Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4143 Loyal to Your Majesty
The heavy rain was pouring down outside the window, the candles were brightly lit in the barracks, and a pot of fragrant tea was filled with steam. The two cousins ​​sat opposite each other and drank tea, without speaking for a long time.

It wasn't until the pot of tea was about to run out that Li Xiaogong put the teacup on the table, looked up at Li Daozong, and asked, "What does Chengfan think of the current situation?"

"Chengfan" is Li Daozong's name. Li Xiaogong didn't call him an official position or a title, but called the other party's name, obviously telling Li Daozong that this conversation was just as brothers, and what they were discussing was the inheritance of the family business, the future of the family's honor and disgrace .

There is no need to be taboo, and there is no need to be wary.

Li Daozong naturally understood, and also understood that Li Xiaogong wanted him to express his attitude from the standpoint of Li Tang's royal family.

What's more, it should be that Li Xiaogong was aware of something and believed that the current situation would endanger the interests of Li Tang's royal family if it spread like this, so he wanted to take some measures to terminate or change it, and this must be called "No. 2 handsome" in the clan. support themselves.

After thinking for a while, he didn't give an answer, but asked instead: "Now the emperor's edict is widely circulated in the palace, regardless of who is in the edict, I just ask my brother, is this edict true or false?"

Li Xiaogong remained silent.

Is the edict true or false?God knows!If it is true, the first emperor avoided him, the leader of the clan and his most trusted cousin, bestowed it on the king of Jin in private and kept it secret until the king of Jin escaped from the Taiji Palace and gathered an army to kill Chang'an. This is absolutely not true. Reason; but if it is false, the first emperor left such a will and passed it on to King Jin, the reason and logic of it are completely reasonable...

He could only say: "I don't know whether it is true or not, but we are not only the ministers of the late emperor, but also the ministers of the Great Tang, and even the clan. We must care about the interests of the Great Tang and the clan in our eyes. Four seas, instead of doing stupid things in the name of loyalty, and putting the empire in turmoil and turmoil. Even if the edict is true, if the first emperor can foresee that the brothers will now place the chief in the flames of war in order to seize the throne , do you think the late emperor would leave such a will?"

Li Daozong shook his head and said: "I don't care about those things, whether it's foolish loyalty or confusion, I only recognize the late emperor's will. If the late emperor passed the throne to the Jin king, I will regard the Jin king as the emperor. If the late emperor passed the throne to the Brother, I will regard you as the emperor, this country belongs to the late emperor, whoever he gave it to, I will recognize as the emperor."

When the first emperor was alive, everyone could have their own ideas about the ownership of the throne, or they could remonstrate directly and argue with reason.But the late emperor had passed away, so all the disputes were unnecessary, and only the late emperor's will could be carried out, in his opinion, there was no doubt about it.

Li Xiaogong frowned, and said slowly: "So, you believe in the existence of the edict, and believe that the so-called edict that Duke Jin made public is the true embodiment of His Majesty's will?"

Li Daozong was silent, and asked after a long time: "In your opinion, if the late emperor is still there, or if the late emperor can reserve a will, will he depose the crown prince and make the king of Jin the crown prince?"

Li Xiaogong was a little irritable, and dissatisfied: "Such things that have not been put into practice, who can say for sure? At least when he was canonized as the crown prince, His Majesty never thought that one day it might be easy to store. You said that following the late emperor's will is the late emperor's ambition. Hasn’t it changed? When he ascended the throne, the first emperor was diligent, thrifty, self-denying and caring for the people. He and Empress Wende wore simple notation clothes and never had a gorgeous palace. As well as great feats, a battle of the Eastern Expedition has almost exhausted the foundation accumulated in Zhenguan for more than ten years, and now you tell me the late emperor's will? I am afraid that even the late emperor himself does not know what the ambition is."

People will change, no matter how wise and powerful a person is, once he controls the resources of a huge empire, his ambition will grow wildly, just like Emperor Sui Yang, who would dare to say that he is incompetent and stupid?However, the unstoppable ambition was eventually buried with the collapse of the empire.

Among them, Emperor Sui Yang made great achievements, but more because he had to rely on the means of venting to the outside world under the coercion of clan politics to eliminate the clan's restraint on imperial power. The reason why Emperor Sui Yang dug the canal was to conquer Goguryeo three times. Not necessarily to achieve these great achievements, the more important purpose is to weaken the strength of the powerful.

But now, once the King of Jin ascends to the throne, it is foreseeable that the clan will completely occupy the court by virtue of Conglong's merits, and the turmoil will be even worse in the early years of Zhenguan.

The royal family will completely lose their initiative under the pressure of the powerful, this is something Li Xiaogong cannot allow.

In the final analysis, "everything in the world is for profit", the king of Jin ascended to the throne with the help of the clan, and the clan relied on pushing the king of Jin to turn the tables against the sky. Li Xiaogong wanted to help the prince to establish the status and power of the royal family, and Li Daozong wanted to follow the will of the late emperor to achieve The name of "loyalty"... is essentially for oneself, whether it is fame or profit.

But who cares about the people of this world and always thinks about ensuring their interests?

Li Daozong held the pot and poured tea again, but kept silent.

Obviously, the idea has been made, and it is useless to persuade...

Li Xiaogong didn't get up to leave, Li Daozong's attitude was beyond his expectation, now he wants to re-examine the current situation in order to confirm his position.

