Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 419 Triumphant Return! Hurry!! [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"What did you say!?"

Li Shimin stared wide-eyed at Yun Duan, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he could tear Yun Duan's flesh and bones apart.

After all, this news was too shocking and too devastating.

It should be noted that the stain on Li Er's life was the killing of his brothers.

Now you tell him that his son, the crown prince, did the same thing.

How could he possibly accept this?!

"puff--"

"His Majesty!"

Changsun Wuji and Yun Duan hurriedly tried to step forward to help Li Er.

But Li Er interrupted him with a hysterical roar: "Get out—!"

Yun Duan knelt down with a thud, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I heard it from my subordinate, the Commandant. He said that everyone in Chang'an is saying that the Crown Prince abused his power and killed the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang."

"You're saying the whole of Chang'an is talking about it?" Changsun Wuji hurriedly interrupted him, "Could it be a rumor? Who on earth dares to spread rumors about the Crown Prince?!"

"This"

Yun Duan hesitated for a moment, then glanced cautiously at Li Shimin and shook his head, saying, "It shouldn't just be a rumor. When my captain was announcing the imperial edict, he also met with cabinet ministers such as Fang Xiang and Li Weigong, and they confirmed that the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang colluded with the guards to harm the people of Chang'an!"

At this point, he suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly added, "In addition, His Highness the Crown Prince also summoned him, asked him about the war in Liaodong, and then let him leave as if nothing had happened, returning to Liaodong along with the grain and fodder."

Upon hearing these words, Li Shimin's face turned white and then red, then red and then white again, until an overwhelming emotion surged into his heart, and he felt a sudden darkness engulf him.

"His Majesty!"

Changsun Wuji reacted quickly and caught the swaying Li Shimin.

Li Shimin, as if in a daze, still couldn't believe it. He turned to look at Changsun Wuji and stammered, "Wuji, do you believe this is true?"

In fact, he had a premonition that Li Chengqian would kill Li Ke.

But Changsun Wuji's firm attitude immediately shattered his bad thoughts.

Now, another major news from Chang'an has arrived from the cloud, and he has once again entrusted the judgment of this major news to Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji frowned deeply, remaining silent, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Although he actually knew some of the conflicts between Li Ke and Li Chengqian, including Li Ke's scheme against Li Chengqian using Changsun Chong, he knew all of that.

Even if he didn't care about Li Ke's life or death at all, and even thought that Li Ke deserved to die, the Crown Prince killing his brother was no small matter.

If this is confirmed, Li Chengqian's position as crown prince may be in jeopardy.

This is absolutely not in the interest of his Changsun family.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Changsun Wuji ultimately refused to believe this bombshell news because there was no conclusive evidence.

He took a deep breath, then looked firmly at Li Shimin and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty! I firmly believe that the Crown Prince is innocent. This is definitely a frame-up by someone with ulterior motives, or perhaps it is a conspiracy by the Shouzhulang!"

"Your Majesty, please consider this: where did a bunch of stinking rats from the gutter get the power to collude with the King of Shu and the King of Liang? They even incited a high-ranking official like Hou Junji to rebel. Is this reasonable?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin paused for a moment, and after thinking about it, he realized that there was some truth to it, but his doubts did not dissipate much.

But then he pondered and said, "So, according to you, Chengqian is innocent?"

"Absolutely innocent!"

Changsun Wuji said firmly, then looked at Yun Duan and said solemnly, "Commander Yun, could you please summon that captain? I want to question him about the whole incident in person!"

"This"

Yun Duan subconsciously looked at Li Shimin.

"Go! Do as the Duke of Zhao says! Summon the man to me, I want to ask him in detail!" Li Shimin gave the order to Yun Duan without any hesitation.

"Yes!"

Yun Duan responded and left quickly.

After watching him leave, Li Shimin looked at Changsun Wuji with a livid expression: "Do you really think that rebellious son wouldn't do something like killing his own brother?"

"Why does Your Majesty think the Crown Prince would do something so immoral?" Changsun Wuji asked expressionlessly.

