The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 584: Conversation between Father and Son in Chengqing Palace (End)
Although Li Shimin was very pleased that the prince was not power-hungry, he felt helpless facing Li Yan's conservatism. He thought that Li Yan was still young and he was only in his early thirties, in the prime of his life, and it was up to Prince Li Yan to take over.

It’s still early, there’s still plenty of time to cultivate!
So he nodded and said, "Well, it's okay. The thing you mentioned is also very important. If you can do it well, it can also be an opportunity for training."

"However, if you have time in the future, you should try to participate in court meetings or come to the Hongwen Hall to discuss politics. Even if you are young, you can listen to how the important officials in the court handle national affairs."

"It would be of great benefit to you even if you come to Chengqing Palace to help me deal with some official documents."

People are like this, the more you want something, the less others will give it to you, and the more you refuse, the more others will force it into your arms. During the conversation between the two of them, Li Yan had the opportunity that other princes could not even dream of, which was to go to the three places where Li Shimin often stayed and participate in important cardinal affairs at any time.

"Yes, Father!"

Li Yan nodded respectfully: "By the way, I have one more thing to ask, I hope your Majesty will approve it."

"Well, tell me, what's the matter?" Li Shimin was in a very good mood now, as if to say, "Just ask me, I will agree."

"That's right, father. Qingming Festival is coming soon. Due to the wars in recent years, many royal family members have no descendants. To avoid accidents, the royal family's Qingming sacrificial ceremonies are changed to be held in the ancestral temple in the city."

"Among these deceased relatives, there are three princes, seven dukes, and six princesses. Because they have no descendants, no one has visited their graves. Year after year, the grass on the graves has grown very deep. If we don't clean them up, it will affect the dignity of our Tang Dynasty."

Seeing that Li Shimin was in a good mood, Li Yan told him what Empress Changsun had entrusted to him: "Father is busy with state affairs and his health is not good. You and mother advocate filial piety. As the eldest son, I should show some filial piety to those deceased elders and set an example for the people of the world."

"So I want to take advantage of the Qingming Festival to go and pay tribute. I hope your Majesty will approve it."

When Li Shimin heard this, his face darkened instantly. However, Li Yan did not mention Prince Yin, and what he said made sense. Li Shimin did not want to put on airs. In fact, he knew very well that it was his queen who was helping him share his worries behind his back.

"Who are you going to sacrifice? Tell me."

Li Yan felt a little disappointed. He was asking questions in the name of the enemy. It was obvious that he wanted to make his point clear and play both sides. He secretly despised him and began to play the role he should play: "All the deceased Li clan members who have no one to rely on, including Xi Wang Li Jiancheng and Hailing Wang Li Yuanji."

There was a loud 'bang' sound.

Li Shimin said angrily, "Prince Yin tried to kill me several times, even using poison and assassins. Back then, I treated him well by reburying him, but you still want to make these things and offer sacrifices to them. Aren't you afraid that those in the court who have blood debts with him will talk about it and cause chaos?"

Facing Li Shimin's pretended outburst, Li Yan did not frown, nor did he show a timid look. Instead, he looked at Li Shimin seriously and said slowly: "Father, when the sons fought for the throne, for the sake of the people of the world, no matter what means they used, it was understandable."

"But that is a matter between the princes. Who is right and who is wrong is the royal family's own business. Outsiders have no right to interfere."

"Besides, Crown Prince Yin and his men have been dead for many years. As the saying goes, when a person dies, all debts are settled. No matter how much they have done to our father, no matter how many grudges you brothers have, the moment they left this world, all the past hatreds have vanished into thin air."

"They are not enemies now, but my father's deceased blood brothers, and my son's uncles. If their graves are left to decay and the people of the world know about it, it will damage the dignity of our Tang Dynasty. I am a junior, so it is reasonable for me to visit them on behalf of my father. Even if the ministers in the court know about it, they will not take it too seriously. I hope my father will allow it?"

Li Shimin's expression froze, and a look of pain emerged in his eyes. Brothers who were born of the same mother and whose blood was thicker than water, killed each other for the throne. This was something Li Shimin was unwilling to face in his entire life, and it was nailed to the pillar of shame in history.

When later generations mention the prosperous Zhenguan era and the Heavenly Khan, they inevitably think of the disciples of Xuanwu Gate, who killed each other within their families, murdered their brothers and forced their fathers to surrender.

In fact, the greatest impact of Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate Incident was that he used armed force to mutiny and used the young to lead the old, setting a very bad example for future generations.

The better he governed the world and the greater his achievements, the more his descendants believed that no matter what method he used, even if it meant killing his brothers or murdering his closest relatives, as long as he could ascend the throne and govern the world well, his name would be passed down through the ages and those dirty deeds could be covered up and cleansed.

As a result, the Tang Dynasty was full of fratricide and constant rebellion, which was much more chaotic than the Han Dynasty. It lacked the moral achievements of the Han Dynasty and had more brutality, bloodiness and explosiveness.

The stability of the Han Dynasty was actually inseparable from the maintenance of status quo and recuperation during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing. The Huang-Lao philosophy of governing the country, which was respected in the early Han Dynasty, was a very wise strategy.

In fact, it played a very good role in stabilizing the world, calming the struggles for hegemony among the princes of the Zhou Dynasty, and the chaos caused by Qin's conquest of the six kingdoms and the Chu-Han contention. This laid a solid foundation for the later Emperor Wu to expand his borders.

