Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 44
"The minister believes that the crown prince is the heir to the throne and will inherit the great power in the future. It is best to stay in Chang'an and assist the emperor in managing the government. It is more appropriate to invite the king of Qin to fight against the Turks."

"I report to my father, and my ministers think that what Su Yu said is not good enough!" Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, took Su Yu's words and said: "Since the prince wants to inherit the throne one day, he has to be like his father. He must learn how to fight. In order to govern the government, one must also learn to fight on the battlefield. When the Tang Dynasty was first established, the crown prince followed his father and made many military exploits. Just because he was busy with government affairs in recent years, he did not go to war again, and he had no military exploits to build. Now there are At this opportunity, I would also like to ask my father to complete the crown prince and order him to lead the army to fight against the Turks. My son is willing to be the vanguard and defeat the Turks together with the crown prince."

Li Yuan was very happy when he heard this. He looked at Li Yuanji and then at Li Jiancheng, and said, "It's rare for you brothers to have such a sense of serving the country, and it's even rarer for you to have such a deep brotherhood. I will help you all. Let the prince be the commander-in-chief." , King Qi was the deputy commander, leading 20 troops to fight against the Turks."

"Thank you for your father's order." The prince and Qi Wang brothers thanked in unison.

Li Yuan looked at Li Shimin with a smile, and his eyes clearly asked: "What does the King of Qin think?" Seeing this, Li Shimin hurriedly said to the prince and the king of Qi, "Shimin wishes the prince and the king of Qi every success and victory."

"Thank you, King Qin." The crown prince said, "I have one more thing to ask my second brother for my brother, I wonder if I can agree?"

"Brother, you can speak up, as long as the second brother can do it, he will do his best."

"Okay, big brother can rest assured that I have the words of the second brother." The prince paused deliberately when he said this, looked at the ministers, then at the emperor, and then turned back to Li Shimin and said: "Since the king of Qin promised to do his best to help I have defeated the Turks, and in order to ensure the victory of this war against the Turks, my eldest brother hereby borrows some generals from my second younger brother."

Li Shimin was shocked when he heard this, but he could only ask calmly, "Which generals are there?"

"Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, just these three, I don't know if the King of Qin is willing to do it for the safety of the country?"

After hearing this, Li Shimin immediately understood: This is the prince's use of the Turkic campaign to reduce the strength of the Qin Palace.But up to now, the crown prince has plausible words, and his father and ministers are all looking at him. Under such circumstances, he has no other choice but to agree.Thinking of this, Li Shimin answered heartily:

"In the prince's mansion, there are already a lot of generals. Although my generals are in the Qin palace, they are actually the generals of the father. In order to fight against the Turks, as long as the father allows it, the prince will also value it. I will transfer them to the prince's tent to listen Yes, second brother, I am very happy." Speaking of this, Li Shimin cast his expectant eyes on Li Yuan, and he hoped that his father, the emperor, could save some strength for him.

Li Yuan's heart tightened when he heard the crown prince said that he wanted to borrow some powerful generals from Prince Qin's residence.He knew that this was the prince's use of this to reduce King Qin's strength.From the heart, he is willing.Because he really didn't want to see King Qin alone.But Li Yuan was also a little worried. He was afraid that the king of Qin would object in court and intensify the relationship between the two brothers.Unexpectedly, King Qin agreed so readily. Li Yuan just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw King Qin's expectant gaze again.Li Yuan's heart sank, but he still smiled and said to Li Shimin:

"It's rare that the King of Qin puts state affairs first and is willing to lend his most capable general. Father, thank you here. As long as you brothers can be of one heart and one mind, we will be able to defeat the Turks and be invincible in the world. This matter is settled like this Yes. Prince, before you set off on the expedition, you must host a banquet for the generals who came from Prince Qin's residence, and you must host a banquet to thank your second brother."

"My son obeys my father's orders!"

"Okay, you guys go and prepare. King Qin stays here, I have something to tell you." After Li Yuan finished speaking, he waved his hand down, and the eunuch shouted loudly:
"Disperse!"

