Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Hearing the question raised by Li Chengqian, Ma Zhou's heart trembled violently, and his originally calm expression became solemn.

Since the prince is confused about who will inherit the throne, it proves that he must have heard different slanders, or his position has been threatened.

Otherwise, Li Chengqian, the crown prince, would not have asked such a question.

Ma Zhou first looked at Du He in astonishment, wanting to ask what happened to the prince, but unexpectedly Du He shrugged at him helplessly.

"this..."

Ma Zhou suddenly felt a little troubled.

Because the questions raised by Li Chengqian were very sensitive, as the Imperial Censor in the court, it was not easy for him to make personal comments.

Even in previous lectures, Ma Zhou had never mentioned anything related to the crown prince's succession to the throne.

Li Chengqian saw Ma Zhou in a daze, and he said with a slightly frown.

"Ma Zhanshi, there are only three of us in Mingde Hall, and what we talked about today will not be spread out, so you can speak boldly."

"I have no other intention in asking this question. I just want to learn from their failure and take it as a warning."

"As the Chancellor of the Eastern Palace, it is normal for you to analyze the success and failure stories of succession to the throne for me, right?"

Hey!

Li Chengqian is a really unsportsmanlike guy. Ma Zhou was so scared that his face changed, but he still used moral blackmail to force him to speak.

After all, as a neutral minister, Ma Zhou only supported the eldest son to become the crown prince, and he was not a loyal aide to the Eastern Palace.

Du He knew that Ma Zhou was in a difficult situation now, but if Ma Zhou did not give Li Chengqian a reassurance today, Li Chengqian would continue to ask tomorrow even if he refused today.

So Du He also echoed and said: "Brother Ma, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right, the past mistakes are a lesson for the future."

"Just follow the historical records and briefly talk about the four regretful princes that Your Highness mentioned, and why they did not ascend to the throne in the end."

"And what we talked about today will not be known by a fourth person."

Although there are a lot of spies from all sides in the East Palace, secrets can still be kept in a small place like Mingde Hall.

Just then, several palace maids came in with fruits, cakes and tea.

After they put down their things and left, Li Chengqian gave loud orders.

"Huai Dao, close the gate and keep everyone a hundred steps away from the hall!"

"Without my order, no one is allowed to approach Mingde Hall!"

Qin Huaidao walked to the door of the hall and responded with a serious look on his face and clasped his fists.

"As ordered!"

Then Qin Huaidao closed the door himself and ordered the rest of the Eastern Palace guards and palace maids to stay away from the Mingde Palace.

He held the Qianniu Knife in his hand and patrolled around the hall.

In the main hall.

Li Chengqian asked softly, "Ma Zhanshi, can you talk now with confidence?"

When Ma Zhou saw Li Chengqian's actions, he knew that he had to say something today, so he nodded and said.

"Your Highness, let me tell you my humble opinion."

Under Li Chengqian's expectant gaze, Ma Zhou thought seriously for a moment and then said.

"Crown Prince Fusu is a benevolent and far-sighted man. He should be the best successor to the Emperor of Qin."

"But his way of governing the country was not consistent with Qin Shihuang's. He angered Qin Shihuang by repeatedly advising him to burn books and bury scholars alive, and was exiled to the border."

"Later, when Qin Shi Huang was seriously ill during his eastern tour, there was no one close to Fusu by his side, which gave Zhao Gao, Hu Hai and others the opportunity to forge an imperial edict."

"What really caused Fusu to fail was his submissive and inflexible character. Hu Hai sent two messengers to read the false imperial edict, and Fusu ignored Meng Tian's advice and hanged himself!"

After listening to Ma Zhou's analysis of Fusu, Li Chengqian nodded in approval.

He clenched his fist and said, "Prince Fusu did not keep any confidants around the First Emperor, and because of his foolish loyalty and soft character, the throne was easily taken away by the villain Hu Hai!"

"Now think about it, Fusu has the support of Meng Tian's 30 troops, so it won't be difficult for him to capture Xianyang!"

"Only those who hold military power have the capital to resist!"

If he were in Fusu's situation at that time, he would definitely not surrender, but would try his best to persuade Meng Tian and lead an army of 30 back to Xianyang to find out what was going on.

If the First Emperor really passed the throne to Hu Hai, then Hu Hai and the seriously ill Qin Shi Huang should be killed together.

"Whoo~"

Ma Zhou was frightened by Li Chengqian's bold words and broke out in a cold sweat. He could only take a long breath to calm himself down.

He knew that what Li Chengqian said was what he was thinking.

In addition, Ma Zhou knew Li Chengqian's character well, and believed that as long as this daring prince gained control of the military power, he would dare to deal with His Majesty, let alone other princes.

Du He glanced at Ma Zhou, who had an unnatural expression on his face, and then said with a pout.

"Your Highness, Brother Ma is only analyzing Prince Fusu. You cannot add your personal emotions into this analysis."

"Otherwise, our Imperial Censor Ma would not dare to continue speaking."

How could you say such things in front of Ma Zhou?

If Ma Zhou was like Yu Zhining and Kong Yingda, he would probably report to Li Shimin as soon as he walked out of the gate of the Eastern Palace.

By then, Crown Prince Li Chengqian might really be punished for this sentence.

In addition to being disadvantageous to himself, Li Chengqian's words also had a significant impact on Ma Zhou.

If Li Chengqian caused a disaster later and said in response to Li Shimin's questioning that it was Ma Zhou who taught him how to hold military power so that he could rebel, I'm afraid Ma Zhou would also suffer.

In the short history of the Tang Dynasty, which lasted only a few decades, many ministers were demoted because of their speech.

Even the attendant Liu Li was ordered to be executed by Li Shimin in the original history because of the slander and false accusation of Chu Suiliang.

Therefore, for officials in Chang'an, especially those like Ma Zhou who have no deep background but are in charge of a core department, being cautious in words and deeds is the foundation of their survival.

Li Chengqian also saw that Ma Zhou was frightened, so he quickly apologized to Ma Zhou.

"Master Ma, I just said it casually, don't take it seriously."

"You continue to speak. Gu and Du He will just be silent observers and will not express any personal opinions."

After Li Chengqian finished speaking, he turned his head to glance at Du He who was making faces, with a hint of embarrassment on his face.

Because he was used to saying these bold words to Du He, and Du He was one of the few people who dared to discuss these topics with him.

Therefore, facing Ma Zhou, whose relationship with him seemed to be getting better and better, Li Chengqian became a little too proud of himself and spoke out what was in his heart.

"it is good!"

Ma Zhou nodded slightly.

He then made a detailed analysis of the reasons for the failure of Liu Rong and Yang Yong.

Li Chengqian also did as he said. Although he felt aggrieved, he still held back and said nothing.

When Ma Zhou analyzed Crown Prince Liu Ju, Li Chengqian, who felt the same way, finally couldn't help it.

“That makes sense!”