My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 83 Chapter 82: The Emperor's natural enemy is the prince (asking for monthly votes)

The content of the letter made Li Shimin's already ugly expression even uglier.

Li Chengqian was as calm as he was at the beginning.

Of course he had already checked these letters.

After ordering the death of Hegan Chengji, Li Chengqian thought about a question.

Historically, when Li Chengqian's rebellion was exposed, it was naturally Hegan who succeeded him.

But how did the rebellion of Prince of Qi Li You involve Hegan Chengji? And in that situation, even Crown Prince Li Chengqian could not be saved.

Hegan Chengji was the prince's trusted guard, which was known to many people, including Li Shimin.

If he had not been so deeply involved that he was defined as an accomplice, Hegan Chengji would not have betrayed Li Chengqian in order to protect himself.

Then there is only one possibility, that Hegan Chengji was actually involved in the rebellion of Prince of Qi Li You.

Otherwise, he is not stupid, why would he betray the prince?

After ordering Hegan Chengji to be executed, Li Chengqian had his room searched with this idea in mind, and sure enough, he found these letters in a secret corner.

The act of keeping the letters is exactly the same as Helan Chushi's.

Hegan Chengji really deserves to die.

From the contents of the letters, it can be seen that his main contact was not actually Prince of Qi Li You. Among the more than ten letters, there was only one letter from Prince of Qi Li You.

The content is nothing more than making promises to him, promising him what will happen if the thing is accomplished.

Most of the interactions were with Yin Hongzhi, the uncle of Prince of Qi Li You.

Judging from the content of the letters, the earliest one can be traced back to two years ago.

In other words, two years ago, Hegan Chengji had betrayed the crown prince and secretly defected to the side of Prince of Qi Li You.

"Ananda, pass on my handwritten order and bring people to arrest the Chief Censor Yin Hongzhi immediately."

"Colluding with rebellion, deceiving the prince, and having evil intentions, this crime is unforgivable."

"I have trusted him for so many years."

Li Shimin gritted his teeth. This time it was not just a suspicion. The evidence was in his hands. It was a real case of treason.

Moreover, from the content of the letter, it can be judged that the rebellion was not prepared today, but Yin Hongzhi had been preparing for it for many years.

Recruiting soldiers and colluding with military commanders are just the tip of the iceberg.

There were already countless people in the imperial court who were secretly conspiring with him.

Li Shimin was a person who easily trusted others, had a soft heart, and rarely killed people.

But this time, I was completely disappointed with Yin Hongzhi.

"Father, maybe you can keep him here for a few days."

"According to the time, Qi Wang Li You should arrive in Chang'an in the next two days."

"If we arrest Yin Hongzhi at this time, the news will inevitably leak out. When my fifth brother hears the news, he will definitely not dare to enter Chang'an and will flee."

"It's better to wait until Fifth Brother arrives in Chang'an, then we can catch them all in one fell swoop. Without Fifth Brother, Yin Hongzhi and others will not be able to stir up trouble."

Li Chengqian persuaded him that this was his achievement and he should do it perfectly.

Gao Shilian also said: "The prince's words make sense, but it is better not to alert the enemy for the time being."

Li Shimin nodded. He was also very angry just now.

"Okay, let him live a few more days."

After saying that, Li Shimin looked at Hegannuo who was kneeling on the ground.

"Cheng Qian, Qing Que also said before that this fellow is considered to be your Eastern Palace's man. It is up to you to decide how to deal with him."

Li Chengqian thought for a moment, then sighed, "Speaking of which, Hegan Chengji has followed me for many years, but I didn't expect that he would betray me in the end and secretly plot a rebellion. He deserves to die."

"Although he committed a serious crime, Hegannuo should not be implicated."

Li Chengqian looked at Hegannuo and said, "You think I killed your father, so you feel resentment towards me. This just proves that you did not participate in your father's rebellion with the King of Qi."

"Now that you know the truth, do you still hate me?"

Hegannuo kowtowed repeatedly: "My father deserves to die. I have wronged Your Highness. He betrayed Your Highness's trust. This is unjust."

