My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

It was around 2 AM.

The Duke of Yi's Mansion.

Qin Qiong set up a mourning hall, where many memorial tablets were placed, all of which belonged to the servants who had been shot and killed by Zhang Shigui's men in the last incident.

Qin Qiong was leading Qin Huaiyu in a memorial service.

Qin Qiong cried until his eyes bled.

Just then, Qin Ying walked in from outside.

Qin Ying was surprised to see that his grandfather and father were both wearing mourning clothes.

He didn't know who had died.

Qin Qiong was kneeling on the ground, burning paper money, and muttering, "Everyone, it is my incompetence that has harmed you all."

"I, Qin Qiong, have spent my entire life traversing battlefields, yet I failed to protect you all. I, Qin Qiong, am truly sorry."

Qin Huaiyu was surprised to see Qin Ying return.

Of course, seeing that Qin Ying was safe and sound, he felt relieved.

Qin Huaiyu had always been concerned about his beloved son, and had sent people to inquire everywhere, but had not been able to find any news about Qin Ying.

Qin Huaiyu quickly gave a wink, and Qin Ying also knelt down and kowtowed.

Qin Qiong, as a great general, had eyes that could see in all directions and ears that could hear from all sides.

Although Qin Qiong did not look back, he already knew that Qin Ying had returned.

"Qin Ying, you're back?" Qin Qiong asked intentionally.

"Yes, Grandpa, your grandson is back," Qin Ying answered timidly, because for some reason, he always felt a chill whenever he saw his grandfather. "But I wonder who Grandpa and Father are mourning?"

"These are all servants and men of our household."

"Who killed them?" Qin Ying asked in surprise.

"That night, Li Chengan came to our mansion. In order to cover his escape, we blocked the two thousand armored soldiers led by Zhang Shigui and Chang He's imperial guards outside the mansion gate."

Chang He was a little better off, after all, they had served as officials together for so many years, so some consideration was given to them.

However, Zhang Shigui was different. Upon arriving, without a word, he immediately ordered his archers to fire crossbow bolts at our household guards. Our guards had no bows or arrows; how could they possibly be a match for them?

"What? It's that old bastard Zhang Shigui again! How could he be so cruel as to poison our servants? One day, I will definitely get my revenge!" Qin Ying's eyes blazed with fury, and she gritted her teeth in hatred.

Qin Qiong waved his hand: "You mustn't do that. Zhang Shigui is now a favorite of the Emperor."

He was not only granted the title of Duke of Guo, but he also married his daughter to Li Daozong, thus gaining access to the imperial family.

Besides, his son-in-law, He Zongxian, was appointed a general, and his son, Zhang Zhilong, was appointed a deputy general. How could we possibly compete with them?

Qin Ying was indignant upon hearing this: "Do those two good-for-nothings, He Zongxian and Zhang Zhilong, deserve to be generals?"

They were all my defeated opponents.

"Nonsense! This is an imperial edict. To say such a thing is tantamount to disrespecting the imperial court."

"I—." Qin Ying was indignant, but dared not argue, after all, he was her grandfather. "Tell Grandpa quickly, where have you been these past few days?"

Aren't you with Li Chenggan?

Qin Ying then recounted the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Qin Qiong stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall.

His eyes were fixed on the view outside the window, where the entire city of Chang'an was utterly silent.

Qin Qiong sighed and slowly said, "The officialdom is treacherous, far more complex than you imagine."

Li Chengan did manage to force you to come back; he certainly has the guts.

Qin Ying crawled forward two steps on her knees: "Grandpa, it's probably not safe for the Crown Prince to go to the Western Regions alone. We have to find a way to rescue him."

Upon hearing this, Qin Qiong's face darkened: "From now on, you are not allowed to go anywhere without my permission. Stay home and recover from your injuries. You're already lucky to have survived."

"Why? I want to be with the Crown Prince."

"What Crown Prince? Li Chenggan has already been deposed. He is now a target of the court's pursuit. The emperor wishes he could skin him alive and tear his tendons out."

Last time, if it weren't for Cheng Yaojin and Luo Cheng helping us find a solution, our Qin family would probably have been wiped out.

Think about it, if Zhang Shigui went back and reported to the Emperor that we were harboring Li Chenggan, what a crime that would be.

"Don't even mention you, our entire Qin family, dozens of people, will probably suffer as a result."

"Grandpa, now that the Crown Prince is in trouble, are we just going to ignore it?"

"Grandpa experienced so much in his life."

During the Sui Dynasty, I followed Lai Huer and Zhang Xutuo on their campaigns in the east and west. Later, I surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

The reason our Qin family has achieved its current status is all thanks to my grandfather, who risked his life for it.

