Chapter 101 New Sprouts Produce Blood, Blade Turns Inward
Li Tai's death was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool; after the ripples spread, the surface gradually returned to calm, at least superficially. The discussions in the court about the "sudden death of the Prince of Wei" subsided, replaced by the Crown Prince Li Chengqian's swift and decisive push for "official rectification" and "tax auditing," supported by the Emperor. A series of decrees were issued from the Eastern Palace and the Liangyi Hall, clearly targeting powerful families with vast landholdings, numerous patrons, and serious tax arrears, along with their associated officials.
This operation, ostensibly under the guise of "national law" and "rectification," was in reality aimed at weakening powerful clans, replenishing the national treasury, and deterring disloyal officials. The Li family of Longxi, due to the severe punishment of its "involved branches" (ostensibly due to the discovery of serious illegal activities), suffered a major blow. Other families were also on edge, actively or passively "cooperating" with the investigation, sacrificing some of their interests to protect themselves. At court, the Crown Prince's authority grew daily, and officials from humble backgrounds were increasingly promoted to key positions. A new atmosphere, different from the previous monopolies of powerful clans, quietly emerged.
However, Li Chengqian knew this was only the beginning. The foundation of powerful families lay in the land, population, cultural influence, and intricate network of relationships accumulated over centuries. A single political purge and financial crackdown could only inflict superficial damage, not fundamental harm. Li Tai's tragedy stemmed from the fact that powerful families, for their own benefit, could easily support, incite, or even arm a prince to oppose the crown prince. As long as this temptation and ability existed, the internal strife within the royal family would never cease.
Because of the controversy surrounding his ascension to the throne (the Xuanwu Gate Incident), Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) cherished his reputation as a "wise and benevolent ruler," adopting a more moderate strategy of suppression, division, and exploitation towards powerful families, unwilling to easily provoke a full-scale confrontation. But Li Chengqian was different. He didn't carry that historical burden. He had personally experienced the pain of losing his son and witnessed firsthand how his younger brother was fed into a frenzied beast by the powerful families. He felt no warmth, only cold-blooded calculation and profound vigilance.
The powerful families must be weakened, controlled, and even... gradually eliminated. But he cannot rush things. He needs time, more subtle strategies, and... a stable rear base, a clear successor.
The rear garden of the Eastern Palace was once shrouded in deep sorrow due to the untimely death of Li Xiang. But as time passed, and with Li Chengqian's deliberate guidance and "comfort," a new "balance" and "expectation" gradually replaced the deathly silence.
The three sickly princes from powerful families received unprecedented "attention" and "affection" from the Crown Prince. Li Chengqian frequently inquired about their health, bestowed upon them rare medicinal herbs, and even exceptionally allowed their birth mothers (the daughters of those powerful families) more time to accompany and care for them. In public, he would also express pity and affection for these "unfortunate" young sons. This behavior served two purposes: firstly, it appeased the several powerful families who had suffered heavy losses, harbored resentment, and were filled with anxiety, letting them know that the Crown Prince had not completely taken his anger out on them, and even showed "extra favor" to the prince born of their blood (despite the prince's bleak future), thus stabilizing this faction and preventing them from taking desperate measures; secondly, it was also a gesture to other powerful families—see, even if a prince is unwell, as long as his maternal family is "well-behaved," the Crown Prince will still treat him with respect and a certain degree of care.
Meanwhile, Li Chengqian began selectively favoring several concubines of relatively low social standing and from families with little influence, but who were gentle in nature or possessed some talent (most of whom had been brought in as "smokescreens" or "substitutes," or came from small or medium-sized families eager to curry favor with the Crown Prince). Soon, two of them were diagnosed with pregnancy. The arrival of these children dispelled the gloom that had settled over the Crown Prince's palace due to the successive loss and illness of his sons, and also gave those small and medium-sized aristocratic families new hope and a "bond" to bind them to the Crown Prince.
However, Li Chengqian's most preferred successor still needed to be born to someone he could better control and with whom he had a deeper "alliance." That person could only be Wu Zetian.
