Long live Emperor Wu!

Chapter 68 Erchen guessed it
With tears in his eyes, the emperor said:

"Don't worry, no one will refuse to agree to my promise to save the prince's life."

The prince didn't care at all. For him, there was no difference between living and dying.

Compared with the trepidation, anger and unwillingness before, he was relieved now and said:

"Father, there is no need to protect me, just act according to the law."

When the emperor heard this, he saw the prince crying, his elegant face twisted with grief, and said:

"How many years have I loved you? You were my favorite prince. If you die, it will be like tearing out the flesh of my heart. You must live no matter what."

……

……

Facts have proved that the emperor's words are right. He wants to save the prince's life, and the ministers who follow him will try their best to fulfill this wish for him.

After that, the prince was imprisoned and demoted to a commoner. Those who supported the prince's rebellion included Princess Chengyang's consort Du He, Du Ruhui's legitimate son, who was convicted and executed. Hou Junji, who had followed the emperor in the north and south for many years and had great military exploits, was also Convicted and executed.

A bloodbath covered family and friendship, but only the prince was saved.

Princess Chengyang knelt in the Wude Hall and cried:

"Father, my eldest brother is your son, so isn't my daughter your daughter? Since my eldest brother can spare his life and Du Lang is just an accomplice, why can't he be given a lighter sentence?"

In just a few days, half of the white hair on the emperor's temples turned white again. There were many wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and the ends of his eyes were often red and swollen. He looked much older.

But after listening to Princess Chengyang's words, he had sharp eagle eyebrows and deep brows showing majesty, and he angrily said:
"It is my selfish intention to protect the prince's life. I have exchanged the friendship between the king and his subjects for many years. If we do not punish them severely, how can the law continue in the future? How will we punish any rebellion in the future?!"

Princess Chengyang was frightened, but when she thought of her children and husband, she mustered up some courage. She hunched over, pulled his sleeves, and cried and prayed:
"Father...seeing that your grandson is still young, please feel sorry for your daughter and spare his life at least."

"No!" The emperor threw her hand away mercilessly and said, "I will find a good man for you in the future, a thousand times better than Du He."

He said to the female officer waiting behind him:

"Send the princess back!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the female officer brought someone forward and almost dragged the grief-stricken Princess Chengyang out.

It was quiet for a while in the palace.

Prince Jin had been following the emperor, looking at the emperor's desolate back. He had just shouted "Father" with blurred eyes when he was stopped by the emperor.

The emperor turned sideways and asked in a stern voice:
"Is the Tang Dynasty more important, or is your sister's mood more important?"

King Jin was silent, his head lowered and his Qing Jun eyes full of fatigue. After a long time, he replied resignedly:
"The power of the Tang Dynasty is important."

"Then what else do you say? I don't believe you can't understand the importance of this at all." The emperor whispered.

King Jin shed two lines of tears silently. He felt exhausted and wanted to hide far away, so he asked for instructions in a low voice:
"Father... I want to go and stay with Xizi. I want to..."

The emperor rejected his intention outright, saying:
"Xi Zi is a daughter. She can be sad and hide, and she can stay in her dormitory for days without going out. Can you be like her?"

The emperor gritted his teeth, then said with red eyes:
"Aye, aren't I sad? I'm still here to carry it, and you, a son, stay far away. Are you being filial?!"

After hearing this, King Jin obediently admitted his mistake and fell silent in despair.

They were waiting for Wei King Li Tai to enter the palace.

In the past few days, the Crown Prince and his accomplices have been convicted and deposed. It has become a definite fact that who will be appointed as the Crown Prince has become a worry for the courtiers, and they are secretly weighing their speculations in their hearts.

No one said it clearly, but everyone was waiting for the emperor's intention.

Among everyone's speculations, Wei King Li Tai is the most likely.He was about the same age as the prince, and was the daughter of the empress. He was quite talented and famous, and was deeply loved by the emperor.

Apart from his clumsy stature and somewhat unstable personality, he seems to have no other shortcomings.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father." Wei King Li Tai bowed and saluted.

The emperor observed his expression and was silent for a long time.

He could see that although his son was pretending to be sad, inside he was more domineering than ever before, as if he had been oppressed for a long time and suddenly felt proud.

"Li Tai, we, father and son, are the only ones here today, and the living man is not here either. Tell me the truth, was it you who arranged the assassin who stabbed you?" the emperor suddenly asked.

The emperor suddenly called him by his first and last name. King Wei's sensitive mind immediately knew that the emperor was displeased with him. He lowered his head, blinked his slender eyes violently, and did not even dare to raise his head. , said:
"Father, it is clear that this is an excuse used by the deposed prince to escape guilt. How can I believe it? My son and I have been wronged."

The emperor's deep eyes flashed, like water in a cold pool, and asked:
"How did you know that it was the prince who filed a complaint against you? Couldn't it be that I am suspicious and want to ask you a question?"

When King Wei heard this, he was so frightened that he trembled for a moment, lowered his head even more, and said hesitantly:

"My son... I guessed it." The emperor raised his head when he heard this, looked at the colorful paintings on the roof of the hall, and repeated with great sadness:
"'Guess'?...Are you so sure that the person who assassinated you can't admit guilt will frame you? Does this mean that you knew he was wronged?"

