Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 181 Li Er! Forget about it! That cripple is already dead! ! [Seeking monthly votes]

"Hey, have you heard? His Majesty is going to change his title to prince?"

"Who told you that? Stop talking nonsense, or His Majesty will punish you!"

"I'm not kidding, it's true. I see both the King of Han and the King of Wei are in court!"

"Huh? Really?"

"Really, really, I saw it too!"

"Hush! Are you guys going to die? Go get to work."

The palace is deep, but it is not a place where things can be hidden.

Any disturbance in the palace could not be hidden from these palace servants who were as humble as grains of sand.

What they knew was unknown even to the concubines in the palace.

For example, Concubine Yin and Concubine Yang were admiring the flowers behind the rockery.

Concubine Yin used a considerate smile to hide her complex and jealous heart. Shortly after the group of palace maids left, she timely broke off a pink peach blossom and inserted it into Concubine Yang's temple, saying with a smile: "With this flower, my sister looks even more beautiful like a fairy."

"Compared to the Queen, I am far inferior!"

Concubine Yang smiled and casually picked a peach blossom, handing it to Concubine Yin, saying, "Sister, you should give the most beautiful flower to the Queen!"

"Haha, sister, what you said is absolutely right!"

Yin Fei smiled awkwardly and nodded.

At this moment, Li You and Li Yuanchang came running out from some haystack, sweating profusely, and called out to her, "Mother, I'm going boating with my uncle. Please ask Ziwei to make me a bowl of Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup. I'll have it when I get back. I want it chilled!"

"I want to drink too!" Li Yuanchang poked Li You's arm.

Li You reacted for a moment, then added with a smile: "Make two bowls, Uncle Wang said he wants some too!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang blushed and ran away with Li You.

Seeing this, Concubine Yin and Concubine Yang smiled at each other.

Ever since Li Yuan and Li Chengqian left Da'an Palace, the situation of Li Yuan's concubines and sons has become very embarrassing.

Not to mention tightening one's belt, but all expenses are restricted.

Especially since the recent disaster was so severe, Li Shimin was trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure in the palace, and their lives began to become difficult.

Concubine Yin, who was watching Li You and Li Yuanchang leave, couldn't help but sigh and said, "If this continues, we will have to raise silkworms and become like Fusang trees!"

"Hehe." Little Yang Fei smiled and shook her head, saying, "Raising silkworms in Fusang is also something to do. It's better than doing nothing."

"From what you said, if His Majesty appoints you as a Silkworm-raising Consort, would you be happy with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with being a silkworm-raising concubine."

"Why, don't you think about your son?"

Concubine Yin couldn't help asking, then looked around and found that no one was passing by. She lowered her voice and said, "Haven't you heard that His Majesty is going to change the title of Prince of Wei to Prince of Han?"

"I've heard of it, but so what? What king? The emperor still has the final say. Whether he's the emperor or not, it doesn't matter."

"Uh,"

Yin Fei's mouth twitched, and she didn't know what to say, so she exchanged a few words of greeting and left.

After watching her leave, little Yang Fei revealed a meaningful smile.

She despised Yin Fei's shallowness from the bottom of her heart. How could she understand the principle of "If you want to take it, you must secure it"?
To be honest, it wasn't easy for her to get to where she is today.

During this time in the palace, she did not dare to compete for favor with other concubines, nor did she dare to speak too much in front of Empress Changsun.

The reason is that her identity is rather special.

But as a mother, how could she not think about her son?

But she was not facing the other concubines of Emperor Li II, but Empress Zhangsun.

As long as Empress Changsun was still alive, she would have no way out.

Therefore, she could only refrain from fighting or competing, serve Li Shimin well, and wait for the opportunity.

If one day she could replace Empress Changsun, her son would be more than just Prince Cao. "How many years can she wear peach blossoms?"

Little Yang Fei casually picked the peach blossom from her temple, played with it, and thought.

the other side.

Concubine Yin, who had just left, saw her younger brother Yin Hongzhi as soon as she returned to the bedroom.

He changed his usual casual manner and showed an unprecedented solemnity on his face. He knelt down and saluted Yin Fei and said, "Your humble servant pays respect to Yin Fei!"

"We're brothers, why be so polite? Besides, why did you think of coming to me?"

Concubine Yin smiled and looked at her younger brother, then raised her hand to signal her maid Ziwei to find him a seat.

