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

Chapter 583 Tyrant, Li Chengqian, You Are the Tyrant (First Update)
In the Zhenguan Hall, Li Hongtai knelt on the ground. For a moment he didn't know how to refute Li Chengqian.

The entire military power of the Tang Dynasty was almost entirely in the hands of the emperor.

Even if there really are powerful ministers, they can never reach the point where they have absolute power over the government and the country.

"Let's put aside the Shangshu Province and talk about the Zhongshu Province. The Zhongshu Ling, Tang Jian, the Duke of Ju, has his son Tang Shanshi married my sister, Princess Yuzhang, and his son-in-law is the teacher of my son, Li Jue, the Prince of Yong."

Li Chengqian patted Li Hongtai on the shoulder and continued, "Secretary General Ma Zhou was the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary when I was in the Eastern Palace, and Secretary General Gao Jifu is the nephew of my uncle Gao Shilian."

In the entire Secretariat, although Ma Zhou was Li Chengqian's only confidant, all the others were also on his side.

"As for the Ministry of Internal Affairs," Li Chengqian chuckled softly, "Minister Yu Zhining was the Crown Prince's Secretary when I was in the Eastern Palace. Huangmen Shilang Lai Ji is the younger brother of my Crown Prince's Chief of Staff Lai Heng. As for Huangmen Shilang Xu Jingzong, he's over there."

The entire Menxia Province was composed entirely of Li Chengqian’s confidants.

"As for the six ministries, Zhang Xingcheng, the Minister of Personnel, was nearly transferred to the position of Prince Secretary during the reign of the late Emperor. Yan Lide, the Minister of Revenue, married my younger sister, Princess Jinyang. Li Xizhi, the Minister of Rites, is from the Longxi Li family. Liu Dewei, the Minister of Justice, is married to the Princess of Pingshou."

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Hongtai, shook his head, and said, "The Minister of War just said that the Minister of Works, Chang Sunxiang, is my cousin. When I was in the Eastern Palace, he was the Prince's Household Manager. He knows more of my secrets than my uncle. Oh, and my uncle too... So, who do you think is the most powerful person in the entire court, among the three provinces and six ministries?"

Li Hongtai raised his head with trembling body and glanced at Li Chengqian with fear in his eyes.

Li Chengqian nodded directly: "Yes, I."

Li Chengqian looked up and walked to the door of the hall.

All the civil and military officials on both sides of the hall heard Li Chengqian's words clearly, and they all bowed solemnly with awe in their eyes.

Li Chengqian paused at the threshold, raised his gaze, and looked across Luoyang City. He spoke calmly, "The important civil and military officials in the court are all my relatives and elders. They all revolve around me, including my uncle. I am the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the Son of Heaven. Under Heaven, I am the most respected. Who dares to disobey my orders?"

All the ministers bowed and said, "Your Majesty is a saint with great virtue and great fortune, and your benevolence is comparable to that of Yao and Shun. Long live your Majesty!"

"Stand up." Li Chengqian waved his hand, turned around and walked back to the hall, saying, "Come in."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed again, then re-entered the hall and stood in their respective positions.

Yang Sina stood in his position, breathing lightly but heavily and intermittently. He vaguely realized that his face was a little pale.

The emperor's words just now have completely conquered the hearts of everyone present.

They didn't say what their relationship with the emperor was like, but they had just heard clearly what the relationship between others and the emperor was like.

In an instant, Yang Sina felt that everyone around him was staring at him except himself.

It's like I feel completely isolated.

He was sure others felt the same way.

If this sentence just now gets spread, it will be difficult for anyone to have any bad thoughts towards the emperor.

For a moment, Yang Sina couldn't help but feel a little confused in his heart.

Soon, his eyes fell on Li Hongtai.

What's up with this guy?

……

Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, looking at Li Hongtai, who was kneeling on the ground with a bewildered look on his face. He shook his head gently and said, "Let's talk about you. Is Li Hongtai really your name? You deliberately added the word 'Hong' in the middle of Li Tai's name. You are trying to stir up trouble for me, but at the same time you don't want me to catch your real name. You are truly vicious!"

Li Hongtai suddenly came to his senses, lowered his head, and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand what you are talking about."

The ministers in the hall looked at Li Hongtai with amusement in their eyes.

