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

Chapter 390 Killing the Emperor (Part )
The first day of the first lunar month in the twenty-second year of Zhenguan.

New Year's Day.

In the Taiji Hall, Li Chengqian was wearing a light yellow python robe, a nine-beam crown on his head, holding a jade tablet in his hand with a solemn expression, standing on the steps of the Danbi.

Above him was the emperor sitting on the imperial couch.

Below him were all the civil and military officials above the ninth rank in Chang'an, as well as foreign envoys, retired elders, and students from the Imperial Academy.

Li Ji, the Duke of Ying, Special Advancement and Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stood to the upper left of the ministers, holding the imperial edict and loudly proclaiming: "...any prince who covets the position of crown prince in the future shall be exiled 3,000 miles, even if pardoned. This is my decree."

All the ministers in the hall bowed and said, "Your Majesty, may you live forever."

The emperor nodded, looked at his ministers, and said, "Yesterday, I submitted an edict of repentance to Emperor Gaozu. Tomorrow, I will offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and at the same time, establish this as a permanent decree."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed their heads.

"Prince Jin plotted treason and was demoted to a commoner and exiled to Qianzhou." The emperor had just finished speaking when he saw Li Chengqian looking up with a strange look.

But the emperor didn't care, as these were all agreed upon beforehand.

He continued, "Because the Princess of Jin is due to give birth within a few days, the Prince of Jin will be imprisoned in Beiyuan first. Once his son is stable, he will be sent to Qianzhou by the Dali Temple."

The Dali Temple Minister Yin Jun stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I obey your command."

……

Li Chengqian glanced at Yin Jun lightly.

In his previous life, before he was exiled, someone read out the imperial edict of Qianzhou to him in the Zongzheng Temple.

Now, the exiled person became Li Zhi.

Some people say that the distance from Chang'an to Qianzhou is less than three thousand miles.

Do not have.

People think that the route from Chang'an to Qianzhou is actually to Guiyang.

But in fact, it flows for three thousand miles to Qiannan, a place with poor mountains and bad water.

Being tired can make people die.

Not to mention the miasma.

He has the most say in how to kill people.

"Crown Prince!" The emperor's voice came from above. Li Chengqian came back to his senses and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Father!"

Li Shimin nodded and asked, "How is the review of the prisoners going?"

"Most of the cases have been concluded. Fourteen have been sentenced to beheading, and over three hundred have been exiled." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Father, with the war in the Western Regions now underway, I believe beheading them would be a shame. It would be better to exile them all three thousand miles to the Western Regions army, where they will serve until their death."

"It's rare that the prince is so kind, so let's do this." Li Shimin nodded.

The Tang Dynasty's management of the Western Regions is a long-term undertaking, and how to fill the Western Regions requires serious consideration by every ruler.

As for whether these people will collude with the Western Turks when they arrive in the Western Regions?
You're overthinking it. These people have family members behind them. If they really want to collude with the Western Turks, they can just wait for their whole family to reunite in the Western Regions.

Of course, the most crucial thing is that the Tang Dynasty is now at its peak in the Western Regions. Not to mention the Western Turks, no country can rival the Tang Dynasty.

In Anxi, perhaps he could still survive with the help of his family.

Once they reach Western Turkestan, who knows, they might send their heads to Chang'an one day.

Not to mention the environment in the Western Regions. If you really leave the Tang Dynasty, you won’t even know how you died.

"We obey your order." The ministers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The King of Jin was plotting a rebellion, but in fact, they were not involved much.

Those who are really involved are from Taiyuan, Jingzhou, as well as the Guo, Xue, and Yang families.

……

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, looking at his ministers, and continued, "The Prince of Jin is plotting rebellion. As brothers, the princes have failed to persuade him effectively. Therefore, half of your salaries will be suspended for ten years, and half of the expenses of the Eastern Palace will be exempted for ten years. All this money will be used to provide relief to the innocent soldiers who died in the Mount Li incident."

Li Yin was standing among the kings. When he heard the emperor say this, he couldn't help but look up, his face full of astonishment.

What does this have to do with these kings?

The Crown Prince voluntarily requested to waive half of the fees in exchange for sparing the Prince of Jin's life. Do these people also want the same?
Li Yin couldn't help but look at Li Ke. This was not what Li Ke said the day before yesterday in Pingkangfang.

It was agreed that the prince and the emperor would fight, but in the end, they got the blame.

Li Ke didn't notice Li Yin's gaze and bowed to the emperor on the platform, saying, "Your Highness, I obey your command."

Lowering his head, a hint of sneer flashed in Li Ke's eyes.

The emperor continued, "This concludes the matter concerning the Prince of Jin. The Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the local government offices will handle the remaining matters. The first of these matters is next month's imperial examination."

The expressions of the ministers suddenly became solemn, as the imperial examination was a major event in the world.

"This year's imperial examinations will be handled by the Crown Prince in conjunction with the Ministry of Personnel, the Jinwu Guards, the Qianniu Guards, and the Yongzhou Prefecture." The Emperor looked at his ministers and said, "There is no need to inform me of this matter."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed again.

"There are also military matters." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said, "The military affairs of Gaochang will be handled entirely by the Eastern Palace." "Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed in surprise.

The ministers and kings in the hall all looked surprised.

How could the emperor give so much power to the prince?

