The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Li Zhi's minor lapse in composure did not cause any significant disturbance.

Li Tai was already in a bad mood, and seeing his younger brother behave poorly in front of important officials made him feel even more ashamed.

As he led the officials toward the inner palace, he lowered his voice and reprimanded Li Zhi with a hint of impatience.

Li Zhi lowered his head, his long eyelashes concealing the emotions in his eyes, and listened obediently, looking terrified and uneasy as if being scolded by his elder brother.

"His Highness Prince Jin... is indeed rather weak."

Walking behind the two princes, Xiao Yu subconsciously thought to himself, and then immediately looked away from Li Zhi.

He was merely a vassal king outside the line of succession, and there was no need to pay too much attention to him.

As he was pondering this, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Changsun Wuji beside him, who seemed to be frowning as he looked at Li Tai and Li Zhi ahead, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

"Lord Changsun? Is there something amiss?"

"Oh...it's nothing." Changsun Wuji paused for a moment before replying, then resumed his previous indifferent expression.

"I'm a bit tired after working all night..."

Xiao Yu nodded, not thinking much of it, but Changsun Wuji had mixed feelings.

In the struggle for the throne, everyone's eyes were only on the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei, but he suddenly realized... that the Prince of Jin was also the legitimate son!

The Crown Prince is absurd and immoral, with a tarnished reputation, and shows no signs of being a wise ruler. The King of Wei has formed his own faction and does not rely on these veteran ministers from the Zhenguan era.

Although the Prince of Jin is weak, if we support him...

Changsun Wuji's heart started beating faster.

Under the midday sun, the glazed tiles on the palace roof reflected a dazzling light, and the majestic Liangyi Hall was already in sight.

The Ganlu Hall was the emperor's private study, a place for reading and resting, and not suitable for handling a major case like the crown prince's treason. Therefore, although Li Shimin's headache had not yet healed, he still forced himself to come to the Liangyi Hall to await the arrival of the four ministers.

Li Tai and Li Zhi led Changsun Wuji and the others to the outside of the Liangyi Hall. A court attendant came to the hall entrance to take over and, on the emperor's orders, led the four into the hall.

Inside the hall, Li Shimin sat high on the double-eaved throne. To his left stood Chu Suiliang, the Grand Counselor, holding paper and pen, diligently recording events. This was Chu Suiliang's duty as the Recorder of the Emperor's Daily Life, and he had to be present for important military and state affairs. Another person approached and stood to his right. This was Lai Ji, the Attendant-in-Waiting who had led the way earlier. He was responsible for conveying imperial edicts and serving the emperor within the hall, and was also required to be by his side.

The candlelight in the hall was dim. Li Shimin's brows were deeply furrowed, and he gently supported his brow with one hand, as if enduring pain, which made it even harder to see his expression. The atmosphere was solemn.

After the emperor and his ministers finished exchanging greetings, Li Shimin sighed and said, "Speak, speak all."

"Xuanling, Maogong, you two go first..."

Fang Xuanling had remained silent since entering the palace. Now, having been appointed by the emperor, he and Li Ji exchanged a glance, then he stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I, along with the Duke of Yingguo and others, will be responsible for investigating Hou Junji's faction."

"It has now been found that... Hou Junji was dissatisfied with His Majesty. Knowing that the Crown Prince often spoke dissenting words, he secretly instructed his son-in-law Helan Chushi to contact the Crown Prince."

"With the Crown Prince's approval, Hou Junji used the Crown Prince's name and his own prestige to secretly win over his old subordinates and recruit assassins, intending to force the Crown Prince to abdicate."

"The treasonous plot... is true."

Sensing the emperor's increasingly heavy breathing, Fang Xuanling silently lowered his head, not daring to peek at Li Shimin's expression.

"...Lord Xiao, Fu Ji, you two speak as well," Li Shimin said, waving his hand without even looking up.

Xiao Yu glanced at Changsun Wuji, then stood up shakily.

"Your Majesty, I, along with the Duke of Zhao and others, are in charge of investigating the case of His Highness the Crown Prince's alleged treason, as reported by Hegan Chengji."

"According to the testimonies of the attendants of the Eastern Palace and the close advisors of the Crown Prince, it has now been verified that the matters reported by Hegan Chengji are largely accurate."

