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

"Among these people, there must be truly innocent ones, Zhinu... do you really intend to kill them?"

Li Shimin's face was ashen, and his voice already carried a hint of threat.

however.

Li Zhi, who had finally managed to swallow the candy before his father noticed, breathed a sigh of relief.

The little head nodded.

"My brother is definitely right. If he says to kill, then kill..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin suddenly tossed the young Li Zhi aside.

Grandpa Sun was so frightened that he hurriedly caught it.

"Hmph! Cowardly and spineless! Unfit for any great task!"

Li Shimin's face was extremely grim. The kindness he had shown when facing Li Zhi just moments before vanished instantly, and his gaze was fixed intently on Li Chengqian, who was sitting below the stage.

"Very well, I underestimated you. Even your brother is afraid of you, the Crown Prince. Very well..."

Li Chengqian bowed slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Qingque and the others are not afraid of me, but rather they trust me. Everything I think, do and do is for the continuation of our Great Tang Dynasty."

"Eliminate evil completely and punish treason without any leniency. Your Majesty, I beg you to consider the fate of the nation!"

"Exterminate their entire family!"

Li Shimin remained silent, his eyes fixed on Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was standing below the stage, leaving himself no way out and directly confronting him, the emperor.

Take a deep breath.

"What if I refuse?"

Li Chengqian cupped his hands again: "Father is the Emperor, and I am merely the Crown Prince. I have nothing to say, however..."

Li Chengqian paused slightly, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

As he raised his head, he spoke again.

"If we wait until the day I ascend the throne, these people will not only be punished by having their nine generations exterminated, but by having their ten generations wiped out!"

"hiss!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the Taiji Hall.

Everyone stared in horror at Li Chengqian, who had uttered such terrifying words as "exterminating ten clans." At this moment, they gained a direct understanding of the ruthlessness of this crown prince.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde, among the generals of the Prince of Qin's mansion, were known as tough, unyielding men.

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, his facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

The execution of the nine clans of the Cui family of Boling already included four paternal relatives, three maternal relatives, and two wife's relatives. Given the intricate relationships among the five surnames and seven prominent families, the number of people to be executed was at least tens of thousands.

And if we follow the Crown Prince's unheard-of phrase, "exterminating ten clans,"...

Does this mean that students and friends are included?

If that's the case, then today in the imperial court...

When His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, some people will be dragged to the execution ground and beheaded on the very day...

"Your Majesty, I, Zheng Jiang, second the Crown Prince's proposal. The Cui family of Boling is incredibly audacious and their crimes are unforgivable. According to the law, they should be executed along with their entire clan!"

Zheng Jiang, the head of the Zheng family in Xingyang, stepped forward without hesitation.

Even if it means the extermination of nine generations of their family, some members of the Zheng family of Xingyang would inevitably be implicated.

If what His Highness the Crown Prince said is true, then ten generations of their families should be exterminated...

The Zheng family of Xingyang is doomed too, so they might as well take advantage of this opportunity to make a name for themselves and then perhaps secretly plead with the Crown Prince for leniency for those in their family who have been implicated.

There's still a chance to survive...

However, after much hesitation, the Zheng family of Xingyang stepped forward to support them.

Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and other former officials of the Wude era also stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I second that it is unforgivable. The Cui family should be executed along with their entire clan to deter others from committing crimes!"

"Your Majesty, your subject Pei Ji requests the execution of the entire Cui clan of Boling, encompassing nine generations!"

"..."

Although it wasn't quite the same as the previous coup attempt, quite a few officials who supported the execution of nine generations of a family stood up.

As for the rest, Wei Zheng still looked anxious.

Aside from those who felt this was too cruel, others such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji had already given up their efforts.

As for military generals like Li Jing, they were all keeping their eyes down and their minds at ease.

She stood silently to the side, absolutely not allowing herself to get involved in the argument between the Crown Prince and His Majesty.

Seeing that Emperor Li Er was in an awkward position, Changsun Wuji hurriedly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, since there are differing opinions in the court, we might as well detain these people for the time being and discuss the matter further. In any case, it is the end of the year and it is not appropriate to make a big fuss."

Li Shimin snorted coldly and glared fiercely at the crown prince who was now challenging him.

I was angry, but at this moment I could only back down gracefully.

Otherwise, I'd really lose face. Would I really cripple this rebellious son?

"Hmph! Enough! Court adjourned! I will issue an edict later regarding the rewarding of the soldiers who quelled the rebellion..."

Seeing that Emperor Li Shimin didn't even want to mention the matter of the Crown Prince eliminating the Eastern Turks anymore, and instead strode towards the back of the hall, the ministers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Changsun Wuji also hurriedly came to Li Chengqian's side.

His face was full of distress and worry.

"Oh, Your Highness, how foolish you are! How can you be so confrontational with His Majesty? His Majesty is the Emperor, after all. You should at least give him some face."

Li Chengqian turned his head and looked at the emperor's brother-in-law.

Suddenly, he felt a surge of amusement. Since when did this cheap old man, who should have been the most loyal subordinate, start saying things that damage the emperor's reputation?

