A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 640 The Poison of Gelsemium
The King of Qin returned in triumph.

Li Yuan was both pleased and somewhat worried.

The good news is that the great threat of the Turks has been eliminated. Now, Khagan Jieli has become a dancer at court banquets. Li Yuan likes to have Jieli dance to entertain guests at every banquet.

His dancing was quite good, full of the untamed wildness of the grasslands beyond the Great Wall.

Li Yuan was so pleased that he not only spared Jieli's life but also appointed him as a Right Guard General and granted him the title of Prince of Guiyi.

He was granted a luxurious mansion in Chang'an and given many servants and maids, so he was considered to have no worries about food and clothing in Chang'an.

Although the Crown Prince and Pei Ji advocated that Jieli and Princess Changping marry in Chang'an, swear an oath of friendship, and then send them back to the borderlands.

However, after receiving several memorials from Li Shimin and Li Yi strongly opposing the decision, Li Yuan finally decided to let Jieli stay in the Chang'an palace as a dancer.

Ultimately, they decided to appoint Tuli as the Turkic Khan and marry Princess Changping to him.

Can anyone think of,

The Turks, who had been pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe, were now pressing down on him.
It suddenly collapsed with a roar.

Erlang is truly a master of martial arts.

This bravery far exceeded Li Yuan's expectations, and even made him feel somewhat worried.

In recent years, his relationship with his son Shimin has not been good, and has even been somewhat tense.

Previously, he did this to uphold the authority of the Crown Prince, fearing that Erlang's military achievements would be too high and cause brothers to fight each other.

But now,
Li Yuan began to worry about himself.

In these battles against the Turks, Erlang was victorious in every single one. However, in retrospect, these battles were not fought according to his orders, and were even fought against his orders.

They won all of them.

The result was good, but the process was very tortuous.

Nowadays, most of the prime ministers in the Council of State are biased towards Erlang.

In the northern frontier, Li Yi, the Grand General of Bingzhou, Li Daoxuan, the Grand General of Youzhou, and Li Daozong, the Grand General of Lingzhou, all firmly support Erlang.

Li Yi alone commands 100,000 troops.

Erlang returned in triumph.

How should I face Shimin?
How should we explain the promise we made to establish a crown prince?

He was not made crown prince.

So how should he be rewarded for such a great achievement?

Last time, he was promoted to General Erlang Tiance, and made to lead the twelve guards. He was also Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Chancellor.

Now how do we add another seal?

Li Yuan had a headache.

He knew that if he didn't keep his promise to establish a crown prince, no matter how many titles he bestowed, Erlang would never be satisfied.

Last time,
He bestowed upon Erlang the title of General of the Heavenly Strategy and established the Heavenly Strategy Mansion in Luoyang, but kept him in Chang'an, placing him on a pedestal.

But this time, if we try to strip Erlang of his real power again and confine him to Hongyi Palace to study, I'm afraid he might not agree.

Li Yuan couldn't help but recall the proposal by Xiao Yu to divide the land into fiefdoms.

Would it be feasible to have the King of Qin grant fiefdoms to these regions to establish their own kingdoms?

"His Majesty,"

Lu Kuan, the palace attendant, entered and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qi requests an audience."

"What brings the fourth brother here?"

Li Yuanji entered the palace and said, "Father, my second brother has returned in triumph. I would like to host a family banquet at the Prince Qi's residence and invite you, my elder brother, my second elder brother, my elder sister and brother-in-law, and my younger sister and brother-in-law to attend."

Everyone has been busy these past few years, so the family has been spending less and less time together.

Especially with my second brother, I don't know when it started, we've become somewhat estranged.

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised.

But seeing that Yuanji could say that, I was quite happy. A harmonious family, with brothers being friendly and respectful, and fathers being kind and sons being filial, is the right way.

He readily agreed.
"Alright, then our whole family will come to your house for a family feast today."

"Take this opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding between you and Erlang. The three of you are all brothers from the same father and mother. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected."

Yuanji smiled and agreed.

