Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 245 Father, I am just the knife you have hidden for three years! [Seeking monthly votes]

"What's with that drum sound? And what was that light in the sky just now?"

Pei Xingjian followed Su Dingfang into the palace and asked Su Dingfang in confusion.

Su Dingfang looked at the woman in green dress in his arms with a serious expression, without saying a word.

Although the pill given by Yuan Tiangang did save the life of the woman in green dress, she is still in a coma.

He didn't know whether bringing the woman in green dress back would be effective.

As for the drum sounds and the bright lights just now, he naturally knew what was going on.

These are all signals to mobilize troops!
In other words, something unexpected happened in the palace, otherwise there would never have been a signal to mobilize troops.

Moreover, according to Li Chengqian's plan, once he gave the signal to mobilize troops, there was only one possibility, that is, the outcome of "success or death".

Thinking of this, Su Dingfang's expression became more and more serious, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Although he had not followed Li Chengqian for a long time, these days made him feel that the previous twenty years had been wasted. In his heart, he even thought that Li Chengqian was a better monarch than Li Shimin.

Yes, he didn't want Li Chengqian to lose, and he wouldn't let Li Chengqian lose.

Even if it means sacrificing his own life, he would not hesitate.

As the saying goes, a gentleman will die for his friend.

"Friend Pei, the imperial palace is just ahead. Since you don't have a token, just take me here! Thank you for your help. If I can still see the sunrise tomorrow, I will definitely go to the Linjiang Tower in Chang'an to drink with you!"

In the last few dozen steps before reaching the palace gate, Su Dingfang said suddenly.

Pei Xingjian was slightly stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask with even more confusion: "Commander Su, what do you mean by this? Could it be that something big happened in the palace tonight?"

"There are some things I can't tell you, but please listen to me and go back quickly. Don't get into trouble!"

After saying this, Su Dingfang quickened his pace again.

But Pei Xingjian still followed him closely, saying stubbornly, "No! I won't leave unless you tell me what happened! What if you get attacked again? I said I'd escort you all the way!"

"I went to the palace! How could the palace be attacked?"

"I don't care, I'm going to follow you anyway!"

"you!"

Su Dingfang was so depressed that he couldn't speak for a moment.

At this moment, the woman in the green dress in his arms coughed weakly twice, then said with a joking smile: "You two grown men, why are you so shy? Are you gay?"

"Shut up!"

"shut up!"

Before the woman in green skirt could finish her words, Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian shouted at her at the same time.

"hehe."

The woman in the green dress smiled faintly on her pale face. She then slowly opened her eyes, looked at Su Dingfang, and sighed, "I know what Commander Su is thinking, but I won't testify for you."

"Cough cough."

He coughed twice more, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth as he spoke, "I, Shouzhuolang, have my own rules. I will never betray my employer, not to mention... cough cough cough... wow."

Before the woman in green dress could finish her words, she started coughing violently, then vomited a mouthful of blood and passed out again.

"Hey! Hey! Wake up! Hey!"

Su Dingfang was shocked to see that the woman in green dress had fainted again, and couldn't help shaking her body a few times.

At this moment, Pei Xingjian on the side hurriedly stopped him: "Commander Su, don't get excited! She's not dead yet!"

"But."

"Okay, let's go to the palace first!"

Before Su Dingfang could finish his words, Pei Xingjian interrupted him without question. He then rushed to the palace gate and shouted loudly, "Open the palace gate quickly! We want to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, the Jinwu Guards at the palace gate immediately surrounded him and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the palace!"

"We didn't trespass into the palace. The person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is looking for is injured. We need to bring her into the palace quickly. Commander Su of the Eastern Palace is here!"

Pei Xingjian saw dozens of Jinwu Guards surrounding him and hurriedly explained.

But the leading Jinwu Guard refused to listen to his explanation and directly ordered, "Your Majesty has ordered that no one be allowed to disrupt the Chongyang Banquet. Capture this man!"

"No! Wait a minute!"

"Take it!"

Before Pei Xingjian could continue explaining, dozens of Jinwu Guards attacked him.

Su Dingfang, who was not far away, stopped in his tracks instantly, thinking that something was wrong.

Because this group of imperial guards guarding the palace gate were obviously different from before.

I'm afraid that even if he has the token of the Eastern Palace, he will not be able to enter the palace.

