After Cui Keli withdrew, Li Ye continued to deal with the memorial after the court case. Li Zhen didn't get the order, so he could only lie on his stomach in the hall. From midnight to dusk, Li Ye did not leave his seat, and Li Zhen never moved.
When the last rays of the setting sun moved from the square in front of the palace to the palace wall, Li Ye stood up. When walking past Li Zhen, Mo Ran ordered him to get up and follow. He came outside the hall, stepped down the jade steps, walked straight all the way, and walked up to the imperial city tower.
The walls of the imperial city are very high. Looking south from here, you can see most of Chang'an City. At the beginning of the Chinese lanterns, there are many shadows in the neighborhood like a chessboard. There is no curfew in Chang'an City right now, and the excitement of the bustling place can last until late at night.
The night breeze was blowing, and Li Ye, who was standing with his hands behind his back, had light curls in his clothes, and the sullen look on his face gradually dissipated, replaced by a bit of reminiscence: "When I just succeeded the king and took charge of Prince An's mansion, I met you at Fengyu Bridge At that time, I had no power in my hands, and no one was around, but I had to face the hostility of treacherous ministers and Taoists, which was a real adversity.
"Since then, you have been by my side, and you have made many good strategies for me to manage the affairs of the palace. Then I came out of Zhenpinglu, pacified the Quartet, and conquered the frontiers. You have always been my humerus. In terms of credit, Among the civil servants, you are called the second, and no one dares to be the first."
Li Zhen bowed and stood beside Li Ye, looking down at his feet.
Hearing this, he raised his head slightly and forced a smile, "When Fengyuqiao met His Majesty by chance, it was the time when I was desperate and was about to sleep on the street. Although I was poor at that time, I had a passion for serving the country and changing the country. The decline of the Tang Dynasty, for the common people...become a generation of good ministers, leaving a name in history."
Li Ye didn't look back, looking at the gradually brightly lit Chang'an City, he said in a calm tone, "I always thought that you and Cui Keli would be my Fang, Du, and you have always done a good job. For this reason, I have never been stingy." Rewards for you. But I never thought that the people who pleaded for life for the people and shed their blood for the affairs of the state ended up falling in the land of wealth and honor!"
Li Zhen bowed his head and was speechless.
After a while, seeing that Li Ye didn't intend to continue speaking, Li Zhen said bitterly: "People with lofty ideals in this world are worried about their family and country, and most of them are when they have not yet taken power. Once the power is in hand, facing Jinshanyinshan , and how many people can not change their original intentions? This is true for individuals, and even more so for groups.
"In the final analysis, the people with lofty ideals are the same in the world, and so are the dignitaries in the world. When the identity of a person with lofty ideals becomes a dignitary of the country, his face will naturally change. This is a law, and no one can violate it.
"I have worked hard, I have made great contributions to this country, and I like to use this achievement to talk about things... But the fact is that history does not represent the present, and now I have fallen. It is really depraved, and the guilt cannot be covered up."
After saying this, Li Zhen bowed down and bowed down, "Through hardships and hardships, I have come here. Mountains of swords and seas of fire have not made me change my mind. I once thought that nothing in this world can change me. But now I understand that no change Human power, power and wealth are much stronger than hardships and hardships.
"The minister has the trust of His Majesty and is willing to take responsibility for the crime. Please punish him!"
Li Ye did not respond to Li Zhen's request for punishment.
He has been a human being in two lives, and the things he has experienced are very comparable to others. His diverse insights have made him have a deeper understanding of the world. He actually understood Li Zhen's experience very well, and he also agreed with Li Zhen's assertion about the change of a group of people.
But this does not mean that Li Ye can forgive Li Zhen.
Li Zhen was wrong, Li Ye can forgive
, he himself was wrong, who can forgive him
"Taizong said that the people are water and the king is the boat, and the water can carry the boat and overturn it. I think it is more appropriate to replace the 'jun' in this sentence with the 'imperial court'. I killed the governor of Kaifeng and disposed of the household. Bu Shangshu, you may think that I have done enough. But I tell you, this can only calm the anger of the people for a while, and it is not enough to make the country long-term and stable, and there will be no more powerful people robbing the wealth of the people.
"Prices have risen sharply, and people can't live a life. No matter how great the Tang Dynasty is, it will be a moon in the mirror. When the basic necessities of the people cannot be guaranteed, who can ask them to experience the glory of the Tang Dynasty
"In the past, the annexation of the land would have been annexation. Although the people were resentful, they were powerless to resist the government. However, in the past two or three hundred years, the situation was not as serious as the collapse of the dynasty.
"But today's Tang Dynasty is different. There are as many monks as a cow's hair, and the people have armed force in their hands, and have the power to check and balance the court. If the court doesn't treat them as human beings, they will immediately rise up to resist! What happened in Kaifeng City is a clear proof."
Having said this, Li Ye's eyes became sharper again, and he turned to look at Li Zhen, "If everyone in this world is a scholar and coward, with no power to restrain a chicken, even if they are dissatisfied, they will not dare to confront the government, at most they will play lip service. .
"But the Tang people are brave and hardworking, not such soft-footed shrimps! Practice is equivalent to a sharp weapon in their hearts. With this sharp weapon, they will easily draw their swords when they encounter injustice and unfair treatment. rise up!
"You don't even think about it. If the price rises and spreads to the whole country, what should I do once the people rise up? I am also afraid, very afraid! Because of this fear, I respect the people. Because of the fear of the people, I dare not let the people suffer injustice!"