However, when Yin Hongzhi stood up, Concubine Yin sensed an unprecedented anger in his brows.

Her heart suddenly rose to her chest, and she asked, "What happened to make you so angry?"

Yin Hongzhi glanced at Ziwei, who immediately tactfully left the room.

When only the brother and sister were left in the room, Yin Hongzhi said angrily, "The Li family killed our entire family, and now they're even treating You'er harshly. I don't know what they'll do to us in the future!"

"Ah! How dare you say such outrageous words!"

Concubine Yin was startled and leaned forward unconsciously. She covered Yin Hongzhi's mouth with her palm and scolded him, "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Yin Hongzhi shook his head, muttered a few words, then brushed away Concubine Yin's hand and said solemnly, "Sister, did you know that His Majesty has also made Princess Chao's son a king? That's Li Yuanji's Princess Qi!"

"What!?"

Concubine Yin was stunned. She had never expected that Li Shimin was so fond of little Concubine Yang.

Thinking of Concubine Yang's indifferent attitude just now, she suddenly became a little angry and asked in a deep voice, "You didn't go to court, how did you know about this?"

"Ah!"

Yin Hongzhi sneered and said, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself!"

After saying this, he looked at Concubine Yin meaningfully and added, "Sister, if you still remember our father's kindness, you must fight for our You'er. Otherwise, if our father knew about this, he would not be at peace!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Yin was speechless.

At the same time, in Tai Chi Hall.

When the ministers heard that Li Shimin was going to adopt his son to Li Yuanji and grant him Li Yuanji's fiefdom, they were all stunned.

They never expected that Li Shimin would do this.

But Li Chengqian acted very calm.

Because Li Shimin in history did indeed do so.

He also almost made Concubine Yang, the mother of Prince Cao Li Ming, the queen.

So why did he do that?

The reason is very simple, which is to consolidate the rule of the Li Tang royal family.

Although he drastically reduced the number of kings at the beginning of his reign, the ones he reduced were all from the lineage of Li Yuan or from people with different surnames.

And none of his own sons were left out, all of them were made princes.

So why did he adopt his son to Li Yuanji?
The main reason is the current political landscape.

Although Li Shimin conferred titles of kingship on his sons, most of the fiefs given to these kings were in the hands of aristocratic families.

In other words, his son's title of king was not worthy of the title.

You must know that if the royal family members who are granted titles cannot obtain income from their fiefdoms, they must be subsidized by funds allocated from the royal family’s treasury.

These kings are still young and do not need too much subsidies, but they will grow up one day.

Once they marry and have children, this subsidy will increase exponentially.

The results can be referred to the results of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the best way is naturally to obtain income from the fiefdom.

But as I said just now, the fiefdom is in the hands of the aristocratic families. If you want to forcibly plunder other people's property, you must be prepared to go to war with the aristocratic families.

But given the current political structure of the Tang Dynasty, is this possible?

Obviously not.

As mentioned earlier, the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were different from the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There was no highly centralized monarchy, and the social form was one in which the emperors ruled the world together with the aristocratic families.

Therefore, if Li Shimin wanted to seize the property of the aristocratic families without bloodshed, he could only do so from a moral perspective. Because Li Yuanji's fiefdom should have been inherited by Li Yuanji's son, and the Guanlong Yang family had been attached to Li Yuanji, they would naturally not oppose Li Yuanji's son.

As long as we gain this moral advantage, it will be natural to take back the fiefdom.

Secondly, in Li Chengqian's view, Li Shimin did this to take revenge on his third brother Li Yuanji.

Because before he was killed, Li Yuanji was plotting against Li Shimin everywhere. If Li Shimin did not take the initiative to get rid of Li Yuanji, Li Shimin would most likely be plotted against and killed by Li Yuanji.

Therefore, it is normal for Li Shimin to retaliate against Li Yuanji.

After all, Li Shimin was not a virtuous and wise man, and his desire for revenge has always been strong.

He killed someone else, took his wife, and then had a son with his wife. He then adopted the son to the man, and even gave it a nice name so as not to cut off the man's family line.

How can such a method be described clearly with words like vicious and cruel?

It was also a pity for Li Yuanji that he didn't crawl out of the ground and fight Li Shimin again!
This is crazy!

What a good brother!

