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

Chapter 747 This time, let's kill enough!
A luxurious carriage bearing the Furong Garden logo stopped in front of the side gate of the Prince Dai's Mansion.

The carriage curtain was lifted.

Like a lotus flower descending from within, followed by a maid carrying a cat.

Li arrived at the door.

The gatekeeper was quite familiar with his master's mistress, after all, she came from five different families, married into five different families, became a widow at a young age, then amassed great wealth, and finally became the lover of the Prince of Dai.

He also frequently visited the Prince of Dai's residence and got along very well with the Princess of Dai and others.
You couldn't find another woman like her in all of Chang'an.

"Is Li Lang at home?" Ru Lianhua asked.

“Ah Lang is at home.” The gatekeeper replied to the beautiful widow, and then she saw Ru Lianhua nod, and a maid came up behind her and gave him a silver coin as a reward.

Li then entered the Prince Dai's mansion with two maids and went straight to Li Yi's study.

A doorman came running ahead to report.

Li Yi was surprised.
We just went to the amusement park together, it hasn't been that long since we parted.

"Go and get some snacks."

When Liu Qingqing, disguised as a lotus-like maid holding a cat, entered, Li Yi recognized her at a glance.

This newly popular courtesan from Pingkangfang is petite, delicate, and possesses a charming, ethereal quality reminiscent of the Jiangnan region, making her easily recognizable.

"sit,"

Li Yi asked, "But Li Yili and his group have caused trouble again?"

Liu Qingqing was amazed by Li Yi's foresight and admired him immensely, nodding nervously.

"Sit down and talk. Would you like some snacks first?"

Li Rulian sat down by herself, picked up a piece of plum blossom pastry and started eating, then called to Liu Qingqing, "You sit down too, don't be so reserved."

Liu Qingqing bowed before sitting down.

"Lord Situ, the matter is like this..."

Liu Qingqing began to speak slowly, a little nervous at first, but gradually she got into the flow. Her voice was very pleasant, soft and gentle, like she was singing.

He speaks very logically and coherently.
The matter has been explained very clearly.

Li Yi never expected that these纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) would be so audacious as to raise an army to rebel and storm the palace to restore the retired emperor to the throne.

It can't be said that they were drunk and talking nonsense.

These people were all officials, although most of them were appointed through their fathers' influence, and several of them were imperial guards.

Or a city gate guard, or a junior officer in the imperial household,

Or perhaps it was a guard of the Imperial Guard or a Left Imperial Guard.

Not to mention their fathers and brothers, who were all generals with military power, such as Liu Deyu, who was the Left Martial Guard General, a third-rank official.

Changsun Anye was the Right General of the Imperial Palace, a third-rank official responsible for the security of the palace gates.

If we include the two great generals, Liu Hongji and Changsun Shunde, it would be even more astonishing.

Wang Junkuo's son also got involved; his father was now the governor of Qingzhou, and his father-in-law was Li Yuan, the Prince of Lujiang.

Li Yi poured himself a cup of tea.

As he sipped slowly, his mind raced. This was no ordinary rambling from a few spoiled young masters; it was a real rebellion.

Moreover, they do have a chance of succeeding.

"Do you remember all the people in total?" he asked.

Liu Qingqing immediately produced a ledger, "Lord Situ, this is the list of names from their gathering at Zhangtai Courtyard."
In addition, this ledger records what they each said at the time; it's a pretty good summary.

Li Yi took it.
Upon closer inspection, some parts were quite impressive.

Her handwriting is beautiful, and what's even more remarkable is its meticulousness.

The identity of everyone at the gathering and the order in which they spoke were all recorded.

She not only has beautiful handwriting, but also an excellent memory.

This is firsthand testimony.

Li Yi carefully put away the two booklets and praised them, saying, "Your calligraphy is quite good, it has some of the style of Lady Wei."

Liu Qingqing hurriedly said, "I've been copying Madam Wei's calligraphy since I was a child."

