Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 202: Songtsen Gampo Kneels Down, the Candidate for Prime Minister of Tubo

Liangyi Palace.

Li Shimin was wearing casual clothes, with his hands spread out on the armrests. He was twirling his beard with one hand, with a look of contempt and mockery in his eyes.

Songtsen Gampo prostrated himself in the hall, behaving properly and not daring to make any move.

Yesterday, Liu Rengui escorted Songtsen Gampo back.

Today, Li Shimin couldn't wait to teach Songtsen Gampo a lesson for repeatedly sending troops to offend him.

Li Chengqian was also looking at the Zamp, who was supposed to be the powerful leader of Tubo.

The coarse linen clothes he wore represented his current lowliness and humbleness.

At this point, what else does Songtsen Gampo have besides being the ruler of Tubo?
nothing left.

"Songtsen Gampo, have you ever experienced this day?"

Li Shimin asked in a calm tone.

Songtsen Gampo stood up, still kneeling on the ground, and said, "The Sinful King has imagined the scene of meeting the Holy Son countless times."

"I think the Holy Emperor is the supreme ruler of the world and has a broad mind."

"Even if the King of Sin is wrong, I will not treat him harshly or humiliate him."

"But the King of Crime was wrong."

What he meant was that Li Shimin was narrow-minded and had no ambition.

Is this still available?

Wei Zheng immediately stood up and shouted angrily: "Ministry of Rites!"

“How do you do things?”

He also learned the prince's method, which was not to target the person involved, but to find the root of the problem.

Songtsen Gampo dares to speak so shamelessly in front of Your Majesty. Is it because your Ministry of Rites did not teach him well?
The others also frowned.

Yu Zhining's expression darkened, "How outrageous!"

"The Holy Son of Heaven wins over people with virtue and acts with benevolence. He commands great power over the nine states and intimidates the four seas."

"You are just a criminal king, how dare you talk about benevolence?"

"You deserve it too?!"

He shouted angrily, bowed to Li Shimin, and said: "Your Majesty's benevolence and virtue benefit all people and educate the common people."

"You have committed atrocities in Tubo, cruelly oppressed the people, and have been immoral and foolish. You have also been disrespectful to the Holy Emperor, repeatedly offended him, and refused to obey his rule."

"I deserve this fate because of my own fault. It's what I deserve."

"Your Majesty, out of gratitude for God's kindness, is giving you a chance to mend your ways and admit your mistakes."

"But I didn't expect you to be so stubborn and not feel the grace of His Majesty at all."

"I think you are stubborn and unrepentant."

He raised his voice again and said, "Your Majesty, I request that this thief be executed to set an example for others."

Your Majesty is going to show off, and you won’t let Your Majesty be happy, right?
You're going to get me into trouble by being stubborn, right?
When I was the crown prince, I gave him direct advice despite his authority. Who do you think you are?
And you are also allowed to be sarcastic to the Ministry of Rites and make sarcastic remarks about the Holy Emperor?

I will kill you!
Songtsen Gampo never expected that just one sentence would cause such fierce criticism.

His face turned pale and blue.

Liu Rengui also said: "Songtsen Gampo, don't think you are still the ruler of Tubo. You are now a prisoner and a criminal king."

"You are a sinner, and not killing you is the utmost mercy of the Holy Emperor."

He was also very angry.

On the way, he repeatedly warned Songtsen Gampo to put him in the right position.

The Ministry of Rites also had a talk with him, asking him not to be ungrateful.

Who knew that even in front of the emperor, something would still happen.

How can they not be angry?
This is equivalent to saying in front of the Holy Emperor, the Crown Prince and the ministers that they are not doing their job well.

If he is not careful, Liu Rengui's great achievements will be greatly reduced, or even bring trouble upon himself.

"Songtsen Gampo."

Li Shimin said playfully: "It seems you are not convinced."

"What? I'll let you go back and organize an army to fight Hou Junji?"

Songtsen Gampo admitted his mistake very straightforwardly. He just wanted to retain his last bit of dignity, but this dignity was ruthlessly trampled upon, completely shattering some of his fantasies.

"The King of Sin wouldn't dare."

"I don't dare."

Li Shimin sighed and said, "I really hope you can recover the unruly spirit you had in the 14th year of Zhenguan, when you threatened the Tang Dynasty with troops at the slightest disagreement."

"I really liked you at that time."

Li Chengqian was happy in his heart, this was ironic.

Songtsen Gampo remained silent and did not speak.

He also wants to go back to the past, but he can't.

All his hard work was shattered and collapsed by the Tang Dynasty in less than three years.

Everything was destroyed, and he was captured by more than 20 Tang envoys, away from countless Tibetans, and brought to Chang'an to apologize to the Tang emperor.

"The King of Sin knows his faults, please forgive me, Holy Son of Heaven!"

He prostrated himself on the ground, knocking his body against the ground with thuds.

"Forgive you."

Li Shimin asked: "How do you want me to forgive you?"

"Do you think there is anything about you that is worthy of my attention?"

What does that mean? What value do you have?
Songtsen Gampo felt bitter and said, "The sinful king is willing to act according to the will of the Holy Son of Heaven, bow down and submit, and follow his lead..."

"So you, Songtsen Gampo, can talk."

"Ha ha!"

Li Shimin threw his head back and laughed, feeling extremely pleased.

The ministers also burst into laughter.

If I had said these things earlier, there would have been no previous criticism.

Why bother to do this?

Who are you? You don't have any sense of self-determination, and yet you still want to act respectably?
It's ridiculous.

"Songtsen Gampo, I can forgive you and let you go back to be the ruler of Tubo."

