Li Chengqian sat on the chair, looked at his younger brother in front of him with a simple and honest smile, and said warmly: "You and I are brothers and sisters, how can I see you imprisoned in this small space between heaven and earth, like a bird with broken wings?"
Wandering, helpless, sad and miserable? It is a brother's duty to ask your father to forgive your faults, otherwise the mother and queen's spirit in heaven will also condemn you for being cold-blooded and heartless. But you have to know that your father has forgiven your faults, but
It doesn't mean that you yourself have no faults. The faults are still there. It's just that neither the father nor the orphan wants to care too much about you. But you can't forget where you went wrong to avoid making the same mistakes again."
Li Zhi's face stiffened.
He didn't expect that the prince, who had always been weak and generous, would openly lay out the matter in front of his face, leaving no room for error...
Even though Li Zhi has been smart and scheming since he was a child, he is inevitably embarrassed at this moment.
After all, the position of the crown prince belongs to the elder brother. He has held the position of prince for more than ten years since the first year of Zhenguan. He has already inherited the ancestral temple and announced it to the world. As a result, the King of Wei first eyeed the position of crown prince and tortured the prince in various ways.
It is said that now that the King of Wei has given up his desire to fight for the throne, his younger brother is eager to jump out and show his covetous heart...
Wanting to snatch something from someone's hand, but still having to look like "it's natural", His Highness the Prince of Jin's face and scheming have not yet been cultivated to this level.
Seeing the embarrassed look on his younger brother's face, Li Chengqian's words became gentler and he said slowly: "This country was conquered by my father. You are Gu's brother and my father's legitimate son, so you are naturally qualified to compete for the position of crown prince."
.But what I want to say is that in the competition between you and me, we must stick to the bottom line and never resort to any means! No matter who wins the final crown prince position, we are still brothers and sisters connected by blood. We must not be manipulated by outsiders to do what we do.
A foolish thing that I cannot regret."
His tone was gentle, but the meaning of his words was a bit serious.
Li Zhi looked ugly and couldn't help but said: "I don't know who the prince's words refer to?"
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said calmly: "You know it yourself, why do you need to ask again?"
Li Zhi's face darkened, and he retorted: "Zhao Guogong is your uncle and our mother's biological brother. When they were kicked out of the house, it was my uncle who took good care of my mother, so that my mother could marry her father. What's more, if it weren't for my uncle.
We swore to follow our father to the death, fought bloody battles with the Xuanwu sect, and ended up as the heirs of Prince Yin and Prince Qi. This is where you and I end up. Why is it that today, the Prince is making false claims to slander his uncle, treating him as someone who only covets wealth and power?"
Li Chengqian was stunned and asked: "Is this what you think?"
Li Zhi said: "What else?"
Li Chengqian's eyes were a little disappointed, and he said calmly: "I don't know whether you want to rely on Duke Zhao, so you spoke out to defend him, or whether you really think so in your heart. I just want to ask you, when my father fought in the bloody battle with Xuanwu Sect, not only
Only Zhao Guogong fought alongside him! I know you will say that the reason why my father was able to occupy Chang'an, purge Guanzhong, and eradicate Prince Yin's power was all because of the power of the Guanlong nobles... But you must see clearly, even if
Without Zhao Guogong, the Guanlong nobles would still stand behind their father. They have been forced into a desperate situation by Prince Yin and the Shandong family. If they cannot support their father to turn defeat into victory, all the power and wealth they have accumulated over generations will be in vain! They are not doing it for their father.
, they are only doing it for themselves!”
To be honest, he was a little disappointed.
If you are in the court and want to pursue the throne, you must unite all the forces that can be united. This is understandable.
But no matter how you show up to win over all forces, you have to see through the essence of it all in your heart: who can be used, who needs to be united, and who must be careful and guarded against.
How come you, such a smart young slave, can’t even see this clearly?
Li Zhi was a little angry and retorted: "It's not for yourself. The civil and military officials in the dynasty talk about loyalty all day long. I'm afraid there is no one who is really willing to lay down their life for their father. My uncle is looked down upon by the prince.
It is a disaster to seize power, but in my eyes, Fang Jun and others are not like this."
Li Chengqian shook his head and asked: "Then tell me, will Fang Jun murder your life in order to help Gu secure his position as the heir apparent?"
Li Zhi thought for a while and said: "Probably... not really."
His feelings for Fang Jun are very special.
