Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 126 My eldest son... rebelled?!

Deep in Yanshan Mountain.

The dilapidated village was silent.

There is no grass growing and the bark of the trees is bare.

Being eaten.

In the village, poor people, half-naked, lay on the ground motionless.

They are not lazy.

They have no strength.

People are so quiet before they starve to death.

Even if they managed to avoid starvation by eating the flesh of the dead, they would still freeze to death without any clothes to wear when the weather turned cold in a few days.

Just like the autumn cicada.

The man lay helplessly on the dry ground, his hands clenched tightly.

Through the gaps between fingers, tiny sparks of golden light flickered.

This was a grain of gold, which he had found by chance while searching for wild vegetables among the rocks.

He is waiting.

When all the neighbors were starving to death, he hid the gold and went down the mountain to exchange it for food...

At this time, there was a noise outside the village.

A group of outsiders walked in.

The man couldn't help but feel desperate.

A few days ago, a group of outsiders wearing helmets and armor entered the village.

It's the Tang army...or Murong's minions wearing Tang army armor.

It doesn't matter, it's all the same thing anyway.

This group of soldiers seemed to be looking for someone.

But the purpose of their trip was not just to find someone.

"Destroy this place to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Red Scarf Bandits"...

This is what the captain in charge ordered.

Then, the village houses were burned, the livestock were killed, and the winter rations were thrown into the Luan River.

The bandits passed by like combs and the soldiers passed by like rakes. After a thorough search, the villagers cursed and cried, but finally shut up.

There's no point in crying or shouting, so you might as well save your energy.

“Even if I flee to the mountains I can’t hide from Murong…” The man clenched his fists.

Why did this village move into the mountains instead of cultivating the fertile plains? Is it because they don't like the plains?
The man closed his eyes in hatred, waiting for a knife to cut his throat, just like Murong Yan did to other mountain people.

Then he heard a childish voice:

"Give him some porridge, take his time, don't let him get too full."

粥？
The man heard the familiar yet unfamiliar words and opened his eyes.

A bowl of golden yellow rice porridge came into view, moistening his dry throat.

He came to life.

The whole village came alive.

Only then did he see the true face of his savior.

A group of men and women wearing red headscarves.

The leader seemed to be a child.

child……

The man thought he was hallucinating because of hunger and saw the reincarnation of Buddha.

However, this is the reality.

The child even climbed up the slope and spoke to the villagers:
"Those who want to fight Murong Yan, come with me. Those who want to find a living, also come with me. Those who are reluctant to leave their homeland will each be given three days' rations.

“Don’t force it, just choose it voluntarily.”

After saying this, he left the village without looking back.

A man stood up tremblingly and followed this group of strange kind people.

Then, the second, the third...

The whole village followed the child's footsteps.

For survival, for revenge, and to kill Murong Yan!

The man clenched the gold in his hand, gritted his teeth, and caught up with the main force.

Because he had been hungry for a long time, he suddenly felt dizzy when he stood up and the gold fell to the ground.

Then, he felt the greedy gaze of the red-scarf man, and he stood still, not daring to breathe.

The leading child picked up the gold grains.

"Respectfully...respectfully yours..." The man forced an ugly smile.

The child took the man's hand and pressed the gold back into his hand.

"Keep your own things to yourself."

As he said this, he kicked the red-scarfed man who had just flashed by and showed his covetous eyes.

"You want to be the second Murong Yan? Have you forgotten what I told you?

"Don't take your fellow villagers' things!"

The man didn't know who the child was, nor did he know where this group of people wearing red headscarves came from.

He only knew that he would follow him for the rest of his life.

The legend of a child gradually spread across the Yanshan Mountains.

…………

Chang'an, Tai Chi Hall.

"I impeach Li Daozong, the Prince of Jiangxia, for colluding with the Turks."

"Hou Junji does not respect his master and speaks rudely to him in private."

"I impeach the governor of two states, Wei Daijia. The evil monk under his command prophesied that 'the descendants of the Wei family will inherit the country', and his intentions are suspicious..."

