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

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin was waiting for Fang Xuanling and the others to issue an edict to deal with the Cui family of Boling according to his wishes, so as to put an end to the Crown Prince's idea of ​​exterminating their entire clan.

Suddenly I felt a sense of unease.

Logically speaking, given Chengqian's vehement reaction yesterday, it's unlikely he would back down today. However, another day is about to pass.

However, there was no news whatsoever about the Crown Prince.

"Hiss, has this rebellious son really given up?"

Li Shimin put down the Chang'an-published "Great Tang Daily" that he was holding upside down, and walked somewhat unconfidently to the window. He looked at the eunuchs sweeping the snow outside and muttered to himself.

Just at this time.

Suddenly, Eunuch Sun came to report: "Your Majesty, Lord Fang and Lord Du request an audience..."

"Quickly, let them in!"

Li Shimin's face lit up with joy. He thought to himself that sometimes it was necessary to toughen up these old fogies, otherwise all they would ever think about was the Crown Prince.

Even the emperor's decrees are executed with great laziness.

Just as he was thinking this with great satisfaction, suddenly the excited voices of Fang Xuanling and the other man came over.

The two seemed to have come running.

Upon entering the hall, he was covered in sweat and panting heavily.

At this moment, he unusually disregarded etiquette and excitedly gestured and panted in front of Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the seal has appeared, the imperial seal, it's..."

"The seal from the previous dynasty, Your Majesty..."

The two were panting, excitedly gesturing a square shape with their hands.

Seeing that Li Shimin seemed increasingly puzzled, Du Ruhui, who had been catching his breath for a long time, hurriedly handed the Crown Prince's edict, which Li Chengqian had asked Wang De to deliver to the Ministry of Personnel, to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the seal, the seal on it!"

Li Shimin frowned and accepted the imperial edict.

Upon seeing the above content, he immediately snorted coldly. The instinctive word "rebellious son" that was on the tip of his tongue was cut off as the large seal below the decree came into view.

It was instantly sucked back in.

"hiss!!!"

His eyes widened instantly.

"This is the Imperial Seal of the State?! This is an edict from the Crown Prince's side? Doesn't this mean that the item is in the hands of that rebellious son?!"

In an instant, he forgot about the nine generations of the Cui clan of Boling, his own dignity as emperor, and the damage to his reputation caused by killing during the Kaiyuan era.

At this moment, Li Shimin forgot all about it.

His mind was filled with those eight words on the Crown Prince's edict.

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

Fang Xuanling finally managed to catch his breath, his face still flushed, but he hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

He nodded repeatedly.

“Your Majesty, when Hou Junji captured Dingxiang City, I sent people to inquire about him. Even when Empress Xiao and the others from the previous dynasty were sent to Chang'an, I asked the Duke of Song to help inquire, and they were not in their hands.”

"Now that His Highness the Crown Prince has achieved a great victory over the Eastern Turks and annihilated them, it seems certain that the Imperial Seal has fallen into the Crown Prince's hands. Moreover, the Crown Prince would not dare to deceive His Majesty on such a matter..."

Li Shimin nodded excitedly, but then suddenly walked to a bookshelf in the Ganlu Hall.

He pushed aside Eunuch Sun, who was about to help, and took down a brocade box from the top himself.

Upon opening it, he found an imperial edict hidden inside.

That was the reward Yang Guang had given him after he rescued Yang Guang from the Turkic encirclement.

Because of the perilous nature of that great battle, even now that he is emperor, Li Shimin still carefully preserves this imperial edict, as if protecting his own honor.

As the imperial edict was unfolded...

The three of them immediately moved closer.

Compare every inch, every thread, every word, and every frame.

"That's right, absolutely right! That rebellious son has indeed obtained the Imperial Seal of the State! That rebellious son, having clearly obtained such a precious treasure, didn't even let a word of it out!"

Li Shimin straightened up from the table, feeling both excited and unable to suppress his gritted teeth.

He began pacing back and forth in the Ganlu Hall.

His brows furrowed. His initial initiative had completely turned into passivity once the Imperial Seal fell into the hands of the Crown Prince.

"Xuanling, tell me, what exactly does this rebellious son mean now?"

He waved the Crown Prince's edict in his hand.

"Could it be that if I grant his decree and behead the entire Cui clan of Boling, that brat will obediently hand over the Imperial Seal to me?"

Li Shimin appeared very angry, but the hint of joy that had already crept up his brows immediately revealed the true thoughts of this emperor.

what?

Exterminating nine generations of one's family would damage my benevolence?

If I possess the Imperial Seal, what is benevolence and virtue?

Li Shimin paced back and forth, feigning hesitation and contemplation, before finally gritting his teeth as if he were making a decision against his ancestors.

"So be it! After all, he is my crown prince, and he has rendered meritorious service in destroying a country. Since the crown prince is worried that the Cui family of Boling will cause endless trouble in the future, then let's do as the crown prince wishes!"

Li Shimin could no longer suppress the urge to smile. He turned his head away and waved to Fang Xuanling and the other man behind him.

"Go immediately and draft a new imperial edict. Once it's written, there's no need to present it to me; send it directly to the Eastern Palace. Then, bring the stamped edict, along with the Imperial Seal, to me..."

Li Shimin coughed twice, tilted his head slightly, and tried his best to control his excitement.

His lips trembled uncontrollably.

He tried to think of sad things, but then the image of the hidden prince of Xuanwu Gate and the Prince of Qi dying in the northwest flashed through his mind.

"Hahahahaha!"