Once he stepped out of Taiji Palace, the Fourth Prince's smile vanished completely.

Because the Prince of Qin had moved out of the Chengqian Hall of the Taiji Palace long ago, Prince Qi, Li Yuanji, had also moved out of the Wude Hall. However, the backyard of the Wude Hall was still preserved for him.

Today's family dinner,

It was located in the Qi Prince's Mansion in Longqingfang, east of the city.

From the Imperial Palace to Longqingfang, you have to pass through Shengyefang on Zhuquemen Street.

Shengyefang was the residence of Prince Li Yi of Dai County.

He got off easy by not returning with the King of Qin this time.

Upon returning to the Qi Prince's Mansion in Longqingfang, Li Yuanji immediately summoned his trusted confidants, Yuwen Bao and Xue Shi, the two guards.

"A banquet is being held in the mansion today, and the King of Qin will be attending."

Yuwen Bao said excitedly, "I will immediately arrange for assassins to be sent in. Once the Prince of Qin steps into the palace, he will not be able to leave alive."

Xue Shi said, "Your Majesty, Pei Xuanyan went to the Ministry of Personnel this afternoon to receive his official appointment, and was appointed as the Military Advisor of the Granary in the Prince of Qin's Palace. This man knows many confidential matters of the Prince's Palace."

He even knows about the chivalrous heroes we recruited.

He has clearly sided with the King of Qin, and I fear he will betray Your Majesty.

Li Yuanji was furious.
"That son of a bitch, I only relieved him of his official post and let him off the hook because of the Pei family of Hedong. How dare he betray his own people and go to the King of Qin for help?"

This is suicidal.

Since you know about this, why are you keeping him alive? Kill him, quickly.

"I'm afraid he's already sold our secrets to the Prince of Qin's mansion. Otherwise, how could he have gotten the position of seventh-rank granary clerk in the Prince of Qin's mansion so quickly?" Yuwen Bao said from the side. "Damn it, he certainly got a good price!"

Li Yuanji's face darkened. "Regardless of whether he has already sold the secrets to the Prince of Qin's mansion, this person must not be allowed to live any longer and must be killed immediately."

Yuwen Bao said, "I will arrange for an assassination to wipe out his entire family!"

“Wait a minute,” Xue Shi called out to him, “I heard that guy sold his house this morning and was originally going to leave Chang’an. I guess he was already on guard, and the Prince of Qin’s mansion may even have sent people to protect him secretly.”

It is said that Pei Xuanyan enjoys fasting and often eats only Solomon's seal rice instead of grains.

I have some Gelsemium elegans poison here, which can be mixed into Polygonatum sibiricum. Your Highness, send someone to bestow it upon him as a congratulatory gift for his promotion. Send several other gifts as well, with the Polygonatum sibiricum hidden among them…”

Gelsemium,

This is both a medicinal herb and a poison, and is known as the "heartbreak herb".

When processed and used externally, it can reduce swelling, draw out toxins, dispel wind, relieve pain, kill insects, and relieve itching. However, it is highly toxic when taken internally, especially the dried powder of its roots and stems, which can be fatal with just a small amount.

Polygonatum is also a medicinal herb. After being steamed and dried nine times, it can be made into Polygonatum Rice, which can replace grains and be used for fasting.

Many nobles and scholars loved health preservation and had a fondness for fasting by eating Solomon's Seal rice.

Putting the poison of Gelsemium elegans into the rice of Polygonatum sibiricum is a more discreet way to kill someone than sending an assassin directly.

"I've heard that if you're poisoned by Gelsemium elegans, your intestines will rot and you'll suffer excruciating pain? That's good. That damned bastard deserves to die a horrible death." Yuanji agreed.

If it weren't for the fact that today's family banquet wasn't suitable for serving Solomon's Seal Rice, he would have prepared a portion for the King of Qin so that he could also taste the poison of this poison that could break the heart.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."

Li Yuanji went to greet them, and Crown Prince Li Jiancheng arrived with his wives and concubines, including Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin and Consort Yang Sheniang, along with their children.

