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

Chapter 976: Changes in the Court (I)

As soon as Du Chuke finished speaking, officials from the Wei Wang faction came out one after another and praised the Wei Wang generously, as if as long as the Wei Wang was established, the world would immediately be at peace forever.

Seeing the ministers arguing, Li Shimin snorted coldly. After the officials quieted down, Li Shimin looked at an old man among the civil servants and said, "Cen Wenben, tell me, where did these memorials recommending the King of Wei come from?"

Li Tai was stunned. Looking at Li Shimin, who was sitting expressionless on the dragon throne, he felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart. He looked at the old ministers who had stepped out of the line with some horror.

This Cen Wenben is his own man, why does the emperor use this tone?

Cen Wenben didn't even look at Li Tai, but stepped out and stood in the middle, exposing the dark plot of the King of Wei's bid for the throne: "Your Majesty, ministers, these memorials recommending the King of Wei were submitted by several ministers. Under the instruction of the King of Wei, we, the ministers, submitted them on his behalf."

With a loud bang, the court officials began to discuss in low voices.

They were not surprised by the King of Wei's actions. In fact, the cases of court officials forming factions and fighting against each other were not uncommon, but had never stopped. It was even the underlying color of the power field.

Not only did they know it, but Li Shimin also knew it.

What shocked them was that Cen Wenben, who had followed the King of Wei for more than ten years, was actually a traitor. At this critical moment, he stabbed the King of Wei in the back, almost destroying the King of Wei's chance of ascending the throne.

What’s more, the meaning behind this is even more shocking.

Cen Wenben was named by the emperor to speak, and from a certain perspective, Cen Wenben's attitude was the emperor's attitude. Could it be that the emperor's tacit choice for the crown prince was not the King of Wei, otherwise how could he tolerate Cen Wenben coming out to discredit the King of Wei?

The King of Wei now holds such a high position in the court, how many vassal ministers does he have?

If the Emperor cuts off the path of the Prince of Wei to become the Crown Prince, then it will not be as simple as just losing the throne. In order for the new Crown Prince to not be constrained, the Emperor will certainly use thundering means to carry out a devastating purge of the Prince of Wei's forces.

Thinking of this, many ministers looked at the Qianniu Guards in the corners of the hall, and they suddenly realized that these people were here to deal with the Wei Wang Party, right?
For a moment, many people turned pale, and the court officials who had previously supported the King of Wei were trembling with fear, their bodies shaking like sieves.

The King of Wei felt as if struck by lightning. His eyes shot towards Cen Wen like lightning, and his heart was filled with great rage. However, what was more frightening than his anger was his father's true attitude.

Cen Wenben ignored the criticisms of the ministers and continued, "Among them, Zhang Liang submitted eighty-seven, Du Chuke submitted sixty-one, and I submitted sixteen."

After saying this, Cen Wenben ignored Li Tai's eyes that were about to bite someone, knelt on the ground, and held the tablet in his hand: "Your Majesty, the King of Wei coveted the throne and formed a private party, and won over the ministers to plot against his will. I did not stop him in time."

"As a minister, I cannot give my full support and advice. I am ashamed to be in the court. I hope the emperor will punish me severely."

At the end, Cen Wenben spoke with great emotion and indignation, as if he had suffered a great injustice, which made people feel sad, as if he was an old minister who had been visited three times to seek advice for the country and helped two dynasties, but died before he could accomplish his mission, which made the hero shed tears.

"If you know your mistakes and can correct them, there is no greater good."

Li Shimin saw that the situation was developing in the direction he had set, and smiled in his heart. He raised his hand and said, "I will not blame you for what happened. Cen Wenben, please get up!"

The emperor and his ministers sang and shouted at the same time, and now all the court officials in the hall understood the situation clearly.

Even Li Tai understood that Li Shimin's candidate for succession was not him at all. Since the emperor had taken action, how could he not resolve the situation amicably?

So he could no longer bear it, and regardless of court etiquette, he stood up and scolded Cen Wenben.

Li Shimin displayed the spirit of pursuing the enemy with the remaining courage and learning from the overlord without regard for his reputation. He succeeded in one strike and continued to attack. This incident happened in the tenth year of Zhenguan, when Li Tai instigated Wu Chenggang, a guard of the Prince of Wei's palace, to deliberately injure himself in order to avoid the assignment of moving from a narrow village to a wide village.

The incident of framing the crown prince revealed Li Tai's despicable, sinister and two-faced side to all the officials in the court.

At this time, the ministers of the King of Wei's party no longer dared to speak out, and only Zhang Liang stood up without hesitation to defend him in an attempt to turn the tide.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin revealed that Zhang Liang, under the pretext of adopting a fake son, had raised 500 assassins in Chang'an with the intention of rebelling.

The successive blows not only cut off the King of Wei's path to becoming the crown prince, but also completely destroyed his official career.

In the end, Li Tai was arrested on the spot and imprisoned in Beiyuan, and Zhang Liang was stripped of his position and tried according to the Tang Dynasty law.

Less than an incense stick of time had passed since the court meeting began, when Li Shimin destroyed the Wei Wang Party that Li Tai had painstakingly built up over the past 20 years with lightning speed. For a time, all the officials in the court were in danger and panic, fearing that they would be implicated.

