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

Chapter 46: A Ten Thousand Word Letter to Force Li Er to Abdicate [Please Read]

"Your Majesty has issued a decree ordering the Duke of Wu to arrest Prince Yi'an in Taiji Hall for a discussion. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

Yuchi Gong originally wanted to report to Li Shimin the news that the north gate of the imperial city had been captured by rebels while conveying Li Xiaochang's appeal for "clearing the court", but he ended up receiving this order from Li Shimin.

This put everyone, including him, in an awkward situation.

Especially Li Xiaochang, he never expected that Li Shimin was so domineering that he didn't even know his own demands and let Yuchi Gong capture him and go to Taiji Hall to discuss.

Is that discussion?
That's clearly a call to arms to hold someone accountable!
"It seems that Li Shimin never thought about having a good talk with me."

Li Xiaochang narrowed his eyes slightly and was about to order a fight with Yuchi Gong.

Although he knew that he was no match for Yuchi Gong, as long as he started fighting, the people at Xuanwu Gate would get the news and would definitely rush into Taiji Palace.

By then, when Li Shimin's life was threatened, would Yuchi Gong still have the mind to fight with him?
Therefore, Li Xiaochang’s strategy is very simple, which is to fight first and talk later.

But Yuchi Gong obviously didn't want to fight with Li Xiaochang.

He quickly shouted to Li Xiaochang, "Prince Yi'an, don't be impulsive! Let me ask clearly first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Li Xiaochang to respond, he immediately asked the person who reported it loudly: "When did His Majesty issue this order?"

"Ok?"

The person reporting was stunned for a moment, as if he also sensed that something was amiss. He quickly replied to Yuchi Gong, "Duke Wu, this is an order from His Majesty this morning. Upon receiving the order, I dared not delay for a moment and came straight to you without delay!"

"Morning time?"

Yuchi Gong frowned slightly, then estimated the distance and time from Chang'an Imperial City to here, and said thoughtfully: "In other words, when His Majesty asked you to convey this order, he didn't know about the situation at Xuanwu Gate?"

"What happened at Xuanwu Gate?" The person who reported was stunned again.

Yuchi Gong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but ignored him. He turned to Li Xiaochang and said, "Prince Yi'an, this is all a misunderstanding. His Majesty still doesn't know what you want. I guess he's been bewitched by a traitor. How about this? I'll send someone back to confirm this order. Can you wait a moment?"

"Ah!"

Li Xiaochang sneered and said disdainfully, "If you want to fight, then fight. You want to delay time and tip off the enemy, do you think I'll fall for it?"

"Hey, Prince Yi'an, what you said is true. Didn't you say before that you weren't plotting a rebellion, but were trying to purge the court? If you act now, that would be treason!"

"This"

When Li Xiaochang heard what Yuchi Gong said, he immediately looked hesitant.

But then Yuchi Gong smiled and said, "Anyway, the north gate of the imperial city has been taken by you, so what are you worried about?"

"Perhaps His Majesty doesn't know about this yet. If he did, he might change his mind and agree with your plan to purge the imperial court!"

Hearing this, Li Xiaochang felt that there was some truth in it.

After all, he stationed troops in the capital not to rebel, but to gain more benefits.

But once it becomes a rebellion, its nature changes.

Given the current situation in the Tang Dynasty, rebellion will only make him the next Li Yi.

Because the Tang Dynasty had experienced many years of war, the people were tired of war. A rebellion without the support of the people was destined to have only one outcome.

So, after hesitating for a moment, Li Xiaochang finally decided to wait a little longer and wait for Li Shimin's new order.

But just as he was about to tell Yuchi Gong his decision, a shout suddenly came from a distance: "Prince Yi'an——!"

"King Yi'an!"

Changsun Anye shouted loudly twice, as if he was afraid that Li Xiaochang didn't hear him.

"General, why are you here?"

When Li Xiaochang heard Changsun Anye's cry, he immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

Zhang Sun Anye rode up to him like a gust of wind, panting and saying, "I'm afraid Prince Yi'an will take the wrong road!"

"Wrong way?"

Li Xiaochang frowned: "What do you mean by wrong way?"

"I heard that His Majesty sent someone to convey an order, asking the Duke of Wu to bring you to the Taiji Hall for a discussion. He's worried that you might act rashly and start an open war with the Wu Kingdom!"

"Uh"

Li Xiaochang was embarrassed for a moment, and couldn't help but say with a smile: "What is there to worry about? Yuan Hongshan and Liu Deyu have already controlled the north gate of the imperial city. The advantage is on us!" "You are so confused, Prince Yi'an!"

Chang Sun Anye said with a look of dismay, "With the forces we have, even if we break into Chang'an, we will be defeated by His Majesty's men!"

"Don't we have fire bombs? Are we afraid of what they might do?"

"The fire bomb has limited killing power, and there aren't many of them left. How many people can you deal with?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"What I mean is, we should go meet His Majesty first! See what he decides! If he insists on having his own way, we will fight him to the death. If he understands the situation, we will kill Zhangsun Wuji first, then control the court and force him to abdicate!"

"If you force him to abdicate, you're not afraid of his people anymore?"

"We still have the Emperor Emeritus! Unless they don't want to live anymore, do they dare to become enemies with the entire Tang Dynasty?"

"Yup!"

Li Xiaochang slapped his thigh and said, "Why didn't I think of that? There's also the Emperor!"

"hehe."

Chang Sun Anye smiled noncommittally and added, "However, for safety's sake, we still have to make adequate preparations!"

"How can we make sufficient preparations?" Li Xiaochang asked doubtfully.

Chang Sun Anye directly asked, "How many fire bombs do you have?"

"Twelve cans!"

"Okay! Then take these twelve cans! Let's go to the Tai Chi Hall together!"

"what?"

Li Xiaochang was startled: "What are you going to do?"

"What?"

Changsun Anye sneered, "Back then, Li Shimin brought the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to see Li Yuan. So, it seems that it's no big deal for us to go to him with a box of fire bombs?"

"This"

Li Xiaochang asked with some doubt, "Will he agree to let us bring him in?"

"They didn't know what we were carrying, so they said it was a ten-thousand-word petition from Yuzhou, requesting His Majesty to stop reducing the number of kings!"

"Wonderful!"

Li Xiaochang's eyes lit up.

But then Changsun Anye said, "Besides, Yuan Hongshan, Liu Deyu and the others already control the north gate of the imperial city. How much leverage does Li Shimin have to embarrass us?"

"Haha, that's right! You make sense! Let's do this!"

"That"

"I'll go tell Yuchi Gong! I don't think he would refuse!"

"Okay! Go ahead, I'll go down and get ready!"

With that, the two men rode their horses apart.

Not long after, Li Xiaochang arrived less than a hundred meters away from Yuchi Gong and said coldly, "Duke Wu, I don't think there's any need to go to such lengths. Since His Majesty has asked you to take me to the Taiji Hall for a discussion, I'll go with you!"

"what?"

Yuchi Gong was surprised, as if he didn't expect Li Xiaochang to be so straightforward.

But after a moment of surprise, he reacted and said solemnly: "Tell me your conditions!"

"Oh, Duke Wu is also a sensible man. My conditions are simple. I want to bring Changsun Anye and Yuzhou's Ten Thousand Words Letter to meet His Majesty!"

Changsun Anye?

Yuzhou Ten Thousand Word Letter?
What is the condition?
Yuchi Gong felt a little baffled, but he didn't think this condition would embarrass him. So after a moment's silence, he readily agreed, "Okay! Then you can take the Ten Thousand Words Letter and follow me to the Taiji Hall!"

(End of this chapter)