Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

The emperor disliked the large-scale, demonstrative religious ceremonies organized by aristocratic families, but he could not remain silent.

Therefore, Li Er sent a palace eunuch to the scene of the ritual to offer his condolences.

With the royal family's involvement, the scale and prestige of this religious ceremony became even more grand.

Of course, the emperor disliked aristocratic families, and he disliked Li You even more.

Li Shimin's overall impression of his son Li You can only be described as extremely disappointed.

His rebellion further enraged Li Shimin.

But Li You's subsequent crazy actions still gave the emperor a slight shock.

The powerful families are guilty, so their rebellion is justified.

With just these eight words, the King of Qi was able to gather an army of tens of thousands of people, fight across thousands of miles, and destroy three powerful clans.

Moreover, they distributed huge amounts of land to incite more people to rebel.

Li Shimin was indeed a wise ruler, but he was also an expert in rebellion and treason.

During the years of Li Er's rebellion, his attitude towards powerful families was mainly to win them over and cooperate with them.

Moreover, many of Li Er's right-hand men came from prominent families.

For example, Fang Xuanling came from the Fang family of Qinghe.

In the eyes of the traitor Li Er, aristocratic families were a political force that could be exploited.

After becoming emperor, Li Er began to restrict the power of aristocratic families to prevent them from threatening the central government.

Utilizing it is one thing, restricting it is another. The emperor never expected that his least favorite son would come up with a third approach.

He treads upon the bones of high-ranking officials on the streets, and hangs the heads of powerful and wealthy men at the gates of the camp.

Based on his understanding of Li You's intelligence and abilities, the emperor tended to believe that Li You had a highly skilled mentor guiding him.

He himself might even be a puppet placed on the stage.

Furthermore, the possibility that the "golden-armored deity" appeared in a dream cannot be completely ruled out.

People in ancient times believed in such "paranormal events".

Especially people like Li Er, upper-class individuals who have nothing better to do than daydream all day.

After Li Yuan passed away, Li Shimin often dreamed of him.

Sometimes he would dream of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, as well as Empress Zhangsun.

After Wei Zheng left at the beginning of the year, Li Shimin would dream of him.

Sometimes the emperor and his minister would even discuss things in their dreams, which was quite amusing.

Upon waking from his dream, the emperor would even write down the events and dialogues that occurred in his dream, and frequently review and contemplate them.

People always get old, and when they get old, they often think about what will happen after they die. This is the situation Li Er is in now.

How will people view my actions a hundred years from now?

Is Chengqian really capable of shouldering such a heavy burden?

If the crown prince were replaced by Li Tai, would he be more outstanding than Chengqian?

These are all things the emperor needs to consider.

Even emperors are human; once they start thinking too much, they might do something rather outrageous.

For example, Li Er now particularly enjoys secretly reading the daily records of the emperor's life, and even tries to modify some of the content.

His past glorious achievements need no alteration.

Events from the previous dynasty, such as the Xuanwu Gate Incident, need to be embellished somewhat.

Right now, Li Er is having a headache, so he puts aside his favorite book, "The Daily Life of the Emperor," and begins to think.

The emperor pondered for a long time how to handle the aftermath of the "King of Qi," but could not come up with a solution.

He rubbed his temples, preparing to go for a walk.

The eunuchs prepared the imperial carriage, which carried the emperor to the Ministry of Justice.

The Secretariat and the Chancellery of the Tang Dynasty were located right next to the Taiji Palace, within walking distance.

The Six Ministries were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, which was a bit far from the Taiji Palace, so it was more convenient to ride in the imperial carriage.

Li Shimin came to the Ministry of Justice to see the coffin of Prince Qi.

"Open!"

"promise!"

Upon seeing the emperor's arrival, the officials of the Ministry of Justice dared not be negligent, and they carefully lifted the coffin lid.

The body of "King Qi" had clearly been prepared. He was wearing the purple princely robes that signified his status, but they looked somewhat wrinkled. Due to the presence of certain spices, the smell of decay was not too overpowering.

Li Shimin stared at the lifeless young face, his heart filled with a complex mix of anger and pity.

In his memory, there were very few traces left by his son, Li You.

Even his mother, Consort Yin, was not favored and was the least noticeable one in Li Shimin's harem.

Li Shimin had many sons.

His favorite was Prince Li Zhi of Jin, his most valued son was Crown Prince Li Chengqian, his most admired son was Prince Li Tai of Shu, and the son who looked most like him was Prince Li Ke of Wu.