"But you are not qualified to be the leader of the country, so I sent a minister to serve as prime minister to govern Tibet."

"Also send a general to Tibet to take charge and stabilize Tibet."

Li Shimin said in a dignified tone: "All this is to make up for the mistakes you made."

"I forgive you once, but I don't want it to happen again."

"If so, you end it yourself."

Songtsen Gampo bowed his head and said, “Yes!”

According to convention, when foreign rulers were taken captive and brought to Chang'an, after they knelt before the emperor, there were clear instructions on whether to execute them or cut them into pieces.

If the person is not killed, the emperor will issue an edict of pardon and confer some honorary official titles on him to demonstrate his benevolence.

But not this time.

Li Shimin didn't say anything, and his ministers didn't mention it either.

Because Songtsen Gampo was different. He already had a bad reputation, and yet he was given an empty title and an official position. How could he convince the people and how could he explain the public opinion that had been stirred up?
Not killing him was a sign of the Holy Emperor's heavenly virtue. Songtsen Gampo was taken away.

Li Shimin asked: "Prince, you have full authority over Tibetan affairs."

"Any ideas?"

Li Chengqian immediately said: "Liu Rengui said that there are upright and loyal people in Tubo who will kill the traitors who do not respect the orders of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"People like this should be rewarded."

"I propose that this person be appointed as the Earl of Luoxi and the Commandant of the Light Cavalry to assist the Prime Minister in his work."

Angsun is a man who rose from humble beginnings.

He also seized this huge wealth and took action.

Li Chengqian wanted to use him to set an example in Tubo.

Be loyal to the Tang Dynasty and obey the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty will not be stingy with benefits.

To put it bluntly, come here quickly, Daddy Datang will give you a lollipop.

Don't underestimate such a reward.

It will definitely greatly improve Angsun's status in Tubo, and he will be loyal to the Tang Dynasty and obey its orders.

After all, everything he had was given by the Tang Dynasty.

If there were no Tang Dynasty, he would still be that small follower not valued by Ang Riqiong.

The great Tibetan nobles were amazed at how high a reward a lowly person like Angsun could receive from the Tang Dynasty.

Why can't they do things for the Tang Dynasty?
Tubo is not their Tubo; all they care about is their own wealth and status.

"For the rest of us, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites will decide on the rewards."

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Li Chengqian said.

"Then let's do it."

Li Shimin had no objection either, as he understood the intention behind it.

"Hou Jun has assembled a large army in Songzhou and is ready to set out at any time, just waiting for the selection of the prime minister."

He glanced around and asked, "Who do you think can take on the role?"

Changsun Wuji wanted to speak.

He was well aware of the potential of the fat piece of meat called Tubo.

Changle had told him about some things about Tuyuhun.

The amount of gold, silver and treasures in the hands of those Tibetan nobles was unimaginable. They were accumulated over the years by exploiting the Tibetan people.

Such a huge amount of wealth has been blocked for more than two years.

The lower class people had almost no wealth, but the great nobles were extremely wealthy.

Changsun Wuji really wanted to take a bite and add a huge amount of income to the national treasury.

In that way, the gap of 80 million will be greatly filled.

only.

The prince has full authority to deal with this matter.

His rash proposal of a candidate was somewhat disregarding of the prince's authority.

Everyone understood this truth and looked at the prince.

"I do have a candidate."

"Who?"

"King Wu Li Ke!"

Li Chengqian said this calmly, but it immediately caused everyone to be surprised.

Li Shimin also frowned.

Li Ke's identity was sensitive, and Li Shimin was reluctant to let him become the prime minister of Tubo.

Li Chengqian's purpose was also very simple. He had revealed his strategic intentions to Li Ke.

The overall situation lies not in Tubo, but in India.

Letting Li Ke be the prime minister of Tubo was just a transition.

"Your Highness, the King of Wu is the Prime Minister of Tubo. I will not say anything else, but I just want to ask if the King of Wu is qualified for the job?"

Fang Xuanling asked: "After all, Tubo is in chaos and the situation is unstable."

"This kind of situation requires experience, ability, and means..."

Changsun Wuji strongly opposed this.

What would happen if the King of Wu were to go to Tubo?

Gao Shilian also joined in.

Xiao Yu knew that this was an opportunity, but the risk was also great.

He didn't want Li Ke to take risks, nor did he support it.

Li Shimin did not say anything, but his attitude was very clear: he was not optimistic.

This meant that none of the important officials present supported Li Chengqian's proposal except for those who remained silent.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This guy Li Ke's background is really too bad.

It's impossible to push him like this.

It seems that the idea of ​​transition is not very realistic.

However, he didn't care too much. People were not against him, but were actually against re-employing Li Ke.

If it were someone else, they would definitely not object to the candidate he proposed.

He thought about it and decided to take a step back without insisting too much.

"Since King Wu can't do it."

Li Chengqian said: "Then let the King of Qi go."

"The King of Qi is the Prime Minister, and Quan Wanji assists him."

His intention to make the princes and kings do things was obvious.

The prime minister must be a prince.

If it were anyone else, they would never agree to it.

Furthermore, the proposal to let Quan Wanji assist also silenced their objections.

Li Shimin was happy to see the power of the royal family grow, so before anyone opened their mouths, he said, "The Prince of Qi is good. It's a good opportunity to hone this brat."

"I also know Quan Wanji's talents."

"He is persistent in his work and upright in his conduct. He is a rare talent."

"What do you think?"

Having said that, how can anyone have any objections?

Who can oppose the joint decision of the Emperor and the Crown Prince?
"Then do as the prince suggests."

"Immediately summon Quan Wanji and the King of Qi to join Hou Junji's army and go to Tubo together."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)