Li Tai, are you using the name of King Wei to provoke the emperor?
"That's fine. Let's take a look at your pass." Li Chengqian picked up Li Hongtai's pass from the table and sighed softly, "I have to admit, your pass is quite authentic, but unfortunately there is a problem."

Li Hongtai couldn't help but look up.

Li Chengqian smiled and looked at Li Hongtai, saying, "Everything about this travel permit is very convincing. There's no problem with your age, and your identity is quite good. You're a scholar, and from Zhengzhou, close to Luoyang and Chang'an. You're well-informed about world affairs. But the problem is you. Although you act like a scholar, the calluses on your hands betray you."

Li Hongtai subconsciously looked at his hands, and there were unusually clear calluses between his hands.

"I just patted your shoulder. Your body is very strong. This is not what a scholar should have. This is more of a warrior, a soldier, an assassin, or even a death warrior." As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, a dozen guards in the hall suddenly stepped forward with knives.

The civil and military officials in the hall were separated in an instant.

Only Li Hongtai was still kneeling on the ground.

He looked up at Li Chengqian in disbelief, forced a smile, and said, "I am just a commoner from a family of farmers and scholars."

"The hand that holds a hoe is different from the hand that holds a sword." Li Chengqian looked at Li Hongtai and asked softly, "Tell me, I'll give you a chance. Who sent you here?"

"No one asked me to come." Li Hongtai suddenly bowed heavily to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, for such a powerful and influential relative of the emperor, are you really not worried at all about his rebellion?"

This sentence kept echoing throughout the Zhenguan Hall.

All the ministers in the hall changed their expressions instantly.

At this time, Li Chengqian smiled.

He looked at Li Hongtai, shook his head and said, "You let it slip. You're worried about treason. So, you still don't have any evidence of my uncle's treason. In other words, you're completely making a false accusation this time. Therefore, according to Tang law, you'll be charged with false accusation and sentenced to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice!"

"Your Majesty!" Yang Sina stood up with a solemn bow.

Li Chengqian didn't look at him and asked directly, "Tell him what the punishment is for falsely accusing him of treason."

Yang Sina bowed and said, "According to Tang law, treason is the most serious of the ten evils. The perpetrator shall be executed, and father and son shall be hanged together. Relatives and followers shall be exiled. Therefore, anyone who falsely accuses someone of treason or high treason shall be executed, and their accomplices shall be hanged."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Hongtai and said calmly, "You just said that if it was a false accusation, you would be willing to be cut into pieces. I think someone like you doesn't deserve that. Come here."

Two heavily armored guards stepped forward and saluted, "Your Majesty!"

"Take him out, drag him outside the Duanmen Gate." Li Chengqian looked out of the hall and said calmly, "Give him three hundred strokes of the cane, not one less, not one less, until the full three hundred."

Li Hongtai suddenly looked up and looked at Li Chengqian in astonishment.

Three hundred sticks?
One hundred blows would be enough to kill him.

Three hundred sticks, are they going to smash his bones?
Two guards stepped forward, and their cold armor clamped Li Hongtai on both sides, making him unable to move at all, and then they picked him up and dragged him out.

"Tyrant, you tyrant." Li Hongtai finally came to his senses. He was extremely terrified, but he stared at Li Chengqian angrily and cursed: "Li Chengqian, you are a tyrant. The Tang Dynasty will definitely perish in your hands, it will definitely..."

Looking at Li Hongtai who was being dragged away but still roaring, Li Chengqian's expression was terrifyingly calm.

He glanced at the ministers in the hall. Many of them had expressions of wanting to advise, but at this moment, they didn't know what to say.

Li Hongtai falsely accused Zhangsun Wuji of treason, but what he did was not just a false accusation, what he really wanted was to destroy his heart.

Now, he was in turn killed by the emperor.

If you now advise the emperor to forgive Li Hongtai, even if it means just beheading, you will probably end up being associated with Li Hongtai.

Seeing that he still didn't say anything, Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "My lords, I have been on the throne for two years. Although there have been occasional minor troubles, I feel that the world is still stable, the people are relatively loyal, and the ministers in the court are all loyal and dedicated. Now it seems that I was wrong!"

The ministers could not help but feel a chill in their bodies, and then they all bowed and said, "We are incompetent, Your Majesty, please punish us."

Li Chengqian looked up and said coldly, "This Li Hongtai must have someone behind him. That pass is too genuine to be forged by just anyone."

The faces of the ministers darkened. Behind Li Hongtai was not just an individual, but an entire force.

