There is an arsenal on the west side of the Chongwen Hall of the East Palace. The partition wall is adjacent to the Taiji Palace. The straight-line distance from the Wude Palace is less than 100 feet. When Li Daozong led his army to attack the Taiji Palace and approached the Wude Palace, he had three thousand "Hwarangs" with blond and agile hair. He hid here, rushed out at the critical moment, and almost defeated Li Daozong directly.
The arsenal occupies a huge area, with not only warehouses for storing weapons, armor, and ice blades ordnance, but also a continuous barracks for a thousand troops, who are the imperial guards of the East Palace and directly protect the safety of the crown prince.
It is also separated from the Butokuden arsenal by a wall, so they can support each other in times of emergency.
The sky has just become clear, and the huge palace slowly wakes up from silence. The waterwheel drives into the palace, and the carriages carrying night incense and sundries leave the city from Xuandemen. The palace people in various palaces are busy working, cleaning the floors and washing away stains. , as the sun rises, the palace gradually becomes lively.
After getting up in the morning, Li Anyan personally led the guards under his command to exercise. After returning, he bathed and changed clothes in the barracks on the side of the arsenal. He had a simple breakfast, dealt with official documents for a while, made tea, and drank tea slowly.
Today's official position is "East Palace Qianniu Preparation". This official position was inherited from the Northern Wei Dynasty, which means "Servant with a Thousand Ox Sword and Guards". He is responsible for the East Palace Guards. It seems that the job is important, but in fact there is no chore. "East Palace Qianniu Preparation" There are several "preparers" who are responsible for different areas of the East Palace. He only needs to record the entry and exit of the arsenal, be responsible for the maintenance of weapons, and the security of this area.
After so many years, the fierce fighting and high-spiritedness of those days have long since disappeared like smoke and clouds yesterday. The hatred has been buried deep in my heart, and I have gradually accepted such a peaceful and peaceful life...
There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and then someone entered the room without warning: "Brother!"
Li Anyan put down his tea cup, frowned and looked at his younger brother Li Sixian who pushed in the door, and said displeasedly: "How can you enter and exit the Forbidden Palace and the important military camp like this without any permission? You don't understand any rules!"
Li Sixian didn't take it seriously. He walked in and sat opposite his brother. He poured a cup of tea, took a sip and praised: "Good tea!"
Then he raised his head and looked at the furnishings in the room, sighed, and said: "It's a pity that my brother, a great hero, has now fallen into disgrace. He has to condescend to this humble room. His ambitions cannot be extended, and his talents cannot be displayed. It is really a pity."
Li Anyan sat upright, without even raising his eyelids: "If you have something to say, say it, and if you have something to say, let it go. You are so yin and yang, do you want me to chase people away?"
The two brothers have completely different personalities. Li Anyan is old-fashioned, simple and meticulous, while Li Sixian is free-spirited, cheerful and optimistic. Therefore, after the great changes that year, Li Anyan is now just a "Thousand Bulls Prepared for the East Palace", while Li Sixian is already His Majesty. He is surrounded by Tongshiren, and together with Li Jingxuan and others, he has gained the trust of Li Chengqian, and his future is very good...
Li Sixian said helplessly: "Brother, you are very boring. Otherwise, with your talent and military strategy, why would you be trapped in the East Palace? You should have led troops to conquer all directions, made great achievements and revitalized your family. Why?" As for letting the second-class rats run rampant?”
These words hit Li Anyan's chest like a hammer, making him feel a little dazed.
Leading troops in battle and conquering all directions was once his supreme ambition...
Rubbing his temples, Li Anyan shook his head and said: "Don't talk nonsense. Fang Jun has made great achievements in civil and military affairs. Do you think he is just a lucky person? You are now following His Majesty's orders. You should be careful in your words and deeds. The reason why you and I are brothers Thank you Emperor Taizong for your forgiveness today, don’t be reckless.”
Li Sixian said in a low voice: "Emperor Taizong is certainly as broad-minded as the sea, but can the magnanimity of His Majesty today be comparable to that of Emperor Taizong? Even if His Majesty is merciful now, what about the Crown Prince? What about the future emperors? Brother, don't forget the crimes you committed back then. Sooner or later, there may not be a time of reckoning. When that happens, where will you, my brothers, my wife and children go?”
Li Anyan stared at his brother and said every word: "What on earth are you going to say?"
Li Sixian said: "Only by completely washing away the mistakes of the past can the family be at peace and the children and grandchildren not have to worry about the heir."
Li Anyan was silent, and his thoughts seemed to return to that night in the ninth year of Wude...
Blood and fire colored the entire Tai Chi Palace, with corpses everywhere under the city gate and rivers of blood flowing. When he was isolated from the Xuanwu Gate and fought hard to kill, he heard the news that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were defeated and died. He was heartbroken, but did not He did not abandon his weapons and surrender, but led his troops in bloody battles and strived to die in return.
He is not only Li Jiancheng's subordinate, but also Li Jiancheng's brother-in-law. His wives are both from the Zheng family in Xingyang. He has always been regarded as a confidant by Li Jiancheng and has been favored by him.
Feng Li could surrender, Xie Shufang could surrender, but Li Anyan couldn't.
However, in the end he fought hard and was captured. For the sake of his family, he had to surrender. This made him feel ashamed and helpless. He was not even as good as Xue Wanche, a vulgar man who had always looked down on him. The latter was able to gather his remaining troops to counterattack the Prince of Qin's palace to avenge Li Jiancheng. After his defeat, he fled to Zhongnan Mountain...
