A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 644 Your Majesty, Please Abdicate

Hongyi Palace.

Changsun Wuji gave Hou Junji a wink, then went into the King of Qin's bedroom.

Hou Junji stood guard outside the door, preventing anyone from approaching.

The bedroom smelled of herbs.

Li Shimin leaned back, frowning as he looked at the medicine in the princess's hand. "This yellow soup is too bitter."

"This yellow soup contains not only Scutellaria baicalensis but also Coptis chinensis, so it's naturally bitter," Princess Changsun coaxed him to drink. "After you finish the soup, I'll make you some honey water."

Changsun Wuji smiled and said, "I have good news. Erlang will feel better after hearing this. Xue Shi, Yuwen Bao, and Ke Dazhi, the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace, have all been exiled to Lingnan."

Furthermore, the criminals captured by the Prince of Qi's mansion and the three hundred elite cavalrymen from Youzhou, whom the Crown Prince had secretly transferred from Jingzhou, have all been captured by the Imperial Guards.

"The Prince of Qi is currently imprisoned in the Secretariat, and the Prince of Qi's residence is in complete chaos."

Changsun Wuji spoke with great enthusiasm, his words flying everywhere.

Princess Qin urged Li Shimin to finish his medicinal soup, then handed her husband honey water. She did not participate in their conversation. After her husband finished drinking it, she packed her things and left.

"Help me get off the bed and walk around," Li Shimin said, extending his hand.

Changsun Wuji helped his brother-in-law up carefully.

"Has His Majesty already investigated this matter thoroughly?"

Changsun Wuji's eyes flickered. "Yes, that must be true. The King of Qi is indeed quite bold and arrogant."

Li Shimin asked him, "Why was Pei Xuanyan, the clerk of the Prince of Qi, suddenly transferred to the Prince of Qin's residence as a granary official? Moreover, he was just dismissed from his post by the Prince of Qi, and now he's in the Prince of Qin's residence. What a coincidence!"

"I don't know about that," Changsun Wuji said.

Li Shimin stopped and turned to look at his brother-in-law, who had a braided hairstyle. "Fuji, this can't be just a coincidence. I think you should know the inside story. I don't want you to be hiding anything from me."

Changsun Wuji lowered his head under his brother-in-law's sharp gaze.

Li Shimin walked to the edge of the couch and sat down.
"Tell me, what exactly happened? I think there are too many coincidences."

Changsun Wuji thought for a moment, "Actually, we didn't intend to hide it from you."

"You? Who are you all?"

“My uncle, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, and Wu Yi,” Changsun Wuji said, no longer hiding anything. “We are all doing this for you.”

"Before returning to Chang'an, Li Yi invited a few of us for tea and said that with your return this time, the Emperor would definitely break his promise and go back on his word. He also said that the Emperor would strip you of your military power, and that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi would take advantage of your misfortune to attack you."
They said your return this time was a near-death experience.
You want to be the crown prince, and your achievements are enough.
But the emperor will not agree to you becoming the crown prince, and Jiancheng and Yuanji will be even less willing to let you become the crown prince.

Even if you wanted to follow the path of Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty, it wouldn't work.

Li Shimin remained silent, unable to refute.

When they were in Daibei, Li Yi had hinted at it several times, but he still held onto a sliver of hope.

but now,
Facts speak louder than words.

Everything Li Yi said came true.

The emperor broke his promise.

"What's with this poison? Is Yuanji really trying to kill me? We're brothers."

Changsun Wuji sat down to one side.

"His Majesty sent Qian Jiulong to arrest Xue Shi, Yuwen Bao, Keda Zhi, and others. It is said that they were subjected to severe torture and interrogation."

In the end, Xue Shi and the others confessed.
Does Your Majesty know that...
Yesterday, at the Qi Prince's family banquet, it was revealed that the Qi Prince had already arranged assassins within the residence, intending to assassinate the Prince. However, the Crown Prince, fearing repercussions, ultimately refused to allow the assassination to take place at the banquet.

