Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 51
13
Located at the northern end of the Forbidden Palace, Gongnei Lake is a holy place for recreation in the Forbidden Palace.Although Gongnei Lake is not very big, the surrounding environment is beautiful and elegant, and each is magnificent: there are various cliffs in the west; there are dotted natural landscapes in the east;All kinds of beautiful scenery, reflected in the water, emerald green, red and green, complement each other, full of poetic and picturesque flavor.

Because of Li Shimin's report last night, Li Yuan imprisoned Concubine Yin and Concubine Zhang in the harem in a rage.In recent years, Li Yuan has been feeling old and weak, and he often feels lack of energy in government affairs, so he mostly spends time among women.There are beauties in the palace, beauties are like clouds, but the fate between people lies in the connection and understanding in their hearts.After trying a lot, in the end, I just fell in love with Yin and Concubine Zhang, and I was with them almost all day long, and it was not good to be away from them for a while.After imprisoning them this time, Li Yuan tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep until dawn.Thinking that soon the prince and the king of Qi will confront the Wei people in court, it is actually a matter of having an affair with his beloved concubine and his sons.I couldn't help being annoyed and annoyed, and what was even more annoying and annoying was, how should I deal with it when there is a result? !If it is true, is it true that the crown prince was abolished?If something is created out of nothing, how will we deal with King Qin?Thinking of these, Li Yuan couldn't help but sighed deeply.

It is said that family ugliness should not be publicized, but the emperor has no family affairs.Since the emperor's home is the country, all matters related to the emperor are of course state affairs.What's more, in Li Yuan's view, people like Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda are more loyal to him than their sons.Therefore, Li Yuan decreed:

"Let Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda come to see me quickly."

At this time, the sky was just a little bit brighter, Li Yuan walked slowly in the imperial study for a few steps, still feeling bored, so he stopped and gave another order:

"Let Pei Ji wait until the boat comes to see me."

Both Concubine Yin and Concubine Zhang were locked up, so Li Yuan had to let Concubine Zeng and Concubine Wang accompany them.Perhaps it was the loss of being away from the woman after Li Shimin came last night, or perhaps it was because Concubine Yin and Concubine Zhang were so outstanding in the first place.Li Yuanli once felt that concubine Zeng and concubine Wang are so lovely.In the warm arms of the two of them, he smelled the feminine breath of a woman, and the troubles in his heart gradually disappeared.

With the help of concubines Zeng and Wang, Li Yuan boarded the big boat specially designed for him to swim in the lake, leaning on the railing to look at the beautiful scenery on the lake.Oh, how nice it would be if there were no such troublesome things!Li Yuan said to himself in his heart.At this moment, his three honored ministers came to the boat at the same time.

"I pay homage to the emperor." Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda stood in front of him respectfully and said in unison.

"You are all here!" Li Yuan nodded towards them, and then looked at Zeng and Wang Erfei. When Zeng and Wang Erfei left, Li Yuan sighed deeply again, and then told Li Shimin to sue the crown prince last night. , King Qi, told the three of them.

The three of them didn't speak after hearing this, and even Pei Ji, who had the most ideas when encountering troubles, kept his eyes on his toes and didn't even want to raise his head.Li Yuan was very unhappy when he saw it, and said hastily:
"I came to you early this morning and told you these things, just to ask you to come up with an idea for me, why didn't you speak?"

The three honored ministers were still unwilling to gnaw.

"Pei Ji, tell me!" Li Yuan issued an imperial edict.

"I thought it was impossible for such a thing to happen."

"You said this... King Qin created something out of nothing?!" Li Yuan stared at Pei Ji and asked.

"King Qin, King Qin must have listened to the slander of the Wei people." Pei Ji struggled with his prime minister's mind, thinking along this line of thought, feeling that his thinking became more and more broad, and soon regained his previous self-confidence. Said: "Your Majesty, I think it's best not to rush to let the Crown Prince, the King of Qi, and the people of Wei confront each other in court. You can call the people of Wei first, interrogate them strictly, and then make a decision."