"Well, don't go back to Zhangtai Courtyard in Pingkangfang for now. Stay here temporarily. If you feel uncomfortable, you can go to Qujiang Furong Garden with Lianniang."

As Lianhua put down the pastry in her hand, she said, "This servant also wants to stay in the Prince's mansion."

"Alright, this is your home too. You can stay as long as you want. I need to go to the palace first. I'll have someone inform Shi Niang so she can come and entertain you."

Li Yi stood up.
This is a matter of great importance and cannot be delayed.

Fortunately, Liu Qingqing was alert.

He hurriedly left home and rushed to the East Palace.

"Aren't you resting at home today?" The Emperor was looking at the progress report on the renovation of Da'an Palace. The progress was quite fast. At this rate, the retired Emperor could move in before the end of the year.

This means that Li Shimin can now officially take control of the Taiji Palace.

"Your Majesty, I have important matters to report!"

Seeing Li Yi's serious expression, Li Shimin couldn't help but put away his smile. "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, please look at this first."

Li Yi handed over the booklet handwritten by Liu Qingqing.

Li Shimin took it, glanced at it, and said, "The cursive script is slightly slender, the handwriting is exquisite, beautiful calligraphy, like a flower-arranging dancer, graceful and charming, or like a beautiful woman on stage, a fairy playing with shadows. This calligraphy is truly as beautiful as a celestial being."
The owner of these words must have been a beautiful woman.

Li Yi had to admire Li Shimin. Despite being a master archer, he was also a calligrapher and a great admirer of Wang Xizhi.

A passionate collector of the Sage of Calligraphy's original works.

Li Yi didn't have time to discuss calligraphy with the emperor anymore; he would have to wait and see what happened next.

Sure enough, after Li Shimin continued reading, he lost interest in discussing the calligraphy or guessing what kind of beauty the calligraphy belonged to.

"That's unreasonable!"

"Wu Yi, is this true?"

"Your Majesty, how could I dare to make false accusations in such a matter? It involves many princes, nobles and high-ranking officials."

Li Shimin was so angry his eyes almost popped out. These people were plotting a rebellion!

They want to restore the retired emperor to the throne.
This touched a nerve that Li Shimin could not tolerate the most!

"Wu Yi, none of these people can be let go. Immediately mobilize troops and capture them all."

On his way here, Li Yi had given it a lot of thought.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger and plan carefully before taking action."

Taking down these people is easy; since their plot has been exposed, there is absolutely no chance of success.

Taking them down would be a piece of cake.

The most important thing now is to determine the grounds for arresting them and how to convict and punish them.

Li Shimin frowned.
These people want to restore the retired emperor to the throne, which is obviously a rebellion.

However, he immediately understood what Li Yi meant.

These people must not be arrested under this pretext.

We must not involve the retired emperor.

Regardless of whether the retired emperor was involved in these matters or not, he must not be implicated in them in the slightest.

It is even more unacceptable to say that the retired emperor wanted to restore the monarchy.

Li Shimin paced around the hall with his hands behind his back.
The frown became tighter and tighter.

He takes a few steps and then says a name.

"Liu Deyu, after coming under my command in Luoyang, successively served as the Qin Prince's Palace's Garrison Cavalry, Protector of the Army, Left Inner Commander of the Crown Prince, and Right General of the Martial Guard. I regard him as a confidant."

I never imagined he would rebel against me!

“Li Xiaochang, I have been more than kind and lenient to him last time, and now you are talking about divine mandates with him.”

As Li Shimin spoke, he gritted his teeth.

"Changsun Anye, the Empress's half-brother, and he and his brothers drove the Empress and her two sons, Wuji, out of their home back then."

Later, Guanyinbi did not hold a grudge. Guanyinbi never sought official positions or jobs for her family members, yet she alone pleaded for Changsun Anye, that drunkard.