Li You, on the other hand, is nothing.

You little brat.

Looking at his "dead" son's face, Li Shimin suddenly understood why the child was so determined to rebel.

Years of neglect, an arrogant personality, and the instigation of accomplices are enough to change the heart of a young man in his early twenties.

"Arrogant!"

"But those aristocratic families... it was good they were wiped out... it was so good they were wiped out..."

Li Shimin whispered a few words that only he could hear.

The surrounding officials all knew the rules, and even if they heard it, they dared not say it aloud.

"Alright, close the coffin."

Back at the Taiji Palace, the emperor finally made a decision.

"An imperial edict was drafted to abolish the State of Qi, and Li You was to be buried with the rites due to a Duke."

"Also, send a few more people to keep an eye on Consort Yin and prevent her from taking her own life."

"promise!"

……

With the emperor's decree, "King Qi" was finally able to be legally buried.

This is the third time that "King Qi" has been buried.

The ceremony was surprisingly grand.

Consort Yin was allowed to leave the palace, and she fainted from crying in front of the grave.

Her son died, and the entire Yin family disappeared without a trace. She was arguably the most tragic woman in the palace.

In addition, the Dugu family sent their eldest son, Dugu Dabao, to offer condolences.

The Crown Prince's residence, the Prince of Wu's residence, the Prince of Shu's residence, and the Prince of Jin's residence all sent people to offer their condolences.

Besides these people, Dugu Yanran also burned some paper money for her ex-husband in the room.

The death of the King of Qi deeply saddened Dugu Yanran.

After all, they were husband and wife; even a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness.

Although Li You had a bad temper, it was good that he eventually sent me back to Chang'an instead of letting me suffer with him.

Of course, Dugu Yanran was unaware that her husband had become someone else.

If it were the historical Li You, it's hard to say how he would have treated his queen.

In addition to her sadness, Dugu Yanran was also worried about her future fate.

Her family is already contacting other prominent families, preparing to remarry her off.

She went to her mother to find out what was going on, and she said that she was having a good conversation with the Wei family.

The mother comforted her daughter, saying that the man was quite handsome and that she shouldn't worry.

As a woman in ancient times, Dugu Yanran could not decide her own fate, especially in the Dugu family, which was particularly adept at marrying off its daughters.

Back then, without the emperor's permission, Dugu Yanran would not have married Li You.

The King of Qi has been buried, but the rebellion he launched still has lingering effects.

Many people's actions were adjusted accordingly because of this rebellion.

Especially at the higher levels.

For example, right now, Li Shimin is discussing the follow-up to the suppression of the rebellion in Shandong with several of his key ministers.

The atmosphere inside the hall was quite relaxed, and the emperor and his ministers were even somewhat excited.

Why the excitement?

Because, in a way, the rebellion of the King of Qi was actually a good thing that benefited the country and its people.

He killed three powerful families in succession and distributed large amounts of land, giving the people real benefits.

The blade was turned inward to slay the powerful clans and give back to the common people—this was unprecedented in the Tang Dynasty.

As the rulers of a dynasty, they actually did not want to see the powerful families under their rule grow stronger.

However, the rulers could not actually harm the powerful families; in fact, they had to try every means to curry favor with them.

Now, due to the King of Qi's almost insane actions, the three powerful families have been physically eliminated.

Although the powerful clans were not eradicated, it was enough to excite the rulers.

"Your Majesty, according to our calculations, the recent chaos in Shandong has resulted in over 800,000 mu of land becoming unclaimed. If we can utilize this land, the equal-field system implemented by the court in Shandong can continue to be advanced," Fang Xuanling, who was skilled in mathematics, reported to the emperor.

The equal-field system of the Sui and Tang dynasties was well-intentioned, but in many places it simply could not be implemented.

When the government compiled the land registers at that time, they were quite honest, recording how much land each household was originally supposed to receive, how much they actually received, and how much they were short. That's why Fang Xuanling was able to obtain the relevant data.

The main reason for the shortage is the dominance of powerful and wealthy families.

The sudden appearance of 800,000 mu of farmland in Shandong gave Lao Fang a glimmer of hope for solving his problem.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! This act will greatly benefit hundreds of thousands of people in Shandong!"

Changsun Wuji, who was skilled at flattery, immediately offered up effusive praise to win the emperor's favor.