"Yes, no matter what the result is, let the crown prince and the king of Qi confront the Wei people, it will not end well. It is the best policy to interrogate the Wei people first." Xiao Yu agreed.

"I also think it is the best policy to interrogate Wei people first." Chen Shuda immediately expressed his opinion.

Li Yuan cast his eyes on his three ministers for a long time, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "I have already agreed to King Qin, and I asked Eunuch Li to notify the crown prince and King Qi respectively. The imperial decree has been issued, how can I change it at will? What's more, the Wei people are locked in the King Qin's mansion, and if we go to pick him up at this time, does the King of Qin have any ideas? You guys, can you give me a better idea!"

"The emperor is angry!" The three honored officials knelt down and said in unison.

Li Yuan opened his long eyes wide, looked at them, sighed and said, "Get up, all of you, think about it carefully, if you have a good idea, then summon some of my princes and that hateful Wei man."

After saying that, he told Eunuch Li: "Go to my study and wait. The few of them, no matter who comes first, let them wait in the study and are not allowed to go anywhere."

Eunuch Li led the decree to go, Li Yuan ordered the big boat to sail to the south, and said to the three honored ministers: "You should take a serious look at the beautiful scenery on the shore of the lake, absorb more spiritual energy, and think of a good way for me. "After that, leave the three of them, call Zeng and Wang Erfei, and go to the other side to watch the scenery in the lake.

The scenery in the lake is so beautiful.Under the gentle and tender service of the long-lost Concubine Zeng and Wang, time passed quickly.In a blink of an eye, the sun was already scorching.Li Yuan started to get tired of the game in front of him, and remembered the confrontation he was about to face, so he motioned Zeng and Wang Erfei to leave, and asked Eunuch Li to call his three ministers over.

"Why, no good idea yet?" Li Yuan asked impatiently.

Pei Ji was about to speak when he suddenly heard Yuchi Jingde's call from the distant shore.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Yuchi Jingde's call became louder and louder, and Li Yuan and his servants obeyed the call.I saw Yuchi Jingde in full battle armor, holding a double whip, standing by the bank.Li Yuan was startled, feeling that something was wrong, so he couldn't help showing a look of shock.

"Yuchi Jingde, why are you so bold, you dare to call the emperor here." Pei Ji scolded loudly.

"The king of Qin sent the last general to come and tell you something important, and he also asked the emperor to sail the boat to the shore."

"Yuchi Jingde, how dare you be so bold..."

Li Yuan stopped Pei Ji who was about to scold him with gestures, and ordered the boat to dock quickly.Still three feet away from the shore, Yuchi Jingde flew onto the boat, with two whips in hand, knelt down in front of Li Yuan, and said loudly:
"At the order of the King of Qin, the last general came here to report to the emperor: Prince Li Jiancheng conspired against the king of Qi, Li Yuanji, and was executed one by one by the king of Qin. Safe." After saying that, he got up suddenly, and stood aside respectfully.

After hearing this, Li Yuan opened his long eyes angrily, looked at Yuchi Jingde, then at Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda, his gaze clearly asked:

"How did things develop to such a point?!"

Pei Ji has followed Li Yuan for many years, so he naturally understands what the emperor means.He hurriedly walked up to Li Yuan, looked back at Yuchi Jingde, took a few steps back with Li Yuan in his arms, and said in a low voice: "The matter has come to this, the king of Qin has made great achievements, and his ministers are loyal, so it is better to deal with major national affairs." Entrust it to him to avoid further troubles."

When Pei Ji spoke, Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda also followed. Li Yuan listened and asked for their opinions with his eyes.

"What the prime minister said was due to reality. There is only this in front of us. The emperor is fine." Xiao Yu said.

"Your majesty, I would like to swear to follow the emperor to the death." Chen Shuda said, tears streaming down his face.

"Alas!" Li Yuan sighed for a long time, and said to Yuchi Jingde: "I order you to pass on my word of mouth quickly: Prince Li Jiancheng and Qi Wang Li Yuanji's subordinates must obey the order of King Qin and return to their own places. In the mansion, no more cannibalism."

