I'm a marquis in Datang

Li Shimin raised his brows, with an expression of surprise on his face.

Pei Qingsong is the oldest member of the Pei family, already in his 90s and nearly [-] years old.A person of this age is like a human being in the Tang Dynasty, not to mention that Pei Qingsong comes from the Pei family of Hedong, and is also a master of Confucian classics.

Among scholars, Pei Qingsong had great influence.

Although Pei Qingsong's influence is not necessarily that of Confucius' descendant Kong Yingda, it cannot be underestimated.

Li Shimin ordered: "Xuan Pei Qingsong enters the palace."

The servant immediately went to deliver the decree.

Fang Xuanling frowned and said: "Your Majesty, Pei Qingsong seldom goes out. Now, he is nearly 90 years old and has come to Chang'an. I'm afraid there must be something important."

Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "You'll know when you see it."

Fang Xuanling suddenly asked: "Could it be related to Du Qi or Xia Guo?"

Li Shimin said: "It's not known yet."

Fang Xuanling had a solemn expression on his face, and he said in a deep voice: "I think it is very likely that it has something to do with Xia Guo. Although His Majesty has decided to fight Xia Guo to the end, he will not release the merchant. But what does Pei Qingsong have? Please, if there are any remonstrances that may even make His Majesty angry, His Majesty, please be careful."

After a pause, Fang Xuanling continued: "On the one hand, Pei Qingsong is from the Pei family in Hedong, with great influence; The old senior in the middle school. Therefore, no matter what, you must give Pei Qingsong some face, and you cannot directly slaughter Pei Qingsong."

Li Shimin nodded.

Not long after, I saw an old man with a bright head stepping in.

He is Pei Qingsong.

He was dressed in simple coarse linen clothes, his thinning and gray hair was fixed with a wooden hairpin, and he walked with a cane and a hunched back.When he entered the hall, his steps were steady and he did not appear old at all.

Pei Qingsong stood still and said: "Old man, see His Majesty the Emperor."

Li Shimin said: "Pei Gong doesn't need to be too polite. Speaking of which, Pei Gong has been recuperating in Wenxi County, Hedong. Now that the weather is getting hotter, why did Pei Gong come to Chang'an?"

Pei Qingsong said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this old man came to Chang'an because of the arrest of a businessman from Xia Kingdom."

Li Shimin's complexion suddenly darkened.

really!

Sure enough, it was because of Xia Guo merchants being arrested.

A mere businessman from Xia Kingdom was arrested, but the Pei family from Hedong, as one of the most powerful families in the world, stood up for the people of Xia Kingdom, and even brought out old antiques like Pei Qingsong, which is really surprising.

Li Shimin said: "Did Mr. Pei come to persuade me to let him go?"

"Yes!"

Pei Qingsong answered directly.

Li Shimin said: "What if I don't let him go?"

Pei Qingsong shook his head, and said: "Your Majesty is a wise gentleman, a person who truly benefits the people, and will not let people go."

While talking, Pei Qingsong had already taken out a letter from his sleeve.This letter is quite thick, with a thickness of two inches. He held the letter in his hand and said: "Your Majesty, this is the letter of Wanmin. Those who do business, please read all the Manmin Books that have been submitted."

Tang Zhen walked over immediately and took the letter.

Li Shimin took the letter and quickly browsed it. When he finished reading the contents of the letter, his face was already gloomy.The content of the letter is to hope that Li Shimin will release all the detained merchants of the Xia Kingdom.

Because Li Shimin's actions have already made the situation of the merchants in the Tang Dynasty in the Xia Kingdom not good, and even affected the business of the Xia Kingdom and the Datang.Another part of the letter said that the Tang Dynasty and the Xia Kingdom went to war, and they supported it, but they begged Li Shimin to consider the safety of the people and the situation of the merchants.

