After exchanging greetings with Fang Xuanling, Li Xiang sat down next to him. Normally, he was not qualified to sit there, but Li Shimin was not particular about details. As long as the occasion was not too big, these people could find a place to sit. This was also one of the reasons why the emperor and his ministers were relatively harmonious during the Zhenguan period.
"Are you a little disappointed with my decision? You have already taken the pasture on the front line, but I lost it in the court."
When Li Shimin said this, he felt uncomfortable in his heart. As the king of a country and the emperor of the world, he always had a temper. But in this situation, several major families joined forces to encircle and suppress Li Shimin. Unless he turned against them, he might have a 40% chance of winning. But even if he won, the entire Tang Dynasty would be in chaos, and the situation at the end of the Sui Dynasty could happen at any time.
Fang Xuanling also looked at Li Xiang with interest. The emperor's question seemed simple, but if he didn't answer it well, it might leave an indelible impression on the emperor.
"Grandpa Emperor stands high and sees far. Since such a decision has been made, there must be a reason for it. On the surface, our Tang Dynasty appears to be peaceful and prosperous, but ordinary people don't understand what goes on behind the scenes, so they may have various criticisms. I hope Grandpa Emperor will not mind it."
Li Xiang's answer was quite standard, nothing special about it, but it was acceptable.
"You're right. The major families are superficially submitting to the imperial court, but they are undoubtedly not fierce and aggressive. The imperial court can still suppress them, so they haven't bared their fangs. If the imperial court is defeated in the battle against Tuyuhun, I'm afraid some of them will be ready to make a move."
The reason why this war was not carried out with full force was because Li Shimin found out something, especially in terms of the most important military rations. The Tang court could not supply them with all its strength and needed to negotiate with the major families. This was a huge weakness. Once the main force of the Tang Dynasty marched south and the supply from behind could not keep up, then it would be Tuyuhun who would put forward conditions, and perhaps our Tang Dynasty would lose hundreds of miles of territory.
Victory or defeat on the battlefield is so easy, so even though Li Xiang has soldiers in his system, he still wants to stop while he is ahead. After all, the rear is unstable. If the front line goes too far, it will be extremely disadvantageous to the entire court.
"Did Grandfather find out anything?"
Li Xiang saw that Li Shimin was confident in his words. This time, the Tang Dynasty had returned with a great victory, and Li Xiang had become the general of the Left Shenwu Army, bringing back the fierce and powerful troops from the front line. Li Shimin would never keep them around. They must have some use for him. Li Shimin should have already figured out who was obstructing this matter.
"The Taiyuan Wang family secretly communicated with Tuyuhun."
Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said that although every household might have such a person, other families had not been caught, and the letters from the Taiyuan Wang family were still in Li Shimin's hands, and all the things discussed in them were extremely treasonous.
When Li Xiang heard that it was not the Cui family of Qinghe, he was relieved.
In the process of dealing with Mr. Cui Sanye, Li Xiang also realized the horror of this family. If he were to go against this family, Li Xiang really did not have the confidence now. But if it was the Wang family of Taiyuan, then some things would be easier to handle.
In fact, Li Xiang had a strange idea in his mind. Perhaps the emperor also had some leverage over the Cui family. However, the emperor also knew that the Cui family was not easy to deal with, so he had to pick the weak ones and put the Taiyuan Wang family on the agenda first.
"Grandfather, will you bring them to justice?"
Li Xiang had no idea what Li Shimin was thinking, so he could only explore the way ahead to see what role he could play.
"Although there is evidence, it is impossible to make a solid case."
When Li Shimin said this, Li Xiang understood what was going on. Perhaps the evidence was pieced together from several places, combined with human reasoning, so we can know what the real situation is, but if you are asked to explain it clearly, I am afraid you will not be able to do so. After all, your reasoning cannot be regarded as evidence. The Taiyuan Wang family is also a large family that has existed for hundreds of years. It is impossible to get rid of them by relying on reasoning alone.
"Do you have any idea?"
Li Shimin stared at Li Xiang and said that the Wang family of Taiyuan had trampled on Li Shimin's bottom line. If the Wang family was not eliminated, Li Shimin would probably not be able to sleep. There were people so close to him who kept reporting news to the enemy. What on earth were they planning?
"Grandfather, have you ever thought about forming alliances?"
After Li Xiang said this, Li Shimin immediately understood that the Taiyuan Wang family also had enemies among the Five Surnames and Seven Families. Li Xiang meant that we should unite these people. If we do a good job, we can kill them at any time. But if this is the case, after the Taiyuan Wang family is gone, the spoils will be divided equally between the court and other cooperative personnel, that is, the other big families. Will that fatten them up as well?
"Your method is like trying to get the skin of a tiger. The major families have already reached their limit. If we allow them to continue to develop, they may become too powerful to be eliminated."
Li Shimin shook his head and rejected Li Xiang's proposal. He had thought that Li Xiang would have some good suggestions, but now it seemed that he was just like the others and had no constructive opinions. Perhaps it was because he had just returned from the front line and was not familiar with the things happening in the capital.
"Don't worry, Grandfather. Even if I have to fight for the tiger's skin, I will have the opportunity to bleed it right away."
When Li Xiang said this, Fang Xuanling and the emperor looked at each other. Fang Xuanling was just an ear today and did not use his mouth. He was sitting here just to listen to Li Xiang's ideas. If it was feasible, then he would have to start finding fault. After all the problems were plugged, they could basically start.
"How do you bleed them?"
Li Shimin said anxiously that he himself was the biggest tiger in the Tang Dynasty, but there were some small tigers around the Tang Dynasty, even in his own yard. These small tigers were very ferocious and now threatened his survival. Although he was still respected as the Tiger King in the short term, if the two sides turned against each other in the future, Li Shimin, as the Tiger King, might not be able to escape the crisis under the bite of the tigers.
"The great grasslands given to us by Tuyuhun."
Li Xiang’s words left the emperor and Fang Xuanling with a puzzled look on their faces. How do you bleed their major families?