Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Yuchi Gong, fully armored and in full helmet, had appeared at the door at some unknown time.

Beside him stood the messenger eunuch, trembling with fear.

Seeing this, it goes without saying how Yuchi Gong got in.

"How dare you, Yuchi Jingde, enter the palace without an imperial edict!"

Pei Ji, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly jumped out and pointed at Yuchi Gong, shouting.

"You old fool, His Majesty hasn't even spoken yet, what are you doing here with your mouth?" Yuchi Gong had no qualms about scolding Prime Minister Pei Ji.

After all, as the Crown Prince's loyal henchman, give him a spear and he'd dare to take him to the Taiji Palace to force Li Yuan to abdicate. Such a person naturally doesn't need to be concerned about Pei Ji's feelings.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Li Yuan was furious. He pointed at Yuchi Gong and said, "Yuchi, how dare you! Coming here like this, do you intend to imitate what happened at Taiji Palace that day..."

Having said that, Li Yuan fell silent, and sat down in anger.

"His Majesty!"

Upon seeing this, all the officials knelt down and kowtowed, urging Li Yuan to take care of his health.

"His Majesty!"

Yuchi Gong stepped forward to the center of the hall and knelt down, saying, "Forgive my bluntness, but the Grand Chancellor Feng Deyi, a close ally of the Crown Prince and a traitor to the former Crown Prince, is two-faced and sows discord among the princes. I believe that it is this very person who has instigated the fratricide between Your Highness's brothers. This man's crimes are unforgivable!"

"Yuchi Laohei! These are slanderous words!" As soon as he finished speaking, Feng Deyi got up from the ground, turned around and stared at Yuchi Gong with a look that seemed to want to tear him to pieces.

Just as the two were arguing, a loud bang was heard, and the hall immediately fell silent.

"Enough! Yuchi! Get out of my way!" Li Yuan said angrily, pointing at Yuchi Gong.

"Your Majesty..." Yuchi Gong was about to refuse when he saw Fang Xuanling wink at him from the crowd, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth and retreat into the crowd.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the analogy of the Duke of Feng is indeed inappropriate." Seeing that Yuchi Gong had stepped down, Fang Xuanling stepped forward at the opportune moment.

He first bowed respectfully, then continued, "Your Majesty is a wise and decisive ruler who founded the dynasty, unlike the indecisive King Wuling of Zhao. His Highness the Crown Prince is also a filial son, far superior to Zhao He. Moreover, the former Crown Prince..."

At this point, Li Yuan understood the reasoning perfectly.

Fang Xuanling's words were a veiled reference to the fact that the former Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was no longer alive, and that he himself could not possibly retain power or support other sons. In short, he was telling Fang Xuanling to abdicate with peace of mind, and that once the throne was passed to his son, he would be able to enjoy his old age in peace.

At this point, Pei Ji, who had been listening for a while, saw that Li Yuan seemed to be finalizing the matter of passing the throne again, so he wanted to offer his advice once more.

Before he could speak, he was interrupted by a slightly childish voice: "Grandfather, I think what Marquis Fang said is right. My second uncle often taught me that filial piety and brotherly love should come first, and that we should respect our parents and elders. Even though he is now in Luoyang, the eastern capital, he hopes day and night to be forgiven by you."

After saying this, Li Yu couldn't help but blush.

It was truly embarrassing for him to go against his conscience and help Li Erda mediate like this...

After hearing Li Yu's words, Li Yuan realized that his original intention was to ease the tension between himself and Li Er.

Therefore, he did not hesitate any longer and immediately finalized the matter of passing the throne to his successor.

"Regarding the succession to the crown prince, my ministers need not say more; my mind is made up."

"..."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Everyone knew that once Li Yuan said this, it meant that it could not be changed. After all, how could an emperor go back on his word?

As a result, Li Yuan's former officials dared not speak anymore. They all sighed in their hearts, hoping that Li Er would be lenient when he purged them after ascending the throne.

On the contrary, the ministers who were loyal to Li Er were all secretly overjoyed.

After all, he had the merit of following the Crown Prince to conquer the country, and his contribution at Xuanwu Gate was also recorded. As long as Li Er ascended the throne, he would be a founding minister who had contributed to the founding of the country. It could be said that with these merits, he would be able to live a life of comfort and security for the rest of his life.

However, before they could utter any flattering words like "Congratulations, Your Majesty," Li Yuan continued, "Since my ascension to the throne, I have followed the ancient rites and traced back to the Zhou dynasty. What I have inherited is the old system of the Zhou family, and what I have practiced is the code of conduct of the former kings."

"But now the country has changed hands and the world has changed hands. Therefore, I have discussed with the Crown Prince and decided to change the name of the country to signify the renewal of all things and to announce it to all people."

Upon hearing this, everyone present except Li Yu and Yuan Tiangang was dumbfounded.

Because no one knows why Li Yuan would propose changing the name of the country.

At this moment, Yuan Tiangang stepped forward, as if he had been pre-arranged, and advised, "Your Majesty, I have calculated that the previous Zhou dynasty lasted for twenty-four years. Its fate has come to an end, and its fortune has been exhausted. There is no power to reverse it. It is precisely because of this that the Xuanwu Gate Incident occurred."

"Although Your Majesty is now in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's will, if you continue to use this title, you may be carrying on the embers of its decline and finding it difficult to usher in a new era!"

"Oh? According to what you say, what character should I use as the name of my country?" Li Yuan asked Yuan Tiangang, feigning curiosity.

"Your Majesty!" Yuan Tiangang bowed again, "This humble Taoist observed the celestial phenomena last night. Above Jinyang in the northeast, a galaxy of stars shone brightly, their brilliance mirroring Your Majesty's auspicious purple aura. Emperor Yao, one of the Five Emperors of antiquity, ruled the world with sage virtue and established his capital in Jinyang; this is the root of the 'Tang' name. Your Majesty inherited the title of 'Duke of Tang' and raised your army in Jinyang. This is to inherit the sage lineage of Emperor Yao and continue the old title of Duke; therefore, this new name for the state should undoubtedly be 'Tang'!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded: "Very well. Although the title of my Li family was bestowed by Emperor Xiaomin of Zhou, since then, my Li family has lived in Jinyang for generations, and has not declined for two generations. It can be seen that 'Tang' is indeed an auspicious word. Since that is the case, then from now on, let us use 'Tang' as our title to continue the Li family's rule!"

"Your Majesty is wise and benevolent; may the Tang Dynasty last forever!"

.........

"Now you can stay here in peace..."

In Sun Simiao's medicine hut, Li Yu chewed on beans and sighed that history always repeats itself in surprising ways.

Before the expedition, Li Er, that lecherous man, intended to take Yang Xi into the Eastern Palace as a concubine, and the eldest grandson also expressed his support for this matter.

This is also why Li Yu asked Yang Xi those questions that day.

"Kid, she's still your aunt, what kind of situation is it to bring her into your house?"

Li Yu was speechless whenever he thought of Li Er's shameless words.

Damn it, bringing them into my family is against human ethics, but taking them into your Eastern Palace is perfectly reasonable...

Li Yu went to great lengths to dissuade Li Er from this idea, on the condition that he reconcile with Li Yuan. As for the method of reconciliation, he said he didn't care.

Li Yu's method was to change the name of the country.

By having Li Yuan use this as the "last request" before handing over power to Li Er, and given that Li Er already had this intention, this allowed Li Yuan to save face while also giving Li Er a way out.

Finally, Yuan Tiangang suggested that the fratricide be attributed to the superstitious belief of using the wrong dynastic title, so that the transition between the old and new regimes could proceed smoothly in the future...

.........