The opening inventory of the top ten young emperors

"Jiulang, is this the final result of your interrogation?"
Looking at the files presented by Li Zhi, Li Shimin's face showed no emotion.

Li Zhi was in a state of anxiety, but he still bowed his head and replied, "Father, I have investigated with the Dali Temple and found that the Wu family had allowed their family members to commit murder, resulting in the death of others. In addition, we did not find any evidence of the Wu family's rebellion.
Wu has never violated the rules in the palace, and the palace maids have been severely interrogated, and no one has seen Wu have any contact with anyone who is missing."

"So, you sentenced their entire family to exile in Lingnan? Wu was sent to Chongsheng Palace to receive training?"

"Yes, father." Li Zhi answered with a stiff face, "Although Wu Shi did not participate in the Wu family's murder, she should be punished for being implicated. However, Wu Shi is a married woman, and according to the law, she should be exempted from punishment.
However, the Wu family's murder not only caused the death of a person, but also destroyed the family, which caused great public outrage. Therefore, in addition to the Wu family being exiled, the Wu family should also go to Chongsheng Palace to receive precepts and practice, and pray for the deceased's family. "

This was the result of Li Zhi's discussion with Wei Xiang. There was no evidence that the Wu family was treasonous, especially Wu Shi, who lived in the harem and had not violated any rules. But now they were charged with treason, and they could not fabricate so-called evidence out of thin air.

However, after this interrogation and search, it was discovered that the Wu family was very domineering in their hometown. When the old Duke was alive, it was okay and they knew how to restrain themselves. After the old Duke died, the Wu brothers became even more lawless.
They showed no respect or love not only to the people in their village, but also to their stepmother and her younger sister. Otherwise, Madam Wu would not have sent her 14-year-old daughter to the palace, saying that she was to serve the emperor, but in fact to avoid disaster.

This time their whole family was arrested. In order to escape punishment, the Wu brothers not only distanced themselves from the Wu family, but also made many hurtful remarks, which added unnecessary complications to the Dali Temple's investigation and evidence collection.
It was because Wei Xiang was experienced that he saw through the conspiracy at a glance, thus preventing more innocent people from being implicated.

If it were up to him, he would really want to kill the Wu brothers directly.
However, after careful investigation, the truth was finally revealed. The Wu family had indeed never rebelled, and the Wu clan had certainly never rebelled.

However, in view of the threat that Wu Shi might pose to the Tang Dynasty in the future, and in order to reassure his father, he sentenced Wu Shi to go to Chongsheng Palace to become a nun and practice.

He felt that this matter had come to a perfect conclusion. The Wu family was exiled, and Wu lost her foundation. She became a nun and spent her whole life with the ancient Buddha. She probably would never be able to enter the secular world again. How could she become the heir of a country and disrupt the government?
It was a bit cruel that Wu was less than 20 years old and ended her life like this. But after all, she still saved her life, didn't she?
"The Wu family was exiled, and Wu went to Chongsheng Palace to receive the precepts?" Li Shimin repeated the result again, and nodded after a moment's silence. "Okay, I know, you don't have to worry about this matter, you can go down!"

Li Zhi didn't understand what his father meant, but in short, this matter had nothing to do with him from that moment on.
Although this made him feel relieved, he had a strange feeling in his heart, feeling that his father was not particularly satisfied with him. However, since he was a child, he had been accustomed to not being valued by his father, so he did not delve into it.

He decided to listen to his uncle and do what his father asked him to do. As for the rest, his father naturally had his own considerations.

As soon as Li Zhi left, Zhangsun Wuji stood up from behind. Li Shimin said without even turning his head, "After all, you are still lacking in decisiveness!"

It is always better to believe in treason than not to believe in it. Moreover, Tianjuan has predicted the future. It can be said that Wu will definitely be a great threat to his Tang Dynasty. But Jiulang is still talking to him about criminal law. He is really as old-fashioned as Wei Xiang.

"But Jiulang is right. It is indeed the law that requires it." Changsun Wuji replied with a smile, "If the Crown Prince and Qingque were half as loyal and upright as he is, they wouldn't have ended up like this."

Zhang Sun Wuji's words only made Li Shimin feel half relieved. If he was the son of an ordinary person, the more upright he was, the better. But if he was the son of an emperor, he should have a longer-term vision. Unfortunately...

Seeing Li Shimin's expression, Changsun Wuji knew that he must be thinking about the crown prince and Qingque again. The crown prince had now been demoted to a commoner and exiled to Qianzhou, and had already set off a few days ago.
Qingque was demoted to the Prince of Shunyang and had already set off for Yunxiang. Moreover, their Majesty did not even send off their most beloved son, which showed their disappointment in him. It must be difficult for him to come back in the future.

Therefore, now His Majesty's only legitimate son is Jiulang. Unless His Majesty is extremely disappointed with Jiulang, he will not pass the throne to other illegitimate sons.

"Being loyal and honest is indeed good, but I am afraid that he will be used by someone with ulterior motives." Li Shimin was still worried.
"But Jiulang is kindhearted by nature and would never do anything to hurt his brothers. I heard that he even pleaded for the Crown Prince and Qingque a few days ago, hoping that Your Majesty would forgive them."

Li Shimin glanced at Changsun Wuji and said, "I heard that Jiulang has a good relationship with you."

