Needless to say, the situation at King Wu's banquet that night was terrible. Only three people showed up out of more than twenty people, and these three people did not express any real loyalty. Although King Wu finished the meal, his face was ashen.
There are no secrets in a place like Chang'an City. The reason why Li Xiang did such a ruthless thing this time was to show the other princes and grandchildren that if you are willing to be the knife in Li Shimin's hand, then King Wu Li Ke is your role model.
East Palace
Li Xiang did not go out to entertain the generals in the army. Everything was done by Qin Huaiyu and Fang Yiai. These two people are now Li Xiang's spokespersons, so their appearance is enough. Li Xiang stood on the steps of the East Palace Hall, looking at the full moon in the distance, not knowing whether what he did was right this time. He had originally wanted to pull the King of Wu over as a helper, but after this incident, it was good enough that they did not become enemies.
Just as Li Xiang was sighing, he suddenly saw Qian Ping coming with a few people. It turned out that Li Chengqian had also returned from outside. Seeing his son sighing here, he asked the kitchen to prepare a few side dishes, and then brought them to the door of the East Palace Hall. The father and son had a few drinks here.
If the Imperial Censor saw this, he would probably punish both father and son. This is the East Palace of the imperial court, and you two are drinking here. What would happen if this got out?
But it is night time now and no outsiders come here. These two people are the biggest masters of the Eastern Palace, so as long as the Eastern Palace is not demolished, no one, whether it is the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace or the chief historian of the Eastern Palace, will be willing to speak.
"Is Dad done with his work?"
Originally, Li Chengqian was a very rule-abiding person, but under the influence of Li Xiang, he increasingly felt that living like this was more comfortable, so the father and son sat on the ground. The weather was relatively warm at this time of year, and even when drinking outside at night, the two did not feel a bit of cold.
"What's there for me to do? I'm just busy with people coming and going every day. Of course, they're all people who want to get close to me. I saw you were feeling down, so I came over to talk to you. Concubine Yang actually sent someone here, but do you know what Concubine Yang meant?"
The person Li Chengqian just received was Concubine Yang's man.
"Let us show mercy?"
Li Xiang speculated that it was normal for a mother to not be able to bear to see her son suffer setbacks. If Li Xiang suffered such a setback, perhaps his mother would also ask for help from others everywhere.
"You underestimated Concubine Yang. Concubine Yang sent someone to tell me that this matter was done well and correctly, and she said she would not bear a grudge against us."
After Li Chengqian finished speaking, Li Xiang was truly impressed by Concubine Yang. This princess of the previous dynasty was born in troubled times and had always endured humiliation. Although her status was very noble, she never interfered in the affairs of the court. Even her two sons, except for the prince who was rather mischievous, basically had nothing to do with the government.
Concubine Yang was unwilling to get involved in this matter, but the King of Wu was bewildered, and some people below added fuel to the fire. Concubine Yang had tried her best to stop him, but she had no choice but to let the King of Wu go down this path. However, Concubine Yang did not bear a grudge against Li Xiang. If this matter ended like this, it would be a good thing for both parties.
This incident can not only make the King of Wu understand, but also make other people give up on him. If anyone still wants to make trouble, just think about the price this time. Concubine Yang has a scale in her heart. Now the price of this matter is not high, and the King of Wu can still bear it. It's nothing more than losing some face. But if someone instigates him to make trouble in the future, he may lose his life.
"Looks like I'll have to go visit Concubine Yang someday. It's rare for someone to view this issue this way."
Li Xiang was speaking from the heart. After being reborn into this era, most women were brainless and wanted to make things worse. Only Concubine Yang understood everything. Her son was bullied by Li Xiang, but Concubine Yang had no intention of seeking revenge. Instead, she came to thank Li Xiang.
This shows that people have understood the situation. No matter how much Li Shimin praises Prince Wu, he will eventually fall down. As the saying goes, the higher you fly, the harder you fall. Concubine Yang was unable to influence Li Shimin, so she could only influence her son. However, her son was disobedient, so she had no choice but to use Li Xiang to teach him a lesson. Fortunately, there was no serious injury. After this incident, Prince Wu could still be his prince, but he fell out of favor with Li Shimin. This was not necessarily a bad thing for someone of Prince Wu's status.
"Actually, your Third Uncle is quite capable. I told you earlier that among these brothers, if we talk about both civil and military proficiency, your Third Uncle is truly unique. No one in our royal family is more capable than you, and the only one who comes close is your Third Uncle."
Li Xiang did not expect that Li Chengqian would have such a high opinion of King Wu Li Ke. In history, this King Wu was also highly regarded, but he was harmed by Zhangsun Wuji.
"I don't think so. Among my father's brothers, if we talk about brains, he would definitely be ranked first."
After Li Xiang finished saying this, both the father and son laughed out loud. After Empress Changsun's death, Li Chengqian's mischief was not without self-protection, because he knew that Empress Changsun was his biggest backer. When Empress Changsun died, no one could resolve the problems between him and Li Tai.
In addition, he was disabled in the leg at that time, so fooling around might have been one of the ways to protect himself, but later he got into trouble because of his fooling around. This should be the biggest stain in Li Chengqian's life. Fortunately, he had a good son, otherwise he would have been killed as soon as he left Chang'an City.
The father and son did not drink too much. After drinking a pot of wine, they went back to rest. Tomorrow would be the grand court meeting, which would also be the last grand court meeting before the eastern expedition to Goguryeo.
The next day, the main hall
"The Emperor has arrived, and all the ministers are in court this morning."
As Wang De's voice reached him, the ministers all knelt on the ground. Li Xiang looked at the seats nearby. The seat of Wei Wang Li Tai was vacant because he was continuing his inspection tour of Tuyuhun. The seat of Wu Wang Li Ke was also vacant. Perhaps he would not come, but today they would announce Wu Wang Li Ke as the Marshal of the Eastern Expedition...
Li Shimin soon saw this scene, and a trace of panic appeared in his eyes. Where is my marshal?