The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 880 Yes, of course

Even though Li Yuan had ordered to block the news before returning to the court, when he returned to the capital, the whole city was discussing the news of the assassination of Qi Wang Li Yuanji and the riots in the two cities.All kinds of gossip spread all over the streets and alleys of Chengdu. The one that spread the most was that the prince Li Jiancheng was not angry with the emperor's back-and-forth and was eager to ascend the throne. He poisoned his own younger brother so that the emperor would have no successor. Secretly instigated the refugees to smash and rob the second city, and blamed Li Yuanji, who was left behind in the capital and Jing Zhaoyin, so that he lost the emperor's favor.

Some people even said that the person who broke through the Changping warehouse in the second city and killed the soldiers guarding the warehouse was actually Li Jiancheng's dead soldier.Even Li Jiancheng's act of loving the people has turned into buying people's hearts.

All kinds of gossip all point to Li Jiancheng's posture. In short, all his previous efforts have also been said to be conspiracy theories.

Although everything is absurd, many people firmly believe it. After all, the Tian family has been ruthless since ancient times. Power struggles within the royal family have run through the entire history. Qin and Han could not avoid it. It also happened in the Sui Dynasty, and it will not be spared in the Tang Dynasty.

Before the emperor returned to the capital, another news detonated the whole city again. Qi Wang Li Yuanji managed to regain consciousness, and another cook in the mansion tried to poison him. Due to strict precautions, this cook committed suicide in fear of crime. The officials rushed to the palace to investigate and took away the chef's belongings. It is said that there were some inappropriate items in the chef's room.

The situation in Chengdu became very strange, and many people realized that an unprecedented storm was sweeping towards Datang.

Not long after Li Yuan returned to Taiji Palace, officials from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple rushed to visit with several imperial doctors.

"Your Majesty, the poisoner is extremely cunning. He not only puts medicine in the wine, but also in the dishes. If the two are separated, they will not cause any harm to people. If the two are combined, they will be deadly poisonous. Luckily. The most important thing is that the dishes at the farewell banquet that day were not to the taste of King Qi. He ate very little, so that there was not much poison, and he escaped by chance. As for the chef in the palace, the poison used to commit suicide was the same as that used by His Royal Highness Qi. The poison in it is exactly the same." An imperial doctor said.

Li Yuan was furious, he couldn't be killed by poison once, and he came for the second time, his heart was ten thousand times more poisonous than that poison, he restrained his anger, and asked: "Where is the origin of the chef in the palace?"

"The chef is from Taiyuan, Bingzhou. When King Qi stayed in Taiyuan, he had already followed His Royal Highness. We did a lot of investigation and found that he had a ten-acre courtyard in Chengdu, and none of his colleagues in the palace who had the best relationship with him knew about it. A few ingots of gold were found in the secret room of the main house in this courtyard." At this time, Dali Shaoqing Sun Fujia presented a tray, and there were as many as fifty ingots of gold in Linan.

Li Yuan recognized at a glance that it was exactly the same as the gold presented by Li Shentong in Yicheng County. He picked up an ingot of gold and looked at it. The number below was also chiseled off by a sharp tool.Li Yuan looked at the fifty ingots of gold one by one, feeling chills in his heart, and sat down on the chair slumped.

After a long time, Li Yuan said hoarsely: "You must have found out the origin of the gold, haven't you?"

Sun Fujia said in a low voice: "When this batch of horseshoe gold was in Xiangyang, the Shaofu Supervisor only cast it once. There were [-] ingots in total, and each ingot was [-] taels. Except for rewarding His Highness the Crown Prince, the Holy Majesty never gave it away. One ingot flowed out. As far as we know, the rest were put on a boat when Shengshang moved his capital to Shu. After many investigations, we have confirmed that the boat was burned into the Yangtze River. Ingots won’t be so complete.”

Li Yuan looked at the haggard Sun Fujia, and praised him: "You guys are very careful in your investigation."

Sun Fujia quickly said: "Your Majesty, I have not said a single word about my personal likes and dislikes, and answered everything truthfully."

"I don't mean anything else, I just think that you are very careful in this matter, and Datang needs such a careful judge." Li Yuan praised, and then asked: "Is there anything else?"