This joy, however, was like a torrent breaking through a dam, completely unstoppable.

"Go immediately! Quickly bring me the Imperial Seal of the State—oh no, I mean, quickly bring me those traitorous officials and villains of the Cui clan of Boling, and behead them as a warning to the world!"

"Go quickly..."

Fang Xuanling and his companion were about to take their leave when, at that moment...

Suddenly, a young eunuch walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang from the Eastern Palace has sent something, saying it was sent by the Crown Prince..."

moment.

In an instant, Li Shimin's eyes transformed into the image of the Imperial Seal of the State.

"Let him in, quickly! Let him in!"

"Hahahaha! Xuanling, I knew it! My Crown Prince, with the guidance of me and the Empress since childhood, is a first-rate child, loyal and filial. Why would I need to make things difficult for him?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui both bowed their heads.

He was already somewhat speechless at the emperor's ever-changing, woman-like demeanor.

Eunuch Wang walked into the Ganlu Hall with small, quick steps.

He respectfully presented a long brocade box to Emperor Taizong of Tang.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince requests your perusal."

Li Shimin, who had been all smiles, froze instantly when he saw the brocade box in front of him, which was clearly not meant to hold the Imperial Seal of the State but to hold imperial edicts.

"What? My Crown Prince won't come to see me in person? Or is the snow outside too thick, blocking the road from the Eastern Palace to my Ganlu Palace?"

The smile on Li Shimin's lips slowly disappeared, and Fang Xuanling and the other man behind him hurriedly lowered their heads.

Wang De bowed his head, holding the brocade box in his hands.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is currently handling some official business at the Eastern Palace. It is said that he is preparing to construct some major projects in Bingzhou Road next year."

"Hmph! What a convenient excuse. Now that he's back in Chang'an, he's still acting all diligent. I, the emperor, am no match for him..." Li Shimin sneered sarcastically.

In the end, he accepted the brocade box.

The moment he saw that there were seven scrolls inside, he almost threw the brocade box away on the spot.

"This, this unfilial son! Does he really think I can't do anything to him?!"

It's almost a no-brainer.

Just like the edict sent by Fang Xuanling and his group, which demanded the extermination of the nine generations of the Cui family of Boling, these seven edicts must also contain seven conditions.

Li Shimin was furious at the Crown Prince's audacity.

If it weren't for the image of the Imperial Seal flashing through his mind again and again, Li Shimin would probably have thrown these edicts away right then and there.

Open the first one.

"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."

"Li Ke, the Prince of Hanzhong, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the third son of the Emperor, devoted himself to the state, discerning treacherous officials, and discerning the rebellious intentions of the Cui clan of Boling. Despite the danger and potential harm, he devised a plan to eliminate the threat at its inception, preventing the people of Boling from suffering."

"I am greatly pleased. I hereby grant him the title of Prince of Han, the position of Grand General of Dengzhou, and bestow upon him a Prince's Mansion in Chang'an and ten thousand taels of gold."

Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty

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

Li Shimin was so angry that he laughed, raised the imperial edict in his hand, opened his mouth, and let out a cold snort.

He tossed the edict to Fang Xuanling and the other man in front of him.

Then he picked up the next one.

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

"Prince Yue, the fourth son of the Emperor, Li Tai, is devoted to the state, brave and fearless. He followed the Crown Prince in several battles during the Northern Expedition against the Turks, and even in the face of life and death, he never diminished the prestige of our Great Tang army. Furthermore, during the reform of the new policies in Bingzhou, he excelled in civil administration, presided over the establishment of new schools and newspapers, and rectified the people's hearts. He is both a man of literary and military talent."

"I am greatly pleased. I hereby grant him the title of Prince of Wei, the position of Governor of Luoyang, a Prince's Mansion in Chang'an, and ten thousand taels of gold."

Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty

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

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and nodded: "Good, good! The Crown Prince does have a way with things. No wonder all my princes and concubines praise him so highly. He knows how to win people's hearts!"

"A King of Han, a King of Wei, and they want me to give them Dengzhou and Luoyang too! Ha!"

"My crown prince isn't afraid of bursting his belly at all!"

Fang Xuanling and his companion were covered in sweat as they hurriedly accepted the second imperial edict that Li Shimin had thrown at them. Upon reading its contents, they gasped in shock.

Is this Crown Prince already dissatisfied with Bingzhou?

He assigned one of his two loyal sons to Dengzhou in Hedong Circuit, and the other to Luoyang in Henan Circuit...

One is a coastal prefecture or county facing the vast ocean, which can be used to build a navy.

One is Luoyang, an ancient capital known as the Eastern Capital, situated along the Grand Canal, connecting the north and south of China...

Li Shimin then opened the next document.

He glanced at it only once, then cursed angrily and threw it directly at Fang Xuanling and the other man.

"Very well, you want me to bestow upon Li You, the Prince of Yiyang, the title of Prince of Chu, and also to allow him to travel to Bingzhou, hehe."

The further Li Shimin looked behind him, the more violent his actions became.

Li Yin was enfeoffed as the King of Liang.

He enfeoffed Li Yun as the Prince of Tan.

Li Zhen was enfeoffed as the King of Yue.

Li Zhi was granted the title of Prince of Jin.

Furthermore, these people were permitted to follow him to Bingzhou Road after the New Year to study modern learning and become familiar with governance...

Li Shimin's hands were trembling. It wasn't that he was reluctant to grant his son the title of king; in fact, during the Kaiyuan era, it was necessary to bestow lavish rewards.