Riding a horse and galloping, in less than an hour, Li Su led more than a dozen subordinates to the front of the Taiji Palace in Chang'an City.

There was a group of people gathered outside the palace gate, all of whom were civil servants and military generals wearing court clothes, including the eldest grandson Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and Li Jing, the god of war who had been closed for a long time, as well as Cheng Yanjin, Li Ji, Niu Jinda and others.

When I got closer, I found that everyone's faces were very bad, some courtiers gathered together, kept raising their sleeves to wipe their tears, and the eldest grandson Wuji Li Ji and others also had red eyes and tears on their cheeks.

The atmosphere in the square was inexplicably heavy, a low pressure filled the surroundings, and the sky and the earth seemed to have become gloomy.

Li Su chuckled in his heart, his face turned a little pale, and he hurriedly stepped forward to salute Li Jicheng and the elders such as the eldest grandson Wuji.

After the salute, Li Su hurriedly asked Li Jidao: "Uncle, Your Majesty, ...... him?"

Li Ji glanced at him and said, "Zizheng Moduo asked, did Your Majesty also issue an order to summon you?" Let's get into the palace. ”

Li Su didn't dare to ask more, confessed to the elders, and then hurriedly walked to the palace gate.

There were eunuchs guarding in front of the palace gate, and when he saw Li Su coming, the eunuch didn't say much, so he turned sideways and asked Li Su to enter the palace.

Passing through the Taiji Palace, the Liangyi Palace, and directly entering the Ganlu Palace, Li Su often entered the palace in the past, and was already familiar with the layout of the Taiji Palace, but today he was particularly anxious, and finally came to the outside of the Ganlu Palace.

Today, there are many people kneeling outside the Ganlu Palace, the leader is the Taiyi Ling Liu Shenwei of the Taiyi Department, the eldest disciple of Sun Lao Shenxian, and the rest are all Tai Doctors, everyone looks sad, kneeling in a row under the corridor outside the hall, each hanging his head to wipe his tears, but he does not dare to cry.

Li Su's mood was even heavier, he knew what it meant for these imperial doctors to kneel outside the hall, thinking that Li Shimin was about to die, Li Su's heart was surging with emotion, and his eyes were red unconsciously.

The eunuch asked Li Su to wait, and he went in to perform, and not long after, the eunuch came out and respectfully invited Li Su to enter the palace to face the king.

Li Su took off his shoes under the porch and entered the hall in his clothes, his steps were a little hurried.

After entering the hall, he raised his eyes and swept quickly, Li Su found that Li Shimin was half lying behind the low table at the head of the hall, his complexion seemed to be a little ruddy, which was much better than a few days ago, and he even had a familiar hearty smile on his face.

Li Su couldn't help but wonder, this complexion, no matter how you look at it, doesn't look like a person who is about to die......

Moving his gaze slightly, Li Su saw Chang Tu standing quietly behind Li Shimin.

Chang Tu is still the same, a ghostly figure that is neither yin nor yang, standing behind Li Shimin like a shadow. It's just that today's Chang Tu demeanor is not the same as usual, the old man's expression is actually with a smile, but his eyes are red, and there are rare tears on his face, looking at Li Shimin's back in front of him, Chang Tu's eyes show a rare sacrificial holiness color.

Li Su walked into the hall with broken steps, stood five feet away from Li Shimin, and bowed his head.

"Minister, Jingyang County Gong, Doctor Yinqing Guanglu, General Yunlu, Right Scattered Cavalry Standing Attendant, Shangshu Right Cheng Li Su, meet Your Majesty."

This is the first time that Li Su has described all his official positions, titles and titles in such detail.

Before he looked up, he heard Li Shimin laugh and said: "Hairy boy, you are young, I unknowingly sealed you with so many titles, it seems that I have treated you well over the years, just rush to this, Zi should thank me, right?" ”

Li Su hurriedly said: "The minister has always been grateful for the grace of heaven, and he has always been grateful for His Majesty's kindness, and the emperor......'s grace is mighty."

Li Shimin laughed and said: "Okay, okay, if you keep talking, I blushed, I thought you were a lot more mature, but I didn't expect that a mouth is still a familiar bastard taste, Zizheng, I'm afraid you won't be able to stabilize in this life." ”

"The minister has been much more stable, recently at home lazy to do, yesterday looked in the mirror, the minister found that he is both stable and heavy......"

Li Shimin laughed breathlessly, and waved his hand again and again: "Okay, Zizheng Mo said it, I am already very happy, there is no need to say it anymore, haha......"

While laughing and gasping, Li Su heard that Li Shimin's breath was still weak, even weaker than the last time he saw him, and after Li Shimin calmed down, he raised his sleeve and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes...... Zizheng's mind, I have received it, you are a good boy, and I am very pleased to see that you have gradually become the pillar of the Tang Dynasty. ”

Li Su lowered his head and said: "The minister has today, it all depends on His Majesty's tolerant mind. ”

Li Shimin sighed: "You are wrong, I am not tolerant of anyone, it is precisely because you have great ability and can be used by the country that I will tolerate you again and again, if you are just a mediocre person, I am afraid I will not be able to tolerate you for a long time." ”

Li Suyi, he heard that there was something else in this sentence, but he had too much black history, and he didn't dare to talk about it for a while, for fear of arousing Li Shimin's distant memories and anger, and the end would be worrying.

Li Shimin looked at him and smiled: "Why didn't Zizheng speak?" Is it because the heart is empty? ”

Li Sufei blinked quickly and said: "The minister is not a sage, he was young and frivolous and ignorant, and he inevitably did a few wrong things. ”

Li Shimin nodded: "Regardless of whether your remorse is true or not, you still have a sense of awe, so I will treat you as if you are telling the truth." ”

After a pause, Li Shimin said slowly: "Today, I summoned the court's civil and military ministers separately, all of them were summoned separately, you are the last, Zizheng, in my eyes, you are already an important minister of the court, and the eldest grandson Wuji is the same, in the near future, you will also become the emperor's right-hand man, and I hope that Zizheng will be cautious in his words and deeds, and do not live up to the emperor's favor." ”

Li Su hurriedly saluted: "The minister must do his best, but the minister is not very old, and he may occasionally cause some trouble, and I hope that His Majesty will still show mercy to his subordinates as he did back then, and the minister promises that the minister's trouble will not be too big, and it will not embarrass His Majesty......"

Li Shimin laughed again, the laughter gradually stopped, and his expression suddenly became gloomy: "If you get into trouble in the future, the person who tolerates you is no longer me, in fact, I really miss the way you kept getting into trouble back then, at that time I would only be angry when I heard it, and sometimes I wanted to cut you with a knife, but now I recall it, but I think it's very interesting, it can be regarded as a past story of you and my monarchs, a good story, the future history will not record these, the past is only known to you and me." ”

Li Su understood his words, and his expression couldn't help but become sad.

"Your Majesty, you are still in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, only a minor illness and a slight illness, you will definitely get better, the Tang Dynasty now has a prosperous atmosphere, all of which is the result of the exhaustion of Your Majesty and the princes of the court, doesn't Your Majesty want to see the prosperous era coming, and the people and scholars praise Your Majesty's merits in unison? Don't you want to see the kings of Tibet, Goguryeo, and Western Turks come to Chang'an, kneel outside the Taiji Palace, and congratulate Your Majesty? The more Li Su spoke, the more sad he became, his eyes gradually turned red, tears swirled in his eyes, and he couldn't bear it.

Li Shimin showed a look of fascination, obviously, what Li Su said was his life's wish, and he also wanted to see that day.

"I can't see it, haha, although I am the Son of Heaven, but it is difficult to disobey the will of Heaven, if I can accept Zizheng's advice and postpone the battle of Goguryeo in the East, even if I can listen to Zizheng's advice on the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition and not be so rash as the enemy, perhaps, my lifespan will be longer, and many wishes may be able to see it come true with my own eyes...... Li Shimin sighed gloomily: "Time is short, I ...... I really can't bear this world, I worked hard to earn it with a sword and a sword, I asked myself about my life freely, and I was still in love before leaving. ”

Li Su was silent.

