Looking at all of Li Shimin's sons, they all took different paths because of Li Xiang's arrival. First, Crown Prince Li Chengqian was already a useless person, but now he can do everything Li Shimin assigns to him well, and he is becoming more and more like a crown prince.
The most important thing is that his mind works very quickly. Now all memorials are sent to the Eastern Palace first, screened by Li Chengqian, and then sent to Li Shimin. At the beginning, Li Shimin was worried and asked Li Chengqian to annotate all the memorials before sending them on. Now it has been nearly a year, and Li Shimin no longer has the time to take care of this. As long as it does not involve major issues, Li Shimin will give power to Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian had this ability in the past, but because of his lame leg and his lack of confidence, he always felt that the emperor would depose him. Of course, he himself thought that this was possible. Now that he has Li Xiang to support him, even if the emperor deposed Li Chengqian, would other princes dare to succeed to the throne?
Prince Li Tai of Wei and Prince Li Zhi of Jin also started from the grassroots level. It was originally thought that these two people were just trying to save face, but after a long period of observation, it was found that these two people were also shining in their positions.
This comforted Li Shimin. All his sons had become successful, which was something he could boast about to others. Even some of his grandsons regarded Li Xiang as their role model and gradually became famous across the country. The only thing that made people depressed was King Wu Li Ke.
Li Shimin found an opportunity for King Wu Li Ke to lead troops, and also made him the closest to challenging Li Xiang. Unexpectedly, this guy was not up to the task and was defeated in the north. After returning, Li Shimin was extremely disgusted with this guy and hardly said a word to him.
Li Shimin did this with a profound meaning. He wanted to suppress this guy to the lowest level, and then he would come to him. By then, he would know his shame and become braver, and would definitely become a useful person. However, he did not expect that when he came to him, he did not ask for a position in Chang'an City, nor did he ask for a position in the eastern capital Luoyang. This guy actually wanted to go to Beiting Protectorate.
For the entire Tang Dynasty, the Protectorate is indeed very important, but no matter how important this Protectorate is, it cannot sacrifice a prince. The prince is more important to the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Your Highness, the King of Wu, has a long-term vision and is willing to guard the northern border for generations to come. I admire you!"
Before Li Shimin could react, Zhangsun Wuji had already stepped forward. Zhangsun Wuji's status within the court had declined in recent days, but he was still the most powerful official. After all, he was Li Shimin's brother-in-law. He was also the prince's uncle. Even if his relationship with the emperor had been bad some time ago, considering the future emperor and prince, his position in the court was still not bad.
When the ministers around heard what Changsun Wuji said, they all stood up. Changsun Wuji had always disliked Prince Wu Li Ke and had always wanted to get this guy out of the capital, but he had no chance at all. Think about it, in history, Prince Wu Li Ke also died at the hands of Changsun Wuji. Even if Li Xiang traveled through time, this grudge would probably not be resolved.
Changsun Wuji was Empress Changsun's biological brother, so he naturally sided with his nephews. No matter whether it was Li Chengqian or Li Tai, they were his biological nephews. You two brothers can fight however you want. Even if you both suffer losses, there is still Prince of Jin Li Zhi below you.
But if Prince Wu Li Ke joined in, Changsun Wuji would not be so good-tempered. Li Shimin had always told everyone that this son was the most like him. Others might not remember this, but Changsun Wuji knew it clearly. Now that there was an opportunity to keep Prince Wu Li Ke away from the core of the court, why didn't he go with the flow?
After Changsun Wuji finished speaking, he looked up at the ministers below. Although many people came out, none of them were Li Shimin's confidants. If he wanted to accomplish this, he had to let Li Shimin's confidants say a few words. The biggest blessing was Fang Xuanling standing opposite him, but at this moment Fang Xuanling seemed to be wandering in the void, with his eyes closed and not saying a word.
In desperation, Changsun Wuji could only turn to Cheng Yaojin, who was standing by. "It's good for you that Wu Wang Li Ke isn't in the capital. Although Wu Wang Li Ge has sided with the crown prince, he's still a prince after all. Who knows what he's thinking? Keeping him away from the capital would be very beneficial for your son-in-law."
Cheng Yaojin was the most shrewd person. He had already seen the look in Changsun Wuji's eyes, but Cheng Yaojin had his own plans. What Li Shimin hated most was forming cliques for personal gain, especially among civil officials and military generals. Changsun Wuji was so eager to accomplish this that he actually forgot about this opportunity. If Cheng Yaojin stood up at this moment, Li Shimin would probably start to become suspicious.
Everyone in the court had a hundred minds. After Li Shimin waited for all the ministers to finish speaking, he carefully observed the ministers who stood up and found that these people did not have deep roots and were probably just agreeing with Zhangsun Wuji. As for those big families and noble families, none of them had expressed their opinions yet.
"It's a good thing that you're willing to go to the border to gain some experience, and I'm willing to let you go, but your mother's health hasn't been very good recently. As a son, I should care about her health. Let's discuss this matter later."
The issue of Concubine Yang's health has been brought up several times by Li Shimin, and the court ministers are so tired of hearing it that their ears are about to get calluses, but Li Shimin is the emperor, and we can only listen to whatever he wants to say. If we don't want to, then we probably won't end up well.
It is obvious that Li Shimin does not want Prince Wu Li Ke to leave the capital, especially to go to that remote place in the north. Perhaps Li Shimin has other strategies in mind, which is to continue to let Prince Wu Li Ke raise a big banner. It’s just that he just failed on the grassland, so now is not a good time.
Changsun Wuji's first attempt failed. Some of the civil and military officials more or less knew Li Shimin's thoughts. However, the post of Protector General of Beiting Protectorate did need someone to take up the post. Although he was the most useless of all the Protector Generals, someone had to be there anyway.
Suddenly Li Shimin thought of another person, that is his legitimate son Li Jue who stood behind Li Chengqian.
This is Li Xiang's younger brother, but the relationship between them is a bit interesting...