Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 243: Mother, please watch over me from heaven and take care of my father (Part )

In the northeast corner of Ziwei Palace, there is a Shangqing Temple.

Normally, no one is here, but today, countless guards have surrounded the place densely.

Li Shimin, dressed in a black dragon robe, walked calmly into the temple and then went straight to the front of the main hall.

With a creaky sound, the door of the hall was pushed open.

A statue of Shangqing Taoist suddenly appeared in Li Shimin's eyes. Li Shimin lowered his head with an indifferent expression, and his eyes fell on Li Tai who was sitting on the cushion in the temple.

Li Tai sat on a mat, holding a white doll in his hands, shaking his head and muttering something.

Seeing his son, whom he had raised for many years, become like this, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart. Turning around, he had already drawn the long sword from the guard's waist and strode into the hall.

Walking to Li Tai's side, Li Shimin had already raised the long sword in his hand, and Li Tai's panicked eyes flashed in the bright light.

The white doll blocked his way, and Li Tai subconsciously shrank back, muttering, "Mother, mother, the emperor is here to kill us."

Li Shimin couldn't help but be stunned, then his expression changed slightly, and he slowly put down the long sword in his hand.

The imperial uncle Li Tai was referring to was naturally Li Jiancheng.

Li Tai was already quite old when the Xuanwu Gate Incident happened, and he remembered the tension of that night clearly.

At that time, Li Shimin had already rushed into the Xuanwu Gate, and only Empress Zhangsun, holding a long sword, protected the brothers.

Li Tai's words not only mentioned Empress Changsun, but also mentioned Xuanwu Gate.

At Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin not only killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, but also killed all their descendants.

Now that Li Tai is forcing the emperor to abdicate and plotting rebellion, isn't he imitating the actions of Xuanwu Gate?

Li Tai was asking in return, do you, Li Shimin, want to follow the example of Xuanwu Gate and kill all your sons and grandsons now?

Mother, please watch over us from heaven and take care of our father.

Although Li Tai did not say this, Li Shimin heard it clearly.

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and looked at Li Tai, then turned around and swung his long sword, and the long sword was thrown out of the hall.

A guard sergeant suddenly stretched out his hand, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and put it back into the scabbard.

Li Shimin never looked outside the hall, but just kept staring at Li Tai.

"Qingque, because of you, Hou Junji committed suicide, Du Chuke was beheaded by me, and just now Zhang Liang was also beheaded outside the palace gate." Li Shimin looked at Li Tai and shook his head with a grim expression. "You know, because of your willfulness, I lost a Minister of Personnel, a Minister of Works, and a Governor of Weizhou. The court is in turmoil. What do you think I should do with you?"

Li Tai lowered his head, holding the doll and chanting over and over again: "Doll, mother, doll, mother..."

"I originally wanted to remove you from all official positions, demote you to a commoner, and then exile you to Qianzhou, but the Crown Prince pleaded for mercy, saying that simply demoting you to the rank of a prince would be sufficient." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "I really don't understand why he would save you in this way."

Although Li Tai kept muttering to himself, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes when he lowered his head.

"But no matter what, I have to deal with you. Tell me, what should I do?" Li Shimin looked at Li Tai. He really wanted to chop him with a knife just now.

Forcing the emperor to abdicate, treason, witchcraft, and even more.

He had long known that Zhang Liang and Hou Junji had other intentions, but he kept using these two people.

Once they succeed in Chang'an, they will immediately advance to Luoyang and Hebei.

Even in the end, Li Tai would kill Zhang Liang and Hou Junji, frame everything on them, and then leave a good reputation for himself in history books.

Li Shimin couldn't even figure out who he learned it from.

The son whom he had taught well actually went to the point of rebellion step by step.

"Baby, mother, baby, mother..." Li Tai's voice once again reached Li Shimin's ears.

Li Shimin closed his eyes, then opened them again, looked at Li Tai, gritted his teeth and said, "Qingque, you'd better stay crazy forever."

After saying this, Li Shimin turned and left.

With a creaky sound, the hall door was closed and the entire hall was plunged into darkness.

Li Tai held the doll in his arms and continued to mutter, but in the darkness, his body completely collapsed.

He survived this calamity, but as for the future...

Who cares about the future?

……

Li Shimin stood outside the hall, watching the faint muttering in the hall that was so subtle that it was almost inaudible, his face looked terribly ugly.

At this moment, a eunuch in blue appeared outside the temple, said a few words to Zhang Ananda, then bowed and left.

Li Shimin strode forward, walked to the front of the temple, and asked calmly, "What's the matter?"

"The prince has just returned to the East Palace." After a brief pause, Zhang Ananda told Li Shimin in detail the two conversations between Li Chengqian and Li Tai, as well as the two conversations with Princess Jinyang, without missing a single word.

Li Shimin listened calmly. After a long while, he slowly raised his head and said, "Prince, when did you become so indecisive?"

Zhang Ananda stood aside, saying nothing.

Li Shimin recalled everything about the entire Chang'an incident. Suddenly, he laughed softly and said, "He is afraid. He is actually afraid. Hahahaha..."

Li Shimin couldn't help laughing. In his opinion, Li Chengqian was scared because of what happened in Chang'an.

Because in the whole incident of Li Tai, there was another person who knew that Li Tai was going to rebel and condoned his rebellion, and that was Li Shimin himself.

"It's a good thing for people to have a sense of awe." Li Shimin nodded and looked back at Shangqing Palace. He already had an idea about how to deal with Li Tai.

