Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 62 Li Ming, danger!

Li Shimin was very angry and a little heartbroken.

If I ask myself honestly, I have been treating my youngest son, who came from an awkward background, pretty well lately.

His mother and sister were given exceptional promotions in rank and treatment, and were given the titles of concubine and princess, while the government also turned a blind eye to the bad things he did.

Unexpectedly, Li Ming didn't even bother to visit.

Even Prince Ji Li Shen traveled thousands of miles back, and even Li Zhi forced himself to come and pay his respects.

What excuse can Li Ming have?

He didn't even ask about how his dad escaped death. Is he still a human being?

Even if it's a horse or a dog, you still have to come and see if it's sick!

“Unfilial!”

Li Shimin slapped his thigh in disappointment, and his ribs in his chest ached with anger.

Because of the special experience of his original family, Li Shimin attached great importance to the filial piety of his descendants.

Once you are labeled as "unfilial", the consequences will be very serious.

"Someone come!" Li Shimin shouted.

Otomo immediately rushed in:
"The slave is here!"

"What on earth was Li Ming doing during the time I was unconscious?!" Li Shimin asked unhappily.

Otomo shook his head repeatedly:

“I don’t know.

"When I first saw Your Majesty lying on the ground, I was struck by lightning and could not see anything else."

That sounds good, but it misses the most important information.

Li Ming was present at the time and was the first one to call for help.

Although Otomo is a bit old, he must be sharp-eyed and nimble as he serves the emperor.

How could I not notice such a noisy little thing?

Li Shimin wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.

But thinking of the strange reactions of Zhangsun Wuji and Concubine Wei just now, he shut up again.

It seemed as if everyone had agreed to work together to erase Li Ming from this period of history.

Li Shimin's doubts grew even stronger, and he reached out to Otomo:

"Help me go for a walk outside."

"But your majesty's dragon body..."

"Help me go outside to get some fresh air."

"...obey the order."

The main hall of Lizheng Hall was dimly lit.

Li Shimin still felt some pain in his ribs, but his breathing was completely smooth and his heartbeat was regular and strong.

It's just that I've been lying down for most of the day, so my hands and feet are numb and my head is a little dizzy.

He looked at the empty main hall blankly, as if it was a missing piece of his memory.

I know that something happened half a day ago, and it happened to me.

But everyone deliberately kept it from him, leaving him in the dark.

As the king of a country, the feeling of being blatantly deceived is very bad.

But he couldn't catch Changsun Wuji, or any eunuch in the palace, or even Li Ming himself, and get to the bottom of the matter.

Who knows whether they are telling the truth or whether there is any collusion?
What extraordinary thing did Li Ming do when he lost consciousness?
Forcing everyone to hide the truth from Li Shimin?

Could it be that this matter has become a Rashomon, forever shrouded in mystery?

"No, that's not right."

Li Shimin thought of a corner that had always existed but had always been ignored.

If it was "him", he would have recorded everything meticulously...

Li Shimin shook off his companion's hand and walked alone to a corner of the hall where a small oil lamp was lit.

The attendant Chu Suiliang was dozing with his eyes closed.

Hearing the footsteps, he woke up suddenly, wiped his saliva with his sleeve, and immediately picked up paper and pen and opened his eyes wide.

See what funny things the emperor has done that are worth recording in the daily notes.

Then he found that the emperor was staring at him.

"Are every word and action of mine recorded in my daily journal?" Li Shimin asked.

Chu Suiliang was sure that His Majesty was indeed talking to him, the background narrator, and nodded in astonishment:

"Yes."

"Can I record every detail of my sudden illness and the treatment I received?"

"It's natural."

Chu Suiliang was full of confidence and felt that His Majesty was questioning his professional ability.

Li Shimin stroked his mustache:

"Can I take a look at the daily records?"

Chu Suiliang answered with professional ethics:

"Not in principle."

"No in principle, but that's fine."

"If Your Majesty insists on seeing it, I cannot stop you, but I will record this in the diary."

"Oh. If I don't look at it, will you still remember it?"

"Yes, this conversation will be recorded exactly as it is."

"I remember it whether I watch it or not, so wouldn't it be a loss if I didn't watch it?"

Li Shimin found the bright spot and stretched out his hand:
"Show me!"

"Ah, this..." Chu Suiliang realized that he had dug a big hole for himself and handed over his daily records in humiliation.

Li Shimin turned the booklet forward one page and turned to the record of this morning.

The pupils shrank.

"After I fainted, Li Ming was the first to call for help... My pulse stopped and the imperial doctors were at a loss... Li Ming knelt beside me, pressed his hands on my heart, and prayed to the gods and Buddhas... His filial piety moved the heavens and saved me..."

If Li Shimin didn't know Chu Suiliang inside and out and knew that he was just an emotionless recording machine, he would have thought he was reading a novel.

