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

Li Shimin's eyes were cold.

Even He Ding, standing behind him, clearly sensed that His Majesty the Emperor was in a bad mood, and shrank back, not daring to breathe.

At this moment, Li Shimin no longer seemed to be the "puppet emperor" who left his ministers and harem speechless and who spent his days wits and struggles with his eldest son.

He was not a king, but a true emperor.

The supreme ruler of this vast Tang Empire, the highest representative of imperial power.

He stared intently at Li Yin in the study, whose face was gradually turning red with excitement. From that moment on, a ruthless killing intent from an imperial family began to rise quietly in his heart.

"Sixth Prince, Sixth Prince... your imperial brother has treated you well, you... you must not put me in a difficult position..."

Li Shimin silently murmured to himself, and deep in his heart, as Li Yin's claws landed on the dragon robe that he and Empress Zhangsun had carefully prepared for their crown prince, he also silently drew his imperial sword.

Li Yin was undoubtedly an outstanding prince.

Although she had the support of the Crown Prince, she was able to maintain order and control over the officers of the first class of the Royal Military Academy in Silla, a foreign land, ensuring they worked diligently and honestly.

His methods of employing people and managing subordinates were so impressive that even Li Shimin had to secretly admire them.

And the other party's birth mother, Consort Yang, was also one of Li Shimin's beloved concubines...

Even so, if Li Yin truly harbored ambitions for the position of crown prince, Li Shimin would absolutely not hesitate to eliminate this son.

The Tang Dynasty had many outstanding princes, and Li Shimin had quite a few outstanding sons as well.

However, no one could compare to his eldest son, the crown prince.

They are not even worthy of being compared to the Crown Prince!

Li Shimin clenched his fists inwardly.

If we were to ask who among all the princes and nobles is most likely to compete for the position of crown prince in terms of sheer strength, then...

Li Ke, the Han King who commanded the first royal navy fleet of the Tang Dynasty, controlled several important ports and territories in Japan, and whose influence had now expanded to the Arab world, was one such example.

The other one is the one in front of us, King Liang, Yi Yin, who commands the Silla Tang allied forces.

Both of them also carried some blood from the Yang family of the previous dynasty...

Suspicion, like a vine, quickly instilled in Emperor Li Shimin a deep sense of vigilance and suspicion towards his son, Prince Li Yin.

Just as he was pondering that he should find a pretext to strip the King of Liang of his military power, he realized that he should find a reason to do so.

It was time to discuss this with the eldest son, the Crown Prince, who always doted on his younger brothers.

In the study, Li Yin touched the dragon robe and felt the sensation from his fingertips. He was instantly startled and quickly withdrew his hand and took two steps back.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding with excitement.

"My imperial brother actually kept a dragon robe? No, this is too blatant, it's right here... it's like he's doing it on purpose for me to see."

Thinking back to how, ever since they returned, they had repeatedly asked to see their father's embarrassing history, "Admonitions to His Son," but their elder brother had always refused.

But today she suddenly agreed, and even insisted that he come to the study in person to fetch it...

Li Yin couldn't help but start to overthink.

Among the many princes, the only one who currently holds significant military power is Li Yun, the seventh prince, who is in charge of overseeing the construction of the Tang Dynasty railway and has a personal guard of the Prince of Yan used to protect the construction project.

Of those still in China, only Li Yin remains.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this? Is Your Majesty seeking my help? No... who in the court wouldn't want Your Majesty to succeed to the throne?"

"Even Father Emperor said he was willing to abdicate back then, didn't he?"

Li Yin felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

He couldn't care less about the "Admonition to My Son" anymore. He hurriedly drew the curtains by the study window, closed the door, and rushed outside.

"Huh? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

Li Chengqian looked at the sixth brother with suspicion.

But then he noticed that the latter's gaze seemed a little off, which made him even more suspicious.

"But we couldn't find it? That shouldn't be the case; it's always been hanging on the wall in the study."

aside.