Once upon a time, he even regarded Fang Jun as his role model and idol. Every time he heard that Fang Jun beat a certain dude in Chang'an City until he cried for his father and mother, he would be very excited and his admiration could not be restrained. When Fang Jun came to
He made illustrious military exploits in the south and north expeditions, which made him look up to the mountains. He wished he could replace him and lead the navy across the seven seas and lead his troops out of the White Way!
He envied the closeness between Si Zi and Fang Jun. It was a kind of pure closeness between relatives, with almost no interest factors. However, from beginning to end, Fang Jun always seemed to have a little prejudice against him and refused to do so.
Open your heart to him and be honest with him.
The reason why he angered his father and was imprisoned was probably because of Fang Jun, so he once gritted his teeth with hatred.
But to be fair, Fang Jun's moral character has always been respected by him. Although this man was called a stick, and was even called a nuisance of Chang'an at one time, he was strong and upright, righteous, affectionate to his relatives, and righteous to his friends.
, he is kind to his subordinates and his character is well-known.
Li Chengqian stared into Li Zhi's eyes and asked in a deep voice: "Then do you think, if there is a chance, will Zhao Guogong trick you and harm Gu's life?"
"..."
Li Zhi's heart trembled, and he subconsciously looked away.
Who doesn’t know that Changsun Wuji talks sweetly but is sinister and vicious? This man is the best interpretation of “the goal is to achieve the goal by any means”. Over the years, there are countless court officials and feudal officials who have fallen under Changsun Wuji, but all the crimes were committed by him.
Here, no one ends well.
Back then, after the Xuanwu Gate, my father won a great victory and killed Prince Yin and the whole family of Qi King. My father originally wanted to restrain his weapons and stop it, but Changsun Wuji strongly advised him to eradicate the weeds and personally lead the troops to kill the entire royal family.
Another blood bath was given.
I don't know how many royal family members and generals who were not involved in the Xuanwu Sect were killed one by one by Changsun Wuji, adhering to the concept of "I would rather kill the wrong one than let it go", and the entire Guanzhong was filled with blood.
Although Li Zhi had not seen it in person, he understood with his feet that Changsun Wuji's move was not only to help his father stabilize the throne, but also to eradicate dissidents. In order to compete for more benefits for the Guanlong nobles, he
Let my father be charged with the crime of profiteering and murder, and I am afraid he will not be able to get rid of it after a thousand years...
Regarding the prince's problem, will Changsun Wuji take the opportunity to kill the prince... Do we still need to think about this?
That's for sure!
Li Zhi and Li Chengqian looked at each other and said firmly: "Brother, don't worry, I am not a ruthless person. The reason why I compete with you for the throne is because I feel that my brother's temperament is not suitable for being an emperor, and I can compare with him."
Do better. But no matter what, you and I are all brothers. No one can alienate the brotherhood between you and me. If anyone wants to make my little brother sit down and do something worse than a beast, it is absolutely impossible!"
That's what he said, and that's exactly what he meant.
The position of the crown prince originally belongs to the prince, but I just feel that the prince is not suitable to be the king of a country. In this case, why should I do it myself? After all, I cannot let the country and mountains built by my father finally fade away, and there will be no way out.
But if he had to kill his siblings to achieve this goal, then he would never do it.
Li Chengqian smiled bitterly and shook his head, sighing softly: "Brother, I believe you. How can we do such a thing as brothers, friends and respectful brothers? But although you are smart, Zhinu, you have never set foot in the court. Your thoughts are naive.
Some. Sometimes, when you are forced into a situation, the choice you make is difficult to come from your heart, and you will be coerced by the people around you to embark on a path that you dare not even imagine."
After a pause, he said something almost rebellious: "Do you think that my father really wanted to fight to the death under the Xuanwu Sect and usurp it? The fact is that no matter what my father thought, in that situation,
No matter what happens, he can only stand up and fight bloody battles, not only for himself, but also for our brothers and heirs, and also for the soldiers of Tiance Mansion who have followed him through life and death."
Li Zhi was silent.
He understood this truth. Even if his father was unwilling to launch the Xuanwumen coup, the counselors and generals under his command would definitely push him to take that path.
Because even if the father is willing to die in full brotherhood, those counselors and generals are not willing.
You, Li Er, Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji are brothers and we don’t want to kill them, but we can’t die with you!
Li Chengqian sighed, stood up, and said, "This is all for my brother, you can do it yourself."
After saying this, he stepped out of the main hall and left the Jin Prince's Mansion.
Li Zhi was left sitting alone in the hall, with a gloomy expression on his face and thoughts in his mind.