People have two sides, noble to the emperor, low to commoners, good and evil in human nature exist at the same time, with this theory to look at Li Tai, everything can be explained.

Speaking from the heart, Li Tai is not a bad person, even if he is bad, he is not completely bad, there are many honest and simple sides in his character, he has been diligent and knowledgeable since he was a child, and he has studied the scriptures and teachings of the sages thoroughly, not inferior to any of the great Confucians in the world.

was originally a good boy who made Li Shimin very proud, however, as he grew older and the growth environment was turbid, Li Tai slowly went astray after all.

Born hurt him, the identity of the prince hurt him, and the doormen and staff in the palace who bewitched and lured him to compete for the position of the crown prince also hurt him, under such an environment, Li Tai gradually felt that he should not be a scholar, but should be a prince, how can the feeling of holding a book in his hand be compared to holding the totalitarian power in the world?

So Li Tai took the first step, when Li Chengqian was still the prince, Li Tai was in the staff and disciples under the prodding of the plot to seize the throne, after Li Chengqian fell, Li Tai had no scruples, the vacancy of the East Palace in his opinion is a great temptation, tempting him to keep climbing up, keep using his scheming to abandon good and evil to compete for the position that he has been thinking about.

However, after all, Li Tai's actions cannot be separated from Li Shimin's sight, everything he does, every step of the court's layout, is in Li Shimin's sight. How many wrong steps Li Tai took, I'm afraid even he doesn't know this question, but Li Shimin remembers it all, and he silently deducted points in his heart. Until today, this originally favored prince finally disappointed Li Shimin completely.

"Qingque, I have always been the most fond of you, among the three sisters-in-law, I even favored you more than the prince back then, because I favored you, I even raised your honor guard regulations to the same level as the prince, regardless of the courtiers' backs, I allow you not to be a vassal domain, not to leave Chang'an, to pardon the people of Changxingfang where you live for three years to pay taxes, let you discuss with the Confucian professors of Hongwen Pavilion, not to mention the various gold and silver silk silk fields that have been given to you over the years, Qingque, think about it carefully, at what point have I treated you badly over the years?" Li Shimin sighed gloomily.

Li Tai cried on the ground: "My father has done his best to his sons, but his sons don't know how to cherish their blessings, but they do something wrong, and their sons deserve death!" ”

Li Shimin nodded: "Yes, in life, it is not easy to know the word 'cherish blessings', you should be grateful for anything, you can't fuel ambition, ask excessively, frankly speaking, I can't count in this life." Cherish the blessing', always get and want, so, I left a lot of regrets in this life, and Qingque you, do even worse, at this point, the pheasant slave did better than you, he never asked me for anything, gold and silver silk silk field products, in his eyes is just something outside the body, the only time he begged me in his life, is to beg me for forgiveness Li Su, that night, he knelt outside the hall for two hours. ”

Li Tai's face became more and more pale, and he vaguely knew where he had lost.

Li Shimin sighed: "As for later, I noticed that the pheasant slave also had the heart to compete for the prince, and I was very surprised at that time, because the pheasant slave was too weak, he seemed to never learn to compete with others for anything, so I sent someone to check and found out that the reason why the pheasant slave had the heart to compete for the prince was not for power, but for self-preservation......"

Looking at Li Tai, whose face was pale, Li Shimin smiled and said softly: "Do you know why he wants to protect himself?" Because if the prince of the East Palace falls on the head of others, once I die, his life as the king of Jin will inevitably be difficult to protect, for example, Qingque, if you become the emperor in the future, I am afraid that the first will is to ban the pheasant slave, after two or three years, after you completely grasp the power of the court, the end of the pheasant slave is about a glass of wine, three feet of white silk......"

Seeing Li Tai raise his head violently and want to speak, Li Shimin interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Don't defend yourself, I have been the emperor for twenty years, sitting in this position, what will the emperor think, I know better than anyone else, if you don't believe it, look at the fate of my brothers......"

With a long sigh, Li Shimin's expression was infinitely gloomy: "The so-called 'lonely family', the so-called 'emperor ruthless', these words are not plain words, sitting in this position, those family affection, friendship, male and female private feelings, nothing can be taken care of, but anyone who has the slightest threat to their position must be ruthlessly eradicated, this 'anyone', including relatives, parents, brothers and sisters, is the same." Qingque, you are familiar with the scriptures of the sages, but your heart is not too kind, if you are the emperor, the pheasant slave has only one way to die, this is my evaluation of you. ”

Li Tai's forehead was oozing sweat, and after a long time, he had the courage to say: "If the pheasant slave is the emperor, does my father know if he will kill his sons?" As my father said, once you sit in that position, you are destined to be alone......"

Li Shimin shook his head with a smile: "The pheasant slave will not kill you, as long as you do your duty, you can be a free prince for a lifetime, if your children and grandchildren do their duty, they will also live a peaceful and prosperous life, the pheasant slave is your own brother, obviously you don't know him, this child's nature is very kind, he is so kind that he doesn't look like a child of the emperor's family at all, and Li Su next to him is not a bad person, so he won't slander and want to kill you, the huge Taiji Palace is like a cold cold cave, but the pheasant slave is warm in my eyes, Qingque, the pheasant slave has never hated anyone in his life, He has never murdered anyone, he is a true gentleman, and if he becomes emperor one day, I can guarantee that he will not kill you. ”

Li Tai's expression gradually declined.

