In the early dynasty, the Tang Emperor Li Shimin sat on the imperial chair, looked at the ministers coldly, and did not say a word. All civil and military officials knew that Li Yi of Youzhou asked Li Chengqian, the king of Zhongshan County, to be the supervisor of the army, which made Li Shimin very unhappy in his heart, so he kept silent very tacitly, so as not to touch Li Shimin's moldy head, provoke Li Shimin's thunderous anger, and suffer an unwarranted disaster.

Everyone held their breath and stared, not daring to make the slightest sound, and the entire hall was even more silent, so quiet that it seemed that a needle had fallen, and it could be heard. The atmosphere in the hall is depressing and tense, making people at a loss and at a loss.

After being silent for a long time, Li Shimin said coldly: "Liu Zhenghui, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Hongji, the waiter of the Ministry of War, you all stand up for me." ”

Hearing Li Shimin say this, Liu Zhenghui, a dignified high-ranking official from the third grade, Liu Zhenghui, who has always been a dignified and generous waiter in the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Hongji, a waiter in the Ministry of War, hurriedly stood out from the neatly arranged court class like a frightened rabbit.

Everyone looked at the two men with pity. Everyone didn't know what mistake these two people had made, and they actually touched the mold of the Tang Emperor Li Shimin.

Li Shimin said to the two of them in an unusually cold voice: "Do you know what is wrong? ”

Liu Hongji and Liu Zhenghui thought for a while, shook their heads, and replied honestly: "I don't know." ”

Li Shimin patted the imperial case, stood up and said: "You two are so bold, relying on the old department of the Qin Palace, setting up the officials, and acting recklessly, do you think that the book of the Tang Dynasty Rite Department and the Ministry of War that I canonized are decorations?" Do you think my Datang Law is an ornament? Do you think I will not dare to punish you severely? ”

Looking at Li Shimin, who was suddenly furious, everyone only understood what was going on at this time. Cui Gan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Lu Chengqing, the secretary of the Ministry of War, looked at each other with stunned expressions, they didn't expect that Emperor Li Shimin would be furious because of such a thing, and he would put such a thing on the morning court and mention it with great fanfare.

Liu Hongji looked at Liu Zhenghui, strengthened his courage, straightened his neck and said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, if it is something else, we have done something wrong, we admit it." But we are not wrong in this matter, and we will not admit our mistakes. ”

Liu Zhenghui echoed: "Yes, we are not wrong in this matter, we will not admit our mistakes." ”

Li Shimin pointed at the two of them angrily and said: "You, you are arrogant and reckless, you are still reasonable." ”

Liu Hongji said: "We don't dare to act recklessly. The military department and the Ministry of Rites, the ministers and others are all in accordance with the process, and they are only implemented after asking His Majesty to read them. The ministers will never dare to make decisions without permission and act recklessly. As for the overhead official ......"

Liu Hongji groaned. And Liu Zhenghui took it and shouted directly: "It's because we are not convinced." Hongji and I are both His Majesty's old subordinates when he was the King of Qin, and we accompanied His Majesty to fight in the south and the north, and have gone through all kinds of hardships, and Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing are what kind of things, a group of remnants of King Xi Jiancheng and Hailing King Yuanji, in the past, they relied on King Xi Jiancheng and Hailing King Yuanji to bully us, and now you are the Son of Heaven, why do you want Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing to ride on our heads, let us obey their orders? What are their exploits, their strategies, and their loyalty, that they are worthy of our obedience? In addition to looking down on their remnants and wastes, we are all His Majesty's henchmen, and we want to keep the foundation of Datang for Your Majesty, so as not to be stolen by outsiders. ”

After that, Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji were weeping in pain and grief.

Li Shimin's eyes showed a hint of pity, but it was quickly replaced by coldness. He said slowly: "The court employs people, and it has its own laws of the court. If you are an official in the air, you have violated the laws of the Tang Dynasty, and you have committed it knowingly, and you have despised the majesty of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, and the crime will be increased by one degree. A soldier, put Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji in prison for me. Dali Siqing, according to the law of the Tang Dynasty, strictly punish these two. ”

In the court, the old departments of Li Shimin's Qin Wangfu knelt down one after another, pleading for Liu Hongji and Liu Zhenghui, and the other old departments and middle factions of King Jiancheng and King Yuanji of Hailing were extremely embarrassed, and they were not pleading, let alone not pleading, so they could only stand silently and watch the changes in the court situation.

Li Shimin saw that there was already a trend of division in the court, and his plan to win over the old departments and middle factions of King Jiancheng and King Yuanji of Hailing might also fall short and be in vain. He forced himself to be ruthless and urged the sergeant: "Quickly take Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji down for me." ”

The old subordinates of the Qin Wangfu guarded Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji tightly in the center, and Chai Shao, the general of Zuojin Wuwei, rolled up his sleeves and stared at him with big eyes, and all the armor soldiers did not dare to move forward.

The Tang Dynasty Hall suddenly became a mess.

At this moment, Cui Gan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Lu Chengqing, the secretary of the Ministry of War, walked out and said to Li Shimin in unison: "Your Majesty's thirst for talent, the ministers and others have already known. Please let your Majesty let go of Liu Zhenghui, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Hongji, the waiter of the Ministry of War, otherwise, I am afraid that the position of the minister will not be able to do it again in the future. ”

The eyes of everyone in the court looked at Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing, and the old department of the Qin Wangfu did not expect that Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing would intercede for Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji, who looked down on them and set them up.

Li Shimin also felt very surprised, but Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji were his henchmen after all, and he didn't want to punish them severely in his heart, they were all his diehards, and they had experienced a lot of hardships with him. It's just that the situation is forced to punish them severely, so as to stabilize the situation in the Tang Dynasty and ensure that the plan of the middle faction can succeed in winning over Jiancheng, Yuanji's old ministry, and the middle faction. Now that Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing interceded for Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji, he took the opportunity to order: "Jiashi, retreat." ”

The armor turned around and left the main hall, and the old subordinates of the Qin Palace's mansion gradually dispersed, returned to their positions, and stood up again.

Li Shimin sternly warned Liu Zhenghui and Liu Hongji: "If it weren't for Cui Shangshu and Lu Shangshu interceding for you, I would have severely punished you today." In the future, cooperate with Cui Shangshu and Lu Shangshu and work loyally. If you dare to do it again, be careful and punish you for several crimes, and ask for your head. ”

After that, Li Shimin looked at Li Xuan, who was the consul general of state affairs, and said: "In the future, the performance of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War must be signed by Master Cui of the Ministry of Rites and Lord Lu of the Ministry of War. My Datang's Ministry of Rites and Soldiers, I still have to let Cui Aiqing and Lu Aiqing have the final say. ”

Li Xuan replied respectfully, "Yes." ”