"Duke Shuofang!" Li Chengqian named him directly.

"Your Majesty!" Xue Gu Wu Ren, the Right Thousand Oxen Guard, stepped forward and bowed.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay in Luoyang for a while longer. Find out who's behind Li Hongtai." Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes.

"Yes!" Xue Gu Wu Ren bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian once again looked at the ministers in the hall and said in a cold voice, "The world is in turmoil, so you ministers must work even harder. From today onwards, the Shangshu, Zhongshu, Menxia, ​​Libu, Hubu, Xingbu, Bingbu, Gongbu, and Libu must carefully examine and strictly inspect the official documents submitted by all prefectures and counties. Strengthen supervision and do not be deceived by local prefectures and counties. You must be more diligent and responsible."

"We obey your orders and will live up to your Majesty's expectations." All the ministers bowed their hands in agreement, their expressions serious.

Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "Dismiss the court."

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

……

The night was deep. Yang Sina walked into the inner hall tiredly and asked impatiently, "Where are the people? Why is it so deserted?"

Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded.

Yang Sina woke up instantly and looked towards the inner hall, where he saw a thin, indifferent man in his fifties wearing a black unbleached hat calmly walking out of the inner room.

Yang Sina suddenly jumped up, then quickly bowed and said, "Big brother, I'm honored to meet you."

Jinzhou Governor Yang Siyi walked over to the short couch and sat down.

Yang Sina finally came back to his senses and said, "Brother, why did you come to Luoyang...was it you who did what happened today?"

Looking at Yang Sina who was whispering in shock, Yang Siyi raised his head and said calmly, "The emperor exposed our family's secrets in Luoyang, so naturally I have to respond."

Yang Sina looked at his brother Yang Siyi in horror, then he sat down with a wry smile and said, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, brother. His Majesty is far more powerful than you and I imagined."

Everything that happened in the court today had a huge impact on Yang Sina. He even felt that he was invincible to the emperor.

"I know." Yang Siyi nodded calmly and said, "He saw through the plan to use Li Hongtai to sow discord between the Emperor and Zhangsun Wuji. But, Sanlang, if you look at it from another angle, you won't be so pessimistic."

"Ah?" Yang Sina looked at Yang Siyi blankly.

"The fact that the Emperor reacted so quickly shows that, deep down, he'd been wary of Changsun Wuji for a long time." Yang Siyi raised his head and whispered, "But rather than being wary of him, the Emperor was more focused on protecting him. He was protecting Changsun Wuji, so it's clear he'd been aware of the threat he posed."

"But, brother!" Yang Sina came back to his senses and looked at Yang Siyi and said, "Brother, this is exactly why our plan is difficult to carry out."

Yang Siyi looked at Yang Sina and said lightly: "Sanlang, you are always too impatient."

"Please give me some advice, brother." Yang Sina bowed seriously.

"We are a noble family, so we naturally have to take a long-term view. If we can't succeed this time, we'll try again next time. With our foundation, we can withstand a failure." Yang Siyi tapped the table lightly and said, "But even if we fail, we must gain something. At least, we have seen what kind of person the emperor is."

"Your Majesty seems to have inherited the abilities of the late emperor. He has extraordinary means and is cautious. The people are loyal to him and it is probably difficult to shake him." After Yang Sina finished speaking, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Indeed." Yang Siyi nodded. He turned sideways to look at Yang Sina and said softly, "But people like this always have great ambitions."

"Great ambition?" Yang Sina chewed on these words gently.

"Personally conquer Goguryeo." Yang Siyi sneered and said, "A man like him, do you think he can resist the urge to personally conquer Goguryeo and destroy it, surpassing the late emperor?"

Destroying Goguryeo was something that even Yang Guang and Emperor Taizong Li Shimin were unable to do.

As long as Li Chengqian can achieve this, he can shout to the outside world that he has surpassed the previous emperor.

"But they all underestimated Goguryeo." Yang Siyi sighed and said, "If Goguryeo was so easy to destroy, Quan Gaisuwen would have been defeated long ago."

"so……"

"We just need to wait and see the emperor's defeat in Liaodong." Yang Siyi sneered softly and said, "He's not the type to retreat easily. Zhangsun Wuji is a wise man, and he will definitely persuade us to the death. If the emperor has the humility of the previous emperor and accepts advice, then we don't have to worry about anything. But he is too young."

