Hongwen Palace distributed the list of abolished officials who had been merged with provincial officials to all ministries and yamen, which immediately caused an uproar. These abolished officials were no longer divided into scholars and common people, and they no longer cared about their past grievances. They all knelt in front of Shun.

The gods went to petition the emperor.

I begged the emperor to show mercy to him in view of his hard work in the past, and many of the ministers who had stayed behind knelt with them and refused to go on duty.

Chengqing Hall

"Your Majesty, there are thousands of people kneeling in front of Shuntian. They oppose the layoff of so many officials. Even the remaining officials will not go on duty. Now all the ministries of the Tang Dynasty have been paralyzed." Wei Zheng said,

His eyes also glanced at Cen Wenwen next to him.

Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne, scratched his eyebrows with his hand, glanced at Cen Wenwen, who was bowing his head silently, and then at Fang and Du. He said leisurely: "Jing Ren, whether it is an official of the gentry or an official of the common people,

You are all prestigious, go ahead and let them all disperse."

When Cen Wenwen heard that the emperor asked you to go alone, he stood up in a panic and replied: "Your Majesty, this is the first time I have encountered such a thing. There are many officials and they are excited. I am afraid that this matter will not be handled well."

"Jingren, it is beneficial for the country to merge the imperial court with provincial officials. Please make it clear to all the officials. Don't try to obstruct me from integrating provincial officials in this way. I will not let them interfere with the affairs of the country. You are mine."

Dear minister, you can still handle this matter well." As the emperor's voice gradually became serious, Cen Wenwen also knew to bow down and accept the order.

Amidst the fuss of the officials, the Shuntian Gate opened with the creaking sound of the door shaft, and only Cen Wenwen walked out. The officials who made the trouble were stunned, no, your Majesty, shouldn't he be comforted?

Us? Why is he here?

Cen Wenwen said coldly: "You guys keep crying, why don't you cry anymore.

Aren't you the ones led by E Guanbo who go in and out of the temple on weekdays? Everyone is proud of being born into a noble family, but what you do has the demeanor of a noble scholar. What is a noble scholar? It is benevolence and righteousness that shoulder the responsibility of the rise and fall of the world.

A sage possessing the five virtues of propriety, wisdom, and trust.

You all know it in your heart and understand that it is right to protect the officials and the court. However, you are afraid of losing your vested interests, so you all gather in front of the Shuntian Gate to threaten the court and embarrass the court. You are really worthless.

,

If you are really unconvinced, then follow the example of Long Feng and Bigan, who are admonishing corpses here at Shuntianmen. You are afraid of death no matter what. Didn’t you just want to live or die?

How can despicable, shameless and selfish people like you have the honor to live in a temple? You have lost the face of the nobles. For hundreds of years, the nobles have assisted the emperor and stabilized the world, but they have not changed their aspirations even though they have been chopped with swords and axes.

And you, are you still worthy of the title of sergeant?"

After hearing Cen Wenwen's scolding, all the officials blushed with shame and said one after another that they were wrong. They came into groups and supported each other to get out of the palace.

At this time, Cen Wenwen was in a daze and could not stand firmly. Li Ke quickly stepped forward to support the teacher and asked: "Sir, are you so angry?".

"Your Highness, don't you understand, no one can stop His Majesty?"

"It's better to go to Tai Hospital first."

Cen Wenwen, who came out of the Taiyuan Hospital, rushed back to Hongwen Hall for duty. He couldn't understand why the emperor asked him to go. Was it because of his prestige among scholars? No, they didn't have the emperor's permission.

How could such a big thing happen in front of Shuntian Gate?

Those Jinwu Guards were all just doing it. Cen Wenwen didn’t believe that Liu Hongji, a guy who didn’t even know the name of Confucius, could show respect to a scholar. Just after Cen Wenwen had gained something, Li Shimin strode in and hurriedly

He stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty, it's so late and you haven't rested yet."

"Jing Ren, I know everything you said in front of Shuntian Gate today. You are indeed a scholar. I think it can be a good message with a little polish."

"Your Majesty is joking, I am just doing my duty as a human minister."

Li Shimin nodded and gestured for Cen Wenwen to sit closer: "Your concerns are justified. Thousands of officials have worked hard for the country for many years, which is not easy. Besides, they also have wives and children.

I think all these abolished officials will be given to casual officials, and they will receive salaries according to the corresponding grades. When the official officials of the imperial court become vacant, they will be selected first among them. Jingren, you will submit a memorial tomorrow, and I will approve it."

After the emperor finished speaking, Cen Wenwen immediately stood up and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty has a heart of benevolence. I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty on behalf of all my colleagues." He kowtowed three times.

"But this is a favor given by Your Majesty to your ministers. Why do you do that?"

"Hey, Jing Ren, I know that you have put a lot of thought into me this time to merge provincial officials. How can such a huge country do without a few important ministers, so please don't refuse."

Looking at the food given by the emperor on the table, he had to admit that Li Shimin was really smart. Such an emperor's mind was rare in ancient times and modern times.

As soon as tomorrow's decree is revealed, the resentful officials in front of the Shuntian Gate today will immediately become the emperor's obedient ministers.

The emperor gave them a slap in the face and gave him a sweet date, but he did the same to himself. Even the praise for what he had done today was also a warning. Alas, God's will is always difficult to ask. Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger.

Different from Cen Wenwen's anxiety, Changsun Wuji was drinking wine beautifully. Although the Changsun family suffered a small blow due to the loss of his position, his sister who was the queen was able to win back the victory for the Changsun family.

A few days ago, Empress Changsun visited Emperor Chen. The palace was expensive and the age of the maids varied. The oldest one actually entered the palace during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty.

Not long after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the population was declining. It was unkind to let the palace maids die of old age. They released the palace maids who were no longer needed or were older, either to return to their hometowns or to get married. This is exactly in line with the current population increase of the Tang Dynasty.

policy.

Empress Changsun immediately ordered people to register the palace maids who were older or who voluntarily left the palace. Three thousand palace maids who could leave the palace received their settlement allowance. They kowtowed and thanked them, and left the palace happily, either returning to their hometowns or getting married.

Everyone has a good home.

There has been no such precedent in the past dynasties. The reason why Li Shimin did this was to tell the people of the world his determination as an emperor.

The emperor rested with the people to the greatest extent, and at the same time told the world that he was a frugal emperor. He even told the world that he, Li Shimin, wanted the Tang Dynasty to become better and better.

The emperor's determination is not afraid of others not knowing it, because the three thousand maids he released from the palace will definitely spread his determination because of his kindness.
Chapter completed!