"Over the years, Your Highness has always treated my father as a confidant and rewarded him with a large amount of wealth, but my father did not think of repaying the favor, but instead secretly allied with others. This is disloyalty."

"My father was disloyal and unjust, and it is only right that Your Highness should sentence him to death."

"Your Highness asked me if I still had any resentment in my heart. Now I only feel guilty towards Your Highness."

Li Chengqian said: "I am the crown prince, and you are just a little white-clothed man, but you are able to go to the King of Wei and avenge your father's life."

"On the other hand, you are also a loyal man."

"A son should pay his father's debt. You should pay back what your father owes me. Train well in the East Palace and keep your innocent heart. Don't be like your father and disappoint me again."

Hearing this, Hegannuo burst into tears.

In fact, by now, Hegannuo already felt that he was doomed to die.

However, he did not expect that the prince not only did not give up on him, but also allowed him to continue serving in the Eastern Palace.

Hegannuo knocked his head loudly and choked up, saying, "Hegannuo swore today that I will die for the prince in this life to atone for my father's sin. If I break this oath, I will be struck by five thunderbolts and die a miserable death."

In fact, Li Chengqian didn't care much about Hegannuo's life or death.

It's just funny that Li Shimin, who imprisoned his father and killed his brother, attached great importance to family affection.

Historically, the reason why Li Tai could not become the crown prince, apart from the factor of killing his son and passing the throne to his younger brother, was mainly because Li Shimin was worried that Li Tai would kill Li Chengqian after he came to power.

That's why Li Tai was sent away and Li Zhi was appointed as the crown prince.

Li Chengqian was in the same situation. Whether he wanted to obtain military power from Li Shimin or inherit the throne through the position of crown prince, he first needed to dispel Li Shimin's suspicion.

That is to make Li Shimin feel that if he ascends the throne, he will not cause fratricide. This is particularly crucial.

Otherwise, it is not ruled out that Li Shimin deposed the crown prince and enthroned Li Zhi in order to save Li Tai's life.

Li Shimin, who was standing by, saw this scene and felt mixed emotions.

He himself is such a person. For example, Wei Zheng was once an official under the prince.

The surrendered Yuchi Jingde pretended to be a prisoner and went to Emperor Yang of Sui to inform Li Jing of Li Yuan's rebellion.

Li Anyan, the commander of the guards at the gate.

Now, Li Shimin saw that the prince forgave Hegannuo and allowed him to continue serving him regardless of his father's guilt. This scene was so similar to his own.

Li Tai remained silent and felt like he was about to vomit blood again.

This was a case of losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken, and it simply elevated the image of the prince in his father's mind.

You have to know that he is different from the crown prince and relies entirely on his father for food.

If the emperor father likes the prince and no longer likes me, then I will be completely doomed.

This is also why Li Tai couldn't understand the situation.

On the one hand, Li Shimin liked him, and on the other hand, he used him to compete with the prince.

If it was just pure love, there wouldn't be so many presumptuous actions.

However, Li Tai, who was in the situation, obviously did not understand this truth.

Now his mind is full of thoughts on how to regain his father's favor.

After Hegannuo left, Li Shimin had to consider how to deal with Prince of Qi Li You.

This was also due to Li Chengqian's interference, otherwise Li Shimin would have completed the fourth achievement of imprisoning his father, killing his brother, killing his younger brother, and then killing his son.

Although he is not a legitimate son, he is still a biological son.

There has been no specific plan to launch a rebellion yet. Whether Li You will be sentenced to death depends on the results of the subsequent investigation.

However, Li Chengqian intended to keep Li You. This actually had nothing to do with the plan. He just wanted to show his emphasis on family affection in front of Li Shimin.

"Cheng Qian, you were the one who contacted King Qi before, now I will let you take charge."

"When that rebellious son arrives in Chang'an, you, as the eldest brother, will teach him a lesson for me."

