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

Chapter 56 The throne belongs to our family! [Please read more]

The bodies of Changsun Anye and Li Xiaochang were dragged away by the imperial guards.

The injured ministers were also carried away by the imperial guards.

As for the old ministers of Wude and the kings who participated in the rebellion, they all knelt in the center of the hall, awaiting Li Shimin's decision.

How excited and happy I was just now, how nervous and scared I am now.

However, Li Shimin's mind was obviously not on them at the moment.

Because the rebellion of Changsun Anye and Li Xiaochang involved the retired emperor Li Yuan, he had to consider how to deal with the matter.

Although Li Yuan did not show up from beginning to end, Changsun Anye's previous remarks were very convincing.

In addition, he himself suspected that Li Yuan was the mastermind behind the rebellion.

Therefore, how to deal with this matter gave him a headache.

The best way, of course, is to let Li Yuan come to Taiji Hall.

Because any doubt or suspicion is better expressed face to face and openly.

However, if Li Yuan was allowed to come directly to Taiji Hall, it would mean that he was being held accountable. After all, there was no concrete evidence to prove that Li Yuan was colluding with the rebels.

It's impossible to summon Li Yuan to Taiji Hall based on the rebel's one-sided statement, right?

Then Li Shimin would probably be scolded to death by all the civil and military officials in the court, and even by the people of the world.

So, after a long silence, Li Shimin finally decided to put Li Yuan's matter aside for the time being, and go to Da'an Palace in person after dealing with the affairs of the court.

"Everyone, do you have anything to say about this rebellion?"

Li Shimin's voice was like a spring thunder, exploding in the silent court, shocking the court officials who had their own thoughts.

However, Yuchi Gong took the initiative to stand up and confessed his guilt, saying, "Your Majesty, this rebellion is due to my failure to investigate thoroughly. Otherwise, Changsun Anye and the others would not have brought the fire bomb into the Taiji Palace. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

"When the general learned that Xuanwu Gate had been captured by Liu Deyu and his men, he was able to act swiftly and bring Li Xiaochang and his men into the Taiji Hall. This was already a great achievement. What crime could he have committed? Otherwise, if a war had broken out outside Chang'an, the impact would have been even greater!"

Li Shimin shook his head and smiled, saying, "There are many people in this world who harbor evil intentions and are thieves. If you can prevent everything, then you are not a general, but an immortal!"

"Hahaha!"

The ministers burst into laughter, and the atmosphere instantly eased a lot.

Li Shimin's words not only moved all the ministers, but also moved Yuchi Gong so much that he shed tears.

It is said that a scholar will die for his confidant. Li Shimin really made the ministers of the former Qin Palace and Tian Ce Palace convinced.

It’s no wonder that they were able to unite as one and launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

"Although General Yuchi is not to blame for this, this matter must be resolved. What do you think should be done with those involved in this matter?"

After the laughter, Li Shimin looked around at his ministers and asked solemnly.

"This"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and then turned their gazes to the old ministers of martial virtue and the kings.

Fang Xuanling was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I believe this matter is too serious. We should kill one person to serve as a warning to others!"

"That's right! If we don't kill them, we can't uphold the law!" Du Ruhui echoed.

Li Shimin nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Then drag them all away and execute them!"

"His Majesty!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, a nobleman kneeling in the middle shouted in horror: "I am innocent!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! We are wronged!"

The king's cry for justice resonated with everyone, and they also cried out for justice.

But then Changsun Wuji sneered, "Didn't you just agree with Changsun Anye and his group's plan to 'clean up the imperial court'? You participated in the rebellion, so why are you all crying foul now?"

"You're talking nonsense! We were clearly bewitched by Changsun Anye's words and thought he was following the orders of the retired emperor!" An old minister of Wude said eloquently.

Immediately, a nobleman echoed, "Yes! We support the enthronement of the Emperor! Not rebellion!"

"We are loyal subjects, Your Majesty!"

"hehe."

Li Shimin laughed, and his laugh was very creepy.

But after he finished laughing, he suddenly called out, "Wei Zheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"I ask you, what is a loyal minister?"

Wei Zheng thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, there are two types of loyal ministers: those who are loyal to the country, and those who are loyal to the emperor."

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows: "What's the difference?"

"In the past, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong of Qi said that loyalty to the state is more important than loyalty to the king. If the state is destroyed, the minister can die. But if the state survives and the king dies, it is nothing more than sadness."