"Brother, you mean that the emperor would want to kill Zhangsun Wuji at that time." Yang Sina said softly.

"Isn't this what we wanted from the beginning?" Yang Siyi calmed down and said calmly, "Once Zhangsun Wuji dies, the emperor himself will be severely damaged. Our chance will come... Of course, you must remember that we should never rush to the front. You did a good job communicating with the King of Jing on this matter."

"Yeah!" Yang Sina nodded seriously.

"And Fang Yiai." Yang Siyi sneered and said, "This time it was his cousin who died. Fang Yizhi will definitely not do anything, but Fang Yiai can use this to stir up his dissatisfaction. And Princess Gaoyang, how can I get someone to approach Princess Gaoyang? I don't need to tell you."

"Yes!"

"They rushed in front, King Wu followed behind, and we are behind King Wu." Yang Siyi stood up, patted Yang Sina on the shoulder, and said softly: "Sanlang, you must remember that we are a noble family. Even if we fail again this time, it doesn't matter. As long as we don't get into trouble, we will always have another chance."

"Yes!" Yang Sina wrote it down sincerely.

"We've cleaned up all the slack from this incident." Yang Siyi raised his head, looked out at Luoyang City, and said calmly, "From now on, we'll only be stationing personnel in Luoyang and won't do anything private. As long as we don't do anything private, we won't be targeted by the emperor. In the future, if he goes to Liaodong, we can easily turn the tables."

"Yes!" Yang Sina lowered his head heavily. Yang Siyi's words solved most of his doubts.

With a sigh, Yang Sina looked up and said, "Brother, it was you who came to Luoyang and solved Sanlang's doubts. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Sanlang to solve the current situation."

"What's so difficult about this?" Yang Siyi couldn't help laughing.

Yang Sina sighed and said, "Because I didn't know it was my brother who did it, Sanlang's biggest suspicion along the way was that this was actually done by the emperor himself."

"What are you talking about?" Yang Siyi was stunned, then said with a smile: "Are you saying that the emperor arranged for someone to impeach Zhangsun Wuji in Luoyang? How is that possible..."

Yang Siyi's laughter gradually subsided.

Until it disappears.

……

On the fourth day of October, the sky was clear and the air was bright.

Li Chengqian, dressed in black clothes and black armor, stood on his horse and calmly rode along Dingdingmen Avenue towards the outside of Luoyang City.

On both sides of the long street, countless Luoyang citizens knelt down in dense crowds.

"His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

"Long live your majesty!"

Countless voices gathered together and echoed throughout the entire Luoyang city.

Li Chengqian stood up on his horse, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart.

He actually didn't do much in Luoyang.

He exempted the people from rent and taxes for the next year, and then sent people to monitor the situation everywhere.

Of course, when he was in Luoyang, the administration in Luoyang was clean and honest.

Even Lu Wencao had to borrow grain from grain merchants to replenish the treasury because of his arrival.

Therefore, in the past month, the people of Luoyang have lived a good life.

Especially yesterday, the imperial edict was issued that half of the grain confiscated from grain merchants in the winter will be used to provide relief to disaster victims.

This means that even if the people of Luoyang have a hard time this winter, they can still survive.

Being able to survive is the greatest blessing.

Now that the emperor is leaving Luoyang and returning to Chang'an, we are naturally grateful for his farewell and hope that he can come again next year.

Li Chengqian understood the logic behind this, and he also felt the hearts of the people who were most easily satisfied.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked towards Dingding Gate in front of him.

Gently urge the horse.

Luoyang, he will come again next year.

……

The north wind howls.

After passing Hangu Pass, you enter Guanzhong.

Countless guards escorted the emperor back to Chang'an.

A fast horse came from the front, passed the heavy guards, and finally boarded the emperor's carriage.

Li Chengqian sat on the couch, put down the memorial, looked at the dusty Changsun Wuji, and asked curiously, "Why is my uncle here?"

"Such a big thing happened in Luoyang, how could I not come?" Changsun Wuji bowed with a bit of bitterness and said, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live forever."

"Uncle, please don't be polite." Li Chengqian pointed to the side and said, "Uncle, please take a seat. Tea is served."

Just as Changsun Wuji knelt down, a pretty woman in green came forward from the side, poured a cup of hot tea in front of Changsun Wuji, and then left.

Changsun Wuji looked at the woman in surprise, feeling that her face looked somewhat familiar.

(End of this chapter)