Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

The next day.

Regular court meetings were held in Taiji Palace.

Officials who can participate in court meetings are all of rank five or above, but not all fifth-rank officials are qualified to participate in court meetings.

Like the twenty-four departments under the six ministries, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, the Langzhong of the Ministry of War, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel, etc., they are powerful fifth-rank officials, so they need to attend court every day.

However, Du He served as Shangcheng Fengyu, Shangyao Fengyu, Shangshi Fengyu and other fifth-rank officials who took care of the emperor, but they were not allowed to attend court to discuss state affairs.

In the past half month, the focus of discussion at court has been the case of rebellion by Prince Qi Li You.

Therefore, the people whom Li Shimin questioned the most were people from the three departments: the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple.

The judicial trial system in the Tang Dynasty was composed of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate.

Regarding the case of Qi Wang Li You's treason, the Dali Temple was responsible for the trial of the criminal, the Ministry of Justice reviewed the trial results, and the Censorate was responsible for supervision.

"Your Majesty, all officials suspected of the King of Qi's treason case have been tried."

"There are 18 main culprits, 63 accomplices, and 108 implicated persons."

"According to the law, the main culprit should be beheaded, the accomplice should be exiled to the frontier, and the implicated should be demoted..."

Sun Fujia, the Minister of the Dali Temple, came out to make a report and announced the results of the trial of the Prince of Qi's treason to the public.

Since Li Shimin came to power, Prince of Qi Li You was the first case of treason by a prince, which was a very bad start.

In order to prevent the other princes from having any evil intentions and following suit in rebellion, Li Shimin took ruthless measures this time.

He ordered Li You to be demoted to a commoner and then executed.

The officials who followed the rebellion also suffered a miserable end. Those who committed serious crimes were beheaded, while those who were slightly implicated were demoted.

After Sun Fujia finished talking about the case of treason, he quietly returned to his seat and sat down.

Li Shimin remained silent, and the Taiji Hall fell into silence for a short period of time.

After a while, Li Shimin spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Everyone, you have all followed me for many years and know what you can and cannot do."

"I hope that the King of Qi will rebel. This is the beginning and the end."

Li Shimin's sharp eyes kept scanning the ministers in the court, making these people feel scared and trembling.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into Li Shimin's eyes.

"Everyone, do you have anything else to report? If not, please adjourn the court." Li Shimin sounded very tired.

Li Shimin thought he was treating every prince well. He gave out fiefs to those who deserved them and also sent important officials to serve as chief historians of their palaces.

He didn't expect that his kindness to his son would be rewarded with betrayal, and as a father he was deeply tormented.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

An old man with a long beard and gray hair stood up from his seat holding a tablet.

He was Zhang Xingcheng, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the main person in charge of the Ministry's review of the case of Qi Wang's rebellion.

Although the Ministry of Justice was headed by the Minister of Justice Liu Dewei, it was his deputy, the Vice Minister of Justice, who was responsible for directing the work of the subordinates.

Inside the Taiji Hall, all officials instantly focused their attention on him.

"What's the matter?" Li Shimin asked, pinching his brows.

Zhang Xingcheng bowed respectfully and said with a serious face, "Your Majesty, when the Ministry of Justice was reviewing the trial results of the Dali Temple, it found that there were serious problems with the trial results of one prisoner."

"There is a suspected principal offender in the Qi Wang rebellion case, his name is Hegan Chengji. He also has another identity, the Qianniu Guard of the Eastern Palace!"

"Yesterday morning, the Dali Temple arrested Hegan Chengji and put him in jail. In the afternoon, the prince's consort Du He went to visit him in prison with a handwritten letter from the crown prince. The reason was that the crown prince was so angry about the betrayal of his guards that he couldn't eat, so he sent Du He to reprimand Hegan Chengji."

"According to the Dali Temple, Hegan Chengji suddenly attacked Du He for unknown reasons, and was accidentally killed by the guards Du He brought in."

Zhang Xingcheng's words were like a huge rock hitting the water, instantly detonating the calm lake surface.

Even people like Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing and others who were as steady as a rock looked up in surprise.

