Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 25 Li Yuan in Despair, the Situation is Decisive
"Why hasn't this benevolent man come over yet? Do you expect me to go and greet him?"

Standing on the small boat, Li Yuan looked at Yuwen Shiji on the shore and laughed loudly.

The others naturally understood that he was joking.

But Pei Ji, who was standing not far behind him, looked rather solemn.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Just now, he saw a flock of birds suddenly take off and fly away to another place in the woods near the Linhu Palace.

He hadn't thought much about it before. This was the imperial palace, guarded by the Imperial Guards, as well as the Left Guard, Right Guard, and Left Martial Guard.

Who would dare to cause trouble here? It's not like the Sui Dynasty anymore.

But at this moment, thinking of Yuwen Shiji's hurried arrival from the forest, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Something seems amiss to you, sir. Perhaps I should go and inquire about it?” Pei Ji suggested.

Li Yuan smiled dismissively; he had just drunk some wine and was now slightly tipsy.

"I'm afraid you must have been exhausted last night," he teased deliberately, and the old ministers on the boat all understood and burst into laughter.

On this small, insignificant boat sits the most powerful person in the Tang Dynasty today.

Emperor Li Yuan goes without saying, and the people standing beside him, such as Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Feng Deyi, and Pei Ju, were either prime ministers or high-ranking officials.

But that's not the point.

These people dared to joke with Li Yuan like that because they had grown up together since childhood.

In their youth, they even went to brothels together, but because they didn't have enough money, they ended up only finding one prostitute and engaging in a one-woman-many-drama scenario. From then on, they were forbidden from entering any brothels or entertainment venues in Chang'an.

The relationship between these old guys, in modern terms, was: "They fought together, studied together, shared the spoils, and frequented brothels together."

Therefore, when Li Yuan marched into Chang'an, he encountered almost no significant resistance.

"It seems that the sage has something urgent to attend to. Your Majesty, the wind is picking up. Why don't we go back?" Pei Ji felt increasingly uneasy. He stepped forward and secretly gave Li Yuan a look.

Upon seeing this, Li Yuan, who was joking, immediately lost his smile.

He knew that Pei Ji wouldn't disturb his mood without a reason.

Seeing that it was getting late and he still had to meet his three sons soon, he couldn't help but think of those unpleasant things, and his playful mood vanished.

The eunuch was ordered to return to the shore.

Before long, the small boat arrived at the port of Chihai Lake.

Yuwen Shiji, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly came to him to pay his respects.

Li Yuan helped him up and teased, "Why are you so late, sir? Were you held up by one of your concubines?"

Yuwen Shiji remained silent, then chuckled twice.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Li Yuan thought he had guessed correctly and burst into laughter.

at this time!

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from ahead.

Everyone was taken aback and turned around abruptly. They saw a burly man galloping towards them on horseback, wearing iron armor and holding a long spear, looking fierce and menacing.

Seeing his leopard-like head, piercing eyes, and dark face, everyone immediately recognized him.

"Yuchi Gong!"

Pei Ji exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the newcomer.

Pei Ju, who was originally behind Li Yuan, hurriedly stepped forward to protect him.

The eunuchs and palace maids around them had long since scattered like birds and beasts.

As Li Yuan watched Yuchi Gong approaching him, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

Yuchi Gong was in charge of the Left Guard, and although he had the duty of protecting the safety of the palace, he had already relinquished this post a few days ago in order to fight against the Turks.

Why did you suddenly appear in the palace today, with such a murderous aura?

Could it be that someone has committed treason?
Upon realizing this, Li Yuan's eyes widened instantly.

He hasn't forgotten how Emperor Yang of Sui died!

"Who is causing trouble today? What are you doing here, my dear minister?" Li Yuan pushed Pei Ju aside and stepped forward to question him.

He had no doubt about Yuchi Gong's loyalty and bravery, which is why he stepped forward to inquire.

The former, with a solemn expression, dismounted and respectfully bowed to Li Yuan: "Greetings, Your Majesty. I report to Your Majesty that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have plotted a rebellion, and His Highness the Prince of Qin has been forced to raise an army to kill them. Your Highness is worried that this may disturb Your Majesty, so you have sent me to serve as Your Majesty's guard."

boom!
It was like a bolt from the blue.

Li Yuan froze on the spot, his body trembling uncontrollably, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"You, what did you say?"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Everyone present, except for Yuwen Shiji, was shocked.

Has the King of Qin made his move?
Although this was not unexpected, the three Li brothers had long been at odds and were bound to clash sooner or later.

Many people thought the Crown Prince would make the first move. Now, the Tian Ce Mansion exists in name only, the advisors of the Qin King's Mansion have fallen apart, and the Qin King has even lost his military power.

But unexpectedly, the King of Qin preemptively killed the Crown Prince and the King of Qi.

He occupied the imperial city, and with his power, he could command half of the sixteen guards of the Southern Palace Imperial Guards without even needing a tiger tally.

