Li Yuan, who had suffered great losses, not only built the Chengtian Gate tall and strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also the Xuanwu Gate, the due north gate. However, what he never dreamed of was the stubborn fortress, which was often broken from the inside. He relied on it, but failed.

For the sake of his own fame and ambition, Jing Junhong and Lu Shiheng, who were completely ignored by him, unceremoniously opened the Xuanwu Gate, allowing Li Shimin to enter the inner palace without bloodshed.

Li Shimin and his soldiers passed through the Xuanwu Gate, bypassed the Ningyin Pavilion, Chengxiang Hall, and Yanjia Hall in the south without any obstruction, and broke into the Ganlu Hall. Then they broke open the barking door of the Ganlu Hall, and the entire Taiji Palace looked like

A pine cone has been cracked open like a hard shell. After peeling off the layers, crispy pine nuts are exposed, just waiting to be enjoyed.

Li Shimin has never been to the Taiji Palace in Chengdu, but there is not much difference between the palace and the Daxing Palace. Every plant, every tree, every pavilion and every pavilion feels very familiar to him, but Li Shimin has no time to see more, so he takes it with him.

Following his cronies who had sneaked back to Chengdu, he rushed all the way to Ganlu Palace. Chengdu city was a strange place for him after all. His army here was pitifully small. He had to kill his father before the deceived Yuan returned from the Forbidden Army.

The emperor must control it, otherwise he will die.

It was not that he encountered no resistance, but compared to the elite troops he had carefully selected, it would be no exaggeration to say that the guards in the palace were vulnerable.

Speaking of which, it was Li Yuan who forced him to this point. Since Li Yuan took over Li Jiancheng's power, he began to attack Li Shimin. Although the father and son did not confront each other head-on, Li Yuan cut off food and weapons to make the already difficult situation even more difficult.

Li Shimin was impoverished; in his view, Li Shimin, who was in a dilemma of running out of food, had only two choices: one was to disarm, but this was unlikely because the Sui army in the north was powerful and Li Shimin's strength was not enough.

The army was cut, and once the Sui army entered, it would be difficult to deal with it; the second was to surrender to him, just like Li Jiancheng, and return to Chengdu to be a "good son". With Li Jiancheng as an example, he thought that Li Shimin would also surrender to him.

.

However, he miscalculated.

Li Shimin chose neither of the two options. Instead, he persuaded Dou Gui, the governor of Yinping Road who was confronting him, with the right and wrong and personal interests. When Dou Gui saw that Li Yuan allowed Li Yuanji to harm the officials in the court, he knew that such disaster would befall him sooner or later.

On his head. One day, if someone accuses him of treason, Li Yuan will definitely treat him like Liu Wenjing. And according to the current situation, the successor to Zuo of the Tang Dynasty is most likely to be the ferocious and brutal Li Yuanji;

Li Yuanji's character, once he ascended the throne as he wished, would be a disaster to the Dou family and the Tang Dynasty. As for Li Jiancheng, he is already a turtle in the urn and has no power. Even if he still has the day to make a comeback, he cannot suppress Li Shimin and Li Yuanji who have military power.

.Compared one by one, Li Shimin's ascendancy is undoubtedly in the best interests of the Tang Dynasty and his personal interests. So when Li Shimin came to visit, Dou Gui, who was Liushenwuzhu, seemed to have seen a bright light in the darkness. After several negotiations and compromises, he secretly surrendered.

Li Shimin and cooperated with Li Shimin in all aspects to plan this coup.

If Li Yuan's suspicion is successfully aroused and all armies are transferred away, given his character, Li Yuanji will inevitably be transferred to protect him. This is a huge variable.

And Li Yuanji is not only Li Yuan's most trusted prince, who can enter and leave the palace without notification, he is also the general of Zuowei, in charge of thousands of soldiers of Zuowei and Wuchuan Guard. The most important thing is that although this guy is a bit ugly, he is quite capable of fighting.

