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

into the night.

The elegant residence in the harem is still brightly lit, spring is in the air, the water of the South China Sea pond is rippling, and stars are shining under the lights.

On the terrace on the second floor, Li Shimin stood for a long time with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Nanhai Pond in silence.

"Thump, thump, thump" there were continuous footsteps coming from behind.

Wang De walked out of the house, came behind Li Shimin and saluted respectfully.

"His Majesty."

"Is the Tenth Master back?" Li Shimin did not turn around.

“Your Majesty, I just asked the Wuhou Guards at the East Gate, and they said they didn’t see His Royal Highness Prince Ji return to the city.

Perhaps His Royal Highness Prince Ji knew that it was getting late and the city gates were closed, so he stayed outside for the night?"

Wang Debing reports.

Li Shimin looked up at the stars in the sky:

"Have you found out what happened?"

In the afternoon, the Wuhou Guard at the East Gate reported that there was a loud noise in the southeast direction, shaking the sky, and the distance was not very far.

The first thing Li Shimin thought of was Prince Ji’s Mansion.

Because in the southeast direction there is only Li Shen’s property, and the rest are fertile fields and farms.

However, most of the fertile land in the east has been bought by Prince Ji's Mansion, and there are still large tracts of barren mountains and wasteland.

There was no other place to go except Prince Ji's Mansion, so he sent people to investigate.

"Your Majesty, the investigators are back and found out that an explosion occurred in the research institute of Prince Ji's mansion.

However, nothing specific has been found out. The institute is now under martial law and no one is allowed to enter within a one-mile radius.

Our people were also stopped and sent back.

But judging from the situation, the guard battalion of Prince Ji’s Palace should have more than a thousand men.”

"A thousand people?" Li Shimin turned around, his expression somewhat surprised. How big a matter would it take to involve a thousand people?

There was no order to mobilize thousands of soldiers, it must be a very important matter.

Li Shimin came to his seat and sat down, picked up the teacup and took a sip:

"Send someone to the Ministry of War tomorrow to deliver a note, saying that Prince Ji has been authorized to mobilize troops to handle urgent matters.

Just make up any excuse and say it was delivered late.

This rebellious son just closed a case in Xizhou. If someone catches this little flaw again, I am worried that this rebellious son will go crazy and do something reckless. "

In theory, Li Shen's guard camp belonged to the imperial court, or in other words, Li Shen should not have military power in Chang'an.

Only when you go to a fiefdom will you have the right to lead a guard of 3,000 men.

In Chang'an, only the Crown Prince was allowed to have military power, that is, the commander of the Crown Prince's six guards.

There are a total of 6,000 people responsible for the security of the Eastern Palace and the ceremonial escort of the Crown Prince when he travels.

Li Shen's 3,000 guards were the result of an exception, cheating, amnesty, and pampering.

They were stationed nearly twenty miles away from Chang'an City, and they didn't dare to get too close.

Every deployment must be reported to the Ministry of War, including how many people are being dispatched, what they are going to do, and how long it will take for them to return.

Normally when Li Shen went out of the city to play, he would just give the Ministry of War a memorial, and the Ministry of War would not care too much. Sometimes when he was protecting the emperor, he would be even more arrogant and would not even bother to submit a memorial.

But now it’s different. Li Shen had just finished the case in Xizhou and was in a stage of holding his breath.

Li Shimin was worried that someone would take the opportunity to impeach Li Shen for privately mobilizing troops, and Li Shen would get angry and do something stupid.

Unauthorized deployment of troops was also a serious crime, and the Tang Code clearly stipulated:

Anyone who privately mobilizes fewer than 100 soldiers will be sentenced to one year in prison.

If the number of persons involved is between 100 and 700, they shall be sentenced to one and a half years in prison and exiled 3,000 miles away.

Anyone who privately mobilizes more than 700 soldiers will be sentenced to death by hanging, which is a capital crime.

No wonder Li Shimin was so angry.

