Chapter 42 Li Heng: Why should I go boating in the lake in the middle of the night?
Li Heng was shocked, but Li Shimin looked innocent and said that the other party was making a false accusation.
"Li Fuguo, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"
Li Heng immediately questioned Li Fuguo, who then banged his head against the ground, as if the louder the bang, the more it proved that what he said was true:
"I dare to say this, of course I have evidence!
The evidence is the secret letter between His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and the Jiedushi Gao Shi, which said that they intended to forge a military order and plot a rebellion!
"Every word I say is true. Your Majesty will know the truth if you send someone to search Prince Yan's mansion."
"Why? My princess just had a miscarriage today and is weak. You deliberately framed me for searching the mansion. What if she gets frightened?
Do you want to kill my princess?"
Li Shimin denied it outright and immediately retorted:
"Father, I have recently verified that this eunuch is wreaking havoc on the country, manipulating power and even colluding with Empress Zhang and the King of Yue to usurp the throne!"
Not only was Li Heng surprised, but everyone in the hall was stunned.
After all, what Prince Yan said involved the former dynasty, the harem, and the princes.
This is a serious matter. If it is really dug out, the person’s head will fall to the ground like vegetables.
As a result, everyone in the palace had a look of shock, with their ears pricked up, waiting for something to happen.
Li Fuguo falsely accused others every day, but this was the first time he was falsely accused of treason. He was stunned on the spot. When Li Heng looked at him, he immediately continued to kowtow desperately, banging his head loudly.
[Yo yo, it sounds like it's a good melon, no, it's a good start.
Doesn't his head hurt from the buzzing? Who's telling the truth? Does it all come down to who kowtows louder? [Thinking.jpg]
[That is, unlike our Erfeng, who is so smart, with Yiwu at hand, everything is easy, so she doesn't have to rack her brains.]
The two sides were deadlocked, accusing each other of treason and claiming they were innocent. Li Heng was in a very bad mood at this time.
He immediately sent people to summon King Yue, Empress Zhang, Gao Shi and others, and at the same time had their mansions searched thoroughly.
Soon everyone arrived and the evidence of treason was brought up.
Since Li Fuguo and others had not yet prepared all the evidence, they only found letters exchanged between Li Shimin in his study.
Li Heng immediately took the letter and opened it to read. The more he read, the angrier he became.
"Prince Yan, did you write this letter yourself?
It says that after you succeed, I will give Gao Shi 100,000 taels of gold, and after that, I will make him the Minister of State!"
Li Shimin quickly took the letter and read it, then passed it to Gao Shi, who was called in the middle of the night and was looking confused.
Gao Shi was sleeping soundly at home when he was suddenly hit by a huge pot. He was so frightened that he felt sick. After reading the letter, he was very angry and slapped the ground:
"This is all nonsense, framing me and the King of Yan! If the King of Yan really needed to do something, would he have promised me such a large sum of money?
It's simply a disgrace to the friendship between me and His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan!"
[Hahaha, Gao Shi is such a sincere kid. So what you're saying is that if Li Shimin wanted to rebel, you'd just follow him?]
“The handwriting was deliberately imitated!
Besides, I need to expand the library, so I don’t have that much money to spare!”
When Li Shimin and Li Fuguo were debating, evidence from the Prince of Yue's Mansion was also found.
The Prince of Yue's Palace had a realistic military talisman imitated by modern people, while in Li Fuguo's mansion, a jade seal and a dragon robe were found in the mouths of the stone lions at the gate.
Li Shimin: ...Seriously, can you modern people be a little more perfunctory?
Is it hidden at the door? Do you dare to throw it on the door panel?
[Oh, I can't get in. The stone lions are fine, they belong to me! Boss Erfeng, don't be so picky.]
Picking ears and catching fish.jpg]
Fortunately, these evidences not only looked abundant but also very realistic. The materials of the jade seal and dragon robe were better than the real ones. As soon as Li Heng got them in his hands, he became furious.
"Okay, okay, you guys really have wicked ambitions!"
King Yue and Queen Zhang: ...?
Oh my god, my mother/son is plotting a rebellion behind my back?
Because the objects were so realistic, King Yue, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo looked at each other in shock, and began to doubt whether the other party had really forged these things.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You know me, I really haven't thought about this!
"I, your humble concubine, have only you in my eyes every day in the harem. I have never thought of anything else, wuwuwu!"
