Chapter 0001 Wude four years, the fifteenth winter month
The winter in the northwest is bitingly cold, but the main hall of Wude Hall in Tai Chi Palace is as hot as summer.
The blazing earth fire dragon sent streams of hot air to every corner of the main hall of Butoku Hall.
Li Ji was wearing a plain-colored singlet and still felt hot.
Some sweat has seeped out of her curly long brown hair, and there are also a few beads of sweat gathering on her hooked nose.
Li Ji wanted to pull open his collar to relieve the fever, but his identity seemed not to allow him to do so.
He is now a royal family member, and he is also a royal family member who will leave his name in history.
He is now the fourth son of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, and the King of Qi, Li Yuanji.
Ten years ago, Li Yuanji had a quarrel with his adoptive mother Chen Shanyi. In a rage, he ordered his warriors to cut Chen Shanyi into pieces.
This move angered God, who sent down a bolt of thunder, killing Li Yuanji on the spot.
After Li Yuanji died, God seemed to realize that Li Yuanji still had a unique historical mission that he had not completed, so he brought Li Ji to the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago to replace him.
Li Yuanji died happily, but the trouble was left to Li Ji.
Although Li Yuanji was struck to death by God and Chen Shanyi escaped, Li Yuanji's actions that violated human ethics angered Li Yuan.
Li Yuan examined Li Ji's injuries with the imperial physician's order, and after confirming that Li Ji was not in danger of his life after being struck by lightning and had no serious internal injuries, he decisively issued a grounding order with no time limit.
Li Ji was detained in Wude Hall by Li Yuan on the charge of treating the palace residents harshly.
Although Chen Shanyi raised Li Yuanji, she was just a domestic servant of the Li family and had no status in the palace.
It is impossible for Li Yuan to let his legitimate son bear the reputation of being unfilial just for the sake of a domestic servant.
Li Ji has a happy-go-lucky temperament. Li Yuan grounded him, and he was happy to be quiet.
He doesn't have to bear Li Yuanji's identity to collude with his cheap elder brother Li Jiancheng, who is thief-minded but not courageous, nor does he have to fight wits with his cheap second brother Li Shimin who is smiling on the face but secretly sinister.
The struggle for imperial power was brutal.
Li Ji didn't mind taking this opportunity to escape from the cage of fighting for imperial power and become a happy and carefree idle prince.
According to the arguments of later generations of historians, history researchers, and history enthusiasts, the princes of the Tang Dynasty were definitely the most comfortable and carefree group of princes in the past dynasties.
Except for being inferior to the emperor in terms of authority, they were not much different from the emperor in other respects.
They can enjoy the happiness that the emperor can enjoy, and they can also enjoy the happiness that the emperor cannot enjoy.
As long as you don't do it, you basically won't die.
It is now the fourth year of Wude, and Li Yuanji and Li Shimin have not yet reached the point of fighting to the death.
As long as Li Ji doesn't provoke Li Shimin and isn't greedy for power, it will be easy to be a free king.
Li Ji has already begun to long for the happy life of "farmers, mountain springs, a little money", "many wives and concubines, many children and grandchildren" in the future.
Although Li Yuanji left him some troubles, Li Yuanji also left him a huge amount of money, a vast fiefdom, and a "harem group" of hundreds of people.
Among them was the famous Princess Chao Ci Yang.
Just risking Li Yuanji's identity to live with Li Yuanji's concubines, I felt a little stressed.
He always feels like he is stealing someone.
So during the ten days of confinement, he found countless reasons to comfort himself to eliminate the guilt in his heart.
For example, many big figures in history were greedy for other people's wives. This was true for Cao Cao, and so was Li Yuan. Needless to say, Li Shimin, Li Zhi was even more egregious, Zhao Kuangyin was sneaky, Zhao Guangyitian was shameless, and Huang Taiji and Dorgon made trouble in order to compete for Dayu'er.
It's overwhelming.
He can be considered a big shot now, and he has some of the common hobbies of big shots, but it’s not too much, right? Not too much, right? Not too much, right?
Besides, the palaces of the Tang Dynasty were famous for being dirty. It was not his fault that he became dirty. He was just a black man.
Well, yes, that's it...
"Go, tell Shang Qi in the palace to ask her to throw less firewood into the fire pit, and then send someone to the Qi Palace... Well, let's forget about this first."
Li Ji slightly opened his collar and gave instructions in the frightened eyes of the maid beside him.
The fourteen-year-old maid, while answering Li Ji's instructions obediently, carefully reminded Li Ji, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, you have lost your manners."
Li Ji glared at the young maid, "I'm in my own house, why can't I feel more comfortable?!"
The maid was startled, and hurriedly knelt on the ground. She plucked up the courage and said in a voice that was quieter than a mosquito: "Your Majesty... His Majesty has lost his manners. Shang Yi will blame the maid."
After the maid finished speaking, she gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and waited for His Highness to pronounce the verdict.
His Highness was famous for his cruelty in the Tang Dynasty. He would attack anyone who dared to disobey him. Ten years ago, he almost killed Mrs. Chen who raised him.
The maid didn't want to provoke him, but the female official in the palace was even more cruel.
Relying on His Highness's connivance, they were very cruel to the maids and eunuchs in the house.
Handmaids, if the eunuch makes the slightest mistake, they will hold on to it and squeeze out the oil, and they will never stop.
What's even more terrifying is that after they drained the maids and eunuchs of their lives, they would collude with the officials in the palace to threaten their families with the lives of the maids and eunuchs, and continue to drain them.