Yuchi Jingde was overjoyed when he heard this, and he promised loudly: "The general will follow orders." After saying that, he got on the horse and galloped away.

Li Yuan looked at Yuchi Jingde's disappearing back, burst into tears for a moment, and muttered: "Prince, Li Jiancheng, my son!!" Staggered into the warehouse.

13
Yuchi Jingde hurried to Qin Wang's mansion and conveyed Li Yuan's words to Li Shimin verbatim.

"All obey the orders of King Qin." Li Shimin said to himself after hearing this, and turned to look at Hou Junji beside him.

"In my opinion, the matter may not be so simple. The crown prince has been in business with King Qi for many years, and his subordinates may not follow orders." Hou Junji said.

"Don't they dare to resist?"

"No way, but it is very likely that they will flee to other princes' fiefs."

"Yes, Yuchi Jingde, you and Changsun Wuji quickly control all the Weixu troops and guard Chang He; Hou Junji, you quickly surround the Prince's Mansion, all people can only enter and cannot exit; Qu Tundong, you go and surround Qi Wang's mansion quickly, and everyone can only enter but not exit." Li Shimin finished making arrangements, watched the four of them leave, then covered Xuanling and Du Ruhui with his eyes, and asked:
"Now, what to do with it?"

"Chang He, it's not good to be guarded." Du Ruhui said: "If such a villain is worried that you will be against him, troubles will inevitably arise. There must be cronies in the guards he controls. Once they hook up, they will cause chaos. It’s better to give him a knife and save a lot of things.”

"Yes, Changsun Shunde, I would like to trouble you to help Yuchi Jingde and kill the villain Chang He." After Changsun Shunde left, Li Shimin asked again:
"The people in the Prince's Mansion and Prince Qi's Mansion, how to solve it?"

Du Ruhui looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "I think the only way is to cut the weeds and get rid of the roots!"

"You mean to kill all the people in the Prince's Mansion and Prince Qi's Mansion?"

"Other people, some of them can be used by King Qin, but the crown prince and the ten sons of King Qi must be eradicated."

"This..." Li Shimin's eyes widened, staring at Du Ruhui angrily.

At this time, someone came to report: "The governor of Youzhou, the king of Lujiang, Li Yuan, supported the army and conspired against him."

Li Yuan is Li Shimin's uncle and has a close relationship with Li Jiancheng.Long before Xuanwu Gate set up an ambush, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui estimated that once Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were executed, Li Yuan would definitely turn against them.Therefore, a messenger was sent early to Youzhou to summon him to Beijing in the name of Li Yuan.Unexpectedly, he got the news so quickly, killed the messenger, issued a call to action, calling on the kings to crusade against Li Shimin.

Hearing this news, the anger in Li Shimin's eyes disappeared a lot.I killed their father, my own brother and my own younger brother, do I still have to kill these nephews of mine?Li Shimin asked himself in his heart.Li Yuan is vulnerable, kings... Li Shimin shook his head.Just when he was determined to absolve those ten nephews from the death penalty, another person came to report: "Li Yi, the king of Yan County in Jingzhou, raised his flag to rebel and supported Li Yuan."

"My uncle and brothers are like this, not to mention my nephew, the son of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji! It seems that Du Ruhui's words are correct. If I don't take advantage of this time, if the father intervenes again, I'm afraid There will really be a lot of trouble." Thinking of this, Li Shimin's eyes had long since lost anger, only a little helpless sadness, and he gently instructed Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui:
"You guys, go right away. Fang Xuanling went to the East Palace, Du Ruhui went to the Qi Palace, and conveyed the king's will to kill Li Jiancheng's five sons and Li Yuanji's five sons one by one. .”

When it was over, Li Shimin closed his eyes and heard Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui leave in a hurry. He clearly saw the sad eyes of the ten nephews, and seemed to hear: Uncle, uncle, don't kill me!begging.