Thinking of this, he frowned and looked at Pei Xingjian who was fighting dozens of Jinwu Guards alone, then looked at the woman in green dress in his arms. It took him less than 0.01 seconds to think, and he turned around and ran to the other side of the palace.

At the end, he said: "If you can't win, just surrender! Don't fight to the death~"

Damn it!
Pei Xingjian, who was fighting hard, was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he heard this.

But looking back, there was no trace of Su Dingfang at all.

At this time, the Jinwu Guards pressed forward again, making him lose his ability to resist.

At the same time, Su Dingfang, holding the woman in green skirt, walked around the Xuanwu Gate of Taiji Palace and came to the Xuande Gate of Donggong.

However, just as he was about to enter the East Palace, he saw the Jinwu Guards he had met at the Xuanwu Gate before in the light of the lanterns at the palace gate, and he couldn't help but stop.

"How could this happen? Your Majesty even changed the guards in the East Palace?"

"Could it be that His Majesty has already made secret plans?"

Muttering, Su Dingfang rarely showed a look of bad luck.

If Li Shimin also had plans in secret, could Li Chengqian's next plan proceed smoothly?
Thinking of this, Su Dingfang couldn't help but look back at the Chang'an City where flames were rising to the sky, feeling annoyed.

However, just as he stopped at the East Palace gate, hesitating to move forward, a Jinwu Guard at the East Palace gate suddenly spotted him: "Hey! Who is that in front? Tell me your name!"

Su Dingfang was startled awake by these words. Just as he was about to run, he heard a laughing voice suddenly say, "General, I'm sorry to bother you. This is a guest that the King of Yue is looking for. He went in the wrong direction and ended up in the East Palace!"

"Ok?"

Hearing the laughter, Su Dingfang and the Jinwu Guard frowned at the same time.

Then, a carriage slowly drove over from the darkness. Under the illumination of the fire, a palace servant's face with a smirk was revealed.

"Who are you?"

The Jinwu Guards frowned, only to see the palace attendant smiling and handing over a token without a word: "This is the imperial decree from His Majesty that our King of Yue has received. Look, our King of Yue is so dedicated to the Tang Dynasty that even at this hour, he's still recruiting talent for the establishment of a literary academy!"

As he spoke, he raised his finger and pointed at Su Dingfang: "Look, that's the talented man our King of Yue recruited!"

"Oh, so it's the King of Yue's men!"

The Jinwu Guard suddenly realized what was happening and carefully examined the palace order token in his hand. After confirming that it was correct, he returned it to the palace attendant and said, "The palace gates are now closed. His Majesty has ordered that no one is allowed to enter or leave. Even if you have the token from the King of Yue, I cannot let you in!"

"Sir, if we don't go into the palace, I'll take him to the inn to rest and then go into the palace tomorrow!"

The palace attendant took the token with a smile, and then skillfully handed over a money bag.

"Ok?"

The Jinwu Guard was stunned for a moment, then a look of satisfaction suddenly appeared on his face: "If that's the case, then let's leave quickly!"

"Thank you, Master Jun!"

The palace attendant smiled, bowed, and walked straight towards Su Dingfang.

"Our Prince Yue is very optimistic about you! Let's go!"

"This"

Su Dingfang looked at the palace servant with a puzzled expression, wanting to say something but stopping himself. However, at the servant's frequent blinks, he followed him to the carriage calmly, full of doubts.

Only after he had boarded the carriage and driven away from the East Palace did Su Dingfang finally ask the palace attendant in a low voice, "Who are you? Why are you helping me? And what did you mean by the King of Yue recruiting me?"

Facing Su Dingfang's three soul-searching questions, the palace attendant driving the carriage didn't even glance at him. Instead, he calmly asked, "I was the one who brought the woman Commander Su into the palace. Who do you think I am?"

"What!?"

Su Dingfang was startled and couldn't help but hold down his sword and asked, "Are you an accomplice of the assassin?!"

"I bother!"

The palace attendant sneered, "If I were an accomplice of the assassin, would I help you?"

"Then who are you?"

"Didn't I just say it? I'm the King of Yue's man!"

"If you are the King of Yue's men, why are you helping me?"

"Tsk! Look at what you're saying. Do you think the King of Yue's men will necessarily be enemies of the Crown Prince?"

"This"

Su Dingfang showed hesitation again. He couldn't help but glanced at the palace attendant with a strange look, then frowned and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Where else can we go? Of course we should go to the palace! Aren't you going to send this woman to the palace?"

After saying this, he turned his head to look at the woman lying on the carriage and asked, "Is she still alive?"

