Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 288 My Son, Can I Resign?
No...the Second Saint came back on his own without even being welcomed?

And why did Li Er resign? Isn't this my word?

Moreover, Li Chengqian was the emperor, and he was the emperor of the prosperous Tang Dynasty!
The key to his East Palace was lost in Saibei? Does he deserve it?!

This is equivalent to the business war between "Wang Laoji" and "Jiaduobao", and as a result, "He Qizheng" succeeded in stealing the chicken and became the sales champion.

Putting aside his abilities, can Brother Cheng Qian's appearance alone convince everyone?
Seize Wu Zetian's ecological niche and become the first empress of China, right?
Why don’t I believe it? Could it be that Li Er’s brain has been frozen by the cold wind from the northern border?
"Ok?"

With the eunuchs from Chang'an present, Li Ming was not in a position to speak in a sweet voice to the two saints. He raised his eyebrows to Fang Yi who told him the news, as if to indicate, "How come you don't recognize each word when you spell them together?"

"Yeah." Fang Yize, who had an expressionless face, also looked at him, with a look that said "this is the situation."

Li Ming still didn't believe it and looked at Yuchi Xunyu.

"Hmph!" The intelligence director frowned and nodded unconvinced.

Li Ming's heart sank.

Since Yuchi Xunyu didn't deny it, it seems that this is almost certain...

"Prince Ming, His Majesty has already issued an imperial decree, why don't you accept it quickly?"

The eunuch urged, raising his head proudly and looking like he was looking for trouble.

Li Ming didn't even look at him and turned to look for his right-hand man.

Chief Secretary Sun Yan understood what he meant and immediately sent the eunuch away:

"You must have traveled a long way, Tang Envoy. Please go to the Lifanyuan and take a rest."

"Since the Saint has issued an order, there must be a response. Please forgive me for my rudeness..."

The eunuch was trying to stay here and force Li Ming to express his opinion in public, but suddenly he found something interesting in Zhang Sunyan's words:
"I am an angel, why are you calling me the Tang envoy? And which foreign vassal is the Lifanyuan in charge of? Is it a place for envoys from the Celestial Empire to live?!"

He originally wanted to give a warning to the military governor who was too powerful to be defeated, but the other party didn't even bother to show any power and kept calling him "your country", which made him unable to control himself.

At a glance from Changsun Yan, the guards immediately carried the confused eunuch out.

After the outsiders left, Li Ming's tense face relaxed a little, with confusion and anger in his expression.

He immediately went to ask the little black charcoal head for accountability:
"Yuchi Xunyu, what's going on? Why didn't you report this to me in advance?"

Yuchi Xunyu was an intelligence officer. The intelligence about Chang'an during this period was all the same: Li Zhi was at a huge disadvantage, looked as pale as death, had a very poor formation, was fighting and retreating, was in a dilemma, and had no way to escape.

Winning all the way made Li Ming relax his vigilance against that side. He focused on internal affairs and waited for the other side to self-destruct.

In the end, the sweet dragon got on my face!

"The Emperor returns to Beijing" and "The new emperor ascends the throne" were two huge events, but the intelligence chief didn't find any clues at all, which gave everyone in the Ming Dynasty a big surprise.

"I do have problems, but doesn't Li Zhi have any responsibility at all? Who knew he would retreat so quickly and admit defeat so easily?"

Yuchi Xunyu has always been straightforward, never shirking responsibility but also never taking the blame:
"There is also the so-called 'New Turkic' that suddenly emerged. We went to great lengths to find out before anyone else that the ruler of that mysterious Khanate was Yibi Shekui Khan.

"But who could have known that the Khan was just a mascot in public, and there was another Khan behind him, called the Heavenly Khan!"

Having said that, the little black-haired boy looked at Li Ming with a look of even some resentment.

You two are the ones who have a lot of trouble, look at the good things you have done!

"What? How does this involve the New Turks? The Heavenly Khan? What does this have to do with Li Zhi and Li Chengqian..."

Li Ming has a bit of a pig brain overload.

"Well, this is what happened..."

Yuchi Xunyu informed his men of the intelligence they had gathered.

From the Heavenly Khan Li Shimin remotely controlling the New Turks to advance towards Chang'an and revealing his identity to Li Zhi who was in charge of the court, to Li Shimin's triumphant return to the capital and abdication to Li Chengqian, the whole story is basically told in detail.

"Now that His Majesty has just ascended the throne, he immediately sent eunuchs to persuade us to surrender. And my informant just figured out the situation and arrived in Pingzhou almost at the same time.

"So Brother Ming, I am just like you. I just learned about the latest situation in Chang'an."

Yuchi Xunyu defended himself.

"Um……"

Li Ming folded his arms and sat in his seat, thinking.

It is true that Yuchi Xunyu cannot be blamed for this matter. The situation took a turn for the worse and developed too quickly.