When he looked up at Li Shimin again, Li Su clearly saw that his face was ruddy and abnormal, so his heart sank, and his emotions were unsettled.

"Your Majesty, you ...... After Your Majesty's body is well, the ministers are willing to accompany Your Majesty to drink, play right, and even accompany Your Majesty to conquer Goguryeo again, and the ministers ...... There are still a lot of skills that I haven't taken out to show Your Majesty......" Li Su choked up.

Li Shimin said with a smile: "I know that you have a lot of skills, you have this ability, and I don't know who to learn from, it is unfathomable, but I know that you are loyal, so I don't want to find the bottom of it, you have suffered a lot of grievances over the years, and you have experienced a lot of dangers, and your ability can be used by me, and you have really made a lot of contributions to me, I am very pleased, and I am very glad that I can find you as a talent, which has always been something I am proud of." ”

"The ministers will make new contributions to the Tang Dynasty, I just ask Your Majesty to ......see it with your own eyes," Li Su choked up.

Li Shimin sighed leisurely: "I can't see it, but the pheasant slave can see it, you and the pheasant slave have always had a deep friendship, after becoming a monarch and minister, it must not be bad, the pheasant slave is my special favorite child, to be honest, as the next generation of the Tang Emperor, he still has many shortcomings, especially his weak temperament, he tolerates everything too much, and he is a little soft, I am really worried that in the future, those old ministers will rely on their identity to bully him, Zizheng, you are a friend of the pheasant slave, in my impression, the pheasant slave seems to be the only friend like you, I'm gone, you have to assist him well, don't let him make mistakes, don't let others bully him, the court has you, I can let go of many worries, you promise me, you must be a good and loyal assistant to the pheasant slave. ”

Li Su lowered his head and choked up: "The minister must assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wholeheartedly, and never let anyone bully him, the minister swears." ”

Li Shimin stared at his face, his expression was extremely serious, and he said in a deep voice: "I remember your words, Zizheng can't break his word, and he can't bear me." ”

"Yes."

Li Shimin stared at his face for a long time before he nodded slowly with a satisfied expression.

Endless exhaustion gradually surfaced on Li Shimin's face, and it seemed that in just an instant, Li Shimin suddenly aged a lot, and his face became pale.

Li Su's lips twitched, and just as he was about to speak, Chang Tu behind Li Shimin suddenly said: "Your Majesty, you are tired, it's time to take medicine......

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Medicine and stone are difficult to treat, what is the use of taking it?" It's better to let me suffer less torture and walk more happily and neatly. ”

Chang Tu sighed gloomily and slowly retreated.

Li Shimin suddenly turned his head to look at Chang Tu, and said with a smile: "I have summoned many courtiers today, and the things that should be arranged have been arranged, but I have never said some thoughtful words to you, Chang Tu, you have followed me all these years, not only hard, but also suffered a lot of grievances, I owe you a word of thanks......

Chang Tu said with tears: "Your Majesty's life and death is the life and death of the old slave, the old slave's life has already been handed over to Your Majesty, just like Your Majesty's shadow, Your Majesty doesn't have to thank the old slave, it's all the old slave should do." ”

Li Shimin sighed: "I still want to thank you, in this life, in fact, I have failed in life, I have failed to be a son, and I have failed to be a father, after Xuanwumen, I ascended the throne and became the emperor, sitting in this dragon court all day long, guarding against this, suppressing that, and even pampering my own children, I know that many children actually hate me in their hearts, and even have murderous intentions against me countless times, such as Chengqian......"

"Why am I not on guard against them? Afraid that they will repeat what I did back then, afraid that they will be too powerful, and afraid that they will one day gather a large army and oust me from the throne, the word 'power' will make the father and son of the Heavenly Family become enemies who do not share the sky, is it not enough for me to fail? ”

"Chang Tu, the only person around me who can really believe in me is you, it's ridiculous, pitiful, pathetic to think about......"