Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 47
If they hadn't been under the strict supervision of the crown prince, or had been in an accident, they would definitely find ways to come back.At least, they will ask someone to report a letter.But now, not only did the person not come back, but there was no news at all.It seems that they were either detained by the prince or killed.Since the crown prince dared to publicly detain or kill my general, it is already clear what they will do next.It is impossible for them to detain or kill my generals except to try to do something to me.As Li Shimin thought about it, a surge of anger surged in his heart.Yuquan Palace is the prince's place, and it was the prince who suggested to his father to let him hold a banquet there to welcome the prince.Although the father is partial to the crown prince, he will never tolerate the crown prince doing anything to me.The emperor doesn't know about it yet, maybe he's secretly having fun, hoping to see how our brothers get along in harmony.However, if I really go to Yuquan Palace, what my father will see will be my dead body.This, I am not reconciled!Although Li Jiancheng is the prince, he is only ten years older than me because of his age.In terms of virtue, ability and achievements, he can't compare with me at all?Why, God wants him to be ten years older than me? !

Li Shimin raised his noble head, looked up at the blue sky, and sighed long and long.

In the distance, Hou Junji and Changsun Wuji who were following at the side saw each other, and shook their heads uneasily.Hou Junji wanted to come over to comfort King Qin, but just as he took a step, he backed away.He knew that at this moment when he went there, a few words that were neither salty nor light would not be able to solve the problems King Qin was facing.They couldn't help turning their eyes to the gate to the south, where there was their hope.The reason why the three of them came here was to wait for that hope to come.After a long time, Hou Junji couldn't help asking Changsun Wuji softly:

"Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui haven't come yet?"

"Yes, it should have come long ago. Otherwise, let's go and have a look." Changsun Wuji suggested.

Hou Junji nodded, and the two looked at King Qin, seeing that he was still standing there motionless, they turned around and walked towards the south gate.After taking a few steps, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui hurried in.Seeing Hou Junji and Changsun Wuji welcoming us, Fang Xuanling hurriedly asked:

"Where is King Qin?"

Changsun Wuji pointed forward, and the four walked quickly towards King Qin.Although Li Shimin had been thinking hard, he still saw the four bureaucrats hurrying over. Instead of going to greet them, he walked slowly eastward.Li Shimin took his four confidantes to the "Viewing Lotus Pavilion" by the pond.

The pavilion is built near the pool, surrounded by trees.There is a polished stone table in the pavilion, and six smooth stone tables.Once upon a time, when Li Shimin came back from the battle, he was here with his eldest grandson, the princess, admiring the lotus in the pond, expressing their longing for each other, and looking forward to the happy things in life in the future.Now, the Tang Dynasty has been unified for four years, and the powerful enemies outside have almost been eliminated one by one. It should be a time when nothing but happiness is happiness.However, a stronger enemy appeared inside, and it turned out to be his own brother.Make your own life, not to mention it is a happy thing, even if you want to take a peaceful breath, it is not comfortable.Because the crown prince had too many eyes and ears in the Prince Qin's mansion, Li Shimin was almost unable to discuss major issues in the meeting hall, so he could only come to this pleasant garden and this viewing lotus pavilion to discuss his major issues.Perhaps it was because of standing for too long just now, Li Shimin felt a little tired, so he sat down on a stone platform when he entered, and looked at his four officials calmly.

"I pay homage to King Qin." Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui said in unison.

The two of them have sneaked back to Chang'an for half a month.Li Shimin knew by intuition that there were people from the prince in his mansion, just in case, he arranged for them to live in an old house in Xixiao, and called them here quietly when there was something to discuss.In the past half a month, the two of them have entered and exited twice, and this time is the third time.Li Shimin had been waiting by the pond for four or five hours since he sent someone to notify them to come to the mansion early this morning. In the past, they could arrive in less than half an hour.Because of this, Li Shimin felt a little strange, and covered the two of them with his eyes, but kept silent.

"Things are not good." Fang Xuanling said: "When Chen and Ruhui entered through the north gate, they found that people from the Prince's Mansion were watching."

"That's it, you all sit down." Li Shimin waved his hand.

