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

As expected of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he firmly ranks among the top emperors throughout history.

Just now, Li Xiang had gone to great lengths to slightly shake people's preconceived notions about Li Shimin, and subtly revealed some of the emperor's personal ambitions and the court's secrets.

However, with just a few words, Li Shimin laid out the grand vision of an emperor, the great righteousness of the nation, and the lessons learned from the chaos of the past, instantly restoring the lost prestige and reputation of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and even adding a few more points to it.

The sentiment in the community has quietly shifted.

Many guests and officials were moved by Li Xiang's words and secretly sympathized with the deposed Crown Prince Li Chengqian, while also harboring a nagging suspicion that the deposition of the heir apparent might have been unjust.

However, after Li Shimin's imperial speech about caring for the world and the common people, coupled with his innate imperial majesty and personal charisma, the scales in people's hearts once again tipped completely to the emperor's side.

At this moment, many people are already convinced that the deposed crown prince has fallen to this state entirely because of his own faults and deserves his punishment. The actions of the sage are entirely for the sake of the country and the people, without any selfish motives.

Even Li Xiang would give these words a perfect score, and had to admit that Li Shimin's ability to win people's hearts was truly remarkable and extremely skillful.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have been fooled by Li Er.

But Li Xiang... is not included in this list.

Isn't it just courtroom sophistry and moralistic rhetoric? Anyone can play this game of political maneuvering.

Besides—who wants to debate with you about the fate of the world? All I, Li Xiang, have always wanted is to court death.

Aunt Pang said that when arguing or confronting someone, you don't need to follow their logic in circles.

No matter what the other party says, we'll seize on one point and criticize it!

I don't care what Li Er says, all I'm going to do is—

In front of everyone, we expose your shortcomings, Li Er, and accuse you of being a tyrant!

I'll push you until you kill me!

Having made up his mind, Li Xiang raised his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of mockery, and calmly spoke:

"Your Majesty boasts that everything you do is in accordance with the will of Heaven and the wishes of the people. Well then, I have a few words to ask."

He stared directly at Li Shimin, unyielding, his words clear and resounding throughout the garden: "May I ask Your Majesty, were the bloodshed at Xuanwu Gate, the killing of brothers, and the forced abdication of fathers, all these events, were they also in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people?"

"Back then, you plotted to seize the throne, turning against your own family and killing your own relatives. Can you really call that acting in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people?"

"At that time, the world was not yet settled, so what made you so certain that Li Jiancheng's ascension to the throne would not bring peace to the land, and that only you, Li Shimin, were worthy to rule the world?"

"And now, on what basis do you so readily conclude that my father, Chengqian, is certainly incapable of being a wise ruler, while that Prince Wei, who indulges in comfort and deliberately seeks fame, is fit to be the crown prince and capable of governing the Tang Dynasty?"

The crowd in the garden was in turmoil again! The crowd that Li Shimin had finally managed to calm down was once again thrown into chaos by the powerful bombshell that was "Xuanwu Gate".

"Hmm, the Xuanwu Gate is still the most effective," Li Xiang thought.

Li Tai, who was hiding next to Wei Ting, trembling and trying to make himself inconspicuous, originally only wanted to stay out of it.

Upon hearing these words, he trembled violently, looked up blankly, and his face was full of astonishment.

Even though Li Xiang's words weren't directly aimed at him, they all somehow dragged him into the conflict, and in every twist and turn, he was the one who suffered the most.

He was both angry and afraid, almost to the point of tears, but dared not utter a word in protest. He could only hang his head in fear, not daring to look at anyone.

Li Shimin's face instantly turned ashen, like cold iron.

Xuanwu Gate was the sore spot he least wanted to be touched in his life, but this grandson had already broken it open in public several times.

This time, facing the questioning directly in the crowd left him with no way to avoid it.

After a long silence, Li Shimin suppressed the surging anger in his chest, his face dark and his tone stiff and self-possessed: "I have reigned for seventeen years, working diligently day and night, striving to govern the country, and finally bringing peace to the world and well-being to the people. I have never deliberately avoided the matter of Xuanwu Gate. The merits and demerits of my life will be judged by history."