Upon hearing this, Su Dingfang did not answer the other party's question. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Didn't His Majesty order the palace gates to be closed? How can we enter the palace?"

"Ah!"

The palace attendant chuckled and said lightly, "Some people spend their entire lives taking the main entrance, while others spend their entire lives taking the side entrance. Taking the main entrance doesn't necessarily lead to a smooth road, and taking the side entrance doesn't necessarily mean there's no way out!"

As he spoke, he looked up ahead and lifted the reins with a whoosh: "We're here!"

"This is."

Su Dingfang looked around in confusion and couldn't help but ask, "Where is this?"

"Yeting Palace, Little Golden Gate!"

"Ye Ting Palace?"

Su Dingfang was slightly stunned: "Why haven't I heard of any Little Kinmen?"

"Little Golden Gate was named by us palace servants. As a great commander, you've naturally never heard of it!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand impatiently and urged, "Alright, hurry in. I've only bribed the guard on duty now. The shift will start soon! There's no time!"

"This"

Su Dingfang showed hesitation, then looked at the palace servant, then at the woman. Although he was still unsure of the palace servant's purpose, he really didn't have much time left.

So, after hesitating for a moment, he made up his mind, picked up the woman in the green dress, said "thank you", and walked straight into Little Kinmen.

However, as soon as he entered, he saw several palace servants carrying a large bucket and staggering past him.

However, just as he was about to move forward, a pungent smell suddenly hit his nose.

"Ugh~"

He subconsciously made a retching motion, which startled a passing palace servant and made him burst out laughing.

I rub!

What the hell is Little Kinmen! ?
It turned out to be a sewer channel for transporting golden juice!
It only took Su Dingfang a moment to react and he was so angry that he almost burst into curses.

However, when he thought that Li Chengqian was still waiting for him, he had to suppress his unhappiness, held his breath, and rushed out in one step.

At the same time, on the Chrysanthemum Terrace.

Li Shimin stared at Li Chengqian with a gloomy expression and said in a cold tone, "It's not too late for your Highness to stop now, but don't make any mistakes!"

"Hehe." Li Chengqian smiled noncommittally and said, "Didn't the Emperor promise me that he would host the Double Ninth Festival banquet? Why has he deployed so many troops? Who are you trying to protect?"

"Humph! Everyone knows who to guard against!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly, then raised the crumpled secret report in his hand and said solemnly, "Do you know what is written on it?"

"I didn't see it, how would I know?"

Li Chengqian shrugged with amusement.

"you!"

Li Shimin choked with anger, then suppressed his rage and said with a cold face, "This is a secret report from Jingzhou Sima Liu Li. He said that Jingzhou Governor Pei Xuan secretly mobilized troops from Jiangling Prefecture in the name of suppressing bandits, and under your order, the Crown Prince, to suppress bandits in various counties!"

"I ask you, what authority do you have to mobilize troops? Have I given you such authority?"

"Also, what's going on with the tens of thousands of troops approaching Chang'an? Are you planning to come to my palace to suppress the bandits? Do you want to..."

At this point, Li Shimin was so angry that he almost asked Li Chengqian if he wanted to rebel, but he finally held back and said, "That's simply outrageous!"

"Oh, so that's how it is. I was wondering why Father reacted so strongly. Turns out someone reported me!"

Li Chengqian nodded as if suddenly realizing something, then explained with a smile, "Your Majesty, you're worrying too much. That army isn't here to suppress bandits, they're here to deliver something to me, your son!"

"What kind of gift requires an army of tens of thousands of people!!" Li Shimin roared, unable to contain himself any longer.

Li Chengqian was spitting all over his face and said helplessly, "My son is already in his teens, can you please be more calm? There are so many people watching us!"

"puff--"

When Li Yuan heard this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Li Shimin's face flushed instantly, and he immediately raised his finger and pointed at Li Chengqian, shouting in a trembling voice: "Rebellious son! What on earth do you want to do?!"

"Don't worry, Father. I just took out the knife you hid three years ago!"

Without waiting for Li Shimin to speak again, Li Chengqian turned directly to Dai Zhou and said, "Minister of the Supreme Court, the truth about the polo field will only come out after Commander Su returns. Let's deal with the case on your hands first. It just so happens that all the civil and military officials are here!"

"This"

Dai Zhou glanced at Li Shimin hesitantly. Seeing that Li Shimin had a gloomy face but did not say anything to stop him, he nodded and said, "I will arrange it right away!"

