Chapter 17 Li You is escorted to Beijing
Changsun Wuji and others said goodbye and left, leaving only Li Er and his son in the two ceremonial halls.
"Great! I have something to ask you, I hope you can tell me the truth." Li Er said.
"Yes, ask whatever you want, Chengqian will answer truthfully." Li Chengqian said.
Li Er nodded and said, "What's the matter with Hegan Chengji? Is he also Wei Ting's man?"
"Hegan Chengji is not Wei Ting's man." Li Chengqian said.
He was telling the truth. On the surface, Hegan Chengji was his death warrior in the East Palace, and he was Li Chengqian's man, but secretly, he was a spy planted by Qi Wang Li You.
To be precise, he should be a chess piece sent by Yin Hongzhi to Li Chengqian.
"No? Then why did Hegan Chengji want to assassinate you, the prince?" Li Er asked again.
"I really don't know this, but before he died, he said that he was acting on orders, but it is unknown whose orders he was following." Li Chengqian said.
Of course, these words were made up by Li Chengqian. Hegan Chengji never said such words until his death. Hegan Chengji
's body might have rotted away by now, not to mention the matter of collecting evidence. Anyway, there is no evidence after death.
"It's not Wei Ting's man. It can't be a play performed by you, the prince! Deliberately framing others! Maybe you want to cover up some ulterior motives." Li Tai said in a sinister tone.
Li Chengqian glanced at Li Tai and said nothing. Anyway, Li You would soon be taken to the capital. When the time comes, after some interrogation, Li You would definitely give out Hegan Chengji.
This would completely clear him of any secrets.
He was helpless now. If it weren't for the need to maintain the father-son relationship between him and Li Er, he would have taught Li Tai a lesson long ago.
Even if he couldn't get rid of all of Li Tai's right-hand men, he had to get rid of at least half of the people around him.
"Enough!" Li Er was a little dissatisfied when he saw Li Tai like this. Even if the brothers were unhappy with each other, they shouldn't be so confrontational in front of his father.
Can't he even pretend?
After being scolded by Li Er, Li Tai immediately became much more obedient, but he still cast a provocative look at Li Chengqian.
Li Er wanted to say something to ease the current awkward situation, but Wang Yuan rushed in and reported to Li Er.
"Everyone! Qi Wang Li You has been taken to the capital and is now being held in the Dali Temple. What do you think of his disposal?" Wang Yuan asked.
Li Chengqian was delighted. This way, it would be possible to explain who Hegan Chengji belonged to, and everyone's eyes would not be fixed on him, the prince.
Once Li You entered the capital, the matter of Hegan Chengji's assassination would be transferred from him to Qi Wang Li You.
"Let Sun Fujia carefully investigate Li You, the rebellious son, and see who else is colluding with him." Li Er was very angry about Li You's rebellion.
"Yes!" Wang Yuan accepted the order and ordered other eunuchs to convey Li Er's intentions to Sun Fujia.
"Father, Minister Li and Minister Liu put down the rebellion of Prince Qi so quickly. It's really a great achievement! They should be rewarded." Li Chengqian said. The person who made
the greatest contribution to the suppression of the rebellion of Prince Qi was Du Xingmin, the military officer of Prince Qi Li You. He led people to capture Li You and sent him directly to Chang'an. At
this time, Li Yan and Liu Dewei's troops were still on the way to assemble. After all, it takes time to assemble the army.
Li Chengqian knew all these clearly.
"Prince! The two ministers have not arrived in Qizhou yet? It was Qizhou Bingcao Du Xingmin and others under the command of the King of Qi who led the righteous men and the government troops of Pingling County to suppress the rebellion." Wang Yuan said.
"I never thought that there would be such loyal and righteous people in Qizhou. It is really a blessing for our Tang Dynasty." Li Chengqian said.
"Li You, this rebellious son, I have long advised him not to get close to villains to avoid trouble, but he just didn't listen and insisted on doing what he wanted."
"Now that he is doing evil, he will naturally be abandoned by his relatives and friends, and everyone can kill him!" Li Eryi slammed the table and said dissatisfiedly.
Li Er was far from liking Li You, and compared with Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Zhige, it was a world of difference.
Li Er was more angry that Li You was disobedient and insisted on making trouble, but he didn't have a trace of sadness for his son.
"Father, Du Xingmin and others have made great contributions in capturing Li You! I think Du Xingmin and others should be rewarded according to their merits."
Li Chengqian said. Li Er would also reward these meritorious officials who suppressed the rebellion according to their merits, otherwise, it would be chilling.
If there is another rebellion in the future, who will stand up to suppress the rebellion? It is precisely because of the reward according to merit that people like Du Xingmin and Hegan Chengji will betray their old master without hesitation in exchange for glory and wealth.
"Brilliant! How do you think Li You should be dealt with? How should Du Xingmin and others be rewarded?" Li Er asked.
"Your Majesty can make the decision alone on this matter!" Li Chengqian said.
"Brother just wants to hear your opinion! As the crown prince, the future emperor
of the Tang Dynasty, what will you do if you encounter such a situation in the future?" Li Er said. Li Er now just wants to study the crown prince's ability to govern the country.
"I think that Li You should be demoted to a commoner, and Li You and his party leaders should be executed, while the rest can be forgiven, and then Li You should be buried with the ceremony of a duke." "
Appoint Du Xingmin as the governor of Bazhou and the Duke of Nanyang County, and reward the meritorious officials who conspired with Du Xingmin to suppress the rebellion according to their merits."
"I beg your father to issue an edict to change Pingling County to Quanjie County to reward the righteous men of Pingling County for their heroic deeds in resisting the King of Qi's rebellion, and to reduce taxes." Li Chengqian saluted Li Er and said.
These are all related matters he saw in later history books about the handling of Li You's rebellion case at that time.
Li You was sentenced to death in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Imperial Palace, and Du Xingmin and others who planned to capture Li You alive also rose to prominence.
"Chengqian, you did a good job!" Li Er said approvingly. He was very satisfied with Li Chengqian's way of handling the matter.
Li You was bound to die for treason, and Li Chengqian was able to give him a burial with the rites of a duke after his death, which also satisfied Li Er.
No matter what, Li You was a member of the royal family of Li Tang. Even if he was sentenced to death for treason, his burial could not be shabby.
This was a major event that concerned the face of the royal family.
"Thank you, father, for your compliments!" Li Chengqian said.
"Order the Secretariat to draft an imperial edict. After the Dali Temple has tried the case of Qi Wang Li You's rebellion, Li You will be demoted to a commoner and sentenced to death by the Ministry of Internal Affairs." "
And send someone to pass on the imperial edict, ordering Li Yu and Liu Dewei to disperse their troops and return to the capital as soon as possible."
"The meritorious officials who captured Li You this time, as well as the rest of the matters, should be handled according to the prince's instructions!" Li Er ordered.
"Yes!" Wang Yuan accepted the order and left the Liangyi Hall.
Li Chengqian saw that there was nothing else for him to do here, so he also stood up and said goodbye.