Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Two important ministers were seriously ill, and Yan Shigu was about to die. Li Shimin wanted to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to let Yan Shigu see his family for the last time.

Changsun Wuji also knew the current situation. His Majesty could no longer continue to lead the officials to inspect the states, so he nodded solemnly.

"Sir, obey the order!"

After saying this, Changsun Wuji instructed Li Tai, Li Zhi and the two imperial doctors to take good care of Li Shimin, and then quickly left.

Li Shimin looked at the tent not far away and whispered in a complicated tone.

"Come with me to see Lord Cen!"

Cen Wenben is only in his early 50s this year, and he promoted him to the position of Zhongshu Ling, hoping that this young and capable official could serve in the position for a few more years.

I didn’t expect that Cen Wenben, who usually seemed to be in good spirits, would fall ill due to fatigue, and his condition was very serious.

In contrast, old ministers such as Li Jing and Yang Shidao, who are over 70 years old, are still full of energy.

After everyone walked into Cen Wenben's tent, Li Shimin looked at Cen Wenben, who had difficulty even turning over, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

"Jingren, no need to get up!"

Li Shimin said something, then quickly walked over and held him down.

Cen Wenben struggled for a while, but seeing that Li Shimin would not let him stand up no matter what, he whispered in shame.

"Your Majesty, I am unfortunately ill and have ruined your joyous mood of Fengshan!"

He knew how much careful preparation His Majesty had made for this Fengshan ceremony.

Moreover, Fengshan is a great event that brings joy to the whole country. Now, because of his serious illness, he has caused His Majesty, who is already in poor health, to worry, and he is filled with deep self-blame.

Li Shimin shook his head and said, "Jingren, it's all my fault!"

"If I hadn't been so inconsiderate, you wouldn't have fallen ill from overwork."

Hearing Li Shimin's self-blame, Cen Wenben hurriedly spoke.

"Your Majesty, this is because of my weak body. How can it have anything to do with you?"

"You say that, and I feel even more guilty!"

After the imperial physician finished his treatment, Cen Wenben also asked the imperial physician about his condition and learned the reason for his illness.

In recent years, he has been overworked with state affairs. All the imperial edicts and documents on military and national affairs were written by him, and his energy has long been exhausted.

It was just that this trip to Mount Tai had caused the hidden disease in his body to be triggered prematurely.

Even if he did not participate in the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai, he would not have survived for two years.

Cen Wenben glanced at Li Zhi, Li Tai and others, then whispered to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say to you. Please ask your attendants to leave."

Li Shimin knew that Cen Wenben had something important to say, so he waved to the people behind him, signaling them to go out.

After a few breaths of silence.

Cen Wenben then said in a weak voice: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician has examined my health. Although my body seems to be fine, my energy and spirit are almost gone."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will only have one or two months left."

Just as Li Shimin was about to say something to comfort him, Cen Wenben continued.

"Your Majesty, the succession of the throne has always been a complicated matter since ancient times. Even the wisest emperor cannot guarantee that he will have clear eyes and ears when facing such a major event."

"This was true of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian."

These three were all emperors with outstanding abilities. When they were young, they were ambitious and made their countries extremely powerful.

But in their later years, they seem to have become different people.

Especially when it came to the issue of the crown prince, he did a terrible job.

Li Shimin, who was well-versed in history books, knew well that Cen Wenben listed the examples of these three emperors in order to persuade him not to treat Crown Prince Li Chengqian the same way as these people did.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Jingren, don't worry!"

"The Crown Prince's performance has won my heart, and with Du He as his capable minister, I will definitely hand over the Tang Dynasty to him."

Li Chengqian's lame leg may be completely healed now, and he is top-notch in both civil and military affairs. Why would he worry about having such a person as emperor?

Li Shimin once privately deduced that if he led a large army to conquer Goguryeo, he might not be able to defeat it now.

Apart from the two strong cities of Liaodong and Anshi, dividing the troops to garrison the cities was a big problem, which would seriously reduce the force for attacking the cities.

He was a man who attached great importance to his reputation, and it was impossible for him to dare to order the massacre of Goguryeo soldiers and civilians like the Crown Prince and Du He.

After Cen Wenben was silent for a moment, the corners of his mouth moved, and then he spoke in a low voice while gritted his teeth.

"Your Majesty, since you are determined to support the crown prince to succeed to the throne, you should not give Prince Jin any chance!"

"Your unintentional actions may foster his ambitions!"

Boom~

Cen Wenben's words were like a bolt of thunder that struck Li Shimin's heart.

Li Shimin never thought that someone would tell this story.

But now Cen Wenben not only said it, but also pointed it out very bluntly, and Li Shimin's expression became solemn.

Cen Wenben knew that he was not far from death, and he was not very afraid at this moment, so he continued to speak in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, the more you guard against the Crown Prince and support other princes to contain him, the more rebellious he will become."

"Because the Crown Prince would also be worried. He has been the Crown Prince for decades, and eventually His Majesty would make another prince the Emperor."

"The past is a lesson for the future. Your Majesty, please be cautious!"

After Cen Wenben finished speaking, he began to breathe heavily. After he had said everything that was in his mind, he did not say anything more.

Among the emperors he just mentioned, which one was not a wise and brave man when he was young?

But the more wise and brave a person is, the more suspicious he will become in his later years, and he will do many things that are completely different from what he did when he was young.

When Cen Wenben was teaching the prince in the Eastern Palace, Du He was also in attendance. Later, he and Du He discussed these issues in depth.

In fact, these words were said to him by Du He, and Cen Wenben also thought they made sense.

So he told Li Shimin all the words that he had kept in his heart for a long time when he was dying.

"Hey!"

Li Shimin, with a serious expression on his face, suddenly sighed heavily.

He held Cen Wenben's hand tightly, then comforted him with tears in his eyes.

"Jingren, you have to get well. I will discuss this issue with you after you recover."

"Master, his health is not optimistic. I have ordered us to return early tomorrow morning!"

When Cen Wenben saw that Li Shimin avoided answering this question, he already had the result in his mind.

Your Majesty did not listen to his words!

Come to think of it, His Majesty is a very conceited person. How could he be convinced by just a few words from me?

...

Luoyang Palace.

Mingtang Hall.

Li Chengqian, Du He, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang and other people in charge of supervising the country were all standing in the hall.

At this moment, their eyes were focused on the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the middle of the hall.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered us to return, and we are expected to arrive in Luoyang City in five days."

"Your Highness, please make preparations in advance. Once Your Majesty arrives in Luoyang City, all the officials involved in the regent will follow Your Majesty back to Chang'an!"