"The guards of Changping Cang in Xishi and Nanshi are respectively Er Zhuhuan and Qiao Gongshan. , was deposed by His Highness the Crown Prince, and after the Crown Prince allowed Wang Gui to intercede, he became the guard of Changpingcang; according to the investigation, these two were Wang Gui's family generals before assisting His Highness the Crown Prince." Sun Fujia Introduced.

"Where are Er Zhuhuan and Qiaogong Mountain?" Li Yuan asked.

Sun Fujia replied: "The two fled Chengdu with their family on the day of the riot, and they were all killed in Pingquan County."

"You can't hide the tricks of a villain who kills people!" Li Yuan sneered, and continued to ask: "Who is in charge of the East Palace now?"

"Prince Zhongyun Wanggui and Zuo Shuzi's eldest grandson Wuji." Sun Fujia answered quickly.

These two are also Li Jiancheng's confidantes, especially Changsun Wuji, who is one of the officials Li Yuan dislikes the most. He immediately got up and ordered: "Immediately put these two people into the sky prison, torture them severely, and make sure they tell what they know. everything."

"Wei Chen obeys!"

"Go down."

"Here."

The crowd bowed and retired.

Li Yuan paced back and forth for a long time, took out a gold medal, handed it to the eunuch on standby, and ordered: "Appoint Li Shentong, the king of Huai'an, as the general of the left guard, take over the military affairs in Gyeonggi, lead the imperial army to surround the East Palace, and dig three feet for me. Search the Eastern Palace, and those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy."

"Your maidservant obeys orders." The eunuch took the military amulet and went to issue the decree.

Although Li Shentong's ability to fight is not good, but his means of controlling the army is good, otherwise Li Yuan would not have asked him to lead the army to the border many times.After receiving the soldier talisman, he immediately went to take over the [-] Imperial Forest Army, and was ordered to surround and search the East Palace.

The actions of the Royal Forest Army attracted the attention of everyone in Chengdu.

However, the officials from the East Palace Department, seeing the development of the situation, kept silent and seemed very calm.

The peace of the East Palace!It also means that no one defends Li Jiancheng, no one shouts for Li Jiancheng, just like a group of cold ice sculptures, watching Li Shentong enter the East Palace.

Xiangguo Chen Shuda also felt powerless about this. He knew very well that it was not because the officials of the Eastern Palace were indifferent, but that everyone had completely lost confidence and enthusiasm for Datang.Now that he has lost confidence in the entire dynasty, it doesn't matter who the emperor and prince are.

At this moment, the Li Tang dynasty is not much different from the grasshopper after autumn in everyone's mind. Anyway, it will not last for a few days. Since the royal family is willing to make trouble, then let's make trouble.

……

At the beginning of the Xu Dynasty, the sky was dim, and the Taiji Palace had already been lit with palace lanterns, and the palace city's bedrooms were even more brilliantly lit.

In Concubine Yin De's resplendent palace, the lights are like daylight.

An exquisite brocade couch is placed in the hall, and there is a crystal clear glazed flower pot on the carved lacquer table next to it. A twisted peach blossom is in full bloom, and a Buddhist pagoda made of 99 pieces of soap is placed on the corner of the table. shape, a faint fragrance permeates the whole hall.

The soap with the wrapping paper torn off is pink and milky white, the milky white circular outline encloses a pink heart shape, and the surface of the soap is engraved with reliefs of roses.

Whether it is pink or milky white, this warm and romantic tone is very attractive to women, and the handmade soap retains a lot of glycerin in the saponification process, which will make people's skin delicate and smooth after use, and the light fragrance will adhere to the body and clothes On, it is refreshing again.

These kinds of treasures simply make women flock to them and become crazy about them, and Concubine Yin De is no exception.

But soap is expensive, and one piece was sold for a sky-high price of 15 taels of gold. It is also unique among them.

It's not that Yang Tong's big and small wives can't do it, but they don't know how to do it. This is the difference between taste and self-restraint.Concubine Yin De is only from a commoner in Bingzhou, so she doesn't care about so many, and the soap is not real money, so it doesn't look vulgar when displayed like this, on the contrary it is very beautiful.

After she established a relationship with Li Yuanji through her father Yin Ashu, she gained a lot of benefits from Li Yuanji, including countless luxury items such as yellow and silver jewellery, silk and satin, and glazed utensils. These soaps were also given by Li Yuanji through Yin Ashu. Concubine Yin De's luxury goods, besides those on the table, there are more than 2000 in her private treasury.