However, there was one thing Li Chengqian did not understand, that is, why Li Shimin also summoned Li Tai and Li Ke.

Could it be that Li Shimin also wanted to adopt Li Tai and Li Ke to his elder brother Li Jiancheng?
This is unlikely, there is no such thing in history, right?
Just when Li Chengqian was puzzled, Pei Ji suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Prince Hailing is a traitor. How can you adopt your son to him?!"

"Your Majesty, I also think this is inappropriate! The Hailing King's fiefdom was entrusted to the Yang family by the Emperor Emeritus. There is no such thing as an unjust name or unjust words!"

"Your Majesty, I second your opinion!"

As Pei Ji finished speaking, several veteran officials of Wude echoed him.

Li Shimin frowned slightly and was about to speak.

At this moment, Xiao Yu, the Left Servant, stepped forward, holding a hu tablet and asking, "Your Majesty, are you planning to implement the feudal system?"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

When the ministers heard Xiao Yu's words, they all woke up in shock and looked at Li Shimin in surprise.

Especially the Guanlong nobles such as Zhangsun Wuji, they were all stunned and at a loss.

Li Shimin saw this, but ignored them, and said without comment: "Since Zuo Pushe mentioned the feudal system, I would like to ask you, why is there a superiority and a inferiority between Zhou and Qin?"

"This"

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "King Zhou of Shang lost his way, while King Wu rose to power by winning the hearts of the people. The Zhou dynasty coexisted peacefully with the six kingdoms, but Qin Shi Huang provoked rebellion. Although he gained power, he lost the hearts of the people. Although both seized power through violence, the fate of their respective kingdoms was determined by the support of the people."

"Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly threw his head back and laughed. Then, with a playful look on his face, he continued, "My dear Xiao, you only know one side of the story. The Zhou dynasty ruled with virtue and implemented benevolent policies throughout the country. The Qin dynasty, on the contrary, gained the world through force, but could not rule it with force. Conquering the world requires force, but ruling the world requires following the will of the people."

After these words were spoken, all the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Li Chengqian looked deeply at His Majesty Li II and fell into deep thought.

It is obvious that Emperor Li II's thoughts are obvious. He yearns for the 800-year national destiny of the Zhou Dynasty.

However, he did not say it explicitly, but continued to test the ministers' thoughts.

But then he smiled and said, "My ministers, I would like to ask for a strategy for long-term peace and stability. Do you have any suggestions?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other, but no one stood up to make a response.

Until Li Shimin set his eyes on Xiao Yu again: "My dear Xiao, I ask you, if three generations can maintain long-term peace and stability, why can't it be the same after three generations?"

Xiao Yu thought for a moment and said, "The reason why the Three Dynasties were able to maintain long-term peace and stability was because of the feudal system. After the Three Dynasties, the Qin Dynasty implemented the county system, which is why it quickly fell!"

When these words were spoken, all the ministers felt a pang of fear in their hearts.

But it was exactly what Li Shimin wanted.

The Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties all lasted for more than 400 years. From the abolition of feudal fiefdoms in the Qin Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, except for the Northern Wei Dynasty, all regimes were short-lived.

What does this prove? It proves that enfeoffment is the right way!
However, not everyone supported the enfeoffment, such as the Minister of Personnel Gao Shilian.

He held up his sceptre and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the fate of a nation is determined by its own will and is closely tied to the wisdom of the emperor and the competence of the officials. It is not the implementation of any system that will guarantee the longevity of a nation."

"Moreover, hereditary fiefdoms will hinder the path of virtuous people and are not conducive to the long-term stability of the country!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is difficult to guarantee that future generations will be equally virtuous by dividing fiefs. If there are unfilial descendants, it will harm the people and also bring the court into a dilemma of whether to revoke the fief or retain it." Yang Shidao, the Minister of Rites, echoed.

"Then according to Lord Yang's opinion, how can we ensure long-term stability in the country?" Li Shimin asked in return.

Yang Shidao pondered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, we can learn from Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, and only give titles and taxes, but not real power."

"Um"

Li Shimin nodded, neither denying nor agreeing. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Wei Zheng and said with a smile, "Wei Zheng, aren't you usually the most talkative? Why are you silent today?"

"Your Majesty thinks I talk too much, that's because Your Majesty makes too many mistakes. If Your Majesty didn't make any mistakes, I would have nothing to say!"

