Chapter 4970 Queen: How about I pay something?
Chapter 4970 Queen: How about I pay something...
The Queen also saw that the Majesty's expression had become visibly gloomy. Although she was still smiling, she was extremely embarrassed. She quickly reached out and touched the crown prince's head, smiling and saying, "Your Majesty is fighting the rebels in Taiji Palace, and the crown prince is here to tie up the rebels. As the saying goes, fathers and sons fight together in battle. This will surely be passed down in history as a good story. Fathers and sons all over the world work hand in hand, fearless and fearless, and it will be praised by the court and the public."
Li Chengqian got a chance to step aside, and he knew that he had acted too superficially. He hugged the prince lovingly, with a look of relief on his face: "Although the prince is young, he is fearless in the face of danger. He has the legacy of Emperor Taizong. In the future, he may also achieve the same achievements as Emperor Taizong. The royal family of Li Tang will continue to be passed down, and will surely rule the world for thousands of years!"
The ministers looked at each other, unsure whether His Majesty's words were a compliment to the prince or a hint of something.
If an emperor could be compared with Emperor Taizong, he must have excellent political achievements and meritorious services, and possessed the qualifications of a "wise ruler"; but when a prince is compared to Emperor Taizong, it may not necessarily be a sincere compliment.
After all, Emperor Taizong was a good person in every way, but he did launch the "Xuanwu Gate Incident", in which he not only killed his brother but also forced Emperor Gaozu to abdicate.
From the perspective of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong must be an unfilial son...
The so-called "Taizong's legacy" is sometimes not necessarily a compliment...
The prince did not understand the meaning behind these words, but he was encouraged by them. He raised his little face and said excitedly, "How dare I compare myself with Emperor Taizong? But the 'Shenjiying' is really amazing. When I grow up, I will follow my father's will and lead the 'Shenjiying' to expand our territory and dominate the world!"
The ministers didn't know what to say. Although children may speak without restraint, Your Highness, do you really intend to learn from Emperor Taizong?
Li Chengqian smiled and looked up at Fang Jun, saying in a friendly tone, "The 'Shenjiying' has done a great job in protecting the crown prince and has won the crown prince's favor and trust. Why not merge it into the Six Commands of the Eastern Palace and let the crown prince directly command it?"
Li Ji glanced at Fang Jun out of the corner of his eye. It seemed that His Majesty's move was to abolish the "Shenjiying". It seemed that the powerful combat power demonstrated by the "Shenjiying" in this battle in the Eastern Palace had already caused His Majesty's fear.
To hand over such a powerful army to the hands of the prince, whom he called "the legacy of Emperor Taizong"... the meaning is self-evident.
However, will Fang Jun agree with His Majesty's wishes, or will he resolutely undermine His Majesty's prestige?
Fang Jun smiled and shook his head in a frightening way under the gaze of the ministers. His words were very direct and there was no way to evade the question: "Your Majesty, the so-called 'Shenjiying Camp' is just a joke from this humble minister. There is no such designation in the military sequence of the Tang Dynasty. And these soldiers who are guarding the prince are all students of the academy. They were recruited and entrusted with important tasks to conceal their tracks. Now that they have successfully completed the task of guarding the prince, they will retire and return to the academy to continue their studies. These are all the best students in the academy. If they are allowed to join the army and become soldiers, it would be a waste of talents."
Li Ji breathed a sigh of relief. Although this statement directly rejected the emperor's will, it was still relatively mild. After all, it did not say anything hurtful like "The 'Shenjiying' is affiliated with the Jinwu Guard and will return to the management of the Jinwu Guard."
That is why he has always been wary of Fang Jun. This guy is by no means the greenhorn or fool as rumored by the outside world. Instead, he is capable of being both superior and inferior, soft and hard, and has a clear plan for advancement and retreat and is in control. His sophistication seems like that of an official who has been immersed in the officialdom for decades, and he doesn't seem like a young man full of vigor and vitality at all.
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows, remained silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "What the commander said is right. They are the cornerstones of the empire and the future heroes. How can we restrict them to the army? In my opinion, it would be better to cancel this 'Shenjiying' so that the students can study without distraction, graduate early, and make more outstanding contributions to the empire."
Everyone understood that His Majesty was deeply afraid of the "Shenjiying" and was afraid that they would become the wings of the crown prince in the future and repeat the mistakes of the "Xuanwu Gate Incident"...
But the prince is the prince after all. Since he already has the "Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace", why not have one more "Shenjiying"?
Could it be that Your Majesty has already harbored the idea of "changing the crown prince"?
The ministers' minds are in a mess. If this is the case, the hidden danger of turmoil in the future has been planted. After all, just like when Your Majesty was the crown prince, Fang Jun was the biggest supporter. Now Fang Jun is still the crown prince's strong supporter.
So everyone looked at Fang Jun with complicated eyes. Regardless of whether Fang Jun's previous and subsequent actions were in line with his personal interests, the mere fact that he was steadfast in his support for the crown prince despite all difficulties had made great contributions to the inheritance of the empire's legitimacy.
The ability of a regime to inherit the throne in order is the foundation for stabilizing the situation and continuing the inheritance, and Fang Jun’s contribution is invaluable.
