Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Changan.

"What did you say?!"

Suddenly, a loud roar rang out in the Ganlu Hall of Emperor Zhenguan.

This caused the guards, eunuchs, and palace maids standing guard outside the palace to shudder involuntarily.

Fan Qi trembled violently, knelt on the ground, and pressed his head firmly to the floor.

"Your Majesty, that's what His Highness the Crown Prince said, it's absolutely true, I would rather die than tell a single lie!"

"I want you to repeat what you just said to me! Say it!"

Li Shimin clenched his fists, his face showing a mixture of anger and shock.

This caused all the eunuchs and palace maids in the entire Ganlu Palace to kneel on the ground, silent as cicadas in winter.

Fan Qi stammered, "Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince said that you should just stay in Chang'an and be the emperor. The idea of ​​personally leading an expedition is unrealistic... Please don't bring it up again, Your Majesty... His Highness the Crown Prince has also increased your monthly salary from 150,000 strings of cash to 300,000 strings..."

"Do I need his little bit of money?! I have plenty of money!!!"

Li Shimin was furious.

He paced angrily back and forth in the hall.

Waving a stack of silver notes from Taiyuan Prefecture in his hand, his once handsome face was now flushed red, like a bright red sun.

"What is this! This unfilial son! What is he trying to do! Is he trying to drive me to my death?!"

"what?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he thought of the gift list that Fan Qi had just presented, which came from his treacherous prince in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Those pills were practically food; they were said to be "Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pills" and "Bezoar Clearing Pills," developed by Sun Simiao and others at the Royal Medical Academy, and were said to have calming and heat-clearing effects.

Li Shimin's chest heaved even more violently.

"You unfilial son! You truly are an unfilial son! You have gone back on your word! I have lived a life of integrity and uprightness, how could I have such a faithless and rebellious son!?"

"He wants to govern the country, he wants to be a ruler for all ages, so I'll give him the throne and let him sit on it. Why is he still unhappy? Why should he be unhappy!"

"If he wasn't interested in this position, why did he start the rebellion in the first place?!"

"what?!"

When Fang Yi'ai, Du Ruhui, and Gao Shilian received Li Shimin's summons, they arrived outside the Ganlu Hall.

When I heard the impotent rage coming from inside.

They looked at each other helplessly.

Who else in the entire Tang Dynasty could possibly make His Majesty the Emperor, who had finally quieted down and been governing for several months, so furious? Besides His Highness the Crown Prince.

"Sigh..." The three of them sighed silently.

After announcing his arrival, he stepped into the hall.

They had just entered, and the three of them hadn't even had a chance to greet each other.

Li Shimin then angrily displayed a stack of silver notes in his hand.

"Xuanling, Keming, you've finally arrived! Look at this rebellious son! Look at my rebellious son! He's gone too far! He actually tried to humiliate me with money! This is outrageous! There's no justice in this world!"

"I'm so angry!"

What logic in the world can explain the current relationships within the Tang Dynasty's royal family...?

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui both coughed lightly.

As if they had rehearsed beforehand, they bowed to Li Shimin in perfect unison, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Li Shimin, however, became even more furious.

"I just don't understand! Doesn't he love governing the country so much? I'm giving him the throne, why doesn't he accept it? Do I have to ask him three times?! Such a rebellious crown prince, if he were in the previous dynasty, no! In any dynasty throughout history, he would not have a good death!"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui bowed again, saying, "Your Majesty is benevolent!"

"I, the dignified General of the Heavenly Strategy, have been fighting on the battlefield since I was a teenager, and have risen step by step to where I am today. Even if I am not as talented as that rebellious son, do you think I, as his father and his ruler, would allow you to be humiliated and bullied like this by him?!"

Where is justice? Where is fairness?

"It was clearly agreed beforehand that I would personally lead the army into battle in the future. Now, they're not even bothering to keep their promise! Hahaha! What a fine way to tell me to sit obediently on the throne... a complete breach of trust!!!"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui bowed again, saying, "Your Majesty, please accept our condolences!"

Li Shimin: "......."

"Don't you two have anything else to say?" Li Shimin stared intently at Fang Xuanling and Fang Xuanling, who stood like wooden stakes, his voice full of dissatisfaction.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui both lowered their heads, avoiding the emperor's gaze, and bowed again, saying, "Your Majesty, please consider the well-being of the nation and the greater good!"

"Very well, very well, what a fine example of considering the bigger picture! Why don't you let my rebellious son think about the bigger picture!?"

Li Shimin suddenly turned his head.

Her eyes, filled with grievance and sorrow, were fixed on the only person present who was sitting in a seat.

“Uncle Yue, don’t you want Chengqian to inherit the throne? He is so outstanding now, and even ten emperors wouldn’t be his match in governing the country.”

"Don't you want to see Chengqian wearing a dragon robe, sitting on that throne, and ruling the world?"

Gao Shilian's old face showed a hint of embarrassment.

He thought about it!

The problem is, even if the crown prince were his maternal grandfather, his words wouldn't be of much use.