, quite fierce, no one in Li Shishou's heart can be his opponent. If he is in the palace and leads his guards to resist Li Shimin's army that breaks into the palace, Li Yuan can take advantage of this breathing time to escape to the imperial city.

If this is the case, even if Li Yuanji is killed, it will not change the fact that Li Shimin is the commander of the army; he can either retreat when he sees good things like Yang Tong did at the beginning, or fight to the death, and Li Shimin cannot afford to choose either of these two options.

After learning the lesson from Yang Tong's failure, he included Li Yuanji as one of the reasons why he must be killed.

Secondly, Li Yuan did not know the relationship between Li Yuanji and Li Shentong, but it could not escape Li Shimin's ears and eyes. Considering Li Yuanji's lawless temperament; if he was not in the palace, once he heard that Li Yuan was under control, he would not only not be worried, but

Instead, they were overjoyed and joined forces with Li Shentong to enter the palace. After killing the outnumbered Li Shimin, they took the opportunity to kill Li Yuan and then put the blame on Li Shimin, who suddenly appeared in the palace and had no excuse.

In addition, Li Shimin also needs someone to take the blame. Li Jiancheng was originally the most suitable person, but now he has no power and cannot even get out of the East Palace. No one will believe him if he is responsible for causing trouble. In this way, Li Jiancheng is unpopular.

Li Yuanji became the best candidate.

Based on the above three reasons, Li Yuanji must die.

As for the content of the letter, Li Shimin was not worried at all. He knew his father very well and would never betray his father unless he was absolutely eliminated. Instead, he continued to choose to maintain the superficial harmony. Things were just as they were.

As Li Shimin expected, Li Yuan did not announce who was the mastermind of the alliance with Li Jiancheng. As for why he suddenly appeared in Chengdu, it was even simpler - "I was ordered by my father to kill the traitor king."

In the final analysis, Li Shimin wanted to become Li Tang's reality, but he did not want to engage in a civil war with his father that would drain Li Tang's only vitality. Therefore, he took advantage of his father's suspicious and jealous characteristics and concocted the idea of ​​"brothers".

Under the false pretense that the two men met for a mutiny, he successfully transferred the army to Wudan Mountain and quelled the two thousand "rebels" who were used as a cover. He successfully transferred Yuan Cong's imperial army to seal the city and blockade the imperial city so that he could "kill" his father.

The head of.

As the emperor's bedroom, the Manna Palace would never be opened when the emperor was sleeping. There was only one way to get in, and that was to break open the door!

Fortunately, although the palace wall is extremely high, it is the palace gate of the inner court after all. It is not as thick as the Xuanwu Gate. As long as there is a log as a battering ram, it can be opened. These are also among Li Shimin's considerations, and let Jing Jing

Jun Hong and Lu Shiheng were secretly prepared.

When the group arrived at the back gate of Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin's trusted generals Zhai Changsun, Hou Junji, Li Mengchang, Dou Shilun, Qiu Yingqi, and Deputy Luo Jun were the first to rush up, took the log from the soldier's shoulder, and worked together to pick up the log.

The hard giant wood trotted forward and then slammed hard towards the palace gate.

"Boom" the palace door shook with a loud sound. Everyone picked up the log and stepped back quickly. They started running again. There was another loud and dull earthquake. Several warriors hit the palace door more than ten times. Finally, the palace door

It was loose, and every time it hit, a fist opened wide.

The rhythm of the collision of these warriors was not fast, even so, but every loud bang was like hitting Li Shimin's heart, making him jump with fear. When he saw the crack getting bigger little by little, Li Shimin's gloomy face showed

With a relaxed smile, he waved the Dingtang Sword and ordered: "Press harder, a few more times and it will be knocked open."

Ganlu Hall is the northernmost one among the three main halls. It is a separate palace building complex with multiple gates and deep winding paths. In simple terms, Ganlu Hall is the center, and the front and rear are divided into three courtyards.