Of course, the one who could rise from a concubine to become the favored queen was not a simple person. Empress Zhang relied on her beauty to cry bitterly.
The King of Yue quickly crawled to Li Heng's feet and began to play the victim. The mother and son's words made Li Heng hesitate again, not knowing who to listen to.
"Father, they even made dragon robes better than the ones you wear. Do you really trust them?"
[Oh my, don’t compete with our Erfeng in crying scenes!
All of you combined can't compare to our Emperor Taizong's tears! He's prone to incontinence!
In short, everyone was making so much noise that Li Heng, who was already suffering from insomnia in the middle of the night, got a headache.
The elderly are not suitable for staying up late at night. If they do, they will feel anxious, insomniac and black eyes. So he quickly waved his hand and said:
"Bring them all back to my palace under house arrest and keep them under strict surveillance!
Tomorrow, when I go to court, you can confront me in front of the hall!"
[No, Li Heng is confused, right?
You're plotting a rebellion, yet you're still placing someone under house arrest. If there really were a rebellion, wouldn't they have taken advantage of the situation and taken care of you before tomorrow?]
[Li Yuan did the same thing back then. In front of Xuanwu Gate, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi falsely accused Li Shimin of treason, so Li Shimin accused them of plundering the harem.
Then, seeing that it was getting late, Li Yuan asked them to go back and confront each other again the next day.
Good fellow, he was falsely accused of treason, and you even ordered me to come back the next day for a confrontation. Doesn't that mean you're forcing me into rebellion even if I didn't?]
[Great! Will I be able to see Xuanwu Gate early tomorrow morning?]
"No need to wait until tomorrow morning, let's prepare for action tonight."
At this time, Li Shimin, who was already under house arrest, had of course begun to act as planned.
He first hid his wife in a secret room in his mansion.
If he really failed, he would fight back to his house to rescue his wife, and then retreat to Luoyang to make further plans.
"Erlang, just go for it. No matter success or failure, I will always be by your side!
We share honor and disgrace, life and death together!"
"Guanyin Bi..."
The two of them looked at each other lovingly across a door that was about to close. This scene made all the single people feel heartbroken and moved.
[Wow, so, that's why we were joking about the Xuanwu Sect inheritance law. Actually, Erfeng was under a lot of pressure at the time!]
[Yes, even if there is a Xuanwu Gate 2.0 version, this is not a script!
If you mess up, there's no chance to start over. It's really fatal!]
[This dog food is stuffed into my mouth like crazy, and I'm whining and laughing like a madman!]
After Li Shimin separated from Guanyinbi, he asked his confidant to secretly leave the house through a dog hole to inform Guo Ziyi.
In fact, he and Guo Ziyi had already discussed the whole matter, and Guo Ziyi had been waiting.
There was no need for him to say much at this time. Guo Ziyi would take action immediately after receiving his signal.
"Actually, I originally wanted Cheng Qianli to do this, but Guo Ziyi has always had a greater reputation among the officials and is more reliable."
What exactly should I do now? I'm completely confused...
"You're stupid! During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the most important thing wasn't the Crown Prince or the Prince of Qi. It was about controlling the Emperor!"
Back then, it was Yuchi Jingde who carried Li Yuan to the lake in the middle of the night, so Guo Ziyi should have been preparing to carry Li Heng to go swimming as well!
[Aha ...
So excited! I'm staying up late to watch the Xuanwu Gate livestream! Witness history!
[When I think of the elderly man Li Heng, whose eyes were dazed and he hadn’t slept well, being picked up in the middle of the night to enjoy the scenery?
I just hahahahahaha, Li Heng is so pitiful! 】
At this time, after Li Heng drove everyone away, he still felt a buzzing in his ears, his eyelids were twitching, and he was very anxious.
Li Fuguo and others who had always served him were also placed under house arrest by him. He was not used to the eunuchs and palace maids around him, which made him even more upset.
When he finally fell into a drowsy sleep, he couldn't sleep well in his dreams for most of the night. He kept dreaming about his father becoming the emperor after Mawei Slope.
When his father became the emperor emeritus, he was extremely excited and proud.
But now, every time he thought about it, the more he thought about this scene, the more scared he became, fearing that one day he would become the emperor.
