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

Chapter 249: Kill one person every ten steps and bloodbath Taiji Palace! [Seeking monthly votes]

If Cui Renshi and others had not used Li Tai, Li Shimin might not have left Li Chengqian alone.

After all, Li Shimin never imagined that the scene he feared the most would actually happen right in front of him.

Especially with Li Yuan in front of him.

What an irony.

The reason why Li Shimin was so patient and cared so much about his reputation in history was because he had to prove to the world and to Li Yuan that—

I took the throne, I killed my brothers, I imprisoned my father because I could do better.

Although the final result also proved that he did better.

But he was still afraid that his son would follow his old path.

Therefore, after Li Chengqian's rebellion failed, he did not choose his favorite Li Tai, but chose Li Zhi, because he wanted to tell everyone and future generations "don't think that the position of crown prince can be obtained through hard work."

In other words, he was warning himself and the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty that when choosing an heir, they should not choose one who ascended the throne through conspiracy or intrigue.

But now, someone is using his son to kill each other for the benefit of the family. How can he tolerate this?
Even if the final result was just a false alarm, even if Li Tai was not the mastermind, he was still very angry.

Therefore, when Li Chengqian said the words "Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back", he gave up trying to stop Li Chengqian.

After all, if we don’t put an end to this today, the hatred will continue in the future and the Li Tang royal family will never have peace.

However, just because Li Shimin gave up on stopping Li Chengqian from killing people doesn't mean his ministers will give up too.

Just as Li Chengqian ordered the killing of all the officials from the aristocratic families, Xiao Yu, the Minister of the Left, hurriedly stood up and said loudly:

"Your Highness! You can't kill them all! The Tang Dynasty still needs them. If you kill them all, who will govern this vast world?"

After saying this, he sank to his knees with a thud and kowtowed, begging, "Your Highness, please do not do this! Please put the country and people of the Tang Dynasty first!"

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

The Jinwu Guards, who had already sharpened their swords, stopped their actions in unison and looked at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, then asked solemnly, "Is the Zuo Pushe planning to disrupt the law?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please think twice! Killing them will cause chaos in the world! It will be detrimental to the Tang Dynasty!" Xiao Yu said earnestly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengqian burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Killing me!"

"This is the funniest joke I've ever heard!"

As he spoke, he restrained his laughter for a moment, then jokingly said to Xiao Yu, "Otherwise, you could be the Zuo Pushe! You really embody the meaning of pedantry, short-sightedness, and incompetence to the fullest!"

"This"

Xiao Yu blushed and hesitated to speak after hearing this.

But Li Chengqian continued, "Do you think that if the Tang Dynasty leaves them, the country will perish?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has none."

Xiao Yu hesitated for a long time and couldn't say anything.

At this moment, Qin Qiong, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stood up and said, "Your Highness, although they are indeed guilty of the death penalty, we don't need to kill them all. Moreover, what Zuo Pushe said is correct. These aristocratic families have enormous influence in the local area. If we kill them all, I'm afraid our Tang Dynasty will be filled with smoke of war!"

"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince! I, Old Cheng, am a rough man and don't understand any big principles, but I also agree with what Zuo Pushe and Qin Erge said. We really can't kill them all!" Cheng Yaojin echoed.

Yuchi Gong on the side glanced at him, then glanced at Li Yuan on the high platform, hesitated slightly, and finally stood up, saying sincerely:
"Your Highness, Old Cheng and I are not afraid of fighting. However, we still have to rely on them to govern the country. I also know that you have many capable people around you, such as Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben, Xue Rengui, Su Dingfang, these civil officials and military generals, but it is still too few, really too few. Please think twice, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, the twenty-eight ministers who had originally supported Li Chengqian, as well as officials from Li Shimin's faction, all stood up and said in unison, "Your Highness, please reconsider!"

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian snorted, then turned to look at Cui Renshi and the others, and said with a sigh, "It seems that I want to kill your whole family, but there is still a lot of resistance!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Renshi couldn't help but sneer: "Li Chengqian, you don't think you've won, do you? You think that by killing us, you can complete your unrealistic plan? I tell you, don't dream!"

"Since ancient times, you are not the only one who has wanted to affect the interests of the aristocratic families. But the result is always failure!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Xiao Yu's officials and said with a smile, "Do you think that if you arrest and kill all the members of our family, you, Li Tang, can rest easy? Ask their wives, children, and daughters-in-law at home to see if they are of our family's bloodline?"

