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

"In today's Tang Dynasty, there is no longer any place for aristocratic families to hide, let alone for traitors like the Cui, Lu, and Li families..."

Li Chengqian's words in the Taiji Hall completely extinguished any remaining glimmer of hope in Lu Zhaojing and the others' hearts.

However, neither Emperor Li Shimin, who was also present, nor the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin, who were standing to the side, expressed any objection.

The Tang Dynasty of today was forged by the Li Tang imperial family, who braved wind and snow, gritted their teeth and bore the infamy and accusations, overcoming all obstacles. The Tang Dynasty can bring benefits to the hardworking people and the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

But those aristocratic families, crushed under the wheels of history, are absolutely not allowed to be!

Li Chengqian casually tossed the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard aside.

After a moment's hesitation, he suddenly gave instructions to Wang De, who was standing to the side.

"Summon Wang Qingyun, the Prefect of Bingzhou, to Chang'an to see me!"

The latter immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Li Tai's eyes lit up: "Is Your Majesty planning to let them fight like dogs?"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes speechlessly: "What do you mean, 'dogs fighting'? Qingque, you've been getting uglier and uglier lately. Do you think I'm that bad? Wang Qingyun is, after all, my concubine's brother..."

Li Tai curled his lip, looking disdainful.

He had long since figured out his elder brother's thoughts.

"Ah, right, right, so Your Majesty is planning to let the Wang family of Taiyuan receive another credit for suppressing the rebellion?"

Whether or not to quell the rebellion, Li Chengqian didn't say, after all, King Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo was still on horseback in Zhenbei Road, being jolted half to death.

Whether the remaining territory of Goguryeo is treated as an appetizer or a dessert depends on whether this historically famous country is sensible enough.

Just at Chang'an Station, a special train for government affairs sped out, carrying some official documents that had been approved, as well as government officials who were going to Taiyuan Prefecture to accompany them on their business, heading towards Taiyuan Prefecture.

Having returned from India some time ago and completed the intelligence handover and filing with the Northern Garrison Headquarters, Zheng Wuyang and Lu Wenhu finally received an audience with Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Lu Wenhu always appeared as a rough and tumble man in public, as if he always used his fists to reason.

As they followed two soldiers from the Eastern Palace, dressed in fine steel armor and resembling steel warriors, to the Taiji Hall.

They immediately met the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, whom they had been longing to see.

However, he dared not raise his head and meticulously observed the etiquette of the Lu family of Fanyang.

"Your subject, Zheng Wuyang (Lu Wenhu), Commander (Deputy Commander) of the Tianzhu Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Your Highness, may you be well!"

Li Chengqian raised his eyelids slightly and responded softly.

"Rise, you have rendered great service to our Great Tang Dynasty... Please take a seat!"

With two chairs placed beside them, Zheng Wuyang and Lu Wenhu bowed respectfully before carefully and slowly sitting down.

But they dared not confirm it.

The fact that Li Ji recently led troops from Yanzhou to attack Goguryeo was no longer a secret in the Tang Dynasty.

As members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the two men already knew about this news.

In fact, they know even more details.

Lu Wenhu was the most nervous. From joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard and risking his life to establish an intelligence network for the Tang Dynasty in India, to now returning to Chang'an with great success, wasn't all he wanted to do to bring back the Lu clan members of Fanyang who had been coerced into defecting to Goguryeo?

His father, the head of the second branch of the Lu family in Fanyang, is still in Goguryeo.

He still refused to believe that when he was sent to Yanmen Pass, he was sent out as a pawn.

"I am fair in rewarding and punishing. You two have mediated between Harsha and the countries of the Highlands for my Great Tang, enabling my Great Tang to successfully obtain a stable import of slaves. This achievement is worthy of at least a count's title. Now tell me, is there anything you want?"

Lu Wenhu's eyes lit up with joy, and he was about to speak.

But Zheng Wuyang suddenly interrupted him.

