At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 836 The Change of Xuanwu Gate ([-])
In the East Palace, Prince Li Jiancheng paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his brows were furrowed, his face was worried, and he looked hesitant.

Crown Prince Zhongyun Wang Gui said in a deep voice: "King Qin's meritorious deeds cover the world, and he has his heart inside and out, but His Royal Highness was only established as the crown prince because of his age. Volunteer to the emperor, lead a strong army to repel the Turkic people, in order to earn the prestige of conquering the world."

Li Jiancheng was in trouble, and he knew the reason, but how could the Turkic cavalry be so easy to deal with?If you lose the battle, you won't be able to reap the credit, but you will lose your prestige, and even lose your life. The risk is too great, and it's not worth it.

Seeing this, Wang Gui sighed secretly, knowing that Li Jiancheng did not dare to take this risk, so he had to retreat and said: "Even if His Royal Highness does not intend to lead the army in person, he must not let the military power fall into the hands of the King of Qin, otherwise His Royal Highness may have to Life is at stake."

Li Jiancheng was stunned, and quickly asked: "Then who does Mr. Wang think should lead the army?"

Wang Gui pondered and said: "The king of Qi is loyal to the crown prince, and he can't wait to get rid of the king of Qin. The crown prince can recommend the king of Qi to the emperor, and use the excuse of seconding talents to transfer all the elite soldiers and generals in Tiance's mansion away from the king of Qin. Leave him helpless."

Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he blurted out: "Good idea, let's do it like this. In the early morning of tomorrow, the prince will recommend the king of Qi to the emperor to lead the army to resist the Turks."

The morning court ended on the second day, and Li Yuan left the court hall with a heavy heart and returned to the harem.The Turks invaded aggressively and Lingzhou was in a hurry. Li Yuan originally planned to send his second son Li Shimin to lead the army to retreat from the enemy. The most suitable candidate, but today in the early court, the crown prince strongly recommended Qi Wang Li Yuanji, and he also got the support of nearly half of the courtiers.

As a result, Li Yuan had to think carefully. He knew that the reason why the crown prince strongly recommended Yuan Ji was because he was worried that Shimin would regain military power and threaten his position as crown prince. The reason why Li Yuan transferred his second son Li Shimin back to Chang'an , just to prevent the fraternal battle for the heir apparent, if Li Shimin is now in charge of the army, then it will be against the original intention.

However, Li Yuan knew exactly how much Yuan Ji's child was, and it was not that material at all. At the beginning, this child was in charge of guarding Jinyang, but he suffered consecutive defeats under Li Jing's men, and finally fled back home overnight with his wife and children. Chang'an abandoned Jinyang City, so that Jinyang easily fell into Li Jing's hands, and he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

So at this moment, Li Yuan is hesitant to let his second son Li Shimin lead the army, and he is afraid that the tail will not be lost. The king of Qin has already made great achievements, and if he makes great achievements this time, it will be even more serious. General Tiance It is already the result of being unsealable, if it goes on, is it possible to abolish Jiancheng and make Shimin the prince?
But let the third son Li Yuanji be in charge of leading the army, and he is afraid that this kid will lose the battle, lose his position, and even lose his life, what a dilemma!
Li Yuan was distraught, and unknowingly came to the palace where the favorite concubine Yin Defei lived. When the palace people outside the door saw it, they immediately shouted at the top of their voices: "The emperor is here!"

There was a sudden flutter in the palace, Li Wuji, the king of Qi who was swaying back and forth on Concubine Yin De's charming body, quickly put on his clothes, and quickly slipped away to the back of the palace.

Concubine Yin De had just tidied up in a hurry when Li Yuan walked in, and the former quickly knelt down on the ground: "The concubine welcomes the emperor."

Seeing Concubine Yin De's pretty face flushed like peach blossoms in March, her seductive eyes like spring water, and her charming charm like a begonia after the rain, Li Yuan's thoughts suddenly moved, and he said with a smile: "My concubine, get up quickly."

Concubine Yin De lazily stood up and helped Li Yuan to sit down. The latter waved all the palace people back, and then began to move up and down, doing good deeds on the show couch. After finishing, Li Yuan lay there and did not want to move. With age, energy is not as good as before.

Concubine Yin De summoned the maids to wipe it off, and while beating and massaging Li Yuan's waist, she asked tentatively, "The emperor seems to have something on his mind today?"

Li Yuan had just finished venting, he didn't want to talk, just closed his eyes and hummed, Concubine Yin De's eyes were red, and she began to cry, the former hurriedly opened her eyes, and asked in surprise: "Why is my concubine crying?"

Concubine Yin De thumped to her knees and cried: "The whole family of my concubine is dying, your majesty, please save my family."

Li Yuan frowned and said: "Why do you say nothing? You are my beloved concubine. In this Tang Dynasty, who would dare to harm my concubine and your family?"

Concubine Yin De wiped her tears and said: "Others dare not, but the King of Qin dares. A few days ago, King Qin's confidant Fang Xuanling beat the concubine's father for no reason. Didn't the Emperor not pursue it in the end?"

Li Yuan said in a deep voice: "Isn't this matter already over? Why did Concubine Ai still bring this up? I have already asked someone, and Naifu did not suffer, but Fang Xuanling had a finger broken."