"Hahaha! That's hilarious! Our family has been operating for hundreds of years, and our descendants, relatives, and friends are spread across more than 370 states in the Tang Dynasty. Even in foreign countries, there are members of our family. You don't think we only have that many people, do you?"

Li Zhen also laughed and said contemptuously: "If you have the guts, find them and kill them! Let's see which one kills faster, you or the Tang Dynasty will fall into chaos faster!"

It is obvious that the reason they say this is because they know that they are at a dead end and have completely given up pretending.

And the more they exaggerate the influence of their family, the more concerns Li Chengqian will have.

At that time, even if Li Chengqian really wanted to kill all the members of their family, he would encounter greater resistance.

"That's right! If you kill all of our noble families, who will take the imperial examinations? Who will serve as an official in your Tang Dynasty? Do you still count on those peasants?"

Zheng Shanguo also smiled and stroked his beard and said, "I think the prince doesn't even know what a famous family is?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the officials from other aristocratic families no longer felt the fear and terror they had before.

Instead, they all looked at Li Chengqian as if he were a joke.

Of course, not everyone is as desperate as them. There are still many people who still hold on to a glimmer of hope for survival.

The moment Zheng Shanguo finished speaking, they all stood up and retorted:

"Shut up, all of you! You're a bunch of traitors! You deserve to die!"

"Yes! We are innocent! It's all your fault! You deserve to die!"

"Your Highness, we are innocent! Please let us go! We promise to reduce the number of slaves in our family! We also promise not to marry into their alliances, as long as you..."

"That's enough! You bunch of bastards!"

Before they could finish, Pei Xuan's furious shouts echoed from the crowd. Then, he turned and saluted Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Highness, I request that some of the most heinous criminals be executed in the palace!"

"Prelude!"

Li Chengqian calmly raised his hand and gestured.

Soon, Pei Xuan brought dozens of prisoners to the center of Taiji Palace Square.

They all had iron chains on their hands and shackles on their feet, wore brocade robes, had messy hair, and judging from their skin, they were all noble sons from large families.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, save me!"

A young man with a slender figure and delicate features cried out in tears when he saw an official he knew among the civil and military officials.

The official, attracted by his shout, quickly looked in the direction of the sound. The moment he saw the young man, his pupils suddenly shrank and he rushed forward: "Junjie! Junjie, why are you here!?"

"Grandpa! I'm so scared! I want to go home!!"

The young man was about to rush forward to engage the official, but was quickly stopped by the nearby Jinwu Guards.

Similar situations occurred one after another around here.

"Uncle! I'm innocent! Please save me! I don't want to die!"

"Dad! Mom was killed by them! You must avenge Mom!"

"Father-in-law! Why, why?!"

"."

Hearing the shouts, cries for help, and angry voices, everyone around looked at each other in confusion.

When Wang Gui saw his youngest son among the nobles, he was completely shocked and quickly stood up and said:

"Your Highness, the disaster will not affect my family. Even if we have committed heinous crimes, it has nothing to do with our families! They are all innocent!"

As he spoke, he knelt down before Li Shimin with a thud, tears streaming down his face, "Your Majesty! I have followed you for decades. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard! You entrusted His Royal Highness the King of Yue to me for instruction, but I failed to teach him well and even implicated His Royal Highness. I deserve death!"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to spare my family, they are all innocent!"

"This"

When Li Shimin heard Wang Gui's words, he couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation.

If Cui Renshi and others deserved to die, then Wang Gui was absolutely to blame, because Li Shimin entrusted Li Tai to Wang Gui for teaching, and Wang Gui really let him down.

But then again, when Li Yuan was in power, Wang Gui also helped him secretly.

Even the news that Li Jiancheng held a banquet in the Eastern Palace and Li Yuanji wanted to poison him was revealed to him by Wang Gui.

So Li Shimin wanted to repay this kindness in his heart.

But after experiencing the "Dang Renhong Case", even if he wanted to use personal interests to interfere with public interests, he might be opposed by Wei Zheng and others.

What's more, he has already handed over power to Li Chengqian. If he interferes with Li Chengqian's decision at this time, the conflict between father and son will probably become deeper and deeper.

Therefore, Li Shimin had to hesitate about Wang Gui's request.