Just when he suddenly dreamed that Li Longji was coming towards him with a sword, he woke up with a scream. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that Guo Ziyi was kneeling beside his dragon bed.
Li Heng wiped the sweat off his forehead and was wondering what was going on when he heard Guo Ziyi say that he had come to see the emperor for an urgent matter.
Li Heng did not suspect anything, so he immediately had someone put on some clothes. Just as he was about to go down and help him up, Guo Ziyi suddenly took out a dagger from his sleeve and pressed it against Li Heng's abdomen.
"Guo Ziyi, how dare you!"
Li Heng was immediately shocked and was about to call the Shen Ce Army to execute the rebel. However, Guo Ziyi immediately said:
"Your Majesty, it would be best if you remained silent. If my actions were discovered, would the Shen Ce Army kill me first, or would I kill you first?"
The dagger on his abdomen thrust forward again. Li Heng dared not speak. With cold sweat on his forehead, he glared at Guo Ziyi and said:
"What on earth are you going to do?"
Guo Ziyi hid the dagger in his sleeve, so although it looked a little unusual to others, it did not seem like he was planning a rebellion to assassinate the emperor.
Guo Ziyi smiled and said:
"I haven't spoken to Your Majesty for many years. I'm terrified to think of it today, so I'd like to invite Your Majesty to go boating with me."
After hearing this, Li Heng's whole body trembled.
…
Before Li Heng was picked up and taken for a boat ride on the lake in the middle of the night, Crown Prince Li Yu heard about the accusations of treason in the palace, and immediately came to the Prince of Yan's Mansion to see his third brother.
His third brother has a violent temper and cannot tolerate any injustice. He loves his princess the most. Today, he is probably so angry that he almost vomits blood.
He had to find out what was going on quickly, lest his third brother really did something wrong in the chaos and be killed by his father.
Although his third brother was still under house arrest, he was still allowed to visit his brother as the crown prince, so Li Yu ran over in the middle of the night to see Li Shimin.
A few days ago, Li Shimin learned from modern people's monitoring that Li Yu was indeed not involved in Li Fuguo's false accusation against him, so he thought of letting him go.
Just then, Li Yu bumped in.
Well, since we are already here, why not just do it today and get rid of Li Yu and Li Heng, the father and son, at the same time? How convenient!
However, at this time, Li Yu, who knew nothing, was naively comforting his third brother, asking him to stay calm and not to worry.
"I know you must be very sad and upset that your sister-in-law had a miscarriage, but you will still have children in the future..."
"That's natural."
Li Shimin looked calm at this time, and did not look at all heartbroken over the loss of his child. Li Yu was stunned.
Normally, my third brother always has a smile on his face and doesn’t think anything of it.
And now, Li Shimin was sitting with a stern face and holding a sword, with a strong murderous aura and a solemn feeling all over his body. Li Yu couldn't help but feel his heart beating wildly, and he silently moved away:
"Third brother, what on earth are you doing..."
"Since Your Highness the Crown Prince is here today, I don't have to look for you.
It's just right, you don't have to leave today, just stay here."
Li Yu was shocked after hearing this and immediately stood up:
"Prince Yan, what exactly are you planning to do? Could it be that you are planning a rebellion, as the eunuch said?"
"It is not this king who is plotting rebellion. This king is merely trying to clear out the corrupt officials."
Li Yu had no idea what he was thinking at the moment. He only saw Li Shimin's expressionless face as he consoled him:
"This world will ultimately belong to my Li Tang. You can rest assured."
Li Yu: ………
[Ahahahahahahaha, Erfeng, you still have something to say! Li Yu's expression is about to crack when you say that!]
Li Yu: ??? I'm so worried!
[He is clearly the crown prince and the future emperor. You overthrew him and took the throne yourself, and you still expect him to be at ease?
Erfeng, you are so good at comforting people! 】
After all, he was his own grandson, so Li Shimin was more patient with him than with Li Jiancheng. He even had time to comfort him and explain:
“You are really not doing a good job in this world.
Rather than letting you drag my Tang Dynasty into an even more irreparable situation, it would be better for me to take over.
Don't worry, as long as you don't become my enemy, I will still protect your family's lives. It will be fine for you to be a leisurely prince in the future."
"How pretentious! Third brother, I misjudged you!"
When Li Yu heard Li Shimin reveal his ambition, his expression changed and he said coldly:
"My advisors told me to get rid of you, but I never believed them! I never thought you would be so disregarding of the bond between brother and son!