"This time, they didn't find Chen Yu Ruhui." Fang Xuanling sat down and said, "However, I think they must have found Chen Yu Ruhui back."

"I didn't expect these two brothers of mine to be really good. This king is so careful, they still found your traces. Junji, please tell him about the situation of the Yuquan Palace reception banquet." King Qin After speaking, close your eyes.

12
The weeping willow swayed lonely in the cool breeze.In Ruoda's "Pleasant Garden", except for some guards standing far away, there are only King Qin and his cronies.After listening to Hou Junji's introduction, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui first lowered their heads in thought, and then their eyes met. The moment their eyes exchanged, they unified their views.Fang Xuanling signaled Du Ruhui to express their views.

"I believe that the prince has made careful planning and made full preparations before going to the Turks. Tomorrow's reception banquet must be unfavorable to the king."

"Could it be that he wants to kill me at the banquet?"

"He will definitely do this, otherwise, we can now sit with the three generals Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, and Qin Shubao."

"But, we are brothers after all!"

"The king and the prince are indeed brothers. However, the brothers of the emperor's family all have the noble blood of their ancestors, and they all have a natural personality of self-importance. As long as their strengths and weaknesses are not obvious, who would like to be their brother's servants?" ?”

"Du Ruhui, you are getting more and more courageous. I don't feel very comfortable listening to what you say." Li Shimin stared at Du Ruhui, scolded loudly, then lowered his voice, and said with a smile: "However, you are right. It's also true. This king believes that if this king inherits the great rule, it will definitely be more beneficial to the Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty is a mirror. Only when your Majesty inherits the great rule can the Tang Dynasty prosper. I, Du Ruhui, firmly believe in this, so I wholeheartedly follow behind your Majesty, hoping to do something for the development and progress of the Tang Dynasty." Du Ruhui stood up after speaking, Kneel down respectfully.

When Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, and Hou Junji saw each other, they all knelt down together and said in unison: "Your Majesty will inherit the Great Tradition, and the Great Tang Dynasty will prosper. We are determined to die, and we will die!"

Seeing this, Li Shimin was a little surprised, and asked with wide eyes: "You, do you want this king to solve the crown prince?"

"It must be like this!" Du Ruhui said.

"But, do you know how many Chang Lin troops are in the Prince's Mansion, and how many guards are there in Prince Qi's Mansion?"

"The crown prince has three thousand Changlin troops, and the king of Qi has one thousand guards." Du Ruhui replied.

"But there are only 20 warriors in my Prince Qin's mansion. What's more, there are [-] troops who accompanied the prince and King Qi to the west. These people are still in the hands of the prince."

"Although the crown prince has not yet handed over the military power of the western expedition troops, if he orders these troops to attack the Qin palace, no one will obey his orders. Since ancient times, the imperial court has always been won by clever schemers. As long as the crown prince and King Qi are sanctioned, The rest can only be obeyed by the king."

"You, do you want this king to kill the crown prince and King Qi?"

"Your Majesty has no choice."

"You all stand up and talk, don't kneel on the ground to force each other!" Li Shimin said loudly.

Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, and Hou Junji looked at each other, stood up slowly, lowered their hands and bowed their heads in front of Li Shimin, waiting for his instructions.

"Sit down!" Li Shimin ordered angrily.Seeing that they all sat down again, Li Shimin scanned the four of them one by one with sharp eyes, paused for a while, and then said slowly:

"This king is telling you clearly now that this king knows that you want me to inherit the throne. This is also what this king thinks in his heart. On this matter, we have thought together. However, if possible, this king still wants to inherit the throne." Try to avoid killing as much as possible, and don't bear the crime of killing brothers and brothers. Now, I want you to think carefully about how to avoid killing each other at tomorrow's reception banquet?"

The four bureaucrats listened, exchanged glances with each other, and did not speak. When Li Shimin saw it, he was annoyed. He covered the four of them with his eyes, and asked with a sneer:

"Don't you want me to be accused of murdering brothers and sisters?"

"This is not an accusation." Fang Xuanling said calmly to King Qin's gaze, "This is for the sake of the people and the country, and for the Tang Dynasty. It is the same as Duke Zhou's punishment of Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai in the past."