After saying this, he left the Juhuatai without saying a word.

Cui Renshi and others under the Chrysanthemum Stage frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

So, before Dai Zhou returned, Li Zhen stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I think the Crown Prince is just stalling for time. He dared to mobilize the army without permission. He must be plotting something nefarious!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! You must not be deceived by the Crown Prince!"

Li Shushen also echoed: "Mobilizing the army without permission is tantamount to rebellion!"

"His Majesty."

"enough!"

Before the other ministers from the noble families could step forward, Li Yuan stood up and shouted, "Everything my grandson did was instructed by me! What? Am I also plotting a rebellion?"

"It seems you have forgotten how the Tang Dynasty came to power!"

Having said that, he glanced at Li Zhen and the others with disdain, and jokingly said, "Could it be that you have something to hide and are trying to confuse people?"

"Hmph! The one who is confusing the public is probably the retired emperor, right? You are no longer the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, yet you have repeatedly disregarded the laws of the country. Do you really not take His Majesty seriously?" A 'warrior' from an aristocratic family stood up resolutely.

boom!
The whole audience was instantly shocked!

No one seemed to have expected that someone could be so brave.

Even Li Shimin and Li Chengqian were a little surprised.

However, the moment this "warrior" finished speaking, officials from other aristocratic families, including Cui Renshi of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, also stood up resolutely.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, please uphold the laws of the land and set things straight!"

"presumptuous!"

Before Li Shimin could speak, Du Caigan beside Li Yuan shouted, "How dare you be so disrespectful to the emperor!"

"The emperor has abdicated and made way for others, so he shouldn't be involved in the affairs of the court. Moreover, the emperor himself has said that he will not restore the throne. We are just discussing the business matters." Cui Renshi said calmly.

"you!"

Du Caigan was furious and was about to rush down the Chrysanthemum Terrace to interact with them in a "friendly" way.

At this moment, Dai Zhou came to Juhuatai with a middle-aged man in prison clothes.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to this middle-aged man.

But then Dai Zhou said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Crown Prince, the criminal Dang Renhong has been brought here!"

"I, the guilty one, pay my respects to Your Majesty, the Crown Prince!"

When Dang Renhong saw Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, he immediately knelt down.

When Li Shimin saw Dang Renhong, he showed a complicated expression and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Li Chengqian, on the other hand, remained calm. "Dang Renhong, I shouldn't be hearing your case today because of the Chongyang Banquet. However, something happened during the banquet, and I didn't want to let them go. So, I'll handle your case while I'm at it. You don't have any complaints, do you?"

"Thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's blessing, I was able to see Your Majesty for the last time before he died. How could I have any complaints?"

As he spoke, Dang Renhong raised his head and said sincerely, "Your Highness, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will tell you everything I know!"

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian nodded and said directly without further ado, "Let me ask you, what exactly is going on with the disaster relief grain in Hebei Province?"

"Your Highness, I colluded with the Fanyang Lu family, the Qinghe Cui family, and the Zhaojun Li family to embezzle the imperial relief grain, intending to sell it at a high price. However, the price of grain plummeted, leaving us with nothing. Not wanting to give the disaster victims a free ride, we used the grain to trick them into selling their children and signing indentures to earn a small fortune."

"Nonsense! He's talking nonsense!"

Before Dang Renhong could finish his words, Lu Chengqing, the head of the Fanyang Lu family, jumped out and said angrily, "He was blinded by greed. He used the relief grain as a pretext to earn 'head fees' and recruited soldiers privately with the intention of rebellion!"

"That's right! He deceived our family. We didn't use the disaster relief grain at all. Your Majesty, please investigate!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! We have evidence proving that our family did not collude with him to embezzle the disaster relief grain!"

"His Majesty."

"enough!"

Li Shimin interrupted them with a gloomy look on his face, then looked at Dang Renhong with burning eyes. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Dang Renhong, you really make me sad!"

"His Majesty."

Dang Renhong choked with sobs, then bowed his head to the ground and said, "I know I was wrong!"

"wrong."

Li Shimin chuckled, then suddenly shouted in anger: "It's too late!"

"woooooo"

Dang Renhong burst into tears.

Li Shimin added earnestly, "Dang Renhong, tell me, from the time we launched our rebellion in Taiyuan until now, so many people have died and so much blood has been shed. Why? Isn't it because the court isn't acting like a court, and the people aren't acting like people?"