Did Li Ming really pray to the gods and Buddhas for his life?!
——Of course there was no god or Buddha. In fact, it was Li Ming who risked his life and the weight gained from eating rice and millet, and even performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than an hour, that saved Li Shimin's life.

But things like "cardiac arrest, chest compressions" were a bit beyond the scope of the Tang Dynasty people.

In addition, as Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were prevalent in the Tang Dynasty, it is not difficult to understand why "miracles" such as "resurrection from the dead" after the heart stopped beating and then restarted were attributed to filial piety that moved God.

It can be said that the process is completely wrong and the answers are all correct.

Li Shimin was still wondering which school of prayer ceremony was so strange.

He needed to press hard on his chest, causing his ribs to hurt until now…

"This is a small matter. The key point is that Li Ming saved my life!"

Li Shimin put aside the trivial doubts and his eyes became moist.

This is true filial piety!

Filial piety is enough to move God!
In comparison, the three legitimate sons all seemed a little dim...

"He saved my life, and I actually suspected that he was unfilial..." Li Shimin blamed himself to the extreme.

Now that I think about it, although Li Ming was a bit naughty, everything he did was great enough to be recorded in history:
Reconciled the conflict between him and the prince, gave a brilliant plan to drive out Longxi and swallow Hebei, and even saved his own life...

We have truly achieved the goal of not being too particular about small details and not compromising on big ones.

And over the years, this incompetent father not only showed him very little favor, but also neglected his youngest son intentionally or unintentionally...

"I'm so stupid, really..."

Li Shimin murmured to himself, and glanced at a sentence Li Ming said in the diary, and was so moved that his eyes turned red.

"Ming was greatly distressed, and stroked the dragon's body and wept, saying:

"If the Emperor Taizong has something to do, I will also die!"

Look, look, how filial he is!

If anything happened to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Ming would not be able to survive...

"Hmm? Wait." Li Shimin found the highlight.

That brat, who is he calling Taizong? !

You even thought of a temple name for me?!

Li Shimin was so angry that he couldn't help laughing.

"You bastard, every time you do something great, you test my bottom line of tolerance..."

As he laughed, his expression gradually became serious.

The daily records answered the question "What did Li Ming do?", but did not answer another bigger question:

Where are Li Ming and others?
Where is he hiding?

Shouldn’t you rush to collect the red flower?
Then, Li Shimin slowly realized the third and biggest problem.

The prince's filial piety moved heaven and he was rewarded for saving the emperor.

This should have been an auspicious event worthy of being written about.

But why?
Why did Concubine Wei and Zhangsun Wuji, as well as Li Tai, Otomo and the eunuchs around him, hide things from him?
As if this is some notorious royal scandal?

If Li Shimin had not been more careful, he would have insisted on checking the daily records despite the criticism of later generations.

He might not know it, and even if he knew it, he might not believe it, but Li Ming actually did such a fantastic thing.

Li Shimin's heart slowly cooled down.

The mind also becomes calm and political calculations are carried out efficiently.

Wei Gui, the head of the harem, and Zhangsun Wuji, the head of the court, each came to visit with the forces of the princes they supported.

And they tacitly worked together to cover up Li Ming's contribution.

In addition to Li Ming's previous self-degrading behavior, he repeatedly declined to be crowned king or appointed prime minister...

And that weird sentence in Liangyi Palace, "Father, I want to resign"...

"Isn't his fear unfounded?
"Has the quarrel between the princes really...really reached this point???"

Li Shimin felt a chill on his back.

A shadow, the shadow of a tall city gate, hung over his heart.

"Tell Ashina the rate of association!"

Li Shimin acted decisively and summoned the imperial guards who were closest to the Lizheng Palace.

Otomo didn't know what His Majesty was going to do so late at night, so he reported:
"Your Majesty, General Ashina has led his troops to the Lizheng Palace..."

"Why are you going there? Who gave the order?!" Li Shimin shouted suddenly, his eyes bloodshot.

I only slept for half a day, and they are going to rebel?!

"Yes, that's the one..."

Even the great companion who had followed His Majesty for many years was frightened and lost his mind, speaking incoherently.

"Oh, forget it!"

Li Shimin had no time to waste, so he decisively gave orders to the guards outside the palace:
"Order the cavalry troops to camp outside the north gate, enter the palace through the Xuanwu Gate, and guard the Ganlu Gate!

"Call a hundred cavalrymen out of the camp and follow me!"

This scene frightened Otomo.

What happened? Was there a palace coup?

In just a short while, hundreds of elite soldiers in armor and armed with sharp weapons were ready to go and gathered at the gate of Lizheng Palace.

Li Shimin, who had just recovered from a serious illness, personally mounted his horse and wielded his sword towards the north.

"March quickly to Lide Palace!"

(End of this chapter)