Li Shimin was like that; he always unconditionally favored his own children.
This led to the chaos of princes rebelling and princesses being promiscuous during the Zhenguan era.
After reprimanding all the officials in Shuozhou, Li Shimin then turned his attention to Li Zhi.
"Of course, my young slave was also at fault!"
"He shouldn't have so easily believed the words of a villain and mistakenly thought the Hu merchant was a good person!"
"I have decided to severely punish him and make him stay at home for a year to reflect on his actions..."
Xue Wanche was completely stunned when he heard this.
He at least managed to save a few hundred men, preventing the Xueyantuo from annihilating the entire Shuozhou army. Li Zhi, the leader, did nothing, was captured and taken to the grasslands for two months, and all he did was reflect on his actions behind closed doors?
This world is so unfair!
Xue Wanche was unable to see clearly, but the others with discerning eyes, upon hearing this, quickly praised His Majesty's wisdom.
Because they knew one thing: since Li Zhi had been convicted of such a minor crime, they were likely to be fine.
Sure enough, after announcing the punishment for Li Zhi, Li Shimin immediately informed them of the crimes they had committed.
"You are all guilty of negligence. I understand that you have had a difficult time, so I will demote you all by one rank, but retain your original positions!"
Upon hearing this, everyone kowtowed in gratitude for the Emperor's grace.
They were guilty of breaching the city's defenses, yet His Majesty only demoted them by one rank, which is absolutely an act of leniency!
Li Jue stood to the side, frowning slightly upon hearing this, thinking that the punishment was too lenient.
Such a momentous event, how could we not kill a couple to celebrate? Would that be fair to the soldiers and civilians who died in Shuozhou?
"Your Majesty, I disagree!"
As soon as Li Jue finished speaking, he was met with a glare from Li Shimin.
"You disagree?"
"yes!"
"Not only do I disagree, but the tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians, and people who died in Shuozhou City also disagree!"
"Even if Uncle Jiu is your son, you can't be so biased towards him, can you?"
"you!"
Li Shimin was furious upon hearing this.
"Li Jue, you are already the Crown Prince, can't you give way to your Ninth Uncle?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue felt extremely frustrated. He suddenly understood why Li Jing had called him "Old Man Li"—this guy was truly getting a bit senile.
"His Majesty!"
"Please remember, not only is Uncle Nine your son, but all the people of the world are your sons!"
"They look up to you as if you were their parents. How can you show such favoritism and disappoint the people of the world!"
"you……"
Li Shimin was furious again upon hearing this, but no matter how angry he was, he couldn't do anything about this grandson.
Because that grandson is right...
He was indeed biased in his treatment of Li Zhi, and the bias was too severe.
"Li Jue, what do you think should be done?"
"Me..."
Li Jue never expected that Li Er, that old man, would pass the buck to him again.
"If I were to grant you this opinion, Ninth Uncle should be executed, and all officials of Shuozhou City should be exiled!"
Upon hearing Li Jue's words, everyone stared in horror, thinking to themselves that this bastard was too ruthless, actually wanting to exile them all!
Li Shimin was shocked to hear this. He had never expected his grandson to be so ruthless as to say that he would order Li Zhi to be executed.
"Li Jue, are you serious?"
Li Jue nodded upon hearing this.
"yes!"
"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor!"
"Your grandson cannot bear to see tens of thousands of lonely souls in Shuozhou unable to find peace!"
"Therefore, using Uncle Nine's blood to commemorate them can at least make up for our guilt."
Li Shimin refused without hesitation upon hearing this.
"no!"
"I will absolutely not agree!"
Li Jue snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"Your Majesty, these are your own people who are dying. If you don't feel sorry for them, don't regret it later when something bad happens!"
"Oh, by the way, I don't know who said it, but the people are like water; water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
"Could it be that someone just said it and then forgot about it?"
"you……"
Li Shimin was repeatedly insulted by Li Jue, which made him so angry that he wanted to strangle the bastard.
"Li Jue, don't be so presumptuous!"
"I can make you a ruler, and I can depose you!"
Li Jue was not to be outdone upon hearing this.
"Then cripple me!"
"Let's see who will inherit the Tang Dynasty after you pass away!"
"You...you...you're really making me so angry, waaaaah..."
Li Shimin was so angered by Li Jue that he cried, and sat on the ground wailing.
The surrounding officials felt extremely awkward seeing this scene. They had long known that their emperor was prone to crying, but they never imagined he could cry this much.
Li Jue was also dumbfounded, wondering if he had said anything wrong, so why did he make the old man cry?
"Grandpa?"
"Don't call me Grandpa!"
"I don't deserve it!"
After saying this in a fit of pique, Li Shimin immediately took off his sword from his waist and threw it with a clatter at Li Jue's feet.
"I bestow upon you a precious sword. Take this sword and go kill your ninth uncle! Waaaaah!"
When Li Shimin saw that Li Jue actually dared to pick up the sword from the ground, he was so angry that he cried again.
"You unfilial grandson, you really want to kill your ninth uncle, waaaaah..."
Upon hearing this, Li Jue explained with a sense of grievance.
“Grandpa, it’s not that I want to kill Uncle Jiu, but the things he committed can no longer be covered up by us. We must use his blood to appease the souls of those who perished in Shuozhou…”
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin wept bitterly.
"I know!"
"But I just can't bear to part with it, sob sob sob..."
"You don't know, your ninth uncle was frail and sickly from a young age. But even so, after you were born, he held you many times and changed your diapers..."
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