Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

The atmosphere in the court was as heavy as the dark clouds before a storm.

Although Fang Xuanling's words were light, they hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer, and every word was like a heavy hammer striking in the silence.

He spoke extremely obscurely, but how could everyone in the court not understand the profound meaning in his words?

Fang Xuanling frowned slightly.

This matter concerns the destiny of our Great Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty's actions are really... Alas.

Many ministers around him looked worried.

Your Majesty may have your considerations, but the risk is too great.

Everyone knows that Zhang Xianhuai is loyal to Your Majesty, a loyalty that borders on blind loyalty.

In everyone's mind, without the tacit approval of His Majesty, even if Zhang Xianhuai had great courage, he would never dare to kill the entire family of the Prince of Hengshan.

This is an unspoken fact and the truth behind the undercurrents in the court.

However, the long river of history flows slowly, and history books are like a scroll that carries the glory, disgrace, rise and fall of dynasties. How can they tolerate such a stain?

The Xuanwu Gate Incident of Emperor Taizong, in which he killed his brother and imprisoned his father, has become an indelible scar in the history of the Tang Dynasty royal family.

If Your Majesty were now accused of murdering your uncle, what would future generations think of it when the annals of Tang history are opened? What shock and disappointment would that be?

Fang Xuanling knew very well that as long as His Majesty was ruthless enough to kill Zhang Xianhuai and put all the blame on him, everything might still be salvageable.

It's like grabbing the last straw on the edge of a cliff, even if the method is a bit helpless and cruel.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Tai Chi Hall seemed to drop to freezing point in an instant, so cold that people shivered.

Li Chengqian just raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Fang Xuanling indifferently. His eyes were as deep as an ancient well, making it difficult to understand.

Then, he opened his thin lips and uttered a few words: "Zhang Xianhuai is acting on my orders."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like thunderclap out of the blue, shocking everyone in the audience to the point of being dumbfounded.

A general's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you..."

Li Chengqian looked at him coldly.

The general was speechless and lowered his head.

No one had ever imagined that His Majesty would so bluntly admit this earth-shattering event in the court in front of all the civil and military officials.

Looking back, when Emperor Taizong encountered similar difficult things, he would try his best to change history and cover it up to maintain the dignity of the royal family.

But His Majesty's style of doing things is so completely different now.

The historians who were in charge of recording all stopped writing with their pens.

They were all stunned, with helplessness written all over their faces.

A historian said to the person beside him in a trembling voice: "What should we do? If you record the truth, Your Majesty will be cursed for eternity."

Another responded: "If it is not true, what is the duty of us historians?"

Li Chengqian turned his head slightly, his eyes swept across the row of stunned historians, and said calmly: "Record it truthfully, without changing a single word!" His voice was not loud, but it was filled with unquestionable majesty.

"Your Majesty...this!" A historian with white hair and beard had a terrified look on his face. He didn't even notice the pen and paper in his hand dropped. He ran to the bottom of the jade steps in a panic and knelt down with a plop.

The voice cried out loudly with tears in its voice: "Your Majesty!"

Behind him, all the civil and military officials seemed to have just woken up from their dreams and followed suit, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty!"

The shouts contained endless persuasion, and they tried to make His Majesty change this crazy decision.

In this chaos, only Mr. Qi knelt down silently, his lips tightly closed, without saying a word.

Fang Xuanling looked helpless. He slowly turned his head and looked at both sides of the court.

He was full of doubts. How could Wei Zheng not do anything about such an important matter?

If it was Li Shimin sitting on the dragon throne, Wei Zheng would have jumped out long ago and made sharp advice, and he would have been so excited that he would have spit on Li Shimin's face.

Fang Xuanling looked at Wei Zheng and whispered, "Minister Wei, why are you so silent? This is not like you."

Wei Zheng opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Fang Xuanling. "Prime Minister Fang, some things cannot be solved by advice. Your Majesty has his own difficulties."

Fang Xuanling wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.

He turned his gaze to Master Qi again, but found that he was exactly the same as Wei Zheng, both of them had an indifferent attitude.

Not only them, but also the censors who usually speak sharply and take it as their responsibility to give advice, all turned a deaf ear and dumb today, and no one stood up to criticize the emperor's behavior.

Fang Xuanling really couldn't understand why such a shocking event happened in the court. Apart from trying hard to comfort the emperor, no one stood up to speak up for justice as usual.

If Li Chengqian knew what Fang Xuanling was thinking at the moment, he would definitely tell him a truth: when you find that when you open a small window, countless people will rush out to accuse you, it is better to lift the roof. In this way, no one will dare to speak.

Because some things are far beyond the scope of what can be solved by advice. This is a decision that concerns the fate of the dynasty and the authority of the royal family.

Fang Xuanling felt a darkness before his eyes, as if he saw the future of the Tang Dynasty becoming shaky at this moment.

But he still held on. He wanted to make it clear to His Majesty. Even if His Majesty would be furious, he could not watch the Tang Dynasty go towards what he believed to be the abyss.

"Your Majesty, you are putting your officials on the spot! Your Majesty is a sage king throughout history, always ruling the world with wisdom and seeking the welfare of all people."

"If this precedent is set, atrocities will overshadow the wisdom of the wise in the history books. What a disaster that will be! Your Majesty! I beg you to retract your words! Your Majesty cannot be a tyrant!"

Fang Xuanling's voice trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of earnestness and anxiety.

Li Chengqian stared at Fang Xuanling for a long time. The Taiji Hall was so quiet that only the tense breathing of the crowd could be heard. After a long moment, Li Chengqian slowly spoke, "Prime Minister Fang, whether he is a sage or a tyrant, I don't care."

His voice was calm and firm, as if at this moment, nothing in the world could shake his determination.

"Your Majesty, how can you not care? This concerns your reputation and the reputation of the Tang Dynasty!" Fang Xuanling said with great sorrow.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly. "Reputation? If I only care about this empty reputation and let the Tang Dynasty fall into crisis, then I will be a truly incompetent ruler. Prime Minister Fang, do you understand?"

"I only care about whether the people of this world can live in peace. What I do is not for my own selfish desires, nor for the dignity of the imperial family. I know very well that if I do not act, will future rulers be left to face this more complicated situation?"

"If this continues, the power of the aristocratic families will continue to expand, like a flood or a beast, and will inevitably overthrow our Tang Dynasty. I cannot watch helplessly as the people of the Tang Dynasty suffer."

"Although the Prince of Hengshan is a member of the Li Tang royal family, he dared to disobey the imperial decree and protect the aristocratic family. He deserves to be killed!"

Li Chengqian looked at the historians again and said in a dignified tone, "Historians!"

"Here!" The historians responded in unison, with a hint of nervousness in their voices.

"Record everything that happened in the court today, without changing a single word, and record it in the annals of history."

"I am not Emperor Taizong. You historians must have integrity. From today on, you historians must record history truthfully!"

"I want future generations to see the backbone of the Tang Dynasty! Since I was founded, the Tang Dynasty has not been afraid of being recorded in history for my mistakes! If I do make a big mistake, it will be a lesson for future generations, letting them know that for the sake of the Tang Dynasty's stability, I have also made difficult choices."

"As for the fact that I killed my uncle, just record it as it is."

"Life is but a hundred years short; future generations will judge our merits and demerits."

A historian summoned his courage and said, "Your Majesty, but if you do this, future generations will look upon you as..."

Li Chengqian interrupted him, "I don't need them to understand. I only do things that are beneficial to the Tang Dynasty."