Li Yuanji's generosity also set off the stinginess of the prince Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji also promised her through Yin Ashu that once he ascended the throne as emperor, he would divide the feudal system and canonize her son Li Yuanheng as the king of a country.With such a price tag, the balance in Concubine Yin De's heart tilted towards Li Yuanji without hesitation.

However, Concubine Yin De is not a stupid person. She has been favored for many years and has not been replaced by a younger and more beautiful concubine, which is a manifestation of intelligence.Not only did she know that Li Yuanji's promise was unreliable, but she also knew that the Tang Dynasty was in a bad situation and would be wiped out by the Sui Dynasty sooner or later. Their mother and son squandered their lives.

Not only did she think so, but she also told her father and brothers that when they were reaping benefits, they should never acquire properties such as land and land, because these inescapable things may not necessarily belong to them in the future, only gold and jewelry are reliable.

At this time, Concubine Yin De was lying on her side on the couch, her slender and graceful body outlined undulating curves, and her smooth skin was hidden in the thin silk dress, which was even more enchanting under the light.

Although she is a woman in her thirties who is a mother, her well-maintained face is still stunning, her brows are picturesque, her skin is more beautiful than snow, her bright eyes are full of a charm that young girls don't have, and her pair of snow-white slender feet are under the hem of her clothes Stretching out, the slender toes are dyed with bright red cardamom, bright and charming.

Gently pulling the silk on the collar, the light cast a deep ravine on her plump chest, and said with red lips a little irritated: "Chengdu's ghostly weather is really unbearable, it's damp and stuffy, and I just took a bath but I'm sweat-stained all over my body." , the whole body is wet and greasy, it's unbearable to die!"

The slightly frivolous movements and lazy tone are enough to make normal men flock to her, willing to bow down under a pure white Sichuan brocade skirt.

It's just that there are servants and maids standing all around, and the charm of the concubine Defei falls in everyone's eyes, which is no different from being looked at by a blind man.

A dignified female official asked: "Do you want to prepare warm soup for your mother to bathe again?"

Concubine Yin De beautifully frowned, and said in a low tone, "Even if it is well washed and well-dressed, who would take a second look?"

The female officer was too frightened to answer any more questions.

Concubine Yin De is at the age of a tiger and a wolf, and the only man in the palace who can give her happiness is already old. She feels that somewhere in her body is getting rusty.
But what she cares more about now is the note that her mother handed her in the name of visiting, which is to persuade Li Yuan to abolish the crown prince.Based on her understanding of Li Yuan, she will definitely come to her bedroom to sleep tonight, and she must come up with a good way to get the best of both worlds.

While she was thinking hard, Li Yuan really came.

Concubine Yin De hurriedly asked someone to bring hot water to warm Li Yuan's feet, and then boarded the brocade couch together.

Concubine Yin De asked Li Yuan to lie down and gently held his shoulders. She was very good at serving people and won Li Yuan's heart.

However, Li Yuan felt that Concubine Ai was a little unusual today. In the past, she would have kept asking her about her inspection tour, and then expressed all kinds of yearning and admiration. Li Yuan was very surprised by the sudden silence, so he held her hand. Asked: "What happened?"

Concubine Yin De's tears welled up all of a sudden, she whimpered and said: "It's something small happened to my mother's family, I dare not bother the Holy Majesty with it."

"My concubine is gone..." Li Yuan wiped away tears for her, and said softly: "The family affairs of my concubine are my family affairs, so tell me! Maybe I can help you."

Concubine Yin De sighed: "My father has been ill for many days. I thought he was old and unaccustomed; but when my mother came today, I realized that my father was ill because of my concubine's elder brother."

Li Yuan also knew that Concubine Yin Defei's father and elder brother were both ignorant and corrupt. They might not be able to do murder and arson, but they were not capable people. Therefore, he only granted them three officials and titles, and did not They did not confer real positions, lest they use their names to cause disasters in the village and bully the market.

However, Li Yuan was amused to hear that Yin Ashu, who was a villain, fell ill because of his son's anger, and asked with a smile, "Are the uncles of the country causing trouble again?"