"I wrote so many letters to him, asking him to repent, but I didn't expect him to go even further and do such a horrible thing. Although it was mainly due to Yin Hongzhi's instigation, he himself has no fault, right?"

"Last year, this rebellious son submitted a petition to apologize, and Quan Wanji came to the court and told me that the Prince of Qi had turned back from his wrong path. Is this how he turned back from his wrong path?" "I would like to ask Quan Wanji how he became the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Qi's Palace in Qizhou."

Quan Wanji was originally the chief secretary of Wu Wang Li Ke. He was an upright person and Li Shimin was very optimistic about him.

Li You liked hunting and made friends with evil people. Taizong thought that the chief secretary Xue Dading was incompetent in disciplining Li You, so he dismissed him and replaced him with Quan Wanji.

As the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Qi's Palace, how could he not know anything about the Prince of Qi's plotting a rebellion for so long?
Li Shimin didn't believe it, so he naturally transferred him back to Chang'an to be punished.

"Don't worry, Father. I will definitely teach my fifth brother well."

The eldest brother is like a father, so Li Chengqian is naturally qualified to teach his son in his place.

Although he only sent Zhang Sizheng to ask Prince of Qi Li You to return to Chang'an, Li You naturally did not dare not to go back.

Not every son of Li Shimin could be like Li Tai, Prince of Wei, who refused to take office and stayed in Chang'an to oppose the crown prince.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty was, after all, an era of aristocratic families, and the difference between legitimate sons and illegitimate sons was far greater than in later dynasties.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for today."

"After the King of Qi returns, you will also be responsible for his case of treason. You can report the details to me then."

The twists and turns, several fits of anger, and his son's rebellion made Li Shimin feel exhausted.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the prince not only had no intention of rebellion, but instead suppressed a case of rebellion, which made Li Shimin feel very relieved.

Fear and suspicion are two different things after all.

Li Chengqian bowed to Li Tai and left.

They walked out of the hall side by side.

Looking at the figures of his two sons leaving together, Li Shimin nodded secretly. It seemed that there was still some friendship between the two brothers.

But he didn't know that after he arrived outside the hall.

Li Chengqian patted Li Tai's somewhat plump body with a scolding tone.

"Qingque, look at how fat you are now. You are simply insulting the dignity of the Tang Dynasty."

"The Tang Dynasty was founded on military power, and our father was even more brave and invincible. I have to say something unpleasant. You look like a fat pig now. How can you still have the dignity of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Listen to my advice, and practice martial arts more when you return. Don't lose face for the Tang Dynasty during the winter hunt. But you understand."

In fact, although Li Tai was fat, he was not extremely fat. Li Chengqian just took the opportunity to show off his power as the eldest brother and scolded him.

Li Tai's teeth were about to break, but he could only lower his head and said: "Brother is right. Qingque must reflect on himself and practice martial arts well after returning."

"I will definitely not disappoint you, big brother."

Li Tai spoke the latter sentence almost word by word, and the meaning was particularly obvious.

Li Chengqian laughed loudly, not caring at all.

"Okay, I'll wait for you then."

"Don't let me down, or it will be too boring."

Inside the Liangyi Hall.

Li Shimin was very happy to hear the prince's hearty laughter.

He felt that this was a friendly communication between the prince and Qingque.

"Isn't it enough for Your Majesty to be relieved by the Crown Prince's performance today?"

Gao Shilian went to court today to support the prince.

It was just that too much time had been wasted before, and Li Shimin was in a bad mood because he had been thinking about rebellion.

At this point, Gao Shilian naturally had to continue speaking.

"I never thought there would be any problem with the prince."

"Before, I didn't know there were so many things going on, so I had some misunderstandings about the prince. Now it seems that the prince really did not disappoint me."

Li Shimin replied calmly.

The prince's performance today did greatly reduce the suspicion in his heart.

Most importantly, he saw that the prince cared about family affection.

As for Gao Shilian's advice, he just ignored it.

"It is good that your majesty knows this. The Tang Dynasty has just been established and there cannot be too much trouble."