Zhang Sun Wuji immediately perked up: "Jiulang is my nephew, as are the prince and Silang. I treat them all equally, but Jiulang just treats me more like his uncle."

Zhang Sun Wuji's words contained a lot of meaning, and Li Shimin could not help but hear it. He immediately snorted and said, "But in the future..."
"I understand!" Before Li Shimin could finish, Changsun Wuji immediately replied, "I will definitely help the King of Jin in the future."

Hearing that he changed "Jiulang" to "Prince of Jin", Li Shimin's expression relaxed, and then he thought of Wu who was about to be sent to Chongsheng Palace: "No matter whether it is true or not, Wu must not be kept."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. This case has just been concluded, and Jiulang personally supervised the case, so the result cannot be changed casually. Moreover, Prime Minister Wei is also deeply involved in this case, and I am afraid that Prime Minister Wei's health is..."
Thinking that he had just appointed him as the Prince's tutor not long ago, and the Prince had already gotten into trouble, Li Shimin couldn't bear it, so he sighed heavily: "Since this is a case that Wei Xiang has handled, let's put it aside for now!" "Yes, Your Majesty!"
The empress Wu Zetian could never have imagined that despite the intervention of the Heavenly Scroll, her life and death were reversed at this moment.

After handling the relevant affairs, Li Shimin finally had time to look at the Heavenly Scroll and found that it was answering his previous question.

【V@鞠躬尽瘁李二郎: Is Emperor Gaozong of Tang the same as Li Zhi? 】

Lei Xiaomeng answered his questions in more detail.

[Reply 1 V@鞠躬尽瘁李二郎 Emperor Gaozong of Tang was Li Zhi, the ninth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang and the third son of Empress Zhangsun. Although his achievements were rarely mentioned in later generations, he is also the most ignored and underestimated emperor of the Tang Dynasty. ]

[Reply 2: During his reign, he destroyed Goguryeo, which had been a headache for the Sui and Tang dynasties since their founding. The Western Turks were also destroyed during his reign. He also defeated Baekje and Japan. The territory of the Tang Dynasty reached its largest during his reign.]

[Reply 3: During his reign, the Tang Dynasty was peaceful and prosperous, and it was called the Yonghui Reign! He was an emperor whose civil and military skills were no less than his father's. ]

Seeing Tianjuan's answer, Li Shimin couldn't help but smile, revealing a satisfied expression of "It's true". But Changsun Wuji was secretly shocked. Tianjuan's flattery of Li Zhi made him feel like he didn't even know this nephew.

But then he thought again and understood. As an emperor, he only made decisions. As for what to do, who to attack, and how to handle political affairs, it all depended on the suggestions and memorials of the court officials.

Thinking of this, his heart was filled with excitement. Thinking about the future prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, which he would witness one by one, he felt as if he had become several years younger.

At this moment, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, looking at the angry empress and Shangguan Yi kneeling on the ground in front of him, was far from being as high-spirited, wise and brave as described in the heavenly scroll. Instead, he looked a little anxious and exhausted.

"I heard that Your Majesty wants to depose me? Is this true?"
Wu Meiniang looked at Emperor Gaozong with a pair of charming eyes filled with coldness.

"I...I..." Looking at his queen, Li Zhi didn't know what to say for a moment, and even felt a little guilty.

Seeing that the emperor did not speak, Wu Meiniang looked at Shangguan Yi who was kneeling beside him and said, "Shangguan Sir, do you think His Majesty wants to depose the empress? And you have even written the edict to depose the empress for His Majesty?"

“Your Majesty, I…” Shangguan Yi was also sweating profusely. “Your Majesty, I…I only…”
"Shangguan, do you mean that it was His Majesty who asked you to draft the imperial edict?" Wu Meiniang walked towards him with a smile on her face. "It was His Majesty who asked you to issue the edict to depose the queen?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty is indeed..."

As he spoke, Shangguan Yi looked towards Li Zhi, hoping that His Majesty would say something, but Li Zhi had his eyes closed, his head supported by his hands, and he looked in pain, as if he had a headache.
Seeing this situation, Shangguan Yi's heart skipped a beat and he knew that something bad had happened.

Sure enough, seeing Li Zhi looking like he was about to faint, Wu Meiniang sneered and looked at Shangguan Yi again: "Shangguan Yi, your majesty doesn't seem to mean that. So, it's your own idea."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Shangguan Yi turned pale and immediately knelt on the ground. "Yes, Your Majesty, Yes, Your Majesty..."
"What's wrong with His Majesty? Tell me, His Majesty was here, and he didn't say he wanted to depose me as the queen. So, it was you who tricked His Majesty into deposing the queen?"

At this point, Wu Zetian's face turned serious: "Shangguan Yi, you are so bold! How dare you persuade His Majesty to depose the empress? How brave are you! Tell me, who told you to do this! Who instructed you to disrupt the rule of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty, I didn't!" At this moment, Shangguan Yi felt that he couldn't explain himself even if he had a mouth full of words.

"Mei Niang, I have a headache. You...you let Lord Shangguan go down first! I want to have a good rest!" At this time Li Zhi finally spoke, obviously trying to rescue Shangguan Yi.

"No!" A hint of coldness flashed across Wu Meiniang's eyes. "If Lord Shangguan walks out of here today, I will have no choice but to die here. This matter must be resolved today!"

(End of this chapter)