Chapter 28: Together, Let Us Witness a More Prosperous Great Tang!

Li Yuan glared at Li Shimin, his eyes burning with such intensity they seemed ready to spew fire.

"Good, very good! You are indeed my son!"

He gritted his teeth, forcing the words out through the gaps in his jaw.

Li Shimin lowered his gaze and bowed, responding, "I dare not, Father."

"Hmph!" Li Yuan said nothing more. He flicked his sleeves, walked to the desk at the head of the Xianchi Hall, wrote an imperial decree on a piece of silk, and stamped it with his personal seal.

Wen He, standing not far away, breathed a silent sigh of relief.

There was no need to guess the content of this decree; it was certainly appointing Li Shimin as the Crown Prince. Although it lacked the imperial jade seal, the presence of Li Yuan’s personal seal was sufficient to make it an official decree once delivered to the Secretariat. After all, the current Secretariat Chancellor of the Great Tang—the nominal head of the government—was none other than Li Shimin himself.

"Get out!"

Tossing the silk scroll containing the prince-designate decree aside, Li Yuan roared at Li Shimin with bloodshot eyes, his rage uncontrollable.

Upon hearing this, the latter let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced at Wen He, signaling him to leave together.

Wen He walked cautiously to Li Shimin’s side, and they exited the Xianchi Hall together. Just as they stepped over the threshold of the palace gate, a heart-wrenching wail echoed from within: "My son, Dailang!"

Wen He looked up at Li Shimin, who was clutching the silk scroll tightly. Though his expression remained calm, his eyes flickered, betraying hidden thoughts.

Pei Ji and the others, who had been waiting outside for a long time, hurried forward to greet them as they emerged. They had heard the commotion inside and had tactfully retreated to a distance. Only Yuchi Gong, holding a long spear, remained standing on the steps outside the Xianchi Hall.

"Your Highness, how is the Emperor?" Pei Ji asked, sounding quite anxious.

When the former Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty died suddenly, the palace was placed under martial law. Ostensibly, it was said that Yang Jian had died of illness, but rumors spread in secret that Yang Guang had murdered his father. Pei Ji was genuinely afraid that Li Shimin would emerge and announce that Li Yuan had "died of illness."

"His Majesty is well, though he is weary from the affairs concerning my eldest and fourth brothers. I must trouble the Duke of Wei to enter the palace often to offer him counsel."

Hearing this, Pei Ji breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I would not dare call it a trouble. The Emperor has been discussing Buddhist scriptures with eminent monks in recent years; I shall invite one to come and provide him with solace."

"An eminent monk? Is that person named Faya?" Wen He suddenly interjected from the side.

Pei Ji looked at Wen He in surprise. Although he disliked being interrupted by a junior, this young man had entered the Xianchi Hall with the Prince of Qin—a privilege even Yuchi Gong did not possess—showing how much the Prince valued him. This youth would surely become a new favorite in the court.

"The young master must have heard of this monk; indeed, it is Faya," Pei Ji said, stroking his beard with a smile. Since the boy knew of him, the Prince of Qin surely would not object.

"No need. The palace is currently unsettled; it is better to have fewer outsiders disturbing my father," Li Shimin said, his expression unchanged but his voice dropping to a low tone.

Pei Ji’s smile stiffened instantly at these words, and he offered a dry acknowledgment.

"Jingde, the safety of my father is now in your hands. If any mistake occurs, I will hold you solely responsible!"

At such a time, the person entrusted with monitoring Li Yuan was undoubtedly his most trusted confidant. Yuchi Gong felt a surge of pride, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy. *This time, I have truly surpassed Cheng Yaojin.*

After speaking, Li Shimin greeted the senior officials, took Wen He by the wrist, and they mounted their horses, heading toward the Xuanwu Gate.

On the way, he suddenly brought up Faya. "Do your later generations have records of this monk?"

"Yes, historical records state that Faya was punished for his words, though the books don’t say what his ultimate fate was. However, Pei Ji was dismissed from office and stripped of half his fief because of this, and sent home. Later, when someone tried to speak up for Pei Ji, saying 'Duke Pei has great talent,' the comment reached your ears, and you exiled him to Jingzhou. By the time you wanted to recall him, he had already died there." Wen He spoke leisurely, moving from Faya to Pei Ji.

He was merely a monk, yet in the current political climate, Li Shimin’s sudden distraction and questioning were quite intriguing.

After Wen He finished, Li Shimin gave a light hum. "I asked you about Faya; why are you talking about Duke Pei? Remember this: do not speak of it to others."

"Understood." Wen He smiled, catching his meaning.

Faya being punished for his words was a minor matter, yet it had served as the catalyst to bring down a prime minister. Who was Pei Ji? He was Li Yuan’s die-hard ally. For Li Shimin, who had just ascended the throne, Pei Ji was the biggest eyesore in the court. By using this incident, Li Shimin had demoted more than just one man; he was killing the chicken to scare the monkey, forcing Li Yuan’s other powerful ministers to retreat.

"However, I am curious: what exactly did Faya say?" Li Shimin asked, clearly preoccupied with the matter.

Wen He laughed, but soon remembered something. "It seems there is no record of exactly what he said. However, in the first year of the Zhenguan era, there was a great drought in Hebei, and in the second and third years, there were locust plagues and droughts in the Guanzhong region. I suspect he might have attributed these natural disasters to you, which is why you had him arrested."

After Wen He finished speaking, he looked at Li Shimin and saw his face had turned pale.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Uh, yes, these are all recorded in later history."

Wen He understood why Li Shimin was so agitated. In this era, any natural disaster was attributed to the Emperor's lack of virtue. You are the Son of Heaven; because you did something wrong, Heaven has sent down punishment. And after Li Shimin ascended the throne, there were few peaceful years; it was either drought, flooding, or locusts.

"Is there a way?" Li Shimin took a deep breath and asked solemnly.

"Raise more poultry, like chickens, ducks, and geese. Let them forage in the fields to eat the locust eggs. Also, we must invest in irrigation and dig more wells..."

"We shall discuss this in a few days when I send for you. Let us leave it for now." Li Shimin interrupted Wen He. He was well aware of his current position; such a significant matter required consulting his ministers. Whether it was encouraging the people to raise more livestock or building irrigation systems, these were not decisions he could make on a whim. The Great Tang was currently in ruins, and the state treasury did not even have enough money for a year’s worth of expenses. If these things were to be done, there had to be a foolproof plan.

"Sigh, I haven’t even fully taken power yet, and I already feel overwhelmed. I truly cannot imagine how much effort my future self put in to bring the Great Tang to prosperity." Li Shimin looked dejected, then glanced down at Wen He and chuckled. "If not for you, my burden might have been much lighter than it is now."

"That is not true," Wen He retorted indignantly. "With me, things can be much easier for you. Future inventions like simplified papermaking, more powerful gunpowder, and... many other things. I can help you with all of it. Perhaps the future Tang will be even more prosperous than the history I know."

Seeing his confidence, Li Shimin was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Good! Then I shall witness a more prosperous Great Tang with you!"

With that, he whipped his horse and galloped toward the Xuanwu Gate.

Just as the two were heading toward the gate, a rider was galloping toward them. The man on the horse was none other than Zhang Shigui, who had returned after having left.