"Hey! They are indeed innocent. But, what can we do?" Li Shimin muttered to himself, thinking of his sons: "If Li Jiancheng kills me, will he kill his nephew— - My son? Yes, I will. Even if Li Jiancheng doesn't kill him, Li Yuanji will definitely kill him. The imperial power is as great as the sky, for the sake of the imperial power, I can give up anything! Yes, when I get the imperial power, I must be good cherish!"

Li Shimin closed his eyes and thought for a while.He seemed to feel that someone was pulling him up slowly.Go up the steps, walk into the Taiji Hall, and sit on the throne of the father high.All the civil and military officials fell to the ground. He knew that he had become the emperor, and he was full of joy.He had thought up an imperial decree, but he just couldn't say it. He struggled to open his mouth, and a majestic voice came from the sky:
Li Shimin, you have committed a heinous crime by killing your brother and ten of your nephews!Even so, God will not punish you, because you want to help the world and the people.Remember, you must help the world and the people in the future!Otherwise, God will punish you.If you want, you say yes.

"I am willing, I am willing, I am willing..." Li Shimin said several times, but he couldn't make a sound. He seemed to see a big King Kong coming from the clouds, glaring at him angrily, raised the big knife in his hand, and said sharply: " If you don’t answer, I’ll kill you.”

"Yes!" In desperation, Li Shimin finally shouted, and he woke up, drenched in sweat.I saw that Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Yuchi Jingde had all returned, and everyone looked at him very worriedly.

"My lord, you..."

"It's nothing, I had a dream just now." Li Shimin interrupted Fang Xuanling's reply, and then asked: "Is everything settled?"

"It's all done." The three replied in unison.

"It's just that there are many people in the East Palace who are hostile to us..." Du Ruhui said, "I locked them all up, as well as the family members, daughters, and servants of the Prince's Mansion. There are more than [-] people in total. I suggest killing them all."

Li Shimin listened, bowed his head in thought, he thought of the dream just now.As long as I can help the world and the people in the future, God will forgive all my sins. In this case, it is better to kill them all, so as to save future troubles.Thinking of this, he nodded to Du Ruhui, and said, "I believe in your eyesight. Kill anyone you think should be killed." Du Ruhui was overjoyed, and was about to receive the order to execute it, when Yuchi Jingde stepped forward and said :

"Competing with the king is the crown prince and the king of Qi's fault. Now that the two of them have been punished, please stop it. Otherwise, one person with ten, ten with a hundred, will damage the reputation of the king. It is better to let them all go. , to avoid his crimes, to bring back the hearts of the people in the East Palace and Prince Qi’s two mansions, and to make all the people in all the counties in the country who have ties to the two mansions return to their hearts. If we can do this, we can really save a lot of trouble.”

Li Shimin listened, covered Yuchi Jingde with his eyes, thought about it for a while, and suddenly laughed and said: "This suggestion by the general is better than my two counselors. I will issue an edict to pardon the world and the East Palace and Qi Palace. People. The rebellious sinners have all been killed, and the rest will not be questioned."

Yuchi Jingde was very happy when he heard this, and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty is wise, Your Majesty is wise."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui also said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Shimin laughed again and said: "It is true that a wise man will make a mistake if he thinks a lot, and a fool will gain if he thinks a lot! No matter how wise a person is, he will sometimes make mistakes. Only by listening to others' opinions in everything can he do good things. Decide."

"Your Majesty Yingming!"

Yuchi Jingde, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling spoke loudly again.Li Shimin laughed again, and all three of them laughed along.

13
Li Yuan burst into tears when he heard that Li Shimin had killed the prince and the ten sons of King Qi.At this time, he already understood: the so-called matter about the prince, the king of Qi, concubine Zhang, and concubine Yin was nothing but Li Shimin's plot against the prince and king of Qi.Alas, this Li Shimin, my son, would actually do such a nasty thing!Next, will he kill me like his cousin Sui Yang Emperor Yang Guang did?Thinking of this, Li Yuan gently pushed away Concubine Zeng beside him, turned his eyes to Chen Shuda and Xiao Yu, and asked sadly:

"You say, what else will King Qin do?"

