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

Chapter 269 I'm done, you really deserve to die! [Seeking monthly votes]

Li Shimin, who was originally embarrassed and at a loss because of Li Chengqian's slap in the face, now felt as if he was reborn when he heard Li Chengqian's decision.

Because he didn't expect Li Chengqian to dig a hole for himself. Isn't this just asking him to slap him in the face?
You know, even Emperor Wen of Han, whom he admired, never made such a bold decision.

So, after a brief period of emotional recovery and careful consideration, he raised his hand to signal the ministers who were frantically admonishing him, and said calmly, "Does the Crown Prince really want to release those 390 death row prisoners and send them home?"

"Yes, Father. As I just said, from the beginning of the second year of Zhenguan until now, there have been 390 death row prisoners. This is truly too many."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian turned to look at Dai Zhou and said, "Minister of the Dali Temple, I want to ask you, during the Wude era, how many prisoners were executed in a single year at most?"

"This"

Dai Zhou hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Li Shimin and said thoughtfully, "I'll need to check the files to find out the exact number, but from what I remember, there shouldn't have been more than two hundred people in any given year."

Wow!
As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Even Li Shimin did not expect that his father had been emperor for nine years and there were not even two hundred death row prisoners a year.

You know, he once ridiculed his father as a tyrant in front of all the ministers!

He had been on the throne for less than four years, and almost four hundred prisoners were put to death every year.

How could this make the emperor, who killed his brothers and forced his father to abdicate, feel?

He was determined to surpass his father and create a wise ruler who would be remembered throughout history during the prosperous Zhenguan era!
It has to be said that Li Chengqian's question directly broke down Li Er's defenses, and even Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and others who assisted him in governing the country felt a burning pain on their cheeks.

Damn!

This slap in the face is too harsh!
Why are they fighting one after another?!

However, Li Chengqian ignored their current emotions and asked Dai Zhou, "Then, according to the Dali Temple Minister, if I release these death row prisoners home, how many of them will return to be punished?"

"this."

Dai Zhou hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then said with an embarrassed look on his face, "To be honest, Your Highness, these death row prisoners have committed heinous crimes. If we release them home, let alone how many of them will return to be punished, we'd be lucky if it didn't affect local security."

"What's more, releasing these death row prisoners must be based on the law. Now that there is no emperor to grant amnesty, it would be inappropriate to rashly release these death row prisoners."

"Oh, who says we have to grant amnesty to release these death row prisoners? To show the emperor's benevolence, can't we just release these death row prisoners?"

"But."

"Why, you don't agree with my decision?"

Before Dai Zhou could finish his words, Li Chengqian interrupted him.

When Dai Zhou heard this, he remained silent.

The meaning is very clear, I am indeed not optimistic.

At this time, Li Chengqian set his eyes on Li Shimin again and asked with a smile, "Father, do you think that your son's decision is satisfactory?"

"Watch it yourself!"

Li Shimin said vaguely.

In fact, when Li Chengqian said "in order to show the emperor's benevolence", he was moved.

After all, the emperor image he has always wanted to establish is that of a good emperor who is diligent in his work and loves his people.

How can the image of a good emperor lack a heart of benevolence?

However, if this thing succeeds, it would be fine. If it fails, it would be a very embarrassing thing.

Naturally, he didn't want to take such a risk, so he let Li Chengqian make his own decision.

And the moment after Li Chengqian got Li Shimin's approval, the minister who had previously made crazy suggestions stood up again.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider! The Crown Prince's move may seem reasonable, but it is actually riddled with loopholes. If those prisoners cannot be returned, our dynasty's prestige will be greatly diminished, which will be detrimental to our country!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Please do not let the Crown Prince do what he wants. Those condemned prisoners will not come back!"

"His Majesty."

"Alright! Since I dare to make such a decision, I can guarantee that they will come back!"

Before Li Shimin could speak, Li Chengqian angrily interrupted the ministers who were giving him advice.

But the ministers did not stop giving advice because of his interruption.

For example, Imperial Censor Zhang Xuansu stood up in indignation and said, "Prince, what guarantees can you offer? This is the imperial court, not the Crown Prince's one-man show. We are officials of the Tang Dynasty, not the Crown Prince's servants. If the Crown Prince insists on having his own way, he will be condemned by both humans and gods!"

boom!
As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was shocked.