"Your Highness is wise. All I ask for is for the Tang Dynasty to last for thousands of years and for His Highness the Crown Prince to enjoy good health and longevity! The campaign to conquer India was made possible by the support His Highness provided, and I dare not take credit for it!"

Lu Wenhu opened his mouth, having stayed in India for several years alongside Zheng Wuyang and Xuanzang.

He is no longer a complete brute.

Despite his resentment, he could only bow and agree with Zheng Wuyang at this moment.

"Your subject dares not claim credit!"

Li Chengqian chuckled twice, while Li Shimin, who was drinking tea and watching this scene as if he were taking a break during his work, couldn't help but smile.

He suddenly spoke up: "Lu Wenhu, Zheng Wuyang doesn't want any credit, he says he's doing this for the country and the people, so I'll believe him for now... You're all alone now, if you don't have a title, how can you restore the prestige of your Fanyang Lu family?"

"Or do you think that one count is not enough for your merits?"

Li Shimin's question was quite insidious.

This caused Zheng Wuyang, who was bowing and clasping his hands, to change his expression. He looked at his elder brother Lu Wenhu beside him and saw that the other man was also covered in cold sweat.

Faced with such a tricky question, he immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Your Majesty, please understand. I had no such intention. The Lu family of Fanyang committed the heinous crime of deceiving the emperor. I am already deeply grateful that Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince have forgiven my crime and entrusted me with this important task. The Lu family of Fanyang... is no longer my clan!"

Li Tai sneered, "Oh, is that so... then that means the second branch of the Lu family in Fanyang is not your relative either?"

Lu Wenhu: "......."

Large beads of sweat slid down Lu Wenhu's forehead and dripped onto the floor of the Taiji Hall.

In the deathly silence, several pairs of eyes stared down at him from the direction of the dragon throne, making him feel cold in his hands and feet and his heart ache.

"My lord, my lord..."

Seeing him stammer and unable to give a reply for a long time, Li Tai's eyes were gloomy and full of mockery.

If this had happened a few years ago, who could have imagined that the once-powerful Lu family of Fanyang, a prominent clan in the Central Plains with a history spanning hundreds of years, would have fallen to such a state in the face of imperial power?

"What? Can't answer? You wouldn't happen to be asking the Crown Prince to forgive the Lu family of Fanyang for the crime of exterminating nine generations of their clan, would you? Hmm?!"

Lu Wenhu's head was already pressed to the ground; he was clearly a fierce general.

At this moment, his burly body lay on the ground, yet he resembled a cowering quail.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Li Chengqian cleared his throat.

"Alright, get up now... Don't make me say it a second time."

Lu Wenhu nervously and slowly stood up from the ground, his spine noticeably hunched over.

"After all, you are from the Lu family of Fanyang, and the eldest son of the second branch. It is only natural for you to repay the family's kindness in raising you..."

Zheng Wuyang was sweating bullets for his older brother, but didn't dare to say a word.

During this period, Zheng Jiang, the head of the Zheng family in Xingyang, spoke to him personally more than once, implying that he should distance himself from Lu Wenhu as much as possible. He even bluntly told him more than once to sever his sworn brotherhood with Lu Wenhu.

“In a little while, Lu Zhaojing, the head of the Lu family of Fanyang, and your uncle, the head of the family, will be coming to Chang’an of our Great Tang Dynasty with his King Yeon Gaesomun. Go and persuade him. If he is willing to let his clansmen return to Chang’an for trial, I can win the battle and give them a lenient sentence.”

Li Shimin and the Prince of Wei were both taken aback, and even the Prince of Jin, Li Zhi, couldn't help but look at his elder brother in surprise.

I can't understand why my royal brother would be so kind today?

Then, he seemed to sense something from the other person's eyes and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, we were just being delusional.

The emperor is still the same emperor, but his methods of finding amusement are becoming increasingly inhuman.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenhu looked up in surprise, his face filled with disbelief.

"Your Highness, are you serious? No, no, I don't doubt Your Highness, I..."