Having said that, Li Tai knew that the candidate for the crown prince of the East Palace could no longer be himself, and in this two-year battle for the crown, Li Zhi became the final victor, and he had the last laugh.

Li Shimin said calmly: "Qingque, you and the pheasant slave are both my beloved princes, among the many princes and princesses, I am the most spoiled are the two of you, I hope that after my death, you and the pheasant slave can live well, safe and rich to old age, children and grandchildren will always live in harmony, no suspicion, if you and the pheasant slave any one has misfortune, I do not want to see, if you are the emperor, the pheasant slave's life is worried, if the pheasant slave is the emperor, your brothers can live." Do you understand what I mean? ”

Li Tai was in tears and nodded silently.

Li Shimin continued: "Even if you don't speak from the position of the brothers of the heavenly family, change your mind, from the perspective of the country, the pheasant slave is more suitable to be the emperor than you, I am barely a good emperor, but in the past 20 years of reign, the Tang Dynasty has been fighting abroad every year, whether it is a human or a surplus in the treasury, it has been consumed a lot by the conquest initiated by me, and the people of the world need to recuperate, at least for 20 years, the Tang Dynasty is not suitable to launch a large-scale conquest with the outside world, and Qingque, you are a person with a proud personality, if you are the emperor, You are the king of pioneering, not the king of success, and the great achievement created by the emperor, which one is not the blood and bones of thousands of ordinary people? ”

"The people of the Tang Dynasty, I can't stand the toss, the reason why I chose the pheasant slave is because he is conservative, he will not easily launch a campaign, he will keep his duty, and the people of the Tang Dynasty will have a chance to breathe during the years of his reign, he will develop water conservancy, reclaim agriculture, and encourage the Tang Dynasty to interact with merchants from all over the world, you know that Li Su discovered the real rice seed, it will not take a few years, when it is implemented in the world, the Tang Dynasty will have a lot of silver money, grain and grass to fill the treasury......" Li Shimin showed a look of fascination, and sighed leisurely: "That scene, It is the real prosperous era, I have been busy with the court ministers for 20 years, just to lay a solid foundation for the prosperous era created by the pheasant slave in the future, until the treasury of the Tang Dynasty has confidence, the people are prosperous, and the Tang Dynasty will inevitably make all states submit, and I have to make compromises and concessions to foreign countries over the years, and the pheasant slaves can be abolished. ”

Retracting his fascination, Li Shimin stared at Li Tai's face and said slowly: "These, the pheasant slave can do it, but you can't do it." You may not be convinced when I say this, go back and think slowly, and slowly reflect on the difference between you and the pheasant slave, one day, you will know that what I said is right, I set up the pheasant slave as the prince, and I have my own reason. ”

Li Tai fell to the ground with tears in his eyes.

Li Shimin sighed: "Okay, what should be said, I have finished speaking, I hope you can understand my painstaking efforts." ”

"Yes, the son understands his father's painstaking efforts."

The father and son had a heartfelt message today, but Li Shimin still didn't say some things thoroughly.

The canonization of the crown prince is a very complicated matter, and it is necessary to take into account the reactions of all aspects, if you go deeper, Li Tai and Li Zhi, Guan Longmen and Shandong Shi clan, etc., these interests and interests, it may not be possible to say that it can be said in a day and a night.

Now that Li Tai has completely lost the opportunity to be the crown prince, there is naturally no need to say many things again.

After talking for a long time, Li Shimin looked very tired, and Wei'an's body unconsciously slumped down, and waved his hand weakly at Li Tai: "I'm a little tired, Qingque, you should step down." ”

Li Tai respectfully bowed to the ground: "The son of the emperor is retiring, the father must take care of his body, the son of the son is waiting for the father to get better, check the schoolwork of the son of the minister." ”

Li Shimin smiled tiredly: "Okay, I will definitely get better, Qingque, you have to study more, no matter what situation you are in, there is no harm in reading more." ”

"Yes, son."

Li Tai's fat body quietly and silently retreated slowly towards the outside of the hall, and his figure was lonely and lonely, like a rootless duckweed.

Li Shimin has been looking at his figure, seeing this gloomy appearance, Li Shimin's heart is filled with a lot of unbearable and regretful, however, he really can't give Li Tai anything anymore, and even a promise is like a mountain of ten thousand jun, which is very difficult to say.

After a long time, when Li Tai's figure had retreated outside the hall, Li Shimin suddenly called: "Qingque! ”

Li Tai's body froze, and his teary eyes stared at Li Shimin as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

"The son is here."

Li Shimin's eyes were also red, and he muttered for a long time, and finally sighed: "Qingque, you ...... Don't hate me, I love you every day, there are too many people in the world who hate me, and I can't bear the hatred of my son. ”

Li Tai knelt on the threshold outside the hall and wailed: "The sons don't hate their father, and they will never hate their father, even if the father kills the son, the sons will not hate you." ”

Li Shimin also burst into tears, but said with a smile: "Okay, it's good not to hate me, Qingque, my father is a failure, this is the biggest hatred in my life, if there is an afterlife, I hope you and I are no longer father and son." ”