"However, if it can be avoided, this king still wants to avoid it, because the heart of this king will still hurt when brothers kill each other."

"Your Majesty, I know that you will be heartbroken by this matter. Now that the matter has come to this point, there is still a way to avoid the current fratricide." Du Ruhui raised his head and looked at Li Shimin.

"What way? Say it!"

"As long as you don't go to tomorrow's welcome banquet."

"Letting me hold a banquet in Yuquan Palace to welcome the crown prince and King Qi is the royal decree of my father. If I don't go, how can I explain to my father?"

"Can it be called sick?" Changsun Wuji said.

Qin Wang shook his head: "Father is very aware of the details, and if he claims to be sick, he will understand sooner or later."

"You can sue the emperor for detaining our three generals," Hou Junji said.

"Now there is no proof, how can you explain it clearly? Isn't it obvious that I want to fight against the prince!" Li Shimin still shook his head.

"I think you can report to the emperor the ambiguous relationship between the crown prince and the king of Qi and Concubine Zhang and Concubine Yin." Changsun Wuji said: "The emperor must be very angry when he hears this, and he will definitely announce the cancellation of the reception banquet."

"Yes, this is very good. King Qin can avoid a disaster, and we can also hit the prince severely." Du Ruhui said supportively.

After hearing this, Li Shimin turned his attention to Fang Xuanling and Hou Junji.

"I think it's feasible," Fang Xuanling said.

"I also think it's feasible," Hou Junji said.

"However, this kind of thing is based on speculation, and it really damages the dignity of the royal family and makes the emperor sad." Li Shimin said.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, and Hou Junji listened, but kept silent and lowered their heads again. The four of them seemed to be attracted by a lotus flower in the stone table, and their eyes stayed there without moving.Li Shimin felt irritable again at this moment. He knew the hearts of the four confidants, but he was confused by the worries in his heart.

12
Qin Wang Li Shimin was hot all over, and was confused by the worries in his heart, only to see Qu Tutong, who was staying behind at Qin Wang's mansion, hurried over with Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, and Cheng Zhijie.Li Shimin and others saw each other from a distance, and everyone was overjoyed.They rushed out in a hurry, outside the lotus viewing pavilion, to meet the people they missed.When Yuchi Jingde saw Li Shimin, he turned his head and bowed:

"The final general will see the king!"

"Please get up quickly." Li Shimin stretched out his hand to help his three favorite generals, and found that they were all haggard, so he hurriedly asked, "General, what's the matter?"

It turned out that after the three of Yuchi Jingde were detained, they couldn't even drink a sip of water.After staying in the dark room for a long time, I gradually became able to see the walls and roof clearly. After careful inspection, I finally found a skylight on the roof nailed with wooden boards.The three of them worked together, and after a whole day, they finally pried open the skylight and climbed out.Although already hungry and thirsty, but still struggling, he left the East Palace and came to Prince Qin's Mansion.

Hearing that the three people told the whole situation after the prince's western expedition to Turks, King Qin was furious.He opened his eyes wide and looked in the direction of the East Palace, without saying a word for a long while.Now, according to what Hou Junji said, sue the crown prince for detaining my three generals?Li Shimin asked himself in his heart, but immediately denied it to himself.He said to himself: Even if there is evidence now, if you sue the prince with this matter, what can the father do for me if he knows about it?Could he blame the prince for the three generals?No, no, this is obviously impossible!Deep in my father's heart, I hope that the prince's strength and prestige can be higher than mine.What the emperor wants to do now is to let Li Jiancheng become the prince safely and securely, and inherit his great line when the time comes.At that time, let me be his courtier in peace, this is what my father really wants.

That being the case, it is impossible for my father to help me resolve the dispute with the crown prince.Now, the crown prince is desperately trying to dismantle my strength.He failed to bribe them, so he detained the three of them, obviously because he was not afraid that I would find out and would do something to me.However, what will they do to me?Could it be that he will really kill me at the reception banquet?If that's the case, I can't sit still.But, what if they don't?As long as they are not so ruthless and ruthless, the future will last forever. With time, my prestige and strength will be higher than theirs. At that time, I may be able to win the throne... Li Shimin is analyzing hard, thinking Then, suddenly saw Duan Zhixuan leading Wang Di into the garden.