"I"

Li Shimin was taken aback, then broke free from Changsun Wuji's support, staggered to his feet, and said with an uncertain expression, "That rebellious son has always been incredibly audacious, and he also has a grudge against Ke'er and the others."

"Even if there were grudges, it doesn't warrant killing them!"

Changsun Wuji said solemnly, "Moreover, what benefit would killing them bring to the Crown Prince? Your Majesty, please think carefully. What kind of person is the Crown Prince? Would he do something that brings him no benefit whatsoever?"

"But how do you explain Fang Xuanling and the others' reaction? Why didn't they refute the rumors about the Crown Prince?" Li Shimin asked back, frowning.

Changsun Wuji paused for a moment, then thought to himself, "That's right! Why didn't Fang Xuanling and the others refute the rumors about Li Chengqian?"
Based on his previous exchanges with Fang Xuanling, Fang Xuanling should also support Li Chengqian!
Now that Li Chengqian is facing such a huge reputation crisis, why is he not reacting at all? Is this reasonable? This is extremely unreasonable!

Seemingly sensing Changsun Wuji's wavering, Li Shimin composed himself and said solemnly, "I had suspected something was wrong with Chengqian before. Now that such a big thing has happened, he's acting as if nothing's wrong. He even summoned that commandant and sent him back to Liaodong. It's as if he's not worried at all about me finding out what happened in Chang'an."

At this point, his expression grew increasingly grim: "Tell me, did he deliberately let me know about his fratricide? Was he trying to see my reaction?"

Boom!

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji was struck dumb, staring at Li Shimin in astonishment: "How...how is this possible?"

"How is it impossible?"

Li Shimin regained his imperial wisdom and composure, and carefully analyzed, "Regardless of whether the matter of Chengqian killing his brothers is true or not, it is very strange that Guang Fang Xuanling and others did not refute it. I'm sure you understand."

"So, did Chengqian instruct Fang Xuanling and the others not to deny this? Doesn't he know how much damage this will do to his reputation? Even if he didn't do it, as long as Ke'er and Yin'er are dead, he will always be suspected!"

Emperor Taizong (Li Er) was well aware of this matter.

After all, he had experienced it firsthand.

However, after listening to his analysis, Changsun Wuji shook his head repeatedly: "Forgive my rudeness, but I dare not agree with Your Majesty's analysis. On the contrary, I think this may be the Crown Prince's scheme."

"Ah!"

Li Shimin sneered: "Who would risk their own reputation for such a thing?"

As soon as he said those words, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Others might care about their reputation, but Li Chengqian was definitely the kind of person who didn't care about his reputation at all.

But then Changsun Wuji said, as if he knew everything, "The Crown Prince doesn't care about his reputation. He'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Now, he's willing to use his own reputation as bait. Your Majesty, think about it, what is he after?"

"Or rather, what is his purpose in returning to Chang'an this time?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin paused for a moment, then pondered and said, "If the garrison commander really caused trouble in Chang'an, and colluded with Ke'er, Yin'er, and Hou Junji, then the smallpox epidemic in Chang'an is very likely their doing."

"Plus their previous conflicts with Chengqian"

"I'm afraid their ultimate goal is to deal with Chengqian."

"Chengqian's goal is probably to take advantage of this and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"Not bad!"

Changsun Wuji nodded heavily and said, "That's also my guess. Moreover, if my guess is correct, the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang are probably not dead yet, but have been controlled by the guards who want to use their deaths to frame the Crown Prince and thus disrupt the order in Chang'an."

"In this way, the defenses of the capital region will be weak, and it will be only natural for Hou Junji to go south to defend the emperor."

"At that time, Hou Junji could easily use the pretext of avenging the King of Shu and the King of Liang, claiming that the Crown Prince's fratricide was against human ethics."

At this point, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Li Shimin, but he didn't continue speaking.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly understood and realized that everything made sense.

Especially after hearing the analysis that Li Ke and his brother might not be dead, he felt much more relaxed.

"His Majesty!"

Just then, a report came from outside the door: "An urgent report has come from Goguryeo. Yeon Gaesomun has personally led an army of 50,000 to reinforce Ansi City. Another 10,000 reinforcements are also on their way from Wugu City. In addition, our army is severely lacking in gunpowder and bullets, and has also lost a lot of weapons." Hearing this, Li Shimin's heart sank.