"Oh I see."

Li Shimin nodded in sudden realization, then smiled at the group of Wude veterans and said, "You just kept saying that you were bewitched by Changsun Anye and that's why you agreed to welcome the Emperor Retired. So, let me ask you now, were you sad when the Emperor Retired abdicated?"

"This"

No one dared to answer Li Shimin's question.

No one would have thought that Li Shimin would ask this question.

In fact, in history, Li Shimin had this kind of ruthless attitude towards Li Yuan.

The Zizhi Tongjian records that Li Shimin once said in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, "During the reign of Wude, bribery was rampant and discipline was in disorder. During the reign of Wude, politics and punishment were absurd and the government was in chaos."

In a nutshell, my father was a tyrant.

According to common sense, it is almost impossible for the current emperor to say such words when the previous emperor is still alive.

However, Li Shimin still said it with confidence.

What does this indicate?
This shows that Li Shimin in history had a deep resentment towards Li Yuan.

Seeing that those veteran officials and the crowned princes were speechless, Li Shimin continued to ask: "Since you say that you are loyal to the retired emperor, why didn't you resign and retire when the retired emperor abdicated?"

"I, we."

Those old ministers of Wude and those who were crowned as kings were hesitant to speak.

At this moment, a quick-witted old official from Wude hurriedly said, "Although we are loyal to the Emperor, we are also loyal to the Tang Dynasty!"

"Yes! That's right! The Tang Dynasty still exists, so naturally we must be loyal to the court!"

"Hahaha!"

Li Shimin couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh.

He had never seen such a shameless minister.

After he finished laughing, he asked coldly, "You said you were loyal to the Tang Dynasty, but when the rebels threatened the Tang Dynasty, why didn't you show your loyalty?"

"You say you support the rebels' enthronement of the Emperor Retired. Then is the rebels' arbitrary killing of ministers in the court the result of enthroning the Emperor Retired?"

"If you are considered loyal ministers, then there are no loyal ministers in the Tang Dynasty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave the order: "Come here! Execute all these traitors and their accomplices, including their entire families!"

Boom!

Those old ministers of Wude and those who were crowned kings felt as if they were struck by lightning, and their heads were buzzing.

Originally only one of them was going to die, but now the whole family is going to die!
It's really his own fault! The whole hall couldn't help but sigh.

"Li Shimin! You shall not die a good death! You have wronged the lives of loyal ministers! We want to see the Emperor!"

"We are wronged! We are wronged!"

Accompanied by countless curses and cries of injustice, those old ministers of Wude and the crowned kings were dragged out of the hall one by one by the imperial guards.

The other ministers who watched them leave were all silent.

Especially Pei Ji, Li Shentong and their group, layers of fine sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Although those old ministers of Wude and those who were granted titles of kings did deserve to die, it also indirectly reflected that Li Shimin's resentment towards Li Yuan had increased.

This made Pei Ji wonder whether this matter was really related to Li Yuan?
However, before Pei Ji could figure it out, Li Shimin's voice rang out again:

"As the saying goes, meritorious service must be rewarded, and faults must be punished. Just now, I punished those who were guilty, and now, I will reward those who have made meritorious contributions!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he smiled and fixed his gaze on Wushe, saying, "Wushe, you did a good job this time and achieved great merit. I will appoint you as the Governor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and grant you a reward of two hundred and fifty pieces of cloth!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wushe trembled all over, suddenly fell to the ground, and kowtowed heavily to express his gratitude.

You should know that although the Governor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is only a fourth-rank official, he is the highest official position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In other words, this official position is the highest position that a eunuch can achieve.

Wushe never dreamed that he could reach such a high position, so after kowtowing to express his gratitude, he glanced at Li Chengqian in the corner calmly.

If Li Chengqian hadn't given him advice, he probably wouldn't have had the ability or the courage to do such a thing.

Therefore, his gratitude to Li Chengqian at this moment is self-evident.

But when Li Chengqian faced his glance, his expression remained calm, and he even subconsciously hid in a corner.

Because at this moment, he doesn't want to be in the spotlight.

Li Shimin smiled faintly, then seemed to recall something and said, "Wushe, I want to ask you, how did you come up with the idea of ​​using water to extinguish Changsun Anye's fire?"

"Ah? This"

Wushe was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly responded: "Your Majesty, just now when Changsun Anye took out the tinderbox and lit the fire bomb, I was wondering if I could extinguish it with water. That way, he wouldn't be able to ignite the fire bomb and endanger the ministers and Your Majesty."

