Capital Datang

Li Chengqian sat on the bed with disheveled hair, because he hadn't washed and washed for a few days, he looked extremely haggard, and the beard on his chin was also old. If someone saw him at this time, no one would believe it. He is the prince of Tang Dynasty Your Highness.Since the three guards of the East Palace were transferred away and the East Palace was taken over by Long Wuwei, he forbade anyone from coming to his bedroom, not even the princess.Although there has been a lot of noise outside because of his treason these past few days, he, the client, can only sit here and can't do anything.

Li Chengqian felt extremely regretful now, not because he regretted not rebelling, but because he regretted that he should not have sent a villain, Hegan Chengji, to assassinate Zhang Xuansu.When his father Li Shimin came the day before the incident, although he executed Yixin, he obviously didn't know about his rebellion, otherwise he wouldn't have come to his East Palace with only a few guards, but overnight, the rebellion was over. It was revealed that it was obviously an informer that night.

At the beginning, Li Chengqian didn't believe that it was Hegan Chengji who told the secret. After all, the other party was the guard around him and the assassin he had worked hard to support. It can be said that he was the person he trusted the most, so even if the other party disappeared for a few days , was probably taken away by someone, but Li Chengqian believed that even if the other party died, he would never betray him, so at the beginning, Li Chengqian even suspected that Du He and others had betrayed him, but he never thought of it. It turned out that Hegan Chengji, whom he trusted the most, betrayed him.

Although Li Chengqian is now under house arrest, and no one dares to visit him in Chaowenwu, he is not ignorant of the news from the outside world. For example, his mother, Empress Changsun, often sends people over to tell him that Hegan Chengji betrayed him. thing.It was learned through the people sent by Empress Changsun.

Speaking of Li Chengqian's rebellion, Li Shimin should be the most angry.And the saddest one is naturally Empress Changsun.As the mother of Li Chengqian and Li Tai, she has long been aware of the struggle between the two sons, but the palms and backs of her hands are full of flesh. As a mother, it is not good for her to prefer either, so she can only do her best in the middle Mediation.But as the saying goes, children can't help their mothers, both Li Chengqian and Li Tai are adults, everyone has their own ideas, and there is only one throne.They both want it, so they can only fight for it with all their strength, and it is precisely because of this that the mediation by Empress Changsun in the middle can't play a fundamental role. It's just time.Capital Datang 403

It's just that Empress Changsun didn't expect that her eldest son would have the courage to rebel, and he had been preparing for it for a while.When she first heard the news, Empress Changsun fainted to the ground, and she couldn't even believe that it was true.It wasn't until she met Li Shimin and heard the news from her husband that she finally faced this cruel fact head-on.

When Li Chengqian thought of his mother, he also felt a little regretful.But then he thought of Li Tai, who had the same mother as him, and the trace of remorse on his face immediately disappeared without a trace, and turned into a kind of deep-seated resentment.At the same time, he also murmured gloomyly to himself: "My good fourth brother, I am in trouble this time. I am afraid that you are the happiest in the entire Tang Dynasty!"

Li Chengqian guessed right.After the incident of his rebellion happened this time, Li Tai was laughing happily in his own house, shouting "God help me", but I am happy if I am happy, Li Tai didn't show it outside, especially when his father Li Shimin In front of him, he even pretended to be deeply sad, and even pretended to intercede for his eldest brother, hoping that his father would spare his life because of the love between father and son.

Regarding Li Tai's attitude, Li Shimin didn't know whether he really didn't notice it or pretended not to notice it. Anyway, he seemed very moved, and for this he especially praised Li Tai, saying that he cared about his brotherhood, and Li Zhen was offended. , Li Zhi and the others were all slandering behind their backs.

The evidence of Li Chengqian's rebellion is conclusive, and most of the people involved have already pleaded guilty. Only Hou Junji has outstanding military achievements, and it is difficult for others to interrogate him. Li Shimin also thinks that he has made great contributions to the country, so he didn't want him to be interrogated, so he went to see him in person. The other party, in the end, Hou Junji refused to plead guilty at first, until Li Shimin asked Helan Chushi to confront him face to face. Helan Chushi is Hou Junji's son-in-law. A tainted witness for future generations, so his appearance made Hou Junji speechless, and finally admitted that he had participated in the rebellion.

With Hou Junji's guilty plea, the prince's treason case was finally finalized, and there was no possibility of turning over.In the end, Hou Junji, Du He, Zhao Jie and others who participated in the rebellion were all executed. Han Wang Li Yuanchang was also one of the participants, but Li Shimin thought that the other party was his brother, so he wanted to exonerate him from the death penalty, but unexpectedly, he was executed. Gao Shilian, Li Ji and others objected, but they were given to death in the end, which was regarded as a complete corpse. At the same time, the title of King of Han was revoked, and the whole family was demoted to common people.