Don't make excuses for yourself. You say I can't do it, but do you think you, a cold-blooded person without any family affection, can do it well?"
"Of course I can!"
Having said this, Li Shimin stood up leisurely, stood with his hands behind his back and said:
"Even if you were allowed to become emperor, would you dare to take back the military, political and financial power of the Jiedushi of the world? Would you dare to attack and kill the aristocratic families?
Do you dare to hand over the military power to Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others without any hesitation?
Can you intimidate the Uighurs and Tibetans and make all foreign tribes respect you as the Heavenly Khan?"
Li Yu was stunned and remained silent. Not to mention killing the aristocratic families, even if he had the power of the Jiedushi, he could only balance it and prevent one side from becoming too powerful.
"I can't do these things, but can you?"
When Li Shimin heard this, he smiled confidently:
"Of course I can!"
"You sound nice! There are countless connections behind each of these incidents, and any one of them could lead to the destruction of the nation!
I don't have that ability, but I know how to govern a country. Even if you are a military genius, you can't do better than me!"
Li Yu naturally didn't believe it and was unwilling to accept it.
So, Li Shimin asked the audience under the sky curtain whether it was possible to recreate the history of Li Yu's reign so that Li Yu could see for himself what he had left for the Tang Dynasty during his reign.
[Ahahahaha, I can work overtime for Erfeng again! I'm so happy!
I'll be right there, but Master Erfeng, Li Yu is still awake and can't enter the dream state. What should I do?
This is easy.
Li Shimin smiled at Li Yu. Li Yu was a little alert, but before he could react, he was knocked unconscious by Li Shimin.
【??? Li Yu is so miserable!
I shed tears of sadness.
Soon, Li Yu felt a pain in his neck and shoulders. Just as he was about to curse Li Shimin for being shameless, he suddenly fell into a strange dream.
Li Yu raised his hand and found that he was wearing the same dragon robe as his father. It turned out that this was his coronation ceremony. Did he become the emperor?
What about the third brother?
The third brother was not the King of Yan, and died early. The Anshi Rebellion was not quelled, and Yu Chaoen was still alive and wielding power?
A new memory suddenly appeared in Li Yu's mind, and before he could react, he felt that his life as an emperor was like an accelerator that had been turned on a thousand times.
Before he had the chance to enjoy the happiness of being an emperor, his hair had already turned white and he died in a coffin?
Wait, that's not right! How could he be buried before he even got a taste of what it was like to be an emperor?!
Li Yu was devastated and mad when he suddenly heard Li Shimin's voice:
"Look at what you've done! I'm already being merciful by not blaming you for bringing trouble to the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Yu was shocked, and then thought of the life he had just experienced -
After he came to power, he maneuvered between Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen, and then took advantage of the conflict between Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen to kill the two authoritarian eunuchs Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen.
Although the Anshi Rebellion lasted for eight years and ended with an empty treasury and civil uprisings, fortunately it was brought to an end thanks to his efforts.
It’s a pity that at this time, the Tang Dynasty was empty, and Tubo dared to join forces with other Hu peoples to attack Chang'an, forcing him to flee Chang'an again.
They allied with the Uighurs to send troops, but could only promise to let the Uighurs plunder Luoyang again...
As the Son of Heaven, he actually fled like a stray dog, and the capital fell into the hands of Tubo. Li Yu was very sad, but he pursed his lips and said:
"But I believe I have devoted all my energy to the Tang Dynasty and done everything I could."
"The capital has fallen, and the people have been wantonly plundered by foreigners. As the Son of Heaven, is this the best you can do?"
"That's because Li Guangbi, Pugu Huai'en and the others are all holding their own troops and are unwilling to return to the capital to provide assistance!"
"You were unable to reclaim the power of the Jiedushi, so you only cared about maintaining a balance between the two. You arbitrarily rewarded those traitors who were recruited, but this disappointed meritorious officials like Pugu Huai'en and Guo Ziyi!"
At this time, Li Shimin appeared in front of Li Yu, who was sitting dejectedly on the ground, and asked coldly:
"I would like to ask you, are you worthy of these meritorious officials?
