Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

"Old Ten is right."

Hearing Li Shen's words, Li Shimin nodded leisurely.

"Aye, do you mean that Duke Zhao is forbearing?"

Li Chengqian asked after thinking for a while.

"Of course. Aye is still alive. He certainly wouldn't dare to act rashly."

Li Shen licked the tea twice and said.

"That's right, I'm not dead yet. He doesn't dare to show any sign of death. He's afraid that I will...

Uproot the Duke Zhao's Mansion. Even for your mother's sake, I will not allow him to control the government and become your enemy in the future."

Li Shimin said domineeringly.

No matter who it is, as long as he hinders Li Chengqian's future development, Li Shimin will ruthlessly eliminate him.

"But I don't think Duke Zhao is a person with bad intentions."

Li Chengqian still didn't quite believe it.

"You are right about this. Duke Zhao has no intention of treason. He is just greedy for power.

He showed some signs when he was in the Prince's Palace.

His loyalty is beyond doubt. He and my royal family share the same fate. Without my royal family,

His Changsun family will soon be attacked and swallowed up by other aristocratic families.

He should see this clearly.

He formed a clique because he wanted more power, because he is your uncle and in the future he will be the person you trust the most.

He is also needed to stabilize the government.

By then, many of the civil and military officials in the court will be his disciples, and his voice will become increasingly greater.

In the end, he might want to control you."

Li Shimin was very familiar with this set of practices. He was well-versed in history books and knew of many such cases in history.

Why did Emperor Wu of Han kill his meritorious officials? To prevent future troubles.

Li Chengqian was a little depressed. He really trusted Changsun Wuji and would consult him on anything.

Changsun Wuji would also teach him carefully what to do.

To be honest, Changsun Wuji taught him much more than his father.

He always felt that Zhangsun Wuji was his direct descendant and the person he trusted the most.

He is his mentor, helpful friend, and close relative.

But now his father and brother told him that this mentor, helpful friend, beloved relative, was actually not on the same page with him.

Moreover, he would have to wait until he succeeded to the throne to monopolize power and control the government.

This inevitably made him feel a little sad.

"Don't worry about it, big brother. Isn't this the case with all incidents? People are always related by interests.

Friendship means only coming in second place.

As the saying goes, no one cares about the poor in a busy city, but the rich have distant relatives even in the mountains.

Although Duke Zhao is his mother's biological brother, his surname is Changsun after all, and he is wholeheartedly devoted to the Changsun family.

As long as he is loyal to the Tang Dynasty and the Li family, I won't be wrong about him.

At least half of the people in the court have no loyalty to my Li family.

So what? Just treat them as the dogs raised by my Li family. When you feel like it, you can tease them and give them some meat.

If it doesn't obey, I'll kill it and eat its meat. At worst, I can raise another one. There aren't many real people in this world.

But dogs...are everywhere.”

Li Shen saw that Li Chengqian was feeling a little sad, so he lay down and tried to comfort him.

In Li Shen's view, this is how those in a high position should behave; this is the art of controlling those below you.

To put it nicely, you are all my trusted ministers, to put it more elegantly, you are chess pieces in my hands, and to put it more roughly, you are just dogs I raise.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shen in surprise, because the ways of governing a country he had learned were not this idea.

Those teachers, tutors, and grand masters all told him that the relationship between the ruler and his subjects was one of mutual love, unity and progress.

Li Shimin also looked at Li Shen with some surprise. He did not expect that Li Shen could understand this truth at such a young age.

The most important thing for those in power is the art of controlling their subordinates.

Those in a high position may not know anything, but they must be able to use talents who are good at various aspects.

This is also the experience he has summed up over the years. He forced the emperor to the throne, and Li Yuan did not teach him anything.

Li Shen's ability to understand this principle made Li Shimin look at him with admiration.

"Why, is there something wrong with what I said?"

Seeing the two people looking at him, Li Shen asked in confusion, did he say something wrong?

"Tenth brother, although what you said makes some sense, it is somewhat different from what the Grand Tutor and the others taught."

Li Chengqian said.

"Brother, the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Prince's Grand Master, after all, are still subjects.

Of course, they will not tell you to treat your subordinates as chess pieces, nor will they teach you how to control your subordinates.

They will only teach you how to treat them well.

For example, as stated in the Book of Rites, no official shall be punished.

How could they do something that is not good for themselves?

There is no right or wrong in this world, it’s just that we all have the same standpoint.

Isn't Confucianism just about fixing people's thoughts within a framework, and then telling the world that if you step out of this framework, you are wrong?

It is also called the moral bottom line.”

Li Shen was firing on all cylinders today, speaking out everything he had learned, regardless of whether it made sense or not.

Anyway, it is definitely much more advanced than the thinking of this era.

Besides, Li Shen was not talking nonsense. He had read a lot of such comments before.

"Old Ten, where did you learn these principles?"

Li Shimin followed up and asked, he wanted to know how you knew that.

"Aye, I figured this out on my own.

I have always done this.

There are three big men in the Ji Palace: the Chief Clerk Wang Xuance, the Chief Treasurer Wang Hongfu, and the Sima Xue Rengui.

They have followed me for many years and are loyal to me.

And I gave them everything they wanted, high positions and generous salaries.

Everyone has their value, and as long as you give them enough of what they want, they will be loyal to you.

Wang Xuance's salary is higher than that of a third-rank official in our dynasty, and Wang Hongfu's annual salary is more than he can earn from his own business.

As for Xue Rengui, he was determined to join the army just to bring honor to his ancestors and bring glory to his family.

I gave him this opportunity. He was a Sima of the fourth rank in the Ji Wang Mansion. He had a salary of 3,000 soldiers.

The Xue family's ancestral home and ancestral tombs were rebuilt, and with tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, the Xue family was well-known in their hometown.

The villagers were even more envious of Xue Rengui, and every time he returned, the local county magistrate would personally greet him.

I have given him wealth, status, and power. Why would he not be loyal to me?"

Li Shen finished speaking in one breath. He didn't care whether Li Shimin would have any objections about his subordinates' loyalty to him.

Li Shimin really had no objection. In his opinion, if you can't even make the servants in your own palace loyal to you,

Isn't this a sign of incompetence?

"Gao Ming, although what Lao Shi said is not entirely reasonable, there are some merits in it. You should think carefully about it when you go back.

Of course, just keep it to yourself and don't tell anyone else.

Lao Shi was right when he said that you are the king and they are the ministers. It is indeed inappropriate to let a group of ministers teach you how to be a king.

You must read carefully the twelve chapters of "The Imperial Model" that I wrote for you. They contain my experience as an emperor for more than twenty years.

There are also history books, which contain the words and deeds of emperors of all dynasties. You can learn from their experiences.

I hope that you will be stronger than me in the future and can make the Tang Dynasty ten or a hundred times more powerful than it is now.

It would be great if we could dominate the world."