Whenever the King of Qin encountered a formidable enemy general, he would send me to fight them one-on-one. It was just that I was incredibly lucky to survive.

He always managed to win by sheer luck and bring the opponent's head back.

Even so, Grandpa was frequently injured. He fought in over 200 battles, both large and small, and crawled out of piles of corpses countless times. The hardships he endured are probably unimaginable to you.

Qin Huaiyu and Qin Ying listened quietly, because what Qin Qiong said was true.

"Throughout history, many famous generals have met tragic ends. For example, Li Mu and Bai Qi during the Warring States period, Han Xin, the great general under Liu Bang, and Zhou Bo, the Grand Commandant under Emperor Jing of Han."

These men were all generals who were skilled in battle.

However, in the end, they did not die at the hands of the enemy, but at the hands of the monarch.

Does it mean that if one person is wrong, two people are wrong, then everyone is wrong?

This only proves one thing: monarchs throughout history could only share hardship, not prosperity.

Therefore, Grandpa lived in constant fear, carefully observing his words and actions, staying indoors and refusing all guests, only reading at home.

The purpose is to ensure the safety and well-being of our Qin family descendants.

I don't have Fang Xuanling's ambition. Fang Xuanling became the Grand Secretary himself, and he hoped his son could also become the Grand Secretary.

Throughout history, no family can prosper forever. We shouldn't be greedy. Take Huo Guang, for example; when Emperor Wu of Han was on his deathbed, because Liu Fuling was only eight years old…

Emperor Wu of Han appointed Huo Guang, Jin Midi, Shangguan Jie, and Sang Hongyang as regents to jointly assist Liu Fuling.

Among them, Huo Guang was the main figure.

After Emperor Wu of Han passed away, Huo Guang remained wholeheartedly loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Objectively speaking, if it weren't for Huo Guang, the Han Dynasty would probably have been overthrown.

Huo Guang was so loyal, but what was the fate of the Huo family?

After Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, he began to target the Huo family, including figures like Huo Yu and Huo Shan; almost all of the Huo family's descendants were exterminated.

Qin Huaiyu and Qin Ying were both terrified when they heard this.

Qin Ying couldn't help but ask, "Why is that?"

"The root cause is that Huo Guang did not know when to advance or retreat, did not know how to withdraw gracefully, and was greedy for power."

Our Qin family's status is not comparable to Huo Guang's, nor to the famous generals I just mentioned. Our achievements cannot compare to theirs.

Therefore, while the emperor was conquering the land, we might have been of some use, but now that the country is at peace, we are no longer of any importance in the court.

If we don't change our mindset and continue to covet power, our Qin family will face utter destruction.

In particular, it is necessary to draw a clear line with Li Chenggan.

He is no longer the crown prince; he is a fugitive hunted by the imperial court.

Qin Ying felt terrible after hearing this. Although his grandfather's words were a bit harsh, it was the truth.

"No matter what, I still have to go find the Crown Prince," Qin Ying said, crying.

Qin Ying's words really angered Qin Qiong, who said sternly, "Grandpa is warning you again!"

"If you dare step out of the gates of the Duke of Yi's mansion again, I'll break your legs!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ying was so frightened that she involuntarily touched her leg.

"Huaiyu!"

"Father, what are your orders?" Qin Huaiyu quickly bowed.

Qin Qiong pointed at Qin Ying: "Lock him in a room and send twenty servants to watch him. They must follow him even when he goes to the outhouse, do you understand?"

"Yes!" Qin Huaiyu replied.

"Grandpa, don't you want to find a way to save the Crown Prince?"

"Save what?"

Li Chenggan brought this upon himself; you should save yourself first.

Back then, Chao Cuo believed that the various regional kings were becoming too powerful and were showing signs of becoming uncontrollable.

He then submitted a memorial to Emperor Jing of Han, arguing that those people would rebel whether the power was reduced or not, and that it was better to reduce it sooner rather than later. Emperor Jing of Han followed his advice and vigorously reduced the power of the vassal states, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the various vassal kings and led to the Rebellion of the Seven States.

When Chao Cuo's father learned of this, he rushed from Yingchuan to Chang'an and said to Chao Cuo, "Why did you do this? Isn't it good that the world is at peace now?"

Chao Cuo said, "As a subject of the Han Dynasty, I must be loyal to the court. I cannot stand by and watch the Han Dynasty suffer from serious problems without reporting them to the court; this is my duty."

His father sighed, "By doing this, the Liu family's rule may be secure forever, but our Chao family will be wiped out."

His father committed suicide after returning home.

Now, aren't your actions very similar to those of Chao Cuo?

Don't forget, you are a descendant of the Qin family.

You can't just think about Li Chenggan; you also have to think about your ancestors.

Qin Ying was scolded by her grandfather and didn't know how to respond.