……

East Palace, Mingli Hall.

Respect virtue and understand etiquette.

The main hall of the Eastern Palace in Chang'an is Chongde Hall, and the main hall of the Eastern Palace in Luoyang is Mingli Hall.

Li Chengqian sat on the main couch in the main hall of Mingli Hall. Changsun Xiang, who was standing beside him, handed him the memorial and said, "Your Highness, your uncle has the list of candidates for the Princess of Jin here. However, even your uncle cannot tell you who will be chosen."

After all, Changsun Xiang is Changsun Wuji's nephew. Although he cannot get anything from Changsun Wuji's study, he knows clearly who has visited Changsun Wuji recently and who is from Hebei. Even many people in the Changsun family know this.

"That's all right!" Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "With these things, I can probably figure something out!"

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Cousin, don't do anything. I just want to see which daughter the emperor will choose as the princess for Zhinu... The emperor's goal is to use this marriage to stabilize the situation in Hebei. No one can disrupt it. Anyone who does will die!"

"Yes!" Chang Sun Xiang immediately bowed. He understood that the prince just wanted to make sure he knew everything.

Li Chengqian nodded, then opened the memorial and began to look at the names on it. More than 20 families, large and small, from Hebei Province, including the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zhang family of Qinghe, the Zhao family of Qinghe, the Feng family of Jizhou, the Wei family of Xiangzhou, the Liu family of Hejian, and the Gao family of Bohai, all had women of marriageable age as candidates for the Princess of Jin.

And that’s not all, even the name of the Qinghe Fang family is on it.

The Qinghe Fang family is naturally Fang Xuanling's family, but the person selected is certainly not Fang Xuanling's daughter, but the sister of Fang Renyu, the governor of Shanzhou.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but frown. Fang Renyu was nominally Fang Xuanling's uncle, although he was a dozen years younger than Fang Xuanling and his daughter was about the same age as Li Zhi. But to be honest, if he really got to the court, Fang Xuanling would definitely not look good.

His cousin married the Prince of Jin as his wife, and his son married the Prince of Jin's sister, Princess Gaoyang. How should this be interpreted?

Of course, the reason why the daughter of the Fang family was selected was actually based on Fang Renyu's maternal clan, because Fang Renyu's mother was from the Longxi Li family, and was a real royal family member, and was a sister of Emperor Gaozu.

Of course, from this point of view, the seniority is also incorrect.

However, if you marry into a family with a different surname, you don’t have to calculate your generations carefully.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and continued to look at the memorial. There were women from the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Yang family of Hongnong, the Pei family of Wenxi, the Xue family of Hedong, and the Wei family of Jingzhao.

After selecting many, Li Chengqian looked at the daughter of Qinghe Zhao.

Daughter of Zhao Shujian, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhao Shujian married the daughter of Yang Jian of the Hongnong Yang family. Yang Jian was the former Sima of Luozhou and had already retired.

Yang Jian was the son of Yang Da, the former Minister of Personnel of the Sui Dynasty and Marquis of Shi'an. Yang Da was the younger brother of Prince Guan Yang Xiong.

Yang Jian and Zhongshu Ling Yang Shidao were cousins.

The daughter of the Zhao family was actually the daughter of Yang Shidao's niece.

At the same time, Zhao Shujian, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, also had an extraordinary identity. His father was Zhao Fengbo, the former governor of Anzhou.

Zhao Fengbo served as the Minister of Personnel during the Sui Dynasty. His father was Zhao Yanshen, the Minister of the Chancellery, Special Advancement, Prime Minister, and Prince of Yiyang of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

When Zhao Yanshen was in the Northern Qi Dynasty, he was deeply trusted by several generations of emperors, including Gao Huan, Gao Cheng, Gao Yang, and Gao Yan. He also married into the Fu, Cui, and Yang families. From the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, his family was prosperous.

Zhao Shujian, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, was a very important figure in the entire Qinghe Zhao family and even in the entire Hebei Province.

Especially since he is Yang Da’s grandson-in-law.

Therefore, his daughter was made the Princess of Jin. On the one hand, it could help the emperor stabilize the people of Hebei, and at the same time win over the Yang family of Hongnong, actually using the Yang family of Hongnong to support Li Zhi.

This is the emperor's plan.

Yang Shidao is now the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and several women from the Yang family have married into the palace. The emperor alone has three Yang concubines.

Not only that, even Concubine Yan's mother was from the Hongnong Yang family.

There is also Wu Meiniang, whose mother was also from the Hongnong Yang family and was Yang Da's biological daughter.

Li Chengqian looked at the identity and origin of the Zhao girl in the memorial with some surprise.

Zhao Shujian was Yang Da's grandson-in-law, and Wu Meiniang was Yang Da's granddaughter-in-law.

Zhao Shujian's daughter was Yang Da's great-granddaughter, and Wu Meiniang's niece.

Wu Meiniang is only twenty years old now, and her niece is already fifteen years old.

By the way, Wu Meiniang’s mother got married too late, so Wu Meiniang was young and of a higher generation. In fact, Wu Meiniang was also Yang Shidao’s niece.

Li Chengqian looked at the complicated interpersonal relationships and smiled helplessly.

Suddenly, he paused.

If Wu Meiniang's niece really married Li Zhi as the Princess of Jin, what would she do in the future?
Are you competing with your niece for a husband?
Li Chengqian suddenly laughed.

This marriage must be made.

(End of this chapter)