Although he was extremely unwilling to give up, given the current situation, whether it was the chaos in Chang'an or the unfavorable situation in Liaodong, with the army's morale low, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops from Liaodong.

So, after a long silence, he exhaled a sigh of resignation and issued the order with a somber expression: "Issue my order: all residents of Liaodong, Gaizhou, and Yanzhou shall be brought to the country, and then a grand military formation shall be set up in front of Anshi City. The troops shall form a magnificent square formation and slowly retreat."

"We must tell all our soldiers that when we came, we were full of vigor and high spirits. When we leave, we must also leave with composure and dignity."

"promise!"

A voice responded from outside the tent, and soon went down to relay the order.

After watching him leave, Li Shimin seemed to have all his strength drained away, and said with a bitter expression, "In the end, I still couldn't win against that rebellious son!"

"Why did your Majesty say this?"

Changsun Wuji immediately chimed in, dismissively saying, "You and the Crown Prince are father and son, blood relatives. Even if there is competition, it's just the affection between father and son. How can there be any real winner or loser?"

"Moreover, in my opinion, Your Majesty has not lost either!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin seemed to regain some of his energy and said, "Why didn't I lose? Tell me."

Changsun Wuji chuckled, then said calmly, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? You are the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty, and all the victories belong to you!"

"what?"

Li Shimin was completely bewildered.

But then Changsun Wuji continued eloquently, "Whether it's Li Jing, Li Ji, or the Crown Prince, they are all subjects of the Tang Dynasty. Their victories are also victories for the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty belongs to His Majesty. Therefore..."

He paused, then looked at Li Shimin and said with a smile, "As long as the Crown Prince is allowed to pacify Liaodong, no matter how victorious or valiant he is, what will be recorded in the Zhenguan annals will always be: In the Zhenguan era, Liaodong was pacified and Goguryeo was conquered."

Boom!

When these words were spoken, Li Shimin was struck by lightning.

He stared at Changsun Wuji with an incredulous expression, as if someone had forcibly pried open his head and stuffed something called a 'brain' inside.

This is crazy!

Is this even possible?!

Why the hell didn't you say so sooner?!

Li Shimin felt as if a thousand alpacas were galloping through his mind.

If the person in front of him wasn't his brother-in-law, or a high-ranking official he relied on, he would have really wanted to kick this old silver coin away.

"Cough cough,"

Seemingly realizing that his earlier suggestion had been somewhat inappropriate, Changsun Wuji coughed twice in slight embarrassment, then said seriously, "To be honest, Your Majesty, before I accompanied Your Majesty to Liaodong, the Crown Prince repeatedly warned me, as if he knew Your Majesty would suffer a crushing defeat in Liaodong."

"Subsequent events proved the Crown Prince's words to be true. From the moment His Majesty began attacking Baiyan City, he was taking a wrong turn and even lost some of the morale of his troops."

"In fact, in my opinion, the Fu Youai incident was not accidental, but related to Your Majesty's previous loss of morale among the troops."

At this point, he looked up at Li Shimin and concluded with a hint of helplessness, "Therefore, in my opinion, Your Majesty should not attack Liaodong again. Let the Crown Prince do it; he should already have a plan. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste to send Gao Yanshou and Li Siyuan back for nothing?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "What you say makes sense. I did make some mistakes in Liaodong. However, I don't think that was the main reason for the defeat in the Liaodong campaign."

As he spoke, he glanced at the map of Liaodong and frowned, saying, "I believe the real reason for my failure was that I did not heed Sun Daiyin's advice to detour through Wugu City and launch a blitzkrieg attack on Pyongyang with warships!"

“However, our warships are not sturdy, and even if we choose this route, there are still many risks,” Changsun Wuji interjected.

Li Shimin glanced at him, then sneered, "This is probably the key to that rebellious son's victory!"

"As far as I know, he built giant warships at the shipyard in Jiangling, the kind of invincible warships that can sail the seas!"