He was once the enemy of Emperor Taizong. Can Emperor Taizong's heirs really tolerate him?
The reason why he was placed in the position of "Thousand Bulls of the East Palace" was because there was no suspicion of him, or was it just a pretense?
After a long silence, he slowly shook his head: "Emperor Taizong repaid evil with kindness and was generous. How can I bear the name of 'rebellion' and make the world laugh at me?"
Although he didn't say it explicitly, he understood what Li Sixian was going to say, and he also knew that Li Sixian was very close to those people...
But is "regicide" something easy to do?
When it suffers backlash, it will be a disaster.
Seeing that Li Anyan was slightly moved, Li Sixian hurriedly struck while the iron was hot: "Everything has been planned properly. As long as my brother takes action to control the situation in time, someone will naturally be blamed. It has nothing to do with us."
Li Anyan didn’t believe it: “Who would be the first to take the blame for such a thing?”
Once the "regicide" is carried out, everyone will benefit, but the "regicide" will definitely be pushed out to suffer the backlash, because no matter which party or faction, they must maintain a just and legitimate society, and "regicide" will never be allowed. .
Therefore, the "regicide" will inevitably be abandoned by interest groups...
Li Sixian came close to Li Anyan's ear and whispered a few words.
Li Anyan's eyes widened and he lost his voice in shock: "Such a thing could happen?!"
Li Sixian said: "No one knows whether there is or not, but as long as this trend is stirred up, it will be equivalent to someone taking the lead for us. The crime of 'regicide' will fall on her head. What we do is to turn the tide. Bring order to the chaos.”
Li Anyan's chest was filled with waves. The trauma left by that night twenty years ago often made him wake up in his sleep. Many people had charged bravely but fell on the road. The Xuanwu Sect was covered with blood and corpses were lying on the mountain. He saw with his own eyes the King of Qin. The horse was galloping with the prince's head in hand, and his dazzling life and bright future came to an abrupt end at that moment. Although he managed to survive after that, only shame and regret remained.
Hatred has already been engraved in the bone marrow and cannot be erased.
What's particularly important is that even though Emperor Taizong was as broad-minded and magnanimous as he did not pursue the sins of this "rebellious traitor", will his Majesty one day bring up the past and cause him, Li An, and his family to fall into an abyss of eternal destruction?
"Rebel", this is a sharp sword hanging above the head.
If you want to take off this sick sword and wash away this crime, there is only one way to turn the "rebel" into a "minister of the dragon"...
*****
In the imperial study room, there were only Li Chengqian and Li Junxian.
The latter is carefully reporting the news that Li Sixian went to the East Palace Arsenal...
Li Chengqian was silent for a long time, and finally let out a long breath and sighed: "Emperor Taizong was forced to fight back and kill Prince Yin under the Xuanwu Sect. Later, all the generals in Tiance Mansion persuaded him to eradicate the roots, but Emperor Taizong refused, thinking that those people They are all the main cities of the country. Of course, one should die on the battlefield to expel the Turks, not in a coup. It is true that many people were impressed by Emperor Taizong's majesty, but it was inevitable that some of them would be ungrateful and ungrateful, leaving hidden dangers."
After the Xuanwu Gate, there was a fierce debate on how to deal with the subordinates of Prince Yin Li Jiancheng.
Most people feel that the roots should be eradicated, and Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji should be uprooted without leaving any future troubles. However, Emperor Taizong, Fang Xuanling, Xiao Yu and others believed that there should be a thin line and no mass killings should be allowed.
Facts have proved that the decision made at that time was correct. The empire was not seriously damaged by this civil strife, allowing foreigners to take advantage of the situation. Jieli Khan came to Weibei, and it was after seeing that the entire Tang Dynasty was united in plundering. After returning to the north, many direct descendants of the Yin Prince made great contributions in the process of annihilating the Turks and conquering the Western Regions.
And this is also an important reason why Emperor Taizong is recognized by both the government and the public as the "emperor for thousands of years"...
But people's hearts are always hard to fathom. Some people feel that they should be grateful for Emperor Taizong's forgiveness, while others feel that it is humiliation and humiliation... It is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and villainy, good and evil.
To this day, there are many hidden dangers.
Li Junxian whispered: "Does the general need to arrest him for interrogation?"
Li Chengqian glanced at him, shook his head and said: "Can you catch him? We have arrested Li Sixian and Li Anyan. Do you want to arrest Xue Wanche, Wei Ting, Xie Shufang, Feng Li and others? If there is real evidence of their rebellion, that's all. Arrest first and then If you want to impose a crime, let alone the old members of Prince Yin, do you think the British Duke, Zhongshu Ling, and Shizhong would agree?"
The most important thing is that Emperor Taizong treated those people with kindness and kindness, and those people were also loyal and dedicated to serving. When he came to Li Chengqian, those people plotted rebellion and died unjustly?
Is it those people's problem or your Li Chengqian's problem?
If you are narrow-minded, intolerant of others, counterattack and destabilize the country, are you a wise king or a cowardly king?
Li Junxian understood: "In the end, they will be targeting their brothers to death, and they will attack immediately at the slightest sign of trouble."
You can't make random arrests without evidence, but once you have evidence, no one can say anything, right?
Li Chengqian nodded, and when Li Junxian stepped back, he took a sip of tea with a deep look in his eyes. "Li Anyan..."