My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 426 The Mad King of Wei

The next day.

Taiji Hall, the Great Court Meeting.

A faint smell of gunpowder still lingered between the beams and pillars.

The sandalwood incense in the bronze crane incense burner burned straight up, but it couldn't suppress the stagnant atmosphere throughout the hall.

Almost everyone of high rank in Chang'an had arrived. People in purple and crimson robes crowded together, and the soft sound of their boots rolling over the gold bricks concealed countless anxieties.

The Crown Prince followed the same path His Majesty had taken years before, and more importantly, he succeeded. This left the officials who received the news later looking at each other in bewilderment.

Of course, the explosions the night before also kept many people awake.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a prince's python robe, stood on the east side of the steps, the black robe embroidered with dark gold dragon patterns on the corners.

He gazed at the officials below, his eyes as calm as a frozen lake, as if the roar of Xuanwu Gate the night before was just a dream.

Li Shimin did not come, but Zhang Anan, who served as the emperor's eunuch, did, which can be considered as representing the legitimacy of imperial power.

"His Majesty has issued an edict—"

Edict appointing Li Chengqian as Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm:
"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"Crown Prince Chengqian is of outstanding talent and profound character. He has studied under a teacher since childhood and is well-versed in military strategy; he has observed military affairs many times and is well-versed in military tactics. In the past, he made meritorious contributions in protecting the emperor during the border patrols; now, he is leading the troops and is the hope of the people."

"By the mandate of Heaven, I have nurtured all nations. Considering the unrest on the borders and the need for capable military leaders, I hereby appoint Crown Prince Chengqian as Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, commanding all armies, both inside and outside the capital, and controlling all military forces. He shall act at his own discretion in all matters concerning the requisition of provisions, the appointment and dismissal of officers, and strategies for attack and defense, without the need for prior approval."

"You shall carry out my will, display your might, pacify the barbarians, and safeguard the state. Do not become arrogant because of your achievements, nor neglect public duty for personal gain. Strive diligently!"

"Appreciate this!"

Zhang Anan's shrill voice broke the silence. This eunuch, who had served Li Shimin for more than 20 years, was still holding the bright yellow silk book today, but the white hair at his temples seemed to have increased a few more strands than yesterday.

The officials looked at each other in bewilderment. The position of Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces had not existed before, but it existed from this day forward. This meant that all military power would henceforth be under the control of the Crown Prince.

An elderly censor, nearing seventy, lost his grip on his jade tablet, which clattered to the ground.

He hurriedly reached for it, only to find his hands trembling—the implication was clear: even the power to mobilize troops could be exercised "without needing to petition."

Fang Xuanling stood at the head of the civil officials, his white beard hanging down to his chest, obscuring his tightly pursed lips. He gazed at the young figure on the steps, and for a moment, he felt as if he had superimposed the image of Li Shimin from twenty-three years ago.

When Li Yuan conferred the title of General of Heavenly Strategy upon Li Shimin at the court assembly in the Wude Hall, all the officials remained silent in fear.

Back then, he clenched his fists, hoping for a new era, but now his palms are sweating.

But that's not all.

After Zhang Anan read the first imperial edict aloud, he immediately took out another imperial edict from a brocade box held by a young eunuch beside him.

Imperial Edict Appointing Crown Prince Chengqian to Regent the State:
"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"I have ruled the world for twenty years, working tirelessly day and night without ever slacking off. Fortunately, thanks to the protection of the ancestral temple, the world is at peace. However, in recent years my health has deteriorated and I am suffering from many illnesses. My lung disease has worsened day by day, and medicine has been ineffective. I am finding it difficult to manage the affairs of state."

"Crown Prince Chengqian is benevolent, filial, intelligent, and has long been accustomed to government affairs. He has been trained in the Eastern Palace for many years and is well-versed in governance. He is highly regarded by the court and the people. Now, I hereby appoint Chengqian to oversee the country and manage all affairs on my behalf."

"All internal and external memorials, important military and national affairs, and rewards, punishments, promotions, and demotions shall be decided by the Crown Prince without the need for prior approval. All officials and ministers shall be subject to his authority, and anyone who dares to disobey shall be punished according to the law."

"I shall retire to the Da'an Palace to recuperate and fulfill my original aspirations."

"Proclaim this throughout the land, so that all may know!"

The imperial edict caused an uproar among the officials.

This time, the commotion could no longer be suppressed. Young officials gasped in disbelief, while veteran ministers froze in place, forgetting even to raise their official tablets. "No need for a formal request!" These four words struck like a hammer blow, leaving everyone dizzy.

From today onwards, the handwriting on the vermilion edicts in the Taiji Hall may indeed need to be changed.

Hou Junji suddenly stepped forward and gruffly announced, "Your subject, Hou Junji, General of the Left Golden Guard, kowtows to express his gratitude for Your Majesty's great favor! Congratulations to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

His voice was so loud that it made the roof beams tremble, as if he was afraid that others would forget his "meritorious service in helping the emperor rise to power".

