Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 21 The Prince is Famous for His Poetry

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, then are the crimes of the King of Han and the Duke of Chen..."

Fang Xuanling stood up immediately. How could he not see that this was a plot by Crown Prince Li Chengqian to force the emperor to abdicate by means of words?

But he was not involved in such a situation, and Li Ji, Cheng Zhijie and Gao Shilian became the emperor's loyal ministers for the second time.

This is the literary version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He also has to perform in front of Li Chengqian and go with the flow. Now that Li Shimin has already opened his mouth to expel Prince of Wei Li Tai, he still wants to support Li Tai, which is stupid.

"Then how do you think we should convict him?" Li Shimin looked at several people, with more eyes on Li Chengqian. The answer was obvious.

This meant that Li Chengqian was asked to express his opinion. Li Shimin was stunned. Has the court he led become like this?

Yes, I am old now, and these ministers and generals must also consider their families and even future generations, right?
A new emperor appoints his own ministers. If they stand on the wrong side, they will be liquidated in the future, just like those old ministers of Li Yuan. After he came to power, they were dismissed one by one. However, those old ministers who supported him were still in use today.

And because of the planning of Crown Prince Li Chengqian, they shared the same honor and disgrace, so they had to speak for Li Chengqian.

The most important thing was that Li Shimin's behavior gave them the opportunity to make suggestions.

"I have old ties with the King of Han and the Duke of Chen, so I am not in a position to comment on this matter. Your Majesty, please make the decision." Li Chengqian replied.

"You all leave, Fang Xuanling stay."

Li Shimin waved his hands weakly. Being an emperor was a unique honor for him.

When Wei Zheng was alive, people were scolded by Wei Zheng every day. Now that Wei Zheng is dead, everyone can become Wei Zheng.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty of my crime."

Cheng Zhijie suddenly knelt down, his head banging against his head, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Zhijie, I know, I know everything, you are all right, it's my fault."

Li Shimin also had tears in his eyes and kept waving his hands. How could he not understand their helplessness?

"I hope your majesty takes care of himself!"

After saying that, Cheng Zhijie stood up and took his leave. The huge Taiji Hall was empty, and Li Shimin lay exhausted on the dragon throne.

Fang Xuanling also stood aside silently.

"Xuanling, do you want to protect Duke Chen and the King of Han? And let the King of Wei bear all the responsibility?"

After a long time, Li Shimin asked.

"Your Majesty, I know that you are heartless. After all, Duke Chen started the rebellion with us. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. If the King of Wei, the King of Han, and Duke Chen share the blame for this slander case, it will be much lighter, and everyone can be saved."

Fang Xuanling knew very well what Li Shimin was thinking. By doing this he not only relieved Li Shimin's worries, but also solved the problems for Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Everyone knew that the Prince of Han and the Duke of Chen were both Prince Li Chengqian's men. Although his protection was not as great as the merit of Cheng Zhijie and others who forced the emperor to abdicate with words, it could also make his position clear to Prince Li Chengqian.

"Why are you convicted?" Li Shimin asked again. The case involved treason, which was a serious crime punishable by execution.

"Wei Wang Li Tai joined forces with Han Wang and Chen Guogong to slander Crown Prince Li Chengqian for treason, abolished all Wei Wang's privileges, and also abolished Han Wang and Chen Guogong's titles, demoting them to commoners."

Fang Xuanling had an extremely clear mind. With his manipulation, the case of treason was turned into a case of slander, and the punishment was much lighter.

The punishments for several people seemed severe, but they were not serious. The King of Wei was only stripped of some privileges, which was not a big deal. The King of Han and Hou Junji were deposed, but once Li Chengqian came to power, why couldn't they be reinstated?
"Good, that's all. Draft an edict and announce it to the world."

The outcome of the prince's rebellion case could not be delayed any longer. Just because it was a few days late, Li Shimin was criticized by students and ministers and became depressed.

"Your Majesty, this is actually the most perfect ending." Fang Xuanling said comfortingly.

In the past few days, he witnessed Li Shimin's experience with his own eyes. First, Crown Prince Li Chengqian rebelled, which implicated the King of Han and the Duke of Chen.

Then, Crown Prince Li Chengqian refuted with reason and brought up all the princes including Prince of Wei Li Tai and Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

In the end, Li Shimin was scolded by students and ministers. If he had not been a strong-willed person, he would have given up long ago.

"It's best if there is no rebellion!"

Li Shimin couldn't help but feel that he was too suspicious. His own princes had close contacts with the ministers in the court, and it was actually very difficult to distinguish whether they were plotting treason or not. As long as they did not raise an army, they could turn the tables, just like Crown Prince Li Chengqian did.

"Your Majesty, actually His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is quite good." Fang Xuanling forced a smile.

"It's really good. I couldn't defeat him this time. This incident made me look at him in a new light."

This is indeed a perfect ending. Li Shimin was extremely disappointed with Li Chengqian before, but now he thinks that the prince is very outstanding.

It was those damned remonstrators who slandered my prince.

"Your Majesty, that is not what I meant." Fang Xuanling hurriedly bowed and explained.

"Oh? Have you made any other discoveries?" Li Shimin became interested, with a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

"Your Majesty must have heard the reason why the prince was late." Fang Xuanling asked cautiously.

"Student gathering... Could it be that the prince can recite poetry?" Li Shimin frowned and shook his head slightly, expressing his disbelief.

I hope I don't have too high expectations, so as not to be disappointed again. The current prince has gradually met my requirements in some aspects.

"Your Majesty, please don't disbelieve it! The prince's literary attainments are truly amazing, even I am ashamed of myself."

Fang Xuanling looked sincere, spoke in an honest tone, and showed a look of shame on his face.

"Haha, you are too modest. I remember Zhang Xuansu once wrote in a letter that the prince did not like to learn poetry. Although it is a bit exaggerated, in the entire Tang Dynasty, there are probably very few people who can surpass you in poetry and prose attainments, right?"

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head. He did not believe Fang Xuanling's words and just thought he was speaking well of Li Chengqian.

"Really? His Royal Highness improvised three poems in a row. The first one encouraged the students to make progress, the second one sang praises of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, and the third one expressed his aspirations."

Fang Xuanling became more and more excited as he spoke. Every time he thought of the words in the poem, his blood boiled.

"Is it really so? What three poems did the prince write?" Seeing that Fang Xuanling's expression did not seem fake, Li Shimin also became very interested.

Could it be that I really know too little about the prince?
"Your Majesty, please listen carefully!" Fang Xuanling took a deep breath, and then he became more energetic and said loudly:
"My past was filthy and not worth boasting about, but my present kindness is boundless. I am so proud of the spring breeze that I can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day."

Li Shimin closed his eyes slightly and nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, he felt infinite heroic spirit in his heart, and his thoughts were brought back to the Hulao Pass of that year.

At that time, he was so high-spirited and proud that he captured two kings in one battle. He was so glorious.

(End of this chapter)