My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 345 Li Shimin: How could an emperor abdicate in his forties?

Chu Suiliang was really confused.

Why do you, Wei Zheng, insist on standing on the side of the prince?

"Duke Wei, treason is a major crime against the state. How can we hastily convict him based on one side's testimony? The Crown Prince has not yet met Your Majesty. Convicting him now is clearly..."

Wei Zheng interrupted directly: "It is clearly following the law!"

Then he stared at Chu Suiliang and scolded him, "Doctor Chu, you have read the Tang Law Commentary, and you know that the evidence is irrefutable. If we put it aside because the suspect has not arrived, where is the majesty of the laws of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly. He had heard before that Wei Zheng often spoke for him in the court. Today, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

Previously, because Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang opposed the attack on Goryeo, Li Chengqian sent people to pour gold juice on Wei Zheng's gate.

Wei Zheng was so angry that he went to the palace to file a complaint that day.

It can be said that they hate each other.

However, after deciding to attack Goryeo, Wei Zheng no longer cared about the crown prince.

Being able to let go of things like this, Wei Zheng's magnanimity is actually not small.

Now, it is equivalent to truly becoming a princeling.

Time and life.

This may be true now and in the future.

Over time, enemies become friends and friends become enemies.

Chu Suiliang frowned, glanced at Fang Xuanling who was indifferent, and Zhangsun Wuji who was watching the show, and simply said: "Your Highness, I just got the news. Now that His Majesty has woken up, perhaps Your Majesty can make the decision on this matter."

I'm too lazy to act and I can't continue.

Li Chengqian sneered and ignored Chu Suiliang.

The others didn't speak either.

"Even if Father wakes up, the crimes of King Wei and King Jin will no longer be crimes?"

"Or do you want to ignore the court's laws?"

Zhang Sun Wuji then cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, what you said makes sense. In my opinion, the Jinwu Guard has been transferred in violation of regulations. You can first remove the Prince of Jin from his position as the Right Jinwu Guard General."

"For the time being, order the King of Wei not to leave the palace and wait for your majesty's decision."

This is already the limit.

Li Chengqian did not say that he expected to directly charge the King of Wei and the King of Jin with treason at this time.

After all, he himself was guilty of treason.

Fang Xuanling didn't say anything, which was considered as his consent.

The current situation is very complicated, and many ministers are cautious in their words and actions. They will not come out to compete directly like Chu Suiliang and Wei Zheng.

The Crown Prince entered the city to supervise the country, the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin were causing trouble, and Your Majesty was in poor health.

It’s hard to say who will have the last laugh.

It is irrational to take sides at this time.

"Okay, that's it. I'm a little tired today, so I'll leave for now."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and stopped pestering.

He still had a lot of things to arrange, the most important of which was the placement of the 30,000 Shenwu Army.
-
The news from the villa naturally spread to the palace at the fastest speed.

After listening to this, Li Shimin sighed.

"Father, I finally understand how you felt back then."

At this time, Li Shimin was in an extremely complicated mood.

The King of Wei and the King of Jin joined forces to attack the Crown Prince, which was very similar to what he did back then.

At that time, it was Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji who wanted to force him to death.

So, it’s better to strike first.

Brothers killed each other. How did the emperor feel at that time?

Li Shimin now feels the same way.

But for a while, I couldn't find any solution.

I can't just follow what my father did and abdicate the throne to the crown prince.

Although he was seriously ill this time, Li Shimin was recovering.

Most importantly, he is still young.

"Cheng Qian, Cheng Qian, can't you wait a little longer?"

If Li Chengqian was willing to wait another ten or twenty years, Li Shimin felt that he could also abdicate.

Since ancient times, there has never been an emperor who abdicated in his forties.

This year, Li Shimin is only forty-six years old.

Li Shimin leaned on the Panlong couch, looking at the darkening sky outside the window, his brows furrowed, his eyes full of fatigue and confusion.

The eunuch Zhang Ananda stood aside with his hands hanging down, not daring to breathe, and only dared to secretly glance at the Majesty's uncertain expression.

"Ananda, tell me...did I also make my father so embarrassed back then?" Li Shimin suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded by sandpaper.

Zhang Ananda was shocked and knelt down immediately: "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and you must have had your own reasons! What happened back then was all for the sake of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin smiled bitterly and rubbed his temples with his hands: "The country... Yes, for these four words, I killed my brother and forced my father to surrender. My hands are stained with the blood of my relatives. Now it's my own son's turn, and he has come to this point. Cheng Qian, Qing Que, Zhi Nu, they are all my own flesh and blood!"

Li Shimin's voice gradually became choked.