Hegan Chengji took the initiative to report, so he was exempted from death, and he was also appointed as the captain of Zhechong in Youchuan Prefecture, and he was named the Duke of Pingji County. They all looked down on him, and even squeezed him out on purpose, but as a result, they never got promoted again for the rest of their lives.

In addition, apart from these people who participated in the rebellion, there are quite a few other officials of the Eastern Palace who knew nothing about the rebellion, such as Zhang Xuansu, Yu Zhining and others, but they, as ministers assisting the prince, have a burden of responsibility. It is the responsibility to teach the prince. Now that the prince commits treason, they are also responsible, so most of them have been demoted. Only a few people such as Zhang Xuansu were exempted from punishment because they often advised them.

After the prince's party members were liquidated, only the prince Li Chengqian remained unconvicted. It's ridiculous to say that the main culprit of the treason was still staying in the East Palace, but a group of accomplices killed and demoted them.The reason for this situation was mainly because the court was arguing over how to deal with Li Chengqian's issue. A considerable number of people believed that treason was an unforgivable crime, and anyone would be executed, not even the crown prince. exception.

However, some ministers believed that although the crown prince had the intention of treason, he did not really commit treason, so he could be extrajudicially merciful and exempted from death, but the position of crown prince must be withdrawn, and he must be punished accordingly.There are not a few people who hold this point of view, and Changsun Wuji is the leader among them. After all, he is also Li Chengqian's biological uncle. Although he usually doesn't like each other, he doesn't want this nephew to die at this time, otherwise his sister's eldest grandson The queen didn't know how sad she would be.

Regarding these two viewpoints, Li Shimin is naturally more inclined to the second one. After all, he is a person who protects his weaknesses. At the beginning, his son Li You, who he disliked the most, rebelled, but he did not kill him. The elder son also made the same mistake, so he was going to be executed just because of his status as the crown prince?

However, although Li Shimin didn't want to execute his son, he couldn't expressly support his eldest grandson Wuji, so he had to delay like this. In the end, those who asked for the execution of the prince also saw the mystery, and it was really not easy to delay. I'm stuck, so I have to compromise.The final result was that Li Chengqian's crown prince was abolished and demoted to a common man.

Originally, Li Shimin wanted to repeat the old plan and send Li Chengqian to Li Min, but Li Chengqian was the prince after all, and his status was not comparable to that of Li You. Once Li Shimin's idea was put forward, most courtiers immediately opposed it. The prince can't leave the territory of Tang Dynasty, so as not to cause any trouble.However, Li Shimin's mind turned quite quickly. The minister refused to let Li Chengqian be sent to Li Yin's place. As a result, he immediately changed his mind and sent the eldest son to Shanghai, which was under construction. It was the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and now it belongs to Li Ke. Management, it used to be a barren beach, and it was barely acceptable to be assigned there.

With Li Chengqian being dispatched to Shanghai, the entire treason case finally came to an end. However, although this incident ended, it was the real beginning of another incident, that is, who should inherit the crown prince?

Originally, there seemed to be nothing to discuss about this issue. At the beginning, it was Li Tai and Li Chengqian who were fighting for the position. Now that Li Chengqian has been demoted, the crown prince should fall on Li Tai's head, at least Li Tai himself thinks so of.

But things are not as simple as Li Tai imagined. After Li Chengqian was demoted, although he behaved in every possible way, his father Li Shimin did intend to make him the prince, but the civil and military officials in the court did not have a good relationship with him. The position of King Wei to succeed the crown prince is not very important. Although Li Shimin is the emperor, the crown prince will still rely on these courtiers to assist him in the future, so the opinions of these courtiers are also very important. In the matter of being the prince, he showed some hesitation.

It is also worth mentioning that, whether in the court or among the people, there is a lot of discussion about the re-appointment of the prince, and most people even propose to call back Li Min who is far away in Sibi, and let him take over as the prince. Li Chengqian and Li Tai are two older brothers, and Li Yin is much stronger than them in every aspect.

Although Li Yin made it clear at the beginning that he would not fight for the throne, the current situation is special. Recalling him to be the prince will not only get the support of most of the wealthy Guizhou and officials, but also the people. Come back, the government and people's hearts, which are now turbulent due to the prince's conspiracy, will immediately settle down.

Li Shimin was also very moved by the suggestion of recalling Li Yin. After all, he knew better than anyone that among the many sons, Li Yin was undoubtedly the most suitable person to succeed him.But he also knows that Li Yin has his own ideals and aspirations, and he is probably not interested in the position of prince. Even if he is a father who asks for it, he may refuse, so Li Shimin is also a little uncertain about this. .Capital Datang 403

As early as the second day after the prince's rebellion happened, Wang Zihao, who got the news, passed on the news, and Li Min, who was far away in Sibi, also quickly received the news through Feige's letter.It's just that when he received the news, he suddenly let out a long sigh, and said in a low voice: "Brother, brother, it seems that you still haven't been able to escape the mission entrusted to you by history!" (To be continued.)