Meanwhile, as Emperor Taizong's son Li Zhi the Prince of Jin was made the nominal commandant of Bing Precture (but did not actually report to Bing), Li Shiji's title became the secretary general of Bing, but he continued to effectively serve as commandant. In 637, as part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains, Li Shiji's title was changed to Duke of Ying, and he was given the post of prefect of Qi Prefecture (, roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei), to be inherited by his heirs, but Li Shiji remained at Bing and did not actually report to Qi. Soon, however, with many objections to the system, the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji, Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme, although Li Shiji's title remained Duke of Ying. In 641, when discussing about Li Shiji, whom historical accounts indicated that the people obeyed without complaints, Emperor Taizong made the comment: