Li Chengqian was also reluctant to do this, but there was no other way at the moment. Either you obey, which would be a good thing for both us father and son, but if you disobey, then in order to save your life, I can only cause some problems to your body.
"Why do you ask this, father? Can we disobey the imperial decree? Grandfather wants to promote our Eastern Palace, so should I refuse? If so, will the children of the Eastern Palace never have a chance to rise to prominence in the future?"
Li Jue still refused to give up. Even though Li Chengqian had forced him into this situation, he still felt that he had to fight for it. This was related to his future destiny. Being a dandy in Chang'an City was naturally not life-threatening, but for a capable person, was this the end of his life? He was the emperor's grandson.
"Of course there is a chance. If your eldest brother nods, then you have a chance. If he doesn't nod, do you know what the outcome will be? I think you remember the incident at Xuanwu Gate. In the royal family, brothers are not brothers at all."
These things are taboo, and no one would say them out loud under normal circumstances. But today is different from usual, so Li Chengqian has to say them out loud, hoping to use these fierce words to scare his son and stop him from doing anything reckless.
"Is Father afraid that I won't be able to come back?"
Li Jue said somewhat unconvincedly that Li Chengqian knew that he had not been honest over the years and had found many people outside, but those people were too naive to fight against Li Xiang's people.
"Just the few hundred men under your command?"
Li Chengqian's face was full of contempt, which made Li Jue very dissatisfied. Even if one of your sons becomes successful, does that mean what the other son does is nothing?
"Does the father look down on his son so much?"
Li Jue said with some unwillingness that after the incident that year, he was hiding himself on the one hand, and cultivating his own manpower on the other hand. Because the financial situation of the Eastern Palace was good, he began to put money into his own pocket. Of course, this was all allowed by Li Chengqian. He originally wanted to let his son enjoy life well, but he didn't expect that this kid used the money to cultivate his own manpower.
"It's not that I look down on you, but the gap in strength between you two is too great. Take a look at this list for yourself."
Li Chengqian took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, on which were densely packed names. These were Li Jue's trusted subordinates. Many of them were hidden by him in various places in Chang'an City. They were well hidden, but at this moment Li Chengqian got this list, which made Li Jue's face full of horror.
"Father, how did you get this?"
Li Jue said with some fear that there were some people he didn't even contact, he just knew there was a name on it, just to keep these people safe, but he didn't expect that they were all registered at this moment, and even their addresses were written very clearly below, which could be said to be completely exposed.
"Take a look at this piece of paper. It's used for military correspondence. Your eldest brother sent someone to bring it back. He knows everything you did in Chang'an City. Since it didn't bother him, he won't interfere. But now you want to take people north. I can tell you their fate right now. They'll probably die from various causes before they even leave Chang'an City."
Li Chengqian's words completely crushed Li Jue's heart. He thought that he had secretly developed these people, and they would be very useful at the critical moment. However, he did not expect that these people were on the other party's roster and had been in the other party's hands for a long time, and could be killed at any time.
"Many of these people are your grandfather's men. They ran away back then, but unexpectedly they've returned and are even instigating you to cause trouble. If we hand them over to the Imperial City Office, they'll easily find you. Do you know what crime this is? It's considered treason."
Li Chengqian said angrily that he didn't know about these things either. They were all secretly investigated by Li Xiang's people. If Li Xiang's people could get hold of this information, it meant that the emperor also got hold of this information. Now that Li Xiang was in his prime, the emperor would not take action against the Eastern Palace. But if Li Xiang went downhill, this list would make the Eastern Palace irretrievable.
"You think no one knows what you're doing in secret. In fact, many people in Chang'an City know that what you're doing is a joke. When these people came to you, you should have taken them to the government office, but you saved them. Do you really think others don't know?"
The more Li Chengqian thought about it, the angrier he became. He had originally wanted to have a good talk with his son, but when it came to this issue, Li Chengqian simply threw the cup on the table. If someone really made a fuss about these things, the Eastern Palace would have been closed down long ago.
Hou Junji has been labeled a traitor. Anything he did was punishable by death. His subordinates ran away and have always been wanted criminals of the court. The prince of the Eastern Palace actually sheltered wanted criminals of the court.
If this matter were to get out, not only Li Jue, but even Li Chengqian would be unable to handle it.
"Father, what about this?"
Now he was also panicking. If he was not given something real, he would think that he was very capable, but in fact he was just a joke in the eyes of others. All the major government offices had heard such news a long time ago, and Li Shimin also knew such news, but Li Shimin did not make any instructions because these people were of little use and could not make much waves. Moreover, Li Shimin had thought of this day long ago by leaving these people to Li Jue, so the major families kept silent.
"If you choose to stay in Chang'an, some of these people will survive, but some will not. But if you choose to leave Chang'an, none of them will survive."
Li Chengqian said expressionlessly that in fact, these people had been exposed and no one could survive. Even if Li Chengqian did not take action, Li Shimin would definitely have someone do it. With such a group of rebels in Chang'an City, they would naturally be kept when they were useful, but who would be willing to keep them when they were useless?
After all, they are traitors!
"Even if I'm alone, I'm willing to go north to gain some experience. Please support me, father."
After about a quarter of an hour, this guy still chose to go to the north. Li Chengqian closed his eyes in disappointment. You chose this path yourself. Don’t say that your father didn’t give you a chance.
"Take a look!"
Li Chengqian took out another memorial and walked out directly...