My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 153 Li Shimin dared not to kill the nine clans of the Qinghe Cui family
"Those two Korean nobles may be useful."

Like Li Yuanchang, Zhao Jie's first thought was to strike back at King Wei in this matter.

Furong Garden is the Furong Garden of King Wei, there is no way they can be separated.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "No need, the two Koreans will be handed over to the Dali Temple tomorrow and will be tried together with this assassination case."

"Don't worry about the King of Wei. Your Majesty will make the decision. Doing these things at this time will only make you look bad."

Slandering the King of Wei actually meant little to Li Chengqian.

Just like the King of Wei wanted to find evidence of his treason, he also needed evidence if he wanted to strike back at the assassination.

Moreover, this assassination case is no longer something that the Dali Temple Minister or Shaoqing can handle.

Erfeng will definitely directly appoint a chief judge.

And it is highly likely that there is not just one chief judge, but important officials including Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, Fang Xuanling, Sun Fujia, etc., who will conduct a joint investigation and will definitely get to the bottom of the case.

Anyone and anything related to this case will be interrogated by multiple parties.

Their confessions will be compared, analyzed, and verified in many ways.

Trying to play tricks here is actually a very stupid thing to do.

If no clues or evidence related to King Wei can be found by then, it will easily have the opposite effect.

At the national level, it is actually very difficult to conceal anything.

The difference is whether it is worth doing so.

You have to know that these ministers deal with a large amount of government affairs every day. If they take their energy away from them, it would mean that countless affairs would have to be stopped. If this happens frequently, problems will easily arise.

Even when Li Shimin was assassinated, it didn't cause such a big fuss.

The main reason is that the impact this time was too bad.

First, many princes gathered, almost all the adult princes who had the right of inheritance, both legitimate and illegitimate sons were present.

Not to mention that there were hundreds of powerful crossbows appearing in Chang'an City, trying to kill the prince.

This is no longer just a matter of the prince's safety, it has risen to the level of international affairs.

Envoys from various countries are also here.

"Is this such an easy deal for him?" Li Yuanchang was a little unwilling.

In his opinion, this is a good opportunity.

Zhao Jie suggested: "Perhaps we can arrange some people to spread rumors, saying that the assassination was related to the King of Wei."

"He assassinated His Highness in order to seize the throne."

If it was earlier, Li Chengqian would think this was a good idea, but now, it doesn't make much sense anymore.

"It's useless to overthrow the King of Wei. Even if the current King of Wei is overthrown, Your Majesty can always support another King of Wei."

"For example, King Jin."

"Your Majesty has never released military power before, and the King of Wei was favored so much that he was unable to control it."

"But now, the King of Jin has returned to Chang'an and has been directly appointed as the General of the Right Jinwu Guard."

The meaning of Li Chengqian's words was very clear.

Small-scale actions will not be considered acceptable after all. If you want to do something, you have to do it on a big scale.

Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang looked at each other in confusion.

Although everyone has been plotting a rebellion, they still feel uneasy if they really have to go against His Majesty.

The prince is still the prince after all, and your majesty is not an ordinary emperor.

He killed his brothers and imprisoned his father, yet still sat firmly on the throne. Throughout history, this is unique among all dynasties recorded in history books.

The Crown Prince can suppress the King of Wei, but if he were to go against Your Majesty, wouldn’t he be the current King of Wei?
-
The next day, Taiji Palace.

Early in the morning, the emperor's eunuch Zhang Ananda came to the East Palace and said that the emperor had summoned him.

When Li Chengqian arrived at Liangyi Palace, King Wei had already arrived.

But he did not go in, but waited outside the temple.

Although the weather in the first month of the year has warmed up a bit, the cold wind is still biting.

Li Chengqian could see that the fat on Li Tai's face was shaking because he was frozen.

It is obvious that this is Your Majesty's punishment on the King of Wei.

It was also done for the prince to see.

There are some things that everyone understands tacitly.

Perhaps the court officials could not find any clues related to the King of Wei after conducting a thorough investigation, but is it really true that there is no connection with the King of Wei at all?

Li Shimin's heart was as clear as a mirror.

Including the previous incident where the prince sent assassins to assassinate the King of Wei, the excuse was that Hegan Chengji was instigated by Yin Hongzhi.

Was it really the assassination instigated by Yin Hongzhi?

Hegan Chengji has been the prince's trusted guard for many years.

But Li Shimin has never met Yin Hongzhi and has never asked about him.

There are some things that Erfeng just turns a blind eye to.

"Greetings, big brother."

Li Tai is now completely obedient, maybe because he was frozen, or maybe he was just pretending in front of Erfeng.

"Let's go in together." Li Chengqian said calmly.

"Thank you, brother."

Watching the prince step into the palace, Li Tai followed him tremblingly.