The case of Prince Qi's rebellion involved a huge number of people, and the whole court was in a panic. The officials thought that the case would come to an end today, but they did not expect that the case would involve the Eastern Palace again.

The rebellion of the Eastern Palace was different from that of other vassal kings. The officials involved included more than 50% of the important officials in the court.

If the prince is really suspected of treason, it will cause a huge shock to the imperial court.

"What's going on? This matter actually involves the Eastern Palace?"

"Could it be that the Eastern Palace was also involved in the Qi Wang's rebellion?"

"This matter has become a big deal..."

All the officials looked at each other, shocked in their hearts.

"Phew...thank goodness." The Minister of Personnel Hou Junji secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and a layer of sweat broke out on the palms of his hands hidden in his sleeves.

Thanks to Du He for asking everyone to cancel the action at the critical moment, otherwise he would have been the next one to be liquidated.

Hou Junji originally looked down on Du He, a second-generation kid with poor abilities and who was spoiled in his actions, but at this moment his opinion of him completely changed.

Sitting right in front of the Taiji Hall, Li Shimin's eyes widened suddenly and his body sat straight.

"Go on!"

Li Shimin's tone was as cold as winter.

It was obvious that he was filled with endless anger.

Zhang Xingcheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with a stiff face, "Your Majesty, Hegan Chengji was imprisoned in the Dali Temple and had not yet been tried, but he died because of Du He who came to visit him. I think there is a suspicion of murder to silence him!"

boom!

The extremely oppressive atmosphere in the Taiji Hall suddenly ignited and exploded.

All the officials looked around and whispered to each other for information.

At this time, a thin official in a purple robe, over fifty years old, stood up and spoke loudly.

"Your Majesty, untried prisoners are held in the Dali Temple. In principle, no one is allowed to visit them, so Du He is suspected of murder to silence them."

"I support the opinion of the Minister of Justice. Please order Du He to be arrested and tried!"

The official who was speaking was named Wei Ting. He not only served as the Minister of Taichang Temple, but also served as the head of the Prince of Wei's Palace.

"The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites are right. Du He used the excuse of going to prison to condemn criminals, but in fact it was to cover up the evidence of treason. I support the arrest of Du He." The Minister of the Ministry of Finance Fang Yiai followed closely behind.

"I second the motion. I implore Your Majesty to order the arrest of Du He!"

Chai Lingwu, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household, Cui Renshi, the Imperial Secretary, and others all responded.

Wei Ting, Fang Yiai, Chai Lingwu, Cui Renshi and others were the main supporters of Wei Wang Li Tai's camp.

Yesterday, Li Tai gathered all of them together to discuss how to use this incident as a breakthrough to deal with the Eastern Palace.

Li Shimin's face became increasingly gloomy, and his hands tightly grasped the armrests on both sides of the dragon throne.

"Your Majesty, the case has not been fully investigated yet and involves the Eastern Palace. How can we jump to conclusions?" said Ma Zhou, the Imperial Censor, standing up and holding a tablet.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Li, the Imperial Court Assistant Minister, also came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think matters involving the Eastern Palace must be treated with caution, and the situation should be investigated immediately before making a decision."

Ma Zhou and Liu Li were neutral ministers who did not take sides, and what they said was relatively fair.

Those who were speaking at the moment were officials below the third rank, such as Situ Zhangsun Wuji, Sikong Fang Xuanling, Tejin Li Jing, Shangshu You Pushe Gao Shilian and other top powerful officials, all of whom kept their mouths shut.

They hold high positions, and their every word and action can not only influence Li Shimin's judgment, but also lead a group of people astray.

Therefore, they spoke less during court meetings.

"Your Majesty, why don't we invite Du He, the Crown Prince and relevant personnel from the Dali Temple to the Taiji Hall for a confrontation in court?" Minister of Justice Liu Dewei suggested.

Sun Fuga, the Minister of Dali Temple, consulted with him and knew that this case was very difficult.

If Du He is to be investigated, this hot potato will ultimately fall on the Ministry of Justice.

It would be better to confront him in court and let all the officials judge together.

Li Shimin, who had been silent for a long time, nodded and gave an order loudly.

"An order is to be issued to summon the imperial consort Du He, the guards, and the personnel from the Dali Temple to the palace."