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the silent Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji. Fang Xuanling's back was even more hunched, and the ivory tablet in his hand gleamed from being rubbed by his fingertips.

Changsun Wuji gazed outside the palace, as if there were familiar scenes of the Zhenguan era there.

After the imperial edict was read aloud, the hall was so quiet that one could hear the soft sound of incense ash falling onto the gold bricks.

Li Chengqian stepped forward slowly and took the two silk scrolls handed to him by Zhang Anan.

"My lords," Li Chengqian began, his voice not loud, yet clearly carrying to every corner.

"Father is recuperating, and I will temporarily handle state affairs. If you have anything to report, please do so; otherwise, the court is adjourned."

No one stepped forward.

Today's court assembly is not for handling government affairs. If any fool comes up with a bunch of government affairs, then we don't need to open our eyes anymore.

Hou Junji wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Li Chengqian's gaze.

The crown prince's gaze was indifferent, yet it seemed to carry an invisible pressure, making everyone in the hall, dressed in crimson and purple robes, appear three degrees shorter.

Hou Junji's heart skipped a beat.

The crown prince of yesterday is completely different from the crown prince of today.

He can no longer shout and yell as he pleases.

As an old man who participated in both Xuanwu Gate Incidents, Hou Junji realized that the Crown Prince's authority seemed to be even greater than that of His Majesty.

His Majesty staged a coup back then, but the Crown Prince truly rebelled and captured Xuanwu Gate.

The concepts here are completely different.

After a long silence, Fang Xuanling bowed first: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Changsun Wuji followed closely behind, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Next came Wei Zheng and Yang Shidao. Their dark court robes undulated like waves, and the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" echoed through the palace, but they lacked the usual piety and instead carried a heavy sense of resignation.

The sunlight slanted in from outside the hall, casting long shadows on the golden bricks. Li Chengqian turned and walked towards the rear hall, his black python robe fluttering in the light and dust, like a black eagle spreading its wings.

Behind them, the sandalwood incense still burned straight, but everyone knew that some things, starting from Xuanwu Gate last night, could never be returned to.
-
East Palace.

In fact, Li Chengqian still has a lot to deal with, but many things cannot be rushed.

Even though he has obtained the Imperial Seal of the State, he is still far from being able to actually ascend the throne.

Speaking solely of civil officials, there are very few truly capable and trusted confidants. Take Prince Li Yuanchang of Han, for example; he's alright in other areas, but when it comes to handling government affairs, he's a complete slacker.

Du He is actually quite good, but his abilities are limited. He previously held a position in the palace by virtue of his family connections.

He was truly capable; relying on his father Du Ruhui's reputation, he would at least be a vice minister of one of the six ministries.

Unfortunately, compared to the current imperial court, it really doesn't rank high.

Li Dejian, when he gets serious, is neither good at literature nor at martial arts.

He was a great eunuch, but he was actually just a construction manager. Otherwise, with his father Li Jing's reputation as the military genius of the Tang Dynasty, how could he not have been promoted by Li Shimin?
Now Li Jing himself is clear about his son's level.

It's not that Li Shimin was afraid of him; the only person he was truly afraid of was Li Jing. As for his son, he wasn't worthy of being given a position. If Li Shimin had the ability, he would definitely have given him an important role.

To be honest, among Li Chengqian's confidants, the only one with any real ability was Zhao Jie.

His mother was a princess, and his stepfather was the Grand Secretary, but this was not enough to qualify him to serve as the local official of a prefecture.

Although the position of Prefect of Yangzhou was inevitably influenced by family background, Zhao Jie himself was capable. After taking office, he did not make any great achievements, but he did not make any mistakes. He managed Yangzhou in a way that was at least peaceful, if not perfect.

It may not sound like much, but actually being able to handle the affairs of a state well is already quite an achievement.

What should Li Chengqian do? He can't just remove Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji now and put Du He and Zhao Jie in power.

Managing state affairs sounds simple, but when you actually face the affairs of the whole country, you'll know what it's all about.

Zhao Jie had experience in handling affairs, and if Li Chengqian were to approach him and ask him to replace Fang Xuanling, he would undoubtedly refuse a thousand times over.

Zhao Jie was well aware of his own limitations.

The reason why Li Shimin was able to smoothly take over Li Yuan's court was because he had a large number of civil and military officials under his command.

Li Chengqian's predicament was that he had no better people in the court than those currently in power.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with forcing it through, but it would inevitably cause chaos in the Tang Dynasty's rule, which would be tantamount to turning back the clock of history.

Therefore, the main focus now is on stability.

Then we need to wait for the 100,000 elite troops from Liaodong to arrive in Chang'an first.
-
Prince Wei's Mansion.

"It's been five days already!"

Li Tai's voice was filled with suppressed roars. He kicked over the table in front of him, scattering the manuscript of "Kuodi Zhi" all over the floor: "We haven't heard a word from the Crown Prince! What exactly does he want? Just kill us and be done with it. What's the point of keeping us hanging like this?"

