Chapter 113 Meeting of the Parties

"Fang Yi, have the insider keep an eye on her to see if Wu Cairen is really dead!" Li Chengqian said.

Wang Fangyi felt that Li Chengqian was too cautious. Who else but the emperor would dare to tamper with the wine after drinking the poisoned wine given by the emperor?

"Yes!" Although Wang Fangyi thought so in his heart, he still strictly followed the prince's order.

It was not that Li Chengqian was too cautious, but he had to be cautious. After all, she was the only female emperor in history.

Who could be sure that she would not bribe some eunuchs and palace maids to replace the poisoned wine given by Li Ershang and not be poisoned to death.

Half an hour later, the insider sent another message, confirming that Wu Zetian was really cold, and Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief.

"My dear! His Majesty asked you to come to the main hall to discuss state affairs." A eunuch came trotting over to report.

"I see, I'll go over now." Li Chengqian said, then got up and sat on the sedan chair and followed the eunuch to the main hall for the meeting.

The sedan chair stopped outside the main hall, and the eunuch hurriedly helped Li Chengqian up.

Li Chengqian tidied his clothes and then walked into the main hall with a limp.

When he came, Li Chengqian was wondering what important matter Li Er had summoned him to discuss. After thinking about it, he could only think of the war against Goguryeo. When

Li Chengqian came to the main hall, Zhangsun Wuji and others had been discussing the war here for a while.

Li Chengqian bowed to Li Er and said, "Your Majesty, I am your son's guest!"

"Chengqian is here! No need to bow!" Li Er's voice came from the throne in front.

"Thank you, Father!" Li Chengqian stood up and came to the side, sitting next to Li Zhi.

The meeting continued, and Li Chengqian listened quietly to Li Er and the ministers discussing how to attack Goguryeo.

Li Er asked someone to call Li Chengqian over so that he could learn more about this experience, so that if he inherits the throne in the future, he will have the experience to deal with such things.

At this time, a eunuch trotted into the hall and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty! Anxi Protector General Guo Xiaoke has escorted King Yanqi and his wife and children to Luoyang. Guo Xiaoke requests your approval on how to deal with King Yanqi Tuqizhi and his wife and children."

"How do you think King Yanqi and his family should be dealt with?" Li Er looked at the ministers and asked.

"I think we should chop off all of their heads and circulate them around the nine borders, so that those who harbor evil intentions can see that this is the fate of betraying the Tang Dynasty." Some ministers advocated killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. This is

to prevent other foreign tribes from imitating the King of Yanqi and becoming a fence-sitter, relying on one side or the other.

Killing the King of Yanqi's family can have a deterrent effect. Even if there are still people with ulterior motives, they must think twice before taking any action.

"The King

of Yanqi and his family have fallen to this point. Our Tang Dynasty is a great country and a country of etiquette. How can we be so cruel to treat captives and bully a group of unarmed prisoners? It will damage the reputation of our Tang Dynasty." There were also ministers who opposed the killing of the King of Yanqi and his family. They generally believed that relying on killing unarmed people to shock the other party would only reduce the respect of the surrounding tribes for the Tang Dynasty.

Both sides expressed their opinions! No one was willing to give in, and they all felt that what they said was the most correct.

"Enough!" Li Er looked at the hall that was filled with smoke and miasma due to the noise and shouted loudly.

Li Er exuded the aura of a person who had been in power for a long time. His dragon eyes swept across the ministers in the hall, and the ministers immediately shut their mouths in fear. Li Er

looked at Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang. They were the only ministers who did not speak out. Li

Er looked away from them and looked at Li Chengqian who was sitting aside and watching the show quietly.

Li Chengqian felt Li Er's gaze and turned back to look at Li Er. He didn't understand why Li Er was looking at him like that.

Did I have the status to behave indecently just now? Li Chengqian guessed in his heart. Li

Er said slowly: "Prince! What do you think about this matter?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, and then the ministers' eyes were focused on Li Chengqian to see what the prince thought about this matter.

Li Chengqian was powerless to complain in his heart: Why did everything fall on his head! He originally just wanted to be a quiet spectator, but who knew that Li Er would actually throw the pot on him.

Li Chengqian saluted and said: "Father, I also think that the King of Yanqi and his family should not be killed, but should be forgiven."

Li Chengqian knew in his heart that Li Er would definitely forgive the King of Yanqi and his family, and take the opportunity to use this as a negative example to educate his son. In later history books, Li Er educated Li Zhi, who was still the crown prince at the time, in this way.

He suddenly asked me this question, wouldn't he take the opportunity to test me, and by the way, use the King of Yanqi's family as a negative example to educate himself, the crown prince! The

more Li Chengqian thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.

"Oh! Why?" Li Er asked.

"Now the family of King Yanqi has become captives of the Tang Dynasty. Most of them are women and children. If your father beheads them, you will inevitably be branded as a bully of the weak."

"If you do that, it will only damage the reputation of our Tang Dynasty as a great country. What's more, Yanqi is just a small country threatened by the Western Turks."

"Now that our Tang army has eliminated the culprit who dared to disobey your edict, it is enough to scare the villains! Why bother to kill a group of down-and-out prisoners?" "

Your son thinks that your father should be more benevolent. In this way, the world will be more grateful for your kindness and more willing to obey you." Li Chengqian said.

Guo Xiaoke led his troops to destroy the Yanqi Kingdom, captured the King of Yanqi alive, and defeated the reinforcements sent by the Western Turks to rescue the Yanqi Kingdom.

This has already played a role in shocking the tribes around the Tang Dynasty. After this battle, the Western Turks dared not test the edge of tolerance of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Since the intimidation has been achieved, the next step is naturally to show the benevolence of the Tang Dynasty and forgive the disrespectful King of Yanqi. This will surely allow more Yi people to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

This is called hard and soft.

Of course, there is another point, that is, the King of Yanqi is controlled by the Tang Dynasty, and it may come in handy in the future.

If the Western Turks are still restless, the Tang Dynasty can also release the King of Yanqi and create trouble for the Western Turks.

The Tang army could also station troops in the territory of Yanqi in the name of protecting the king, and completely incorporate Yanqi into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

The help of the people of Yanqi would be of great help to the Tang Dynasty in managing the surrounding ethnic groups.

"The prince's words make sense! Wuji, Chu Qing, what do you think? Should I pardon King Yanqi or kill him?" Li Er asked Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang for their opinions.

You already have an idea, is it still meaningful to ask this? Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang complained in their hearts.

Changsun Wuji said, "I agree with the prince's point of view."

Chu Suiliang said, "I second it!"

At this time, the other ministers also came to their senses and said, "I second it!"