"The Crown Prince did indeed... utter rebellious words. He privately conspired with Du He, Li Anyan, Hegan Chengji, and others to feign illness to lure His Majesty to the Eastern Palace for a visit, then use assassins... to capture His Majesty. Afterwards... he killed the Prince of Wei, forcing His Majesty to issue an edict of abdication..."

Xiao Yu recounted in detail the testimonies of the officials under the Crown Prince's command, which he had interrogated all night the previous day.

Li Shimin sat on the throne, looking even weaker, and covered his face with his hands. Two streams of tears flowed down his deeply lined cheeks.

"Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty..."

Seeing the emperor shed tears, everyone was deeply moved. Li Shimin then waved his hand, stopping the officials from stepping forward to visit him.

"You... presumably have already reached your conclusions."

"Go ahead and speak... you all go ahead and speak."

"What should be done with the Crown Prince...?"

"What should we do with my son...?"

The four ministers exchanged glances. Xiao Yu carefully considered his words before speaking cautiously:

"Your Majesty... in my opinion, although the Crown Prince... uttered rebellious words, ultimately... he failed to implement them..."

Li Shimin seemed moved. He braced himself on the armrests of the throne, struggling to sit up, and looked at Xiao Yu: "Is... this alright?"

Xiao Yu remained silent for a moment, then stopped speaking.

According to the laws of the Zhenguan era, the crime of treason was already unforgivable. The confessions of Hegan Chengji and others clearly stated that the Crown Prince was plotting treason.

Although Xiao Yu was willing to comply with the emperor's wishes to some extent, he was absolutely unwilling to get too deeply involved in the struggle for the throne.

That's enough.

He looked at Changsun Wuji, and following his gaze, Li Shimin also looked at Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji lowered his head in thought, seemingly in a difficult position. The atmosphere remained tense for a long time before Changsun Wuji slowly opened his mouth and said:

"The Crown Prince...though he has not yet implemented it,...the signs of rebellion are already evident."

"If this is not punished, the authority of the imperial laws will be lost, and there will be no way to deter future generations..."

If Li Zhi were here at this moment, he would surely be overjoyed.

He took a risk at Zhu Ming Gate and actually succeeded in moving Changsun Wuji at the last moment.

This allowed Changsun Wuji to deliver a fatal blow to Crown Prince Li Chengqian!

Li Shimin's gaze suddenly sharpened, and Xiao Yu looked at Changsun Wuji in even greater shock.

Has the reversed form already been formed?

Didn't you say that the Crown Prince was "also someone's nephew"? How come you're backstabbing him now?

Isn't this... leaving Xiao Yu all alone to be roasted over a fire?

Xiao Yu frowned deeply, and thought again about what Changsun Wuji had just said: it seemed that he had indeed not said anything about favoring the Crown Prince.

Could it be that I misunderstood?

"Auxiliary machine..." Li Shimin began, his lips trembling. "Chengqian... Chengqian, he..."

"He is my eldest son with Guanyinbi!"

"Your Majesty..." Changsun Wuji rose from his seat, his eyes red-rimmed, and trembling as he bowed deeply to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty's heart is also breaking..."

"But if my Great Tang sets such a precedent, if it were to abolish its own laws..."

"Our Great Tang Dynasty... cannot repeat the mistakes of the Qin and Sui Dynasties!"

Li Shimin froze, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Looking at the Tang Dynasty from the perspective of later generations, one might think that with the Tang Dynasty unifying the world and Li Shimin ushering in the Zhenguan era, this was the time for the newly established dynasty to create a new era and shine brightly.

But in fact, a sense of crisis was the common mindset of people in the early Tang Dynasty.

When later generations praise the long-lasting peace and stability of the Tang Dynasty and the tribute from all nations, it is easy to overlook the fact that people living during the Wude and Zhenguan periods, even though the Tang Dynasty had unified the country, had no confidence in how far this newly established dynasty could go.

Since the collapse of the Han Dynasty, the world has been in chaos for four hundred years. Although the Jin and Sui Dynasties briefly unified the country, none of them lasted long during those four hundred years.

Emperors and generals of that era, such as Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji, were essentially feeling their way forward. After all, there wasn't a single comparable example to follow in the previous four hundred years.

Will the Tang Dynasty share the same "fate" as most dynasties before it?

If the successor ruler is incompetent, will the Tang Dynasty repeat the mistakes of the Qin and Sui dynasties, which unified the world but quickly disintegrated?