"...That's roughly it. The place is safe. Father, don't worry."
Li Yuan became more and more sleepy, and his mind became more and more confused. Being awake for an hour a day was considered a good state. After listening to Li Zhiyun's words, he said: "Just do it. Although Li Xiaochang contributed to the founding of the country, he did not commit rebellion." It is a fact, there is no need to show mercy outside the law, just kill him if he deserves it."
"Yes, I understand."
Li Yuan asked: "Pei Ji hasn't come to see me these days, what is he doing?"
"Back to my father, before Li Xiaochang rebelled, he contacted Hongluqing Liu Shilong, and Liu Shilong once criticized the state affairs in front of Prime Minister Pei. Prime Minister Pei has told his ministers everything. He has been busy dealing with the rebellion these days."
"oh."
Li Yuan's complexion turned into a sigh.
"That's fine. He can loyally assist you, and it's not in vain that I rely on his training. Zhiyun, although Pei Ji is very selfish, not as generous as Pei Ju, and not as good as Yang Gongren in politics, he also has his own uses. Now. Everything in the government is based on stability, so you can use him first. In the future, if you think he is useless, let him go back to Sangquan. After all, he is also a hero of Yuancong in Jinyang."
"yes."
Li Yuan nodded, took a long breath, and said: "My health seems to be getting worse. Zhiyun, I plan to appoint you as the prince. If anything happens to my father in the future, you can take over the inheritance smoothly. "
"My father is blessed with great blessings and a long life. He will definitely recover." Li Zhiyun said without hesitation.
Li Yuan tried his best to smile, shook his head and waved his hands.
"Okay, don't lie to me. I know my body best. Now that your brothers are gone, only you can stabilize the foundation of my Li family. You must take over the position of prince. "
Li Zhiyun pursed his lips slightly. He was planning to let Pei Ju and others make suggestions, but he didn't expect Li Yuan to speak out first.
This caught him a little off guard.
In Li Yuan's view, he had no choice. The only adult son who could restrain the arrogant soldiers was the King of Chu.
Furthermore, if he makes another son the prince, he is afraid that there will be another bloody incident in the palace.
For the sake of the foundation he created and for the sake of his family, he had to elect Li Zhiyun as the crown prince, and he could only appoint Li Zhiyun as the crown prince.
If it were other sons to inherit the inheritance, I would be afraid that the country would be ruined.
"Father, my sons and ministers are just concubines." Li Zhiyun said.
Hearing this, Li Yuan smiled and said: "It's okay. I'll dictate it and you can write it. I'll first canonize your mother and concubine as the queen. In this way, you will be the legitimate son. Is it possible to make you the prince in the future?"
After thinking about it, Li Zhiyun prostrated.
"My son, thank you very much, Father."
There is no problem for him to take up the post of Crown Prince of the East Palace now, but he still has some arrangements that are not in place. Only when the central officials are eliminated can he be crowned Crown Prince smoothly.
Du Ruhui has already written. He found many interesting things from Li Xiaochang's study.
"In addition, if there is a vacancy in the aspect, you should decide early. If you have more people, you can feel more relaxed. In the future, if you become the prince, or even ascend the throne, you must remember that diligence is a good thing, but your body must be well maintained, otherwise you will not be able to long."
"My son, please keep this in mind."
In July of the sixth year of Wude, the emperor issued an edict to appoint his concubine Wan as the queen.
When this news spread throughout the court and the public, all the courtiers understood that the emperor was preparing to appoint the King of Chu as the crown prince.
Fengyi Hall.
"Slave, please see the Queen."
"I, my concubine, see you, the Queen."
Wuyangyang, the concubines in the harem, female officials from various bureaus, chamberlains, and palace maids all knelt down to worship the queen.
Empress Wan raised her hands to support him, and waited for everyone to stand up and bow before saying: "The saint is not in good health now. You should abide by your duties and pray for the saint without causing trouble. All palaces and palaces must abide by the rules.
As the queen, I should set an example. From today on, I will bear the responsibility of taking care of the saints. If you have children and teach them, but if you have no children, you should pray for the saints."
"As commanded."
Everyone paid homage together and agreed.
Seeing this, Wan's face showed a smile.