That child is very opinionated; once he makes a decision, there's probably no one in the world who can make him give it up.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, this old minister believes that our Great Tang Dynasty is currently enjoying a golden opportunity for national prosperity and the development of the people. We must not engage in reckless military campaigns..."

Li Shimin's eyes widened.

The incredulous and heartbroken look in her eyes made Gao Shilian, the elder, even more embarrassed.

"I am a warmonger?! Uncle-in-law, you say I am a warmonger?!"

Li Shimin's angry questioning now seemed to carry a hint of brokenness.

His eyes were red as he pointed towards Taiyuan Prefecture outside the palace.

"That rebellious son still has 20,000 elite troops stationed in the two cities of the Tuyuhun concession, and more than 30,000 Tuyuhun auxiliary troops are being trained day and night!"

"In order to target Tibet, they even sent troops all the way to that damned Mud Kingdom!"

"My father, the emperor, is still rampaging through the Western Regions, conquering cities and seizing territories everywhere. His army of 100,000, including the surrendered vassal troops from the Western Regions, now numbers close to 200,000!"

"Even my beloved generals Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde, and even my brother-in-law Chai Shao, have become generals under that rebellious son and marched all the way to Beihai!"

"I merely said I would personally lead the army into battle; how am I being a warmonger?!"

"what?!"

Li Shimin tilted his head back, not letting tears flow from his eyes in front of his ministers.

That was his last act of defiance.

However, at this moment, amidst the angry roar, there was already a hint of sobbing in his voice.

"It was a promise! It was clearly a promise that the rebellious son made to me! I would let him oversee the country in Chang'an, and after things stabilized there, he would return to inherit the throne, and then I would go on an eastern expedition against Goguryeo..."

"That rebellious son of his has even sent the third and sixth sons; he's clearly going back on his word! He's clearly trying to eliminate any possibility of me personally leading the expedition!"

"I don't understand!"

"Such a breach of faith and fickleness has happened to the crown prince, and you, his ministers, actually expect me to be magnanimous and to consider the bigger picture?!"

"On what grounds! I will personally lead the expedition! I will conquer Goguryeo in the east! No one can stop me!"

The more Li Shimin spoke, the more aggrieved and angry he became.

Suddenly, he swung his hand and threw the 300,000 guan silver notes at Fan Qi.

"Go! Send his filthy money back to me! Also, take another million strings of cash from my private treasury! Is he really the only one with money to pay my salary?!"

"Let him return immediately to assume the throne! I will personally lead the expedition, and I will provide him with a salary from now on!"

"One million strings of cash a month!!!"

Everyone was helpless.

His Majesty the Emperor was clearly enraged.

A million strings of cash a month? No wonder you can't come up with that...

Li Shimin, however, refused to give up. Like an angry tiger, he paced back and forth in the hall several times, then suddenly seemed to have thought of something.

He then pointed to Fang Yi'ai and Du Ruhui, who were acting as wooden figures to the side, and gave the order.

"Immediately draft an edict for me: from among the Wei family relatives, choose the oldest and most physically unable to walk, and exile him to Lingnan! His salary will be five times the normal amount!"

Before Fang Xuanling and the other man could receive their orders, they loudly reprimanded Fan Qi, who had just gotten up from the ground.

"Go tell that old bastard Wei Zheng that if he's comfortable living in Taiyuan, let him stay there to retire! As for his relatives, I will send them all to Lingnan without exception!"

At a time when everyone in the entire hall was holding their breath.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

Li Junxian, the commander of the Hundred Cavalry Division, looked anxious.

"Your Majesty, something has happened! Wei Zheng's advice was rejected, and he offended His Highness the Crown Prince... He has been exiled by His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"what?!"

This startled everyone in the entire Ganlu Hall.

Even Li Shimin, who was in a fit of rage, became somewhat sober and calm at this moment.

"What do you mean? Exile? Where was Wei Zheng exiled to?"

Li Junxian hurriedly handed several prepared reports to Li Shimin.

When Li Shimin saw the words "to be exiled to the harsh and remote North Sea," he was so shocked that his mouth dropped open.

"That unfilial son, did he really exile Wei Zheng?!"

Li Junxian looked troubled: "Your Majesty, the Hundred Cavalry Division would not lie. I have already inquired, and the captain who rushed back on horseback reported that Wei Zheng not only offended Your Highness, but also smashed cups and banged on pillars in the Shougong Hall, which greatly angered Your Highness."

"Order him directly to be thrown into the Imperial Prison of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. At most, he will be escorted to the North Sea region within a month..."

"Hiss!!!" Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, both filled with shock.

"Your Majesty... Wei Zheng is probably in real trouble this time! Your Highness has always disliked Wei Zheng. If he is exiled to a harsh and desolate place like Beihai, Wei Zheng's life may be in danger!"

Fang Xuanling hurriedly said.

Li Shimin was still in a state of mental blankness when his personal eunuch He Ding rushed over.

"Your Majesty, Wei Zheng's wife, along with his relatives and brothers, are currently kneeling and wailing at the palace gates... attracting a large crowd of onlookers!"

Li Shimin: "......"