Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4987 Li Tai: Is this the last meal for execution?
"Hiss—Fang Er, quickly take your dog paws off of me!"

"Eh? Zhinu? Is it Zhinu? Oh my goodness, my good brother, you can actually leave Chang'an City? Congratulations!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Zhinu, don't do anything stupid. I'm your brother...ah!"

……

When the eunuch rushed into the bedroom, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei was wrapped in a quilt and rolling around on the bed, wailing non-stop, while the Prince of Jin and Fang Jun reached their hands into the quilt...

The eunuch's eyelids were twitching. These two men had come from Chang'an City in the middle of the night in the wind and snow, and they must have been frozen to the bone. One could imagine how cold their palms were. The King of Wei was attacked by two pairs of cold hands in his sleep... Just thinking about how painful that must have been.

The three of them made a noise for a while, and the eunuch wanted to make tea, but Fang Jun waved his hand and said, "I have asked the cook to prepare food and wine. I won't drink tea for now."

Li Tai ignored him, took Li Zhi's hand and sat on the bed, and asked with concern: "Why did you come here? Did His Majesty allow you to leave the palace?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Well, His Majesty has lifted the ban, and no one stopped me from leaving the city with my brother-in-law."

"Oh! That's great!"

Li Tai held Li Zhi's hand tightly, his eyes red with joy: "I miss you day and night, my father and mother have passed away, and we brothers should help each other, but you are imprisoned in the palace when you are young and full of vigor. What if something goes wrong? Just thinking about that scene, I am heartbroken."

"Confinement" does not seem to endanger life. Apart from the limited restrictions on freedom, food, clothing and daily necessities are not reduced. However, "confinement" is often just a nice word. Throughout history, countless people have died in confinement. "Depressed and suddenly contracted a serious illness" is a ready-made excuse...

He was really afraid that one day he would suddenly hear the news that Li Zhi had died suddenly.

Li Zhi was also afraid. He felt like he was living a year in a day during the time he was confined in the palace. He lost more than ten pounds and dared not eat anything carelessly. All the so-called supplements and delicacies sent by the emperor were locked in the cabinet and he dared not even look at them.

Those days of fear and trepidation were truly tormenting...

Now that they had met Li Tai and heard his caring words, they felt a mixture of emotion and fear in their hearts. They could no longer hold back, and all their emotions burst out at once, and the two brothers hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Fang Jun twitched his mouth, feeling very embarrassed.

Fortunately, the cook quickly brought the meal, which eased the mood in the house.

The two princes wiped their tears and calmed down, feeling a little embarrassed. Seeing the eunuchs placing food and wine on the table, they also sat down.

Fang Jun drove the eunuch away, picked up the pot and poured wine, raised the cup and said: "This cup is for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei, you will be on your way tomorrow, right? Your Highness and I have a close friendship, and I hope that we can know each other and share life and death in the next life! Drink to victory!"

Li Tai grinned and looked at Fang Jun speechlessly.

Why does this sound a bit creepy?
I am going to Luoyang, not to the execution ground!
Are you sending me a "last meal"? !
He raised his glass reluctantly, stared at Fang Jun, and said angrily: "Can you speak properly? Don't you know what I fear the most? As the saying goes, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. You, Fang Er, are a mean person!"

Fang Jun smiled and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. I'm just asking you, were you scared when the King of Jin and I barged in just now?"

Li Tailie grinned and cursed: "You bastard, stop doing such immoral things!"

He raised his head, drank the wine in the glass, and let out a long breath.

Just as Fang Jun said, although His Majesty had a long talk with him two days ago, expressing the deep love between brothers and making it clear that he would not treat him harshly, Li Tai was not an idiot who had never been to school. The emperor is best at saying one thing and thinking another, changing his orders every day. Maybe they were all sincere at the time, but once the situation changes, his mood is likely to change.

What if he wakes up and feels that he, the King of Wei, is a threat to the throne?
Li Zhi also drank the wine in his glass, put down the glass and said with a wry smile: "Although my brother-in-law is knowledgeable, he was not born in an imperial family, so he may not be able to empathize with our state of mind. What you thought was a joke was like a bolt from the blue to us, so it is better not to make such jokes, otherwise you might be scared to death."

Fang Jun also drank it all, picked up the pot to pour wine again, and said disapprovingly: "If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. You two have evil intentions and are held hostage by others, so you are naturally terrified and feel like you have a thorn in your back. If you can let go of your covetousness, be upright, and selfless, why would you be so scared? Gentlemen are open and honest, while villains are always worried!"

Li Tai took a bite of the food, glanced at Li Zhi, and then looked at Fang Jun and asked, "There are only three of us here, and what we say is heard by six ears. What is His Majesty's attitude towards us brothers after Li Shenfu's rebellion?"

Li Zhi also looked at Fang Jun nervously.

Even though His Majesty seems to be magnanimous and forgiving now, who knows what His Majesty really thinks?
Fang Jun said: "I am not a worm in your majesty's stomach, how can I know what your majesty is thinking?"

Li Tai was dissatisfied and said, "Who doesn't know that His Majesty values ​​and trusts you? Just now you said that you only hope we can know each other in the next life. Bullshit! If we can't be honest with each other in this life, what's the point of talking about the next life?"