But just when Li Shimin was hesitating, Zhangsun Wuji slowly walked out, looked at Li Chengqian with a complicated expression and said, "Prince, do you still recognize me as your uncle?"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, then looked at Zhangsun Wuji with some confusion: "Uncle, what do you mean by this? You will always be Chengqian's most beloved and closest uncle. How can there be any reason to deny or not acknowledge you?"

"Haha, I'm very pleased that you can say that."

Changsun Wuji smiled with satisfaction, then restrained his smile and changed the subject, saying, "However, your uncle has no choice but to stand up and advise you not to go down such a dead end!"

"From what my uncle said, it seems that he also thinks that I'm killing innocent people?" Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

"This"

Zhang Sun Wuji was embarrassed for a moment, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Uncle didn't mean that. Uncle also believes that they are all extremely evil people."

"Shouldn't that person who committed such a heinous crime deserve to die?"

"Those who have committed heinous crimes naturally deserve death, but have you ever considered that public opinion is so powerful? Why have the Five Surnames and Seven Families been able to survive for hundreds of years? Because they are no longer just one family. Their local reputation, prestige, wealth, and status far exceed the influence of the imperial court. This creates a fact that the imperial court cannot ignore. If they want to maintain stability in the world, they have no choice but to rule the world together with them."

Having said that, he turned his head and glanced at Li Shimin, and continued: "Don't you understand your father yet? Some things don't need to be rushed, they should be done slowly!"

"Oh, I see. My uncle wants me, his nephew, to be his grandson first and then his father!"

Li Chengqian nodded as if he understood something.

Li Yuan, who was standing by, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahaha! My grandson is going to be a father!"

"."

Changsun Wuji was speechless and his face turned dark.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I appreciate your kindness, uncle. However, could you please listen to their crimes and see why your nephew did this?"

"But."

"Okay! It's decided!"

Before Changsun Wuji could finish his words, Li Chengqian decisively interrupted him with a wave of his hand. He then addressed Pei Xuan, "Pei Xuan, reveal their crimes one by one! I want to expose the true nature of these so-called aristocratic families!"

"promise!"

Pei Xuan agreed and immediately gave the order behind him: "Musketeers, listen up! First row, first column, prepare to fire! Target the prisoners!"

Wow!
As soon as Pei Xuan finished speaking, those red-armored guards who had not attracted any attention before suddenly stopped and took off the guns on their shoulders in unison. Then they trotted to the shooting position, raised their hands, raised their guns, and aimed. The process was so smooth that everyone present was stunned.

Even Li Shimin couldn't help but come to the Chrysanthemum Terrace and look at the red-armored guards shoulder to shoulder with Li Yuan.

But Li Shimin asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Could it be that this army is also the army of our Tang Dynasty?"

"Yes! This is one of the six commanders of the Chengqian Eastern Palace's Fire Spear Guard!"

Li Yuan smiled and glanced at Li Shimin, then raised his eyebrows proudly and said, "How's it going? Not bad, right? The best is yet to come!"

"Oh?"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, remaining silent. Pei Xuan, however, was holding a small notebook and reading aloud as he walked: "Cui Mo, a direct descendant of the Cui family of Boling, abducted women from the people and used them as 'human screens.' In the cold winter, he made a hundred naked women sit around him to block the wind. Then, catching a cold and suffering from a headache, he angrily killed dozens of the women who were shielding him from the wind."

"No! I didn't! They died of illness! I didn't kill them!"

Upon hearing Pei Xuan's recitation, a nobleman among the prisoners quickly spoke up to defend himself.

Pei Xuan didn't even look at him, but turned to look at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian said nothing, raised his hand and said one word: "Kill!"

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, and the young man who was still trying to defend himself suddenly had his scalp exploded and his brains splattered everywhere.

"what!!"

Some timid palace maids saw this scene and couldn't help but scream.

The pupils of all the civil and military officials around him shrank sharply in disbelief.

They never imagined that there was such a method of killing in the world.

What kind of weapon is this?
Why is it so amazing! ?
However, just as they were in a state of confusion, Pei Xuan's voice rang out again: "Wang Lie, the second son of the Taiyuan Wang family's head, was drinking when a passing carriage hit him. Furious, he beat the coachman to death in the street and ordered his followers to smash the coachman's limbs with iron bones, then put him in a cloth bag and toss him into the river."

"Impossible! Impossible, Your Highness! My son is very filial, it's impossible for him to do that."

"kill!"

