Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 138 Li Ming: My family must be broken up
After the court was adjourned, the court officials left the Taiji Hall one after another, but they met an unexpected person at the entrance of the hall.

Yuchi Jingde.

He had only a simple turban wrapped around his head, his face was darker than charcoal, and he exuded waves of anger.

It was as if the Duke of E, who had cultivated immortality and sought the truth without any desires, had turned back into the reincarnation of the decisive and murderous Black Star, Yuchi Gong.
The colleagues in the court suddenly saw the charcoal-head blocking the road. It was difficult to avoid him, so they could only bow awkwardly:
"Duke E...are you here to attend the court?"

As a supreme pillar of the state, Yuchi Jingde was certainly qualified to attend court. However, ever since he beat up Li Daozon last time and was scolded by His Majesty, he retired early and stayed away from court every day claiming to be sick.

But today, this old founding leader rarely entered the palace, and it was obvious that he was not here to discuss state affairs.

In response to greetings from his colleagues, Yuchi Jingde did not say anything, but just glared at them.

Colleagues suddenly felt as if their heartbeats skipped a beat. They nodded as a greeting and left in a hurry.

Yuchi Jingde's eyes swept over every bureaucrat who passed by with his head down, and locked onto two middle-aged men with ordinary faces.

"Duke of E?" Prime Minister Liu Li and Secretary of the Central Secretariat Cen Wenben looked innocent as they watched Duke of E rushing towards them like a black bear.

Without giving them any time to react, Yuchi Jingde punched each of the two civil officials to the ground.

"Traitor! Flatterer! He doesn't even spare the children!"

While cursing, Yuchi Jingde rode on the two men's bodies, slapping them left and right, and slapping them in the face.

Poor Liu Li and Cen Benwen, they were just scholars and were beaten by the Black Star without any ability to fight back. They could only cry out in pain.

There was chaos outside the Taiji Hall.

"Duke E, Duke E! What's wrong with you?!"

"Stop! You are going to beat the two elders to death!"

"Imperial doctor! Call the imperial doctor quickly!"

"Call the guards first! Get these three apart!"

Although Yuchi Jingde has been living in seclusion in recent years and is much thinner than in his peak period, that is only compared to himself.

Compared with ordinary people, this founding general is no ordinary person.

The palace guards almost hung all over him before they managed to pull him away.

Liu and Cen had already been beaten so badly that their faces were bruised and swollen beyond recognition. They could only utter a few words weakly.

"Traitor! Why don't you dig out your own eyeballs and send them to Pingzhou to see for yourself!"

When he was pulled away, Yuchi Jingde was still cursing.

"They caused such a disturbance in the forbidden area of ​​the palace. What a disgrace to our dignity!" The bureaucrats who witnessed the whole incident sighed with glee.

They can't wait to see what tomorrow's Chang'an Express will write.

How about taking the initiative to sell some information to Pei Xingjian?

Li Shimin inside the palace naturally saw through the commotion outside the palace.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the old fellow's disgraced appearance outside the hall.

His grandson Yuchi Xunyu had been missing for several months and was framed as a traitor by several civil officials. No one would be able to tolerate this.

Even Changsun Wuji almost had the urge to take action in the court just now...

"Jingde still has the love for his child." Li Shimin sighed.

"Yes." Changsun Wuji subconsciously took over this sentence, and immediately felt that His Majesty seemed to have other meanings.

He secretly raised his eyes and suddenly found that Li Shimin was staring at him.

The look is unhappy.

"Your Majesty?" Changsun Wuji's heart was beating fast.

A fierce light flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, and his voice seemed to be filled with suppressed anger:
"I also have a love for my children. Fu Ji, what about you?"

"I..." Changsun Wuji had a bitter face.

He couldn't remember how many times His Majesty had scolded him.

Ever since Li Ming went to Liaodong, a strange trend suddenly arose in the court, and people have been openly opposing Li Ming.

It started with the impeachment of Xue Wanche, a marginal member of the Fourteen Parties, and then to the impeachment of Li Daozon, Wei Daijia, and Hou Junji, until he secretly spoke ill of Li Ming.

After rumors spread from Liaodong that Li Ming had become a bandit and colluded with foreign enemies, these bewildered court officials slandered Li Ming crazily as if it were a holiday.

Among this strange force, Liu Li and Cen Wenben held the highest official positions.

But Changsun Wuji knew that it was impossible for these two people alone to connect such a huge force.

There must be an expert behind the scenes giving guidance.

And His Majesty obviously mistook the hateful master who stirred up the situation for his own Changsun Wuji.

"Your Majesty... my grandson Chang Sunyan is also in Liaodong, with His Majesty Li Ming and his men...

"I am also very concerned about the safety of the children."

