When Wang Li heard that His Majesty was going to impose the death penalty on him, he couldn't help but feel terrified.
He also thought that after all, he was just a pawn of the Yizhou clan, and the benefits might not necessarily come to him in his turn, but he was indispensable for charging forward and offending His Majesty.
The more Wang Li thought about it, the more he felt it was worthless. His life was about to be lost. Why did he care about the interests of the Yizhou nobles?
So Wang Li first stopped Chen Zhong, and then shouted:
"Your Majesty, wait a minute! I have something to say, and I want to make meritorious deeds! I hope your Majesty will do it!"
Seeing Wang Li like this, Li Shimin felt proud and signaled Chen Zhong to wait. Then he said coldly:
"Hmph! Ever since you came to the Gold and Silver Palace, I have been giving you opportunities to defend yourself.
Unexpectedly, you only care about complaining for the princes of Yizhou, and you want to avoid the important things and persuade me to give up the Northern Expedition and compromise with the princes of Yizhou.
Now that you know that your life is in danger, but you want to make a meritorious deed, do you want me to spare your life?
Do you think that if I don’t have real evidence regarding Yang Yi, I might bring you here for interrogation overnight? "
Seeing that His Majesty was not interested in what he wanted to say, Wang Li couldn't help but despair, thinking that he might not be able to escape today.
Thinking of this, Wang Li wanted to directly inform His Majesty of all the people involved in this matter, and he would drag them along even if he died.
But after thinking about it, I felt that doing so would only make it more difficult for the princes of Yizhou to compete with His Majesty. After much thought, I gave up the idea of "perish together" with the Yizhou princes.
Li Shimin saw Wang Li's expression first desperate, then erratic, and finally determined. Knowing that Wang Li kept the bottom line at the critical moment of life and death and did not intend to betray the Yizhou princes.
Seeing this situation, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel that the evaluation of Wang Li in the history books was quite fair. This man was indeed talented and upright and fair.
So he strengthened his previous idea and wanted to win over several Yizhou courtiers who were involved in Yang Yi's affairs.
After making up his mind, Li Shimin made a final test on Wang Li.
"I see that your eyes are wandering and the expression on your face is erratic. It seems that you are not convinced by my decision!"
Since Wang Li arrived at the Gold and Silver Palace, within less than a cup of tea, his mentality has been ups and downs following His Majesty's words and deeds.
At this time, Wang Li was exhausted both physically and mentally. He just hoped that His Majesty would give him a happy life, and he would agree to whatever His Majesty requested.
"Your Majesty! I know that my crime is unforgivable. I all respect your Majesty's wisdom and tactics. I hope that your Majesty will give me a happy life!"
After Li Shimin heard this, he finally felt at ease. The torture Wang Li suffered was enough to make all the princes in Jingzhou lose their temper.
Li Shimin adjusted his mood and said calmly:
"I see that you do have the intention to repent, and that you have a certain bottom line and have not really exposed other people involved in this matter, so I decided to give you a way out.
As long as you sincerely submit to the imperial court and write down the details of Yang Yi's incident in person and sign it, today's incident will be treated as if it never happened.
If I later discover that you have different ambitions, I will use what you wrote as a basis and have you beheaded in public, and the rest of the party will be punished!
Of course, if you are not convinced, you can reject me and wait until tomorrow morning to be beheaded in public. "
Seeing that His Majesty finally relented, Wang Li breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly knelt down to receive the order and thank him.
As for whether there will be any differences in the future...
Your Majesty has so many means, and I have the leverage in His Majesty's hands. If I give myself a hundred courages, I won't be able to have different aspirations...
Seeing that Wang Li had completely returned to his heart, Li Shimin told Wang Li:
"Let this matter stay in your heart and don't mention it to anyone again.
In the future, if I have another dispute with the Yizhou princes in the court, you should know what to do, right? "
At this time, Wang Li knew that he was completely safe, and his heart calmed down. Thinking about problems has returned to being as detailed and thoughtful as before.
After hearing what His Majesty said, Wang Li knew what His Majesty meant and hurriedly bowed his head and said:
"Reporting to your majesty, I understand! From now on, I will just keep silent and support the Yizhou princes in the court. Whenever the Yizhou princes have any secret meetings, I should inquire about the information for your majesty and report it in time."
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile:
"I am very relieved that Wang Boyuan is so shrewd. There is no need to report everything later. When I need to know about the situation of the princes in Yizhou, I will send someone to inform you."
After Wang Li handed over the incident in his own handwriting, Li Shimin gave Wang Li some encouragement and then dismissed Wang Li.
Seeing Wang Li walking away, Jiang Wan suddenly knelt down in front of His Majesty and said excitedly:
"Your Majesty has great talents and strategies, and I respect you all! I thank you for your ingenious plan to redress the grievances of Yang Yi and the people of Jingzhou like us!"
