Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 163 Li Er: If you want the throne, come and get it yourself

what did you say?
Li Ming subconsciously opened his mouth to ask, but when he looked at his emperor father who was still holding Li Mingda and sobbing with his back to him, he swallowed the question back.

"I...I...she...you will come later."

After his precious daughter was lost and found again, Li Shimin felt so unreal that he was speechless.

He maintained the last bit of his father's dignity, sniffed his nose, mumbled something, then picked up Li Mingda and left.

Li Ming, who has mastered the folk language, probably guessed what his father meant:
I'll take her to rest first, you come to my study later.

Huh... Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief after pulling his dear sister back from the brink of death.

Only then did he realize that his hands were still shaking slightly.

He had only seen videos before, and this was the first time he actually used the Heimlich maneuver to save someone.

To say that I'm not nervous would be a lie.

He was actually trying to remain calm.

As a leader, he cannot panic.

If he gets flustered, everyone's morale will collapse and it will be really over.

This is the experience he gained during his arduous journey in Liaodong.

Now that the alarm was lifted, he suddenly felt like he had survived a disaster and felt belatedly frightened.

Just as he was taking a deep breath to calm himself, he felt a gaze from behind.

He turned around subconsciously and saw Li Zhi still kneeling there, staring at him blankly.

The two brothers looked at each other, and the older brother lowered his head guiltily.

Li Ming felt an urge to slap both of them and strode towards them.

Li Zhi did not dodge or evade, but just lowered his head even lower.

"Fuck..." Li Ming stood in front of Li Zhi and raised his hands high.

But looking at Brother Shan Ji's cheeks that were spanked like a monkey's butt by his father, he sighed, put his hands down, and sat down cross-legged carelessly.

"I...it was me who harmed Ah Sizi." Li Zhi almost buried his head in the ground.

Li Ming sighed:

"It has nothing to do with you. It's common to get food stuck in your throat."

"……Thank you."

"You have so many things to thank me for, not just this one."

"Um……"

"You took my politeness seriously? From now on, your snacks are mine, and mine are still mine. If I want to take them, you can't stop me."

"Um……"

The two of them chatted casually.

"I have something else to do. Grandpa asked me to go to the study."

Li Ming stood up from the ground, clapped his hands and patted his butt, turned back and looked directly into Li Zhi's eyes:

"What did you say to Ah Sizi just now?"

"I..." Li Zhi turned away embarrassedly.

"Whatever you said to her, forget it." Li Ming said seriously:
"If you feel you can't hold on, you can hide in my Liaodong. I will give you plenty of sugar cakes to eat."

Li Zhi said nothing.

"You don't want your sister to be sad, right, Prince Jin?" he said finally.

Li Zhi just stared at the floor, motionless.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard no sound and suddenly looked up.

Li Ming had already left in anger.

"call……"

Li Zhi let out a long breath and suddenly felt a discomfort in his chest.

He reached out and took out the letter sent by Li Tai, the King of Wei.

Wrinkled, crumpled and smoothed out by him.

"It's all... it's all because of this letter. It's all because of that King Wei who was trying to sow discord..."

Li Zhi squeezed out these words from between his teeth and stood up abruptly, as if he had made some kind of decision.

He walked to the incense burner, opened the lid, and threw the piece of straw paper into the burner.

With fresh air and fuel, the fire in the incense burner suddenly became stronger, swallowing up Li Tai's request for an alliance completely, leaving no ash.

"Brothers quarrel with each other, but we should defend ourselves against external insults... This is true."

The flickering flames sprinkled on Li Zhi's gloomy face, making the traces of tears shine brightly.

"But who is my brother and who is my foreign enemy is still unclear."

…………

Li Ming left the side hall where he had his meal. His legs felt weak and he leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

"Oh my god, I was almost there..."

The feeling of fear becomes stronger each time.

This time it’s not because of Li Mingda.

But it was because of Li Zhi.

