Don't be a prince

The tense disaster relief activities calmed down in the middle of the twelfth lunar month.And on New Year's Eve, Li Chengqian not only ordered the cancellation of the curfew as usual, but even lifted the ban on the palace gate, so that the family inside and outside the palace gate could get together to celebrate New Year's Eve.

As for the Tai Chi Hall, the feudal princes and princesses who had been left in Chang'an for a whole year gathered together again.

Among the aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters kneeling to welcome him, Li Chengqian took the first seat and said, "Father, the queen and the queen are not here this year. Except for them, the representatives of the royal family are basically gathered here."

When everyone was seated, Li Chengqian continued: "Today's New Year's banquet, I have two things to announce. The first thing is the king of Yun, Li Ke, the advanced prince."

As soon as Li Chengqian said this, everyone in the room was shocked, even Li Ke who had already picked up the chopsticks and waited for the emperor to move them, was so frightened that the chopsticks just slipped and fell to the ground.

Prince!

This is the highest rank among the princes of the royal family, second only to the emperor.Under normal circumstances, only the younger brothers of the emperor, such as Li Tai and Li Zhi, can obtain the title. Even in the past dynasties, there were many younger brothers who could not obtain the title of prince.

As for the emperor's younger brother other than his younger brother, it is not uncommon for him to obtain the title of prince.If the prince's biological mother is a concubine, the prince will be honored as a concubine of a certain king or a concubine of a certain country, and the prince will follow the prince to enshrine the country.However, this is something that only happened in the Han Dynasty.Now, Li Ke was lucky enough to get the title of Prince?

After obtaining this title, the fiefdom is not that important in comparison.You know, the eldest son of the prince is established as the eldest son, but hereditary, all the sons will be named county kings, this is an advantage!

All the princes, especially Li You and the others, couldn't help casting jealous eyes at Li Ke.The title of this prince shows that the emperor regards Li Ke as his younger brother in his mind!

Li Ke, on the other hand, did not have any joyful expression on the contrary. He left the table and knelt down on the ground without hesitation: "I am so grateful to the emperor's brother, but the prince should not be sealed lightly, and please take it back. .”

Li Chengqian smiled without saying a word, while Li Tai came out with a glass of wine, stood beside Li Ke and knelt down and said, "I am so grateful, so kind, the emperor made you a prince, just thank you. What's the excuse? Let me see, drinking this glass of wine in one gulp is the best answer!"

Li Ke took the wine glass handed over by Li Tai in a daze, but Li Ke still didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian said with a smile: "Li Ke, do you think that the title of prince can be conferred if I want? If you are a person who eats and waits to die, and has made no contribution to the royal family and the Tang Dynasty, even You are my younger brother, and you can't get the title of prince.

Not to mention that you are now in charge of the martial arts academy, and you have never made a mistake since you took office. It is a great achievement that you defeated Xue Yantuo and Tie Le in a row when the whole world attacked Tang.Aunt Jiujiang, General Zhishisili should have told you that this battle was not easy. "

Princess Jiujiang, as the eldest princess, also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, yes. My husband is a Turkic, so I know Xue Yantuo and Tiele very well. In terms of combat power, they are not weaker than Turks. Tiele has always There is no fundamental conflict of interest with Datang, so there is no war.

Grassland warfare is different from city defense and siege warfare, and gunpowder weapons can have very little effect.After learning that King Yun had won a complete victory, my husband only said four words:

'It's so rare'! "

Hearing Princess Jiujiang's words, those envious eyes looking at Li Ke dimmed a lot.

Zhishenli is also a titan, and he knows the grassland best.Since he said that this battle was very difficult, it was really difficult!The most important thing in the Tang Dynasty is military merit. Li Ke has military merit, and it seems that it is not unreasonable to be promoted to prince.

Having said all this, seeing that Brother Huang was still indifferent, Li Yin stood up with his wine glass in his hand, followed him and knelt down on the ground and said: "Brother Huang, Brother Yun Wang Huang was so surprised that he couldn't speak, and my brother will speak for him." Thank you, brother, for your kindness!"

Li Yin felt that it was right for him to kneel down. The mother is more valuable than the son, the emperor's brother can be made a prince, and the mother and concubine can also be promoted to be the princess of Yunwang.

Seeing that his younger brother stood up to find a step for himself, Li Ke hurriedly said, "Thank you, Brother Huang!"

After speaking, the two brothers drank the wine in the cup together.

Seeing that Li Ke accepted, Li Chengqian returned a glass of wine with a smile.

When Li Ke and others all returned to their seats, everyone couldn't help being happy.At the beginning of the New Year's banquet, someone picked up a big deal. Don't forget, the emperor wants to announce two things.

Although there is only one chance left, there are more monks and less meat, but the lower the probability, the more exciting it is, right?

Seeing the energetic look of everyone in front of him, Li Chengqian didn't know what to say.If you really do something serious, like Li Yin and Li You, it's all right to put on this expression, why are you also like this?

Clearing his throat, in the anticipation of everyone, Li Chengqian said: "Before talking about the second thing, I need to find a few people to ask about the matter, Li Yuangui, come out."

In the seat, Li Yuangui stood up confusedly and bowed his hands in salute.After straightening up, he still didn't understand why he was named. He knew that he didn't have the qualifications to encounter good things.

Looking at the anxious Li Yuangui, Li Chengqian sighed: "Li Yuangui, you have gone through two dynasties, the emperor doted on you, and the father admired you very much, and even gave you a marriage, betrothing Wei Zheng's daughter to you.

When Grandpa Huang passed away, you mourned and passed out crying in front of the coffin. After being praised, you were granted five hundred households.Even before I came to the throne, I was told by my father to take good care of you.You come and tell me, father treats you well. "

Li Yuangui, who clearly heard the emperor's implication, quickly knelt down and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Supreme Emperor has treated me well, and I am always grateful to the Supreme Emperor."

Li Chengqian nodded: "It's okay, it seems that the father's dedication to you is worth it. Step down, I will seal you five hundred more households according to the father's instructions."

Hearing this, Li Yuangui said pleasantly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Brother Taishang!"

Seeing Li Yuangui happily returning to his seat, everyone looked forward to it even more.

Even if you can't keep up with such a good thing as being named a prince, it's not bad to be named a prince!You know, we are all princes, so we rely on fiefdoms to support our face.Those with five hundred households are not at the same level as those with one thousand households.

In the midst of anticipation, Li Tai took Li Ke to clink the wine glass, as smart as them, he had already predicted that the next person would be unlucky.

Li Ke represents credit, Li Yuangui represents attitude, and those who have no credit and no attitude, tsk tsk...

Same as last year, Brother Huang is obviously playing the game of suppressing desires and raising them first.

I don't know who did what immoral things, but no matter how big or small, Li Ke and Li Tai have already made up their minds to stand on the sidelines.Brother Huang wants to carry out his own plan tonight, so he naturally needs to frighten these people.

Chapter 554

Scanning the audience, Li Chengqian sneered and said, "Where there is a reward, there will be a punishment. This is the same principle from ancient times to the present. Li Yuanjing, don't you have anything to tell me?"

Hearing that he had been named, Li Yuanjing stood up quickly, without the emperor saying anything more, he knelt down on the ground, sweating almost immediately.

Swallowing two mouthfuls of saliva with great difficulty, Li Yuanjing said: "Return to Your Majesty, I..."

Seeing the emperor's half-smile expression in confusion, Li Yuanjing only felt that his psychological defense was almost completely destroyed.Emperor Gaozu did have an agreement with the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor respectively to guarantee the safety of their heirs, but after all, this was just a verbal promise.Moreover, even Emperor Gaozu never said that rebellion could save one's life.