Several months after Li Xiang's untimely death, Wu Meiniang gradually recovered from the immense shock. She became more silent, and more...unpredictable. The grief in her eyes hadn't completely dissipated, but had settled into something deeper, a mixture of resilience and a certain cold resolve. She knew the Crown Prince needed an heir, especially a healthy one, one who could be groomed as the future successor. She also understood that while her position in the Crown Prince's heart was special because of Li Xiang's death and her relationship with Wang Zhenren, she needed a new bloodline to solidify it.
She did not resist; in fact, one could say she calmly cooperated, accepting the Crown Prince's "comfort" and favor. Soon after, the imperial physician confirmed that Consort Wu was pregnant again.
The news caused another shift in the atmosphere within the Eastern Palace. Wu Zetian's position, already somewhat precarious due to the loss of her son, was further solidified by her pregnancy and the Crown Prince's obvious attention (increased guards, generous rewards, and frequent visits). She was now even more secure than before. While the other concubines from lesser aristocratic families were also pregnant, neither their favor nor their status could compare to that of Consort Wu.
Li Chengqian placed high hopes on Wu Zetian's pregnancy. He needed a healthy and intelligent legitimate son (although Wu Zetian was a concubine, her actual status and treatment were equal to that of the principal wife, and she was his only partner with whom he had both emotional and financial ties) to succeed him in his future career, and to completely sever the hopes of other aristocratic families to interfere in the succession through princes. This child would be the most important reassurance in his plan to purge the aristocratic families and consolidate imperial power.
While secretly strengthening the protection of Wu Meiniang, he continued to launch a gradual, insidious crackdown on the aristocratic families.
His strategy became increasingly clear: exploit the conflicts between powerful families, instigating internal strife. Through policy favoritism, personnel appointments and dismissals, and even the covert dissemination of information, he would make some families believe that suppressing their rivals would gain them the Crown Prince's favor and more benefits. Simultaneously, he would continue to support families from humble backgrounds, gradually replacing members of powerful families in key positions to weaken their actual control over the court. As for the top aristocratic families, he would employ a strategy of divide and conquer, focusing on striking down the most unruly branches or those potentially implicated in past cases (such as the death of Li Xiang), while "treating" relatively submissive or cooperative families generously, creating a stark contrast of "those who submit prosper, those who oppose perish."
He wanted the powerful families to fall into chaos first, exhausting their strength through infighting, before the royal family would step in to clean up the mess and achieve final integration and suppression.
In the study of the Eastern Palace, the lights often burned late into the night. Before Li Chengqian lay a map marking the spheres of influence of various powerful families, key figures, and their intermarriages and grudges. He was like a master chess player, calmly laying out his strategy and making his moves. Every personnel reshuffle, every policy implementation, even every reward or punishment for the concubines in the harem, might contain a deeper meaning directed at these powerful families.
The birth of new life symbolizes hope and continuation; meanwhile, a more covert yet more thorough "operation" targeting the millennia-old aristocratic clans is quietly taking place deep within the empire's body. Li Chengqian transformed the pain of losing his son and the lessons of fratricide into the coldest political wisdom and action.
He knew the road ahead was long and fraught with peril. The powerful families would not sit idly by; they possessed deep-rooted resources and the ability to retaliate. His father's attitude was not entirely unconditional; any overly aggressive actions might provoke intervention.
But he had no other choice and no fear.
As Wu Meiniang's unborn child grew day by day, new offspring were born one after another in the Eastern Palace, diluting the bloodshed of the past. But the thorn in Li Chengqian's heart called "aristocratic family" sank deeper and deeper. He stroked Wu Meiniang's slightly protruding belly, his eyes showing a rare tenderness, but when he looked out at the deep night, that tenderness quickly faded, leaving only the unwavering, cold light belonging to the crown prince and also to his avengers.
New shoots sprout from blood-soaked soil, the blade points to a terminal illness. The era belonging to Li Chengqian, accompanied by the stirrings of new life and the lamentations of the old forces, is slowly unfolding its most complex and crucial chapter. The purge is far from over; the game has only just entered its middle stages.
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