Concubine Yin De's eyes flashed, she lowered her head and cried, "Because of this, the concubine's family has offended King Qin. The concubine heard rumors that those arrogant soldiers in Prince Qin's mansion were clamoring to wash Zhang's family with blood, and King Qin didn't stop it." , Now the emperor intends to let the king of Qin lead the army to resist the Turks, once the king of Qin holds the military power, I am afraid that he will not let the Zhang family go, and the concubine's family will die without a place to die in the future?"

Li Yuan frowned and said: "My concubine, you think too much, Qin Wang is not so narrow-minded, and with me here, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect my concubine and your family's safety."

Yin Defei Lihua shook her head rainingly and said: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. That day, the Emperor scolded the King of Qin. Although the King of Qin didn't say a word, the eyes he looked at his concubine and Zhang Jieyu afterward were so terrifying. The Emperor is getting old. It is impossible to protect the concubine all the time, once the emperor reaches the throne for a hundred years, the King of Qin will definitely not let the concubine and Zhang Jieyu go, maybe the King of Qin will... even humiliate the concubine and the concubine to death."

Li Yuan's old face suddenly became gloomy, and he said calmly: "Then what does my beloved concubine want me to do?"

Concubine Yin De was overjoyed in her heart and sobbed: "The emperor will never allow King Qin to gain military power, let alone make King Qin the crown prince. Now the eldest son of the emperor is benevolent and generous. He will be a virtuous king in the future. He will definitely treat his concubines and Zhang Jieyu kindly."

Li Yuan was silent, and it took a long time to comfort him: "My concubine, don't worry, I won't let your family get hurt." After speaking, he got up and left.

In the next few days, Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu took turns blowing the pillow wind, and Li Yuan, who had soft ears, finally couldn't stand it anymore. He really appointed Qi Wang Li Yuanji as the Grand Marshal of Xingtai, responsible for leading the troops to resist the Turkic army, and controlling all the horses north of the Weihe River. And he was allowed to recruit elite soldiers and generals from Tiance Mansion to enrich the army.

Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were overjoyed, and immediately transferred a large number of counselors and generals from Tiance Mansion, including Li Shimin's mastermind, Fang Xuanling. For a while, Li Shimin felt an extreme sense of crisis, and the entire Qin Palace was as if it was approaching The enemy, everyone is worried, and the atmosphere is unprecedentedly tense.

On this day, Hou Junji and Wang Junkuo came to Li Shimin hand in hand, and persuaded them worriedly: "Now that all the people in Ce's mansion have been transferred away by Li Yuanji under the pretext of Li Yuanji, the last general and Junkuo will also be transferred at some point." Let's go, Your Majesty will soon become a lonely family, if you hesitate any longer, Your Majesty, Princess and Prince will all die in the end without a place to bury you."

Li Shimin's complexion changed, and he said bitterly: "What can I do? Do you want me to bear the infamy of killing my brother and usurping the throne? Mutiny is the greatest crime of all time."

Hou Junji said anxiously: "Although that is the case, do you want to sit and wait for your death? People do not do it for themselves, and heaven and earth will perish. Besides, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji spread rumors that you were not the emperor's own, and now they are using excuses to recruit the king's cronies." , When the king is alone, their butcher knives will fall, and they want to put you to death, the king, so how can they care about the brotherhood of flesh and blood?"

Wang Junkuo nodded and said: "What Junji said is very true. The crown prince and Li Yuanji had an incestuous affair with the concubine of the harem, and their virtues are not worthy. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty was almost all brought down by you, the king. The crown prince's credit is far less than that of you, He is not qualified to inherit the throne at all."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "But he is my elder brother after all..."

Hou Junji said anxiously: "Your Majesty, you should be decisive, and you will not be subject to chaos. Your Majesty is determined to command in front of thousands of troops. How can you turn into a mother-in-law at such a critical moment of life and death? If your Majesty does not make a decisive decision, I will wait until the end." They will all die without a place to die, in this case, Shu Junji can no longer serve your Majesty, so let's run away to Gao Qi." After speaking, he turned and walked away.

Li Shimin opened his mouth, but finally said nothing. Seeing this, Wang Junguo sighed secretly, turned around and left silently.

Li Shimin stood in place as if petrified, but his heart seemed to be overwhelmed.

"Husband!"

Li Shimin turned around and saw his wife He Min standing behind him holding his son Li Chengqian, with a worried expression on his face. Li Chengqian, who was not familiar with the world, seemed to feel the oppression of the atmosphere, and hid in his mother's arms without saying a word.

Looking at his son's innocent but nervous eyes, Li Shimin clenched his fists in his sleeves lightly, and opened his hands to embrace his wife and children in his arms.

He Min buried her head and face in her husband's arms, and said softly: "No matter what my husband does, my concubine and Qian'er will support you."

Li Shimin's heart warmed, and he hugged his wife and children tightly, feeling the blood connection.

"Ahem..." There was a soft coughing sound.

Li Shimin was taken aback, and hurriedly let go of his wife and children, and turned around suddenly, only to see a man as thin as a skeleton standing quietly at the door at some point, with black lips and sunken eye sockets, as if He has walking bones, but his eyes are as bright as two burning candles.

"Xuan Ba!" Li Shimin blurted out with a complicated expression.

Li Xuanba nodded, rolled his right hand to his lips and coughed twice: "Shimin, can we talk?"

"Min'er, take Gan'er in first." Li Shimin ordered.

He Min hugged her son and left the hall worriedly.

(End of this chapter)