There are spacious courtyards, tall palace walls and palaces in each courtyard, so the dull sound of knocking on the door was very soft when it reached the second courtyard, and Li Yuan, who was staying in Ganlu Hall, could not hear it at all.

But the first people who entered the courtyard were awakened. They knew something was wrong when the door was banged so hard outside, and a group of people panicked. Some rushed to the Ganlu Hall to report the news, some shouted for help, and some saw

When the door bars were in danger of breaking, we moved in tables and chairs, and a stone block blocked the door. It was a mess for a while.

The palace eunuchs who were in several small palaces on the left and right behind the Manlu Palace were also awakened. However, when the troops arrived outside the city, they realized it was too late and ran out to watch. However, Li Shimin, who was eager to break into the palace, saw that they did not launch an attack.

, too lazy to pay attention, and just kept anxiously ordering the generals to speed up the door slamming.

"Kala...Boom!" The log hit hard again, and the door inside was finally broken. It seemed that only the small half was connected. Everyone was so happy that they didn't even bother to step back to use their strength. They swung their arms on the spot.

After two more hard knocks, the palace door finally burst open, and Li Shimin shouted: "Come in."

Everyone drew their swords and rushed in under the watchful eyes of the trembling palace ladies and eunuchs.

The courtyard had long been in chaos. Soldiers without fighting were running wild all over the courtyard. Li Shimin led Zhai Changsun, Hou Junji, Li Mengchang, Dou Shilun, Qiu Yingqi, and Deputy Luo Jun to rush in. Everyone started to fight.

With the sword raised and dropped, he kills everyone he meets.

Who could care less at this time? Those who dare to resist will be killed, and those who block the road will also be killed. They passed by, killing blood all over the ground. Many smart palace maids knelt on the ground trembling, not daring to

Act rashly.

The warning of the attack on the Manlu Palace was sent to the inner guards of the Royal Forest Army. The inner guards always followed the emperor. Wherever the emperor was, the inner guards were nearby, and they were also the emperor's last and strongest defensive force.

"I am Li Shimin, the King of Jin. The King of Qi is plotting a rebellion. I have come to escort you under the Holy Order. It has nothing to do with you!" Li Shimin shouted sternly at the hesitant inner guard: "How could I have entered the Xuanwu Gate without the Holy Order?

?The situation is urgent. If the Holy One makes a mistake, can you take responsibility?"

"This general can testify for the King of Jin." At this time, Liu Shili strode over and shouted in a deep voice: "Everyone give up resistance!" This is also Li Shimin's person, and his value lies at this moment.

As he spoke, Liu Shi immediately took the lead in throwing the horizontal sword in his hand to the ground. When he saw the person with the highest rank abandoning his weapon and surrendering, the others all made the same move, only to hear a jingling sound, and soon there was a pile of swords on the ground.

With the sword, Li Shimin's tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and the last variable was finally solved without any bloodshed.

…

There was a lot of people outside, which woke up Li Yuan. He sat up from the bed and asked in fear: "Who is making trouble outside?"

At this time, the Palace Superintendent of Ganlu Palace ran in tremblingly, and fell to the ground as soon as he came in. Although Li Yuan had pale hair and was wearing yellow silk pajamas, which was not the usual majestic and solemn dress, he was still not angry or intimidating.

: "Who is causing trouble? Tell me quickly!"

The palace eunuch just knelt down and kowtowed, his forehead banging on the ground, not even daring to say a word.

The emperor is gone. He is just a humble servant. Whatever he says at this time is wrong. If he offends the future emperor, he will die. If he offends the future emperor, I will also be killed by the future emperor who is eager to show his filial piety.

Li Yuan was furious when he saw this, and when he was about to ask again, he saw the door curtain lifted, Hou Jun gathered, and Zhai Changsun had barged in with a blood knife. Li Shimin glanced sharply and saw that there was no threat inside, so he turned around.

He flashed and let Li Shimin out, followed by a large group of people including Li Mengchang, Dou Shilun, Qiu Yingqi, Luo Junfu, Yin Kaishan and others.