"Your Majesty." Yuanji stepped forward, but Li Jiancheng kept a stern face, and even his children dared not approach.

"Has Erlang arrived yet?"

"We're not there yet."

Princess Yang, the wife of Prince Qi, stepped forward to greet the Crown Princess and others. The sisters-in-law had a good relationship, and Princess Yang and Prince Qi were from the same Hongnong Yang clan.

However, Yang Sheniang, the Crown Prince's consort, came from a humble background. Her family and ancestors were not prominent, and she was born out of wedlock. Therefore, when Li Jiancheng was made Crown Prince, she only received the fifth-rank title of Crown Prince's consort and did not receive the title of Liangdi or Liangyuan. Even though she gave birth to a son and a daughter for the Crown Prince, her title did not change.

Their social standing was simply too low. All four members of Li Yuan's family, including his father and sons, married women from the Yang clan of Hongnong. Li Yuan and Li Shimin even married several women from the Yang clan.
But Yang Sheniang was the one with the lowest social standing.

Princess Qi, holding Yang Sheniang's hand, asked, "His Highness the Crown Prince seems rather unhappy?"

"Yes, it's been like this for the past few days."

Li Yuanji pulled Li Jiancheng into the palace and went straight to the study. "Brother, you seem downcast. Are you still worried that the Prince of Qin is threatening your position as heir?"

Jiancheng remained silent, only sighing.

“The Prince of Qin’s return to the capital has indeed increased his prestige considerably. When he entered the city, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians from Chang’an came to greet him.” Yuanji chuckled twice. “However, once he steps into the gates of this Prince’s mansion today, he will never be able to leave again.” He lowered his voice slightly. “I have already ordered the guard Yuwen Bao to bring in assassins to ambush him in the mansion. He will die today.”

The completion was surprising.

Although his first reaction was excitement, he quickly became worried.

"Don't do anything reckless. Today is a family banquet, and His Majesty will be attending. There will be imperial guards accompanying him. How can you possibly succeed in assassinating the Prince of Qin here?"
The incident happened in your residence; how can you escape responsibility?

If they investigate later, it will implicate me.

Li Jiancheng waved his hand, "Besides, the King of Qin is ultimately our brother, born of the same mother."

Li Yuanji was so angry he laughed when he heard this.

"Brother, he's about to take your throne, and you're still hesitating?"

If he were to seize the throne, what do you think your fate would be? Historically, has any deposed crown prince ever had a good ending?
"It's a life-or-death situation now, so strike first, who cares about anything else?"

"no,"

Li Jiancheng frowned. "If the Prince of Qin were assassinated here today, neither of us would escape responsibility." He calmed himself down. "I just went to the palace to see my father, the Emperor. He told me that he intends to enfeoff the Prince of Qin in a remote area."
They might establish a vassal state in the southern part of Sichuan and Chongqing, or on the shores of Dianchi Lake. Or they might be enfeoffed in Jiaozhi, or establish a kingdom in Rinan.

They are all four or five thousand miles away from Beijing, so I think this arrangement is good.

Whether he goes to Dianchi Lake in southern China or to Rinan in Vietnam, Erlang will never return.

Li Yuanji sneered twice, "Brother, you think too simply. Even if Father really enfeoffs the Prince of Qin to some Nanzhong or Rinan, even if it's four or five thousand miles away from Chang'an..."

But don't forget, he might not agree.

Even if he really went to the south to establish a fiefdom, do you think you can rest easy?

The King of Qin was far more skilled at training and fighting soldiers than we were. Perhaps he wouldn't have acted recklessly if Father Emperor were still alive.

But if you inherit the throne, do you think the King of Qin will rebel? Will you be able to suppress it?

Why leave that major threat alive?
Now that we've gotten rid of him, wouldn't everything be settled?

Li Jiancheng's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.
After a long while, he shook his head.

"Today is a family dinner, you are not allowed to do anything reckless."

(End of this chapter)