"That guy had the idea of ​​having sex with me, and he accidentally revealed it to Li Mingda, scaring her so much that she almost choked to death on a date pit...?"

Based on Li Mingda's last words and Li Zhi's guilty conscience, Li Ming roughly reconstructed what happened.

I couldn't help but feel a little scared again.

Others may not know what kind of person Li Zhi is, but doesn’t he, a time traveler, know it?

He is treacherous and has great political skills.

Hiding behind Wu Zetian, he used several suspicious cases of treason to tease the ministers, and killed royal family members such as Li Ke and powerful ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji one by one.

What is even more amazing about Li Zhi is that he accomplished such a series of great things quietly, but he was able to leave a stereotype of "harmless" among the people.

It's really an example of making a fortune in silence.

No wonder his actual power expanded the fastest during this period.

It turns out that path dependence already existed. People regarded Li Ming as a windbreak like Wu Zetian, right?

"Can we win a fight with Li Zhi? Is it worth it?"

Li Ming seriously thought about the possibility and necessity of a fight in the Lizheng Hall.

The answer is, I don't know.

Li Zhi is still in his infancy and his abilities have not yet been developed.

But in history, it was Li Zhi who finally succeeded in conquering the world.

Li Ming has read quite a few Internet jokes, such as "The time traveler Wang Mang fought against the son of the plane Liu Xiu, and was summoned to suffer a wave of meteorite strikes."

He didn't know if there really was such a thing as "Son of the Plane".

Of course, he had no intention of using his own crown to test this probability.

Therefore, he did not want to confront Li Zhi head-on unless necessary.

It’s better to wait for the three brothers to fight out who will be the top and who will be the bottom.

"Fortunately, the thirteen-year-old Li Zhi is still just a young man..."

Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

It is said that misfortune may come as a blessing in disguise.

Li Mingda's misfortune, however, unraveled Li Zhi's secret knot in his heart.

In this way, the two brothers can at least continue to sleep peacefully in Lizheng Hall.

Well, at least it's safe for now.

After all, the young Li Zhi was not deep enough in his thinking and his emotions were not stable enough.

Whenever he encountered something that made him hesitant, he would subconsciously reveal it to Li Mingda.

Can the troubles of fighting for the throne be shared with family members? !

“But this also gave me an opportunity…

"After today's incident, I think Li Zhi will learn his lesson and will not become my enemy...

"At least it can delay him for some time so that he won't become my enemy right away."

Regardless of whether there is the so-called "Son of the Plane" curse, it is an indisputable fact that Li Ming and Li Zhi are the weakest.

If the two of them start fighting each other right from the start, then Li Zhi would have to change his surname to "Ruo".

“Although Li Zhi’s cunning has not yet fully developed, his intelligence is not that low.

"What was the reason that made him suddenly want to fight me..."

Li Ming pondered this question in his mind and went into Li Shimin's study.

Li Shimin regained his attitude of being in full control, but his eyes were still a little red.

"Is Ah Sizi okay?" Li Ming asked first.

"Well, she went back to her room to rest first." Li Shimin answered subconsciously.

Then I realized belatedly that, damn, the initiative of the topic was taken away by that guy.

It is always the emperor who asks his subjects. How could a subject ask the emperor about the situation right away?
Who is the leader of whom?
"Ahem!" He coughed dignifiedly.
"Princess Jinyang fell ill suddenly, and thanks to your proper handling by Liaodong Jiedushi, she was saved..."

"Then how are you going to reward me?" Li Ming rubbed his hands together.

Li Shimin's mouth twitched, and he asked back:
"Let me explain the situation first. What is going on? Why is Li Zhi acting so abnormal?"

Although the situation was urgent at the time, Li Shimin's mind was in a mess.

But the observation ability is still there.

After the most dangerous thing is solved, he will start to trace the root cause.

Li Ming did not intend to hide the matter for the sake of the respected person, and directly laid the matter out on the table:
"Perhaps Li Zhi accidentally revealed the future of our brothers killing each other, which frightened Li Mingda and caused him to choke on the jujube pit."

