Chapter 230: Going to Find Zi An to Retrieve the Scriptures

Not only aristocrat Wang Gui was stunned, but also Dai Zhou, Xiao Yu, Gao Shilian—Li Shimin's close ministers—were stunned.

The rest of the officials need not be mentioned; they all stared at Li Shimin in astonishment.

Inside the great hall, one could almost hear a pin drop.

Anyone who can stand here can't be a fool.

Li Shimin's aim isn't simply to force them to donate; he wants them to beg him to let them donate.

Ruthless!

Too ruthless!

Everyone works hard to climb, spends all their effort battling—what's it all for?

Isn't it just for wealth in life and fame after death?

What's the point of making the Ministry of Works carve mountains and build a merit monument?

He's forcing them to choose between wealth and fame.

If the monument bears a name, it's destined to be remembered for generations.

If it bears no name, it will likely be cursed to death.

Gradually, the ministers recalled today's court session—from the urgent flood report sent from eight hundred li, to Du Ruhui's apparent coercion that was actually a performance, while Li Shimin's seeming fury was actually in sync with Du Ruhui.

He slowly dragged everyone into this inescapable trap.

Once the so‑called merit monument is erected, it becomes a blatant scheme.

This isn't a merit monument at all; it's bandits forcing them to hand over money while the bandits themselves kneel and thank them profusely.

"What do you, esteemed ministers, think?" Li Shimin said with a smile, scanning the crowd.

Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling already knew this outcome, even that that portion of money might not have to be fully contributed by them.

Otherwise, who would step up and go all‑in?

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The two shouted their praise.

Xiao Yu, Gao Shilian and the others only now grasped Li Shimin's plan, but this overt scheme wasn't aimed at them.

Moreover, they had already intended to donate, so it mattered little.

As Li Shimin's many close ministers praised him, Wang Gui slowly closed his eyes, realizing the bloodshed had reached a point where it could not be avoided, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty! Wise and holy martial!"

"Minister…admire!"

Even Wang Gui said that; what could others say? They all knelt and echoed.

"What do you think, Minister Duan?" Li Shimin's gaze fell on a slightly gaunt figure.

It was the Minister of Works Duan Lun, born of the Northern Zhou noble Duan clan, married to Princess Gaomi, Li Yuan's daughter, making him Li Shimin's brother‑in‑law.

Duan Lun, who had been dazed, snapped back, immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise and holy martial; I will certainly supervise the erection of the merit monument, ensuring every noble's donated money and grain is recorded accurately, with no errors."

"Minister Dai!" Li Shimin added, "You and Minister Duan will jointly oversee this; the money and grain donated by Minister Du and others will be collected by you."

"Prepare the disaster relief promptly."

"I will obey the decree!" Dai Zhou said with admiration.

"Esteemed ministers, any other matters to report?" Li Shimin waved his sleeve and sat back on the throne.

After a while, still no one spoke; everyone was now pondering how much money to send to the Ministry of Revenue.

What do other trivial matters matter?

"Since there's nothing, the court is adjourned!"

Li Shimin, hands behind his back, left slowly with Wushe.

"We respectfully escort Your Majesty."

Stepping out of the hall, Li Shimin turned to Li Junxian waiting ahead and asked, "Go, keep an eye on those aristocrats; don't let them receive news from both banks of the Yellow River."

"If necessary… kill!"

Li Junxian was startled but respectfully replied, "I will obey the decree!"

"Wushe!"

"The old servant is here!"

"Go let my dear nephew have a comfortable bath, then bring him to see me!"

"Yes!"

"......"

"Hahaha, Guanyin Maid, today I finally vented my anger!" Li Shimin, after leaving the audience, went straight to Lizheng Hall; upon entering and seeing Empress Changsun, he burst into hearty laughter.

"You have no idea of Wang Gui's expression when he learned of the merit monument—he looked as if he'd swallowed two taels of flies; I almost choked on laughter."

"So comfortable, truly comfortable!"

Empress Changsun paused her stitching of a wedding dress, watched Li Shimin approach, leaned on the soft couch, and asked with a smile, "I heard an urgent eight‑hundred‑li convoy entered Chang'an; I suppose it was the flood you were worrying about last night."

"And you're so happy—could it be that Sister Chai's efforts succeeded and the people suffered no casualties?"

"Guanyin Maid is indeed clever," Li Shimin praised, then sighed, "If the Yellow River region's people suffered heavily, even if I could trap a handful of aristocrats, I certainly wouldn't be able to laugh now."

"Thanks to Chai Shao!"

Empress Changsun reminded, "Your Majesty must not forget Zi An; had Zi An not warned us over a month ago, we would now be in utter chaos and the flood would surely cause massive casualties."

Li Shimin glanced at the wedding dress in Empress Changsun's hands and said, "I haven't forgotten that brat, but when I see the dress you stitched, I feel suffocated."

"Tell me, why does Li Zhi set her eyes on that brat?"

Hearing this, Empress Changsun's eyes were full of helplessness, "Li Zhi is not young any more; women of her age, similar to her, are mostly already married. Li Zhi's marriage is a matter of when, not if, so why dwell on it?"

"Moreover, I've answered you many times, Zi An: what isn't worth Li Zhi's attention?"

"Stop calling him a brat every time; that brat has helped you a lot."

Li Shimin choked for a moment and could not refute.

He waved his hand and said, "Fine, I won't mention him."

"The situation in the Yellow River region has already been reported back by Chai Shao, but we still don't know how the auxiliary machinery side is."

"So far there's still no news."

Empress Changsun, hearing this, comforted, "Er Lang, don't worry. The Yangtze River is not like the Yellow River; even if a flood breaks out, it can't compare to the Yellow River."

"I, your humble servant, guess that either there is no flood over there, or the flood hasn't broken out yet, or… the Yangtze has flooded but not severely, so they didn't use the 800‑li urgent dispatch to send news back like Chai Jiefu did."

"After all, the 800‑li urgent dispatch can't be employed casually."

Li Shimin thought for a moment, found Empress Changsun's words reasonable, and felt much more at ease.

As Empress Changsun said, the 800‑li urgent dispatch can only be used in extremely urgent situations.

Either a border pass is in alarm, or a major rebellion erupts locally, or a cataclysm of such magnitude that threatens the lives of tens of thousands of civilians must occur to activate it.

If a flood occurs on the Yangtze side but is not severe, Chang Sun Wuji is unlikely to employ the 800‑li urgent dispatch to send news back.

"Alas, in all this time, today is the happiest day for me."

"Hmm… I truly cannot forget that brat, so I'll release Li Zhi from the two heavenly palaces for a couple of days and have a good time."

At this point, how could Empress Changsun not grasp Li Shimin's meaning?

However, she recalled something and reminded, "I, your humble servant, remember that Zi An later seemed to have said that floods aren't the most terrifying; it's the subsequent effects of floods that we should pay the most attention to."

"Why not let Li Zhi go to Zi An's place to obtain some scriptures in passing?"

Li Shimin was slightly startled, as if recalling something, and his expression darkened.

"Are you referring to… the plague?"