"Now Yuwen Bao has confessed, and the assassins he arranged have been captured."
The perpetrator was caught red-handed; the evidence was irrefutable.

Li Shimin frowned.
But he still asked, "Tell me about the poisoning first."

"Besides Your Majesty, Pei Xuanyan, the former clerk of the Prince of Qi, was also poisoned by Gelsemium elegans yesterday. He and his wife were poisoned after consuming the Polygonatum sibiricum that the Prince of Qi had given them yesterday. In addition to them, two maids were also poisoned by Polygonatum sibiricum."

The servant couldn't be saved. The Emperor has determined that he was poisoned by the Polygonatum sent by the Prince of Qi. Xue Shi also confessed that the Prince of Qi originally wanted Yuwen Bao to kill the entire Pei family to silence them, but it was Xue Shi who suggested poisoning the Polygonatum…

Li Shimin shook his head.

"First, tell me how I got poisoned. I didn't eat much at Prince Qi's residence, just some scallion and vinegar chicken. It's impossible that Prince Qi put Gelsemium elegans poison in that dish, is it?"

He looked directly at Changsun Wuji.

"The poison was in the tea you drank when you came back, but although it was Gelsemium elegans, it wasn't very strong."

Li Shimin was not angry when he heard this.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Gelsemium elegans poison in that cup of tea is different from the Gelsemium elegans poison that King Qi put in Pei Xuanyan's Polygonatum sac, isn't it?"
And it wasn't Qi King's men who poisoned him, was it?
Yuanji shouldn't have the ability to poison someone in my residence.

“I put the poison in the tea,” Changsun Wuji said.

Li Shimin looked at him and said, "I'm a little surprised."

Changsun Wuji continued, "That poison was a specially concocted Gelsemium elegans poison that Du Ruhui obtained from Li Yi. Although the symptoms look severe, they are actually not very serious. Some symptoms are caused by other medications..."

Faced with Li Shimin's persistent questioning,

Changsun Wuji simply told him everything in detail, "This was a self-inflicted injury scheme arranged by Li Yi. He didn't tell you beforehand so that it would appear more authentic to His Majesty."

"So Pei Xuanyan was also part of this scheme?"

"Yes, Li Yi knew in advance that Prince Qi would dismiss Pei Xuanyan from his post, and even knew that Prince Qi would silence him. He also knew in advance that Prince Qi would use a medicated Solomon's seal containing Gelsemium elegans to kill Pei Xuanyan."
That's why Pei Xuanyan was used as a pretext to set up this self-inflicted injury scheme.

There's nothing more to say.
This plan can only protect Your Majesty temporarily, preventing you from being immediately stripped of your power and banished from Chang'an by His Majesty, and buying you some time.

Your Majesty still needs to make a decision soon.
Otherwise, next time, you might not be able to pass.

Li Shimin frowned. "Wu Yi knew all this in advance. How did he know? Did he have spies in the Prince of Qi's residence all along?"

“Perhaps. I can’t quite see through Wu Yi. He’s very capable. I think he’s right,” Changsun Wuji advised his brother-in-law. “Does Your Majesty still have unrealistic expectations of His Majesty?”
Look at how Yuanji is acting now.

Let's see what Jiancheng is doing now.
One recruited desperate fugitives as assassins, while the other secretly transferred elite border troops to the capital.
Don't you understand what they're up to? You think you can wait for the emperor to change his mind and make you crown prince? That's absolutely impossible. If you wait any longer, you might face Yuanji's sneak attacks and poison.

Even a fatal blow to the crown prince.

"Now that things have come to this, you can't back down even if you want to. Besides, how many people follow Your Majesty? Can Your Majesty bear to abandon them?"

Li Shimin lowered his head.
She covered her face with her hands.

There was a long silence.

"What do you want me to do? What can I do?"

Changsun Wuji bluntly stated, "The one who strikes first gains the upper hand, while the one who strikes later suffers the consequences. Now that things have come to this, we can only take it a step further."