Brothers, killing each other...

The combination of these two words made Li Shimin's breathing suddenly heavy, and he almost couldn't hold back his anger.
"What nonsense!" As someone who has experienced it, he has a lot to say about this.

"It wasn't me who said that. It was Li Zhi. Don't take your anger out on me."

Li Ming decisively passed the buck, but at the same time he did not forget to poke Li Shimin's reverse scale:

"Then why did you deliberately bring together our four forces and let us brothers fight in the ring?"

Isn't this condoning and even encouraging us to kill each other?
He had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

Logically speaking, Li Er is an experienced person and has experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

If he doesn't know the destructiveness of "brotherly love" and "competition for jobs", then no one knows.

But why did he still make this arrangement?

It's not possible that after Wei Zheng died, he would completely let himself go and want to watch a big fireworks display before his death, right?
Li Shimin took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly darkened:
"Do you think that if I deliberately suppressed your conflicts and still killed Li Chengqian, the crown prince, you wouldn't kill each other?"

"This..." Li Ming was speechless for a moment.

He actually thought less about this issue.

Because he already knew the answer - yes.

And it was not just a small-scale fight, but a nationwide purge, coup, and even civil war.

He made all preparations based on this premise.

"Perhaps before I die, I can still subdue you four scoundrels.

“What will happen once I die?
"I might as well deduce them with you one by one."

Li Shimin counted on his fingers:
"If Li Chengqian inherits the throne, he will definitely not let Li Tai go, and he may not let you go either.

"And you will definitely not surrender, and neither will Li Tai.

"Similarly, if Li Tai were to take over, Li Chengqian and you would not give up.

"As for Li Zhi..."

Thinking of Li Zhi's distraught look just now, Li Shimin felt very disappointed with him.

Especially Li Ming, who was in sharp contrast with Li Zhi, was still standing in front of him in full vigor, which made him even more angry.

"Li Zhi is still young and lacks ability in all aspects. If you choose him, the three of you brothers and the people of the world will not accept it."

No, Li Zhi just made a fortune quietly and has not yet shown his talents. He is the one with the most potential among the three brothers... Li Ming complained in his heart, but repeatedly agreed verbally:
"That's right, we all disagree."

Kill that son of the plane in advance.

"Since you guys are going to make a scene anyway after I do this, why not let you guys make a scene first while I still have the final say?"

Li Shimin stood up, put his hands behind his back and paced, saying:

"As long as I am here, you will still be able to compete within the regulatory framework and avoid irreversible consequences."

Li Ming also knew the so-called "irreversible" consequences without Li Shimin saying it:

Brothers kill each other, or civil war breaks out.

Before anyone died, Li Shimin could step on the brakes at any time.

As for the outbreak of civil war, the three brothers have no military power, so what can they use to fight the civil war?

Although they all had famous generals to assist them, the Tang Dynasty implemented a strict system of separation of generals and soldiers, where the soldiers did not know their generals and the generals did not know their soldiers.

Therefore, the generals were only in name only, but in reality they were just commanders without any military power.

Well, no one has military power...

Except for a certain Liaodong Jiedushi who did not want to reveal his name, and his friends who liked to wear red turbans.

It can be said that there is someone in charge.

It can indeed minimize the side effects of fighting for the throne.

however……

"How do we determine who is suitable to succeed the throne? Even if a winner is finally decided, will the others automatically admit defeat and obey?"

Li Ming asked.

The fight for the throne is not the Olympics. Can the loser really admit defeat?
“In the fight for the throne, we are fighting for the hearts and minds of the people.

"If you lose the support of the people, you are nothing more than a tyrant. What kind of waves can you stir up?"

Li Shimin slowly walked to the huge map, put his hands behind his back and looked up to read it.

Li Ming understood it completely.

To use an analogy of "grandfather is like grandson", Li Shimin was raising Gu just like Kangxi did.