You forced Li Guangbi to leave Guanzhong and not dare to lead his troops into the capital. You suspected Pugu Huai'en of treason. When a family of loyal and valiant generals lost their integrity in their later years and were eventually forced to death by you for treason, could you feel at ease? "
His entire family died fighting for the Tang Dynasty. He killed his own children and his daughter married a Uighur just to borrow the Uighurs to send troops to the Tang Dynasty.
If Pugu Huai'en, such a loyal minister and capable general, wanted to rebel, why did he risk the lives of his entire family to fight for the Tang Dynasty?
Li Yu was about to argue, but Li Shimin ignored him and continued:
“Yes, you killed Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen, but you handed power to Cheng Yuanzhen and others, allowing the eunuchs to seize power and control the government.
You are not as foolish and incompetent as Li Heng, but in the final analysis, everything you do will only make the Tang Dynasty sink deeper into the mire and become difficult to save! "
"Who are you to question me?"
Li Yu was very angry that his life's efforts were denied by Li Shimin, and he said angrily:
"I am not a god, and I cannot do everything perfectly. But I have tried my best to quell the war and balance the power in the court.
As long as the monarchs after us continue to work hard, we will one day be able to solve the problems left behind by the previous dynasty!"
"Oh, you can't even solve it yourself, and you still dare to rely on your descendants?"
Li Shimin, who had learned a profound lesson at this time, knew that he could not trust his own children or grandchildren even if he trusted a pig, so he immediately said:
"Then take a good look at how everything you've left behind is dragging down the Tang Dynasty step by step, bringing it to ruin!"
Li Shimin asked Tianmu for help again, and soon Li Yu saw the scenes of the Tang Dynasty generation after generation after his death.
During this period, some wise rulers also tried to take back central power and control the military governors and eunuchs, but unfortunately they were always unlucky.
He either died young or lost his power to the eunuchs. In the end, the eunuchs were even able to control the dethronement and enthronement of Emperor Li Tang and the crown prince!
Under such circumstances, Emperor Li Tang was just a puppet.
There were constant wars and chaos throughout the country, the military governors were self-reliant and the people were filled with resentment.
In the end, a commoner named Huang Chao led his army to attack Chang'an, and hunted down the Li Tang royal family and the noble families of Chang'an according to their family tree and killed them one by one!
Flames shot up into the sky, wailing and screaming were heard everywhere, and the streets of Chang'an flowed like a river of blood, which could not be wiped away...
After that, the Tang Dynasty collapsed, but those unresolved Jiedushi still existed.
In order to fight for power and expand their territory, they fought each other, and China was completely plunged into endless wars and slaughter. The people were used as military rations, and human flesh was sold according to high, medium and low grades...
This is a bottomless dark abyss comparable to the Northern and Southern Dynasties!
From the moment Huang Chao appeared, Li Yu shouted in anger until his voice was hoarse. At this time, he prostrated himself on the ground in a humiliating manner, tears streaming down his face.
"Why? Why is this happening? I'm so sorry to my ancestors! Wuwuwu!
But I have toiled day and night, doing everything I can for the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Shimin watched his descendant collapse, but did not help him. Instead, he said:
“In the final analysis, you only want the prosperity of my Li Tang royal family.
You never put the world first, so no matter what, you can never be the best."
A person who puts the world and the people last in his heart will always fail in the end.
“I can’t do it, what about you?
You are such a wicked man, can you really put the people of the world first?"
Li Yu wiped away his tears and stood up with resentment in his eyes.
Li Shimin sighed:
"How many times have I donned my armor and personally conquered the world, risking my life?
If a person only cares about the throne and honor, why would he work so hard?
I was like this then, and I am still like this now!"
[Yes, everyone says that Er Feng is a natural genius in fighting. He can defeat the enemy with fewer troops and capture two kings in one battle. How wonderful it sounds!
But he also encountered danger many times, was shot by arrows many times, was injured and fell off his horse, and was almost captured by the enemy!
[Each emperor throughout history has his own style, and each one is a person who has achieved the ultimate.
And our Erfeng always cares about the people and has a kind heart.
The upright and kind little phoenix has become the unique sun and white moonlight in the hearts of everyone in the Tang Dynasty!
After hearing what Li Shimin said, Li Yu was stunned for a long time. Then he looked at Li Shimin suspiciously and his tone suddenly changed:
"You're not my third brother! He couldn't have changed so much overnight!
In that illusory memory just now, my third brother had already died. Who are you?"
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