Before Wang Gui could finish his words, Li Chengqian gave the order without saying a word.

"boom!"

There was another gunshot.

Wang Gui's youngest son instantly fell in a pool of blood, and he was completely stunned.

Pei Xuan continued walking, saying, "The head of the Zhaojun Li family branch, because he loved listening to music, ordered his craftsmen to peel human skin and make human skin drums, which he played every night."

"The Li family of Liuzhou takes pleasure in shooting poor people. Every day they practice their archery with poor people. To date, they have killed more than sixty poor people."

"A member of the Pei clan in Hedong built the Guixiang Pavilion. They washed their maids, smeared them with osmanthus honey, and tied them to copper pillars, where they were devoured by insects. They called it 'people listening to sounds through candlelight.' The victims would scream for three days before dying."

"Zheng family of Xingyang."

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

As Li Chengqian continued to give orders, Pei Xuan almost maintained the frequency of killing one person every ten steps.

Everyone, including Changsun Wuji, was terrified and trembling when they saw this scene. They were speechless for a while.

Even the ministers who had stood up to stop Li Chengqian before now had grim expressions, said nothing, and clenched their fists.

Only after all the dozens of prisoners were killed did Li Chengqian sigh in relief, look towards them, and ask calmly, "My Lords, what do you think?"

"This"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one stood up to speak.

But then Li Chengqian calmly said, "What you saw was only a small part. There are tens of thousands more out there! You keep saying they are innocent. I ask you, are they innocent? Which of them shouldn't be killed?"

"But Prince, not all of these tens of thousands of people are extremely evil!" Fang Xuanling couldn't help but interject.

Li Chengqian sneered, then nodded and said, "The Minister of the Central Secretariat is right. Not every one of these tens of thousands of people is a heinous criminal."

"but."

Then he changed the subject and continued, "Why are those who have committed heinous crimes able to go unpunished? Why are they able to commit evil with impunity?"

"Because they are born superior to others, they don't care about the sufferings of the world at all!"

"Because their families are intermarried, they can protect each other!"

"Because they protect each other, they can ignore the laws of the court and monopolize the court officials!"

"Because they are not the Li of Li Tang, yet they are superior to the Li of Li Tang!"

"because!"

He paused, then glanced at everyone present, including Fang Xuanling, and said in a deep voice, "Because you, for the sake of the so-called country, have repeatedly compromised with them, because they are a prominent family!"

When Li Shimin heard this, his expression became extremely complicated. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopped.

Li Yuan, who was standing aside, looked at his adorable grandson with great admiration, his eyes shining.

But Li Chengqian did not look at them. Instead, he walked down the stairs step by step with the long sword in his hand.

"So, what is a prominent family?"

"For hundreds of years, they have used family tree to strangle the backbones of the poor, used land deeds to squeeze the blood out of the common people, and used their lingering survival and treason to tell you that there are no eternal dynasties, only eternal aristocratic families!"

After saying this, he raised his knife and pointed around, then spoke in a resounding voice, "What do you see in the cracks of the bluestone slabs of these palaces? I tell you, it's all written in blood, written by Sui Dynasty widows who bit off their tongues and orphans who gouged out their eyes, and then splashed onto the jade seal!"

"And you guys are still trying to get close to them, thinking they have inherited poetry and literature from their family and have noble morals. What a joke!"

"Little did they know they had built the ancestral hall on a mass grave and were eating human flesh wrapped in the Book of Rites!"

Upon hearing this, all the court officials who had married into aristocratic families, including Wei Zheng, lowered their heads in shame.

Although Li Chengqian did not produce any evidence, after experiencing what happened just now, they found themselves becoming more and more disenchanted with aristocratic families.

However, just as Li Chengqian was about to continue speaking, Cui Renshi and others could no longer sit still and started to retort Li Chengqian frantically.

"How dare you, a brat, slander our noble family! You, the Li Tang, are nothing more than a lowly clan that rose from traitors and rebels! What gives you the right to speak of us like this?!"

"Yes! Your father killed his brother and imprisoned his father. This is treasonous and against human ethics. And yet he has the nerve to criticize us! It's a joke!"

"That's right! History will record our family's fame for eternity, while your beastly dynasty will be despised by the world!"

"Hahaha!"

Hearing these retorts, Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh out loud, then jokingly sighed, "It's true that when a man is about to die, his words are stupid!"