Li Zhen raised his head in shock, looked at Li Ye in astonishment, and said slowly: "Your Majesty is unparalleled in cultivation, and there is an army of immortals under his command, why are you afraid of the people making trouble? If there are rioting people, suppress it. Kill a group, and the rest will naturally be afraid."
Li Ye sneered: "The Great Tang like that, is still the Great Tang in the prosperous age, can it still unify the world, make the world submit, and Changan for thousands of years?"
Li Zhen's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth several times, "But, Your Majesty, it is His Majesty's insistence to implement the national policy of cultivating exercises and letting the people master military power. Now... Isn't it... now... .”
"Self-eating?"
Li Zhen didn't dare to say yes, but that was what he meant.
Li Ye glanced at Li Zhen, and shook his head in disappointment, "Li Zhen, you don't understand at all. This is the result I want. Let the people have the ability to restrain the emperor, so that the emperor will respect the people. Only then can the common people not be harmed. Let the imperial court respect the common people, and the state policy and state affairs will be beneficial to the common people.
"This is a complete social contract.
"In such a dynasty, the officials are the ones who benefit the people, not the high-ranking dignitaries. In such a dynasty, the people will naturally support the court. Only when the two go hand in hand can the dynasty be truly powerful and last for a long time. To be strong. Only in this way can we avoid the endless cycle of changing dynasties every few hundred years.
"What I want is the eternal prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Don't you really understand this truth?"
Li Zhen stood on his knees in a daze, with his mouth open and speechless.
Li Ye turned around and continued to face the Chang'an market, quietly looking at his empire and people from a distance.
In the final analysis, his cultivation comes from the loyalty of the people. If the court loses the hearts of the people and the people's luck dissipates, his cultivation will cease to exist. At that time, he will
Nothing, nothing but nothing.
For this reason, he had to think carefully about how to keep Datang strong and prosperous, to let the powerful regulate their behavior, not to squeeze and rob the people's wealth, and to let the world get rid of the vicious circle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, to achieve The real government is well-organized and the people are harmonious and prosperous.
Long Qi decided that Li Ye would practice the way of emperor, and the way of emperor made him have to govern Datang well.
The ancients said that governing the country begins with governing officials. As long as officials behave well, the world will naturally be peaceful. The root cause is that power needs to be restrained. In Li Ye's view, officials cannot be relied on by the emperor, but by the people. Let the people have the power to restrain officials and the mind to supervise officials.
That is to open up the wisdom of the people and at the same time let the people have force. This is the basics. With this foundation, subsequent superstructures—various measures, laws, and institutions—will naturally take shape.
After standing for a while, Li Ye planned to return to the palace.
When he was about to turn around, he heard Li Zhen's mournful cry: "Your Majesty, the minister is incompetent and talented. He has poisoned the country of the Tang Dynasty and hindered His Majesty's important affairs of governing the country. The minister deserves death!"
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As soon as the voice fell, there was a burst of anger, followed by a high-pitched and desolate cry: "Your Majesty, Wannian, Tang Dynasty!"
Li Ye turned around and saw Li Zhen's hand drooping from his bloody forehead, and his body fell limply to the ground.
On that day, Li Zhen, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, committed suicide in the imperial city tower. At this time, the head of the governor of Kaifeng was still hanging on the city gate.
Staring at Li Zhen's corpse with his eyes open for a long time, Li Ye squatted down, closed his eyes for him, and sighed: "Restraining the powerful and establishing rules must be done at a time similar to the founding of a dynasty. After a long time, the power of the powerful class has become huge. No matter how much you want to change, there is nothing you can do. Therefore, I must be ruthless, and you must die too."
Standing up, Li Ye waved his hand to call for the official who recorded the daily life note, and said to him: "Prime Minister Li Zhen is afraid of committing suicide. I think of his many years of meritorious deeds, so I won't be punished."
...
In the autumn of the ninth year of Tianshou, the army of the Western Expedition made a triumphant return.
In addition to Tianzhu, which was conquered by Tianshou in seven years, so far, the Tang Dynasty basically completed the unification of this world.
On that day, Li Ye was on the bank of the Baqiao to commend the soldiers of the Western Expedition. Chang'an City was empty of thousands of people, and countless people went to the outside of the city to salute. Li Ye canonized Shangguan Qingcheng as the king of Qi, rewarding the three armies. When the edict was issued, whether it was the soldiers of the Western Expedition or the people of Chang'an, they all shouted for ten thousand years to His Majesty and ten thousand years to the Tang Dynasty.
"The Tang Dynasty is really going to continue for ten thousand years!" Cui Keli, who stood at the top of the hundred officials, felt the heroism of the Tang army and the people in the bullfighting, and couldn't help feeling deeply emotional.
He knew the situation outside the sky, and even personally handled the Kaifeng matter. He knew very well what it meant for Datang to unify this world under Li Ye.
Li Ye had finished reviewing the Western Expedition Army and was about to leave when the clear sky suddenly became stormy with thunder and lightning. In the blink of an eye, there were two huge whirlpools with bottomless depths floating in the sky like the eyes of the sky.
In a moment, in the sight of the soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty, two behemoths emerged from the vortex, as if they jumped out of another dimension.
Those are two starships.
A ship that looks like a giant snake, engraved with two powerful characters on the hull: Nu Wa!
The other ship was as majestic as a city, and there were also two gleaming white characters on the hull: Pan Gu!
——
This volume "Da Tang" is over.
Next volume: The final volume - "Civilization".