Xiao Yu, courtesy name Shiwen, was the younger brother of Empress Xiao, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.His grandfather was Xiao Cha, Emperor Xuan of the Later Liang Dynasty.Xiao Yu was good at learning books when he was young.Upright, benevolent and filial, in his early twenties, he became a silver green doctor in the Sui Dynasty, and participated in the court's decision-making on government affairs.Later, because of some actions of Emperor Sui Yang, especially Emperor Sui Yang's attack on Goryeo, Yang Guang, who only wanted to do big things, was outraged, and was demoted to be the prefect of Hechi.After Li Yuan captured Chang'an, he immediately summoned Xiao Yu, conferred the title of Doctor Guanglu, made him the Duke of Song, worshiped Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and always regarded him as his confidant.At this moment, when Xiao Yu heard Li Yuan's worried question, she felt desolate, thought carefully for a while, and said:
"The king of Qin conspired to take the position of prince. Now that His Royal Highness the prince has gone, he must be the one. The emperor can immediately issue an edict to make King Qin the prince and make him assist the emperor. His heart is enough, and naturally he will not do it again." What happened."

After hearing this, Li Yuan turned his gaze to Chen Shuda again.This Chen Shuda, whose name is Zi Cong, is the surname of Wu Xingren, the son of Emperor Chen Xuanxu.He was smart and talented since he was a child. When he was ten years old, he composed poems and ten rhymes at a banquet, and he was regarded as a child prodigy.In the Sui Dynasty, he paid homage to Neishi Sheren, and later served as the prefect of Jiangjun.Li Yuan raised an army, and Chen Shuda came to join him. He was awarded by Li Yuan as the master of the prime minister's mansion, and was granted the title of Duke of Handong County.Once at a banquet with Li Yuan, Chen Shuda held fresh grapes and refused to eat for a long time. Li Yuan met him and asked him why.Chen Shuda said: "Seeing such good grapes, I remembered that my mother said she wanted to eat grapes, so please allow me to take this bunch of grapes back to my mother." Li Yuan was very moved when he heard this, and not only gave him a bunch of grapes, He also rewarded him with a hundred pieces of cloth for the good grapes in the box. From then on, he trusted Chen Shuda even more.At this time, when Chen Shuda saw Li Yuan coming to ask for his opinion, he said:
"I think that what Shang Shu said is reasonable. Although King Qin punished the crown prince, King Qi and their sons, he did not harm other family members and subordinates. It can be seen that King Qin's plot is only for the position of prince. He is the prince, and the situation can calm down."

Li Yuan listened and raised his head out of the window.The king of Qin wanted the position of prince, but not just the position of prince.What he wants is to hold great power and dominate the court.Perhaps, he would really kill his father like Yang Guang did.Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help being startled.Why don't I give up the throne to him? !When this thought flashed out, Li Yuan's heart felt like a knife was twisted, his face turned pale.When Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda saw each other, they called anxiously:

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

"I'm fine." Li Yuanqiang said with a smile: "I'm just worried, will King Qin be satisfied with the position of prince?"

After hearing this, Chen Shuda and Xiao Yu understood what Li Yuan was thinking, but they were unwilling to see Li Yuan lose the throne so soon.

"According to my opinion, it is better to make King Qin the crown prince first, give him more rights, and then look at him..." Xiao Yu stopped talking here, and looked at Li Yuan inquiringly.

"What do you think?" Li Yuan looked away and asked Chen Shuda.

"I also mean the same thing. I firmly believe that, as the king of Qin is, he will not be treasonous to the emperor." Chen Shuda said.

He even killed his brothers and nephews, so he dares to be rebellious against me?Li Yuan said in his heart.But what can we do now?Li Yuan thought about it, but he couldn't find a perfect solution, so he sighed deeply and said:

(End of this chapter)