The maid would rather be executed than to let her family be manipulated by the female officials and subordinate officials in the palace.
That is really eating people without spitting out the bones.
The maid closed her eyes and waited tremblingly for a long time. She didn't see His Highness speak. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that His Highness wanted to take action himself?
Just when he was about to open his eyes and take a look, he heard Li Ji mutter helplessly, "I'm in my own house and I can't feel comfortable. It's just..."
Li Ji pulled up his collar and waved to the maid, "Okay, I understand. You go down and give the order."
When the maid saw that Li Ji had pulled up her collar and had not yet blamed her, she quickly agreed and left the main hall backwards as if she had been granted amnesty.
After leaving the palace gate, the maid realized that His Highness seemed...different, seemed to have become kinder?
Could it be that there is something happy in your heart, so you become kind?
Li Ji frowned after the maid left.
He had a clear view of the maid's reactions, and he also understood the situation in Prince Qi's palace through Li Yuanji's memory.
Even though Li Yuanji was cruel himself, he also allowed his subordinate officials and cronies to follow him in committing evil acts, killing people and setting fires.
Driven by profit, they were more cruel than Li Yuanji. Instead of ignoring them, Li Yuanji was happy to bear their bad name.
Thanks to their efforts, people inside and outside Prince Qi's palace feared Li Yuanji as much as they feared snakes and scorpions.
"It's not okay to do this. Sooner or later, someone will poison you or shoot someone cold arrows. Even if you escape from Li Shimin, you will still end up with a violent death."
Li Ji pondered and greeted outside the hall, "Xie Shufang?!"
Outside the hall, a 21-year-old young man with a handsome face, wearing leather armor and carrying a sword at his waist hurriedly walked into the hall and knelt on one knee in front of Li Ji.
"Your Highness orders!"
Xie Shufang couldn't see any sharpness in his body, instead he looked as calm as a middle-aged man.
Xie Shufang joined the army at the age of seventeen and has already been in the army for four years.
Xie Shufang can be regarded as a descendant of a famous family. His ancestors produced famous generals and great poets. During the Sui Dynasty, his family fell into decline and he followed his father and two elder brothers to make a living in Chang'an City.
When Li Yuan captured Chang'an City, both his father and brother died tragically in the battle.
However, it was not Li Tang's soldiers who killed his father and brother, but the former Sui rebel soldiers in Chang'an City who killed his father and brother when they robbed his family's money.
After Li Yuan captured Chang'an City, Li Yuanji was ordered to clean up the streets in Chang'an City and met him. He was competing with three big men for a piece of Hu cake.
The ferocity he showed when fighting with the big man was deeply appreciated by Li Yuanji.
Li Yuanji took him into his residence and became an attendant.
Historically, when the Xuanwu Gate Incident occurred, he was the only one in the Qi Palace who led troops to rescue Li Yuanji.
After learning that Li Yuanji had been killed by Li Shimin, he cooperated with the Xue brothers and killed two of Li Shimin's generals to avenge Li Yuanji.
Although he later became Li Shimin's official, he could be said to be extremely benevolent and righteous towards Li Yuanji.
Li Ji felt that he was probably the only loyal and courageous person in Prince Qi's palace, so he was quite kind to him. "I heard that the female officials and subordinate officials in the palace bought a lot of property outside the palace. Go and check it out for me.
Let’s see where all this wealth comes from.”
Xie Shufang was stunned and looked at Li Ji in confusion.
Li Jixiao asked, "Any questions?"
Xie Shufang hesitated and said: "I am not good at investigating, and I cannot investigate the news of so many people by myself."
Xie Shufang has been in the army for four years, and has made many achievements with Li Yuanji. Now he is a member of the royal family in the inner palace of King Qi, and is in the eighth rank.
Therefore, you can call yourself a minister in front of Li Ji.
Li Ji smiled and said: "Are you afraid of offending people, or are you worried that I will kill innocent people indiscriminately?"
Li Ji knows Xie Shufang's abilities better than Li Yuanji.
Li Yuanji only knew that Xie Shufang was talented in martial arts and was a talented general, but Li Ji knew that Xie Shufang was an all-rounder who could do both literature and martial arts.
Historically speaking, Xie Shufang lived until Li Zhi ascended the throne. He was promoted to the governor of Hongguang and Guangzhou, and was a third-rank official. His achievements in civil and political affairs were quite outstanding, and the people praised him as "a strict father".
Although he doesn't show any talent in martial arts now, it's not a problem to check a few people who don't know how to restrain themselves.
Xie Shufang obviously couldn't feel his pulse and didn't know what he was going to do, so he excused himself.
"You heard what happened just now at the gate of the palace. How do you think those people in the house went so far that they forced a maid to offend me and be killed by me, rather than fall into their hands after making a mistake?
inside?
Even the maids around me have to fear them, so will I also have to fear them in the future?"
Li Ji put away his smile and asked.
He couldn't tell Xie Shufang directly that he wanted to clean up the traitors in the house, so he could only give Xie Shufang an answer based on Li Yuanji's way of doing things.
When Xie Shufang heard Li Ji's words, he immediately understood that those people in the house should have touched His Highness's bottom line, so that they would be taken into consideration by His Highness.
His Highness only ordered him to investigate and did not ask him to arrest people directly, which means that His Highness did not have any innocent intentions.
Immediately, Xie Shufang clasped his fists and said: "I accept the order! I need some manpower to cooperate."
Li Ji nodded with satisfaction and said: "You can use the manpower in the house as you feel you can trust it."
After a pause, Li Ji muttered again: "If someone is in trouble...then arrest him."
