Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 63 Tang Dynasty cosplayer Li Chengqian

When Li Shimin first put on the armor and helmet weighing fifty or sixty kilograms, he was a little short of breath.

His consciousness was still shrouded in a thin mist, and the ribs pressed by Li Ming were aching slightly.

But when he mounted his warhorse, all the haze dissipated in an instant.

The emperor who had just recovered from a serious illness turned back into the general of Tiance in his youth.

His thinking is very clear.

The Hundred Cavalry were the personal guards directly recruited and commanded by the emperor, while the Flying Cavalry were professional soldiers who had been soldiers for generations.

They were all independent of the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Ya Palace Army and were called the "Northern Ya Forbidden Army."

There has been some unusual movement among the Right Gate Guards, one of the Sixteen Guards. To be on the safe side, the palace soldiers cannot be trusted for the time being.

So the other two trusted teams were mobilized.

On horseback, Li Shimin's face was as gloomy as water.

If someone wanted to touch his illegitimate son, he would be angry.

Then, if someone took action against his army, especially the army in the palace, it would touch his sore spot.

As an emperor who came to power through a palace coup, he knew all too well the benefits and disadvantages of the imperial guards.

The key to his success in the Xuanwu Gate Incident was not killing Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

It was because he controlled the imperial guards and took his father Emperor Li Yuan to the sea pond for a "boat ride" early in the morning.

“Who is it, who is it…” Li Shimin’s eyes were bloodshot.

The horses' hooves clattered as the soldiers advanced northward in silence.

The eunuchs and palace maids along the way were all terrified. They didn't know what was going on and huddled in the corner, trembling.

Go through Yongxiang and Ganlu Gate.

Li Shimin could clearly see that another troop, holding torches high, had surrounded a small dilapidated building in the corner of the harem, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out.

Lide Hall.

The palace where Li Ming, his mother, sister and aunts lived.

"drive!"

Li Shimin stepped on his horse's belly and took the lead, followed closely by a hundred elite cavalrymen.

The troops surrounding Lide Hall were led by a Turkic general with a rough face and disheveled hair.

He is panicking now.

He saw the troops stationed at the North Gate rushing into the Xuanwu Gate, and he saw another more murderous army rushing through the Ganlu Gate, trapping him on both sides.

The general immediately rode forward, and was shocked beyond words when he saw the emperor charging at him in a death charge.

After assessing the situation, he dismounted and knelt decisively:
"General Ashina..."

"Ashina Society Leader!" Li Shimin was too lazy to talk nonsense and shouted from a distance:

"Your tribe was attacked by the Xueyantuo tribe, and I gave you a place to stay!

"How could I have thought that you would rebel and actually want to kill my beloved concubine and children?"

Ashina Jieshelu's Chinese was not very good, and he stammered to explain, his tongue almost tied in anxiety:
"No, I followed orders and only surrounded the palace, not entered. Your Highnesses, it's safe..."

"Who ordered you to leave the camp?!" Li Shimin interrupted angrily.

"Uh?"

Ashina Jieshelu was obviously stunned and looked behind him in confusion.

Another rider slowly moved forward, also in military uniform with disheveled hair.

"Father, I am unable to dismount from the horse due to my inconvenience in walking. I hope you will forgive me."

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and finally recognized the young man who had his hair untied like a Turk.

Suddenly startled:
"Cheng Qian? You are not..."

He swallowed the words "also poisoned" and changed his words:

"Didn't the assistant say that you were also sick?"

Li Chengqian finally got off the horse with the help of the guards and presented the two complete halves of the tiger talisman:
“Since my father has given the order, I must stand up even if I only have one breath left.

"Father is right. You just woke up and rode your horse. You must take care of your body."

Li Chengqian's long hair and overly delicate features made Li Shimin want to complain.

And what Li Chengqian said made him want to complain even more.

"You said... sending troops to surround Lide Palace was my order?"

He wanted to denounce the nonsense, but the tiger talisman for deploying troops was real.

"It is just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said." The third man dismounted from his horse, walked to Li Shimin's saddle, clasped his fists and bowed:
"Your Majesty has just recovered from a serious illness, please take care of yourself.

"The matter between Concubine Yang and His Highness Li Ming will be handled by us."

This person is Changsun Wuji.

Li Shimin stared at his brother-in-law in a daze, and then he suddenly realized.

