"What? This rebellious son! I want to see what he's up to. Let's go," Li Yuan said.
However, at that moment, Lin Yang stepped forward and stood directly in front of Li Yuan, blocking his path.
"Oh, it's Feipeng. You've done a great job this time, you deserve a good reward. What's wrong? Is there something you need?" Li Yuan asked somewhat guiltily.
After all, he was currently surrounded by the Crown Prince's men. If the Crown Prince were to act like that rebellious son, he would be doomed.
"That's right, Your Majesty, please abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince. This palace coup has already shown that Your Majesty is no longer suitable to be the ruler," Lin Yang said, emphasizing each word.
The words were very clear, and there was absolutely nothing that could be misunderstood.
Oh no, the worst thing has finally happened.
Then, Li Yuan suddenly widened his eyes and stared intently at Li Jiancheng.
"You insolent wretch, who do you think you are to speak to His Majesty like that? Are you plotting a rebellion?" Xiao Yu shouted.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang glanced at the man. Then, he approached him and slowly drew his sword.
"What? You want to make a move? Do you know who I am? I am..."
With a snap, seeing Xiao Yu's head flying through the air, eyes wide open in death, Lin Yang shouted, "Xiao Yu, as prime minister, secretly colluded with Prince Qin, Li Shimin, to plot a rebellion. Now, he has died by the sword. Come, send word to the Jingzhao Prefecture that Xiao Yu plotted a rebellion, a crime unforgivable, and his entire family will be executed."
Seeing Xiao Yu's unseeing eyes in death, Li Yuan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
But he remained silent. He was truly terrified. He was afraid that if he said the wrong thing, he would lose his life.
"Your Majesty, what are your thoughts on the matter of abdicating in favor of His Highness?" Lin Yang asked directly. He then raised his sword.
At the same time, with a gentle wave of his right hand, a squad of forest soldiers stepped forward and surrounded Li Yuan and all the imperial prime ministers.
Li Yuan looked at Li Jiancheng with some disappointment, but to his surprise, Li Jiancheng seemed to have heard and seen nothing at all.
He looked directly up at the sky, as if admiring the scenery.
"What has Your Majesty decided? Time is of the essence. What is Your Majesty thinking? You must know that the Southern Guards, the Northern Imperial Guards, and the soldiers of the Eastern Palace, the Prince of Qi's residence, and the Prince of Qin's residence are still fighting amongst themselves. Why doesn't Your Majesty abdicate in favor of His Highness and let His Highness step forward to sort out the situation?" Lin Yang continued to press.
"You, you..." Li Yuan pointed at Lin Yang, but couldn't say anything. He knew that if he still refused...
He, the emperor, might just be killed by the 'King of Qin'.
"I wonder what Prime Minister Pei Ji thinks about this matter?" After saying that, Lin Yang looked at Pei Ji, the guy who had the best relationship with Li Yuan and the greatest influence on him.
Upon hearing this, Pei Ji's eyes darted around before he said, "Yes, Your Majesty, Jianben is the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. After Your Majesty passes away, he is destined to become the ruler of the Tang Dynasty. Since Your Majesty is now old and frail, why not abdicate the throne to His Highness directly? Wouldn't it be wonderful to then wander among the mountains and rivers?"
After all, if Li Yuan didn't agree, these prime ministers might have to be killed along with him by the "King of Qin".
"Very well, since that's the case, then abdicate," Li Yuan said somewhat forlornly. Li Yuan knew that once these words were spoken, his era would come to an end.
Next came the era of completion.
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Chapter Thirty-One: Donning the Yellow Robe and Returning
Now that Li Yuan has agreed to abdicate, the next issue is Li Jiancheng's ascension to the throne.
"Now that His Majesty has agreed to abdicate, Your Highness, please ascend the throne," Lin Yang said loudly.
"Alas, Feipeng, you are putting me in an unjust position! How will future generations view me then? You must know that the historian's pen is like a knife," Li Jiancheng said with a pained expression. It was as if being emperor was not a good thing, but rather a bad one.
“Your Highness, if there is any fault in today’s events, it lies entirely with Fei Peng and has nothing to do with Your Highness. Although Your Highness is benevolent, why did the Prince of Qin force the emperor to abdicate? It was because the Emperor Emeritus handled the situation improperly. In addition, the Emperor Emeritus is now old and frail, so Your Highness should ascend the throne.” Lin Yang continued.
"What? What did you say? As a subject, how can you say that Father is wrong? Apologize to Father!" Li Jiancheng said pretentiously. After all, no matter what he thought in his heart, it was still very important to appear as a filial son on the surface.
However, although Li Jiancheng told Lin Yang to admit his mistake, it was quite telling. It was merely an apology; there was no demotion, not even a salary reduction—just a token gesture. (In other words, a slight pay cut as punishment.)
“Yes, Your Highness, all the blame lies with your subject. If future generations want to criticize, let them criticize me, Wei Zheng,” Wei Zheng said loudly.
Seeing this, many officials followed suit. "Yes, Your Highness, if you have to blame someone, blame me."
Seeing this, Li Jiancheng was very pleased, but he couldn't show it. After all, China has a long-standing tradition of humility and deference.
In matters of great importance such as abdication or succession, it was generally necessary to request and decline the throne three times. This was to express that one was originally unwilling to become emperor, but the ministers insisted that one become emperor, so under duress, for the sake of the people, one had no choice but to actually become emperor.
"This is ultimately not a good thing. If I were to succeed to the throne like this, how would I be any different from Shimin?" Li Jiancheng said awkwardly, looking very unwilling and pained.
Seeing this, Lin Yang stepped forward. Facing the two thousand Changlin soldiers, as well as the Eastern Palace troops and Qi Prince's troops who arrived later, he loudly proclaimed his arrival.
"Soldiers, whose food are you eating?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
"Whose clothes are you wearing?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
"Who is your master?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
"Very well, I'll ask you now: are you all willing for His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne?"
"Yes, yes."
"Alright, a few brave souls, come with me and drape this dragon robe over His Highness the Crown Prince. If there's any blame involved, let me, Lin Yang, bear it all." With that, Lin Yang took a dragon robe from Li Yuan and went to Li Jiancheng's side.
Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng and the others widened their eyes in astonishment. "Wow, there's such a way? We've certainly learned something new today. But how could you leave me out of this whole 'coercing His Highness to wear the dragon robe' thing? Can't we even have some fun after this?"
"Your Highness, please put on the dragon robe and ascend the throne immediately. If there are any negative records in the history books, blame it on me, Wei Zheng." After saying this, he took a corner of the dragon robe in one hand and came to Li Jiancheng's side, as if to help him put on the robe.