The vast empire of the Tang Dynasty was largely conquered by Your Majesty through countless battles.

Since His Majesty is confused,

"Then please, Your Majesty, abdicate and pass the throne to the King."

Li Shimin suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open.

"You want me to rebel?"

"It's not treason, it's taking back what rightfully belongs to you."

Li Shimin felt his mouth was dry and his tongue was bitter.

"water,"

Changsun Wuji poured him water and added honey.

Li Shimin drank a large glass of water in one gulp.

He sat there, eyes wide open, breathing heavily.

Changsun Wuji stood aside, not disturbing him.

After a long silence, Li Shimin said with a wry smile, "You all have quite the nerve to plot a rebellion."

"They kept it from me."

"Your Majesty, I know you care about family ties and don't want things to come to this, and you still have hope. But you are caught up in the situation, and those involved are often blinded by their own circumstances."

We outsiders, however, have seen it all clearly long ago.

That path is blocked, and the Crown Prince will never let you take that path.

This city of Chang'an has been managed by the Crown Prince for many years, and he has many supporters throughout the court.

"Your Majesty's foundation lies not in Chang'an, nor in the court, but in the army and in the provinces."

"If Your Majesty wishes to rule the world, why must you beg?"
If they won't give it to you, Your Majesty, you may simply go and take it yourself.

Li Shimin sighed deeply.
"It seems you've been discussing this for a long time, and may even have a plan in place?"

Changsun Wuji nodded, "That's right, this plan is called Xuanwu."

"Xuanwu?"

"Besides the six of you, who else is involved?"

"Not many, but not few either. There are about a dozen civil and military officials directly under the Prince of Qin's command."

"Everyone is loyal to the King and has vowed to support him."

Li Shimin stood up.
"You kept this from me for so long! More than a dozen people plotting such a big thing."

But they kept me completely in the dark.

Wu Yi said that we need to prepare for both possibilities, and that the king won't give up until he hits the Yellow River, and won't turn back until he hits the south wall. When you return to Chang'an and find that you've been deceived by His Majesty and have been cornered,
They will naturally agree with our approach.

Li Shimin paced back and forth in the bedroom.
Frowning,

“You make it sound so easy. This is not so simple. This is Chang’an, the capital.”

"The capital city alone has 30,000 imperial guards who are the emperor's personal attendants."

There are over 200,000 soldiers in Guanzhong, plus soldiers from other places who take turns guarding the capital, totaling 60,000 to 70,000.

You think it's easy?

If we want to start an uprising in Chang'an, where will we get our troops?
How to control Chang'an City, how to control the officials and bureaucracy of the imperial city, how to control the crown prince, how to control...the palace?

Li Shimin asked a series of questions.

Every sentence directly addresses the core issue of the coup and the usurpation of power.

If any link fails,
They will all be doomed.

Throughout history, there have been countless instances of princes rebelling, but how many of them actually succeeded?

Rebellion against the founding emperor
It is even more difficult.

Changsun Wuji retorted directly, "Does Your Majesty really want to go to that place called Jiaozhi Rinan and become a vassal king, the king of a bunch of monkeys?"
Or are we just going to wait to be killed by the King of Qi or the Crown Prince someday?
Doesn't Your Majesty think of your wives, concubines, and children?
When the nest is overturned, how can there be any eggs?
If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?

"Your Majesty is so resourceful and decisive on the battlefield, why are you so hesitant and indecisive now?"

Li Shimin looked at his brother-in-law.
“Fu, have you thought this through? Once you embark on this path, there is no turning back. What will happen if you fail?”

Even if I fail to secure the throne, you and the Changsun family will still enjoy wealth and status.

Changsun Wuji said frankly, "We have already put everything aside, so why should Your Majesty hesitate?"

Li Shimin let out a long breath and said, "Tell me your Xuanwu Plan in its entirety and in detail."

(End of this chapter)