It's okay to go to war, but you can't directly detain the merchants like this, otherwise it will be difficult for Datang merchants to do business in Xiaguo.The words were eloquent and signed, and at the end there were densely packed signatures, which were signed and pledged by businessmen from the entire Tang Dynasty who were doing business in Xiaguo.

After Li Shimin read it, he didn't read the content of the signature at the end. He threw the letter aside and said angrily: "Pei Gong, Xia Guo's menacing attack has already reached the territory of the Tang Dynasty. If you don’t fight back, could it be that the merchants of the major families will be willing to let the people of Xia Guo kill me?”

Pei Qingsong said: "Your Majesty is serious."

Li Shimin said: "Seriously, what is serious? This is the implication in the letter. Mr. Pei, there is no way I will be soft. I, the Tang Dynasty, will not be threatened by anyone."

Pei Qingsong said: "It doesn't look like Your Majesty is going to care about the lives and deaths of these businessmen in Xia Kingdom."

Li Shimin said: "It's not that I don't care, but I can't. The first task right now is to put an end to Du Qi's eyeliner in Chang'an and other places. The most direct way is to arrest businessmen. At least the vast majority of Xia Guo secretly Just arrested, even if some of them escape, it won't affect the overall situation."

Pei Qingsong said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is really stubborn. It is disappointing that His Majesty is so determined to detain ordinary businessmen."

Li Shimin said: "If you want to be disappointed, then be disappointed."

"Report!"

At this moment, there was another sound of hurried footsteps.

But a servant hurried in.

The servant came to Tang Zhen's ear and whispered something, then Tang Zhen's complexion changed slightly, and he quickly put his mouth next to Li Shimin's ear, exclusive to what the servant said.

Li Shimin's face changed again and again after listening to it. After he finished listening, he waved his hands and said, "Pei Gong, if nothing happens, you can step back now."

When Pei Qingsong heard this, he was immediately humiliated.

He felt that Li Shimin's method was to humiliate him, so Pei Qingsong said: "Li Shimin, you are so self-willed, and you are so unwilling to listen to persuasion, you will regret it. Those who are upright help more than those who are unjust. , for your own self-interest, in order to be able to occupy the land of the Western Regions, you are actually arresting businessmen from the Xia Kingdom, it is really shameful."

Li Shimin said coldly: "Then Du Qi is going to threaten the officials of our Datang, saying that he will assassinate the officials. Isn't what Du Qi has done shameful? What's more, Du Qi has already entered the territory of our Datang. It's extremely spicy. If Du Qi is not captured, the consequences for Datang will be disastrous."

Pei Changqing said: "The way is different, don't conspire with me."

"Farewell!"

Pei Changqing saluted and left.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Xuanling, just received the news that there are already reports of officials resigning around Chang'an, and even around Chang'an City as the center.

condition.Officials one after another resigned in fear of being killed.After all, under the current circumstances, there is a threat to officials staying in office. "

When Fang Xuanling arrived, he was shocked.

Because he did not expect that Du Qi's response would be so intense.In fact, Fang Xuanling had expected Du Qi to attack, but Du Qi's attack was so weird.

It is said that soldiers and horses go first without using food and grass, but at the moment, Du Qi is finding another way to make all the officials of the Xia Kingdom resist the Tang Dynasty, and even withdraw voluntarily if they don't provoke them.

Astonishment and admiration.

Du Qi's methods were too ruthless.

Li Shimin boiled: "First people from the Pei family in Hedong pleaded for mercy, and now, countless officials have resigned. Every official in the Tang Dynasty has opened their mouths to plead for mercy. The situation is very unfavorable to us!"

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this is the price of fighting to the end. Since we have decided to confront Du Qi, these things will naturally happen, and this is Du Qi's intention. Why didn't Du Qi directly assassinate the officials? Instead, he let out the news that officials would be released only if His Majesty did not agree to release people. He deliberately arranged this way in order to disturb the public opinion. He even caused countless officials to stand on the opposite side of His Majesty."