Zhang Sun Wuji wanted to cut out his heart:
"I really did not frame His Highness Li Ming."

Facing such a sincere brother-in-law, Li Shimin just smiled coldly:
"Framed? Does that mean that as long as you don't think it's a frame-up, you can instruct others to say nonsense at will?"

"No, Your Majesty..."

Just as Zhangsun Wuji was about to explain himself, he was rudely interrupted by Li Shimin:

"I am just expressing my love for my child. What are you talking about, Assistant?"

Being considered as someone who was trying to hide something, Changsun Wuji felt like he was neither a human nor a human.

Since Your Majesty has already determined that he is the mastermind, no matter how he defends himself, he will only make things worse.

This is no wonder, because Changsun Wuji was the first one to want to kill Li Ming, and he was also the one who was most active in besieging the Fourteenth Party.

Now that His Majesty is so suspicious of me, I can only say that the wolf is coming.

But the problem is, it really wasn’t him this time!
If he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Li Ming once and for all, he would not have done it so clumsily.

It seemed as if he was deliberately trying to cause dislike for the Crown Prince and himself in front of His Majesty...

"Assisted machine, remember this." Li Shimin's eyes were bloodshot and his voice was low, like a lion guarding its cubs:

"I am the Supreme Emperor. My children are not something you can touch, and they are certainly not pawns for you to fight for power and profit."

The meaning of the warning can no longer be described as "strong".

Zhang Sun Wuji had many grievances, but he could only grit his teeth and swallow them. He knelt down with a bitter face and answered:
"The princes are all of noble status. How dare I overstep my authority?"

Li Shimin was tired of hearing similar statements.

He didn't even look at Changsun Wuji, just waved his hand casually and sent this pillar of the court away.

To be fair, there are still many doubts in the letter from Yingzhou Governor Zhang Jian, and it cannot completely clear Li Ming of the doubts.

However, the various questions raised by the ministers were obviously mixed with a lot of attempts to take advantage of the situation.

The situation of my youngest son in the court is really not optimistic...

I rode back to Lizheng Hall, and saw a figure who had been coming and going frequently recently waiting at the door as expected.

"Your Majesty." Li Junxian bowed from a distance.

Li Shimin tilted his head and signaled to the other party:

Let’s talk about it after we go in.

…………

"It was only after Zhang Liang learned that His Royal Highness Li Ming had disappeared in Liaodong that he suddenly started exchanging letters with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi through his many adopted sons.

"And in the past month, the exchanges have become increasingly close.

"As for the content of the letter, since he is extremely cautious, I am sorry that I am incompetent and have no way of knowing..."

In the study of Lizheng Hall, Li Junxian reported to Li Shimin in detail the results of the surveillance during this period.

Li Shimin listened quietly, trying hard to control his expression from distorting.

The remnants of the "feudal system" still remained in his mind, so he did not restrict the princes from developing personal relationships with ministers. He even encouraged them to recruit talents, govern their fiefdoms, and defend Chang'an.

But Li You stretched his hand to where it shouldn't be. Zhang Liang was the emperor's spy and could only obey the emperor.

Given Li You's ability, it was a strange thing for him to make friends with Zhang Liang.

What is even more strange is that they suddenly "made friends" with Li You after he left Chang'an.

Li Junxian's intelligence confirmed Li Shimin's guess -

Li Ming's disappearance in Liaodong was the opportunity for Zhang Liang and Li You to join forces.

Perhaps there is a dark hand behind this.

Did the mastermind calculate that Li Shimin would use Zhang Liang and order his spies to go to Liaodong for reconnaissance, so he set up the plan in advance...right?

If this is true, then Li You's role in this is just a mouthpiece, conveying the instructions of the mastermind to Zhang Liang in order to cover up the identity of the real murderer.

As for what the instructions are...

"They had Zhang Liang distort intelligence, create the illusion that Li Ming was rebelling, and pin the blame for the chaos in Liaodong on him...

"You are trying to pull chestnuts out of the fire... Li You, Li You, I told you to read more and use your brain, why didn't you listen?"

Li Shimin didn't know whether to cry or laugh for a moment.

If this conspiracy is true, then Wei Zheng would have died in vain!

Because he was too dedicated and responsible, he was mistakenly killed by the political storm targeting Li Ming!
"Your Majesty?" The emperor suddenly fell silent, and Li Junxian felt a little unsure.

Li Shimin came back to his senses and asked casually:
"Besides Zhang Liang, who else is the King of Qi close to in Qi?"

Li Junxian shook his head: "I don't know yet. I have to send someone to Qizhou. But..."

"But what?"

"But before the King of Qi left, the Crown Prince held a banquet for him and gave him generous gifts..."

