"You must be worried about You'er..."
Although he didn't look good, the joking in his tone just now was gone.
Li Shimin nodded silently, a trace of bitterness flashed across his face.
"Aye, what do you think we should do with it?"
Li Shimin looked at his father, who looked complicated, with mixed feelings in his heart.
"He is your son, and more importantly your minister. How do you think you should deal with it-"
Looking at Li Shimin with a bitter look on his face, Li Yuan also had mixed feelings in his heart. He sighed softly and suddenly no longer wanted to take the opportunity to ridicule him.
"I thought that seeing your fate today might make me feel a little happy - but no, I feel even more uncomfortable..."
Li Yuan said and gently patted Li Shimin on the shoulder.
"As the King of Yan, he raised an army to rebel. Naturally, he will never be redeemed. But he is not only the King of Yan, he is also your son and my grandson. If you kill your son, you will kill my grandson - our old man. In the Li family, isn’t it enough that the tragedy of sibling killing each other and father and son stealing from each other happened once?”
Li Shimin raised his head and looked at Li Yuan, but Li Yuan didn't look at him anymore. He waved his hand and left.
The sound came from afar.
"I'm just an old man who lives deep in Tai Chi Palace and doesn't care about worldly affairs. You are now the helmsman of this country. You still need to decide where to go. No one can make this decision for you. I only hope that you will not regret it. ——”
There was something inexplicably sad about his back.
In a daze, he recalled the scene in the past when he led people into the Tai Chi Palace.
"Aren't you afraid that today you will kill your brothers, disobey your king and father, and do such treasonous and unethical things? In the future, your descendants will learn from you and commit painful acts such as brother and sister killing each other, and father and son stealing from each other?"
My father’s hoarse accusations are still fresh in my mind.
And his son has already sharpened his sword and pointed it at himself.
Could it be that this is really retribution...
He couldn't help but sigh and closed his eyes slightly.
He was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice the direction in which his father was leaving.
…
Yangzhou.
The Governor's Mansion.
back yard.
Li Tai's somewhat obese body was supported on the chestnut-colored railings of the pavilion, staring blankly at the white walls, gray tiles, and green bamboos in front of him. He had not moved for a long time.
The guards behind him all looked nervous, fearing that His Highness would break the railing and fall into the pool beneath him.
At this moment, there was a familiar sound of footsteps at the courtyard door.
When they saw the person, several guards couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The famous man in front of His Royal Highness the King of Wei is Cui Xiangzhi.
"Cui Changshi——"
Several guards quickly bowed and saluted.
Cui Xiangzhi smiled and nodded modestly.
"Your Highness, is he in there?"
"Here, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I'll go and inform you right away——"
A flattering smile appeared on the guard leader's face.
"Is it Cui Changshi who is here? How many times have I told you that Cui Changshi is here, just invite him over. You blind people-"
Before the announcement was made, Li Tai's somewhat unhappy voice sounded over there.
Cui Xiangzhi smiled apologetically at the guards.
"They are also responsible, so why should His Highness be harsh..."
Cui Xiangzhi replied with a smile, nodded slightly to the guards, and walked inside.
"As expected of a descendant of the Cui family, this magnanimity is really admirable——"
Looking at Cui Xiangzhi's leaving figure, several guards couldn't help but secretly admire him.
"Have seen His Highness——"
Cui Xiangzhi smiled and bowed to Li Tai.
"Brother Cui, how many times have I told you that there is no need to be polite between you and me - come, sit down and have a drink with me..."
Li Tai waved his hand and motioned Cui Xiangzhi to sit down and talk. Cui Xiangzhi was not polite and sat down directly opposite Li Tai. He picked up the wine bottle and filled it with Li Tai while asking.
"Why is Your Highness so leisurely and leisurely today? You want to ask me to drink..."
As he spoke, his nose suddenly twitched.
"Hey, it's Erguotou——"
Li Tai smiled and raised his wine glass, touched it lightly with Cui Xiangzhi, then picked up the wine glass, frowned and took a small sip, and then said.
"This is a good nose. This Erguotou is mellow and soft, with a fragrance of bamboo leaves, but also very strong. It is indeed a rare treasure. Unfortunately, my father holds the recipe for brewing and refuses to leak it, and The winery is not allowed to make more wine. It is impossible to buy it on the market. Even I, the king, can only get a few jars. This is the Erguotou specially sent from Chang'an - when you leave later, remember to take two jars with you... …”
"Then I'll be disrespectful -"
Cui Xiangzhi smiled and thanked him, then raised his glass and took a careful sip.