Everyone can compete, but we cannot engage in vicious competition that will destroy the country.

Well, judging from the results in later generations, this improved "Xuanwu Gate Inheritance Law" may not be worse than the "Emogeniture Law" which has never been implemented in history.

With an old emperor in charge, everyone can still act within the rules.

At least it is not easy to develop into the Chang'an Unlimited Fighting Competition.

"By the way, Grandpa, are you overlooking an option?"

Li Ming suddenly found the point and stuck it on Li Shimin's thigh like a dog-skin plaster:
"You can also directly appoint me as the next emperor!

"I swear to Weishui that I will never settle accounts with my brothers and sisters afterwards."

Li Shimin did not look back, still staring at the northeast of the map, with a smile in his tone:
"If you want it, just come and get it yourself."

"What?" Li Ming was stunned.

Li Shimin slowly turned around and looked down at Li Ming, not hiding the smile on his face:

"Didn't you realize that among all the princes, you are the only one who has military power.

"And it's the kind that I can't take away from you."

Under the oppression of a great leader, Li Ming forgot to breathe for a moment.

After a while, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva and smiled tremblingly:
"Hey, Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. What Your Majesty gives me is mine. I won't even look at what Your Majesty doesn't give me..."

What he wanted to say was:

I beat Li Shimin?
Or is it Li Shimin who led the most elite troops of the Tang Dynasty?

real or fake?

Li Shimin looked down at his youngest son, who was obviously harboring ulterior motives, with an unfathomable light flashing in his eyes.

After a while, he suppressed the light in his eyes, turned around with his hands behind his back, and started studying the map again.

"Cough cough!"

The atmosphere was getting a little weird. Li Ming coughed and brought the topic back:

"Speaking of which, how are you going to reward me?"

When it comes to asking for rewards, he is so shameless.

Li Shimin led the conversation:

"what do you want?"

"I want Li Shiji." Li Ming spoke frankly and expressed his true feelings.

Li Shimin's back trembled obviously, he took a breath, and refused directly:

"no!"

"Then give me Cheng Zhijie."

"Neither!"

"Why? The disaster was caused by Li Zhi. It is reasonable for me to claim compensation from him." Li Ming argued.

Li Shimin still said the same thing:

“If you want it, just go get it yourself.

"If you can't win the hearts of the people yourself, and you still need me to arrange troops for you, how can you make the people of the world loyal to you?

"Besides, Li Shiji and the others will definitely not be willing to do this. I'm afraid they will find you a second Chang He, which will harm you instead."

Chang He was a key figure in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He was first a member of Li Shimin's team, but was later poached by Li Jiancheng.

But he was not obedient to Li Jiancheng, in fact he was Li Shimin's spy!
On the day of the incident, it played an extremely important role.

"Tsk, you're so stingy. If you don't want to give it to me, just say so." Li Ming pouted sullenly.

Li Shimin's tone was somewhat helpless:

"You have to win people's hearts by yourself. If I win people's hearts for you, are they yours?"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Li Ming made a face at his father's back:

"I have something else to do, so I'll hang up first. Bye~"

Walk away.

Little did he know that his father had turned his head and was staring at his back until he disappeared around the corner.

Alas... Li Shimin put away his flickering eyes, looked at the map again, and let out a long sigh.

These bastard sons really make him worry.

Li Ming is relatively good. At least he is an open-minded person and can speak openly about anything.

The other three are either honest and dull, or behave strangely, or are too loyal but appear fake.

In short, no one is worry-free.

To which bastard will the Tang Dynasty be handed over...

Where will this world go...

Li Shimin looked at the map with a frown on his face.

At least, while his bones can still move and his mind is still fresh and confused.

Try harder and give it a try.

Build a big enough inheritance for your unworthy descendants and eliminate the surrounding threats first.

His gaze shifted to Mobei.

Above the Tang Dynasty, there was a huge nomadic empire:

Xue Yantuo.

"Ask Li Junxian to come in and answer the question."

(End of this chapter)