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

In his view, the Crown Prince was incompetent and Prince Li Tai of Shu lived a life of extravagance; neither of them were good people.

Just last year, Prince Li Tai of Shu undertook a massive renovation of his residence, costing 200,000 strings of cash. Cen Wenben, not to be outdone, immediately submitted a memorial advising against this, stating that the imperial family must set a good example and must not encourage extravagance; otherwise, it would inevitably ruin the country. Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) praised Cen Wenben's advice and rewarded him with 300 bolts of silk as a sign of commendation. However, the emperor did not utter a single word of criticism regarding Prince Li Tai's actions.

This shows that Li Er's love for Qingque was absolutely genuine.

For the reasons mentioned above, Cen Wenben ultimately chose King Li Ke of Wu as his object of loyalty.

The three hundred bolts of silk bestowed by the emperor were used by Old Cen to exchange for a very comfortable and luxurious mansion.

It is unacceptable for the King of Shu to be extravagant, but it is certainly permissible for me to be extravagant; there is no contradiction between the two.

Above myself, everyone is equal; below myself, class distinctions are clear.

In the early Tang Dynasty, there were few restrictions on the interactions between princes and ministers, and some princes even kept retainers. Among them, the most favored prince, Li Tai, the Prince of Shu, even established a literary academy, openly recruiting renowned scholars from all over the country to serve him.

What Li Tai was doing, Li Ke was also doing, just not as excessively. And many people knew that Li Ke and Cen Wenben were very close.

The light in Cen Wenben's study stayed on until late into the night.

At the same time, the Shu King's Palace also received the news.

Li Tai also assembled his think tank and plotted for a long time.

Clearly, a new political storm is brewing, and those who are in the know are alarmed.

The eye of the storm is in the Eastern Palace.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian finally made his final decision.

He couldn't wait any longer; he wanted to personally place himself on the throne.

The life of a crown prince in ancient times was extremely draining, much like a long rally race.

Most people don't make it to the end, and those lucky ones who do usually become exhausted and can't last more than a few years. Examples of the former include Liu Ju, the crown prince of the Western Han Dynasty, and Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

At this very moment, ministers Yu Zhining and Zhang Xuansu were kneeling before Li Chengqian, earnestly offering their advice.

"Your Highness, this cannot be!"

"Get out of the way!"

"Your Highness, your reckless actions will inevitably lead to failure! Even if you manage to succeed by chance, how will future historians judge your actions?"

"I can't manage so many things!"

"Crown Prince..."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered me to assist you and advise you. I cannot stand by and watch you make one mistake after another!"

Li Chengqian suddenly sprang to his feet and kicked Yu Zhining to the ground.

"Assistance? How dare you talk to me about assistance? You go to the Taiji Hall every day to stir up trouble and speak ill of me. They know better than I do what I do every day. Every wall of the Eastern Palace is leaking air, and I can't sleep peacefully every night!"

"Yu Zhining, put your hand on your heart and think about it. Whom are you really supporting? Are you doing this for yourself or for the Crown Prince? Do you really think I'm some inexperienced child who can be bullied at will?"

"Well said!"

Hou Junji, dressed in full armor, walked over, drew his steel knife, and held it to Yu Zhining's neck.

"Such a shameless villain, this old minister will conveniently kill him for you, which can also be considered a sacrifice for our Crown Prince's flag."

Li Chengqian's chest heaved as he took a deep breath.

"Duke Chen, let it go. Tie them both up, lest word get out."

Upon hearing this, both Yu and Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

Advice is one thing, but thinking is more important.

Hou Junji sighed inwardly: The Crown Prince is not ruthless enough; he is ultimately no match for his father.

"Duke Chen, where are your men lying in ambush?"

"The arrangements have been made for Xingqing Palace and Chengqian Palace, with fifty people in each place, all of whom are skilled individuals personally trained by me."

"Good! It will be Hai hour in half an hour. Go there personally, take control of the emperor, and immediately escort him back to the Eastern Palace."

"promise!"

Xingqing Palace was the residence of Consort Yang; Chengqian Palace was the residence of Consort Wei.

Since the passing of Empress Zhangsun, Consort Yang and Consort Wei became Li Shimin's relatively favored consorts. Intelligence from Hegan Chengji indicated that Li Shimin had not reviewed many documents and memorials today. According to the emperor's usual practice, he would likely finish his work around 9 PM and return to the residences of the two aforementioned consorts in his imperial carriage to rest.

That is why the Crown Prince's rebellion team chose to act today.

In fact, the uproar that Li You stirred up in Shandong has already begun to change some things, such as the palace coup that is about to happen tonight.

In the original history, Li You's March rebellion was quickly quelled, and his followers were escorted to the capital for interrogation. During the interrogation, He Gan Chengji was unexpectedly implicated. In order to protect himself, he revealed Li Chengqian's rebellion plan, and as a result, the crown prince's palace coup was aborted before it could be launched.

In other words, Li Chengqian was able to take action tonight thanks to his "dead" younger brother.

It's already 9 PM.

Hou Junji led a group of men out of the East Palace and disappeared into the darkness.

Inside the Eastern Palace, Prince Li Yuanchang, Du He, Zhao Jie, Li Anyan, Helan Chushi, and hundreds of loyal guards surrounded Li Chengqian, anxiously waiting.

Once they had the emperor under their control within the Eastern Palace's territory, they would force him to write a humiliating line on a pre-prepared abdication edict and affix a forged imperial seal. They would then use the fake edict to first seal off the imperial city and then subdue and control the troops within its walls.

Next, the "Emperor's" edicts will be sent to the residences of important officials in the court and the countryside. Along with the edicts will come the troops that are already loyal to the Crown Prince. Among them, those who are loyal to the Emperor, such as Li Jing, Duke of Dai, Yuchi Jingde, Duke of E, and Cheng Zhijie, Duke of Lu, will be "taken special care of".

Then, it was about taking control of the entire Chang'an.

If it comes to the final step, then the entire coup will be essentially over.

The emperor's imperial carriage set off, and judging from the direction of its journey, it was probably heading to Xingqing Palace, where Consort Yang resided.

A short while later, shouts of battle came from the direction of Xingqing Palace.

Inside the Eastern Palace, from Li Chengqian down, everyone who heard the shouts of battle felt anxious, excited, and also a little bit of fear.

The victor will be king, the loser will be villain; the outcome will be decided tonight.

As the shouts of battle gradually subsided, the prince consort Du He exclaimed in surprise, "It's done! It's done!"

Crown Prince Li Chengqian could no longer contain himself. He stood up and paced back and forth in the palace.

After this success, what reign title should I use?

Finally, the gates of the East Palace opened.

Hou Junji, covered in blood, stumbled and crawled in.

"...It's a trap!"

Those two simple words plunged everyone in the Eastern Palace into an icy abyss.

Helan Chushi quickly stepped forward and helped Hou Junji up.

"Father, where is the Emperor?"

"The emperor...the emperor is a fake..."

"It's over, it's all over..."