This Erguotou was too strong. With his drinking capacity, he could only drink three ounces. When he drank with King Wei for the first time, he didn't know the depth of it, and he was drunk for several days.
Therefore, although he liked the sweetness and softness of the wine, he did not dare to drink it again.
The two drank together in silence for three times before Li Tai put down his glass and breathed a sigh of relief.
"According to the itinerary, King Yan should have entered Beijing today—"
Although Datang Evening News is published every day and quickly distributed to various places through various post stations, even so, it will take seven or eight days before it reaches Yangzhou.
This is still fast. If there is some unexpected situation on the way, or rain or snow, sometimes it will be delayed for more than half a month.
Therefore, the news he received was relatively late.
Cui Xiangzhi paused slightly while holding the chopsticks, pondered for a moment, then simply put the chopsticks down and said seriously.
"Your Highness is still worried about King Yan?"
Li Tai nodded slightly.
"Although he is useless, he is my brother after all..."
Cui Xiangzhi was silent for a moment and sighed softly.
"The King of Yan used his ministers to attack the king, and used his son to rebel against his father. He ignored loyalty and violated filial piety. When he returns to the capital this time, he may end up in a terrible situation..."
Li Tai couldn't help but be silent when he heard this.
Holding on to the table, he stood up with some difficulty, walked to the edge of the pavilion, held on to the two pitiful railings again, and looked back sadly in the direction of Chang'an. After a long time, he sighed with emotion.
"The human heart -"
Behind him, Cui Xiangzhi remained silent.
A group of guards in the distance looked nervous, fearing that the two railings would suddenly break.
"Fortunately, Your Highness has lost some weight recently..."
The leader of the guards secretly felt lucky, and then wondered whether he should ask the carpenter from the Governor's Mansion to come over and strengthen the railings.
…
Li You was escorted back to Beijing.
Like a huge boulder being thrown into a calm lake, not only Li Tai, who was far away in Yangzhou, was worried and wanted to see the fate of his idiot brother, but the civil and military officials in the court were also like sharks that smelled the fishy smell. , jumped out one after another.
No matter what the intention is.
However, the memorial demanding severe punishment for the traitor Li You rushed to the Liangyi Palace like snowflakes.
What's more, many people have turned their attention to the East Palace.
Therefore, letters requesting the prince to come forward and asking the court to severely punish the traitors also floated to the East Palace in white.
The subordinate officials in the East Palace didn't care about hiding this kind of thing from Li Chengqian, so they went to Beida camp and invited Li Chengqian out.
Li Chengqian vomited blood in depression.
If I want to take care of this kind of nonsense, why should I hide in the camp?
But regardless of the motives of those people, now that they have found their way to him, he can no longer avoid them.
Returning to the East Palace, he immediately summoned all the subordinate officials including Wei Zheng, Yu Zhining, Kong Yingda, Zhang Ruosu and others.
Wei Zhengren was still studying rice on the ground, when Li Chengqian sent someone to invite him back.
From his heart, he resisted, but who allowed him to hold a position in the East Palace.
"Does this matter still need to be discussed? Although King Yan is His Majesty's own son, he has disobeyed and rebelled against his superiors. He used his ministers to attack the king and his son to rebel against his father. He is unfaithful and unfilial and violates human ethics. Naturally, he should be severely punished according to the law - "
After not seeing each other for a while, Wei Zheng's face became darker, but his body became stronger. Only his stinky face was still habitually accompanying him, but it was probably because he had been far away from the court for a while, and squatted in the fields all day long. Because Menzi wanted to develop high-yielding hybrid rice, his temperament became much calmer. In addition, the unwashed soil between his fingers and clothes made him look like an old farmer with no smiles, but he did not have the liveliness he had in the past. The aura of keeping people away.
However, his words were still sharp, serious and to the point.
"According to the culpability, King Yan naturally needs to be severely punished, but your majesty can say it, the ministers can say it, but His Highness the Crown Prince cannot say it. His Highness is not only the prince, but also the eldest brother of King Yan. He is loyal, filial, loyal, and humane. Brothers. I have, as an elder brother, how can I keep shouting and killing?"
Although Kong Yingda holds the title of official of the East Palace and rarely participates in the decision-making of the East Palace, today he heard Wei Zheng's suggestion and frowned immediately, becoming the first to stand up and object.