"You don't think your so-called connections will last forever, do you? Or that your reputation will be passed down forever?"

"this!"

When Cui Renshi and others heard this, their hearts skipped a beat.

But then Li Chengqian smiled and said, "To tell you the truth, I never thought of killing everyone in your family. I only need to expose your crimes to the public, and you will be finished. No one will admit to being a member of your family, and no one will praise the good reputation you have built for hundreds of years!"

"You, what on earth are you going to do?"

"doing what?"

Li Chengqian sneered, then stopped and asked loudly, "Where is Liu Rengui?"

"Wei Chen is here!"

"I command you! Establish a list of infamy throughout the country. Inscribe the crimes of these criminals on stone tablets. According to their family tree, erect kneeling stone statues of their ancestors. Let the world spit on them. This will serve as a warning to future generations for not educating them properly!"

"What!?"

When Cui Renshi and others heard this order, they were completely stunned.

Other officials from prominent families were so shocked that their jaws dropped to the ground.

What is killing people and destroying their hearts!
This is murder and heart-breaking!

They don't even let their ancestors go. It's even crueler than digging up people's ancestral graves!
However, before they could recover from Li Chengqian's order, Li Chengqian issued a new order.

But he then ordered, "Where is Cen Wenben?"

"Chen is here!"

"I command you! From tomorrow on, newspapers across the country must print without restriction the crimes of all these traitors, including those committed by their clansmen. This must be detailed, and preferably written into a book and biography. This information should be disseminated every ten days by newspaper readers everywhere. Whether it's the city dwellers, the rural villagers, or even the peddlers and hawkers, everyone must know of their abominable deeds!"

"puff--"

When these words were spoken, an official from a prominent family was so angry that he vomited blood and almost fainted.

poison!
Too poisonous!
This is simply pushing their family into an abyss of no return.

"You brat! I'm going to fight you!"

An official from an aristocratic family could no longer tolerate Li Chengqian's tactics and wanted to rush up to fight him to the death, but the Jinwu Guards beside him would not tolerate him and chopped him to the ground with one sword.

In an instant, blood flowed all over the ground, shining brightly crimson in the moonlight.

The ministers around him saw this and their eyelids twitched wildly.

But Li Chengqian's order was still not finished.

He just continued, "Where's Ma Zhou?!"

"exist!"

"I command you! Starting tomorrow, all the houses and ancestral halls of the aristocratic families whose nine clans have been exterminated will be demolished and returned to the local people for their cultivation. At the same time, the court will subsidize the people to build new houses and erase all traces of the aristocratic families' existence!"

"Also, the historians present must also record today's events in detail. I am not killing innocent people indiscriminately. They murdered the Crown Prince, a heinous crime. Their family members have committed countless evil deeds, too numerous to list! Remember everything!"

"Ah!! Li Chengqian!! You will die a horrible death!"

After hearing these three orders, Cui Renshi and others broke through the defenses directly.

Because according to Li Chengqian's plan, no matter how many people there are in their family, it will be useless. After more than ten years, who will remember them? Who will dare to admit that they are a member of their family?

It will be infamous for thousands of years!

I'm afraid I don't even dare to mention their family.
"Oh, I don't know whether I will die a good death, but you will definitely not die a good death!"

Li Chengqian sneered disdainfully, then raised his hand and threw away the long sword in his hand.

There was a "clang" sound.

Knife fall!
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa -"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa -"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa -"

Heads are rolling!

Most of the officials from the aristocratic families in the imperial court were slaughtered in just a few breaths by the Jinwu Guards who were guarding them.

The chrysanthemums throughout the Taiji Palace were dyed red with blood.

All the living people present turned pale and trembled after experiencing this scene.

They could never have imagined in their dreams that the eleven-year-old Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty could be so cruel and ruthless.

However, the killing spree was far from over.

Li Chengqian, with his back to the sea of ​​corpses and blood, looked at the envoys from the twenty-nine nations, as well as the Tuyuhun, Goguryeo, Japan, Western Turks, and others like a great devil. He showed his two rows of snow-white teeth and said with a smile, "Did you see everything?"

“Yikes!!!”

Just with this one sentence, all the envoys felt a chill running from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.

Damn it!
No way! This killer won't let us go too, right?

What a sin! We shouldn't have come to this damn Double Ninth Festival banquet!

terrible!

The prince of the Tang Dynasty was so scary!!!

(End of this chapter)