Chapter 4005 The king’s heart is as strong as iron
Fang Jun turned around and exited, took two steps, turned around again, and under the scorching gaze of His Majesty Li Er, carefully moved forward two steps, then quickly squatted down and grabbed Liang Guan, turned around and ran away...
His Majesty Li Er was so angry that he cursed again: "You bastard!"
Wang Shoushi poured warm tea on the ground and whispered: "The Duke of Yue has certainly made meritorious service, but his disobedience to His Majesty's imperial edict is a capital crime. Why does Your Majesty not punish him?"
"Death penalty?"
His Majesty Li Er took a sip of water, snorted, and said helplessly: "Don't talk about the death penalty. Even if I take away his military power, title, and all his official positions now, do you believe it? Tomorrow morning there will be tens of thousands of people." The army is roaring and making noise, forcing me to take back my life?”
The emperor is the supreme human being, but can he really do whatever he wants?
Stop talking nonsense.
Why have imperial power, prime ministerial power, and military power always conflicted and checked each other since ancient times? Fang Jun has made great achievements in these years. When it comes to military achievements, even compared to Li Jing and Li Ji, the top officials of Zhenguan, he is not far behind.
This time he defended the East Palace and turned defeat into victory. He was a legitimate supporter of the country and saved the building from falling. Not only was he praised a lot by the court, but he also gained a lot of reputation among the people. His momentum has reached the pinnacle of his life. .
Under such circumstances, if he, the emperor, forcibly seizes military power, removes his title, or removes his official position, it will inevitably cause a backlash in the entire world... The imperial power is indeed supreme, but it can only be in name. One day, the emperor will really think that he is his own. When power is supreme, it is time for the country to be in turmoil and dynasties to change.
Everyone in the world praises the emperor for his words and his words. But if the emperor really meant his words, everyone in the world would stop. Who would want their life, death, wealth, and wealth to depend on the emperor's words?
It's not that he can't be killed, but he has to withstand the surging backlash!
Unless you want to be an extremely stupid king like Xia Jie, Shang Zhou, etc., or you have a shred of sense, you must also know the principle of self-denial and forbearance...
After breathing heavily for a while, His Majesty Li Er felt that although this kick had vented a lot of depression in his heart, his energy was unsustainable. Waves of dizziness and nausea came over him, and his body was extremely exhausted and unbearable, so he said: "I want to rest." Okay, let those people outside go back and come back here to discuss things tomorrow.”
Wang Shoushi bowed and said: "Here!"
He turned around and walked out, but his back buttocks had already been torn by the whip. The damaged flesh rubbed against his pants during the movement, causing a burning pain. He had to work hard to retract his buttocks in to reduce the friction area. This would make him feel bulging in the front and back. Concave, really weird...
After leaving the palace gate, Wang Shoushi stood on the stone steps, looking down at the civil servants and generals who were standing respectfully in front of them. His eyes lingered on the prince in front for a while, and then he said: "Your Majesty has a decree. It is already late today. Please Everyone, please go back for now and come back to discuss matters tomorrow morning.”
The civil servants and generals who had been standing in the light rain outside the palace for a long time were stunned for a moment. They first looked at Fang Jun, who had just come out of the audience, and then looked at the prince at the front of the crowd.
The prince had been accompanying his imperial chariot from the bank of Ba River to this place. After standing for most of the day in the light rain, His Majesty moved into the Wude Hall and occupied the prince's original office. However, the prince's face was not even seen from the beginning to the end. His intentions were clearly revealed. Where else do I need to figure it out?
It was too direct to declare his attitude to the courtiers so openly. After all, he is the crown prince of the country, so it is better to be more subtle...
For a time, the ministers had different thoughts.
Li Chengqian's face was pale and his expression was motionless. He bowed his arms to the ground and said respectfully: "My son, I will obey my father's will."
Then he turned around, bowed slightly and saluted the ministers present: "I will take my leave first."
All the ministers returned the gift: "We respectfully see off Your Highness."
After getting up, he watched Li Chengqian move his legs and feet with difficulty and walked out. His back was extremely bleak under the falling rain, and Fang Jun was the only one beside him...
Looking back at the brightly lit Wude Hall, the ministers who were accustomed to the ups and downs of officialdom and the turmoil of the world were full of slander in their hearts at this moment: His Majesty returned to the capital and occupied the magpie's nest, expelling the prince from Wude Hall and taking possession of it as his own. , that’s all, not even the prince’s daily utensils have been moved out, and there is no clear statement where the prince should stay tonight...
Your heart is as strong as iron.
This is really too much.
After all, he is not only your eldest son, but also the crown prince of the country. He is as determined as a stone and easy to save, but now he doesn't even have the most basic decency?
*****
Under the rain curtain, the towering tower of Xuanwu Gate looked particularly oppressive and heavy.
Under the city tower, Zhang Shigui, dressed in armor, sent the prince out of the palace. Fang Jun patted him on the shoulder and said with emotion: "My lord, you are in trouble, so take care of yourself."
Zhang Shigui wiped the rain off his face and shook his head with a wry smile.
My heart is full of bitterness, but I don’t have much regret...
He followed the merits of the dragon and the empire, guarded the Xuanwu Gate under the emperor's order, and was responsible for the palace guards. His loyalty to His Majesty Li Er can be seen from the sun and the moon. But even if an eunuch can't even come up with a posthumous edict, you want him to obey the orders and cut off the prince's future. How is that possible?
