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

Jiucheng Palace, Ningyun Pavilion.

Li Tai was awakened when the firelight and noise came from the direction of Chengxiang Hall.

He put on his coat, got up, and walked quickly to the window. Looking at the firelight that illuminated the night sky, and listening to the distant shouts of battle and the thunderous sound of horses' hooves, he was first filled with doubt and uncertainty. Then, an indescribable joy and schadenfreude suddenly surged into his heart.

"It's chaos! It's definitely chaos!"

He lowered his voice and excitedly told his trusted guards who had rushed over upon hearing the news:

"That madman Li Chengqian must have resorted to desperate measures! Quickly, send someone to find out what happened!?"

Not long after, Su Xu rushed over to report: "Your Highness! It's the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince set fire to Chengxiang Palace, drawing away the guards, and broke out through the west gate!"

"Xi Junmai suddenly appeared with two thousand cavalry to meet the Crown Prince, scattered the pursuing Thousand Bull Guards, and headed southeast!"

"Xi Jun bought it?!"

The joy on Li Tai's face froze instantly, turning into astonishment, followed by deeper horror and a lingering fear:
"How could he be here?! Shouldn't he be in Chang'an?! Where did he get his soldiers?!"

Su Xu shook his head and said, "I don't know... but judging from the flags and attire, they are definitely elite cavalry from the Autumn Maneuvers Camp..."

Li Tai staggered back a step and slumped into a chair, his inner shirt instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Li Chengqian... he actually rebelled!
Moreover, he was not fleeing alone; he was prepared in advance and had elite troops to meet him!

The appearance of Xi Junmai means that Li Chengqian's influence in the military far exceeds his imagination!

"Your Highness, what are we doing now..." Su Xu asked cautiously.

Li Tai snapped back to his senses, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Quick! Immediately order all our men to be on high alert and defend Ningyun Pavilion!"

"Furthermore, immediately send someone to Chang'an to find out Father Emperor's reaction and attitude!"

He quickly calculated in his mind:
Li Chengqian's rebellion has completely thrown the situation into chaos. How furious will his father be? How will he respond? How can he profit from this situation?

Should we seize this opportunity to permanently condemn Li Chengqian to the pillory of treason, or... should we also be wary of the Emperor's wrath, or of Li Chengqian's troops launching a surprise attack?

The enormous changes brought not just simple joy, but deeper fear and uncertainty.

He felt as if he were sitting on the edge of a volcano about to erupt.

Two days later, in Chang'an, at Chengde Hall.

Li Shimin was awakened from his sleep by the sound of hurried footsteps and suppressed cries of alarm.

He sat up abruptly, his eyes regaining their clarity in an instant, carrying the sharpness of an emperor: "What's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Wu She almost collapsed before the dragon bed, her voice distorted by extreme fear:
"Your Majesty! The Crown Prince... His Highness the Crown Prince... He set fire to Chengxiang Palace, drew away the guards, and broke out of the palace!"

"Xi Junmai suddenly appeared outside Jiucheng Palace with two thousand cavalrymen to meet the Crown Prince, defeated General Zhang Shigui's pursuing troops, and headed... towards Jiangling!"

Dead silence.

A deathly silence fell over the Chengde Hall.

Only the occasional crackling of candlelight and the faint, lingering clamor in the distance could be heard.

The expression on Li Shimin's face changed from sharpness upon waking, to astonishment upon hearing the news, to disbelief, and finally to a bottomless gloom that seemed to swallow all light.

He didn't immediately fly into a rage, didn't smash anything, and didn't even make a sound.

He sat quietly on the dragon bed, dressed in a bright yellow nightgown, like a cold sculpture in the flickering candlelight.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper were being rubbed together:
"Xi Junmai...the soldiers of the Autumn Maneuvers Camp...how did he mobilize them? Where are the Ministry of War's orders? Where are the spies from the Sixteen Guards? Are they all blind?!"

Every question struck like an icicle into the hearts of the tongueless eunuchs and the kneeling palace maids.

"This old servant...this old servant was unaware...the news has just arrived..."

Its tongue trembled like a leaf falling in the autumn wind.

"Useless...a bunch of useless trash!"

Li Shimin finally roared out, the suppressed anger in his voice and the pain of being completely betrayed by his closest relatives causing the temperature in the entire palace to drop several degrees.