Li Tai, Li You, and the others also looked at Li Yin with suspicion.

"Hehe, I saw it, but it was too much trouble, so I didn't bring it..."

Regardless of how far-fetched and awkward the reason sounded, Li Yin hurriedly stepped forward and pulled up Li Tai, who was about to pour more wine, and then pulled up Li You, Li Zhi, and Li Yun, who looked puzzled.

“Your Majesty, it’s getting late. The Ministry of Rites has some chores to discuss with us tomorrow, so I won’t stay today. I’ll keep you company another day.”

Without waiting for their reaction, he forcibly pulled the still bewildered Li Tai and the others away.

Li Chengqian: "......"

He was still holding a glass of wine in his hand, and he turned his head blankly to look at Wang De beside him.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Wang De shook his head: "This old servant doesn't know either. Perhaps His Highness Prince Liang really has something urgent to attend to?"

Li Chengqian pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

Finally, he shook his head, too lazy to think about it anymore, and simply got up and headed towards his bedroom.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Wardrobe has delivered your new robes today. Would you like to try them on? If they don't fit, the Imperial Wardrobe can make alterations."

When a palace maid came to inquire, Li Chengqian waved her hand.

"I have so many clothes, never mind, I'll try them on another day."

As night deepened, the Crown Princess lay beside Li Chengqian's pillow, looking at the sleeping Crown Prince with a conflicted and hesitant expression. That was the dragon robe! Was His Majesty about to formally allow His Highness to ascend the throne?

If that's the case, wouldn't I become the empress?

When Qian Yingying thought of Empress Zhangsun's past, her dignified bearing and skillful handling of the nation, even after learning from her for many years, Qian Yingying still felt that she was no match for the Empress at all.

"Your Highness, you are more than capable of being emperor, but I am far from qualified to be empress..."

Qian Yingying is having trouble sleeping.

Several princes, including Li Yin and Li Tai, were also suffering from insomnia at that moment.

"You mean, a dragon robe?! My imperial brother has a dragon robe in his study?!"

Li Zhi stared in shock.

He was immediately overjoyed: "So, my brother is going to ascend the throne? I don't have to continue as regent anymore?!"

Li Tai glanced at him sideways.

It ruthlessly shattered the foolish younger brother's pipe dream.

"Don't even think about it. Even if my brother ascends the throne, you will definitely be a cabinet minister. It's just that the Prince of Jin who will act as regent will be replaced by the Prince of Jin who will act as cabinet minister."

Li Zhi pouted; this was indeed something his elder brother, the emperor, was capable of doing.

The smile disappeared...

Li You stroked his chin, frowning and pondering: "The problem now is, if my elder brother says he wants to succeed to the throne, the first people to agree will definitely be Father and Mother. He has no reason to hide it, let alone secretly keep the dragon robe?"

He shook his head and chuckled softly.

"Father probably wants to see my brother wearing the dragon robe more than anyone else."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Prince Yan, Li Yun, took a deep breath: "So here's the question: why did Your Majesty send Sixth Brother to the study to see that dragon robe?"

In the inner courtyard of the Prince of Wei's mansion in Chang'an, the brothers remained silent.

Suddenly, King Li Zhen of Yue seemed to have thought of something.

He hesitated.

"Sixth Brother, do you think it's possible that the Emperor is hinting at something to you?"

“Silla is still nominally a vassal state, not part of the Silla region of our Great Tang. And although Goguryeo is currently under the rule of Lu Zhaojing of the Fanyang Lu clan, who is redeeming himself through meritorious service, it is ultimately not part of our Great Tang territory.”

His voice betrayed a hint of hesitation.

"Does Your Majesty mean that what is preventing him from succeeding to the throne is that the territory of a small country like Silla cannot be returned to our Great Tang?"

"Is this a reminder to Sixth Brother and us that some lands should rightfully belong to our Great Tang Dynasty as its income?"

Everyone: "...Hiss"

It seems, perhaps, maybe that's what it means?