Having said this, he paused, glanced at Empress Zhangsun, and continued, "It is also fortunate that the Empress appeared in time that I dared to cooperate with the Empress."

"You mean, what you just did was instructed by the Queen?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Wushe couldn't help but look hesitant.

But Empress Changsun laughed and said, "It was I who instructed Cheng Qian to tell him!"

"Cheng Qian?"

Li Shimin was slightly taken aback, wondering when did this guy sneak in? How come I didn't know?
His attention was all on Changsun Anye, Empress Changsun and others. He didn't even see Li Chengqian throwing out the sachet to stop Li Xiaochang from lighting the fire bomb.

Because the hall was so messy at that time, he didn't dare to be distracted.

However, before he could call out Li Chengqian, a report came from outside.

"Your Majesty, seven kings, under the pretext of defending the king, have gathered an army of 200,000 and are marching at the gates of the city!"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

Some people were stunned with shock, their faces filled with astonishment.

Some people stood up from their seats and cursed.

The entire hall fell into chaos again.

This news is earth-shattering.

If the rebellions of Changsun Anye and Li Xiaochang were minor, then the rebellion of seven kings and an army of 200,000 at the gates of the city was definitely a storm.

"Rebellion? Everyone rebelled?!!"

At this moment, Li Shimin was shocked and confused.

He never thought that things would turn out like this!

Although the rebellion of Changsun Anye and others was somewhat unexpected to him, everything was still under his control.

However, the appearance of these seven kings was completely beyond his expectations.

What do you mean by "serving the king and protecting him"? That sounds nice! Who in the world wouldn't obey orders to serve the king and protect him? To put it bluntly, isn't that still rebellion?
Looking at the ministers who were whispering and thinking in different ways, Li Shimin's eyes suddenly became a little confused. He didn't know which of these people were loyal ministers and which were accomplices of the rebels?
For a moment, he began to regret launching the Xuanwu Gate Incident and felt that he should not sit on the throne.

However, when he set his eyes on Empress Changsun and the officials of the Prince of Qin's Mansion and the Tian Ce Mansion who had been with him through thick and thin, he had to firm up his resolve.

Even if he had taken a wrong path at first, he would still persist in going on.

At the same time, Li Chengqian was also a little surprised.

Because the enthronement of seven kings was not in his plan, and he did not have the ability to instigate the seven kings to rebel.

The only possibility is that not only did he make a response to Changsun Anye's change of plan, but Li Yuan also made a response.

In other words, no matter whether the seven kings rebelled or not, the throne would always belong to their Li family.

"Haha, grandpa is still awesome! He had a big game!"

Just as Li Chengqian was secretly celebrating, Li Shimin's voice suddenly rang out again: "Yuchi Jingde! Qin Shubao!"

"Chen is here!"

Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong immediately stood up.

"Rush to the city gate immediately, gather your troops, and guard the gate!"

"As ordered!"

"Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui!"

After watching Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong leave, Li Shimin gave another clear order: "Immediately mobilize all forces to control Chang'an. Do not alarm the people of Chang'an again!"

"Yes!"

Changsun Wuji and the other two quickly took orders and retreated.

Li Shimin looked around at the ministers in the hall and said coldly: "I don't care what you think in your hearts. I advise you to be honest. Otherwise, I will show no mercy!"

After saying this, his eyes swept over Pei Ji and other old ministers of Wude, as well as Li Shentong and other kings.

They were so frightened that they lowered their heads and dared not look at Li Shimin.

It was obvious that after the rebellion just now, Li Shimin's trust in them had reached a low point.

As long as they dared to act rashly, Li Shimin would definitely kill them.

However, they couldn't help but wonder in their hearts whether these kings were here to protect the king.
If so, who notified them?

You must know that you cannot come to the defense of the king casually. You must receive the emperor's order or a secret order before you can come to the defense of the king.

Otherwise, it will be regarded as treason.

But isn’t the emperor here?
If it was Li Shimin who sent seven kings, he wouldn't be so nervous about facing a formidable enemy!
Just when the ministers were in confusion, another report was heard outside the hall.

"The Emperor has arrived—!"

　[This is a combined chapter. I revised it. I think the information gap method is more in line with the direction of the plot.

　　In addition, let me explain why these kings had soldiers under their command. This is because of the Tang Dynasty's military system. If you are interested, you can go and learn more about it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)