He changed the subject, his gaze turning cold and sharp as he looked at Li Xiang:

"As for Chengqian, he is perverse in temperament, acts impulsively, disrespects his teachers and elders, and disregards propriety. Approaching thirty, he has still achieved nothing in his studies and is morally deficient. Is there any emperor in the world who is worthy of inheriting the throne?"

"What a coincidence, there really is one," Li Xiang replied, his tone tinged with mockery.

"Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, only achieved imperial power at the age of forty. Before he was thirty, he was still chasing cocks and dogs, wandering the countryside. How could he have accomplished anything in his studies?"

"When a Confucian scholar came to pay his respects, Emperor Gaozu actually removed his Confucian hat and drowned in it, showing blatant disrespect and contempt. How could he have ever shown respect to his teachers and elders, or upheld propriety and righteousness?"

"He laid the foundation for the Han Dynasty for four hundred years, and to this day, the people of China still call themselves Han people. How does that compare to Your Majesty?"

"Furthermore, His Majesty is indeed adept at portraying himself as virtuous and eccentric."

"Do you really not know why my father's temperament has become increasingly eccentric and his actions increasingly extreme? — Isn't it all because Your Majesty yourself, indulging Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, and a bunch of other corrupt scholars, relentlessly pushing and criticizing them every day, forcing them into this state!"

Li Xiang spoke eloquently, seemingly courting death by speaking out against the grain, his tone revealing no hidden sarcasm.

"Your Majesty prides yourself on being wise and sagacious, but ask yourself honestly, how exactly did you cultivate your heir? The role of the heir is meant to prepare him for ruling the country after ascending the throne."

"Yet you insist on having a group of pedantic scholars who have never truly governed the country and understand practical governance teach the Crown Prince. They only know how to talk about benevolence and righteousness; how could they possibly understand how to manage a country and benefit the people? They are utterly incapable of teaching a heir apparent!"

Yu Zhining, who had his head down, and Kong Yingda, who should have been dizzy, shuddered, feeling like they had been splashed with damage, just like Li Tai.

However, Li Xiang, this big critic, is still going strong.

"All people under heaven can talk about benevolence and morality, but emperors alone cannot!"

"An emperor, bearing the weight of the vast empire and the well-being of all people on his shoulders, and holding the reins of power over the four seas, should prioritize the well-being of the nation and take responsibility for the people."

"Those who prioritize benevolence and righteousness at the expense of the common people, even if it is in accordance with the established moral principles, should be abandoned by the emperor; those who can bring peace to the world by killing one person, even if they are one's closest relatives, should also be killed by the emperor!"

"Those Confucian scholars are both assistants to the emperor in governing the country and enemies who intend to share in the emperor's power! Therefore, an emperor must not easily believe in Confucianism, nor can he easily trust his subjects! In fact, he must not believe in the fundamental principles of morality, nor in Heaven and Earth!"

"As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince is destined to rule the world. His authority is inherited from the Emperor. As the Emperor, he should deliberately maintain the Crown Prince's prestige and dignity, ensuring his reputation remains intact so that he can one day command respect and control over the court and officials!"

"When Emperor Jing of Han was still the crown prince, the son of Liu Bi, the King of Wu, humiliated him on a chessboard. Enraged, Emperor Jing seized the chessboard and killed the son!"

"Those like Kong Yingda and Yu Zhining are stubborn and self-willed, and have long disrespected the Crown Prince! They often use moral books to bind and control the Crown Prince, and if the Crown Prince utters even the slightest criticism, they immediately berate him!"

"Such ministers should be killed! Only then will the world know that the emperor's authority cannot be dishonored!"

"But what about His Majesty? He blindly believes the one-sided words of pedantic scholars, gradually distancing himself from the Crown Prince and frequently punishing him; those scholars slander the Eastern Palace and damage the Crown Prince's reputation every day, yet His Majesty treats them with courtesy and bestows generous rewards upon them!"

"Does Your Majesty truly believe that a crown prince is upright, unwilling to be humiliated by pedantic scholars, dares to stand up and fight, and will maintain his reputation and prestige even in his final days, and will never accept his fate?"

"Isn't he better than a crown prince who blindly follows the Confucian scholars' lead in everything, earning their praise but actually lacking any independent thought?"

"Your Majesty, do you even know how to be an emperor?!"