Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 481 Who is the Sword For?
In the first year of Zhenguan, the world was peaceful.

Peace and harmony returned to the land of Kyushu again. Perhaps there were only two people in the entire Tang Dynasty who were unhappy - one was Li Jiancheng, who was named Duke of Jin, and the other was Li Yuan, who was respected as the emperor.

The reason why Li Yuan was unhappy was simple.

Because he discovered one thing, it seemed that he was not the real emperor emeritus. Compared with the position of emperor emeritus, he was more like a bird imprisoned in a golden cage.

But, he really had a lot of grievances.

why?
Because the emperor was very rigorous in his work, no one could find any fault with him.

If he was sick, the emperor was more anxious than him and would hurriedly summon the imperial physician to treat him - sometimes he would even go to the Chen family to invite the world-famous successor of Bian Que, and then all the rare medicinal materials and other things in the palace would be given priority to him.

She would come to see him every day and talk with him - when the two of them talked, they would naturally send their attendants away, leaving only the emperor's confidants. After all, not just anyone could listen to the conversation between the emperor and the retired emperor.

This was not requested by Li Shimin, but by Li Yuan.

why?

Because when Li Shimin first came to pay his respects, he behaved very respectfully, just like a normal son treating his father. He was much more respectful than Liu Bang was to his father back then.

Li Yuan felt aggrieved, so when Li Shimin came later, he dismissed his attendants and only kept Li Shimin's confidants, hoping to make Li Shimin reveal his true face - so that he could accuse Li Shimin.

But, even when only his confidants were left, Li Shimin was still respectful and there was nothing wrong with his etiquette.

In addition, the emperor would send a portion of the things presented from Lingnan and the new things brought in from the Western Regions to the retired emperor as soon as possible.

From the outside, Li Yuan, the retired emperor, had everything he wanted and was a very filial son to the emperor.

But actually?
In Wuji Palace
Li Yuan was filled with nameless anger. He could see from the faces, eyes, and actions of the attendants around him that they were disrespectful to him, the retired emperor.

Whenever he wanted to do something, these servants would say, "Please allow me to ask for your Majesty's instructions."

Without the emperor's permission, he could do nothing!
When he used this matter to scold Li Shimin, Li Shimin showed a very surprised and sad look. He said that he was just worried about his father's health and had no other intentions.

Even when Li Yuan expressed such behavior, he directly replaced all the attendants and palace maids.

But it has no effect.

The newcomer still behaves in the same way, but is more subtle.

Li Yuan felt as if he was standing naked in front of Li Shimin, with handcuffs and shackles on his body, like a death row prisoner.

He became more and more irritable and violent.

Being unable to explode or vent in this endless depression, I gradually became a little crazy.

The opposite of him is another person
Li Jiancheng, Duke of Jin.

What was the environment like for Li Jiancheng?
If Li Yuan was extremely "unfree", then he was extremely "free".

The emperor never restricted any of his actions. He wanted to contact and build good relationships with the court officials? Sure.

He wants to win over the court officials? Sure.

He wants to report a minister for being disrespectful to him? Sure.

He could do whatever he wanted and go wherever he wanted. Li Jiancheng even felt that even if he wanted to recruit private soldiers in the mansion, Li Shimin would agree without hesitation.

But Li Jiancheng felt as if he was in a huge cage.

He was always suspicious, feeling that there were spies sent by Li Shimin around him. Those spies were hiding in the dark, staring at him closely, and reporting his every move to the emperor.

Li Jiancheng felt that he was not being suspicious, but that Li Shimin was really monitoring him in this way!
Because one time when Li Shimin summoned him to the palace, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a memorial with no cover on the table. It was obvious that this memorial was a report used by the secret guards!

He even saw his own name in a corner of the memorial!
Li Shimin is monitoring him!
Li Shimin was always looking for something to use against him and wanted to kill him!

Even during a conversation between him and Li Shimin, Li Shimin inadvertently exposed the evidence of surveillance on him.

It was a very simple, ordinary conversation.