Should we give in to Father?

Doesn't that just prove that in your eyes, Changsun Wuji, I, the Crown Prince, have already surpassed the Emperor, the Father Emperor?

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly.

"Uncle, you don't need to concern yourself with this matter. I know what I'm doing. Traitors must die. I have no interest in trying to educate these people. Educating them is a matter of Confucius, the sages, or the Western Paradise."

"And my role is to send them to be educated!"

With that, Li Chengqian strode towards his younger brothers.

"You lot are quite good; you have some backbone and haven't disgraced your elder brother. If you're interested, you can accompany me to Bingzhou after the New Year..."

Upon hearing this, Li You and the others, who had long been fascinated by everything in Bingzhou, instantly lit up with excitement.

"Really, Your Majesty? Can we really go?"

"But, but I'm not as capable as my third and fourth brothers. I won't cause you any trouble if I go, will I?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I... I need to go back and discuss it with my mother..."

Li You, Li Yin, Li Yun, Li Zhen, and the others all looked excited.

Only Li Zhi timidly tugged at the hem of Yue King Li Tai's robe.

"Brother, are there candy shops like the one my sister has in Bingzhou?"

Li Tai: "......"

Seeing the gap in the boy's mouth where he was missing a tooth, Li Tai immediately glared at him with annoyance.

"Today I will tell Chang Le that you are not allowed to eat candy from now on. Look at you, all your teeth are going to fall out!"

"Guanyinbi, you didn't see that rebellious son. He showed me no respect whatsoever. In front of so many people, I had to swallow my pride and bear it all! Tell me, is there any emperor in this world as spineless as me?"

That night.

The heartbroken Emperor Li Er sought solace from the Empress once again.

Since the Empress had also eaten that celestial fruit, nowadays, in the entire harem, unless Consort Yang and the others use some tricks, Li Er basically has to stay overnight at the Empress's place.

However, in the dead of night, Emperor Li Er, lying sprawled on his bed, was filled with rage.

"Guanyinbi, you really should discipline that boy properly. I can't control him anymore. He can argue with me ten times over for every word I say. My Chengqian was originally a well-behaved child. Why has he become like this?!"

Empress Zhangsun gently combed Li Er's hair, trying to help him relax.

“Your Majesty, Gao Ming is just a boy after all. How could he understand so much, such as benevolence and compassion? He has led troops to fight against the Turks and has been through many trials and tribulations, walking on the edge of life and death. He probably doesn’t talk about these things anymore.”

"Furthermore... is Your Majesty truly not worried that these people harbor malicious intentions towards the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Shimin took a deep breath and rested his head in the empress's arms.

With Li Chengqian no longer in front of him, his rational mind finally calmed down under the comforting words of Empress Zhangsun.

"But that's over four thousand women and children. Our country's population is dwindling, and we need to encourage people's livelihoods. Why behead so many at once?"

"I am about to establish a new era this year. Do you expect me to do so with a reputation for bloodthirstiness?"

The more I think about it, the more...

Li Shimin, however, became increasingly unable to agree to his crown prince's demand to exterminate all those people and their entire families.

"No! Executing nine generations of their families is absolutely unacceptable! It involves too many people. If we are worried that some of these people may harbor malicious intentions, I can issue an edict to imprison them, designate an area for them to farm, and let them be self-sufficient."

"That rebellious son acted like a complete scoundrel in court today, and Qingque and Ke'er too... All my sons are disobeying me!"

Emperor Taizong felt a sudden headache, but then he felt the comfort of Empress Zhangsun's gentle hand combing his hair, and suddenly it seemed as if he had thought of something.

"Since Kong Yingda, Li Gang, and the others can't control this Crown Prince, why don't I choose a Crown Princess for him?"

Empress Zhangsun's expression changed instantly.

"What kind of girl could possibly keep a prince like Gao Ming in check? Yingying, the lady-in-waiting beside Gao Ming, is still a virgin. This girl is very opinionated; finding a crown princess won't be easy."

Li Shimin: "......"

hiss!

My head hurts even more!

Never mind! Tomorrow I will issue an edict, to execute first and report later, bah, to make absolute decisions!

The next day.

In the Ganlu Hall, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a tense yet helpless glance.

I only regret that I am not deaf and cannot hear His Majesty's decree.

"Your Majesty, perhaps we should inform His Highness the Crown Prince beforehand? Issuing an edict so hastily might displease him..."

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, either you draft this imperial edict for me today and issue it immediately, or... you and your so-called crown prince will also give me a taste of Xuanwu Gate!"

Thump thump.

The two men knelt down twice, which was their most direct reaction to Li Shimin's words at that moment.

When Fang Xuanling and his men emerged from Ganlu Hall, their heads covered in cold sweat, they could only obediently carry out His Majesty's orders, despite their helplessness.

After Gao Feng, a drafter in the Secretariat, and his team completed the drafting of the imperial edict, it was handed over to the Chancellery for review.

A brand-new imperial edict was immediately handed over to Fang Xuanling, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was in charge of its execution.

"Your Majesty, why can't you talk to His Highness the Crown Prince properly...?"

