"The sinner Li Chengqian has met my father."
There were no tears, no begging, and no heart-rending shouts. He just called softly as usual, and then calmly came to stand next to a few people.
Li Shimin turned his head slightly, as if he didn't want to see Li Chengqian, but Li Yunxiao saw that there were tears in Li Shimin's eyes...
"Qian'er, let me ask you, how have you been wronged by your father?"
Li Chengqian shook his head: "Why do you ask me, my father, knowingly? What do you want as a prince?"
Speaking of this, Li Chengqian smiled miserably and said: "Instead of asking my son, it is better to ask Li Tai. If he hadn't peeked at my position and forced me hard, how could I have listened to Li Yuanchang's words and marched on a dangerous road?" .”
"In the final analysis, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I have nothing to say."
Li Shimin glanced at the wine bottle in the pavilion, reached for it and took a few sips.
"The world reincarnates, the laws of nature are clear, and everything has a cause and effect. I should have listened to Li Aiqing and not created conflicts for you. At least, I have acted like this. Although the country has no king, you... are still my son..."
"All of this...hahahahaha...are all my retribution! It's my retribution!!"
Li Chengqian slowly knelt down in front of Li Shimin. Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, and Li Yunxiao immediately stood up and stepped aside.
"Father, I know that my crime is unforgivable and I am not the material to be an emperor, but Li Tai is not a good person either. If you make him the prince in the future, I will die with my eyes open!"
After the words fell, Li Chengqian pulled out the long knife of the person behind him and slashed at his neck with the knife.
puff!
Tick tock...tick tock...
The sound of blood dripping to the ground continued one after another, and it exploded into bright red spots when it fell on the ground.
Li Shimin held the long knife, without using any internal force to protect it, and it was cut hard into the palm of his hand.
"Father...Father!"
Li Chengqian threw away the long knife with a clatter, burst into tears and tore his clothes to pieces to bandage Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at Li Yunxiao and the others who were watching from a distance.
"The ministers dare not give me any advice on how to deal with Cheng Qian. The three of you and I are monarchs, ministers and friends. Can you help me?"
It was hard to imagine that this almost pleading voice would come out of Li Shimin's mouth.
All three fell silent.
How to deal with it is not simple? Wouldn’t the ministers know?
Even a sensible child knows that rebellion will lead to death, and even if it is not the royal family, it will involve the nine tribes!
But he just executed Li You not long ago. If he kills the prince now, how will the world view his family affairs, Li Shimin?
The most important thing is that Li Shimin promised the late empress' eldest grandson Wugou that no matter what kind of disaster Li Chengqian committed, he would never let him die!
At this time, Li Chunfeng said: "Your Majesty, it is the law of the country to punish crimes, but the law is determined by people. It is a great virtue to take care of relatives. Your Majesty does not want to lose the kindness of a loving father, so just let the prince enjoy his life in peace."
"Well, my brother Li is right, and I agree." Li Yunxiao also agreed.
Li Shimin nodded and glanced at Li Chengqian.
"Your sister Lizhi is in Raojiang now. Go find her...but remember, never come back again."
Li Chengqian raised his head with shock and looked at Li Shimin for a long time. Finally, he nodded with some choking, bowed deeply to the three of them, then turned around and left in a few steps.
"Li Aiqing..."
"here I am."
"Please help me send some people to guard his safe journey to Raojiang."
Li Yunxiao nodded: "No problem, it's a joke."
Li Shimin stood up slowly: "Then I'll leave first..."
At this time, Li Shimin's back looked a little lonely, as if he had aged a lot in an instant.
Li Chunfeng patted Yuan Tiangang on the shoulder: "Aren't you also optimistic about Li Chengqian becoming the emperor? Why are you looking sad now?"
Yuan Tiangang walked to the alchemy furnace and picked up the medical skills and said calmly: "Now in my court, only Your Majesty has the appearance of an emperor, and the rest are all unsightly. Why are you not worried?"
Li Yunxiao said helplessly: "Okay, let's study the elixir. The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge."
As soon as the words fell, the courtyard fell into silence again.
....
The next day.
Li Shimin issued an edict, and Prince Li Chengqian was deposed as a commoner and exiled outside Chang'an. He was left to fend for himself and his whereabouts were unknown except for a few people.
The King of Han Li Yuanchang was originally imprisoned in a cell, but now both the people in the cell and Li Yuanchang are missing. Li Shimin immediately issued a wanted order.
After that, Hou Junji, Helan Chushi and others were all exterminated. Only Hou Junji's youngest son was spared death.
Now that the crown prince has been deposed, Wei Wang Li Tai seems to be the best choice for succession in everyone's mind. But what is interesting is that above the court, more than a dozen ministers led by Changsun Wuji all strongly recommend Li Zhi.
It is also said that only those with both ability and political integrity can become the emperor of the world!
As Changsun Wuji spoke, half of the civil and military ministers came out one after another, vying to support Jin Wang Li Zhi as the crown prince!
Li Shimin did not deny that Li Zhi was a good boy and the most obedient and filial one.
After the death of eldest grandson Wugou, Li Shimin even lived in the same palace with him. Whenever he was upset, besides Li Yunxiao, it was Li Zhi who could relieve him of his depression.
Whenever he was physically and mentally exhausted, Li Zhi would come forward to rub his shoulders and legs and talk about poetry.
Moreover, Li Zhi was humble to superiors and respectful to subordinates. The impression of Li Zhi by the ministers of the DPRK and China was quite good! Can't find anything wrong with it!
Even when Li Zhi was out playing, the people welcomed him because he didn't have that air of being superior.
But because of this, Li Shimin felt that he was not suitable, because a perfect child did not mean that he was suitable to be an emperor.
As the saying goes, kindness cannot control troops, benevolence cannot control power, extreme humility is cowardice, extreme compassion is weakness.
Many of the previous examples have made it very obvious. Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty was ruthless and harmed the country, and Emperor Shizu of Qin was lax and caused chaos.
Now that the Tang Dynasty has begun to prosper, it has vast rivers and mountains and a vast territory. There are more than tens of thousands of officials under the control of the Hu and Han Dynasties?
With a character like Li Zhi, can he be able to shoulder this heavy responsibility?
If you let him, then you might as well let him canonize Li Yunxiao as his biological brother, and then pass the throne to him!
Although this kid is a bastard, he is assisted by two people who are better than brothers.
Of course, Li Shimin only thought about this kind of thing. If he said it, he would definitely be stopped by the three of them.
Li Shimin was in front of the table, holding his chin with one hand, looking at the names in front of him, looking back and forth, still unable to make up his mind.
At first he didn't miss Li Zhi at all, but now he can't miss him.
"It's a pity that Zhi'er has never been exposed to government affairs since he was a child. As a father, I have never trained him. I only ask him to assist my brothers. How come all the ministers in the government fall in love with you..."
After much deliberation, Li Shimin still circled the word Li Zhi.
"Zhi'er, you were born to my queen and you are kind-hearted. Even if you ascend the throne and become emperor, you will tolerate your two brothers and nephews..."
"Besides, with those three guys here with me, even if you are not a wise king, there is no need to worry..."
Li Shimin temporarily decided.
He cannot learn from his father Li Yuan. If he always hesitates, the final thing will be irreversible.
Thinking of this, he was going to see Li Zhi.
But as soon as he reached the door, he was stunned.
"Changsun Wuji? Why don't you come in when you're here?"