"Nonsense!" Li Shimin almost yelled:
"The princes have a deep bond with each other, so you outsiders have no right to interfere!"

Li Junxian was so scared that he knelt on the ground and trembled.

Li Shimin closed his eyes, calmed down for a while, and said softly:
"That's all I need to do. Everything is just my wild guesses. Thank you for your help."

Li Junxian didn't dare to ask more questions or think too much, and bowed and left the study.

Ugh……

Li Shimin sat alone in his study, feeling extremely lonely and depressed.

Maybe I was overthinking it, maybe Zhang Liang and Li You were just having normal dealings, maybe Zhang Liang was just not good at his job and was too eager to draw conclusions, or maybe Li Ming really was a rebel.

But what if there is really someone behind all this?

The death of Wei Zheng, the chaos in the court for several months, and his own increasingly haggard body...

They are just fuel for this conspiracy!
Li Shimin could not get angry, he only felt waves of sadness.

Zhang Liang is his confidant. Li You is his biological son. Zhang Sun Wuji is his elder brother-in-law.

The only one who can bring the three of them together is...

Reason told him that he couldn't think any further.

But there was a voice deep inside him, buzzing in his ears:

The prince, it’s the prince. It was the prince who wanted to kill Li Ming from the beginning to the end!
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel sad.

He suddenly felt all alone.

His dearest son, closest uncle, and most trusted confidant all had their own plans behind his back.

How could this happen? How could I end up in such a situation?
When we were fighting for the empire, weren't all the officials willing to sacrifice their lives and united as one?

That state of vigor and vitality, where all things flourish, is still before our eyes. Could it be that in just fifteen years, we have suddenly become a lonely place?

Li Shimin suddenly envied Li Ming.

It's great that there is a group of villagers who sincerely follow him, and a group of close friends who go crazy with him...

He suddenly felt angry, slammed the table and left the study.

…………

East Palace.

Li Chengqian was combing his long hair while piecing together the battle report of Pingzhou at the table.

After combining reliable information from various sources, he discovered that the battle line between the Red Turban bandits and the "Imperial Army" was a bit strange.

Because there is no battle line at all.

The area controlled by Murong Yan was like mold. A few moldy red-turbaned bandits would always appear out of nowhere and then suddenly spread throughout the entire area.

In the end, the "imperial army" in this area suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, and was replaced by a large number of Red Turban Army that appeared from nowhere.

"Brother Li Ming, you are really good at making trouble." Li Chengqian laughed out loud.

During this period, he stayed in the East Palace obediently and no longer went around pretending to be a Turk riding and shooting.

His good uncle Changsun Wuji warned him more than once that his father was in poor health and seemed to be suspicious of him, so it was best not to make his father angry.

Although he was not convinced, Li Chengqian still did as he was told.

The palace maid - after the Chengxin incident, the Ministry of Internal Affairs expelled all the eunuchs and male servants from the Eastern Palace - hurriedly reported:
"Your Highness, His Majesty has come to visit..."

"Oh, my father is here? I have to go to greet him." Li Chengqian slowly stood up with the help of the table, dragging his sick leg with difficulty.

Just as he moved to the door of the room, a majestic figure appeared in front of him.

"Father?"

Li Chengqian looked at his father with a bad look on his face and felt a little helpless.

Li Shimin looked down at his theoretical successor, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment:

"Li Ming saved you, and Wei Zheng worked hard for you. Is this how you repay them?
"How can the future ruler of the Tang Dynasty be so heartless?!

"Tell them to stop throwing dirty water! It's useless. You can't fool me!"

Li Chengqian: ???

…………

Li Shimin was furious and left in anger.

Li Chengqian sat on the ground in a daze.

My father is looking for trouble for no reason. Is he going to destroy me?! ...

He stared blankly into space, his lips muttering unconsciously.

"Your Highness..." The palace maid hurriedly went to support him.

Li Chengqian retracted his hand as if he had received an electric shock:

"Get lost! Don't touch me!"

He struggled to his feet, limped out of the Garter Hall and came to the stable.

"Your Highness, the King's uncle has repeatedly told me..."

"What's the point of confessing? What's the point of me keeping quiet?!"

Li Chengqian ignored the advice of his staff, mounted his horse and jumped out of the east gate.

Only by galloping against the whistling strong wind could he forget the disability of his legs, the disappointed look in his father's eyes, the heaviness of the crown of the crown prince, and truly feel the long-lost freedom.

He galloped along the streets of Chang'an all the way north, walked out of the north gate with a scan of his face, and plunged into the dense forest in the northern suburbs of Chang'an City, where civilians were not allowed to enter.

North Forbidden Garden.

When he was tired of riding, he came to his senses and found himself in front of the quaint and elegant temple again.

Ganye Temple.

(End of this chapter)