If this is true, the emperor might as well abdicate and become the emperor emeritus, allowing the prince to take full power.

"After three months, I will go to Cuiwei Palace to fast and bathe, in preparation for the May offerings to Heaven and Earth in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Dynasty." After a brief pause, the emperor looked at Li Chengqian and said, "The Crown Prince will work with the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Household Department, and the Imperial Clan Affairs Department to prepare for this matter."

"We obey your order." Li Chengqian and all the officials bowed together.

"The May Day Ceremony." The emperor looked among his ministers and asked directly, "Is the Tibetan envoy here?"

"Your Majesty, I, the Tubo envoy, Tiboshiye, am here to pay my respects to you!" The Tubo envoy stood up and bowed.

"I, Lu Dongzan, and Gar Qinling have all agreed to have the Tibetan king arrive in Chang'an in May to attend the ceremony. Songtsen has also written back to assure him that he will come." The emperor looked at Tiboshiye and asked, "Will Songtsen arrive in May?"

"Your Majesty, the Zamp will definitely arrive in Chang'an in May." Tiboshiye bowed solemnly.

"Very good." The emperor nodded and continued, "After five months, I will go to Cuiwei Palace to recuperate. The Crown Prince will be the regent. Aside from the preparations for the war against Goguryeo, all other matters will be decided by the Crown Prince!"

This time, the ministers finally couldn't help but look up.

Last year, the crown prince was still the regent, and all major matters were sent to Cuiwei Palace after being decided in Chang'an. But this year, the emperor is only concerned with the eastern expedition to Goguryeo.

Wait, the emperor will also launch an eastern expedition to Goguryeo this year.

Was the emperor recuperating in Cuiwei Palace in preparation for the eastern expedition to Goguryeo?
Can the emperor hold on with his health?
"Alright." The emperor turned to look at Li Ji and nodded, "The court session will continue."

Li Ji immediately shouted, "Thousand Bulls Dance in Celebration!"

……

Thousands of bulls dance in celebration, and all states offer auspicious gifts.

All officials offered congratulations and all vassal states paid tribute.

After the grand court session, the emperor entertained all the officials and the crown prince toasted.

In the afternoon, Li Chengqian was a little drunk and returned to the East Palace with the help of the eunuchs.

He lay on the bed, feeling somewhat exhausted. Su Shu sat beside him, carefully wiping his face with a towel and complaining in a low voice, "Why do you drink so much every time?"

Li Chengqian closed his eyes, his mind still in a daze, but he still spoke: "Today all the officials are here, and the time is special. If we miss that one, we will feel uneasy."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about those things anymore. Just have a good rest." Su Shu sat beside Li Chengqian and whispered, "Your Highness, thank you for your hard work on that matter."

Li Chengqian grabbed Su Shu's hand and whispered, "They are all my sons. I am also thinking about these things.

In fact, these methods are only temporary solutions, not the root cause... I often think back to the past. If my mother was still alive, would Qingque, Zhinu, and I not have reached this point? "

"Your Highness means..."

"So, my beloved concubine, please take care of yourself. In the future, once I am gone... there will be many things I won't be able to take care of. I can only leave them to you, my beloved concubine." Li Chengqian opened his eyes, looked at Su Shu, and said, "As long as my beloved concubine is here, you and I won't have to worry about these things in the future."

Su Shu nodded slowly and said, "Your Highness is right. I will be more careful in the future."

A series of light footsteps were heard from outside the hall. Xu An walked into the hall carefully and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Highness, the Dali Temple official Dai Zhide requests an audience."

"Didn't we see each other just now?" Li Chengqian looked up in surprise.

"It seems like something happened two days ago, when the Tibetan embassy was burned down at night. What does that involve?"

"Tell him to come in."

……

The eighth day of the first lunar month, Prince Jin’s Mansion.

With a "wow" sound, the crisp crying sound echoed throughout the mansion.

In the shadows of the alley across from the Prince of Jin's mansion, Luo Binwang sat in his carriage. Listening to the crying baby inside, he turned and asked, "Has the Dali Temple started investigating the Tubo incident?"

The guard sitting outside the carriage whispered, "There are quite a few strangers in Pingkangfang these days."

Luo Binwang sneered softly, then asked, "What about the situation in Bashu?"

"The news about Gongsun Chang will reach Chang'an within seven or eight days." The guard bowed slightly.

"Very good." Luo Binwang raised his head, looked towards the direction of the palace, and said softly: "The emperor is now gradually letting go of political affairs. In my opinion, his purpose is to recuperate and strive to live for two more years. His extra life will determine how long Li Zhi can live, but unfortunately..."

The guard looked at Luo Binwang in surprise.

"Some things, once started, are hard to stop." Luo Binwang sighed and said, "Once the emperor's power is released, it cannot be taken back. When the news of 'Gongsun Chang's' incident spreads back to Chang'an, everything the Prince of Jin has done will make people think that the emperor is blind.

When his prestige plummets, do you think the emperor will seize power from the crown prince, or will he let go, abdicate as the emperor emeritus, and hand the throne to the crown prince?

The guard thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the Crown Prince forced the Emperor to abdicate and ascended the throne himself, just like Emperor Gaozu did?"

"That would be great." Luo Binwang's face turned cold, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Once he abdicates, the number of people around him will be reduced. Then, we will have a chance to kill him..."

(End of this chapter)