Li Zhi sat on a couch by the window, stroking a jade pendant that had been warmed by his body heat.

"Fourth Brother, please calm down."

His voice was soft, yet carried a deliberately maintained calm: "There are five more soldiers on patrol than yesterday, didn't you hear?"

"So what if I heard it?" Li Tai said irritably, picking at his hair, a few stray strands still caught between his fingers.

"These people are here to guard us! How are they any different from prison guards? I heard that old dog Hou Junji has become the Left General of the Golden Guard, swaggering around outside every day, and what about us?"

He suddenly grabbed Li Zhi's wrist: "Zhi Nu, do you think he's waiting? Waiting for us to panic and do something outrageous so he can kill us with a legitimate reason?"

Li Zhi's fingers trembled slightly, and the jade pendant almost slipped from his palm.

"Will not."

"With Father Emperor still alive, even if the Crown Prince is ruthless, he still has to be somewhat cautious."

"Concerns?" Li Tai suddenly laughed, his laughter tinged with an indescribable sorrow. "He dared to bomb the Xuanwu Gate, he dared to blast the Emperor's Imperial Guards, what else could he possibly have to worry about?"

Li Tai suddenly lowered his voice, leaned close to Li Zhi's ear, his breath heavy with anxiety, "I had a dream last night. I dreamt that we were tied up on the execution ground, Hou Junji was laughing with a ghost-headed sword, and Chengqian was standing on the execution platform, not even blinking..."

"Fourth Brother!" Li Zhi abruptly interrupted him, his face paler than a sheet of paper. "Stop talking!"

He stood up, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the window paper to look outside.

Under the old locust tree at the street corner, two armored soldiers leaned against the trunk, their long spears pointing diagonally at the ground, their eyes glancing this way from time to time.

“Look, they’re even watching what’s going on in our yard.”

Li Zhi's voice was weak: "Even if we wanted to do something outrageous, we wouldn't have the chance."

Li Tai staggered to the corner of the wall, where piles of ancient books he had brought from Chang'an were located, some of which were rare copies he had acquired from the common people at great expense years ago.

He grabbed a copy of the Book of Han, turned to the page on "Biography of King Li of Huainan," and slammed it to the ground: "See that? How did Liu Chang die? He was exiled to Shu by Emperor Wen of Han, and starved himself to death on the way! The Crown Prince is now imitating Emperor Wen of Han! First, he demotes us to Lingnan, then slowly torments us, and finally makes us 'die of illness,' so he can still gain a reputation for being benevolent!"

"No..." Li Zhi's voice grew softer and softer: "The royal family's biggest taboo is to eliminate all traces of the enemy. If you go too far, you will be punished by heaven."

But he himself didn't believe this. Back then, which of his eldest uncle's and fourth uncle's five sons wasn't executed by the emperor on charges of "treason"?
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate. Li Tai was so frightened that he quickly crawled under the table. The hem of his brocade robe got caught on the table leg, revealing his trembling ankles underneath.

Li Zhi also gripped the jade pendant at his waist tightly, his fingertips digging deeply into the jade's patterns.

"King Wei, it's time for dinner."

An aged voice came from the doorway. It was the old steward of the Prince's mansion, standing there with a food box in his hand: "The kitchen has stewed mutton soup today, with angelica root added, to warm you up."

Li Tai crawled out from under the table, his face still covered in dust. Seeing it was just the old butler, he suddenly flew into a rage: "Get out! Who wants to eat your food! Who knows if it's poisoned!"

He rushed over and kicked over the food box, spilling mutton soup all over the ground. The scalding soup splashed onto the old housekeeper's hand, causing a red and swollen patch.

The old steward knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Highness, spare me! This old servant dares not! This soup was made by the kitchen according to the rules, even the servants who tasted it were tested..."

"So what if you tried?"

Li Tai's voice trembled: "If the Crown Prince wants us dead, he has plenty of ways to do it! He can have you people poison us, taint our bodies, and at least he'll have a reputation for being 'benevolent and righteous'!"

Li Zhi helped the old steward up and said in a low voice, "Go down and clean up the things."

He watched the old butler stagger away, then looked at the mess on the ground, and suddenly sighed: "Fourth Brother, your fuss will only give outsiders more to talk about."

"Excuses?" Li Tai turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot. "What do we have to worry about now? Are we waiting to be executed, or are we waiting to be exiled?"

"I heard that someone in the court has submitted a memorial saying that we should be punished. Who do you think is behind this? Isn't it the Crown Prince who is instigating it!"

Li Tai had gone somewhat mad: "How about we write a letter of apology? We'll say we're willing to give up our titles and become commoners, just to save our lives..."

Li Zhi sighed and said helplessly, "Let's go find Father Emperor. Only Father Emperor can save us."

He felt that if things continued like this, his fourth brother would go insane before the crown prince could even deal with him.

(End of this chapter)