When Changsun Wuji visited me just now, he did mention something about Ashina's society.

At that time, my mind was wandering in all directions, and I agreed without hearing clearly.

I didn't expect that the content of the memorial was to mobilize troops...

It turns out that "mobilizing troops without authorization" was just a misunderstanding.

Li Shimin felt a little relieved.

But another question stuck in his throat:
"Why did you surround Lide Hall? What do you want to do with Li Ming and the others?"

Zhang Sun Wuji answered fluently:

“Your Majesty suddenly fell ill after being alone with Concubine Yang and His Royal Highness Li Ming.

"Although I'm not saying that there is definitely something wrong with the two nobles, but we still have to investigate and interrogate them..."

"Do we need to bring so many soldiers for interrogation?!" Li Shimin interrupted harshly.

Chang Sun Wuji lowered his head even lower: "Just in case..."

Li Shimin snorted coldly.

If he didn't know that Changsun Wuji concealed the key fact that Li Ming rescued him, he might have actually believed this nonsense.

His life was saved by Li Ming, and it was also Li Ming who discovered the secret of Li Xiaogong being poisoned.

Even if everyone in the world has problems, Li Ming cannot have any problems!
"Get out of my way!"

Li Shimin waved his whip angrily.

Changsun Wuji supported Li Chengqian and gave way obediently.

Li Shimin spurred his horse and whipped it, galloping past them almost brushing their faces and heading straight for the Lide Hall.

Li Chengqian looked at his father's furious back and shook his head with a wry smile:

"It seems he knows everything. As expected, you can't hide it from His Majesty, even from anyone else."

Zhang Sun Wuji stroked his chin, with a slightly complaining tone:
"After this series of events, His Highness Li Ming has established connections with the noble families in Hebei and won the favor of Your Majesty, and has gained momentum.

"It's a rare opportunity. Why didn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want to kill His Royal Highness Li Ming first and then report to him?"

All of this was his plan to get rid of Li Ming and clear up potential dangers for Li Chengqian.

He also took advantage of the opportunity to deliberately propose the mobilization of troops when Li Shimin was still confused.

The head was personally chosen by His Majesty, so it is not considered as a powerful official using force without authorization. And since he has weapons in his hands, wouldn't it be easy to make the "suspected regicide" Li Ming commit suicide by stabbing him with eight swords in the back?
Even if Your Majesty really finds out something afterwards, it is impossible to make things difficult for the Crown Prince since Li Mingren is already dead.

After all, one is a concubine's son and the other is the eldest legitimate son. Your Majesty knows clearly which one is more important.

However, Changsun Wuji underestimated the ability of the Li father and son to make things happen.

First, I didn’t expect His Majesty to react so quickly and act so decisively.

Secondly, he didn't expect that when the knife was about to strike, the prince would soften his heart and stop the killing.

"Li Tai is more powerful, why doesn't my uncle suggest that he be killed?"

Li Chengqian looked at his uncle with a smile:
"Is it because we are both your nephews, so it doesn't matter who goes first?"

Among Li Shimin's fourteen sons, only Li Chengqian, Li Tai and Li Zhi were legitimate sons born to Empress Zhangsun.

Only these three people are related to Changsun Wuji by blood, and are the real nephews and uncles.

The other princes were just trying to gain verbal advantage.

Zhang Sun Wuji was speechless for a moment, and stammered:
“I definitely support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"It's just that there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and the King of Wei is also quite favored by the emperor. If he really has something wrong, Your Majesty will never let it go..."

Li Chengqian sighed slightly:
"Father doesn't like anyone, he only likes the military power in his hands.

"Did Uncle see that? When he learned that the army was still under control, he relaxed completely."

Changsun Wuji didn't dare to respond.

Li Chengqian continued to speak:

"Besides, my brother Li Ming cleared up the misunderstanding between me and my father. Isn't he also my ally? At least many court officials think so."

Zhang Sun Wuji raised his eyes doubtfully:
"Your Highness thinks so too?"

"Of course, he is for my use."

Li Chengqian smiled brilliantly:

"My little brother is disobedient, and as his elder brother, I only need to teach him a lesson and tell him not to cross the line. How can I kill him casually?

"If I don't have this handy hammer, what can I use to hit my other brother?"