Wang Xi was originally a bureaucrat in the Prince's Mansion of the East Palace. By chance, Qin Wang Li Shimin rescued his whole family.At this time, Wang Dai has been in the East Palace for several years, and has not been reused. He is a very inconspicuous idler.With a heart of gratitude, Wang Di came to Qin Wangfu and asked to join Li Shimin's family.After some questioning, Li Shimin knew very well that Wang Di was a very capable person, so he was very happy, so he gave him a special task to inquire about the prince's news for the Qin Palace.Because Li Shimin secretly used a large amount of money to support Wang Fan, Wang Fan's reputation in the East Palace increased day by day, and soon he won the trust of Prince Li Jiancheng and became a confidant of the prince's cronies.

Wang Zhan came to Li Shimin, and after paying a big ceremony, he explained in detail the plan of the prince and the king of Qi to murder the king of Qin.Li Shimin listened, with a faint sneer on his face, and said loudly:

"God's will, this is God's will! It's God who wants me to bear the crime of murdering my brothers and sisters! If I don't bear it, the prince and the king of Qi will bear the crime. How can I bear the heart of someone who thinks about brotherly love?" ?! Eldest brother, fourth younger brother! I, Shimin, will still be responsible for the crime! You just go away easily!" After speaking, Li Shimin looked up to the sky and laughed, his voice of grief and indignation was like the autumn wind of Li Li, passing through the greenery, wearing weeping willows, The garden is scattered everywhere.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other civil and military officials were a little surprised and a little happy when they heard this.Everyone looked at each other, and couldn't help but cast their eyes on King Qin Li Shimin, wanting to obey his order and destroy the crown prince and King Qi in one fell swoop. At that time, their King Qin will inherit the great rule and rule the land and society of the Tang Dynasty.

"Now, my king's determination has been made. You can speak freely and express your opinions. Let's see how I can defeat my brother and brother in one fell swoop!"

"If you want to defeat...the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, you can't be in Yuquan Palace." Fang Xuanling said: "Their strength is far greater than ours, and it is difficult to win..."

"I have one more thing to tell you." Li Shimin interrupted Fang Xuanling and said, "Chang He, the guard of the palace, has accepted the king's heavy money, but he only promised to remain neutral, and he is not willing to directly help us deal with the prince. Okay. , That's it, you continue to talk!"

"It's very rare to be able to do this often." Fang Xuanling continued: "If you want to avoid fighting head-on with the prince and King Qi in Yuquan Palace, the king can't attend the reception banquet. A reason to avoid the emperor's suspicion."

"Since this is the case, let me tell my father about the ambiguous relationship between the Crown Prince and King Qi and Concubine Zhang and Concubine Yin." Li Shimin stared at Fang Xuanling and said.

"Your Majesty is wise, this plan is the best." Fang Xuanling said.

"And then?" Li Shimin stared at him and asked.

Fang Xuanling turned his gaze to Du Ruhui, and Li Shimin also turned his gaze to him.For a moment, everyone's eyes were on him.Du Ruhui saw it, smiled slightly, and said calmly:

"I believe that the emperor will definitely call the prince and King Qi into the palace to confront the king after listening to the king's report. This kind of thing must be done quietly, and only the king, the prince and the king of Qi know. In this case, we have A god-sent opportunity. At that time, we can all be dispatched, inside the Xuanwu Gate..."

Du Ruhui spoke slowly, Li Shimin and several of his most capable ministers listened carefully, and then everyone discussed seriously for a long time, until night fell, a complete and detailed plan to ambush the prince finally came out .It's just that none of the people present smiled, and Li Shimin's face was even a little helpless and sad.

After the rain, the setting sun struggled to shine on the sky for a while, and then set, and it had been a long time.The surrounding greenery and weeping willows became blurred, and Li Shimin and his ministers also discussed what should be discussed.It's time to break up, they silently bless each other, and then each do what they should do.

(End of this chapter)