Zhang Nuo saw that the two men were listening attentively and planned to release some explosive news.
These two were interested in hearing about government affairs and gossip about high-ranking officials.
Although we didn't know those big officials, we were scolded by our teachers for memorizing history in the past. We still had to say something exciting.
"We've had a good conversation today, so let me talk to you about something deep and give you a specific example! Let you see how the current emperor is governing the country like cooking a small fish!"
When Li Shimin and Chang Sun Wuji heard this topic, their eyes lit up. This was what they wanted to hear the most. It was great!
This guy was so excited that he almost applauded.
Zhang Nuo could tell from the expressions of the two men that this topic had piqued their interest.
Sure enough, even if it was a thousand years apart, men of this age were inexplicably interested in government affairs, making it seem as if they were high-ranking officials of the court.
"The current Minister of Personnel is Chang Sun Wuji. You should know that this Chang Sun is not just a Minister of Personnel, he is also the current country's uncle!"
"But it is this Chang Sun who can especially reflect the emperor's methods of governing the country like cooking a small fish! Can you see it?"
This conversation had to be interactive, or else it wouldn't be interesting to just talk alone.
But looking at these two people staring blankly, what did they mean? Without cooperation, we couldn't talk today.
"Two gentlemen, what does this expression mean? You can't have not heard of Chang Sun, can you? Then you are too indifferent to government affairs."
Chang Sun Wuji was almost dumbfounded. How could I not recognize myself?
He really didn't know how to continue.
Li Shimin was also stunned! Did he really govern the country like cooking a small fish when he used a deputy?
Am I so capable?
Fortunately, Li Shimin reacted quickly. Whether or not he had this idea before, it seemed that this method was quite good, and he would know how to do it by listening to Zhang Nuo.
So Li Shimin quickly said,
"Haha, Zhang Nuo is joking. People like Chang Sun Wuji, the Minister of Personnel, are court officials we can't afford to befriend, but we have definitely heard of his name. I just didn't expect that you, Xiao Zhang, wanted to talk about such a big figure today."
Zhang Nuo nodded satisfactorily. That's more like it. If you, a businessman who lives in Chang'an City, haven't even heard of the name of the Minister of Personnel and the current country's uncle, then you're not reliable.
But it was easy to continue the story once they had heard of it. Otherwise, it would be pointless to play music to a cow.
"If you know about it, then it's easy to talk about it."
"When it comes to Chang Sun, not only is he a close friend of the emperor's, he is also outstanding in his abilities. He is truly one of the most famous and virtuous officials in the court."
Although Changsun Wuji kept reminding himself to be low-key and maintain a serious demeanor while standing beside the emperor, his mouth today seemed to have a mind of its own. It kept opening easily and his lips would curl upwards.
However, Li Shimin was a little unhappy at the moment.
He didn't understand why they kept talking about how he governed the country as if cooking a small dish, and what did it mean to blow the instrument of the Chang Sun Wuji?
He quickly filled up the wine glass for the shopkeeper Xiaozhang without saying a word and smiled at Zhang Nuo.
Zhang Nuo understood that this was a hint to continue the conversation, so he quickly proceeded.
"Although there is nothing wrong with employing such a wise minister, it does not reveal the emperor's methods."
"But have you ever thought that Changsun has another identity? He is a current national uncle and a true relative of the emperor!"
"Since the Han Dynasty, have you ever heard of an emperor giving such great power to a relative? Even if there are many talented people, it is not allowed! Only our emperor dares to use him in this way! This is vision and strategy!"
As soon as the words "relative of the emperor" were mentioned, Changsun Wuji's glass fell directly on the table.
This sentence hit him hard.
Li Shimin's expression became very serious!
What is a relative of the emperor? Only the relatives of the empress are called relatives of the emperor.
These people have noble titles, family relationships, and channels to influence the emperor's thoughts, making them the easiest presence to influence the emperor.
During the Han Dynasty, relatives of the emperor had become a group that could manipulate the succession of imperial power and major court affairs. There are many records in the historical books about the topic of relatives of the emperor intervening in politics.
such as the story of Emperor Wu of Han hiding his lover in the golden house, and the story of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, all of which are related to the intervention of the relatives of the emperor in politics.
Therefore, even though Li Shimin is now an emperor with real power and can make life and death decisions with a single word.
when he heard the term "relatives of the emperor", he still couldn't help but feel a tremble in his heart.
But seeing that Changsun Wuji dropped his glass, Li Shimin relaxed and he had seen Changsun Wuji's performance as an auxiliary for so many years.
His ability goes without saying, although he occasionally has some small thoughts, but most of the time he is dedicated to serving the public.
Overall, Changsun Wuji is worthy of his trust and admiration.
Therefore, Li Shimin picked up Changsun Wuji's dropped glass, poured it full of wine, and meaningfully said,
"Sun, Xiaozhang is talking about the emperor and Changsun. What are you getting excited for? According to Xiaozhang's words, the emperor trusts and admires you, so there must be a reason. Just relax and listen to Xiaozhang."
Upon hearing Li Shimin's words, Changsun Wuji finally felt relieved. He knew that Li Shimin's words were meant to ease his worries and make him stop overthinking things.