"If he were to attack Goguryeo, he probably wouldn't even take our route; he would launch an attack directly from the sea!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji's eyes widened instantly, and he couldn't help but ask, "Since Your Majesty knows, why?"

"Why? Why not beg that rebellious son to send me warships? Hmph! I am the emperor, I am his father! You want me to ask my son for help? Have you forgotten who I am? I am the Supreme General of the Heavenly Strategy!"

Li Shimin coldly interrupted Changsun Wuji, saying, "I may lose, but my dignity cannot be lost!"

"Your Majesty!"

Just then, Yun Duan's voice suddenly rang out outside the tent: "My subordinate, Wu Yuan, the valiant captain of the Hundred Cavalry Division, has arrived."

Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji exchanged a glance, then Li Shimin composed himself and said calmly, "Come in!"

"Yes!"

Yun Duan responded and quickly led Wu Yuan in.

"I will see you, Your Majesty!"

"No gift!"

Li Shimin waved his hand, then turned to look at Wu Yuan: "You are the Commandant Wu who delivered the imperial edict to Chang'an?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it was I who delivered the decree to Chang'an alone," Wu Yuan replied, bowing.

Li Shimin looked at Wu Yuan with eyes as sharp as knives and said, "Then tell me, is the information you reported true? Do you know the consequences of deceiving the emperor?"

"minister"

Wu Yuan shuddered and quickly replied, "Every word I have said is true, and I dare not deceive you in any way. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Majesty!"

"Very well! Then I will ask you, what exactly happened in Chang'an? Tell me the truth, and if you utter even the slightest lie, I will kill you!"

His use of the word "kill" carried a heavy weight, imbued with the unquestionable ruthlessness of an emperor.

Wu Yuan hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, when I delivered the imperial edict to Chang'an that day, I went to the Taiji Hall first. However, the Crown Prince was not in the Taiji Hall at the time, nor did he come to receive the edict. It is said that Hou Junji was leading a large army here, with unclear intentions and suspected of rebellion."

"At that time, the Crown Prince had just quelled the rebellion caused by the collusion between the garrison commander and the King of Shu and the King of Liang. He was also on the verge of defending against Hou Junji, which is why he did not come to receive the summons."

"Wait!"

Li Shimin suddenly interrupted Wu Yuan, frowning as he asked, "Isn't the Crown Prince suspected of assassinating the Prince of Yan? How come he still holds military power in Chang'an? What are Fang Xuanling and the others doing?"

"this."

Wu Yuan was taken aback by Li Shimin's three probing questions: "This subject is not clear on this, but Liu Ji, the Vice Minister, insisted that the Crown Prince had sent someone to assassinate the Prince of Yan, and that he had abused his power to kill the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang."

"Hmph! That Liu Ji! He's truly despicable! He already had a grudge against the Crown Prince, and now he's slandering him without any evidence. He deserves to die!" Changsun Wuji said angrily.

Li Shimin glanced at him coldly.

He shuddered and then wisely shut his mouth, but his hatred for Liu Ji only deepened.

Wu Yuan continued to report: "Although Vice Minister Liu insisted on the Crown Prince's repeated crimes, neither Chancellor Fang, Li Weigong, nor even the Crown Prince's tutor Wei Zheng, the remonstrating official Chu Suiliang, nor the Vice Minister of Justice Dai Zhou echoed him."

"I'm afraid there's something fishy about this."

"What about Fang Xuanling? Did he say anything?" Li Shimin pressed.

Wu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Prime Minister Fang didn't say anything special, he just asked me to report the situation in Chang'an to His Majesty truthfully. They will handle the other matters as soon as possible."

"What about the Crown Prince? Didn't he summon you as well? What did he say?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince said that even if I were to convey to you the news that he killed the King of Shu and the King of Liang, he would not care, because the innocent will remain innocent and the guilty will remain guilty."

Swish!
In just a moment, Li Shimin's gaze fell on Changsun Wuji.

The most important part of this sentence is not the last eight characters, but the indifference at the beginning.

Did that unfilial son really kill his brother?!
"Guards! Convey my decree! Prepare to return to the capital immediately! And be quick!!"

He has completely disregarded the composure and dignity he previously demanded.

(End of this chapter)