"This time it's not about doing evil outside, but because they fought for father's other garden. The two of them didn't want to give it up to the other, so they all lived in. My father wanted my elder brother to move back to the house, but my elder brother said that my father was partial. , intending to give the Bieyuan to the second brother; but the father thinks that the second brother is very filial, and this Bieyuan is a compliment to the second brother. Taking this as an example, to cultivate a good family tradition, so that Yin's father is kind and his son is filial, It has been passed down from generation to generation. However, the eldest brother was not convinced and injured the second brother. My father was so angry that he fell into a coma."

Li Yuan was deeply moved when he heard that, the brothers of the Yin family turned against each other because of a different court, while the brothers of the Li family poisoned and killed their relatives for the sake of the throne.

Then he asked, "How is it now?"

Concubine Yin De sighed: "What else can I do? The concubine has nothing to do, so I can only suggest to my father to take back this garden. Whoever behaves well in the future will own the garden. It is said that after a tacit agreement was formed, the two elder brothers will not quarrel or be in the house. It's messed up."

"My concubine's way is good. Later, I will give your father a separate garden. The two uncles each share one, and they will naturally not be able to quarrel." Li Yuan sighed and said with a wry smile: "The matter of the Yin family is easy to solve. But the Li family's affairs are difficult. After all, there is only one throne, and I can't tell it apart."

Concubine Yin De used "family affairs" to intervene in the battle for the throne skillfully and naturally, and said in a low voice: "My lord, although my concubines don't ask about government affairs and don't understand state affairs, they also know that a virtuous son will make a family prosperous, and a bright one will make a family prosperous. And the Tang Dynasty In fact, it is also a big family composed of thousands of small families, only a wise master like the Holy One can make the Great Tang flourish, and only a wise heir can make the Great Tang prosperous."

Li Yuan smiled gratifiedly: "My concubine's words are very true. I just didn't see the true nature of the prince. I made him the prince too early. I even planned to take over him for the smooth transfer of imperial power. With me sitting on the sidelines, others will not accept it." I dare not make things difficult for him... Who would have thought that my painstaking efforts would prompt him to reveal his true nature, and even in the midst of a national crisis, he would poison his own brother for personal gain. Naturally, I cannot tolerate such a prince, but I can't think of anyone who would be Prince is better."

"The concubine doesn't know who is better, but the concubine is from Bingzhou and knows the Turkic people better, so I think their method is very good."

Li Yuan was taken aback for a moment, and then asked, "Turks? What good recipe do they have?"

"The concubine heard that Qimin Khan did not appoint a prince, but waited for a vacant position, and then gave several sons the same population and the same wealth, and let them find their own way out. As a result, Khan Shibi performed the best, so he said He became the second Khan of the Turks, and the Turks later became more and more powerful under the management of Shibi Khan, and almost killed Yang Guang to kill Yanmen." Yin Defei said here, and the topic turned to Datang, and continued: " The Holy One didn't have any suitable candidates for a while, but the Holy One has more than ten or twenty sons! Why don't you just learn from the Turkic method, wait for a place, and then compare them one by one to see which prince has both talents and virtues! Under such encouragement, every prince I will definitely study hard and try my best to do my best. Even if King Feng is not the most satisfactory son to the Holy One, he will become a generation of virtuous kings."

King Feng Li Yuanheng is the son of Concubine Yin De, ranking eighth among Li Yuan's sons. Hearing what she said, Li Yuan immediately understood Concubine Ai's thoughts, but he didn't feel annoyed; after all, as the mother of the child, Concubine Yin De wanted to give himself It is human nature for a son to fight for opportunities. If in such a delicate situation, he does not fight or snatch, and does not compete with the world, Li Yuan will feel abnormal.

He smiled and said: "I have decided to abolish the throne of the rebellious son, and then leave it as a vacancy, and give each son a fair and just opportunity, so that my concubine can nurture King Feng well."

"The Holy One is wise!" Concubine Yin De climbed on Li Yuan's back, rolled around on him, and said in a tired voice: "The concubine has already prepared the best Kung Fu tea, would you like two cups?"

"Yes, of course."

Li Yuan was in full bloom, since he drank kung fu tea, and then squatted and jumped according to the style, Li Yuan felt that his man's kung fu had returned to the prime of life, which also made kung fu tea an indispensable drink for him every day.

(End of this chapter)