But to Li Jiancheng's ears, it was not ordinary at all.

That conversation is as follows.

"Brother, you should take care of your health."

"Your health is getting worse."

“We’re all getting older, hahaha.”

"My health is not very good. It's a good thing that I can change clothes at night without getting my shoes wet."

Why did these four sentences make Li Jiancheng break down?
Because according to the records of the "spies" he arranged to be around Li Shimin, Li Shimin's shoes never got wet when changing clothes, and he was even in very good health and could have sex with several women at night.

It was Li Jiancheng who got his shoes wet when he got up to change clothes at night!
How could Li Jiancheng not suspect that Li Shimin was spying on him if he knew even such a small thing?
So he became more and more suspicious, and more and more afraid of the people around him. He even began to think that the people around him were spies monitoring him, and they were all sent by Li Shimin!

Li Shimin wants to kill him!

Taiji Hall
Li Shimin took a sip of tea, then put down the cup in his hand, looked at Chen Linan in front of him and said, "Tsk tsk, look at these two people, I think they are almost going crazy."

He said with some emotion: "Alas, I don't know why they think so."

Li Shimin said sadly, "I think I have done a good job. I am still respectful to my father who hurt me so much. Even Emperor Taizu Gao couldn't compare with me. Emperor Taizu Gao didn't care about Liu Taiweng at all. He even treated him as he wanted. I am the one who was treated as he wanted."

"I have also given unprecedented trust to this brother who once tried to kill me."

"But what did I get?"

He shed tears with some sadness: "My father was irritable and lost his temper in the palace all day long, and even beat and scolded the maids around him at will - although those maids entered the palace as slaves, they were also human beings, why did he treat them like this?"

"I have no choice but to reduce the number of people serving the Emperor and replace them with strong palace maids to prevent them from being hurt by the Emperor."

"My brother is suspicious all day long, suspecting that I am spying on him, but when have I ever done such things? A few days ago, I even stabbed a maid with a sword and cut her arm. If the servant beside me hadn't appeared in time, the maid would have died."

"It really makes me sad."

Looking at Li Shimin who was trying his best to "perform" in front of him, Chen Linan rolled his eyes in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He just said with some comfort and consolation: "Your Majesty, I once heard a saying, "Just do good things and don't worry about the future." I think this matter also applies to this principle."

"You treated the Emperor and the Duke of Jin with kindness and compassion, regardless of their past evil deeds. This is a good thing for you. As for their attitude towards you, it is because they did not know what was good for them, not because of your fault."

"Don't punish yourself for their mistakes. It's a disservice to yourself."

"Your Majesty, please comfort yourself and don't hurt your body." Li Shimin was even more sad when he saw this. He held Chen Linan's hand, and a few tears slid down his cheeks: "Qi Lang, I know your good intentions, I will take good care of myself."

"The people of this world still need me."

Behind a curtain at the side, the attending historian was writing furiously.

This paragraph is detailed in "The Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu Wen" and is recorded in "The Book of Tang: The Chronicle of Emperor Taizu Wen".

The original text is as follows.

"The first year of Zhenguan, the night of March 13th."

"I summoned Duke Lin'an to the Taiji Palace and told him what was in his heart."

"When we met, the emperor was sad and cried, saying: I treated the emperor and the Duke of Jin with virtue, but I got bad results. The emperor was evil and punished the palace maids at will. This was an evil act. As a son, I could not stop him due to filial piety. I only replaced him with strong palace maids. The emperor's temper became worse than mine. The Duke of Jin was suspicious and worried that I would supervise him, so he often hurt others. As a younger brother, how could I say that he was wrong?"

"I feel deeply saddened."

"Lin'an saw it and comforted the emperor by saying: Your Majesty treated the Duke and the Emperor with kindness, which was your good deed; the Emperor and the Duke responded with bad consequences, which was their evil deeds; Your Majesty was kind, so why should we see their evil deeds? There are consequences, and Your Majesty should not harm the dragon body with this."

"The emperor was very pleased and said: Your words comforted me. Although I am sad, the people are in danger. How can I abandon the people of the world for two people?"