The warmth in the hall made him feel much more comfortable.

When Li Shimin saw the two brothers come in, his face showed neither joy nor sadness.

"Give the prince a seat."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After seeing the prince sit down, Li Shimin spoke in a gentle tone: "I already know what happened in Furong Garden yesterday."

"Those Koreans were desperate and almost caused a disaster."

"Cheng Qian, you are fearless in the face of danger and have turned the tide. I am very pleased. And I have seen Qingyu'an Yuan Xi, it is a masterpiece for all ages."

"I have asked all the ministers to jointly investigate the assassination. You will also be responsible for it."

Li Shimin was very satisfied with the prince's excellence.

This is his eldest son, and he did not let him down at the critical moment.

Putting aside the natural contradiction between the emperor and the crown prince, the current crown prince has already shown that he is truly capable of standing on his own.

"Thank you father for the compliment."

Li Chengqian bowed and replied without saying anything more.

Then, Li Shimin looked at King Wei who was standing there.

He snorted coldly, his eyes sharp.

"Qingque, such a big mistake has happened in Furong Garden, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Upon hearing this, King Wei Li Tai knelt on the ground.

His whole body was trembling, and the fat on his face was shaking slightly with fear.

"Father, Qingque knows his fault. Qingque cannot escape the blame for what happened in Hibiscus Garden."

"Qingque should have managed Furong Garden in an orderly manner and ensured the safety of all parties, but he didn't expect such a disaster to happen." "At that time, if it wasn't for my eldest brother's intervention, the brothers would have been in danger."

"Qingque is willing to strip himself of his royal title, be demoted to a commoner, and be exiled to the border to guard the border for the Tang Dynasty to atone for his sins."

Hearing this, Li Shimin's boiling anger suddenly began to calm down.

Li Chengqian sneered in his heart. This King of Wei is really good at acting. The self-torture trick has always been the most useful to Li Shimin. Sure enough, Li Shimin's eyes became much calmer.

"Let me ask you, did you know about the assassins beforehand?"

Li Tai choked up and said, "Since my father gave me Furong Garden last February, Qingque has ordered people to repair it. Qingque couldn't bear to collect corvée labor, so he paid to recruit craftsmen from Chang'an."

"But I didn't expect that the Koreans would take advantage of it. The secret passage under Qujiang Lake must have been secretly built at that time."

"Since my father gave me the Hibiscus Garden, Qingque has been there only a few times, and it is often open to the people of Chang'an for them to recite poems, write couplets, and have fun."

"Those maids and servants were all recruited from Chang'an. Qingque was indeed completely unaware of the assassination attempt, and she also had no idea that Concubine Yang would specially schedule the Lantern Festival Poetry Contest in Hibiscus Garden."

"Due to the grand poetry gathering, the maids and servants in Hibiscus Garden were short-handed, so Qingque asked someone to recruit more. Unexpectedly, a bunch of assassins came."

"Please understand my father. If Qingque had known about this earlier, he would have taken precautions in advance and would never have let such a disaster happen."

Li Tai understood Er Feng's thoughts, otherwise he would not have been favored so much for so many years.

He first admitted his mistake frankly, asked to be stripped of his title and exiled to the border, because he knew Erfeng would definitely be reluctant to let him go.

Then explain in detail and clarify the situation.

At this point, Erfeng's anger gradually subsided.

"Cheng Qian, what do you think?"

Li Shimin turned and asked.

How do I watch? I sit and watch.

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Tai who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Qingque must have been deceived by the villain and probably didn't know about the assassination."

"It is the Cui family of Qinghe who is quite suspicious."

Li Shimin frowned slightly: "Cheng Qian, tell me in detail."

Li Chengqian said slowly, "I sent people to Yingzhou to investigate the situation in Goryeo. My men brought back two Silla nobles. The area they governed was occupied by Goryeo people. They happened to be rescued and returned to Chang'an with them."

"Because of the crime of losing the city, the two did not dare to return to Silla, so they served as errand boys in Wannian County."

"A few days ago, the two of them were on the road and happened to meet the Goryeo royal family. They had met each other in the early years."

"After I got the news, I sent people to the Honglu Temple to check. It turned out that the Goryeo royal family had indeed not reported their whereabouts. It was obvious that they had sneaked in."

"Now that our Tang Dynasty and Goryeo are about to go to war, the situation is like fire and water. The Goryeo royal family appeared in Chang'an, there must be something fishy."

"So they sent people to arrest and interrogate him. On the night of the arrest, the news might have been leaked, and someone paid two life-hunters to assassinate him."

"Fortunately, my men were able to save the lives of the two members of the Goryeo royal family and also capture the two life-hunting gentlemen."

"These two members of the Goryeo royal family are closely related to the assassination. I had them sent to the Dali Temple last night."

