Chapter 4425 The situation is reversed
The news that Prince Zuowei led the army of Li and Liu to defeat Li and Liu and ensured the safety of Xuanwumen was like a beam of light that broke through the wind, rain, and darkness of the night and shined over Wude Hall, dispelling the gloom.
As long as the Xuanwu Gate is safe, it means that all those loyal to the emperor in the Taiji Palace at this moment have the opportunity to escape unscathed and remain invincible.
Huge cheers rang out from every corner of Wude Hall, and the maids and chamberlains couldn't help but light up with joy and celebrate with their foreheads and hands. There is definitely a limit to the number of people that the secret passage can accommodate. Once the situation is unfavorable and it is necessary to evacuate from the secret passage, the order must be your majesty, the guards, the crown prince, the prince, the concubines, the ministers... The time given to evacuate will not be too much, even The ministers were all worried, fearing that they would be forced to stay and be captured by the rebels due to lack of time, let alone these palace maids and chamberlains?
Moreover, even if the ministers fall into the hands of the rebels, the rebels will probably not mess around. However, if the maids and chamberlains become prisoners, they will face disaster and no one knows what kind of abuse they will suffer...
All the princes stayed awake all night, gathered together to drink tea and pay attention to the fighting outside Wude Hall. When they heard the news about the safety of Xuanwu Gate, they naturally celebrated.
Everyone knows that once the King of Jin enters the Wude Palace and successfully seizes the throne, these brothers will inevitably die sooner or later. Therefore, they all hope that Li Chengqian will secure the throne and defeat the King of Jin. Now Li and Liu are defeated by the crown prince Zuo Wei. , Not only will it ensure the safety of Xuanwu Gate and make His Majesty invincible, but it will also release Li Jing and Xue Wanche, who have been intimidating the surrounding areas. As long as one of these two leads the army into the city, the mutiny will inevitably be caused by King Jin. Ended with failure.
The only undecided situation now is whether Fang Jun can lead his army to hold on until the moment Li Jing and Xue Wanche lead their troops into the city.
If they can hold on, the King of Jin will be completely defeated and the rebels will be completely defeated.
If not, the center will fall, and His Majesty will have to retreat outside the city and reorganize the army to counterattack Chang'an City. This will not only change his life, but also mean that Chang'an will suffer more severe losses and the army will suffer more casualties...
Li You raised his tea cup and saluted Li Tai from a distance: "Brother, let me give you tea instead of wine. Let me give you a toast to my brother."
Li Tai raised his glass in response. The two brothers took a sip of tea together, then put down the teacup and let out a long sigh of relief...
Among the several princes, those who are most nervous about the current situation must be Li Tai and Li You.
Except for Li Chengqian, Li Tai is the eldest among Taizong's legitimate sons. According to the law of "Zongzong Succession", even if Li Chengqian is deposed, Li Tai should be the one who takes the throne, not Li Zhi. Even if Li Zhi takes the throne, he will still have to face criticism that violates legal principles. Those who were originally loyal to Li Chengqian and some who were neutral will gather under Li Tai to cheer for Li Tai and compete for the throne.
How could Li Zhi allow this situation to happen?
The best way to deal with it is to take precautions before it happens. If the rebels attack the Wude Palace, there will inevitably be a "rebellion army" specifically looking for traces of Li Tai. If they find it, it will be the end of "the King of Wei was killed under the attack of the rebellion army".
In other words, as long as the rebels capture Wude Hall tonight, Li Tai will never see the sun tomorrow morning...
As for Li You, he is even more of an "unsettling factor."
When Li Taiyi dies, Li You will become the eldest among Taizong's disciples, except for Li Ke who is far away in Silla. Although "there are direct descendants but no direct descendants", only when there is no direct descendant. Argument Although he was still young, Li You had already issued an "edict" under the coercion and inducement of Changsun Wuji, intending to ascend to the throne of God, and his ambition was fully demonstrated. This is a "record" for fighting for the throne...
Li Chengqian could tolerate him, but how could Li Zhi tolerate him?
Therefore, others may still have room for change, at least they will not be killed all at once and cause controversy, but Li Tai and Li You will definitely be cut off by Li Zhi immediately to eliminate hidden dangers...
Now that Xuanwu Gate is completely safe, even in the worst situation, all the princes can accompany Li Chengqian to withdraw from Taiji Palace. No matter whether they counterattack Chang'an on the spot or retreat to Hexi to regroup, there is no need to worry about their lives.
Li Min also took a sip of tea, tsked his lips, and sighed: "He still has to be the second house! The soldiers of the first guard have experienced serious losses after many times. It seems that they can't withstand the tide of rebels several times their size. A fierce attack can still leave a reserve team to counterattack... After this battle, I am afraid that both the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Ying will have to abdicate in favor of others."
Everyone listened and nodded in approval.
The army pays attention to seniority, and even more to factions. Those generals who are in charge of the army must be surrounded by a group of proud and powerful generals. The generals cannot let these subordinates bleed and shed tears. They must give them guidance and support, and the subordinates must also You must remain loyal to your generals. Changing families is a taboo in the army.
With so many years of experience, Li Jing and Li Ji had countless disciples and subordinates, which Fang Jun could not match for a moment.