Wei Zheng retorted expressionlessly.

Li Shimin's mouth twitched, his face full of embarrassment, and he said unhappily: "Then tell me how to ensure long-term peace and stability in the country!"

"I was already thinking about this question before Your Majesty asked me, but my thoughts may be different from those of other ministers!"

"How is it different?"

"Your Majesty, I believe that if the feudal system is implemented, it will inevitably lead to a reduction in the court's tax revenue. In this case, it will be difficult for the court to maintain its operations relying solely on the tax revenue from Guanzhong!"

At this point, Wei Zheng couldn't help but glance at Li Chengqian and continued, "For example, the great victory in Shuofang, and the current battle against the Turks, without the support of local tax revenue, how could the court face such a powerful enemy?"

Hearing this, the ministers looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

In fact, they were very aware of the drawbacks of the feudal system. For example, the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han and the Rebellion of the Eight Kings during the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin were all lessons from the past.

For example, the second emperors of Qin and Sui did not fall because they abolished the feudal system and established counties.

However, in order to ensure the longevity of the country, Li Shimin did not dare to speak out.

Until Xu Jingzong stood out from the ranks of court officials and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be better to divide the princes' sons into separate prefectures and counties to check and control each other. They must obey the central government's decrees and are not allowed to impose punishments on their own."

"Ah!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin finally smiled: "Xu Qing's words make sense. Since I adopted my son to Yuanji and made him the Prince of Cao, I cannot treat my own son badly!"

After saying this, he turned his head to look at Li Chengqian, then looked at Wushe, and waved his hand, saying, "Announce the decree!"

Good guy!
So His Majesty was waiting for us to set a trap?
When the ministers heard the decree, they reacted instantly.

Wushe turned around, picked up the imperial edict, and read aloud: "The Emperor of the Great Tang has decreed: Prince Li Tai of Wei, Prince Li Ke of Han, receive the edict—!"

"Your servants, Li Tai and Li Ke, accept the order!"

Li Tai and Li Ke walked out respectfully from behind Li Chengqian. When they passed Li Chengqian, Li Tai smiled faintly without making any expression.

Li Chengqian's face darkened.

Before, he didn’t understand why the fat boy would provoke him in front of Empress Changsun, but now he finally understood.

It turned out that the little fat man had known Li Shimin's intention for a long time, so he was so arrogant.

"Oh, is history going to repeat itself?"

Li Chengqian came to his senses and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

Then Wushe read out loudly: "The Emperor of the Great Tang has decreed that Prince Wei Li Tai be renamed Prince of Yue, and be given the titles of Grand Commander of Yangzhou and Commander-in-Chief of Yuezhou. He is in charge of sixteen prefectures, namely Chang, Hai, Run, Chu, Shu, Lu, Hao, Shou, She, Su, Hang, Xuan, Dongmu, and Nanhe, and also of six prefectures, namely Yue, Wu, Quan, Jian, Tai, and Kuo.

The title of King of Han, Li Ke, was changed to King of Shu, and he was also given the title of Grand Commander of Yizhou, commanding the six prefectures of Yi, Mian, Jian, Ya, Mei, and Qiong!

sensation!

The whole audience was shocked!

The ministers never imagined that Li Shimin would dote on his son so much that he granted 22 states to Li Tai at once, and even Li Ke got six states.

On the other hand, Crown Prince Li Chengqian only had one state.

Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the Crown Prince will feel unbalanced by doing this?
Thinking of this, all the ministers couldn't help but look at Li Chengqian, only to see that Li Chengqian had a calm expression, as if he didn't care at all.

Even Li Shimin was a little surprised.

He is so old and has been specially appointed as the King of Yue and the King of Shu, so why is he not angry at all?
Could it be that he thought that he could only place his hopes on him, the crown prince?
This is simply unreasonable!
The killer move I had prepared with great difficulty was just stuck on cotton?!

The more Li Shimin thought about it, the angrier he became, so much so that before Li Tai and Li Ke could happily receive the order, he announced the adjournment of the court on his own initiative.

Li Chengqian, who watched him leave, curled his lips in disdain and muttered, "You think you can sever family ties, but I can't? Do you think I'll be hurt if you use this kind of favoritism to hit me?"

"Forget it! That cripple is already dead!!"

　[Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket, the 10,000-word update is coming! ]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)