"Your Majesty feels guilty about Qingque's incident. Over the years, Qingque has been favored far more than other princes, and that is enough."

"Perhaps Your Majesty should consider letting Qingque be sent out to a fiefdom like the other princes. This can also reduce the Crown Prince's misunderstandings and avoid greater conflicts in the future."

Li Shimin listened and was silent for a while before saying, "I will consider this matter, but Qingque is not in good health. He vomited blood a few days ago. The imperial physician also said that it is not easy for him to travel around at the moment."

"Let him recover first, and then we can talk about going to the vassal state."

Gao Shilian could tell these excuses, but he knew that the emperor would not give in on this issue.

Because once Li Shimin sent the King of Wei away, the Crown Prince would have no opponent, and the father and son would have to face off.

The prince himself is the emperor's biggest enemy.

Even a founding emperor like Li Shimin had to be on guard against this.

This is a natural enemy, and it is inevitable even if the relationship between father and son is very good.

From the emperor's perspective, in order to ensure the smooth inheritance of the throne and orderly succession, after his death, the prince will be able to hold power and suppress other ministers and nobles in the court.

When in power, one has to help the prince cultivate his confidants, establish prestige, and support members of the prince's party.

The Zhanshi Mansion and Shilue Mansion in the Eastern Palace are smaller versions of the imperial court.

However, at the same time, when the prince's power grows too fast, it will form the country's second power center, thus affecting the emperor's power.

Even loyal ministers had to consider how to consolidate their positions after the emperor's death. In addition, they had to consider the wealth and prosperity of future generations.

Under such circumstances, the emperor's team will become the prince's team.

After all, the prince is the future.

Faced with this dilemma, the conventional solution was that most emperors in history supported one or even several sons and became close to them.

He let them have the idea of ​​seizing the throne, secretly instructed them to fight against the prince, and even gave them rewards that exceeded the prince's in some areas.

Let them check and balance each other and fight each other, so that they cannot have any impact on the emperor himself.

Under normal circumstances, these princes act as whetstones, and the crown prince also becomes a qualified emperor step by step through such training.

At the same time, the emperor can also use the hand of the whetstone to eliminate some ministers in the court who may affect the imperial power but whom he is reluctant to take action against, thus maintaining the stability of the imperial power.

Of course, this is the most ideal situation. In reality, not every emperor can grasp the right balance. If too much force is used, the whetstone may break the knife.

The original Li Chengqian in history was a typical example of being worn out.

Throughout the dynasties throughout history, only in the early Ming Dynasty did there appear a father and son pair, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who were considered the most stable crown princes. Unfortunately, they died of illness before they could inherit the throne.

As far as the Tang Dynasty today is concerned, except for the King of Wei, all other princes have been sent to remote fiefdoms.

If the King of Wei also leaves, who will be able to compete with the Crown Prince?

Why did this not happen when Li Zhi became the crown prince?

In fact, it was because the Prince's Party and the Prince of Wei's Party had both disbanded. Li Zhi became the prince halfway through his career, and his Prince's Party had not been established, so he posed no danger to Li Shimin at all.

Moreover, not long after Li Zhi became the crown prince, Li Shimin suffered a stroke and became paralyzed, so naturally there was no such nonsense.

Gao Shilian also understood these principles. He sighed in his heart and bowed, saying, "I am old and a little tired. I will take my leave first."

"I will see Lord Gao off."

On the other hand, Li Tai immediately asked Fang Yiai to pass the detailed situation to Fang Xuanling.

After Fang Xuanling heard the news, he frowned slightly. He did not expect that the prince would have such a deep plan.

However, Fang Xuanling did not think that the Prince of Qi's rebellion had nothing to do with the Crown Prince.

After a careful analysis, Fang Xuanling believed that the prince's rebellion must be true.

The King of Qi's rebellion was just a cover for the Crown Prince, otherwise why would it be revealed until today?

However, Fang Xuanling had not yet considered whether he should really investigate the matter, stand on the King of Wei's camp, and drag the Crown Prince into the water.

(End of this chapter)