……

It was around midnight.

Zichen Palace.

Li Shimin was sitting at his desk reviewing memorials. He had always maintained a habit of reviewing all the memorials of the day before he could rest.

Prior to this, on Xu Hui's advice, Li Shimin originally intended to hand over all memorials from officials of the third rank and below east of Luoyang to Li Chenggan for handling.

But now I have to review them myself, and then let Xu Hui review them.

Xu Hui declined for various reasons.

In fact, Li Shimin had been feeling uneasy lately. After all, Li Chenggan was his biological son and his eldest son.

He devoted a great deal of effort to Li Chengqian.

When Li Chenggan was eight years old, he specially invited great Confucian scholars Kong Yingda and Lu Deming to teach him. In addition, there were Li Gang, Zhang Xuansu and others. These people were either great Confucian scholars or masters of classical studies. They were all remarkable figures.

Li Shimin did this because he knew that choosing a teacher for the crown prince was of paramount importance.

One of the main reasons the Qin Dynasty only lasted two generations was that Qin Shi Huang was not good at choosing teachers for his princes.

The teacher he chose for Huhai was Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was knowledgeable in criminal law, and was treacherous, cunning, and ruthless. How could someone like that teach a good prince?

Unbeknownst to them, and subtly influenced by him, Hu Hai had already developed many similarities with Zhao Gao.

Hu Hai's ruthlessness and cold-heartedness surpassed even Zhao Gao's.

If Qin Shi Huang had carefully chosen a great Confucian scholar as Hu Hai's teacher, how could Hu Hai have been so cruel, domineering, and pleasure-seeking after ascending the throne?

Therefore, it can be said that Li Shimin had good intentions.

Now, due to various reasons, he and Li Chengan have completely fallen out, and father and son have become enemies.

In fact, Li Shimin was also feeling quite uncomfortable.

He even felt that he was not a good father.

He thought of Emperor Wu of Han again, as if he could now understand more deeply the feelings of Emperor Wu when he fell out with Liu Ju.

Liu Ju was also the eldest son of the emperor and the crown prince. He was born when Emperor Wu of Han was 29 years old.

Emperor Wu of Han was overjoyed and invited Dongfang Shuo, Mei Gao, and others to write several poems to celebrate the birth of his son.

This gives us an idea of ​​Emperor Wu of Han's feelings at the time.

As time went by, Liu Ju grew up. His governing philosophy differed greatly from that of Emperor Wu of Han, and the father and son gradually developed a rift and estrangement. In addition, the treacherous Jiang Chong interfered, and Emperor Wu of Han and Liu Ju also fell out, resulting in the Witchcraft Affair, which led to a war that killed and injured tens of thousands of people, and Chang'an was awash in blood.

In the end, Liu Ju was defeated and committed suicide.

By the time Emperor Wu of Han realized his mistake, it was too late.

Li Shimin felt that the current situation was more severe than that during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

Because Liu Ju did not have military power at the time, while Li Chengqian was able to command thousands of troops.

Not only that, Li Chenggan is also very skilled at leading troops in battle, and so far he has not suffered any defeats.

Sometimes, Li Shimin wondered if he had been too harsh on Li Chengqian.

However, the thought of what Li Chenggan had done was simply intolerable to him, and he felt that killing Li Chenggan would be the only way to appease public anger.

Because of this matter, Empress Zhangsun also came to see him.

He and Empress Zhangsun had another argument.

Last time, when Empress Zhangsun pleaded for Yin Hongzhi, Li Shimin was very unhappy.

Li Shimin believed that while other things could be forgiven, Yin Hongzhi's assassination attempt on him was unforgivable.

In Li Shimin's view, Yin Hongzhi was an ungrateful person.

If he hadn't pleaded for them before his father, both Yin Hongzhi and Consort Yin would be dead.

Unexpectedly, they wanted to kill him. How could Empress Zhangsun plead for Yin Hongzhi for such a heinous crime?

Empress Zhangsun persuaded him to rescind the assassination order and restore Li Chengqian to the position of crown prince, but how could that be possible?

The imperial edict has been issued; how can it be easily changed overnight?

Fang Xuanling was right; he indeed could not mobilize the armies of the Tibetans, Tanguts, Tuyuhun, Eastern Turks, and the Japanese.

Moreover, they made it clear that they would do whatever Li Chenggan said, which was outrageous.

This made Li Shimin feel that he was not quite worthy of the title of Heavenly Khan.

In other words, if Li Chengqian were ever in a bad mood, wouldn't he be able to surround Chang'an with a single order?

Then what's the point of being emperor?

Having experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, I will never allow any prince to force me to abdicate and become an emperor emeritus. If that were the case, I would rather be dead.