Chapter 42: Purging the Emperor's Side? No! It's Treason!

Ah?

Hearing this, Cen Wenben felt a buzzing in his head.

I said I would help you be reinstated as the Crown Prince.

But I didn't say it would be this soon!

No wonder His Highness managed to become the "shortest-reigned Crown Prince in history"—his train of thought is truly unlike that of a normal person....

One can only imagine that when His Majesty and all the civil and military officials heard his request to depose the Crown Prince, they must have been just as lost as I am right now.

However, he could not let the Prince run amok a second time.

"Your Highness, have you not woken up yet? Would you like to sleep a little longer?"

Cen Wenben asked with an awkward expression.

Then, he saw Li Chengqian walk over, pat him on the arm, and say in a deeply earnest tone:

"You don't need to feel too much pressure. There should still be half a day left, so prepare well to assume your post in the Eastern Palace..... By then, there will be many things to busy ourselves with, and the孤 will certainly not treat you unfairly. That plan you mentioned earlier to make your name known throughout the world—just go ahead and execute it according to your own ideas!"

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben glanced at Li Chengqian's forehead.

"Hah!"

Li Chengqian smiled: "The孤 is not having a fever; the孤 is doing very well right now. There are some things I cannot explain in detail, but you just need to trust the孤. Reinstatement as Crown Prince is only the beginning, and the road ahead is still very long. When the time comes, you and I, monarch and subject, will jointly rule the realm—wouldn't that be wonderful....."

"This...."

Cen Wenben's heart surged violently, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

However, since Li Chengqian was so confident, he must have some degree of certainty.

After a brief silence, Cen Wenben immediately bowed to Li Chengqian and said: "This subject is willing to render the utmost service to Your Highness!"

"Good!"

Li Chengqian flicked his sleeve: "Let us go! Day has broken!"

With that, the two of them stepped out of the mansion together.

......

Meanwhile, within the Taiji Palace, at the Taiji Hall.

Li Shimin had summoned all officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital, as well as all imperial princes holding fiefs, to the Taiji Hall overnight.

At this moment, attired in a dragon robe and wearing the imperial crown with hanging beads, Li Shimin sat comfortably upon the imperial throne, sweeping his gaze across the assembly within the hall.

Although some officials and enfeoffed princes still had no idea what had happened, the oppressive atmosphere inside the hall struck them dumb with fear.

Li Shimin shook the sleeves of his dragon robe and said indifferently: "My lords, having summoned you all here at such an early hour, you must not have had breakfast yet, right?"

"This...."

The crowd exchanged glances, staring at one another in dismay.

How could they possibly have any appetite for breakfast now? They had each been dragged straight out of their beds by the imperial guards and brought to the Taiji Hall, scared nearly out of their wits.

To their knowledge, the exact same scenario had played out just a year ago.

That was the day Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, slaying Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and forcing Li Yuan to invest him as Crown Prince.

And the day of that investiture had been identical to the present situation.

Could it be that another major upheaval had occurred at court?

At this thought, everyone held their breath and concentrated, waiting quietly for Li Shimin to continue.

Then Li Shimin went on to say: "According to the protocol for enfeoffed princes, music must accompany breakfast, but I shall dispense with it here, for the mood is hardly fitting!"

With a wave of his hand, palace attendants immediately stepped forward to serve breakfast to the assembly.

As for Li Shimin himself, he began to enjoy his breakfast as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

The air about him was such that everything seemed entirely within his grasp.

This caused the enfeoffed princes, who were aware of the inside story, to feel uneasy murmurs rising in their hearts.

In truth, prior to plotting his rebellion, Li Xianxiang had secretly sent people to notify them, asking for their support.

Although none of them had committed themselves openly, in their hearts they actually hoped Li Xianxiang would pull this off.

After all, the curtailment of the princes' fiefs and privileges was detrimental to their own interests as well.

However, they differed from Li Xianxiang in that they held no military power; they could only choose which side to align with once the general trend became clear.

Just as their hearts were pounding with anxiety, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall: "Reporting to Your Majesty! Li Xianxiang, the Prince of Yi'an, has raised troops and marched upon Chang'an! He is now within ten miles of the city, and the Duke of Wu is leading troops to intercept him!"