It now seems the overall situation is settled.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince conspired with the King of Qi to rebel, and the King of Qin was forced to execute him..."

Yuchi Gong deliberately pretended to be a simpleton and repeated what he had just said, but before he could speak, he saw Li Yuan roar angrily with red eyes.

"Bastard!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a tightness in his chest, and everything went black. Everyone watched as he fell straight backward, and panic ensued.

"His Majesty!"

Pei Ji and the others quickly pushed Yuchi Gong aside and helped Li Yuan up.

The latter did not faint; he was panting heavily, and tears streamed down his bloodshot eyes.

"Eldest brother! Fourth brother, why did it have to come to this? Why did it have to come to this!"

"My son!"

He wailed, but no one around him came forward to comfort him.

Yuwen Shiji, who had been silent, realized that it was his turn to take the stage.

"Now that things have come to this, Your Majesty, please take heed of our grief. The Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi's treason is an unforgivable crime. How to deal with it is up to Your Majesty to decide, otherwise, disaster will surely strike from within."

Yuwen Shiji solemnly used the title "Your Majesty," a formality that a subject would not normally employ unless it was an important occasion or a momentous event.

After he finished speaking, he winked at Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Feng Deyi, Pei Ju and others beside him.

Those few were all old foxes, and they immediately understood.

Now that the overall situation is settled, what else can be done besides establishing the King of Qin?

Li Yuan, seeing their expressions, immediately understood.

His good second son has always been a decisive and efficient person.

When the uprising broke out in Jinyang, he hesitated, but it was his good second son who forced him to take action.

But he still wanted to try, even if only half of them supported him, there was still a chance for things to turn around today!

"I never expected such a tragedy to occur today. What do you, my ministers, think we should do?"

He is seeking allies.

But these allies who once supported him are now silent.

They hold high positions of power and cannot advance any further, but they all have powerful families behind them.

If one wrong step is taken, the entire family's lives will be in danger.

It's not the Northern Zhou or the former Sui anymore. That Prince Qin weakened the power of various factions many times when the Tang Dynasty was first established, and they are now powerless to help him.

Chen Shuda sighed, exchanged a glance with Xiao Yu beside him, and then made up his mind to advise Li Yuan: "Your Majesty, Jiancheng and Yuanji did not participate in the strategy of raising troops to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, nor did they make any contributions to the world. They were jealous of the Prince of Qin's great achievements and high prestige, so they conspired to plot a treacherous conspiracy. Now, the Prince of Qin has denounced and executed them. The Prince of Qin's achievements are unparalleled, and the world is won over."

He was telling Li Yuan that the situation was already set and could not be reversed.

Li Yuan glared at him fiercely, then turned to look at Xiao Yu, hoping he would speak up for him.

But the latter shook his head helplessly and said, "If Your Majesty can decide to make the Prince of Qin the Crown Prince and entrust him with the affairs of state, there will be no more trouble."

"You, you guys!"

Li Yuan suddenly sprang up and pushed aside the people around him.

He glared at the old ministers around him, his anger barely contained: "Very well, very well indeed, my esteemed ministers, you truly are pillars of our Great Tang!"

Everyone lowered their heads, and the people who had spoken earlier blushed with embarrassment.

Li Yuan smiled bitterly, as if he had aged decades in an instant.

At this moment, he could only accept his fate.

"I have long intended to make Erlang the crown prince, but I want to meet him first. I wonder if you would agree?" He practically squeezed these words out from between his teeth.

An emperor questioning his ministers—such humility seemed familiar to him, something he had seen in Yang You years before.

And that unruly minister was himself.

But Yuchi Gong dared not be as arrogant as he had been back then, and respectfully bowed to Li Yuan.

"This humble general will immediately go and summon His Highness the King of Qin, and invite the Sage to rest for a while in the Xianchi Palace."

After he stood up, without waiting for Li Yuan's consent, he ordered the Xuanjia Guards to escort Li Yuan and the others to the Xianchi Palace.

Surrounded by soldiers, Li Yuan watched Yuchi Gong's departing figure and laughed bitterly.

Not long after Yuchi Gong left Chihai Lake, he encountered Li Shimin and Wen He, who were heading in his direction.

Seeing his expression, Wen He immediately understood.

"Is the situation already decided?"

He asked first.

Yuchi Gong glared at him, annoyed.

This young man, Wen, is so ill-mannered; His Highness hasn't even asked him yet.

He was about to reprimand him when he saw Li Shimin looking at him with a questioning gaze. He dared not hesitate and quickly bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, the Emperor has summoned me to the Xianchi Palace."

"Very well, I'll go right away!"

Li Shimin was overjoyed, and he didn't even correct Yuchi Gong's way of addressing him.

Perhaps for him, there is no need for correction anymore.

"Young Master Wen, please sit down. I cannot keep my father waiting!"

Wen He, who was sitting on the same horse as him, rolled her eyes speechlessly.

What can't keep Li Yuan waiting?

I'm afraid you're just too impatient to wait.

(End of this chapter)