All the ministers present couldn't help but change their expressions.

Unless a person has committed an unforgivable crime, it is impossible for him to be worthy of the warning of "forsaken by both men and gods".

Not to mention Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, even an ordinary person would probably draw his sword if he heard himself being scolded like this.

On the other hand, Li Shimin, who had originally planned to let his son take the blame while he himself took advantage of the situation, was obviously surprised when he heard the words "abandoned by both humans and gods".

Because in his impression, Zhang Xuansu has always been a loyal and outspoken minister.

Although he is less resourceful than Wei Zheng, his character is still fine.

Even before Li Chengqian took charge of the Eastern Palace, his name was on the list of officials of the Eastern Palace that he asked Fang Xuanling to compile.

Moreover, the official position he was given was not low, he was the Left Secretary of the Eastern Palace.

Unfortunately, Li Chengqian did not want others to interfere in the selection of officials for the Eastern Palace, so the final result of this matter was that it was left unresolved.

However, what Li Shimin did not expect was that Zhang Xuansu dared to speak to Li Chengqian like this.

At this moment, Li Shimin began to wonder if there was something wrong with his judgment of people, or if he had been too lenient with his ministers, to the point that they dared to insult his son in front of him.

In fact, Li Shimin simply did not see the outrageous actions of the Confucian scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties after they gained absolute dominance.

For example, the dirty deeds of the Kong family, such as writing a letter of surrender and kneeling to welcome the royal army, have been talked about by later generations.

In addition, there are too many people who voluntarily surrender to foreign races because their heads itch or the water is too cold.

Compared with those Confucian masters, even the ministers who usually sit idly by and talk about their character, and are willing to die for their king in times of crisis, appear particularly precious and are highly praised by later generations.

Looking back, it is not difficult to understand the actions of people like Zhang Xuansu.

Sometimes, for their own benefit, they would deliberately provoke the monarch to punish them, thereby gaining a reputation for being loyal, outspoken, and fearless of life and death.

Don't underestimate this kind of reputation. Sometimes, a little praise from others can make it last forever.

But
Will Li Chengqian let him get his wish?
Obviously not!

He has always been the kind of person who kills people and destroys their hearts!
If you dare to jump out and seek death, I will definitely kill you.

And it will also make you notorious.

He took a deep breath, then looked at Zhang Xuansu coldly and said, "The Imperial Censor said that I will be abandoned by both humans and gods if I insist on going my own way. Very good. But let's not talk about whether I will be abandoned by both humans and gods, let's talk about you first!"

"Actually, I've been paying attention to you since the Double Ninth Festival. I even thought you could be the second Wei Zheng of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, I had the Imperial Guard investigate your background and only then did I discover that you have this hidden side to you."

Zhang Xuansu was stunned for a moment, then said with a stern face: "I don't understand what Your Highness is saying!"

"Don't you understand?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows. "I heard you've been collecting calligraphy by Wang Xizhi, is that correct?"

Zhang Xuansu couldn't help but tremble all over when he heard this.

This scene happened to be seen by Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others, and their eyes narrowed slightly.

Perhaps Zhang Xuansu was not as loyal and upright as he appeared to be. In fact, he might be a hypocrite who was seeking fame and reputation and had poor personal ethics.

But then Li Chengqian continued, "Originally, I was planning to hand this matter over to the Dali Temple for trial. Since you mentioned the words 'forsaken by both humans and gods,' I'm going to explain to you today what 'forsaken by both humans and gods' means!"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the ministers, then looked at Li Shimin with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid you don't know yet, because you love Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, your ministers have put a lot of effort into it!"

"In order to get Wang Xizhi's calligraphy for you, this Imperial Censor actually allowed his nephew to exterminate an entire family of kind-hearted people who treasured Wang Xizhi's calligraphy!"

"It's shocking, shocking!"

"What!?"

When Li Shimin and his ministers heard this, their eyes widened and their faces were filled with shock.

Especially Li Shimin, his whole body tensed up.

Because he did receive the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi presented by Zhang Xuansu.

For this reason, he was so happy that he even planned to arrange Zhang Xuansu to serve as the left scholar in the Eastern Palace.