Li Shimin had not expected such a thing to happen, and asked, "Did Cheng Qian find out the purpose of their coming to Chang'an?"

Li Chengqian replied, "Because they escaped with their lives thanks to the hunter, the two of them cooperated and explained that they came to Chang'an for two reasons: one was to gather intelligence, and the other was to develop spies."

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Who is the spy?"

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Qinghe Cui family, Cui Wensheng."

Hearing this name, Li Tai, who was crawling on the ground, trembled suddenly.

Li Shimin's gaze, like a sword, looked at Qingque.

Although Cui Wensheng was a commoner, he had a great reputation in Chang'an City and had always been the core backbone of the Wei Wang Party.

"Is he still in Chang'an?" Li Shimin continued to ask.

Li Chengqian said: "After capturing the Goryeo royal family that night, Cui Wensheng fled Chang'an early the next morning."

Li Shimin glared at Li Tai and asked, "Doesn't the King of Wei know about this?"

Li Tai knew it very well, but at this moment, he would not admit it even if he was beaten to death.

However, he did not participate in the affairs between Cui Wensheng and the Koreans.

"Qingque doesn't know, but Cui Wensheng sent someone to tell me that he had something to do in his hometown and had to go back."

"Qingque was completely unaware of Cui Wensheng's conspiracy to have the Koreans serve as spies, otherwise he would have been arrested and punished."

"That Cui Wensheng is extremely abominable. Before he left, he even sent a false message, saying that two of his friends were captured by General Lu Tong of the Right Jinwu Guard, and asked me to help get them back."

"I didn't know about this, so I went to ask Zhinu for help, hoping to use Zhinu's status as the General of the Right Jinwu Guard to pressure Lu Tong to hand over the person."

"Later, I found out that Lu Tong had sent the person to the East Palace."

"If Qingque knew that those two were members of the Goryeo royal family and were conspiring with Cui Wensheng to betray the Tang Dynasty, he would never have asked for them."

Li Tai had already discussed this with Chai Lingwu and Cui Shengyu last night.

There was definitely no way to hide the fact that he went to Prince Jin to ask for someone that day, and the Crown Prince was unlikely to help him hide it.

Rather than having the prince tell it, it is better for me to confess it myself.

Hearing this, although Li Shimin was angry, he also felt that the King of Wei was not so stupid. Knowing that he was a spy, he still went to ask for the person openly. He was probably deceived by Cui Wensheng.

"Idiot, you don't even know you were used as a gun."

Hearing his father's scolding, Li Tai felt relieved.

Li Chengqian then asked Li Tai, "Qingque, the money for the renovation of Furong Garden was given to you by Cui Wensheng, right?"

Li Tai said bitterly, "Yes."

You can find out the truth by just checking this matter, there is no point in him denying it now.

The relationship here is not something he can get rid of just because he wants to.

Li Chengqian continued: "Is the Cui family also responsible for matters under the jurisdiction of Furong Garden?"

Li Tai nodded: "Yes."

At this point in the questioning, the incident has become very clear.

Li Chengqian turned to Li Shimin and said, "Father, it seems that the assassination is closely related to the Cui family of Qinghe."

Li Shimin's face was gloomy, and he said, "I will immediately send people to arrest Cui Wensheng and bring him to justice. All the members of the Cui family in Chang'an will be arrested and handed over to the Dali Temple for interrogation. Anyone who is suspicious will not be tolerated."

In fact, at this point, it can be said that it is a foregone conclusion that the Qinghe Cui family was involved in the assassination.

Maybe their methods are clean, but the suspicion cannot be washed away.

If we really want to investigate, the crime of murdering the Crown Prince, princes, and concubines of the Tang Dynasty is punishable by the execution of all nine generations of the clan.

However, Li Shimin could not kill the nine clans of the Qinghe Cui family.

The Qinghe Cui family is the most prominent family in the Tang Dynasty, with a total number of about 500,000 people. Although the direct descendants do not intermarry with outsiders, the illegitimate descendants follow this rule.

There were countless officials from all over the Tang Dynasty, both at the court and in the country, who had married into the Cui family.

The Qinghe in the Qinghe Cui family refers to Qinghe County, which is the ancient Jizhou.

Under the governance of Qinghe Cui family, the economy developed, culture flourished, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

If Li Shimin issued an edict to kill the nine clans of the Qinghe Cui family, the entire Jizhou would rebel.

Then it's not just the 500,000 members of the Qinghe Cui clan, there are also those people who have benefited from the Qinghe Cui clan for generations. They only recognize the Cui family and not the royal family.

Including the other six aristocratic families of the Five Surnames and Seven Families who had intermarried for generations.

The entire Tang Dynasty will be in complete turmoil.

ps: Update

(End of this chapter)