"It's been more than ten years. It's time for the court to be quiet."

The entire court was in shock, with only Li Shimin's heavy voice echoing in the hall: "In order to fight for the throne, many princes and ministers were involved, fighting openly and secretly, fighting to the death. All conspiracies and tricks were used, and no means were used to achieve the goal."

"This dragon throne turns people into ghosts, with red eyes and black hearts." "Except for Li Tai, are the other princes so clean? Except for Zhang Liang, are the other ministers not dirty and filthy?"

Li Shimin's words were sonorous and powerful, resounding like thunder over the heads of all court officials.

When all the ministers were panicking and thought that Li Shimin would use this as an excuse to kill everyone involved, Li Shimin suddenly changed the subject and said, "I will not point out all of them today. I hope these people can reflect on themselves and turn over a new leaf."

"Be down-to-earth in work and be honest in life."

When he was so excited, Li Shimin slammed the dragon table heavily, and everyone in the room was shocked.

After a long while, Li Shimin took a few breaths and said earnestly, "It has been almost thirty years since I started my army in Bingzhou. Such a well-governed country is not easy to come by. The vast country must be entrusted to future generations. For the long-term consideration of the country, I must choose a wise and virtuous crown prince."

"."

Li Shimin had a lot to say, but his eyes were filled with tears as he thought of the hardships his father and son had gone through in starting a business, and how he, as an emperor, was framed by a villain and had to leave the country he loved so early.

Now I can’t even speak in a majestic manner. Who can understand the pain I’m feeling?
"Your Majesty, the throne is like a mirror. Through it, the world can see who is loyal and who is treacherous."

Zhangsun Wuji, who also looked old, stood up and spoke eloquently: "Your Majesty, today, in front of all the ministers, you will select a crown prince for the people of the Tang Dynasty who has great virtue and wisdom and can continue the Zhenguan path?"

After finishing speaking, Changsun Wuji turned and looked towards the court: "My dear ministers, does anyone have any objections?"

"I have no objection!"

All the ministers shouted in unison, not daring to face Li Shimin sitting on the dragon throne.

At this moment, the most nervous person in the crowd was not Wu Wang Li Ke and Qi Wang Li You, who were ridiculed by Li Shimin in a veiled manner, nor was it Cen Wenben, who was risking his entire life and reputation in history, but Hou Junji, the Minister of Personnel.

Wei Ting was shocked to find that Hou Junji, who was not far away, had sweat all over his forehead and an extremely stiff face. His eyes were fixed on Li Shimin sitting on the dragon throne. His arms hidden in his sleeves were trembling slightly and his face looked very ugly, as if he was planning something unpredictable.

Hou Junji didn't care about what others thought. He prayed silently in his heart that perhaps the emperor favored the eldest grandson. He should wait and wait.

Li Shimin slowly stood up as all the ministers looked up at him, and walked to the imperial desk, sweeping his majestic gaze over the faces of all the ministers one by one. The power of the emperor for twenty years was unscrupulously thrown at the ministers, and everyone could see their expressions.

Fang Xuanling with a look of anticipation, Li Ke with an accelerated heartbeat, Cen Wenben who was worried about gains and losses, Changsun Wuji who was confident in his thinking, and Chai Zhewei with panicked eyes, all of them had tense faces and held inexplicable expectations, as if they were waiting for the results of a big exam.

Hou Junji's heart was in his throat, his nails were almost digging into his flesh, and he made up his mind secretly.

There are still two days left. Even if I have to risk my life and fight against the whole dynasty alone, I must buy these two days for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Not only for that bastard Li Chengqian, but also for my daughter and my grandson.

Li Shimin, who was high above, looked like a god looking down at the world. He slowly scanned everyone and finally stopped at an inconspicuous position at the back of the princes' queue. He looked at a thin young man and said slowly, "Prince Jin Li Zhi."

A ‘swish’ sound.

Then there was a whoosh sound.
Nearly two hundred people in the hall turned their heads at the same time, exhaling the breath they had been holding in their chests. The courtiers in the entire court could clearly hear the sound of exhalation. At the same time, it seemed that they could also hear the sounds of many people's hearts breaking.

For a moment, all the emperor and his ministers in the hall were stunned.

Li Shimin stretched out his hand with difficulty and slowly beckoned to Li Zhi. Li Zhi remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he roared like a madman: "It's me, it's me, I won, I succeeded, I, Li Zhi, became the final winner of this battle for the throne."

"I am going to be the crown prince. I am the future emperor, the supreme monarch."

In an instant, Li Zhi's hands in his sleeves pinched the flesh on the side of his thigh tightly, almost breaking the skin.

He wanted to let the severe pain from his body suppress the ecstasy from deep in his heart, so as to avoid a superficial smile of complacency appearing on his face.

Under the gaze of his ministers, Li Zhi did not stop, but quickly left his ministers and brothers and walked towards Danchi, as if he was walking from the ground to heaven.

It was only a dozen steps, just a few breaths of time, but Li Zhi felt that time was so slow and the distance was so far. He felt as if time had slowed down, and in that short moment, hundreds of thoughts and thousands of feelings surged in his mind.

Li Zhi felt that he would never forget these steps, his path to becoming a god, throughout his life.

(End of this chapter)