But he never imagined that the Wang Xizhi calligraphy scroll that he treasured so highly actually came from this place?!
But Zhang Xuansu quickly cried out, "It's unfair! Your Highness, you are wronging me." "Really? Do you really think I have wronged you?"

Before Zhang Xuansu could finish his defense, Li Chengqian interrupted him with a sneer and said again, "I have evidence!"

"Do you think I'm capable of impeaching someone with nothing but my mouth, like you do, without any evidence? If you feel I'm wrongly accusing you, I can immediately have the Imperial Guards bring your nephew here to verify this matter."

"He confessed your ugly face in detail!"

"If I were you, I would have hanged myself from the beam long ago. How dare you still cry out in injustice here!"

"Are you worthy of the spirits of your ancestors in heaven?"

Having said this, he paused, as if remembering something, and then said, "Oh, right, you just said that I was 'forsaken by both humans and gods', so I'm giving it back to you now!"

"You really deserve to die!"

Boom!

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Xuansu was struck by lightning and his face turned pale in an instant.

At this moment, Li Chengqian's aura was fully unleashed and his majesty was fully displayed.

It made everyone present feel as if they saw a young, scaly dragon roaring and snarling at them.

And just as all the ministers were stunned, Zhang Xuansu was so angry that his whole body was shaking. An unspeakable breath was stuck in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He raised his hand and pointed at Li Chengqian, wanting to speak, but the intense humiliation, anger, and fear made him more and more agitated, and his breathing became more and more difficult. Finally, he could not catch his breath and fell to the ground with a thud.

Bang!
A dull sound, not too loud, suddenly rang out.

Zhang Xuansu was angered to death.

And at the moment when Zhang Xuansu fell to the ground, everyone present was stunned.

They never imagined that Li Chengqian could kill people just by talking.

And the Jinyiwei under Li Chengqian were so powerful that they could even find out such secret matters.

Because they didn't believe that Zhang Xuansu would openly send his nephew to do such a thing as annihilating an entire family.

They must have used some special means to conceal it from the local authorities.

However, no matter how perfectly Zhang Xuansu did it, the Jinyiwei still found out the truth.

This is a bit scary.

As if he could read everyone's thoughts, Li Chengqian calmly addressed the Jinwu Guards outside the palace and ordered, "Come here, send the convicted official Zhang Xuansu to the Dali Temple. Regardless of whether he's dead or alive, close this case. Then, publish the news in the newspapers and hold a memorial service for the deceased family!"

"promise!"

The Jinwu Guards outside the hall immediately responded and carried Zhang Xuansu's body away.

The people who watched Zhang Xuansu leave couldn't help but look at each other.

At this time, the foreign envoys, who had no idea what was happening in the palace, began to eyelid twitching wildly when they saw Quan Wanji and Zhang Xuansu being pulled out one after another by the Jinwu Guards.

In particular, the Tubo Prime Minister Lu Dongzan was stunned when he saw Zhang Xuansu's body.

Because some time ago, Zhang Xuansu secretly sold him a high-quality imitation of Wang Xizhi's "Kuaixue Shiqing Tie", asking him to use this fake calligraphy to deceive Li Chengqian.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xuansu died just like that.

What exactly happened in that hall?

Could it be that Li Shimin knew that he had used a fake letter to trick Li Cheng?
Thinking of this, Lu Dongzan couldn't help but start to worry.

What if Li Shimin used this incident against him, then his plan to use Tubo Xiaolun's death to attack the Tang Dynasty would be ruined?

impossible!
Zhang Xuansu would never betray himself!

If he dares to betray himself, His Royal Highness the King of Han will never let him go!

Lu Dongzan seemed to have found a trace of comfort in his heart. He quickly calmed down and then jokingly said nonchalantly: "This court meeting of the Tang Dynasty is interesting. Nothing has been done yet, and they kill their own people first. Is this the tradition of the Tang Dynasty court meeting?"

"Stop talking, or you'll die!"

As soon as Lu Dongzan finished speaking, Li Siyuan, who was standing in front of him, hurriedly scolded him in a low voice.

However, Lu Dongzan didn't take him seriously at all. He ignored him and turned to Murong Shun behind him and said, "Prince, do you have the confidence to return to Tuyuhun?"