At the grand court meeting, Li Shimin listened impatiently to the officials impeaching this and that.

He inexplicably felt as if these civil servants were eating sour plums - their mouths felt sour and they would pop a pit for fun from time to time.

Those impeached all had one thing in common - they were all members of Li Ming's "Fourteen Parties" and they all happened to be on business trips out of town.

Whoever isn't blackening is right.

Li Shimin's ears were almost callused from listening so much.

From the day Li Ming set out for Liaodong, these insects have been constantly throwing dirty water on him and his accomplices.

Even Xue Wanche, who was indirectly involved, was implicated. He was accused of "molesting a commoner girl" and kicked out to Yingzhou.

It also means that this rough and old bachelor is unlucky.

Li Shimin would not be surprised when this group of corrupt officials impeached Li Ming for treason.

Damn it, do you really think I am a foolish king?

Is there something wrong with Li Ming and his people? Are they colluding with the Turks? Are they plotting rebellion?
Damn it! Even if Crown Prince Li Chengqian were to rebel, they wouldn’t!
Have I forgotten which four loyal ministers saved me and my sons from the Turks?

It’s only been a few days, and you beasts in human form are already writing history books?!
If he had not been afraid of blocking the channels of speech, Li Shimin would have been suppressing his beast-like state of mind. He wished he could immediately send out the court judge to send these insects to heaven one by one.

"Assistant Engine, what do you think?" Li Shimin suppressed his anger and looked at Changsun Wuji with amusement.

Zhang Sun Wuji felt very uncomfortable and answered without any confidence:

“Although Li Dao Zong is somewhat vain, Hou Junji is somewhat greedy, and Wei Daijia is somewhat weak.

“But the loyalty of these three is unquestionable.

"It's all nonsense to say that they are disloyal and treasonous!"

He still reluctantly said something fair and sarcastic to his political opponents.

His Highness Li Ming and his followers must naturally fight.

But not now!
It has only been two months since the Jiucheng Palace Incident, and Your Majesty still remembers Li Ming's kindness!
If you say something bad about Li Ming now, wouldn't that bring bad luck?
Moreover, Li Ming's absence in the past few months was a great opportunity for Your Majesty to distance himself from that naughty boy!
What happened next? You idiots are trying to make Li Ming feel important in front of His Majesty every day!
People will thank you later!
"Haha, Wuji's words are nonsense, but they are well-founded." Fang Xuanling started playing with puns like crazy.

Changsun Wuji's face didn't look good.

"Haha, what Lord Xuanling said is very wonderful." Li Shimin made a joke about the head of civil servants in front of all the court officials.

He glanced at Changsun Wuji without a smile in his eyes.

Changsun Wuji felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Making himself a laughing stock in front of his subordinates was undoubtedly a warning from His Majesty.

As for the reason for the knocking, he also knew...

Your Majesty has mistaken him as the mastermind behind the impeachment of Li Ming!

He even began to dislike the prince.

Li Ming had just saved the prince's life, but the prince turned around and instructed his uncle to attack him in the court.

Ingratitude and fratricide are the two faults that Li Shimin hates the most.

Therefore, during this best opportunity to repair the relationship between the Crown Prince and His Majesty, the father and son became increasingly estranged.

Considering the actions and attitudes of the Crown Prince and Zhangsun Wuji towards Li Ming, it is understandable that Your Majesty would understand it this way.

There's just one small problem -

This time it really wasn't the Crown Prince and Changsun Wuji who did it! The Crown Prince isn't that heartless, and Changsun Wuji isn't that brainless.

Although he thought about killing Li Ming and eliminated Li Ming's followers, he knew that he was still a good uncle of the emperor.

Therefore, this wave of criticism against Li Ming seems particularly strange.

The main force is the upright censors who criticize anyone they catch, as well as marginal figures from various forces such as the Prince's Party, the Prince of Wei Party, and the royal family.

It was as if waves arose out of nowhere, and these scraps suddenly became a force, and they continued...

"I wonder who the prime minister is going to impeach and send to Yingzhou this time?" Fang Xuanling asked sarcastically.