Looking back at what I said when I was contacted by the Wang family, anyone would think that I wanted to rebel!

only....

Does the emperor know that sentence?

Li Yuanjing, who didn't know whether to gamble, dripped the sweat from the bridge of his nose to the ground.

But in the end, he decided to confess.Because he didn't think the emperor was testing him, since he was pointed out, he must be prepared.

After bowing to the ground, Li Yuanjing tearfully said: "Your Majesty is merciful, those words at that time were just a joke, I hope His Majesty will learn from you!"

Seeing that Li Yuanjing held back for a long time, and only uttered such a sentence, Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment.

Handed Zhang Yun a piece of paper and asked him to send it to Li Yuanheng.

Li Yuanheng took the paper in a daze, and was shocked when he saw what was written on it.

——"When I was sleeping recently, I always dreamed that I was holding the sun in one hand and the moon in the other. Hahaha, brother, don't take it seriously, it's just a joke..."

Seeing that Li Yuanheng had finished reading, Li Chengqian said: "Li Yuanheng, come and tell me, this sentence is connected with the Wang family, can it still be called a joke?"

They are all brothers. Although their birth mothers are different, Li Yuanheng still doesn't want to see Li Yuanjing be unlucky.

However, no matter whether it is the Supreme Emperor or the Emperor, they treat themselves well...

Leaving the table, Li Yuanheng also knelt down on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, Li Yuanjing's words are extremely arrogant, and he has the heart to aspire to the top. However, Li Yuanjing never participated in the rebellion of the Wang family, nor did he cross the line. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Let him die!"

Although I don't know what Li Yuanjing said so seriously, judging from Li Yuanheng's words, he must have committed a capital crime.Because a sentence is a capital crime, there can be no other than treason.

All of a sudden, the royal family members in the hall were in danger, for fear of getting involved with Li Yuanjing.

Picking up the wine glass and taking a sip, looking at Li Yuanjing who was too frightened to speak, Li Chengqian said leisurely: "Li Yuanjing, do you know that after you said this sentence that day, less than ten days later, I received a hundred Report from the cavalier. If I intend to convict you of treason, you will have been arrested long before the royal family officially took action.

The reason why I kept you until now is because I was afraid of scaring the snake, and the second is to give you a chance to see if you will admit it voluntarily.But until now, you still have no intention of repenting.Li Yuanjing, you covet the throne, I don't blame you for that, there are many people in the world who have thoughts about the throne, and there is no shortage of you.

However, knowing that the Wang family has evil intentions against the royal family, you still have to commit yourself to others, and even hope that you can use the power of the Wang family to help you realize your unattainable dream, which is too much.To this day, even if I point it out on my own initiative, you have no attitude of admitting your mistake, which annoys me the most.Li Yuanjing, tell yourself, what should I do with you? "

Raising his head tremblingly, Li Yuanjing held back for a long time, and only uttered one sentence: "Your Majesty, forgive me, the guilty minister knows his mistake!"

With a bit of courage, Li Yuanheng also said: "I beg Your Majesty to be merciful and spare his life!"

Looking past the two of them, and looking at the kings and princesses in the audience, Li Chengqian found sadly that, except for Li Yuanheng, no one else pleaded for Li Yuanjing.Maybe it's because he doesn't have the guts in front of the emperor, or maybe he doesn't have much friendship with Li Yuanjing...

but....

Li Chengqian looked at Li Chongyi. As the minister of Zongzheng Temple, Li Chongyi still needs to respect him.

Seeing the emperor looking at him, Li Chongyi thought for a moment, then left the table and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think that although Li Yuanjing is guilty, he is not guilty of death. His Majesty can degrade his throne and demote him to a commoner."

Seeing Li Chongyi speak out, many people breathed a sigh of relief.The Minister of Zongzheng Temple is the most direct executor of punishing the royal family. His suggestions are generally adopted by the emperor.

Li Chengqian stood up, and walked in front of Li Yuanjing with a wine glass.

Li Yuanjing, who was sweating through his clothes, raised his head and looked at the emperor, not knowing what to say.He knew very well what his fault was, and even if the emperor insisted on condemning him to death, no one would object to it.Whether it is life or death, it is still in the emperor's mind!

Kneeling down and looking at Li Yuanjing, Li Chengqian said: "Don't look at me like that, I'm not that cruel. Li Yuanjing, I don't want your life, and I won't even lose my title, but you have to remember what happened today."

Speaking of this, Li Chengqian stood up, looked at the audience, and said: "It's not terrible to make a mistake. The terrible thing is that you only want to cover up and think you don't know about it. To be honest, as long as it's not a principled mistake, I can do it." Forgive you. No matter what, at least we have the same blood, and we are one family."

After finishing speaking, Li Chengqian stretched out his hand to Li Yuanjing. Li Yuanjing stretched out his hand tremblingly, but was pulled up by Li Chengqian.

Patting Li Yuanjing on the shoulder, Li Chengqian scanned the audience again, and said, "So, everyone, don't take chances. I tell you without exaggeration, as long as you do something wrong, Baiqisi will record it. Maybe it's recorded. It’s incomplete, but there are as many as a dozen of those who have been charged with the crimes of cutting the throne and the princess.”

Hearing this, many people couldn't help shrinking, because they deeply knew that their foundation was really not clean.

"However, today is the annual banquet, and I don't plan to pursue it, so you can do it yourself."

After finishing speaking, Li Chengqian returned to his seat and moved his chopsticks.

Seeing this scene, everyone realized that the New Year's banquet had been going on until now, and they hadn't even started eating yet.

The annual feast of the royal family is naturally delicacies from mountains and seas, but no matter how exquisite the dishes are, no matter how mellow the wine is, they cannot arouse their interest at this moment.

Once as a prince or princess, he could not enjoy the good things, but now he is stuck in his throat.The New Year's Eve dinner has become a New Year's Eve dinner.

Of course, there are also many people who enjoy delicious food openly, such as Princess Jiujiang, Li Yuangui, Li Yuanheng, and Li Yun.They all believed that they had never done anything bad, so they were very frank.

Dance music is a must-have program for the annual banquet, but when the dance music was halfway through, Li Ke and others couldn't sit still anymore, and stood up to challenge the emperor again.A year has passed, and the scene of being beaten at the annual banquet last year is still vivid in my memory.They don't believe that Brother Huang is invincible.

As for Li Chengqian, he ended up calmly and beat up his brothers one by one.

As an emperor, he can't "manage all kinds of affairs every day", and daily morning exercises are essential.Especially when his opponent changed from Zhang Yun to Feiying, he was still improving.Even before the heavy snowfall, he brought Flying Eagle to the ground for the first time.

Even Feiying was defeated, let alone Li Ke and the others.

After some activities, even Li Chengqian was sweating profusely, so he had to take the towel handed by Zhang Yun and wipe off his sweat.

Li Tai came over with a wine glass, and while toasting, he said: "I have been eating chicken wings for a while, and I even asked the guards to shoot down a flying bird such as magpies, sparrows, and pheasants. Through comparison and experimentation, I found that a structure with a curved top and flat bottom, wide front and narrow rear, can naturally generate an upward force when flying horizontally.

When encountering a little wind, it can rise even higher.According to what you said, the plane wants to fly by itself without the help of heat. Perhaps, it should have wings. However, according to this idea, I made a model, but found that it was not up to the level of flying.Tell me, what went wrong? "

After clinking a glass with Li Tai, Li Chengqian said speechlessly: "If my brother knows everything, why do you need to study it? I can only tell you that your research direction is wrong. The wings of the plane should not be fluttering up and down, but It’s fixed. As for the rest, you can only figure it out by yourself.”