When Li Shimin saw Jiang Wan kneeling and kowtow, he quickly helped Jiang Wan up and said harmoniously:
"You all are my confidants and helpers, so naturally I will vent my anger on you!
It's just that the current situation forces me to kill people in Yizhou on a large scale, so I have to spare Wang Li's life and make him be used by me. I hope you don't blame me! "
Jiang Wan listened to His Majesty's words and admired Him even more. The emperor's art lies in controlling people's hearts and making his subjects willing to contribute to the court.
His Majesty was able to use both grace and power to play with Wang Li, and in the end he was convinced by Wang Li. Isn't this exactly what an emperor should do?
Thinking of this, Jiang Wan bowed again:
"It's too late for us to admire what your Majesty has done, so how can we complain? If the king is like this, we should give our full support to help your majesty realize his ambition to unify the world as soon as possible!"
Li Shimin nodded in agreement, then looked at the jailer who was still kneeling in front of him and said:
"You have seen what happened to Wang Li, and now I want to give you a way to survive. I hope you will not be ignorant of good and evil."
The jailer originally thought that His Majesty wanted to abandon the carriage to protect the commander and make him the scapegoat for Wang Li and others, and he was already in despair.
Unexpectedly, His Majesty is not only thoughtful, but also so benevolent that he actually leaves a way for a small person like himself to survive.
I couldn't help but be filled with emotion, and hurriedly kowtowed:
"The villain knows that his sins are serious, and he did not dare to ask His Majesty for mercy. Now that Your Majesty wants to be lenient and give the villain a chance to repent, then the villain should be at his mercy!"
Li Shimin nodded, and first ordered Huang Hao to bring up several other jailers, and then ordered Zhang Shao to continue to invite Wang Li to join the conspiracy.
Zhang Shao saw His Majesty's method of dealing with Wang Li and knew that Your Majesty wanted to defeat Wang Li and others one by one and deal with them in different categories.
Since Zhang Shao knew His Majesty's intentions, he no longer asked any more questions, bowed and accepted the order and left.
After a while, several other jailers and jailers arrived. Li Shimin first ordered the previous jailer to tell several people about Wang Li's incident just now.
After the exchange between several people had finished, Li Shimin sat upright on the couch in the palace and said majestically:
"You all know what is going on here. Now I will propose a method of handling it. You will discuss and weigh it before making a statement."
Seeing several people kowtow and say yes, Li Shimin continued:
"I want to reduce the Yang Yi incident to a minor issue and don't want to make a fuss. The key to quelling the matter is whether Yang Yi's death is related to Lu Yi and others.
Now, only you who were on duty that day can convince everyone in the court. Since this is a big matter, all you need to do is agree on the same words and insist that Yang Yi never met Lu Yi, Wang Li and others before his death. .
As for the cause of Yang Yi's death, you need to take the responsibility on yourselves. You can only say that Yang Yi couldn't stand your ridicule and ridicule, so she committed suicide out of anger.
When you reported the matter to all levels, you said that you were afraid that you would be held accountable by your superiors if you concealed it and did not report it, so you had no choice but to report it. "
Everyone was suspicious after hearing this. After all, it was easy to conceal the truth, but it was not easy to shoulder the responsibility for Yang Yi's suicide.
Li Shimin saw that everyone looked embarrassed and said with a smile:
"You don't need to worry about this. As long as you deceive the princes in the court and put this matter to rest, I will definitely come forward to save your lives.
But if this happens, your jobs will definitely be lost. I will find a good place for you, so that you can live the rest of your life with adequate food and clothing. "
Seeing His Majesty's arrangement, several people felt relieved.
After deliberation for a while, a jailer reported back to His Majesty on behalf of several people:
"We thank His Majesty for your kindness, and we are all willing to act according to His Majesty's words. But..."
Li Shimin saw the jailer's hesitation and guessed that these people were worried that they would not be properly resettled after the incident was completed.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin stood up and walked towards a few people. He first helped a few people up, and then said seriously:
"I am the king of a country, and I will always stick to my word and follow the law. You don't have to worry about me crossing the river and burning down the bridge.
If you can't let go, I can ask Huang Hao to draft a secret edict to keep you safe. "
When several people heard this, they were all shocked! Instead of embarrassing these people, His Majesty wanted to issue a secret order to reassure them.
"This... we are terrified! Your Majesty is a benevolent king, and we admire you! Regarding Yang Yi's matter, we will do our best to help your Majesty settle the disputes in the court!"
After settling the matter, Li Shimin ordered several people to stay in the main hall temporarily to cooperate with him in interrogating the upcoming conspirators of He Zhi, Liu Shen and other Wang Li.
Several people first received the secret order from His Majesty to protect their lives, and then adjusted their emotions and pretended to be panic, waiting for the arrival of He Zhi and others.