"The prince is kind and has high hopes from the people of the world. How can he let his reputation be tarnished?"
Zhang Ruosu nodded with deep understanding.
"Old minister seconded the proposal——"
Yu Zhining couldn't help but frown slightly.
"If they are ordinary brothers, there is nothing wrong with the two people's discussion. But as the crown prince, His Highness will face the entire family, country and the world in the future. He is not the father and brother of one person, but the father and brother of the world. How can it be because of an individual brother? Are you disregarding the justice of the world? I think Secretary Wei’s words are reasonable——"
…
Everyone said something to each other, and we argued for a long time. The veins on our heads almost popped out, and we couldn't come up with a right or wrong.
Li Chengqian listened with his head spinning.
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
If Mr. were here, he wouldn't be so entangled, right?
Just as he was thinking about how to end today's argument and find a way to go to Wang Zi'an for an idea, Wei Zheng suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Stop arguing. Instead of arguing endlessly here, let's go find someone to discuss an idea and see what he thinks..."
Upon hearing this, Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining and Zhang Ruosu couldn't help but their eyes lit up.
"You mean the Marquis of Chang'an?"
Then, several people looked at each other and smiled, showing a sympathetic smile.
Zi'an is a child who is smart and wise, has a unique vision, and is an unparalleled scholar in the country. What's even more rare is that he is aloof and regards fame and wealth as floating clouds. Such a person has directly jumped out of the barriers between the court and the world, and his views will naturally be more righteous.
Is there anyone more suitable than him?
You can’t go wrong with him!
Li Chengqian was thinking about this, so he naturally had no reason to refuse.
At that moment, several people hit it off and split into two groups, heading straight to the Marquis' Mansion in Chang'an.
It is not appropriate to separate the troops. The identities of Wei Zheng and Li Chengqian have not yet been exposed, so it is not suitable to be with others.
…
Seeing Li Shimin coming back from outside, looking restless, Empress Changsun knew that he must still be worried about how to deal with Li You, so she moved forward lightly and held Li Shimin's hand.
"Erlang, I shouldn't say too much about your good deeds in court, but there is always a rule for everything. Don't keep it in your heart and worry yourself so much——"
Li Shimin forced a smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Maid Guanyin, I'm fine, things will be over soon -"
As he spoke, he glanced at a brand new long dress on the table next to him.
"Concubine Yin came to see you again?"
Queen Changsun sighed and nodded slightly.
"I didn't give her permission. This time You'er is different from before. What he violated was the national law. It's up to you and the court to deal with him - "
Having said this, I couldn't help but sigh again.
"Sister Yin Fei is also a pitiful person. You should go and see her later..."
Li Shimin had a headache.
While gently pinching the center of his eyebrows, he said a little irritably.
“We’ll talk about this later—”
Seeing that Li Shimin was not in the mood, Empress Changsun wisely changed the subject.
"Why should Erlang worry about himself here? If you can't make up your mind, why not go to some prime ministers to discuss it and see what their attitude is..."
Li Shimin sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Although they are resourceful and capable, know the law, and understand the overall situation, and can help me properly handle various complicated government affairs in the court, however, they only see their country and the court. They respect me and love me, but they don't know about me. What’s on my mind——”
Queen Changsun couldn't help but be silent.
As a childhood sweetheart, she naturally knows how her husband feels.
The courtiers were worried that if King Li You of Yan was not severely punished, those who would come after him would follow suit. However, he was worried that he had already had a precedent of killing his brothers and forcing his father. Once he killed his son again, it would also lead to Future generations will follow suit.
From now on, there will probably be a bloody storm within the Imperial Family of the Tang Dynasty.
Father is not father, son is not son, brother is not brother, brother is not brother, there is no greater tragedy in the world than this...
However, Wang Zi'an didn't know what he was thinking, otherwise he would definitely complain about him.
Lao Li, be more confident and get rid of the fear. Since you, your Lao Li family has never stopped bleeding for this chair. And not only father and son, brothers, but also the wife went into battle shirtless and killed everyone...
Intimate person?
Seeing the worry on Li Shimin's face, Empress Changsun couldn't help but think of someone.
"If Erlang has no one to talk to, why not go find Zian -"
Having said this, Empress Changsun herself suddenly became enlightened.
"That child has always been independent, smart, and discerning. He may be able to solve Erlang's problems..."
When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, he slapped his thigh and stood up suddenly.
"Walk--"