Xuanwumen is the gate of Taiji Palace, where the throat is, and Li Daozong guards this dangerous place. His position directly determines whether Taiji Palace will face the rebel peak. Pianshi sneaked outside the Xuanwu Gate and launched a surprise attack with the assistance of Li Daozong... Donggong's fate was absolutely miserable.

And Li Daozong clearly stated his position according to the facts, either to express that he would never open the Xuanwu Gate to bring in rebels, or he wanted to use this to test Li Xiaogong's attitude, thinking of killing him as well. win over...

Li Xiaogong was caught in a tangle. He originally wanted Li Daozong to worship the prince with him on the "big funeral" after dawn, so as to express his support for the prince, maintain Zhengshuo, and protect the interests of the royal family by supporting him. But he didn't expect that now On the contrary, I am indecisive and in a dilemma.

The barracks fell into silence, and the two most powerful figures in the Li and Tang royal family sat opposite each other, drinking tea in silence, thinking about each other, without saying a word.

Amidst the sound of rain, the big drum located in the turret of the city wall was beating slowly, and the melodious sound of the drum penetrated the wind and rain, majestic and deep.

Li Daozong put down his teacup and said: "It's the fifth watch, and the 'big burial' is coming soon. My brother is responsible for presiding over it. There should be no delay. Please go by yourself."

Li Xiaogong rubbed and rubbed, and finally tried to persuade: "Really don't think about it? As the children of the royal family, you and I should consider it for the royal family. You can't act arbitrarily according to your temper, otherwise you and I cannot bear the consequences. Instability, there are bound to be many opponents in the ruling and opposition parties, and chaos is beyond the rules. In troubled times, heavy codes are required. If the King of Jin wants to secure the throne, he has to kill all threats to the throne one by one. The royal family will bear the brunt... Maybe a hundred years later, you will become a sinner of the royal family."

Unlike the crown prince's ascension to the throne, no matter how the king of Jin declared the authenticity of the "legacy edict", he could not change the fact that he usurped it against his will.If the name is not correct, the words will not be right, and if the words are not right, the heart will not be satisfied. After the change of Xuanwumen, His Majesty Li Er was willing to kill his brother and his family and heirs?Precisely because of his dishonest reputation and bad words, in order to get rid of the threat and secure the throne, he had to kill a man with a black face and a bloody river.

If His Majesty can appoint the King of Jin as the heir while he is still alive, although it is unreasonable to abolish the elders and establish the young, it is inevitable that the world will slander and anger, but His Majesty's prestige is there, and the number of people who oppose it is limited. Even if he opposes, he will remain rational and will not ignore it. Involve this world.

However, His Majesty died suddenly, and he never abolished the royal family during his lifetime. This is destined to be accompanied by bloody storms after King Jin ascended the throne.

Who is the biggest threat to King Jin's throne?
Naturally, the descendants of the late emperor, the crown prince and the king of Wei, who are also the first sons of the late emperor, are the first to bear the brunt, and then the princes of the clan and counties. It is difficult for him, the prestige of the clan and counties, to stay out of the matter. After all, the lesson of Li Yuanjing's rebellion is not far away...

The clans in Jiangnan and Shandong need to suppress and weaken the royal family to gain more benefits. King Jin needs to eradicate all brothers and uncles who may threaten the throne. One can imagine how severe the situation the royal family will face at that time. Just thinking about it, Li Xiaogong feels his heart skip a beat. tremble...

However, Li Daozong was so stubborn but refused to give in. He had to hold the idea of ​​being loyal to the late emperor regardless of the floods in the world.

A soldier came in from the outside and said in a soft voice: "Report to the commander-in-chief and the county king, the drums of the Wude Palace are beating several times, and the 'big burial' is about to begin."

Li Xiaogong looked at Li Daozong: "Are you going?"

Li Daozong was silent for a while, shook his head and said: "I'd better not go, I am loyal to His Majesty, even if His Majesty is buried."

Since you are loyal to His Majesty Li Er, you should obey His Majesty Li Er's desire to change the crown several times and regard the King of Jin as the emperor. He didn't want to break up in public.

In this case, it is better not to go.

As for not being able to see the last side of His Majesty's remains... Loyalty lies in the marrow of the bone, and memory lies in the heart, so why care about the form?

His Majesty must be gratified that he has a soul in the sky.

Li Xiaogong arched his hands with a dignified expression, turned around and walked out of the door, stepping into the sky full of wind and rain, the soldiers hurriedly held up their umbrellas and followed behind to shield them from the rain.

The sky is still dark, the rain never stops,
Thunder, lightning, wind and rain, the tall and majestic Xuanwu Gate stands on the Longshouyuan, like a unicorn behemoth, showing a murderous aura, overlooking this magnificent palace and continuous war-torn capital from a high position, you can watch it at any time Swoop to fight and grind everything into powder.

Outside the Chengtian Gate, the sound of killing was loud, and countless Tigers and Bends of the Tang Dynasty who used to guard the frontier and expand the territory fought against each other. The horizontal knife cut open the body of Paoze, cut off the limbs, and the blood sprayed and gathered into streams.

In the Hall of Wude, the "big burial" of His Majesty Li Er, the hero of a generation, is about to begin. His body will be placed in the coffin. …

There was thunder, and the rain was torrential.

(End of this chapter)