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

Chapter 42: Clearing the Court? No! It's treason! [Read more]

what?
When Cen Wenben heard this, his mind buzzed.

I mean I want to help you reinstate the crown prince.

But I didn’t say so fast!

No wonder this prince became the "shortest prince in history"; his thinking is really different from that of normal people.
I think His Majesty and all the civil and military officials in the court were as at a loss as I am now when they heard him requesting the dethronement of the crown prince.

However, I can't let him do it again.

"Your Highness, are you still sleepy? Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

Cen Wenben asked with an embarrassed look on his face.

Then Li Chengqian came over, patted his arm, and said earnestly:

"Don't be too stressed. You should still have half a day. Prepare well for joining the Eastern Palace. You'll have a lot to do by then. I won't treat you unfairly. As for that plan you mentioned earlier about becoming famous, just go ahead and do it!"

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben glanced at Li Chengqian's forehead.

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian smiled. "I don't have a fever. I'm doing fine now. There are some things I can't say, but you just have to trust me. Restoring the crown prince is just the beginning. There's still a long way to go. When the time comes, we can rule the world together as monarch and minister. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"This"

Cen Wenben was so upset that he didn't know what to say for a moment.

However, since Li Chengqian is so confident, he must be somewhat sure of it.

After a brief silence, Cen Wenben immediately bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "I am willing to serve Your Highness at my utmost."

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian flicked his sleeves and said, "Let's go! It's already daybreak!"

With that, the two of them walked out of the house together.

At the same time, Taiji Palace, Taiji Hall.

Li Shimin summoned all officials above the fifth rank in the capital, as well as all the kings, to the Taiji Hall overnight.

At this moment, Li Shimin was wearing a dragon robe and a flat crown on his head. He sat on the emperor's throne with a comfortable expression and glanced at everyone in the hall.

Although some officials and kings still don't know what happened, the oppressive atmosphere in the palace still makes them silent.

Li Shimin shook the sleeves of his dragon robe and said calmly, "Everyone, I called you here so early. Haven't you had breakfast yet?"

"This"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

How could they have the mind to eat breakfast now? They were all dragged out of their beds and taken to Taiji Hall by the imperial guards. They were scared to death.

You know, the same situation happened just a year ago.

That day, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and forced Li Yuan to make him the crown prince.

The day the crown prince was enthroned was exactly the same as the current situation.

Could it be that something big happened in the court again?

Thinking of this, everyone held their breath and waited for Li Shimin to continue speaking.

But then Li Shimin continued, "According to the rules for conferring a title on a king, breakfast must include music. I'll skip it here because the atmosphere doesn't suit it!"

After saying this, he waved his hand and immediately a palace servant brought breakfast for everyone.

Li Shimin himself began to enjoy his breakfast as if nothing had happened.

It felt like everything was under his control.

This made the kings who knew the details feel nervous.

In fact, before Li Xiaochang planned to become a villain, he sent someone to secretly inform them and asked them to support him.

Although they did not express their opinions, they still hoped that Li Xiaochang would make such a fuss.

After all, reducing the number of kings would also be detrimental to their interests.

However, they are different from Li Xiaochang. They do not have military power and can only choose to take sides when the general trend changes.

And just when they were getting nervous, a report suddenly came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, King Yi'an Li Xiaochang has led his troops to attack Chang'an, and is now ten miles away from Chang'an. Duke Wu is leading his troops to stop him!" Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

Chaos, absolute chaos, the situation was out of control.

Some people were enlightened and their thoughts became clear.

Some people were so angry that their faces turned red and they started cursing wildly.

Some people sit upright, full of anticipation.

Li Shimin observed everyone's behavior, a slight smile appeared on his lips, and then he asked calmly, "Why did Prince Yi'an send troops to attack Chang'an?"

"Your Majesty, Prince Yi'an is very dissatisfied with the reduction of titles granted to kings, and harbors resentment towards Changsun Wuji who advocated the reduction. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to purge the court and execute Changsun Wuji!" Wei Ting, the chief physician, answered loudly.

"Ah!"

Li Shimin chuckled, then looked around at everyone and said, "It seems that our Prince Yi'an is still a loyal and righteous man!"

"This"

The whole audience sighed.

It seemed that no one understood what Li Shimin meant.

But Li Shimin took a leisurely sip of his soup before saying with a faint smile, "Since I ascended the throne, I have opened the way for people to express their opinions. Any loyal and righteous person can speak freely."

"Reducing the number of kings is the national policy I advocate. How did it become Chengsun Wuji's idea?"

Having said this, he immediately put away the smile on his face and said calmly and majestically, "Could it be that Prince Yi'an is raising troops in the capital not to attack Zhangsun Wuji, but to attack me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the kings trembled.

A timid prince quickly explained, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. How dare Prince Yi'an come after you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Perhaps it's a misunderstanding!" another king echoed.

Although they had already made up their minds that as long as Li Xiaochang succeeded, they would choose to support Li Xiaochang.

However, there is a premise here.

That means Li Xiaochang was not plotting a rebellion.

Otherwise, even if Li Xiaochang succeeded, they would not dare to support Li Xiaochang.

Li Xiaochang also repeatedly assured them that he was only trying to purge the emperor's side and was not plotting a rebellion.

Now, His Majesty Li Er openly said that Li Xiaochang was coming for him. Isn't this a prejudgment of Li Xiaochang's character? Naturally, they don't want to see this happen!
But when Li Shimin heard their words, he sneered: "Prince Yi'an distributed leaflets in Chang'an, stirred up public opinion, and even mobilized troops in the capital. Is this also a misunderstanding?"

"This"

The kings who spoke were suddenly speechless.

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling again and said solemnly, "Minister of the Central Secretariat!"

"exist!"

"What does this mean?"

"rebellion!"

Fang Xuanling looked around and gave the answer directly.

Li Shimin looked at Pei Ji again without warning: "Pei Sikong, what do you think?"

"what?"

Pei Ji was watching his nose and his heart at this moment, when he suddenly heard Li Shimin's question and was startled. He could not help but stammer, "Plot, plot is of course treason!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed, "I was originally supposed to stand on the side of the court when I was made a king, but I am very disappointed to see him rebelling against the emperor!"

As he spoke, his eyes became extremely sharp as he scanned the king in the hall: "Treason, no matter if it's a misunderstanding or a title, if you take action, it's treason!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent.

"Come here! Order the Duke of Wu to arrest Prince Yi'an and discuss the matter in Taiji Hall! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

After Li Shimin became emperor, he still did not change his military style and was full of murderous intent.

The kings in the hall were so frightened that they trembled with fear.

(End of this chapter)