She never thought that one day, her mother would value her son and sit on the throne of the queen who honors the world.
After Li Yuan appointed the empress, ministers from various offices in Chang'an sent his wife into the palace to congratulate her. This goes without saying.
Shence Mansion.
"Congratulations, Your Highness." Du Ruhui escorted Li Xiaochang back to Chang'an. After a long journey, as soon as he entered the city, he heard about the great news that the emperor appointed Concubine Wan Gui as the queen. He hurried to see Li Zhiyun.
"No need." Li Zhiyun helped him up.
Du Ruhui asked: "When does His Highness plan to take over the East Palace?"
This is an obvious thing. With the identity of the legitimate son, the military and political affairs are also in the hands of the king, and there are no constraints on entering the East Palace.
Li Zhiyun said: "Actually, my father originally planned to directly appoint me as the crown prince, but I feel that now is not the time. At the very least, we must first deal with the officials in the court who harbor ulterior motives."
"Your Highness is very thoughtful," Du Ruhui said, "I found from Li Xiaochang letters that he exchanged with his courtiers, as many as twenty people."
"So many?" Li Zhiyun frowned and walked to the window with his hands behind his hands.
Seemingly understanding Li Zhiyun's hesitation, Du Ruhui said: "Your Highness, what I mean is that we can first deal with some people from the Six Ministries and Nine Temples, and knock the mountain to shake the tiger. In this way, the people of the court and the public will not panic."
"Who are they?"
"Hongluqing Liu Shilong, Guangluqing Liu Zhenghui, Changsun Shunde..."
After listening, Li Zhiyun rubbed the corners of his clothes and said, "Is that so? Send the order down and summon everyone to discuss the matter."
"Yes." Li Zhen followed the order and left.
A few days later, as Li Xiaochang, Changsun Anye, and Du Caiqian were all taken into the capital, a round of purges began.
According to the letters exchanged between Li Xiaochang and the ministers of the DPRK and China, Li Zhiyun laid off many people in one go.
Hongluqing Liu Shilong was dismissed from his post and ordered to return home. Hongluqing was replaced by Youwuwei General Wang Changxie, and the vacant Youwuwei General position was concurrently held by Li Zhiyun.
Guangluqing Liu Zhenghui was demoted to the position of local governor, and Guangluqing was replaced by Youyiwei General Li Gaoqian, and the vacant general position was concurrently filled by Li Zhiyun.
Sun Shunde, the commander-in-chief of Zuo Xiaowei's general, canceled all the lord's official positions and wiped them out. Zuo Xiaowei's deputy general Cheng Yaojin was appointed as the general.
The left-leading general Zhang Pinggao was appointed governor of Danzhou, and the left-leading general Li Zhiyun served concurrently.
In addition to the above, two other ministers were also demoted.
After a major blood exchange, among the sixteen guards, basically all the old men belonging to Li Yuan were eliminated. Except for Chai Shao, Li Shentong, and Li Shuliang, the remaining guards were all in the hands of Li Zhiyun.
Wang Changxie and others also understood that this was King Chu's attempt to gather military power. They did not dare to refuse, so they had no choice but to turn their honest military generals into civil servants to prepare for retirement.
After all, as the emperor and his ministers, they were saints, not the confidants of the King of Chu. They still had this kind of conscious wisdom.
Compared with Liu Shilong and others, they couldn't help but feel lucky that they were still in Chang'an.
Although the general purge caused panic among the ruling and opposition parties, it was undoubtedly acceptable to Li Zhiyun.
Because, through this rebellion, Li Zhiyun eliminated a large number of Lao Li's ministers and completely controlled the Sixteenth Guards.
More importantly, from now on, all smart people should know who they owe allegiance to.
After being busy for several days, Li Zhiyun rarely took a break.
At this time, Princess Chu walked into the courtyard and served tea.
"Husband, I heard that the punishment for traitors has been fixed?"
"Yeah." Li Zhiyun handed the document to her smoothly, "Read it yourself."
Princess Chu shook her head, "I don't understand this. The reason why I asked the king today is mainly because the second sister-in-law hopes that the king can spare the life of the eldest grandson Anye."
With that said, she pushed back the paperwork.
Li Zhiyun's eyes flashed with satisfaction and he placed the document on the table.