Thinking of Crown Prince Li Chengqian's extraordinary intelligence, he had been placed with high hopes since he was young.

King Li Tai of Wei was a man of great literary talent and was deeply loved by him.

Although Jin Wang Li Zhi had a gentle temperament, he was also well-behaved and sensible.

But now, brothers are fighting against each other and using swords to attack each other. How can he not be heartbroken?

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the two princes may be confused for a moment..." Zhang Ananda said cautiously.

This is false, but sometimes, you have to say this.

You can't say that your Majesty's sons are really like you.

That's the end of this great head.

"Confused?" Li Shimin sat up straight suddenly, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but quickly turned into helplessness.

"They are all obsessed with power! Isn't what I have given Cheng Qian enough? The position of Crown Prince, the power of Regent, as long as he waits patiently, the world will be his sooner or later! But why can't he wait?"

Zhang Ananda lowered his head and did not dare to answer. He knew that His Majesty was full of grievances and anger at the moment, but had no place to vent.

At this point in the situation, no matter what we say, it will be of no avail.

The Crown Prince had no way out, and neither did the King of Wei or the King of Jin.

No matter who comes to power, they will not spare the other's life.

Will the prince let go of the King of Wei and the King of Jin who attacked him?

Obviously it is impossible.

So if the King of Wei or the King of Jin comes to power, will they let the Crown Prince go?

It's obviously impossible.

For Li Shimin today, there seems to be no way to have the best of both worlds and allow all three sons to survive after he passes away.

"Ananda, what do you think I should do?" Li Shimin muttered to himself. He was really confused now.

His mind was not even on how to deal with the prince, but on how to protect the children.

At this point, Li Shimin's eyes slightly reddened. The scene of Empress Changsun's death appeared in front of him again. Before she died, she was still worried about the prince and told him to teach him well, but now...

Zhang Ananda felt bad when he saw His Majesty in such pain, but he didn't know how to comfort him: "Your Majesty, perhaps the Crown Prince was just impulsive. You have always loved the Crown Prince, as long as you patiently persuade him, maybe..."

"Persuade?" Li Shimin interrupted him. "I also want to persuade him, but the situation has already happened. All parties are ready to make a move, and there are undercurrents in the court. If it is not handled properly, the Tang Dynasty may be unstable!"

Li Shimin slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the lights of Chang'an City in the distance, and murmured: "When my father abdicated to me, I thought I could do better and let the descendants of the Li family live in harmony and share peace. But now it seems that I have failed after all..."

Zhang Ananda knelt on the ground, his heart full of distress and worry: "Your Majesty, please don't say that! Your Majesty has made the people live and work in peace and contentment since you ascended the throne, and your contribution will be remembered for generations to come! As for the matters of the princes, I will definitely be able to come up with a proper solution!"

Li Shimin turned around and looked at Zhang Ananda deeply: "I hope so... Ananda, do you think I have been too indulgent towards them? If I had disciplined them earlier, wouldn't we be in this situation today?"

"Your Majesty is thinking about the princes wholeheartedly, and everyone in the world knows it!" Zhang Ananda said hurriedly, "But the struggle for power has always been cruel and cannot be completely controlled by human power."

Li Shimin sighed, sat back on the couch, and waved his hand: "Forget it, let me think about this matter carefully. You can leave first, let me calm down."

Zhang Ananda stood up and tiptoed out.

Li Shimin was the only one left in the bedroom.
-
Prince Wei's Mansion.

Although it was said that the King of Wei was imprisoned and the King of Jin was dismissed from his post as the General of the Right Jinwu Guard, in fact, it was just an excuse.

Li Zhi's title of General of the Right Jinwu Guard was bestowed by His Majesty himself.

Even if we have to go through the formalities, we have to go to His Majesty.

As for Li Tai, the Wei Wang Party has a huge influence in Chang'an. Unless Li Chengqian sends the Shenwu Army to forcibly block them, it will be of little use.

Li Chengqian naturally knew all this, and the greater significance lay in reputation.

As long as the King of Wei and the King of Jin were identified as conspirators in rebellion, there would naturally be no suspicion of killing their brothers in the future. It would be considered killing one's own relatives for the greater good.

Tonight, Li Zhi did not go to the palace to meet Wu Zetian.

He wanted to go, but was denied entry to the palace, so he could only come to the Prince of Wei's mansion to discuss countermeasures with Li Tai.

Previously, we wanted to kill each other, but now we are all tied to the same rope.

"Child slave! Now that the emperor has woken up, he will definitely severely punish the traitor Li Chengqian!"

Li Tai said solemnly.