Even after being destroyed by Wang Mang, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was still able to raise the banner of the Han Dynasty and rebuild the Han Dynasty because the people had their backs on him and the world was turning to Han.

The founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty lasted for three generations, and during this period three major events occurred that shocked later generations.

The founding emperor Li Yuan was imprisoned in the harem by his son, which was tantamount to house arrest;
The second generation killed the elder brother with the younger brother, setting a precedent of seizing power by force and replacing the elder with the younger;

Li Zhi of the third generation even let a woman steal the Tang Dynasty's territory; Li Xing of the Wu generation, you have to know that there was no human rights in ancient times, men were superior to women, under such social atmosphere, people even allowed a woman to be emperor and establish a system with ease, isn't it because they had no sense of belonging and identity with the Li Tang.

Compared with the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty lacked the virtue to carry it.

The concepts of Tang people and Han people are widely known, but this is why the mainstream in later generations regarded themselves as Han people instead of Tang people.

Li Yan has experienced three generations and is knowledgeable. He plans that if he ascends the throne in the future, he should stabilize the situation, educate the world with the virtues of Huang Lao, advocate benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and educate the world. After persisting in this way for several generations, although the country may become weak due to the temporary cessation of warfare.

However, it will increase people's cohesion and centripetal force, and their sense of identity with the Tang Dynasty, making the country more powerful and resilient.

In this way, even if the Anshi Rebellion occurred, it would not have such a great impact, causing serious damage to the country's vitality, and then leading to the emergence of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the late Tang Dynasty.

These are some measures that Li Yan thought about after receiving the special task from the system. They may affect the situation two hundred years later.

To defend the country, it all depends on the word "virtue".
Intelligence can make people fly higher and become stronger, but virtue and benevolence can make people last long and have more stamina.

With the power of human cohesion, no matter how weak it is, its vitality is very tenacious. It is only a matter of time for it to grow from weak to strong.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful a force is, without popular support, collapse is only a matter of time.

When a person or force only pursues powerful strength and ignores the support of the people, his fate is already doomed.

Li Shimin was a man of great talent and strategy. Apart from the incident at Xuanwu Gate, he had almost no major shortcomings. His vision, courage, wisdom, pattern, and responsibility were all top-notch.

He also realized the importance of people's hearts to a country, but he had no choice in order to get to the top.

In fact, this was Li Yuan's problem. In order to conquer the world, he had to work hard to strengthen Li Shimin's power. Faced with the objective reality that Li Shimin's strength and achievements not only far surpassed the prince, but even surpassed the emperor, he could not make up his mind to give Li Shimin the title of prince, which led to the subsequent Xuanwu Gate Incident.

After Li Shimin came to power, he resisted powerful enemies externally, conquered countless forces, and greatly expanded the territory and sphere of influence of the Tang Dynasty; internally, he reduced taxes and levies, and appeased the people with peace so that they could recuperate; he was also very tolerant and generous to his ministers and brothers, and invested a lot of effort and time in the Zhenguan Reign, which barely won over a little bit of the hearts of the people and diluted some of the bloody atmosphere of the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

But Li Zhi did not have a good end. The country changed hands, causing the hard work of Zhenguan and Yonghui to go to waste. Xuanzong restored order, was first wise but later became foolish. From the time he took possession of his daughter-in-law Yang Yuhuan, he had forgotten that he was an emperor. He indulged in pleasure and favored An Lushan, which led to the Anshi Rebellion and the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

The harm he brought to the Tang Dynasty far outweighed his contributions to it.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked too. This should not be a role model for the world!
The consequences will be endless and long-lasting. This is the situation. Li Yan sighed deeply, looked at the painful expression on Li Shimin's face, and said nothing more.

As for the guilt in his conscience, this is what Li Shimin deserves. This just shows that he still has some conscience and is not heartless. He knows whether what he did is right or wrong. After Li Yan takes over the world, I don't know how much effort he will spend to eliminate the impact of the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Li Shimin felt miserable for a while, and realized that it was meaningless to discuss who was right and who was wrong with a prince like Li Yan, so he said, "What you said makes sense, but you need to explain it clearly to the officials in the court to avoid any trouble."

"Yes, Father!"

Seeing that Li Shimin was in low spirits, Li Yan stood up and bowed: "I will ask the Taichang Temple to prepare the corresponding food and drink, and we will go to offer sacrifices in two days during the Qingming Festival. I will also convey my father's concern and care for them."

"I think their spirits in heaven will be relieved to know that Father is thinking about them."

Seeing Li Shimin waving his hands with his eyes closed, Li Yan slowly retreated. When he reached the door, he suddenly heard a low voice: "The wine used for the sacrifice must be the Shaochun wine from Jiannan. Don't use ordinary wine."

"Yes, Father!"

Li Yan replied, and when he heard no more sound from inside, he quietly retreated.

After returning to Qiyun Palace, Li Yan told Empress Changsun that the Emperor had agreed to hold a Qingming Festival ceremony in two days, and then she and Princess Ankang followed Changsun Wuji out of the palace.

As for arranging for the Taichang Temple to prepare the ritual offerings, it was naturally handed over to Changsun Wuji to handle. Li Yan and Ankang stayed in Changsun's mansion for the whole afternoon. When it was getting dark, they said goodbye to Changsun Wuji's family, and Li Yan accompanied Ankang back to the palace.

(End of this chapter)