The corner of Changsun Wuji's mouth twitched.

The most cunning one is this old guy with facial paralysis.

The impeachment of Xue Wanche, a member of Li Ming's faction, was a bad thing for him as the "leader of the 14th party".

Unexpectedly, this old fox turned danger into fortune, and took the opportunity to write a memorial to the emperor and kicked Xue Wanche to Yingzhou!
Whose territory is Yingzhou?
Isn’t it Li Ming’s?
Isn't this a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth, and the fourteen parties are happy to add one more?

Li Ming increased his presence remotely and gained a new helper, a win-win situation.

Chang Sun Wuji was almost pissed off by these clowns who suddenly appeared...

"Mr. Changsun, Mr. Changsun?"

The Minister of the Central Secretariat Yang Shidao came over and interrupted Changsun Wuji's sulking with a whisper.

He handed over a memorial:
"Mr. Changsun, would you like to take a look first?"

Changsun Wuji glanced at his colleague in confusion.

There is a procedure for submitting memorials. They are first reviewed by the Secretariat and then submitted to Your Majesty for review so that Your Majesty can be prepared in advance.

If you suddenly hand over a note during a grand court meeting and His Majesty is caught off guard, wouldn't he look stupid?
But Yang Shidao would only know the process better than Changsun Wuji.

He immediately realized that something serious had happened.

It was a major matter that even the Minister of the Secretariat was unsure about whether to violate procedures, so the decision could only be made by the head of the civil service.

Changsun Wuji did not dare to delay and took a quick look.

In an instant, Yang Shidao saw a complex expression of shock, fear, secret joy, and anger on his boss's face.

My great grandson, the bastard Li Ming, the bastard Hou Junji... Changsun Wuji finally calmed down and immediately presented the memorial:

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Pingzhou!"

"Pingzhou?" Li Shimin's face darkened.

The news that Changsun Wuji could present in front of all the officials at the grand court meeting must be extremely urgent and important news.

Could it be that Goguryeo and Xueyantuo jointly invaded?

He suppressed his anxiety and calmly took the crumpled memorial from the eunuch.

The person who submitted the memorial was Hou Junji, and it was sent eight days ago.

It only took eight days to travel more than four thousand miles, which was the fastest time for communication between Chang'an and Pingzhou. One trip could destroy the entire Wei family's stable.

Li Shimin read it and his pupils shrank.

The situation is much worse than expected.

"Li Ming was kidnapped by bandits, and the governor Liu Xin committed suicide out of fear of punishment...Ah!"

He covered his head in pain.

All the ministers were shocked:
"His Majesty?!"

"My head hurts, my head hurts so bad..."

Li Shimin groaned softly, sweating profusely from the pain, and could not even sit steadily on the dragon couch.

The eunuch held him up while he was crawling.

"Your Majesty, please go back to the palace and rest first, Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician!"

Li Shimin held his forehead with one hand and suddenly pushed the eunuch away roughly with the other hand:

"Get out! My son, I have to save him!"

what? !

All the ministers were furious.

"Quiet!" Changsun Wuji shouted loudly to maintain order.

"Silence!" Almost at the same time, another familiar yet unfamiliar roar exploded in the Taiji Hall, startling all the officials.

It’s Fang Xuanling.

This old minister, who had always been calm and expressionless in the face of fame and fortune, suddenly stood up, his face extremely ferocious, and his eyes staring at Your Majesty fiercely.

It was the first time that many ministers saw Fang Xiang’s vivid expression, and they suddenly realized that this Shangshu Zuo Pushe was actually a flesh-and-blood person.

Pingzhou, prince, in trouble... He had not seen the memorial yet, but these three words put together gave Fang Xuanling an extremely ominous premonition.

His son, his young master...

Hou Junji, Wei Daijia, Liu Xin, you are a bunch of useless bastards! ... Li Shimin was tortured by a headache and was so angry and anxious that his brain was about to explode.