Fang Jun glanced at the crown prince and said cheerfully, "Your Majesty, I dare not disobey your orders. Besides, the so-called 'Shenjiying' is just a joke from me. The Tang army has never had such a number."
Li Chengqian's eyes were deep, and it was unknown what he was thinking. He looked around and said, "Since the East Palace is safe and the rebels have surrendered, you, my dear ministers, should follow me back to the Wude Hall. We will review and formulate a strategy overnight. The rebel leaders and those who colluded with the rebels must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. Those who have made contributions should also be promoted and rewarded generously. We should reward the meritorious and punish the wrongdoers to rectify people's hearts."
"Your Majesty is wise, and this is exactly what should be done."
……
The ministers surrounded His Majesty and returned to the Wude Hall to discuss matters. The Lizheng Hall became quiet again. The Queen led the Crown Prince, Princess Changle, and Princess Jinyang to sit in the back hall. For a moment, they were all confused and speechless.
Although His Majesty came immediately after suppressing the rebellion in Wude Hall and expressed his concern and love for the Crown Prince, his expression and words seemed less sincere and more hypocritical, more like a play performed for everyone to see.
The Crown Prince is your Majesty's eldest son. Although he is not born of a legitimate wife, his position is stable and he is deeply supported by the court and the public. However, your Majesty's behavior has cast a shadow on the Queen's heart.
She was the queen, but she had no children. She had always raised the prince as her own. If the prince's status changed, she, the queen, would naturally be the first to be affected...
So both publicly and privately, she had to do her best to protect the prince.
Princess Changle held Lu'er in her arms, looking at the empress and her son with a worried look on her face. She comforted him softly, "The empress doesn't need to worry too much. Your Majesty was suddenly caught in a mutiny and his life was hanging by a thread. A close minister also plotted to poison him. You were shocked and angry, so it's understandable that you didn't think too much before speaking. You and your wife are deeply in love. You have been through so many ups and downs together to get to where you are today. The crown prince is his favorite, and there is absolutely no reason for him to abandon him."
The Queen forced a smile and nodded: "Your Majesty may seem like an emperor, but in fact, you have had a lot of bad luck along the way. It is inevitable that your temperament is extreme. How can I not understand and be considerate?"
She stroked the crown prince's head lovingly, her voice soft yet firm: "We are mother and son, I will protect your highness well."
The prince was a little confused. Before, when the rebels attacked Lizheng Palace, he was sitting in the palace and heard the sound of gunfire, but he did not feel scared. But when the rebels retreated and his father came to comfort him, everything seemed to change suddenly.
He didn't know what happened, but he was keenly aware of the change in the atmosphere...
Princess Jinyang didn't take it seriously. She raised her delicate eyebrows and said crisply, "The Crown Prince is my brother-in-law's apprentice. My brother-in-law will naturally support the Crown Prince just like he supported Your Majesty back then. The Queen doesn't need to worry too much."
She knew that her brother-in-law never cared about who sat on the throne, but only cared about whether the throne could be passed on smoothly and whether the loss to the country could be minimized as much as possible, so "order of succession" had always been her brother-in-law's proposition.
Despite the dire situation back then and my father's insistence, my brother-in-law was able to consistently and wholeheartedly support Your Majesty, so he will naturally support the Crown Prince as well now.
Although my brother-in-law was in a high position and had great power at that time, it was completely incomparable to today. With my brother-in-law's power, status, and prestige today, as long as he shows his full support for the prince, will Your Majesty insist on changing the crown prince?
Princess Jinyang felt that this would definitely not happen. Your Majesty had neither the perseverance nor the ability to subdue everyone...
The queen nodded in acknowledgement of this, but the worry in her heart was not completely dispelled.
In addition to many reasons, there was one extremely important reason why Fang Jun gave his full support to Your Majesty: Fang Jun was the absolute core of the team at that time, and everyone obeyed his will without any disobedience.
But now Fang Jun has already grown into a giant. At the same time, the interests involved are more numerous and complicated, and he has more allies. There are more things to consider, and he may not have the courage and determination he had in the past.
Of course, as long as Fang Jun is willing to support the prince with all his strength, Your Majesty will certainly be cautious and will not dare to act on his own.
But how can we make Fang Jun support the prince wholeheartedly?
What kind of benefits can the prince give to Fang Jun?
Fang Jun is a man who values love. You can tell this by looking at his tolerance towards the women around him. Otherwise, should I also give something and sacrifice something without reservation in exchange for Fang Jun's love?
Thinking of this, the queen was frightened by her sudden thought and her heart began to pound.
That's not giving or sacrificing, it's just asking for something...
*
The sky was about to brighten. The clouds in the eastern sky gradually thinned, revealing a hint of paleness. The heavy snow that had raged all night gradually stopped.
The mutiny was completely quelled before dawn. The various armies inside and outside the city guarded their respective areas. As orders came from the Taiji Palace, the city gates and the market towns were gradually opened. More officials took the lead in leaving their homes and arrived at their respective yamen on horseback or in cars.
The officials who entered the imperial city all swarmed to Chengtian Gate, looking at Li Siliang swaying left and right in the air hanging from the top of the city wall, and marveled at him.
However, when they heard that this person was going to be sentenced to "slicing and slicing", the officials all changed their expressions...