“But what you did.”

Having said this, he could not help but shout in anger: "What's the difference between this and the violent Sui Dynasty!?"

"minister"

Upon hearing this, Dang Renhong kowtowed twice to Li Shimin and said tremblingly, "I have thought about this too, but I think that after surviving such a narrow escape, I should enjoy myself to the fullest!"

"In addition, the Fanyang Lu family, the Zhaojun Li family, and the Qinghe Cui family have been misleading us, saying that there is no eternal dynasty, only eternal aristocratic families. I also want to establish such an aristocratic family, but the court's salary is not enough, so I..."

"Your Majesty! We said nothing of the kind! He is slandering!"

Zheng Shanguo, the head of the Xingyang Zheng family, panicked and quickly defended himself, pointing at Dang Renhong and saying, "He is slandering us."

"Shut up!"

Li Shimin interrupted Zheng Shanguo angrily, then took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and calmed his emotions. He looked at Dang Renhong again and said:
"Dang Renhong and his family, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, both sons died on the battlefield. The eldest son died in the Battle of Xue Ju. We were ambushed, and Xue Ju's volley of arrows was the first to pierce Dang Renhong's eldest son!"

"He's covered in arrow shafts! There are more than a dozen!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other in surprise.

But he began to wonder why Li Shimin said this.

But then Li Shimin said in a sad tone: "Dang Renhong lay on the body of his eldest son, licked the blood off his son's face with his tongue, turned around and mounted his horse, and went to fight again!"

"Later, when we were fighting Wang Shichong, we fought for several days. Dang Renhong's youngest son led the charge, but was pierced through the body by an enemy spear. Dang Renhong held his son and brought him before me. He was already dying, but he remained silent and continued to lead his men into battle!"

"I still remember it to this day. That child was lying in my arms, saying in a broken voice that he could no longer fulfill his filial duties and asked me to take care of his father."

At this point, Li Shimin's eyes were already filled with tears, but he still held back his tears and asked the ministers: "Tell me, tell me, how should I punish his father?"

"This"

The ministers looked at each other again, but no one dared to speak.

Li Shimin looked up at the sky again and muttered to himself, "I am the Son of Heaven. I cannot kneel down to beg my subjects, but I can kneel down and beg God, right?"

"Oh God! Please spare Dang Renhong's life!"

After saying that, he knelt down with a thud.

The ministers under the Chrysanthemum Terrace were horrified.

In particular, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji rushed to the Chrysanthemum Terrace in a hurry.

But Fang Xuanling knelt down and said, "Your Majesty! Why are you doing this?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! The whole world belongs to you alone! Why do you have to torture yourself?" Changsun Wuji also knelt down.

All the ministers under the Chrysanthemum Terrace fell silent.

Even the aristocratic families implicated by Dang Renhong kept their mouths shut.

Because if Li Shimin pardoned Dang Renhong's crime, their family members would not be implicated too much.

However, just as the ministers tacitly agreed to pardon Dang Renhong and Dang Renhong was slapping himself wildly to admit his mistake, Wei Zheng's words suddenly rang out.

"A country has its own laws, and a family has its own rules. Even if you are the Son of Heaven, you cannot violate the law!"

Boom!

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was shocked.

Then, the Minister of War Du Ruhui said in a deep voice: "That's right! Dang Renhong deserves to die! The Fanyang Lu family, the Zhaojun Li family, and the Qinghe Cui family also deserve to die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, twenty-eight court officials including Prince of Hejian Li Xiaogong, Prince of Jiangxia Li Daozon, Minister of Dali Temple Dai Zhou, Duke of Lu Hou Junji, Minister of Works Duan Lun, Minister of Rites Yang Shidao, and Minister of Taichang Temple Fu Yi stood up in unison.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, please uphold the laws of the land and set things straight!"

"What!?"

Zheng Shanguo, Lu Chengqing and Li Zhen were all shocked and looked at Cui Renshi, Li Shushen and Wang Gui in unison.

The officials from other aristocratic families were also extremely shocked and stood there like wooden chickens.

They never expected that this would be the case.

Li Chengqian and Li Yuan looked at each other, the corners of their mouths slightly raised, and then they showed a smile as if their evil plan had succeeded.

Aren’t you five surnames and seven families a united group?

Now I am dividing and killing them, what will you do?

Offense and defense have changed shape!
　Please give me a monthly ticket. Please give me a monthly ticket.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)