Not to mention outsiders, even Li Zhi himself probably didn't expect that his grandfather and elder brother would rush over roaring, covered in Turkic skins.

Li Shimin is Li Shimin after all. He was released from the wild for half a year and created a new Turkic tribe from scratch. Li Ming, as a time traveler, spent the same amount of time and only created a new Liaodong tribe, which is still a bit immature compared to his father.

The key point was that Li Zhi surrendered so decisively that he didn't even struggle and opened the city gates without hesitation to welcome the royal army.

"It's all because Brother Ming pushed Li Zhi too hard, causing him to completely lose confidence. As a result, he didn't even put up any resistance and directly opened the city to surrender."

Little Black Charcoal muttered:

"I'm not a worm in his stomach, how can I know that his heart is so fragile!"

His aggrieved look made everyone at the scene very uncomfortable.

Li Ming was so angry that he laughed:

"Yes, it's all my fault. I'm too good and I bullied my brother so badly."

Although he was angry, he had no intention of further holding Yuchi Xunyu accountable.

The New Turkic Empire is a force that has only risen in a few months. It has numerous tribes within it, and even the tribal chiefs themselves may not know who their real leaders are.

It is not realistic to establish a complete intelligence network in a short period of time, plant enough spies, and find out the internal power structure of the Khanate.

It is no exaggeration to say that the fact that Yuchi Xunyu's intelligence arrived at the same time as Chang'an's order was extremely fast.

"It's mainly because my cheap dad is so cunning and has hidden himself behind the scenes, which has greatly increased the difficulty of investigation."

Li Ming shook his head in self-mockery.

“Speaking of which, what role did Li Chengqian play in this?
“Since my grandfather was not sidelined and held the power of New Turkestan throughout the whole process, why did he voluntarily abdicate and why did he give up the throne to Li Chengqian?

"Does my grandfather know that I'm still alive? And what was Li Zhi's reaction? Did he just accept it so calmly?"

Just like dust entering water without leaving a trace, no one responded when this question was asked.

On the one hand, we have just figured out the outline of the matter and dare not make random guesses.

On the other hand, the Tang Dynasty and the emperor still had some influence. Even though the concept of the "Ming Dynasty" had spread among Li Ming's core circle, no one had openly defected and made irresponsible comments about the royal family.

With so many things to think about, everyone fell silent.

"Your Highness Li Ming."

Wei Daijia knocked on the door and came in, handing over two envelopes.

"An urgent letter from Chang'an."

Chang'an again... Li Ming peeled off the wax seal and took out the contents.

The first letter was jointly signed by Di Renjie and Lai Junchen, informing Li Ming of the big news of the change of situation in Chang'an.

The content is similar to Yuchi Xunyu's intelligence, which can verify each other and enhance the credibility of both sides.

But unlike Yuchi Xunyu who was in charge of external affairs, the two of them focused on domestic intelligence and provided some new intelligence from another perspective.

For example, Li Chengqian not only completely pardoned Li Zhi, but also allowed him to continue living in Taiji Palace. He also forgave all past crimes against Li Zhi's followers, and quickly stabilized the situation. "Brother Chengqian actually has such a broad mind, which is really impressive."

While Li Ming was making sarcastic remarks, he discovered a suspicious point in the record.

"After returning to the capital, the emperor only appeared in public once, stayed at home and rarely met guests. There were rumors among the people that the emperor was in poor health..."

Li Ming's heart suddenly tightened.

Oh no, did Dad really get frozen in the northern frontier?

It does make sense that he abdicated early due to health reasons.

Or was Li Er forced to retire due to illness by Li Chengqian?

In the original world line, Li Chengqian's rebellion failed. Could it be that he succeeded in this world line?

With a lot of questions and exclamation marks in his mind, Li Ming opened the second letter.

The sender of the letter was Zhi Shisi Li, needless to say, he was also representing his "Chamber of Commerce" organization to provide Li Ming with the news that Chang'an had changed its owner.

In addition to the mutual confirmation with the first two institutions, Zhishisi Li also provided some interesting new information.

The three independent intelligence agencies have fully demonstrated their value in this turmoil.

"Merchants traveling between Turkic and Tibetan said that the new Turkic people were repairing the Liangzhou plank road in the open and secretly crossing the Dafeichuan Chencang, and were forcing Li Zhi to surrender from the Tuyuhun's former territory with their troops at the gates of the city?

"This is indeed Li Er's style of marching and fighting. It is difficult for Li Zhi. There is no solution at all under the pressure from both inside and outside."

Li Ming observed a second of silence for Brother Zhinu, and then he read a piece of gossip that shocked him.

"Father had a stroke?!"

"What?" There was an uproar, and everyone no longer cared about the rules of "discussing the royal family without permission" and rushed forward.

Zhishisili said in the letter that according to gossip from Turkic merchants, before the emperor took over the body of the Turks and was "wandering" around the north, he was witnessed as if half of his body was unable to move and his consciousness was in a state of sometimes clear and sometimes confused.