Only then did Changsun Wuji suddenly realize that Li Chengqian was also using the tactic of driving the tiger to devour the wolf.

Use Li Ming to fight Li Tai.

It is worthy of being the Li family’s old silver coin passed down from ancestors.

But Chang Sun Wuji had a bigger doubt in his mind:
"Since Your Highness the Crown Prince is afraid of the King of Wei, why did he dress like a foreigner and deliberately displease His Majesty?"

Li Chengqian was somewhat surprised:
"Don't people think I'm feminine and urge me to be more masculine?
"The Turks are barbaric and strong, so I imitate them.

"Or does uncle want me to change back into women's clothes?"

Can’t Ning dress like a normal Central Plains man... Changsun Wuji has a lot to complain about.

But he was afraid that he might say something wrong and mislead his nephew, whose brain circuit was not normal, so he kept silent.

It's better to be a sissy than a man...

…………

Inside Lide Hall.

The women gathered in the main hall, looking at the torches outside the window and listening to the sound of war and iron horses. The atmosphere was extremely solemn.

Starting from the afternoon, the imperial guards surrounded the Lide Hall.

There was only a big door and an old bolt between them and the ferocious imperial guards.

Although the soldiers have not done anything yet.

But for everyone in Lide Hall, especially the older women who had experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, it was undoubtedly a torture.

It's like a sharp sword hanging from the ceiling, which may fall and kill you at any time.

The five sisters of Li Ling held hands and encouraged each other.

Li Ming was nestled in Yang's arms, sleeping soundly.

It’s not that he is careless, but that he is too tired.

His body was still that of a child, and he performed CPR on Li Shimin for an hour straight, nearly losing half his life.

There was no other way. For both public and private reasons, and for both moral and ethical reasons, he could not watch such a great leader die so early.

"How could this happen, how could this happen!"

One of Li Yuanji's concubines was like an ant on a hot pan, running around in a panic and making everyone feel uneasy.

"Aunt Wang, please take a rest and stop nagging." Li Ling couldn't help but complain.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?" Wang was almost jumping up and down:
"I can't even say anything? I don't know who caused this disaster, and they're still standing there acting like it has nothing to do with it!"

She seemed to be blaming Li Ming, but in fact she was cursing Yang in a veiled way.

Wang didn't know what had happened, but she blamed everything on her old rival.

Because today, Yang acted out of character and actually left the harem.

As a result, not long after Yang came back, there were chaotic footsteps outside, as if something big had happened in the direction of Taiji Palace.

Then, the old eunuch carried the sleeping Li Ming back to Lide Hall.

The old eunuch refused to say what had happened.

Not long after, this terrifying army suddenly descended from the sky and surrounded the Lide Hall.

"If it wasn't you, how could such a change have happened? Huh?!"

Seeing that no one responded to her, Wang pointed directly at Yang's nose.

She came from the Taiyuan Wang family, one of the five surnames and seven noble families.

Relying on her background, she often competed with Yang for favor when she was at Li Yuanji's house.

Even though they had lived together in Ye Ting and Lide Hall for many years, there was no sign of improvement in their relationship, and they even disliked Li Ming.

Recently, Yang has been favored by the emperor, which makes her jealous and scratching her ears.

Now, suspected of being provoked by Yang, she immediately jumped out and excitedly... no, angrily pointed out.

"What did you say?!" Li Ling couldn't stand it any longer and was about to fight back, but was held back by Yang.

In times of crisis, the most important thing is unity, not infighting.

"Mother... ah!" Li Ling sat down dejectedly.

"..." Yang said nothing, but just gently patted little Li Ming in her arms.

She was more disturbed than anyone.

Li Ming just fell into a deep sleep and could not be woken up no matter how we called him.

So she, like everyone else, had no idea what was going on.

It was as if a nightmare had come true, and Xuanwumen happened again...

"Don't you think so? Is this the fault of that guy surnamed Yang?"

Wang was still seeking support, but the other concubines rolled their eyes at her:
"Just say a few words less!"

Wang immediately started to throw a tantrum, with her hands on her hips, and started to scold:
"You're still counting money for someone after being sold? You won't know until she brings the heavenly soldiers in..."

She was just in the middle of throwing a tantrum when there was a loud bang at the door.

The door bolt of Lide Hall was broken by being knocked off from outside.

(End of this chapter)