"I have treated him well, successively appointing him as Right Gatekeeper and Right Gate General, granting him a third-rank official position. Isn't that enough?"

"Liu Hongji and Changsun Shunde are both senior ministers of the retired emperor, but I also regard them as my confidants. Changsun Shunde is also the empress's cousin!"

Li Shimin thought of each name one by one.

They cursed them one by one.

"That Liu, Liu something again?"

“General Liu Wenzan is Liu Deyu’s nephew,” Li Yi said.

"This person deserves to die the most, for he dared to speak so presumptuously about divination."

After a long time,
Li Shimin stopped and sat down again.

"You're right, this matter needs to be handled with caution."

"His Majesty must not be implicated in the slightest."

He looked at Li Yi and said, "I want to kill Li Xiaochang."

Li Yi remained expressionless. "If Li Xiaochang is determined to be the mastermind of the rebellion, he should be executed. However, I suggest that we grant him a pardon to offset his death, strip him of his official rank, demote him to a commoner, and exile him to Lingnan."

Li Xiaochang was a meritorious official of Taiyuan Yuan, and he had been granted an iron certificate of immunity from death by Li Yuan, which allowed him to be spared from death.

This case,

There is actually no evidence yet to suggest that Li Xiaochang was the mastermind; it was his son Li Yili who dragged him into this mess.

However, in the rebellion plan of Li Yili and his group,

They want to put Li Xiaochang at the forefront.
Li Shimin could not involve the retired emperor in this matter, nor could he mention any restoration, so he had to bring up Li Xiaochang.

We cannot say that the retired emperor wanted to restore the throne, nor can we say that Li Yili and others wanted to support the retired emperor's restoration.
It can only be said that Li Xiaochang wanted to rebel and become emperor.

Regardless of whether Li Xiaochang was involved or not, he has now been pushed out to be the scapegoat.

His removal from office wasn't entirely unjustified; his performance during his tenure in Lizhou was poor, marked by numerous illegal activities. Furthermore, his two sons, Li Yizong and Li Yili, had both caused trouble in succession.
It wouldn't be unjust to kill him.

Li Yi didn't intend to protect Li Xiaochang either.

Those guys are like landmines; they could explode at any moment, and they might even blow up Li Yi.

This year,
Treason can have serious consequences.

Li Yi was adopted by Li Xiaochang's younger brother, so their relationship was very close.

Now they've deliberately detonated this bomb.

Li Yi was spared from being affected.

He wouldn't feel any psychological burden, as he wasn't familiar with Li Xiaochang, let alone close to him.

He and Li Xiaochang's family were completely different types of people; they couldn't possibly get along.

Li Yi had previously given the Prince of Yi'an's mansion many benefits, including a considerable amount from selling land.

Now, to plead for his pardon and exile is already the most benevolent thing we can do.

"Wu Yi, you'll handle this case."

Li Yi shook his head. "Your Majesty, I request to recuse myself from this case. I suggest that it be handled by the Duke of Qi."

“An Ye is Wu Ji’s half-brother, so I’m afraid he also has his concerns,” Li Shimin said.

"Then let the three judicial departments conduct a joint trial."

The case can be handed over to the three judicial departments for joint trial, but the tone of the matter needs to be set first.

The underlying plot was that Prince Yi'an, Li Xiaochang, Right General of the Imperial Guard, Liu Deyu, Right General of the Imperial Gate, Changsun Anye, along with Commander Yuan Hongshan, Gatekeeper Wei Yuanzheng, and General Liu Wenzan, conspired to launch a rebellion using the imperial guards, based on imperial decrees. The plot was exposed.
According to the law, treason is the most heinous of the ten heinous crimes.

"Killing one idiot, Li Yizong, has resulted in so many more appearing."

The emperor clenched his fist. "Since killing one isn't enough, then this time we'll kill enough!"

Anyone who dares to even entertain the thought of restoring the retired emperor to the throne must die, without mercy.

(End of this chapter)