Seeing his expression as if he had won a big prize, Li Chengqian sneered inwardly.

On the surface, he nodded slightly: "However, the merits and demerits cancel each other out, so the earldom that was originally given to you can no longer be counted."

Lu Wenhu was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly on the spot.

Seeing his foolish appearance, Li Shimin immediately lost interest in watching the show and picked up a document to review again.

If Chengqian wants to play, then let him play.

Anyway, they're just a bunch of ghosts who deserved to die anyway.

Have someone take Lu Wenhu away temporarily.

Amidst another series of footsteps, Wang Qingyun, who had traveled from Taiyuan to Chang'an by train that same day, stepped into the hall.

Seeing his sworn brother, the third brother Zheng Wuyang, here, he couldn't help but feel a slight chill in his heart.

"Your subject, Wang Qingyun, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness be well!"

A smile appeared on Li Chengqian's face, seemingly because of the other party's status as his brother-in-law, which made Wang Qingyun even more nervous.

"Wang Qing, you have been following me since you became the Sima of Bingzhou, haven't you?"

Wang Qingyun answered without hesitation: "Since His Highness the Crown Prince's gracious promotion, I have served as the Prefect of Bingzhou for over four years! I am ashamed that in these four years, I have still not been able to bring His Highness the Crown Prince any great merit!"

Seeing his serious demeanor, which resembled the spirit of Wang Ming, Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"Minister Wang is too modest. Since the implementation of the new policies, all those petty and treacherous officials in Bingzhou have been eliminated and cleared away thanks to you. Only in this way can the new policies proceed so smoothly... You are also a soldier, with good martial arts skills and command abilities. Yu Yan has mentioned your abilities more than once."

"I now have a new appointment for you."

Wang Qingyun's heart tightened. Before his marriage, his father had repeatedly warned him that his younger sister would never petition for him to be promoted or rewarded in the palace.

What the Crown Prince said was nothing more than a pretext to go through the motions.

His gaze swept over Zheng Wuyang without leaving a trace, and then glanced at the spot where Lu Wenhu had been, where there was still a damp patch of sweat on the ground.

An ominous premonition rose in my heart.

"Having received the emperor's bounty, I am bound to serve him faithfully. Even if it means going through fire and water, I will never refuse Your Highness's command! For the sake of the Tang Dynasty for generations to come, I am willing to accept the order!"

Before Li Chengqian could even announce the assigned position, Wang Qingyun immediately pledged his loyalty without hesitation.

Zheng Wuyang's expression was complicated; none of them were fools.

It's almost a no-brainer what the Crown Prince will have them do next.

really.

Seeing that he was so cooperative, Li Chengqian's smile grew even wider.

He gestured to Wang De beside him, who immediately handed two pre-prepared imperial edicts to Wang Qingyun and Zheng Wuyang.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "You two are both courageous and resourceful. One of you was able to establish an intelligence network for the Embroidered Uniform Guard in India, tens of thousands of miles away, and the other was able to form alliances and leverage local resources to achieve the strategic goals of our Great Tang Dynasty."

"One of them is capable of decisively taking action against such petty villains during the new policies. The Bingzhou city defense army has never made a mistake so far. They are disciplined and decisive, and all of them are great talents!"

"General Li Ji has now captured Liaodong and Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo. General Li Ji's military campaigns are beyond question, but in terms of maintaining stability in the local areas, he has ultimately been too distracted."

"Therefore, I have decided to send the two of you. Minister Wang will serve as the Prefect of Pyongyang Circuit, and Minister Zheng will serve as the Military Advisor of Pyongyang Circuit, to maintain stability in the region."

Both of them took a deep breath.

Respectfully accept the imperial decree.

Late at night, in the residence of Zheng Jiang, the head of the Zheng family in Xingyang, Chang'an, Zheng Jiang's face was extremely grim.

"This is clearly meant to make the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Wang family of Taiyuan the executioners of the Cui, Lu, and Li families!"