Fang Xuanling had no choice but to silently begin preparations.

This decree was transformed into a series of orders and conveyed to the six ministers under his command.

Just at this time.

A series of hurried footsteps suddenly came.

"The room's appearance..."

Upon seeing the newcomers, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who were in the Ministry of Rites, were instantly startled.

He was once a trusted eunuch of the Emperor, and now the personal eunuch of Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Wang De.

"Eunuch Wang, is there something you need?"

Wang De chuckled and took out a scroll from his pocket.

"Minister Fang, this is His Highness the Crown Prince's decree. He has ordered that this be given to you, Minister Fang..."

Wang De did not explicitly request Fang Xuanling to carry out the order, and as the crown prince, he himself did not have such authority.

however.

At this moment, Fang Xuanling suddenly felt an unbearable sense of torment, caught between the royal father and son.

"Did the Crown Prince say anything about this?"

Wang De smiled, shook his head, put down the edict, and immediately took his leave.

Du Ruhui stood up, when suddenly Fang Xuanling grabbed one of his arms with lightning speed.

"I'm telling you, you can't leave. How can I, an old man, withstand the combined antics of His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Fang Xuanling felt like crying but had no tears left. At this moment, everyone around him had become his psychological support, allowing him to stick to his post.

Du Ruhui sighed.

He had no choice but to sit down again and open the Crown Prince's edict that Wang De had sent.

aside.

"Oh dear, what should we do? We can't possibly carry out His Highness's orders, but if we don't, wouldn't we be offending His Highness? Yesterday in court, everyone saw how powerful His Highness was..."

As Fang Xuanling continued his rambling, Du Ruhui, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up again.

"hiss!!!"

At that moment, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

He stared intently at the edict in his hand, gasping for breath.

It was as if I had seen something terrifying.

"What's wrong? Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince's decree is not to exterminate nine generations of a family?" Fang Xuanling's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope.

however.

Du Ruhui, however, stiffly turned the edict slowly toward Fang Xuanling.

"The ninth year of the Wude era, the second month, the day of Renzi."

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Crown Prince, and the Eastern Palace, issue this decree."

"The entire convicts of the Cui clan of Boling, involved in the treason, have committed crimes punishable by law. Only execution can serve as a warning to the world, and the extermination of their entire clan can establish authority. Therefore, by order of the Crown Prince, the execution warrants are to be signed immediately, and the prison warden of Boling City and the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are to jointly oversee the executions."

"All prisoners who committed crimes were not pardoned, and the old, young, women, and children were all beheaded."

"Those who, during this period, try to evade the emperor's wishes or secretly abuse their power and bend the law for personal gain, will be punished as accomplices."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard can execute first and report later."

Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty

"Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper..."

Fang Xuanling sighed, "If that's really the case, His Highness the Crown Prince still refuses to obey His Majesty's decree. The nine generations of these people..."

Du Ruhui interrupted with a hoarse voice.

"Look at the seal! Look at the seal! Who the hell told you to look at the contents of the imperial edict!"

"Look, look at the seal?"

Fang Xuanling was taken aback, then quickly came to his senses and looked again.

next moment.

"hiss!!!"

"This, this, this is which one?!" Fang Xuanling's voice trembled violently as he spoke. He was already suffering from a nervous breakdown due to the torment he had endured from Li Er and Li Chengqian, the father and son.

At that moment, one hand involuntarily gripped the table, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous... It can't be wrong! Absolutely right!"

Du Ruhui nodded excitedly.

"On the day Hou Junji captured Dingxiang City, neither the former Empress Xiao nor the false emperor possessed the Imperial Seal of the State. Therefore, it must have been in the hands of either Jieli or Tuli. Now, His Highness the Crown Prince has captured both of them alive and seized the seal."

"That's how it should be, that's how it should be..."

"Quickly, go see His Majesty! This matter must be reported to His Majesty immediately!"

East Palace.

The seven princes, Li Tai, Li Ke, Li You, Li Yin, Li Yun, Li Zhen, and Li Zhi, all held a writing brush in their hands, seemingly hesitant.

Looking at the cloth prepared for them by their imperial elder brother for writing imperial edicts.

Some are at a loss.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, is this really what we have to do? Won't Father kill us?"

Hearing what their elder brother, the Emperor, wanted them to do, let alone Li Zhi and his brothers.

Even Li Ke and Li Tai, the two princes who had followed Li Chengqian to Bingzhou, hesitated.

Li Chengqian held a seal in his hand, and breathed on the spot where the ink had been applied.

He is sitting with his feet up on the table.

"I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of? Hurry up, write down what reward you want. This is one of the few times you can decide your own fate."

"If we miss this opportunity, we may never have another chance in our lives to have this seal affixed to the edicts you have written."

Li Tai swallowed hard.

"But, but this isn't an imperial edict, how could Father possibly agree to it?"

Li Chengqian chuckled and shook the Imperial Seal of the State in his hand.

"Don't worry, as long as you don't ask Father to hand over the throne, even if you make some reasonable requests, Father will reluctantly accept them."

"After all... who could refuse those eight words?"