Li Shimin has already started taking ‘elixirs’ now?
History records that Li Shimin began to indulge in enjoyment and pursue immortality in his later years.
But it is only the seventh year of Zhenguan, so it can only be regarded as the middle stage of Zhenguan.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ma Zhou said gratefully.
He had heard that only princes, nobles and ministers favored by Li Shimin would be rewarded with elixirs.
Ma Zhou's words brought Lin Xuan back to his senses and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I am still young, so forget about the pills."
Just kidding, thank you, are you thanking him for letting you die quickly?
Historically, Ma Zhou seemed to have died in his forties. History books said it was due to illness, but now it seems that Li Shimin's elixir was also 'indispensable'.
In his previous life, Lin Xuan was curious about what ancient Taoist priests used to make elixirs, so he checked it out.
He always thought that Taoist priests used medicinal materials to make elixirs, but after checking, he found out that this was not the case at all.
Look at these materials. Is the elixir that is produced?
That's iron lumps made of various metals. Well, it's still poisonous.
Not to mention whether you will be poisoned if you eat this thing, it is not easy to digest.
Li Shimin looked at Lin Xuan strangely. He usually gave pills to others, but he was always grateful.
You must know that he spends a lot of money on alchemy every year. If it were not to win over the ministers of the court, he would not be willing to reward him.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xuan refused.
"Your Majesty, I advise you to eat less." Lin Xuan reminded kindly.
Li Shimin was startled and asked, "Is there something wrong with this elixir?"
"Your Majesty, just find a chicken or duck and feed them one." Lin Xuan thought for a while and said.
The ingredients of the elixir are heavy metals and some toxic substances.
Human resistance plus metabolism will not kill you if you eat them in a short period of time, but it is different with chickens and ducks. One of them will probably kill you.
Even if the poison doesn't kill you, it can still kill you half to death.
Seeing is believing, hearing is believing.
Lin Xuan directly said that the elixir was poisonous, could Li Shimin believe it?
A trace of gloom flashed across Li Shimin's face. Although Lin Xuan didn't say it clearly, he already understood what Lin Xuan meant.
"Go, go to the imperial dining room and catch some live chickens and ducks." Li Shimin looked at Li Mu and said solemnly.
"Yes." Li Mu took the order and hurried away.
"Your Majesty, I will retire first." Lin Xuan said with cupped hands.
Lin Xuan is not a saint, nor is he a messenger of justice. Whether others are making elixirs or taking elixirs, what does it have to do with him? He doesn't take them.
No matter how many shortcomings Li Shimin had, no matter how he was evaluated in history.
But Li Shimin was indeed considerate of the people and was a good emperor. Perhaps his compassion was to wash away the stigma of killing his brother and imprisoning his father. However, emperors, generals, and ministers always talked about justice but not personal morality, and looked at facts rather than their hearts.
Even if he is really putting on a show, is it important?
He is a good emperor if he can sympathize with the people, treat them well, and allow them to live and work in peace and contentment.
If possible, Lin Xuan didn't want Li Shimin to die so early.
However, he knew that once the poisonous elixir was revealed, Li Shimin would definitely be furious.
As the saying goes: When the emperor is angry, millions of people will be killed.
I don’t know how many people are going to die this time, so it’s better for him to leave first.
"Your Majesty, I have also resigned."
Ma Zhou also sensed something was wrong and took the opportunity to say goodbye.
Li Shimin was not in the mood to keep the two of them around, so he nodded and let them go down.
"Marquis of Jingyang County, I have a lot of things about commercial tax that I want to discuss with you in detail, why don't you come and sit down with me?" Ma Zhou said with a smile.
"You're welcome, Master Ma. It's just that I have something to do today. Let's wait for another day."
After saying that, Lin Xuan left in a hurry.
It's better to go home and wait until the news passes.
Not long after Lin Xuan and Ma Zhou left, Li Mu came back with a few chickens.
"Your Majesty, the chicken is here."
"Feed each one a pill." Li Shimin said expressionlessly.
Li Mu bowed, took out an elixir from the box, and crushed it with a tea cup on the table.
Ignoring the chicken's struggle and squawking, I opened the chicken's mouth and stuffed the crushed elixir powder into the chicken's mouth. I was afraid that the chicken would spit it out, and also poured some water into it.
After doing this, Li Mu stood aside, waiting for Li Shimin's instructions.
Li Shimin's face was expressionless, his eyes kept staring at the chicken in the little eunuch's hand, not knowing what he was thinking.
The chicken that had taken the elixir shook its head and struggled in the eunuch's hands without any abnormality.
Li Shimin waited for a while and saw that everything was normal, and his tense face relaxed a lot.
At this moment, the chicken slowly stopped struggling, and soon it dropped its head and became motionless.
thump!
When the eunuch holding the chicken saw this scene, his hand shook, and the chicken slipped from his hand, and he knelt on the ground with a plop, lying there.
The eunuchs and maids standing beside him all knelt down, not daring to breathe.
They saw with their own eyes that the chicken died not long after being fed the elixir.
Either there is something wrong with the elixir, or someone poisoned it. No matter which possibility it is, it is a huge disaster.
If His Majesty eats it...
Thinking of this, they all shuddered.
Li Shimin ignored the eunuchs, with a look of horror on his face.
The chicken didn't even react when it fell to the ground. You didn't need to look closely to know that it was already dead and could no longer die.
"Ask Li Junxian to seal off the Cangxian Pavilion. No one is allowed to enter or exit without my order. In addition, send someone to summon Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng... here." Li Shimin said coldly.
…
Zangxian Pavilion
It was the place where Taoist priests made elixirs for Li Shimin.
At this time, in the hall of Zangxian Pavilion, a dozen Taoist priests wearing Taoist robes were chatting.
These Taoist priests were chatting and laughing with a hint of comfort.
They refined elixirs for Li Shimin and provided Li Shimin with a large amount of money every year.
You don't need that much to make alchemy, most of it is divided by people like them.
He only needs to refine a batch of elixirs for Li Shimin in January and February every year, and during the rest of the time, he goes to the Cangxian Pavilion to pretend to be there for a few days every month.
The rest of the time is spent outside enjoying a luxurious life.
Just then, a little Taoist priest ran in.
One of them, an old Taoist priest who was over fifty years old and looked like an immortal, frowned and reprimanded: "How can you behave so recklessly?"
"Master is in trouble. The Hidden Immortal Pavilion was surrounded by the Forbidden Army. I went to ask them why they did this, and they just called me back." The little Taoist said with a sad face.
"What! I want to see who dares to do this."
Even Li Shimin would usually call them "immortal master" when he saw them, but now someone dared to lead troops to surround the Hidden Immortal Pavilion.
"Yes, let's take a look."
A group of Taoist priests came to the door angrily.
The master of the Cangxian Pavilion, whose Taoist name was Jiuru, knew Li Junxian and asked angrily: "General Li, do you know where this place is? How dare you lead people to surround the Cangxian Pavilion?"
Li Junxian said calmly: "I am following my orders. It is forbidden to enter or exit the Hidden Immortal Pavilion. You should go in."
"What? Your Majesty's order?" Jiuru and others' expressions changed.
They told Li Shimin that the elixir had the effect of prolonging life, but how could they not know whether the elixir they made themselves had the effect of prolonging life?
Now Li Shimin suddenly sent people to surround the Hidden Immortal Pavilion. Could it be that Li Shimin knew that the elixir was useless?
Thinking of this, many people's faces changed drastically and they broke into cold sweat.