Clang!

An uproar erupted across the entire hall!

Chaos—utter chaos—and the situation was spiraling beyond control.

Some felt as though they had been struck by a bolt of lightning, their minds instantly enlightened.

Others turned red with fury, bursting into wild curses.

Still others sat upright and stiff, filled with eager anticipation.

Li Shimin observed everyone's reactions, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Then, with a placid expression, he asked: "For what reason has the Prince of Yi'an raised troops to march on Chang'an?"

" Replying to Your Majesty, the Prince of Yi'an is deeply dissatisfied with the reduction of the princes' territories and harbors resentment toward Zhangsun Wuji, who advocated for this policy. Therefore, he petitions Your Majesty to purge the imperial court's inner circle and execute Zhangsun Wuji!" Wei Ting, the Director of the Bureau of Merits, answered in a ringing voice.

"Hah!"

Li Shimin let out a dry laugh, then surveyed the assembly and said: "It seems our Prince of Yi'an is quite the loyal and righteous subject after all!"

"This...."

A wave of murmurs swept through the hall.

It seemed none of them understood the hidden meaning behind Li Shimin's words.

Yet Li Shimin took a leisurely sip of his broth before continuing with a faint smile: "Ever since I ascended the throne, I have welcomed candid advice, and any loyal and righteous subject is free to speak their mind."

"The reduction of the princes' fiefs is a state policy advocated by myself; how did it suddenly become the policy of Zhangsun Wuji?"

At this point, the smile vanished from his face, and he said calmly yet with absolute majesty: "Could it be that the Prince of Yi'an marched his troops upon the capital not because of Zhangsun Wuji, but because of me?"

At these words, all the enfeoffed princes trembled violently.

A timid prince hurriedly spoke up to explain: "Your Majesty misunderstands! How would the Prince ever dare to direct his actions against Your Majesty?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty! It is surely a misunderstanding!" another prince chimed in.

Although they had secretly resolved to throw their support behind Li Xianxiang if he succeeded,

there was a crucial premise to this:

That premise was that Li Xianxiang was not committing treason.

Otherwise, even if Li Xianxiang succeeded, they would never dare to support him.

And Li Xianxiang had repeatedly assured them that he was merely purging the court of treacherous officials, not rebelling.

Yet now, His Majesty was publicly declaring that Li Xianxiang's target was none other than the Emperor himself—was this not pre-emptively branding Li Xianxiang as a traitor? Naturally, they wished to prevent such a verdict from being set!

Hearing their remarks, however, Li Shimin merely let out a cold laugh: "The Prince of Yi'an distributed handbills in Chang'an, stirred up public opinion, and marched an army upon the capital—and you call that a misunderstanding?"

"This...."

The princes who had spoken up were instantly struck dumb.

Li Shimin turned his gaze toward Fang Xuanling and said in a deep voice: "Grand Secretary!"

"Here!"

"What does this imply....?"

"Treason!"

Fang Xuanling swept his gaze across the room and delivered the verdict directly.

Li Shimin then cast an unexpected glance at Pei Ji: "Minister Pei, what is your view?"

"Ah?"

Pei Ji had been contemplating his nose and meditating on his inner thoughts, and was so startled by Li Shimin's sudden inquiry that he stammered: "Reb... rebellion... of... of course it is rebellion!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed: "The enfeoffed princes ought to stand with the imperial court, yet a prince committing treason fills my heart with sorrow!"

With that, his gaze turned exceptionally sharp as he swept it across the princes in the hall: "Treason is neither a misunderstanding nor any matter of princely privilege; once weapons are raised, it is treason!"

With these words, the entire hall fell into a profound stillness.

"Men! Order the Duke of Wu to arrest the Prince of Yi'an and bring him to the Taiji Hall for judgment! Should he dare to resist, execute him without mercy!"

Having become Emperor, Li Shimin had not lost his military demeanor, and his words were fraught with killing intent.

It frightened the enfeoffed princes in the hall into trembling shivers.