"Your Majesty is very thoughtful. Your Highness Prince Ji is too careless in his work. If it weren't for Your Majesty's protection, Your Highness Prince Ji would have been punished."

Wang De admired Li Shimin for his thoughtfulness.

I also feel sympathy for the erratic little prince. I'm afraid that Prince Ji will be punished again this time.

"Humph, if I hadn't protected him, he would have been eaten by others until only his bones were left.

This rebellious son acts rashly without considering the consequences. He will not be satisfied until he dies of anger."

When Li Shen was mentioned, Li Shimin immediately became excited.

He felt that his poor health was due to the anger he caused Li Shen.

"Haha, Your Majesty, Prince Ji is still young, and he left the palace at the age of nine and has never been to school.

After leaving the palace, Prince Ji's mansion has been without a tutor. Without anyone to teach him, he would naturally be more careless in doing things.

But in the past two years, His Royal Highness has grown up and has become more restrained in his actions than before."

Wang De laughed and defended Li Shen.

"Not particular about small matters? If there are no rules, then say there are no rules. Wang De, is it because you often accept money from that rebellious son that you speak for him?

He has grown up in the past two years, but how has he become more restrained? He has already become worse. "

When Li Shimin heard Wang De speak for Li Shen, he immediately retorted angrily.

"Oh, Your Majesty, I am not speaking for Prince Ji just because I was paid.

Let me say this, grandchildren have their own blessings, and if His Royal Highness Prince Ji likes to act foolishly, just let him be.

His Royal Highness Prince Ji is a man of measure. He knows what to do and what not to do. As a noble, being a little arrogant is not a big deal.

Just let him have fun." Wang De spoke softly. He had been with Li Shimin for decades, so what he said was from the bottom of his heart.

Li Shimin glanced at Wang De.

"Humph, you make it sound so easy, don't you know what kind of character that rebellious son is?

If we let him do whatever he wants, won't the city of Chang'an be turned into a mess?

To deal with him, you have to beat him up every once in a while, and he will behave for a while.

Otherwise he would have rebelled.

Sometimes I worry that after I die, who will be able to suppress him?

Even the Tang Dynasty could be turned upside down by him."

When he thought of this, Li Shimin felt a headache.

Li Shen is useful, Li Shen is very useful, but he is also a headache, he is too troublesome, and it seems that the prince cannot suppress him at the moment.

After hearing what Li Shimin said, Wang De could only smile without saying anything. It was not that he did not dare to refute, but that he was speechless.

This little prince is really capable of doing a lot. He doesn't even need anyone to take care of him. He's having so much fun playing by himself.

"By the way, I heard that Wang Wan is here?" Li Shimin suddenly asked while drinking tea.

"Yes, Madam Wang went directly to Lizheng Hall." Wang De nodded.

Li Shimin frowned after hearing this:

"Is he here because of Wei Yuanzheng's matter?"

A few years ago, the Queen mentioned to him that Wang Wan wanted her husband Wei Yuanzheng to compose a poem, and hoped that the Queen could plead for her.

Li Shimin refused at that time.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I asked the eunuchs around the Queen and heard that the lady from the Wang family was crying when she left, saying that she was beaten by His Royal Highness Prince Ji."

"Being beaten by the Tenth Master?" Li Shimin was stunned, then snorted with a smile on his face:

“Humph, I guess Wang Wan went to Prince Ji’s mansion to plead for mercy today, but Old Ten disagreed, so Wang Wan said some unpleasant or threatening words, and that’s why Old Ten beat her.

In the past, I thought Wang Wan was well-educated and well-mannered, but now it seems that people really change. "

(The laws in this article are not made up. The author consulted the Tang Law Commentary, which records the punishments for privately mobilizing troops and for not mobilizing troops after receiving an order to do so.

I will try my best to be consistent with history, not tamper with it, and will not write good people as bad people just for fun.

I think doing so will harm young people and make them not know what is true history and what is false history.

For example, Wang Wan was really the niece of Empress Changsun, only two years younger than the Empress, and her husband was really Wei Yuanzheng, as can be verified in history.)