My father was very angry with Li Chengqian before and had already abolished Li Chengqian's position as crown prince. If the artillery had not broken through Tongguan and endangered Chang'an, he would not have restored Li Chengqian's position as crown prince.

Restoring Li Chengqian's status as crown prince was just a delaying tactic.

Li Tai firmly believes this.

"Fourth brother, have you ever thought that the 30,000 Shenwu troops of eldest brother are not vegetarians?"

"Now that Qixia Gate has been breached, if he really leads his troops to attack the palace."

Li Zhi's voice suddenly stopped, as if something was choking his throat, and he didn't dare to say the terrible ending.

Li Tai's pupils suddenly shrank, and his fat body trembled slightly: "Impossible! Father controls the Imperial Guards and has so many loyal ministers and generals, how could it be..."

Before he finished speaking, he thought of the three black cannons on Suzaku Street and the fierceness in Li Chengqian's eyes, and his voice softened involuntarily.

"Fourth brother, don't forget the Battle of Tongguan!"

Li Zhi's voice trembled.

"The Crown Prince's artillery can even destroy the natural barrier of Tongguan. No matter how elite my father's imperial guards are, how can flesh and blood resist? If he ascends the throne by force..."

Speaking of this, Li Zhi's eyes were filled with fear.

"I'm afraid that we two brothers won't even have a complete body left!"

The secret room in the house fell into silence, with the only sound being the crackling of the candle wick.

Li Tai slumped in his chair, panting: "Then...then what should we do? We can't just sit there and wait for death!"

Li Zhi calmed down for a moment and suggested, "Perhaps...perhaps we should take the initiative to apologize to our father."

"Just say that we were cornered by the Crown Prince and just wanted to protect ourselves. We have no intention of rebelling..."

Li Tai sneered: "Ask for your crime?"

"Zhi Nu, you are too naive! We are ambushing the Crown Prince on Suzaku Street. How could the Emperor bypass us so easily?"

"Besides, once the crown prince gains power, even if father wants to protect us, he will be powerless!"

Li Tai suddenly moved closer to Li Zhi and lowered his voice: "In my opinion, we have to strike first!"

Li Zhi took a step back and looked at Li Tai in horror: "Who will strike first?"

"Fourth brother, are you crazy? Going to deal with eldest brother now is like hitting a rock with an egg!"

"What can we use to deal with Big Brother?"

There was a crazy light in Li Tai's eyes.

"It's not us against Big Brother!"

"Let's go find our father! As long as we can convince him, we can act immediately. While our eldest brother is still unstable, we can mobilize the imperial guards to destroy him in one fell swoop!"

Li Zhi shook his head repeatedly: "No! No! This is forcing the emperor to abdicate! If we fail, we will be doomed!"

"If Father really wanted to deal with my eldest brother, he would have already made arrangements to do so."

"Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin came here today just to stop us from killing my elder brother. They have no intention of taking action against the crown prince."

"I think they have already ambushed us. If we win, we will save my brother's life. This is naturally what our father ordered."

Li Zhi saw clearly that the reason why Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin were persuaded by Li Tai to take action against the prince on Zhuque Street today was because of this.

It was not because they stood on Li Tai's side, but because they were afraid of the prince.

It was because they felt the prince was in danger and out of loyalty to their father that they did so, even going against their father's original orders.

Because even though Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin had fought on the battlefield for most of their lives and made great military achievements, they were not sure they could face the prince's artillery.

They were also worried that the prince would really go all out and bombard Xuanwu Gate.

If Tongguan couldn’t be defended, how could Xuanwumen be defended?

Li Tai didn't bother to say that, and said, "Zhi Nu, think about it carefully."

"If my eldest brother ascends the throne, we will surely die. If my father succeeds in suppressing the rebellion, we will at most be punished. We will die anyway, so why not give it a try?"

Li Zhi's mind kept flashing with the bloody scene of the prince killing them after he ascended the throne. He also thought of his father's majesty when he woke up, and his heart became more and more conflicted.

"But...but will the emperor listen to us?" Li Zhi said weakly, "What if the emperor thinks we are trying to sow discord..."

Li Tai gritted his teeth and said, "At this point, I can't care about so much!"

"I will go to the palace tonight to see my father. Even if I die, I will die knowingly!"

Li Zhi hesitated.

But as for the eldest brother, they are no longer able to deal with him according to the current situation.

The only one who can deal with my eldest brother is my father.

If they can convince their father to deal with their eldest brother, they will have a hope of survival.

Even, a glimpse of the hope of becoming the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi nodded.

"Okay, just as Fourth Brother said, there is no time to lose. We will go to the palace to meet Father now."

(End of this chapter)