He wished he could mobilize all the troops from Yingzhou, Youzhou, and even the entire country, unite them together, and send all the evildoers in Pingzhou to hell!
But he couldn't act on impulse.

He is a father, but also an emperor.

"Pass... my decree." He covered his head and quickly made a series of arrangements:

"Yingzhou Military Governor's Office dispatched 2,000 troops to immediately support Pingzhou and strictly guard against Goguryeo in the northern border. Weizhou Military Governor's Office trained the local troops and horses and kept them on standby at all times. Youzhou Prefecture's subordinate yamen runners and Wuhou Guards dispatched one-third..."

The ministers realized that something had happened in Liaodong.

But no one dared to ask.

Your Majesty, Lord Zhangsun, and Prime Minister Fang, the three pillars of the empire, were all very uncalm at this moment.

"Remember..." Li Shimin endured the severe pain and emphasized weakly:

"For the bandits, the main approach is to appease them. As long as they release the people, everything... can be discussed."

…………

After that, Hou Junji reported the latest news of Pingzhou in urgent reports every day.

This was a huge test for the post stations along this route. I don't know how many horses were killed or injured. This would inevitably affect the war preparedness communications in the northeast in the future.

But Li Shimin still felt it was not fast enough and wished he could fly to Pingzhou and take charge in person.

But his old illness relapsed and his ministers fought desperately to stop him.

According to Hou Junji's communications, the situation was becoming more serious day by day.

The group of bandits who kidnapped Li Ming and three other young masters were called the Red Scarf Bandits. They had been entrenched in Pingzhou for many years. In just a few days, their power expanded rapidly and they were threatening to sweep across the entire Yanshan Mountain area.

According to information from Murong Yan, a local prominent family, the Red Turban bandits have been colluding with Goguryeo.

As for Murong Yan, Hou Junji did not completely trust her.

The bandit suppression was too aggressive, and it seemed that they were afraid of angering the bandits. Hou Junji also felt that this was inappropriate.

However, this local emperor's control over the people and officials of Pingzhou was beyond imagination, and he only obeyed the central government's orders and not its announcements.

Hou Junji only had the title of Minister of Six Ministries, but his power was completely empty.

"Fool, idiot! This is a civil uprising instigated by bandits. The main thing to deal with a civil uprising is appeasement!"

Li Shimin sat by the oil lamp and angrily threw the memorial aside.

As soon as he got angry, he felt a sharp pain in his head, and he couldn't help but hiss.

Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If you get angry and become sick, no one can replace you…

At this time, the eunuch came to report:
"Your Majesty, Zhang Liang requests an audience."

Zhang Liang?

His covert intelligence chief?
What's up so late?

Li Shimin looked at the dark night outside the window.

"Let him in."

After a while, Zhang Liang, the leader of the spy who looked ordinary and could not be found in the vast crowd, came to greet him respectfully:

"Please forgive me, it's late at night..."

"Let's get down to business." Li Shimin went straight to the point.

Zhang Liang said slowly:
"Your Majesty, the spies from Pingzhou have reported that they have found Prince Ming's whereabouts..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhang Liang felt his shoulders sink.

Li Shimin put his hands on his shoulders and stared at him with burning eyes.

"Is Li Ming still alive? Is he okay? Where is he? How can we rescue him?"

"Uh……"

Faced with His Majesty's four consecutive questions of concern, Zhang Liang suddenly hesitated.

"Hurry up and speak!" Li Shimin pushed him impatiently.

Zhang Liang took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and continued slowly:

"His Highness Li Ming is fine, and he is not suffering. However, he is still with the bandits in Pingzhou... that is, the Red Scarf Army..."

Li Shimin was too anxious to notice Zhang Liang's strange choice of words and interrupted him angrily:

"I want to know where he is and how to rescue him from the bandits!"

"Well, maybe... Prince Ming doesn't need rescue." Zhang Liang chose his words carefully.

Li Shimin was almost out of anger:
"What did you say?!"

"Because..." Zhang Liang looked directly at the furious king and said calmly:

"That group of Red Scarf Army was led by His Highness Li Ming."

(End of this chapter)