"Ok?"

Murong Shun, who had been silent, was slightly stunned, then frowned and asked, "What does Dalun mean by this?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you, Prince, if you could return to Tuyuhun, would you still be as ambitious as when you first came to the Tang Dynasty?"

"Humph! You don't have to meddle in my business!"

Murong Shun snorted coldly in annoyance.

He doesn't like Tibetans.

Because Tubo often fought with Tuyuhun, the two sides could be said to be enemies.

But Lu Dongzan was not dissatisfied with Murong Shun's attitude. He smiled meaningfully and said, "If the eagle still wants to spread its wings and fly high, I, Tubo, am willing to be the strong wind that helps the eagle spread its wings and fly high."

"you!"

Murong Shun's pupils suddenly shrank, and he couldn't help but look at Lu Dongzan in surprise.

He is a smart man, how could he not hear the hidden meaning in Lu Dongzan's words.

However, he couldn't understand why Lu Dongzan wanted to help him.

However, just as he was about to question Lu Dongzan, there was another commotion in the hall.

After watching Zhang Xuansu being carried out of the hall by the Jinwu Guards, Li Chengqian slowly sat down on his throne and said calmly, "Since you ministers don't believe I will release those 390 death row prisoners and that they will return to serve their sentences next year, I'll make a bet with you."

"If all three hundred and ninety condemned prisoners return, I will petition my father, the Emperor, to pardon their death sentences. If even one of those three hundred and ninety remains, I will confine myself for three years, refraining from court affairs and concentrating solely on my studies!"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

Especially Li Shimin, when he heard that Li Chengqian was going to "confine himself for three years", his heart almost burst with joy.

Although he wanted to gain the reputation of a "benevolent monarch" very much, if he could make Li Chengqian "confine himself for three years", he suddenly felt that the reputation of a "benevolent monarch" was not so attractive.

Because of Li Chengqian's rise this year, he was almost breathless.

Compared to the illusory reputation of a "benevolent monarch", it seems more practical to let Li Chengqian stop competing with him for power.

"cough"

As if he had figured out the key, Li Shimin coughed lightly without making any expression.

Fang Xuanling, who had long since formed a tacit understanding with him, immediately understood and stepped forward with a smile, saying, "It is a good thing that Your Highness has confidence. If this matter can truly succeed, it will surely become a great story in our Tang Dynasty!"

"Yes, Your Highness, if Your Majesty agrees to release those death row prisoners, firstly, it can demonstrate Your Majesty's benevolence. Secondly, if those death row prisoners come back, it can also demonstrate that the people of our Tang Dynasty value their promises and despise life and death. It is really the best of both worlds!" Minister of Rites Yang Shidao agreed with a smile.

The other ministers also stood up and echoed: "Indeed, it really is the best of both worlds!"

"Hearing you say it so well, I won't bet with you, then?"

"cough!"

Li Shimin coughed again, then said calmly and skillfully, "As the saying goes, there is no order without rules. The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne of a country. How can you go back on your word?"

"Uh,"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, you really know how to pick up on others' words!

However, the matter was settled, and Li Chengqian was confident that he would succeed, so he did not argue with Li Er and the other ministers. He continued, "My ministers, do you have any further memorials to submit?"

"Your Highness, I have a memorial to report!"

As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, Hou Junji, the Minister of Justice, stepped out from the queue, holding a sceptre and saying, "I received a secret report last night that the Eastern Palace Jinyiwei were involved in the Tubo Xiaolun murder case, as well as several other murders in Chang'an. It seems that they are all related to the Jinyiwei!"

"Therefore, I request that Your Majesty conduct a thorough investigation of the Eastern Palace's Embroidered Uniform Guards!"

Boom!

The whole audience was shocked!

Many ministers who were just worried about the Jinyiwei suddenly realized.

I thought to myself, no wonder the Jinyiwei could find out the truth even in such a secret case as Zhang Xuansu's. It turns out that the Jinyiwei's methods of investigating cases are not so glorious!
Thinking of this, all the ministers couldn't help but turn their eyes to Li Shimin.

They knew that now, it would be easy for the father and son to attack and defend!
But Li Shimin said calmly and majestically: "Prince, do you have anything to say?"

(End of this chapter)