I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Looking at the letter in Prince Ji's hand, everyone was stunned.

The people from the Wei family also looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion as to what we were just arguing about.

Prince Ji had been prepared for this, and we thought he was trying to delay time, or had really found some turning point.

It turns out that there is so much redundancy on my side.

But think about it, how could King Ji surrender without a fight?

Over the years, they have witnessed King Ji's many methods.

Cheng Yaojin beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying that the kid was very bad and people should stay away from him.

Just now everyone supported Li Shen, but now he looks like a clown.

This child doesn't need any help from anyone.

Wang De ran down with great foresight and presented the letter to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin opened the letter and read it for a few seconds, and the flesh on his face twitched.

But he still had to remain calm. After reading it, he looked at Li Shen.

Li Shen was also looking at him with a smile.

This kid is crazy. This is Li Shimin's only thought now.

"Well, Assistant, please read it to the Lords."

It was originally supposed to be Wang De's job, but Li Shimin gave it to Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji immediately stepped forward, took the letter handed over by Wang De, took a look at it, and his hands shook unconsciously.

The letter was written in a flamboyant style with characters of varying sizes. If you didn't look carefully you wouldn't be able to match each word to the next.

This is obviously the handwriting of the great calligrapher Ji Wang.

Changsun Wuji looked up at Li Shen.

"Duke Zhao, how come there are any words you don't recognize? If not, read them to everyone. Then the truth will be revealed.

This king can also be at peace. "Li Shen said to Changsun Wuji with a smile.

To others, it sounded as if Li Shen was mocking Changsun Wuji.

But only Changsun Wuji could understand that Prince Ji was telling him that if he was at peace, everything would be at peace.

"Cough~~" Changsun Wuji coughed lightly, and then began to recite.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, I am Guo Xiaoke..." The beginning of the sentence was just some flattering and polite words, nothing useful.

Most of them boast about how benevolent, loyal and filial Prince Ji is.

Finally, the key point:

“I discovered that Wang Wencheng, the shopkeeper of Prince Ji’s Mansion in Xizhou, was committing evil deeds in the name of His Royal Highness Prince Ji.

After investigation, it was discovered that Wang Wencheng was not the mastermind, but someone else was behind the scenes and was related to the rebellion of Tuyuhun in Gaochang.

I have been inspecting the border for a long time and also had to suppress rebellions, so I was negligent in the affairs of Xizhou. I was deceived by the officials below and never realized that I was guilty.

Once I have investigated the matter thoroughly and caught the mastermind behind it, I will return to the capital in person to apologize to Your Majesty.

But for now, His Royal Highness Prince Ji needs to conduct a secret investigation to avoid alerting the enemy..."

After reading this part of the letter, the ministers basically understood what was said.

The reason why Guo Xiaoke did not report it was that he was too busy. Not only was he the Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate, he also needed to patrol the border.

He was also the governor of Xizhou, in charge of the trivial affairs of Xizhou.

Xizhou is far away from the border, and Guo Xiaoke also needs to focus on the border, especially now that the Western Turks are ready to make a move.

Others also have to suppress rebellion, which is also an important matter.

Therefore, it is understandable that he neglected the management of Xizhou. People said that he was deceived by the officials below.

This is a really good excuse because all the officials who took bribes are dead.

"Assistant, what do you think about this?"

After Changsun Wuji finished reading, Li Shimin asked him calmly, but his expression became much softer.

Chang Sun Wuji placed the letter in front of his eyes, stared at it carefully, then bowed to Li Shimin and said:

"Your Majesty, I am an old friend of Lord Yang Di. When I was in the Secretariat, I saw Lord Yang Di's official letter. His handwriting is exactly the same as the one in the letter.

I can confirm that this letter was indeed written by Yangdi Duke Guo Xiaoke."

After saying that, he handed the letter back to Wang De.

"Xiao Gong, you have worked with Guo Xiaoke before, come and see if it was written by Yang Di Gong."

Li Shimin looked at Li Xiaogong again.

Li Xiaogong stepped forward and bowed, then took the letter from Wang De's hand and looked at it carefully.

He was more careful than Changsun Wuji, but he was cursing in his heart, what the hell is this? Is this something a human can write?

Li Xiaogong believed that what he wrote with his feet was better than what he wrote on letters.

After pretending for a long time, Li Xiaogong handed the letter to Wang De, bowed respectfully and said:

"Your Majesty, it was indeed written by Guo Xiaoke. I have seen him write war reports, and more than once."

"Duke Ying, you and Duke Yangdi are also old acquaintances. Please come and confirm it."

"Dao Zong, you also..."

Li Shimin called several heavyweight figures in succession, all of whom had contact with Guo Xiaoke.

Everyone came forward to examine it carefully, and finally they all agreed that it was written by Guo Xiaoke himself.

"Well, I think so too. I recognize the handwriting of Lord Yang Di. But since you, my dear ministers, can confirm it, that's great.

My dear ministers, do you have any objections to this?"

Li Shimin's gaze fell on all the ministers from aristocratic families, and it was obvious that he was asking them.

Censor Wang really wanted to say something, so he asked, "Bring it here for me to see."

But he didn't have the courage to do so. So many dukes, princes and His Majesty said that it was Guo Xiaoke's handwriting. If he continued to doubt it, it would be disrespectful to His Majesty.

If it is really Guo Xiaoke's handwriting, he will be severely punished.

Cui Renzhi, Lu Chengqing, Zheng Jingsi and others were also suspicious of Guo Xiaoke's letter.

But none of them dared to speak.

"Well, since it's meaningless, you, as the chief judge, should announce the result."

After taking a quick look around, Li Shimin said to Changsun Wuji.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Changsun Wuji bowed. He turned around and said loudly to everyone:

“It can be confirmed from the letter of Yangdi Duke Guo Xiaoke that His Royal Highness Prince Ji had nothing to do with the affairs of Xizhou.

All the evil deeds were committed by Wang Wencheng, the chief treasurer of Xizhou.

So His Royal Highness Prince Ji is not guilty."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace~~~~~" Li Shen bowed loudly to express his gratitude.

It’s just that no one in the court came over to shake hands or hug him, which made him a little disappointed.

Just as Li Shen finished thanking him, he heard Li Shimin's voice:

“Although this matter has nothing to do with Prince Ji, Prince Ji must be punished for his negligence.

The king ordered that Prince Ji compensate the oppressed people, rebuild the workshop in Prince Ji's mansion, and appease the local people.

Prince Ji, you have failed to discipline your subordinates strictly. You are to be confined to your home for three months and punished with three years of military service. I hope Prince Ji will reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

There is another hidden story behind the incident in Xizhou, which is actually related to the remnants of Xizhou.

I have ordered Yangdi Gong Guo Xiaoke to investigate this matter and find out who is behind this."

Li Shimin's successive orders can be regarded as a summary of Li Shen's case.

It is also a statement of attitude to the ministers.

"Your Majesty is wise~~~"

"What? Another salary fine?"