But when it comes to prestige and reputation, ten years after Zhenguan, no one in the dialect army could compare with Fang Jun.
Nowadays, although Li Jing continues to command the army, he has actually been far away from the center. Moreover, he is old and his influence is not as strong as before. Although Li Ji is known as "the first person in the court", he must hide his clumsiness and keep a low profile because of this. Not only did he seldom intervene in political affairs, but he also gradually let go of military affairs.
In contrast, Fang Jun, a rising star, is rising slowly, shining brightly like the rising sun. Especially after this battle, it is equivalent to single-handedly supporting Li Chengqian to the throne and doing his best to keep him sitting on the throne. Who else can compare with it?
From now on, Fang Jun is the toughest guy in the army.
What's particularly important is that Fang Jun is not only brilliant and dazzling in military affairs, but also extremely capable in political affairs. Now Ma Zhou, as Jing Zhaoyin, has become His Majesty's confidant. His political achievements have attracted the attention of the government and the public, but he is also very capable. Still continuing the same administrative structure that Fang Jun established after he planned to build Jingzhao Mansion...
His talents in both civil and military fields are so amazing, and he is deeply trusted and valued by His Majesty. Who can compare with him in time?
As long as His Majesty secures his throne, Fang Jun will be a proper "powerful minister" in the foreseeable future...
Li Zhen, who had been silent all this time, looked at his brothers and suddenly asked a question: "If... if the pheasant slaves are defeated and captured, what should we do?"
As soon as these words came out, all the princes around him fell silent.
It stands to reason that if Li Zhi launched a mutiny and rebelled, he would inevitably die if he was defeated and captured. But we are all brothers, let alone whether we are willing to intercede for Li Zhi in our hearts, at least we have to express it on the surface, right?
Write a letter to His Majesty, write a memorial, say something about Li Zhi, and then mention the blood relationship, hoping that Your Majesty can be lenient and spare Li Zhi's life... No matter what the final result is, everyone has done their part. My intentions are not in vain for my brothers, and I can explain them to outsiders, so that Emperor Taizong's reputation will not be criticized by the world.
Killing brothers while alive, and killing brothers after death will cause great damage to Emperor Taizong's reputation...
But the problem is that once you write a book and write a memorial to Li Zhi to plead for mercy, outsiders can indeed feel their pity for his brothers and sisters. Even if Li Zhi puts aside his big mistake, he is willing to plead for mercy, but where does this put Li Chengqian?
Li Zhi committed such a serious crime, and from Li Chengqian's point of view, he must be sentenced to death. There was no room for change, and no one could say no. However, the brothers wrote a memorial to express their brotherhood, but Li Chengqian insisted on killing Li Zhi. Wouldn't execution put Li Chengqian in a passive position? There will definitely be people with ulterior motives who will use this to stir up public opinion and make Li Chengqian passive.
This will definitely offend the emperor severely.
But if Li Zhi is not interceded, it will appear that Emperor Taizong has no way to teach his son, and the relationship between the brothers is too weak...
Dilemma of choice.
Li Min has always been a heartless person. After hearing this, he took a sip of tea and said disapprovingly: "Why are we worrying about this kind of thing?"
He looked at Li Tai and said: "Brother Qingque is the one who makes the decision. Everyone respects you and follows your lead. We will do whatever you do. If anyone dares to disobey, I will beat him up!"
Li Tai: "..."
Thank you so much!
Do you respect me?
You are trying to trick me into death...
But even if he is holding back his anger, he cannot ignore the fact that he is the oldest among the brothers besides Li Chengqian. He does have the biggest say in this matter.
In my heart, I wanted to eat this bastard Li Min alive, but I couldn't get angry on the spot. I pondered for a long time, so I had to resort to dragging my feet: "... This matter is quite difficult. Besides, it's too early. This battle won't be over for a while. It’s not too late to worry about the outcome until the winner is determined.”
He wanted to delay, but which of these brothers was the fool?
Hearing this, Li You immediately nodded repeatedly: "What Brother Qingque said is true. Anyway, no matter what, I will listen to you."
The others also said: "You are my brother, we all listen to you."
"Just make up your mind. My brother will have no objection."
Li Tai was so angry that his eyes were burning. Even if this matter was tied to his head, he couldn't take it off, right?
A group of insidious and despicable bastards...
There was nothing he could do about it. He was indeed the eldest among the brothers and the legitimate son of Emperor Taizong. In the future, when Your Majesty asks his brothers for their opinions on how to deal with Li Zhi, he will be the first to ask him. He will not be able to escape even if he wants to. Lose.
Feeling suffocated and helpless, he could only stare at Li Min: "The tea is cold. Let's get some hot water to make tea, and find some snacks to fill our stomachs. I'm hungry in the middle of the night."
Unexpectedly, Li Min scratched his head and retorted on the spot: "If something happens, I will do my best. The eighth child here is the youngest. Why won't my brother let him go?"
Li Tai gritted his teeth in anger, but he had forgotten that Li Min had always listened to Li Ke's words. Even Li Chengqian was not convinced. How could he give orders?
Li Yun, who was curling up as much as possible to avoid attracting attention, quickly stood up and said with a smile: "Brothers, please sit down and let me do this." (End of Chapter)