oh? Why not?"
"This... this is of course..." Le Yanwei explained stutteringly, but for a moment he couldn't think of how to refute it.
After all, the princess is only seven years old now, so it is completely in time to train her as the crown prince from now on.
Besides, he was smart, invented the princess plow, canned food, and increased grain production. Needless to say, his talent is natural, and the poem "Hundred Family Names" and "Mercy for the Peasants" can already explain the problem.
It seems that the only thing that can be refuted now is gender!
Le Yanwei raised the tablet in his hand and calmed down: "Your Majesty, the princess is a woman and will definitely get married in the future..."
Li Zhi waved his hand: "It doesn't matter. Taiping has entered the Taoist sect and is a monk. She doesn't necessarily have to get married."
"But...but if that's the case, wouldn't that mean I won't have any descendants? Then...then in the future..."
"That's fine." Li Zhi said with a smile, "Hong'er and the others will have children in the future, so we can just adopt one!"
Le Yanwei was stunned for a moment. He really couldn't understand why the emperor was so crazy today that he actually wanted to make a woman the crown prince!
Listening to these remarks , it seems that he has made up his mind!
But if this really happens, it will cause a huge shock to the whole world, and they will also be in trouble.
Zhang Wenguan seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, the ruler is the leader of the ministers, the father is the leader of the sons, and the husband is the leader of the wife. If a woman becomes the crown prince, wouldn't it be like a hen crowing at dawn..."
Seeing him stand up and speak, Le Yanwei turned his head and took a look.
In fact, they usually don't get along well with each other, but now that such a big thing has happened, they can ignore everything else and all the ministers must unite and stand together.
He turned around and glanced at the ministers, and almost everyone responded with their eyes, indicating that they understood what he meant.
At times like this, everyone must stand together.
However, when he turned his head to look at Liu Rengui, he was slightly surprised.
Because Liu Rengui did not give him any feedback. He just knelt there, looking at the tip of his nose expressionlessly, and no one knew what he was thinking.
However, considering that Princess Taiping was his apprentice, this reaction was normal.
If this really happened, when Princess Taiping ascended the throne, he would be the imperial teacher! Truly above all others!
"Well, I know these truths, too." Li Zhi showed a thoughtful expression, "But if everything has been right since ancient times, why did the Qin and Han dynasties, the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the early Sui dynasty all fall?"
Zhang Wenguan opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
At this time, Pei Xingjian also came out. His tone was not as excited as Le Yanwei's. Instead, he was very calm: "Your Majesty, think about it. If a woman becomes the crown prince, what will the people of the world think? Your Majesty is a saint of the Tang Dynasty. Your every move concerns the world. If you easily make a woman the crown prince, what kind of impact will it have on the world? Have you ever thought about it?"
His tone was calm, but every word was firm and powerful, which calmed down the ministers who were originally a little panicked.
Only then did they realize that they had been led astray by the emperor.
This is not something that needs to be debated with the emperor. It is not okay for a woman to be the crown prince!
"Yes, Your Majesty," Zhang Wenguan's tone became much calmer at this time, "If you easily make a woman the crown prince, the whole world will be shaken. It will do harm to all walks of life and may even shake the foundation of the country!"
"There has been no history of women becoming emperors in this world since ancient times. How can you be sure that you will undermine the foundation of the country?" Li Zhi asked.
Le Yanwei took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, think about it. Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty and the Zhao sisters... they were able to shake the foundation of the country just as concubines, let alone the crown prince?"
Hearing these words, Wu Zetian behind the pearl curtain suddenly opened her eyes, and a murderous look instantly flashed across her beautiful eyes.
Her clear and powerful voice suddenly rang out: "Le Yanwei, are you mocking me?"
"I dare not!" Le Yanwei saluted respectfully, but his tone was obviously very hard, "Your Majesty is the Queen of the Tang Dynasty, please don't put yourself in my shoes..."
Li Zhi raised his hand to stop the quarrel that had not yet broken out, and changed the subject: "After all, the concubine is the concubine, but Taiping is my daughter, it seems..."
"Your Majesty! History is a mirror for understanding the rise and fall of nations! Whether it's a concubine or a princess, if a woman is in power, the world will be in chaos!!!"
Le Yanwei's voice was trembling, and the arm holding the tablet was shaking slightly.
His lips trembled, his eyes were red, and his voice even had a sobbing tone: "Your Majesty! I dare to ask you to reconsider!"
As he spoke, he pointed his trembling fingers at the pillars in the hall and said in a trembling voice, "If Your Majesty persists in his wrong course, I will smash my head against this hall and die! I will die as a warning!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!!!" the ministers said in unison.
This seemingly moving scene did not cause the slightest disturbance in Li Zhi's imperial heart. Even when his ministers bowed their heads, there was a hint of a smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared.
"OK OK……"
Li Zhi waved his hands and said, "I understand what you have requested. Please stop being polite! Lord Le, you have spoken frankly and made such a remonstrance. How can I let you die here? Wouldn't that make me a tyrant?"
After hearing the emperor's relenting words, the ministers stood up and said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"But Taiping has done such a great deed, it seems unreasonable if he is not rewarded." Li Zhi suddenly changed the subject, his expression looking a little tangled, "Agriculture is related to the foundation of our Tang Dynasty. It would be a pity if such a talent were wasted..."
"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of agriculture. I think it would be better to let Taiping serve in the Ministry of Revenue. This way, it won't be considered as burying such a great talent. Maybe in the future, we can go a step further and continue to increase production..."
Listening to Li Zhi's words, after the shock just now, the ministers were no longer surprised. It seemed that the emperor was determined to let the princess enter the court today.
But after what happened just now, the momentum has dissipated. And if he continues to make a last-ditch appeal, it might really cause the emperor's disgust.
For a moment, the ministers looked around and looked at each other, and no one knew how to refute.
At this time, Lu Chen stood up again: "But Your Majesty, there have been no women ..."
"Don't talk to me about the past. If the past is right, there would be no Tang Dynasty today!" Li Zhi waved his hand fiercely, and his voice became louder. "We can learn from history and understand the rise and fall of nations! Only by learning from history can the Tang Dynasty keep moving forward!"
Hearing his words, Le Yanwei was stunned for a moment, but continued to persuade him, but his voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: "But after all, there has never been a woman..."
Li Zhi suddenly stood up and took two steps forward. At this moment, Li Yuechen behind the screen could feel that there really seemed to be an imperial aura surrounding and rising from his body!
He stood in front of the dragon throne with his back straight and his head held high, looking down at his ministers.
The obvious imperial aura on his body made the ministers below lower their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
With a "swish" sound, the sleeves were flicked, and a loud and confident voice resounded throughout the hall. The sound waves were like a golden dragon, penetrating the hall and spreading throughout the world.
"Then I! Set this precedent!!!"