Fang Jun drank a sip of wine, ate a bite of food, shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just the truth. Can't your Highness see the current situation? Just today, your Majesty abolished the power of the prime ministers of the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and even granted Liu Xiangdao, Pei Huaijie, Tang Jian, Cui Dunli, Su Dingfang, Dai Zhou and others the task of 'co-minister of the Zhongshu Menxia'. The atmosphere in the government hall has been completely changed, and it is all under your Majesty's control... What does this mean, I don't need to explain it to your Highness, right?"

Li Zhi had known about this for a long time, but Li Tai was kept in the dark and had never heard of it. However, both brothers had extraordinary political talents and they understood the meaning of it almost instantly.

Li Tai took a deep breath and looked at Fang Jun with wide eyes: "Your Majesty, are you going to break up with you?"

It's no wonder that he was so shocked. No one knew better than him how Fang Jun had spared no effort to support Li Chengqian, and how Li Chengqian had trusted Fang Jun and reciprocated his kindness. However, His Majesty's actions clearly showed that he was deeply wary of Fang Jun and did not hide it.

This would not only be a disaster for both sides, but would also cause severe turmoil in the core of power at the top of the empire.

In fact, it has already happened.

Fang Jun poured wine for the two and said calmly, "It's not that serious. There is fear, but not necessarily a break. After all, Your Majesty is not in complete control of the army now. Once the military leadership is turbulent, the country will be unstable. If the country is unstable, the joint efforts of the government and the people since the Zhenguan period will be wasted, and the good situation will be ruined. This is something Your Majesty and everyone else do not want to see."

Nowadays, the entire empire's army is under the control of the "two big mountains" Li Ji and Fang Jun. The meritorious officials of the Zhenguan period and the newcomers in the army are both competing with each other and supporting each other. Li and Fang are irreplaceable.

If one of them falls, there will be chaos in the army.

If both of them fall together, the world will be in chaos.

Li Chengqian can only divide and rule these two people, and check and balance them, and absolutely cannot try to overthrow them...

Li Zhi drank another cup, his pale face flushed, and he sighed, "The art of being an emperor is to repeatedly balance, unbalance, and balance again. There is no long-term balance, and we can only seek a short-term balance in the process of balancing."

Fang Jun praised: "Your Highness is worthy of the favor of Emperor Taizong, and he is extremely talented."

The so-called art of being an emperor is ultimately about "governing people". How to balance power determines the level of an emperor's success.

Li Zhi was probably drunk. He looked at Fang Jun and said quietly, "Why didn't my brother-in-law support me at the beginning? If my brother-in-law had helped me, who knows what the current situation would be like."

Fang Jun smiled and poured him a glass of wine, saying gently, "I have no problem with you. I am against the matter, not the person. In my eyes, it doesn't really matter who is the emperor. The interests of the empire are above all else. The starting point of everything is just to weigh the pros and cons. As long as Your Majesty is justified and justified, the benefits will naturally outweigh the disadvantages. That's all."

Li Zhi said drunkenly: "Your words are suspected of being disloyal to the king."

"I am loyal to your majesty, but I am also loyal to my country."

Li Zhi looked puzzled.

Under the background of "family rule", the monarch is the country, and being loyal to the monarch means being loyal to the country!
What is the difference between loyalty to the king and loyalty to the country?
Li Tai took a sip of the wine and explained, "Chi Nu, you are wrong. The world does not belong to one family or one surname, but to all people in the world! Any emperor who rules the world with his family and uses the interests of the world to supplement the interests of his family is against the principles of the universe! The rulers of the Three Dynasties used their own families to serve the world, so the granaries were full, the wind and rain were favorable, and the political power was changed without damaging the country. When Si Qi stole the throne and inherited the worship of Yu, his family was above the country, and he used the power of the whole country to support one family. This is the root cause of the suffering of the people and the change of dynasties... Although you and I were born in the family of emperors, we should also remember the lessons of history and not abuse the people with one family or one surname. Instead, use this power to benefit the people, so that the prosperous Tang Dynasty will last for thousands of years..."

Fang Jun widened his eyes, wondering when His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei had completed his ideological evolution. Do you want a "constitutional monarchy"?

Li Zhi was shocked and found it totally unacceptable.

This world was conquered by Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong after bloody battles. The royal family of Li Tang has been accepting offerings of blood and food from people all over the world for generations. "All under heaven is the king's land, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects." The Lord of Li Tang reigns over the world!
If what Li Tai said is true, wouldn't it be turning the world upside down and going against the grain?

How does the emperor of the Tang Dynasty demonstrate his imperial power?
Li Tai seemed to realize that he had said something wrong. He laughed and fell headfirst onto the bed: "I can't do it anymore. You guys continue..."

Li Zhi looked at Fang Jun.

Fang Jun poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Emperor Taizong once said that no one in the Tang Dynasty was ever convicted for speech. Even peddlers and hawkers have the freedom to express their own thoughts and opinions. It is just one family's opinion. Whether it is right or wrong, we should tolerate it."

Li Zhi looked puzzled: "Father said this? Why haven't I heard it before?"

Fang Jun swore, "I definitely said that! You are still young, it's normal that you don't remember."

Li Zhi: “…”

I am a few years younger, and I don’t have amnesia!