11
The harem garden in summer is a good place to enjoy the coolness, with bamboos, green shades, flowers and tall trees.A path paved with pebbles, through the green and purple, slowly stretches to the Qingbi Pool at the east end of the garden.Li Yuan took Li Shimin along, chatted all the way, and walked into Gaofeng Building by the pool.But seeing here, the shade of the green trees is thick and cool, and the reflection of the towers into the pond.Li Yuan was very interested, and when he entered the building, he sat down on the chair of the Eight Immortals, and said to Li Shimin: "This is really a good place to hide in Chang'an. You also sit down quickly, the emperor wants to have a good chat with you."

Li Shimin sat down on Li Yuan's right side respectfully, looking sideways at his father expectantly, waiting for his father to speak.

"Li Chengqian, Li Kuan, Li Ke, Li Tai, Li You, Li Min." Li Yuan recalled seriously, gently read a string of names of his grandson, and then asked Li Shimin: "If I remember correctly, should you Father of six sons."

"Yes, my father did not remember wrongly at all, my minister has already raised six grandchildren for you."

"Please tell me, which of your six grandchildren do you like the most?"

"Father, I really can't tell who I like the most."

"Why? Don't you like it?"

"No, it's because Erchen likes each of them very much."

"That's right! It seems that on this point, I am the same as you. For you brothers, Jian Jiancheng, Yuanji and Shimin, I also like you very much. As for you three brothers, in my father's heart , I can’t tell who I like more. If I have an impression of you brothers when they were young, I have the deepest impression on you. I clearly remember that on the day you were born, snowflakes were as big as a palm, and they flew down for a whole day. Right here in Yulong Ten Thousands, Zhou Tianhan, I finally heard you crying 'Wow'. When I was holding you and watching, an old man with white eyebrows came outside, looked at you and said: 'Okay The appearance of a dragon among a person, between the weak crown (20 years old) and the standing (30 years old), will surely help the world and the people. In this way, I will name you Shimin." At this point, Li Yuan turned his head and expressed affection Looking at Li Shimin intently.

"Father!" Li Shimin called out emotionally, and he began to understand a little bit why Father asked him to come to the back garden alone to talk.

Originally, Li Yuan asked Shimin to talk to him about letting him go to Luoyang.However, when he came down from the hall, he suddenly changed his mind.It doesn't matter that the rivers and mountains have just been unified after hard work, and they will be divided into two halves.More importantly, it will be a hundred years from now.One of the two brothers is in Chang'an and the other is in Luoyang, so they will fight again.Alas, this Pei Ji almost hurt me.This suggestion of his is destined to cause his brothers to kill each other, and in the end I will die in the Tang Dynasty.Thinking of this, Li Yuan shook his head firmly.No, absolutely not!I can't divide the Great Tang Dynasty into two halves, and I can't let them kill each other after a hundred years.Li Jiancheng took the initiative to invite Ying, and went to Li Shimin's three generals in court. On the one hand, he amplified his own strength, and on the other hand, he weakened Li Shimin's strength.With this move, Li Yuan saw a glimmer of life that could make their brothers live in harmony.

Since Li Shimin pacified Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in one fell swoop, as his strength has grown, Li Yuan has seen the prince's worries about his status.In his opinion, the key to the discord between brothers lies in Li Shimin's strength surpassing that of the prince.The problem was solved, and perhaps the brothers could live in peace.As an emperor, as a father, he does not want his country to be divided, and he does not want his son to be hostile. For this reason, he will do his best.Hearing Li Shimin's emotional call, Li Yuan knew that the clever Erlang had already understood his father's painstaking efforts, so he continued:
"Your elder brother borrowed your three generals from the main hall. I know it's not fair to you. Moreover, there are more unfair things to you. In terms of ability and merit, you are no less than your elder brother. Even a little bit more, but he became the prince, but you can only be his courtier from now on. You..." At this point, Li Yuan stopped talking, and once again stared at his son affectionately.At this moment, how much he hoped that Li Shimin would make a statement on this to reassure him, but he was also worried that Li Shimin would express contrary opinions and make things worse, so he paused for a while and continued:
"Here, my father has also held you wronged. However, Jiancheng is the eldest son. According to the usual practice, I can only make him the crown prince. For you, I can only do my best to bestow all the official titles that can be conferred. Here you are." Li Yuan finished what he had to say, sighed slightly, and turned his head to the green shade of bamboo by the pool.