"His health still cannot be restored..." Li Ming sighed with regret, without doubting the accuracy of the gossip.

Because the Li family has a hereditary cardiovascular disease.

Li Shimin had already died suddenly in front of him once, Li Chengqian was suspected of having diabetes, and Li Zhi would also suffer a stroke in his later years.

Although Li Ming improved Li Shimin's condition a little by introducing healthy living habits.

But during the days of wandering in the frontier, it is not realistic to insist on "balanced diet, sufficient sleep" and so on.

Therefore, it was not unexpected that Li Er suddenly suffered a cerebral infarction and became paralyzed on one side of his body.

"Is this true? Your Majesty has contracted a stroke and is paralyzed?!"

Changsun Wuji cried and sighed.

My brother-in-law, who had served his master all his life, ended up with such a tragic end...

He couldn't believe it, and he didn't want to believe it.

"Things have come to this point, you have to believe it even if you don't want to. How can the new emperor be overthrown after ascending the throne?" Fang Xuanling said helplessly.

Chang Sunyan said angrily:
"It's all Li Zhi's fault for spreading the fake news that 'Ming Ge is dead'. Otherwise, the throne would definitely belong to Ming Ge, and not to that fake woman."

Everyone felt the same way.

Originally, the crown prince had been sidelined in the competition among the four princes for the throne, and Li Ming had already been chosen as the next person in charge. Supporting him as regent was strong proof of this.

Li Chengqian achieved ascension just by accompanying the emperor to study in the northern frontier. How could he have such virtue and ability!

Not to mention that their status as "loyal followers of the dragon" would be gone, and they would have to let a small Southern Liang become their ruler... just thinking about it makes one's blood pressure go through the roof.

The joke at the beginning of the story came true, and the people of the Tang Dynasty were too ashamed to face anyone from then on.

"I will write to His Majesty right now and tell him that he has been deceived by a traitor. If that doesn't work, I will go to Chang'an in person and explain the pros and cons to His Majesty in person!"

Chang Sunyan was filled with indignation.

"No." Fang Yi said expressionlessly:

"You alone are not convincing enough, I will go to Luo with you."

Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji looked at each other and slapped their angry young descendants on the head.

"Electing an emperor is a one-time deal, not buying vegetables in the market. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, how can there be room for regret?" Zhang Sun Wuji said this while pulling Zhang Sun Yan's ear.

"Now that the matter is settled, even if the emperor knows that Li Ming is not dead, he will not be able to overturn this wrong decision."

Fang Xuanling beat Fang Yize with an expressionless face, and Fang Yize took it with an expressionless face.

The young members of the Fourteen Traitors' Party only needed to stir up public outrage, but the old members had more to consider, and a debate broke out between the two sides.

Wei Daijia was caught in the middle and was at a loss as to what to do.

boom!
There was a knock on the table and everyone immediately quieted down.

Li Ming slapped the table, propped himself up and slowly stood up, saying calmly:
"There is no need to argue, and you don't need to be angry. Abandoning me and choosing the prince was my father's original intention."

After all, other people are outsiders. It is impossible for them to fully understand the complicated family affairs of the Li family, let alone understand the true meaning of Li Shimin's actions.

As the son of Old Li, Li Ming understands.

There was another member of the Li family who also understood this, and that was the fundamentalist eldest son party, the Hejian Prince Li Xiaogong who was poisoned to death.

Li Shimin had personally experienced the consequences of not choosing the eldest son to succeed him - the country was in turmoil, he himself was ill, and his sons killed each other.

Li Shimin is lucky this time to have another chance. He will definitely return to what he thinks is the right track and insist on the system of primogeniture inheritance again.

Even knowing that Li Ming was still alive would not shake his determination.

We can’t appoint the virtuous as the new appointee; that’s too deceptive.

Any other form of inheritance system is essentially the Xuanwu Gate inheritance system.

"Your Highness, since that is the will of the Retired Emperor and His Majesty the Emperor..."

Fang Xuanling stopped talking and stared at Li Ming.

The eyes of everyone present were focused on Li Ming, the leader of the group.

They said nothing, but it seemed like they said everything——

What should we do next? Should we obey the order or resist it? Should we submit or rebel?

Li Ming did not answer them immediately. He passed by his men in silence, walked out of the room, and left a few words:

"This is a serious matter. I will think about it carefully."

He walked out of the state capital and came to the wide street.

The streets are bustling with cars and people, as bright as the summer day in the sky, a scene of prosperity.

Looking at the paradise on earth that he had built with his own hands, Li Ming finally let out a long sigh and released the resentment that had been pent up in his chest.

Damn it, Li Er is really good at causing trouble, but Tian Gang is playing the "My son, can I resign?" game.

What to do next?
Just obey the order, follow Jiulang's example, and surrender?
still is……

"A head-on confrontation with the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which was personally led by Li Shimin?"

(End of this chapter)