He abruptly threw back the brocade quilt, stepped barefoot off the dragon bed, and walked to the window, as if he could pierce through the night and see the back of his son who had resolutely left. "Jiangling... good... good Jiangling!"

Li Shimin muttered to himself, his fingers gripping the window frame tightly until his knuckles turned white: "My good son...my good crown prince! You really did...take this path!"

He recalled Li Chengqian playing "Ambush from Ten Sides" in the dungeon, his chilling words, "Experience how Father Emperor felt back then," and his calm declaration, "Control the armies of the realm"...

It turns out that none of this was just angry talk or a threat, but a premeditated declaration.

A violent emotion, a mixture of rage, frustration, heartache, and the brutal trampling of imperial authority, surged wildly within him.

"Somebody come!"

He turned abruptly, his eyes sharp as knives, regaining his imperial coldness and decisiveness: "Issue my decree!"

"First, immediately send messengers to all the prefectures and counties along the route, close the city gates tightly, and do everything in your power to intercept Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the rebel army led by Xi Junmai! Anyone who dares to let them go will have their entire family executed!"

"Secondly, issue an urgent edict throughout the land: Crown Prince Li Chengqian has been arrogant and rebellious, burned down the palace and fled, and colluded with border generals. His crimes deserve to be punished! Strip him of his title as Crown Prince and demote him to commoner status! The whole world shall condemn him!"

"Third, appoint Li Jing as the Grand Commander of the Army, with Li Ji and Li Xiaogong as his deputies, and mobilize troops from Guanzhong, Hedong, and Shannan to prepare immediately for a southward campaign to quell the rebellion!"

"Fourth, seal up the Crown Prince's residence in Chang'an, and imprison all officials under its jurisdiction pending trial! Arrest all officers and soldiers connected with Xi Junmai!"

"fifth……"

He paused, his eyes growing even colder: "Summon Prince Wei, Li Tai... back to Chang'an for me."

He needed to figure out what role Li Tai played in all of this.

Meanwhile, in the forbidden room where Wei Zheng was, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were on imperial orders to persuade Wei Zheng.

But then Changsun Wuji said somewhat impatiently:

"Wei Zheng! When are you going to stop this fuss? His Majesty has his reasons for doing this!"

“Yes! Prime Minister Wei, His Majesty had no choice.” Fang Xuanling echoed.

Wei Zheng didn't even glance at them, but sat on the ground without saying a word.

After an unknown amount of time, a palace attendant rushed in, saying that Li Shimin had summoned Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji to the Taiji Hall for a meeting.

Their hearts skipped a beat, and they immediately had a bad feeling.

When they heard Li Shimin's several murderous decrees, they were struck dumb.

"Depose the crown prince... punish the rebels... quell the rebellion..."

Wei Zheng stood up abruptly from the ground, swaying as if he could barely stand.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty—!"

Immediately afterward, he lunged at the tightly closed iron gate, and with all his might, let out a heart-wrenching roar that pierced through the door and echoed through the silent corridor:
"A tyrannical ruler! A tyrannical ruler—!"

"It was you! You forced the Crown Prince into rebellion! You destroyed your own defenses—!"

"What merits has the Crown Prince made? What talents and strategies has he possessed? If he harbored rebellious intentions, why would he have waited until today?! Why would he have shed blood and risked his life for the Tang Dynasty in Japan and Liaodong?!"

"It was your suspicion! It was your indulgence in the machinations of villains! It was you who imprisoned him in Jiucheng Palace, crippling his wings and chilling his spirit!"

"Now that he has nowhere to turn and has left the palace in anger, are you going to accuse him of treason and exterminate him?!"

"Li Shimin! Have you forgotten the lesson of Xuanwu Gate?! Have you forgotten the pain of fratricide?!"

"How can you treat meritorious officials and your own children like this? How will the soldiers of the world view you? How will future generations write your story in history books?!"

"The Tang Dynasty is about to be destroyed by your stubbornness and your imperial scheming!"

Wei Zheng's angry curses, one after another, were like the mournful cry of a cuckoo, filled with endless grief, indignation, disappointment and heartache.

The guards turned pale upon hearing this, none daring to respond, much less to stop this old minister, renowned throughout the land for his integrity, from making this life-risking accusation.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji exchanged a glance, then sighed deeply and whispered:
"In the end... it still came to this." (End of Chapter)