When Li Shimin saw this, he hurriedly fell to the ground and said, "Father, my son is already a father, and I have already deeply felt your kindness. My father specially appointed the post of Tiance General to make my son Standing above the princes, I was granted permission to open the Tiance Mansion, and granted Hongyi Palace to live in, which is even more special. For these great special gifts, I will keep them in my heart and be grateful for my whole life. It’s not enough to repay them in case.”

Li Yuan was a little moved when he heard this, but he was still very dissatisfied. He shouted in his heart; Erlang, why didn't you show your loyalty to the establishment of the crown prince?It can be seen that you are still coveting the position of prince.If you do this, I will become more and more worried about you!Li Yuan thought so, looked at Erlang who was lying on the ground, and said for a long time:

"Get up, the emperor is like this, I don't worry. I have one more thing to tell you now. I have received a solid and secret report. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui in your Qin Palace also know about the prince's private recruitment of soldiers. I know Fang Xuanling The two of them followed the emperor to fight in all directions and made many achievements, so they will not be dealt with strictly, and the emperor can exile them in Shu."

Li Shimin was taken aback when he heard this, and stared blankly at his father.

"Doesn't the emperor believe it? I tell you, this matter was reported by He Xianglin, the general you placed in Qingzhou Prefecture."

Li Shimin still wanted to open his mouth to argue, Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "This matter can only be handled in this way, otherwise, even if you have a reason to persuade me in the hall, I am afraid that such things will become more and more unclear. , and even implicate you, the emperor. Now, I don’t want to see anything happen to any of you brothers.”

"I am grateful for my father's sympathy, and I will definitely obey my father's order to exile Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui in Shu." Li Shimin said very respectfully, but insisted: "At the same time, my father also asks my father to believe that: Everything was arranged by the prince alone."

"I understand your feelings. I also said just now that I love you brothers equally. However, he is worried about you as a prince. Just bear with it. Your brothers will have a brighter future, and then you will be fine." Let's live in harmony and live in peace."

When the time comes, will everything be safe?The emperor had already thought very clearly and thought very far. When King Lieben was his prince's courtier, he could live in harmony.It seems that the father has already made up his mind on this matter.However, I am not reconciled.The world is a world of virtuous people, why insist on talking about the elders and the younger?Thinking of this, Li Shimin suddenly said: "When the time comes, I'm afraid that my minister can bear him, but he can't bear my minister." Li Yuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning.After a long time of fear, I couldn't say a word.After talking about it for a long time, it seemed that there was still some hope, but it turned out that nothing could resolve the mutual worry and resentment in the hearts of the two brothers.

"It's just strange, this imperial power is too tempting!" After Li Shimin left, Li Yuan looked up at the sky and shouted in his heart with emotion.

11
In the early morning, Changsun opened her beautiful eyes, but she couldn't see Shimin beside her. She moved her eyes slowly to the window, and she saw him standing there, looking out the window fascinatedly.Mrs. Changsun got up quickly, put on her clothes quickly, and came to Shimin's side.She put a delicate hand on his thick shoulder lightly, embraced him from behind, and asked softly:
"What are you thinking?"

Li Shimin embraced her in front of his chest, stared at her very seriously, and asked:
"Tell me, among our children, who do you like the most?"