King Wei was so frightened that he quickly knelt on the ground, with his face raised and his eyebrows drooping. His fat face had the most innocent and pitiful expression, and he shouted unjustly:
"Father, I really made a wild guess. I was so seriously injured and lost so much blood. Who could make the cruel plan so ruthless and stab my heart? How could my father doubt me so much? ?”

The emperor looked at his son, looking straight at him until his eyes flickered, then he lowered his eyes and avoided looking at him.

The emperor frowned slightly, sighed and said:

"That's all... it's all in the past, it doesn't matter. I called you here today just to talk to you about what's on my mind. You know, except for accepting Qian, I have never thought about establishing other people's thoughts, right?"

King Wei heard that the emperor's tone was gentle and he did not intend to pursue the matter further, and he suddenly felt reassured.

But he hesitated for a moment before the emperor's question, and then agreed:
"know."

The emperor rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction and turned to the King of Jin behind him:

"Xiaojiu, do you know what I'm thinking?"

King Jin responded warmly:

"know."

"How do you know?"

"My father taught me since I was a child that I should study hard and help my elder brother in the future. He also often told me about my elder brother's possible omissions and taught me how to give advice... All my father's preparations were based on my elder brother's temperament. , rather than the identity of the crown prince."

Prince Jin's gentle and calm voice sounded in the hall, like a calm and gentle river, revealing firmness and weight.

The emperor nodded with satisfaction, then pointed at King Wei and said:

"I said similar things to your fourth brother, but it seems that your fourth brother turned a deaf ear to it and didn't take it seriously at all. He even hesitated just now."

King Wei broke into a cold sweat. He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't guess what the emperor was thinking.

The emperor stood behind the case, leaned forward slightly, looked at King Wei and continued:

"Do you know why I have never considered the two of you? ... You have a paranoid temperament and can observe people's emotions, but you are narrow-minded and jealous of talents. If you become the emperor, I am afraid that only mediocre people in the court will slander and flatter the master. Talented generals cannot be reused at all."

King Wei suddenly raised his head, took two steps forward, and said sincerely:
"My son can change. As long as my father is willing to teach me, I will definitely change!"

The emperor stretched out his hand to stop him from speaking:

"Listen to what I have to say... Although your ninth brother is talented and intelligent and has a good sense of the overall situation, his temperament is too peaceful and kind, and he has no sense of competition, so he is easily indecisive when things happen. It is best for him to be a loyal minister and assist the wise master. But as an emperor, he lacks some harsh means and is easy to restrain others.

What I'm talking about are all your character flaws. The so-called nature is hard to change. These things cannot be changed by simply changing them. "

After hearing this, King Wei glanced at King Jin next to the emperor, and saw that King Jin kept his eyes lowered, as if he didn't care about what the emperor said, so he said urgently:

"I can change! Father. Xiaojiu said that he doesn't want to be the emperor. But I think, I want to prove to my father that I am no worse than my eldest brother. I will definitely try my best to be a good emperor in the future!"

The emperor said directly and ruthlessly:

"No, I want to choose Xiaojiu."

King Wei was startled, as if a basin of cold water poured down his head, and asked in shock: "Why?"

King Jin, who had been standing beside the emperor, exhausted both physically and mentally, suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at the emperor in disbelief.

The emperor said seriously:

"Because, my old friends will like Xiao Jiu more than you."

King Wei's whole body trembled. Looking at his Aye, his eyes were filled with extremely hurt light. After a while, he cried and said:
"Aye...Am I so unlovable in your heart? You gave me away when I was a child...Where did I go wrong? What's wrong?! Over the years, in order to please you, you expect me to What have I not done that I have done?!”

The emperor roared directly at him and said:
"It's precisely because you are always thinking about pleasing me that I say you can't do it! A person who is always thinking about pleasing others has a weak character and no backbone! The ministers in the court are all human beings. Your thoughts and tricks are irrelevant to me. There was nothing to hide in their eyes.

How do you want them to like you and support you? !In their eyes you will just be a bumbling clown! …I don’t object to you using tricks or lying, but it all has to be based on your ability to hide it from others.

At this point, the prince and Xiaojiu are much better than you. The prince dares to admit what he has done. He dares to take responsibility and is open-minded.Xiaojiu is kind, honest, kind and generous.These are characteristics that everyone likes.

The most important thing about being an emperor is to win the hearts of the people and the courtiers. It is not something that can be decided by one person! "

King Wei had already burst into tears. He looked at the emperor without saying a word, as if he had been abandoned by his own relatives, and felt infinite grievance.

The emperor's eyes turned red, he reached out and touched his face and said:
"Son... I'm sorry for you and your mother. When you were young, I adopted you on my own initiative, which led to your temper. Over the years, I have been making up for it, except not letting you have contact with me. The government has no intention of letting you inherit the throne, so I gave you all I could.

But it's no use after all these years. You're still the same temperament and haven't changed.How do you make me believe that you can change things after becoming the prince? "

(End of this chapter)