As soon as they saw that there was no danger inside, everyone put away their swords and saluted Li Yuan solemnly with Li Shimin.

When Li Yuan saw that it was Li Shimin and his henchmen, his expression changed. He stared at Li Shimin coldly for a long time and said solemnly: "So it's you, okay, okay! You're good at swaying the tiger away from the mountain."

"Your Majesty!" Seeing that Li Shimin had no answer, Yin Kaishan took a few steps forward, bowed solemnly to Li Yuan, and said in a deep voice: "The King of Qi, Li Yuanji, conspired to rebel. I have been ordered by the Holy Spirit to enter the court secretly to put down the rebellion. I didn't know about it for fear of leaking it."

.Now that our ancestors are alive, the King of Qi has already executed him!"

When Li Yuan heard the words "The King of Qi has been executed", he felt miserable in his heart and his breathing suddenly became rapid. He took several breaths to suppress the excitement in his heart and turned his sharp and fierce eyes from Yin Kaishan to Li Shimin.

He beat the bed hard and said fiercely: "Li Shimin, you can do it, you are cruel enough! After killing your own brother, do you also want to kill me as well, so that all is over? Yes or no?"

The vicious resentment in his father's eyes finally made Li Shimin feel a little more guilty. His knees softened and he knelt on the ground, lowering his head and saying nothing.

"Your Majesty, the rebels have not been dispersed yet. The generals will go to quell the chaos first!" Zhai Changsun received Yin Kaishan's signal, and he immediately helped Li Shimin up with Li Mengchang and pulled Li Shimin out, Dou Shilun, Qiu

When Ying got up, Deputy Luo Jun followed him out. The palace supervisor rolled his eyes and quietly retreated.

In the empty palace, only Yin Kaishan and Hou Junji were left confronting Li Yuan. Yin Kaishan pressed forward and said to Li Yuan: "The King of Jin followed the secret decree of the Holy Spirit and regardless of his wealth and life, he went deep into the tiger's den to beg for thieves. However, his troops were too few.

In order to save some blood from the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, I also asked the Holy One to formally issue an edict to abolish the title of the King of Qi."

Hou Jun gathered and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the prince has no achievements and no prestige. How can he command the world to fight against the Sui Dynasty? The last general who thinks that he can inherit the great cause of the Holy Emperor is none other than the King of Jin. Now I hope that the Holy One will obey the will of Heaven and obey the will of the people.

, canonize the King of Jin as the crown prince."

According to their pre-planned plan, today they would first take control of the emperor, force him to publicly announce that Li Shimin had come to Beijing with secret orders to quell the rebellion, and designate Li Yuanji as a thief. They would then use the emperor's name to purge Li Yuanji's best friends, and then establish "outstanding meritorious service" and "quell the rebellion".

Li Shimin, who has meritorious service, will be crown prince. After one or two months, the throne of emperor will be given to crown prince Li Shimin.

In this way, the court can avoid turbulence to the greatest extent, and Li Shimin can also use this time to fully coordinate the relationship between the parties, first allocate the benefits of the political struggle results, and then announce it in public, so that the court can make a smooth transition.

That's all. The most important thing is Li Jiancheng. Originally, Li Jiancheng, an unstable factor, was also among those who must be punished. But although he himself was powerless, there was also Li Xiaogong who went on an expedition to Nanzhao. This guy and Li Jiancheng

Brother Tie, who is too strong to be too strong, if Li Jiancheng had not made many efforts to rescue him, he would have been slaughtered by Li Yuan as a scapegoat when the entire army was wiped out for the first time. If Li Jiancheng had died, Li Xiaogong would have definitely put aside the Nanzhao incident and started

King Qin's division sought justice for Li Jiancheng, which led to the civil war in the Li Tang Dynasty. Because of this, Li Jiancheng was removed from the ranks of those who must be executed. The so-called "a peck and a drink determines the cause and effect" is not an exaggeration.
To be continued...