She didn't know why he suddenly asked such a question, but she still thought about it very seriously.Right now, Li Shimin has six sons: Li Chengqian, Li Kuan, Li Ke, Li Tai, Li You, and Li Yin. However, Li Chengqian and Li Tai were born by her eldest grandson.Li Kuan's mother was a merchant's daughter, very beautiful. Shimin met her on the way to attack Chang'an, and stayed with her. Soon after giving birth to Li Kuan, she died of illness.The mothers of Li Ke and Li Yin are both Yang's daughters of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. They are beautiful, gentle and tolerant towards others, and have a good relationship with the Changsun family.Li You's mother, Concubine Yin, was hated by others, and the Changsun family didn't like it very much.As for the four sons, Changsun had a very good impression of them and liked them very much, but they didn't see each other often and didn't know them very well.Now Li Shimin suddenly asked her which of her sons and daughters she likes the most, and it was really difficult for her to answer.So he answered frankly:
"I do not know."

"I don't know? Let me make it more clear. Among our two children, Li Chengqian and Li Tai, who do you like more?"

"I like them both equally."

"Well said! But now I want you to seriously think about who you like more. For example, if you have something to say among your sons, who do you want to tell first; if you have something good, among your sons , who do you want to give to first?"

"Accept Qian!" Changsun blurted out.

"Chengqian, how could it be Chengqian?"

"I don't know, maybe, he has spent the longest time with us; maybe, he is our eldest son, the first child we have. So, he has a deeper impression and misses him more... You, why did you suddenly Ask this question?" The clever Changsun seemed to know what Li Shimin was thinking.

"I asked this question to confirm whether sons have the same weight in the eyes of their parents. Now it seems that they are not the same. It is no wonder why the father always favors the prince."

"Father actually loves you and us very much, and is very kind to you." Changsun said.

"I know, because I am his own son. However, the prince is also his own son, and he is the eldest son. First, I already know that it is impossible to rely on my father to uphold justice for me."

"Shimin, what... are you going to do?" Changsun looked at him worriedly.

"I don't want to do anything, but the crown prince refuses to let me go. He sent away my generals, and even used my father's hand to drive away my counselors. Alas, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop!"

"He is the crown prince, let him sit on the throne, maybe we can live in peace."

"Impossible! Now he has hatred for me, all of this...maybe fate."

"Could it be, are you going to be with him..."

"Yes, I want to compete with him."

After hearing this, Changsun said nothing, but hugged Li Shimin tightly.

"Don't worry, I will definitely win." Li Shimin said, patting her on the back.

"I know, I believe you can win." Changsun grabbed Li Shimin's shoulders and said with tears in his eyes, "It's just that you are brothers after all. If possible, try not to hurt their lives."

"I will, as long as possible, I will not hurt their lives, I'm afraid, there is no such possibility." Li Shimin said, wiping the tears from the corners of Changsun's eyes.

"Alas!" Mrs. Changsun sighed after hearing this, and then said to Li Shimin with a desolate expression: "It seems that everything is left to fate. I hope the King of Qin will be careful about this matter. The concubine will go to the palace today. Meet a distant relative of mine."

"who is she?"

"He is a talented person of the emperor."

"Cairen, see her..."

"You don't know, her younger brother is Chang He, the current commander of the palace guards. The only thing this concubine can do for King Qin this time is to bring Chang He and let his guards follow your command, King Qin. "

"My concubine, my concubine!" Li Shimin happily hugged Changsun and spun it eight times in a row.

"Put it down, I'm dizzy." Changsun begged.

Li Shimin put her down and kissed her passionately, until she couldn't breathe: "I dare say, today is the happiest day of my life."

"I don't feel that way, I just feel..."

"What do you think? Tell me quickly," Li Shimin urged, looking at his concubine with relief.

"I think imperial power is too tempting, but also too scary!" Changsun murmured.

"You're only half right." Li Shimin said thoughtfully, "If the imperial power really falls into this king's hands one day, it won't be so terrible."

"You really think so?"

"No, I don't think so, but I must do it."

"If imperial power is not scary, the emperor must be an admirable person."

"Well said, I won't disappoint you when the time comes."

"I believe in you, my King Qin!"

(End of this chapter)