The young historian recorded in detail the emperor's actions that he had seen, while not far away, two people holding each other's hands almost vomited in their hearts.

Chen Linan winked at Li Shimin, asking how long this scene would last, and Li Shimin responded with a look indicating that the climax of the scene was about to come.

Just as the two were holding hands with tears in their eyes, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall.

An eunuch came over with an anxious look on his face: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Chu wants to see you."

Duke of Chu?
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows, let go of Chen Linan's hand, and looked at the eunuch in confusion: "It's so late, what is the Duke of Chu doing in the palace?"

"Invite him in."

When the figure of "Pei Ju" appeared hurriedly in the hall, Li Shimin and Chen Linan had already sat down and looked into the distance.

"Hongdae is entering the palace so late, is there something wrong?"

Pei Ju looked at Li Shimin with a serious expression and said, "Your Majesty, I have discovered that the Duke of Jin has some connection with the Emperor Retired. After secretly investigating, I discovered that..."

Li Shimin looked at Pei Ju with a confused look: "What did you find?"

Pei Ju said angrily, "I have discovered that the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Duke of Jin are secretly colluding with each other and plotting rebellion, Your Majesty!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent in an instant.

Li Shimin stood up with an expression of disbelief and sadness on his face. He looked at Pei Ju and said angrily, "This is impossible! How could my father and brother do such a thing?"

He threw the teacup on the table directly at Pei Ju, but it seemed that he had no strength left. The cup just fell at Pei Ju's feet and rolled onto his robe.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?"

"How could they do this, how could they do this?"

Li Shimin seemed extremely sad and heartbroken. He even seemed to be unable to stand steadily and just sat down on the chair.

He looked at everyone in the imperial study: "This is impossible!"

"Somebody come!"

"Please invite the Emperor to the Imperial Study! I want to ask the Emperor in person!!"

Li Shimin, who was extremely sad, changed the way he addressed his father from "father" to "Grand Emperor", and the attendants beside him hurried to Wuji Palace to invite Li Yuan.

In the distance behind the curtain, the historian was still writing furiously with an excited look on his face.

This is a big deal!
"The first year of Zhenguan, the night of March 13th."

"The Duke of Chu entered the palace to see the emperor and said: The Duke of Jin and the Emperor Emeritus are plotting treason."

"I am so sad that I can barely stand and cry."

"Ask the Duke of Chu, the Duke of Lin'an, and their attendants: Why should I be ashamed of the Emperor Emeritus and the Duke of Jin?"

"How can he do such a thing?"

"The queen ordered the attendants to go to the Taiji Palace and ask the emperor to ask in the imperial study."

Residence of Duke of Jin

It rained heavily.

Several counselors stood beside the Duke of Jin, with indignant looks on their faces.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is keeping such a close watch on you. Isn't he trying to find something to hold against you? And if he waits until you completely lose power or even go insane, he can easily kill you!"

"If you don't take advantage of the opportunity to kill him now and cooperate with the emperor, are you waiting for him to kill you?"

"Yes, Your Highness, it is better to strike first!"

The man pointed at the silent eunuch beside him and said, "The emperor has said that he has secretly subdued the general guarding Xuanwu Gate. As long as we go through Xuanwu Gate, we will definitely be able to enter the palace late at night and kill Li Shimin!"

"As long as Li Shimin dies, won't the world still belong to you and the emperor?"

The man's voice was full of temptation: "To go a step further. If the thief Li Shimin kidnapped the emperor in a panic, and the sword has no eyes, and Li Shimin killed the emperor to protect his throne, then you would be the emperor, right?"

"When the time comes, the rice has been cooked and the matter has come to this point. What else can those ministers do?"

"They can only support you as the emperor!"

"Will you still have to endure this kind of anger then?"

Li Jiancheng's expression changed, and then he suddenly drew the sword from his waist and looked sharply towards the palace in the dark night.

"It is not my fault that I am where I am today."

"Li Shimin is really going too far!"

(End of this chapter)