The knowledge learned in high school has almost disappeared after these years of honing.As for the various principles of the plane, it is really not something that a delivery man with a high school education can understand.But since the Wright Brothers were able to complete the first flight of the plane in nine years, it makes no sense that Li Tai couldn't figure it out in a few years.

Although the industrial level of the United States in the [-]s was not comparable to that of Datang, although Datang did not accumulate much theoretical knowledge in the field of science.But don't forget, Li Tai is the king of Wei!He has a solid foundation that the Wright Brothers do not have. Although money is not everything, having someone with money is definitely the best help.

Li Tai was surprised to find that this time, there was no playful feeling in Brother Huang's tone.It seems that, Brother Huang, I really don't know what the follow-up will be like.

Seeing Li Tai's unconcealable disappointed expression, Li Chengqian couldn't help crying and laughing even more: "Wake up, Qing Que, brother is not a god. To be able to think of these things one step ahead of you is already amazing, okay?"

Li Tai sighed and said, "I would rather you be a god, so that my progress will increase a lot. But having said that, there are still many good players in the general supervisor and the Ministry of Industry. Take a look, don't you... .”

Li Chengqian said with a smile: "If you want to recruit people, you can ask for them yourself, and if they agree with my brother, they will let you go. However, in my opinion, no one can resist the temptation to participate in the research and development of aircraft."

Li Tai laughed loudly: "Then it's settled. There is still money. If the Ministry of Households doesn't give me enough, I might ask for it a year ago."

"That's nothing."

After clinking glasses again, Li Tai returned to his seat contentedly.

Seeing Li Tai came back, Li Ke and Li Yin looked at each other and went over to toast together.

After a round of toasting, Li Chengqian had no choice but to refuse Tang Shanshi and Chang Sun Chong's toast, and if he drank any more, he would be drunk.

Tang Shanshi and Changsun Chong also knew that the emperor was very restrained in drinking, and they were not qualified to force alcohol.

Taking advantage of his slight drunkenness, Li Chengqian spoke again: "Today, I have a second matter to announce, and now, it's time to tell you."

The imperial relatives, who were a little relieved at first, became worried again because of these words.

The previous events are still vivid in their minds, and they don't think this will be a good thing.

Seeing that everyone's attention was attracted, Li Chengqian said: "At the beginning of each dynasty, there were not many people in the royal family. With the reproduction of the next generation, the number of members of the royal family will inevitably increase. However, the title can be passed on, even if it decreases every generation until it disappears, it will take a long time.

As the master of the Tang Dynasty, the royal family should not be like parasites, only absorbing nutrients from this land, but not paying.Therefore, I will keep you in Chang'an this year just to announce this decision today.

I have decided that from my generation onwards, the next generation will only inherit titles, but will no longer inherit feudal households. "

As soon as Li Chengqian said this, the whole room was shocked. He could only inherit the title, but not the fiefdom?Well, what's the point of keeping the king's title?

Li Yuan just stood up and wanted to say something, but Li Tai stood up and spoke first: "I agree with this decision of the emperor's brother."

Li Yuanfang was preempted, so he could only hold back the words that came to his lips.

Looking at Li Tai, Li Yuanfang said: "Li Tai, you have fiefdoms in more than a dozen states, and as a prince, you will be able to pass it on to your heirs in the future, and other sons can be crowned county kings. Your fiefdoms will not be given to your children. Keeping it, are you willing to give it up?"

Li Tai curled his lips and said: "If my Li Tai's children need to live on the father's inheritance, they might as well die. Although I, Li Tai, have fiefdoms in more than a dozen states, I deserve them all. Whether it is the Quyuanli, the planter, the steam engine, the steam battleship, or the train, they are all my contributions.

If I, Li Ted, are not worthy, why should I enjoy so many fiefdoms with peace of mind?As for my eldest son Li Mengze, if he cannot make a decent contribution in the future, I will not even give him the title of King Wei. "

Li Tai's words were so eloquent that he immediately suppressed all voices.