Unless he knew in advance that His Majesty was "playing dead" and had not died as indicated by various signs, otherwise even if he had to choose a hundred times, he would still choose to submit to the prince, stabilize the court, and completely stabilize the turbulent situation.
Of course, now that His Majesty Li Er is back, his so-called correct choice is to actually "resist and disobey the decree." Especially since the current situation has shown that His Majesty Yi Chu is inevitable, his behavior of surrendering to the Crown Prince will inevitably be unacceptable. tolerated by His Majesty.
How could the emperor trust a guard leader who once swore allegiance to the prince to stay in the guard palace?
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Zhang Shigui returned his hand and patted Fang Jun on the shoulder, jokingly saying: "I have been following His Majesty for decades, and there is always some kind of affection... but it is you who seems to be the first to bear the brunt. Try to make your own way." Protect it.”
Everyone knows that Fang Jun is the foundation of the prince. Seeing that only Fang Jun is with the prince at this moment, they understand that if they want to depose the prince, they must first denounce Fang Jun.
Fang Jun smiled and didn't care: "You can't beat me to the end, right? As long as I have a position and can do something, I will be satisfied."
Zhang Shigui knew that this was his character, so he nodded and said nothing more.
After walking through the long dark doorway to the Xuanwu Gate, Zhang Shigui sent Li Chengqian off respectfully. Li Chengqian's eyes were complicated and he said apologetically: "I'm afraid I'm going to harm you, Duke Guo. I apologize deeply, but there's nothing I can do."
Zhang Shigui said hurriedly: "Why do you say this, Your Highness? My loyalty to Your Majesty can be seen from the sun and the moon. I also follow Your Highness sincerely. I will never hesitate to do anything that is conducive to the stability and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty."
When he first opened the Xuanwu Gate, he submitted to the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, not to a certain person. His loyalty to His Majesty Li Er has not been reduced by half. If His Majesty Li Er decides that he is disloyal, he will have nothing to say, but he will feel no guilt in his heart. .
Li Chengqian nodded, then turned and walked towards the right guard camp.
……
The general of Youtun Guard and the family members of the East Palace were already waiting outside the camp gate. They saw the prince and Fang Jun riding together, who were soaked by the rain. Although they were inevitably worried about His Majesty Li Er's sudden return to Chang'an after "resurrecting from the dead", he saw There wasn't much weirdness on their faces, and they both felt a little relieved.
Everyone returned to the camp with shouts and crowds. The prince and Fang Jun each took a shower and changed clothes. Then the monarch and his ministers sat in the tent, drove everyone out, made a pot of tea, and remained speechless for a while.
After a long time, Li Chengqian let out a long sigh, rubbed his face, and said dejectedly: "At this point, I have nothing to say. Life or death is up to God. I can only drag Erlang down, and I feel deeply guilty. Erlang's deep feelings The friendship cannot be repaid in this life, but we can only wait for it in the next life, holding the grass in our hands and forming a ring, and we will never lose it.”
All the strength, indifference, and immobility he displayed during the day collapsed and shattered at this moment. He covered his face with his hands, trembling all over, and his voice was choked, full of despair.
No one understands his father's character and methods better than him. Because he understands, he is afraid.
As long as the father returns to Chang'an, this Tang Dynasty will always be his Datang, and everyone can only crawl under his wings. If you follow him, you will prosper, if you go against it, you will perish.
Now it can be seen that the reason why Li Ji ignored Guan Long's army was because of his father's order. His father wanted to watch Guan Long launch a huge force to destroy the East Palace, depose him as the prince, and then march to the capital. In the name of "rebellion", the rebels were wiped out, and a new crown prince was naturally established.
Now that the father is determined, who in the world can resist his methods?
Perhaps there will not be a direct decree deposing him as the prince now, but when his wings are cut off one by one and he becomes a naked prince, and the pillars of the East Palace such as Fang Jun are removed or even defeated, he, the prince, will be the fish on the chopping board. , let it be dealt with...
And Fang Jun had great achievements and originally had a bright future. Even his father had tacitly agreed that he would become prime minister and serve as prime minister in the future. However, in the end, he angered his father because he protected him, a useless prince, from defeating the Guanlong rebels. The emperor is about to be implicated.
Fang Jun filled the tea cups in front of them with a pot, exhaled a breath, and said with a wry smile: "Your Highness, don't you blame me for not telling you the news about Your Majesty's construction?"
Li Chengqian sighed again and said helplessly: "Now that I think about it, Erlang, you have hinted at Yu Gu several times, but he failed to understand... But what if he did understand it? There must be his father's spies around Gu. If Erlang had said so bluntly back then, Telling my father about his situation will definitely anger him... You are useless. I will waste my life to accompany you, but I can't protect you. I feel ashamed."
Everyone knows that His Majesty will attack Fang Jun next in order to cut off the wings of the East Palace. However, as the prince, he does not even have the ability to resist. How can he not let Li Chengqian collapse and become shameless?
Fang Jun took a sip of tea, his eyes dark.
He was determined to change the political structure of the Tang Dynasty in order to eliminate the hidden dangers of military separation. However, the inertia of history was so strong that even though he tried his best, he still ended in failure. (End of chapter)