Taking the wine poured by Li Shimin himself, Changsun Wuji smiled wryly and said to Zhang Nuo,
"Sorry, Xiaozhang, I only heard of Changsun's name before and didn't expect that the position involved the use of imperial relatives. It was a bit shocking!"
Zhang Nuo was a little confused before. He was wondering why Changsun Wuji was so excited, as he was not a relative of the Sun family.
Since Changsun was fine, the matter from earlier should be settled.
"It's okay. Let me continue. His Majesty values Changsun Wuji just like a top chef cooking lamb!"
"Everyone knows that lamb is good, but it has a strong smell. Only a good chef knows how to make lamb delicious without any odor."
" Majesty is like this. Even though Changsun is an imperial relative, he has to use his abilities well and not worry about problems because of his position."
"This is a manifestation of His Majesty's governance of a big country like cooking a small fresh dish. A wise ruler with outstanding skills and vision would not dare to use an imperial relative like this."
Li Shimin was happy, and Changsun Wuji was happy too!
This is the voice of the people, how fair and positive the evaluation of His Majesty and Changsun Wuji is.
The two of them had heard praise before, but they knew that most of the praise was for their status.
Only Xiaozhang's evaluation was truly unbiased and sincere, which was particularly rare.
However, before they could enjoy their happiness for too long, Zhang Nuo spoke again, and what he said made Changsun Wuji bewildered.
"I don't know if you believe it or not, but I feel that Changsun Wuji is probably not going to end well!"
Clang!
Not only did Changsun Wuji's cup fall to the ground, but Li Shimin's cup also slipped from his hand and hit the table!
Zhang Nuo was stunned. What are you guys doing?
Did you rehearse or something?
Why are you all so excited when talking about Changsun Wuji?
Although he did want to end the conversation with a shocking statement, and give the discussion a memorable conclusion, the effect of the current situation was too good!
After a while, Li Shimin quietly kicked Changsun Wuji under the table and said with a bitter smile while tidying his cup,
"zhang Nuo, don't blame me for this. It's just that your words were so shocking. Changsun Wuji is highly valued by His Majesty. His Majesty is not a heartless person, so why would he not have a good ending?"
This was both for Zhang Nuo to hear and to reassure Changsun Wuji that His Majesty would not forget his contributions over the years.
Changsun Wuji also recovered at this time and quickly found a way to remedy the situation,
"Haha, I was also very surprised. It was mainly because Xiaozhang scared us too much."
Zhang Nuo was dissatisfied. What, you guys don't believe what I said?
Do you think he spent years studying history and solving history problems for nothing?
You should know that in recorded history, after the death of Li Shimin, the Tang Emperor who succeeded him, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, not only reduced the rank of his nephew, Changsun Wuji, and exiled him to Qianzhou, but also eventually forced Changsun Wuji to commit suicide.
This was the most tragic end of all the 24 meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion.Chang Sun Wuji was Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi uncle by marriage.
It was precisely because of this historical background that Zhang Nuo was very confident now.
"What's so scary about this? You should know that not every emperor is as wise as the current emperor."
"The current emperor dares to use Lord Changsun because he has the courage and means. But what about the future emperor? By that time, Lord Changsun will surely have risen to the highest rank, would he still dare to continue using him?"
"Lord Changsun is the prince's uncle! How could the prince..."
Li Shimin almost immediately rebutted, interrupting Zhang Nuo's narrative. He didn't know whether he didn't want to hear it or simply couldn't bear to hear such words.
As an emperor who had killed his brothers and seized the throne, what Li Shimin feared most was this kind of retribution falling on his own descendants.
So even though Chengqian was still young, he had already appointed him as crown prince and taught him to love his siblings. He also invited renowned scholars and officials to teach Chengqian from a young age.
At the same time, he instructed those scholars and officials to strictly educate Chengqian and not to raise a scoundrel.
But now, what Zhang Nuo said was outrageous!
He actually said that after the prince ascended the throne, he would take action against Changsun Wuji, a person of the highest rank and his own uncle?
How could that be possible?
But he didn't realize that his voice had just become sharp when he shouted those words.
ChangSun Wuji, on the other hand, was completely relieved now. It turned out that it wasn't Li Shimin who wanted to kill him, but the future emperor.
Whether he could live until that time was still uncertain. After all, Li Shimin was younger than him, and he could always resign and retire at that time to protect himself.
So he relaxed and asked,
"Xiao Zhang, do you think the crown prince will make a move against his own uncle in the future?"
Zhang Nuo drank a glass of wine, took a deep breath, and said softly,
"Lord ChangSun is not just the crown prince's uncle."
The conversation at lunch today was really full of ups and downs. Even Li Shimin and Long Sun Wuji, who were originally unflappable, lost their composure several times.
It shows how influential Zhang Nuo's words were.
After finishing the food and having enough drinks, they chatted enough. The two officials who originally wanted to discuss the issue of increasing revenue in the treasury with Zhang Nuo had no intention of doing so now.
They reluctantly smiled and bid farewell to Zhang Nuo. Li Shimin simply took off his money pouch and left it on the table, too lazy to even count the money before leaving.
Zhang Nuo sent them to the door and watched them get on the carriage before happily returning to the table and picking up the money pouch left by Li.
He weighed it in his hand and exclaimed,
"Wow, there must be more than three strings in here!"
He had earned back yesterday's expenses and was feeling very pleased.