54: Jingzhou has raised an army of 150,000, and yesterday they captured twelve cities! Their troops are heading straight for Chang'an!

Boom!

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves!

The entire Taiji Hall instantly erupted into chaos.

Everyone raised their heads in astonishment, unable to believe their ears.

Impeach the Crown Prince?

Had Wei Zheng gone mad?

Cheng Yaojin's ox-like eyes widened, and he instinctively started to curse.

Qin Qiong, quick-witted, grabbed his sleeve and vigorously shook his head at him.

Li Chengqian stood there, his body unmoving, but his pupils suddenly constricted.

He had considered countless possibilities: he thought it might be the Five Surnames and Seven Clans causing trouble, or his brothers Li Tai and Li Zhi secretly tripping him up, and he even thought it might be a prime minister like Fang Xuanling acting on a secret imperial decree.

Wei Zheng!

Li Chengqian's gaze swept past Wei Zheng, directly piercing towards the high and mighty Dragon Throne.

He saw that his Imperial Father's face showed no surprise, only a bottomless indifference.

He understood instantly.

This was a play.

A play arranged long ago, staged only for him.

And Wei Zheng was merely the sharpest and most convincing executioner pushed to the forefront.

"Your Majesty, I impeach Crown Prince Li Chengqian on ten major charges!"

Wei Zheng's voice rang out again, cold and clear.

"Firstly, forming factions for personal gain, extensively recruiting followers, with more than half of the military Officials in court only obeying his lead, suspected of shaking the foundation of the state!"

"Secondly, unauthorized deployment of troops, ordering the Great Snow Dragon Riders to embark on a distant campaign against Tuyuhun, treating state laws and military discipline as nothing!"

"Thirdly, in his fiefdom of Jing Province, he harbors private soldiers, an unknown number, and his intentions are punishable by death!"

"Fourthly, living a life of extravagance, the construction of the Eastern Palace cost a fortune, showing no awareness of the people's suffering!"

"Fifthly..."

With each charge Wei Zheng read out, the air in the hall grew colder.

Cheng Yaojin trembled with rage, his dark face turning liver-red.

Which of these charges wasn't utter nonsense!

What did 'unauthorized deployment of troops' mean?

What did 'harboring private soldiers' mean?

Those were guards recruited by His Highness himself!

The faces of Qin Qiong, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing, and others also darkened.

They were all military men, valuing loyalty the most, and abhorring such baseless accusations.

Meanwhile, the Officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans all had gleaming eyes, their mouths uncontrollably curving upwards, looking gleeful.

Finally, Wei Zheng finished reading the last charge.

"Tenthly, his virtue does not match his position, his actions are erratic, his methods are ruthless, and he has no demeanor of a benevolent ruler! I earnestly request Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince, to rectify the foundation of the state, and bring peace to the world!"

Having said that, he heavily kowtowed to the ground and remained kneeling.

The entire Taiji Hall was dead silent.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on two people.

Li Shimin on the imperial seat, and Li Chengqian standing in the middle of the hall.

Li Shimin slowly rose from the Dragon Throne. He looked down from above at his son, his eyes like he was looking at an irreconcilable enemy.

He waited for a long time, as if giving Li Chengqian a chance to defend himself.

But in the end, he only asked one question.

His voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderclap, echoing in everyone's ears.

"Crown Prince, do you plead guilty to what Minister Wei has said!"

This interrogation was not a question, but a judgment.

It carried an undeniable authority, an outcome already decided.

Li Chengqian smiled.

In this tense, ominous hall, he actually smiled.

His laughter was light, but it carried endless mockery and sorrow.

He slowly raised his head, meeting Li Shimin's cold gaze. There was no panic, no fear in his eyes, only a clear, chilling calm.

He spoke slowly, enunciating each word, his voice clearly reaching every corner of the hall.

"Imperial Father, when one is determined to condemn, one can always find a pretext!"

As his words fell, the air in the entire Taiji Hall was sucked out.

You could hear a pin drop.

Cheng Yaojin's ox-like eyes were wide and round, his heavy breathing like an old bellows.

He wanted to rush forward and cleave Wei Zheng's foul mouth with an axe, but Qin Qiong's hand pressed firmly on his shoulder, with a force that almost crushed his bones.

Li Jing closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. This God of War of the Great Tang, at this moment, had only an unresolvable sadness on his face.

The Officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, however, were like flies smelling blood, trembling with excitement, their eyes darting back and forth between Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, anticipating the most thrilling scene.

"What an excellent 'when one is determined to condemn, one can always find a pretext'!"

Li Shimin's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, each word a steel needle dipped in ice, piercing people's hearts.

He walked down the imperial steps, one step, one step, slowly closing in.

The golden threads on his Dragon Robe shimmered with a man-eating light in the dim hall.

"So, you deny every single accusation Minister Wei has made?"

His voice was very low, yet it carried a violent intensity, like a storm brewing.

Li Chengqian straightened his back, the mocking smile on his handsome face growing more intense.

He didn't speak, only looked back calmly at this father who had given him life but was now intent on killing him, with the gaze of a stranger.

He denies it?

Why should he admit to these absurd charges?

He expanded the territory of the Great Tang by a thousand li, annihilating Tuyuhun—was that unauthorized deployment of troops?

He nurtured talents for the Great Tang, established the Great Snow Dragon Riders—was that harboring private soldiers?

He sought welfare for the people of the Great Tang, promoted high-yield crops—was that extravagance and indulgence?

Imperial Father, Imperial Father, what is your heart made of?

Is that Dragon Throne truly more important than kinship, than the empire of the Great Tang?

Li Chengqian's heart sank little by little, into a bottomless abyss, and then, it was frozen solid by a bone-chilling cold.

He remembered the Crown Prince in historical records of his previous life, who was deposed and eventually died of depression.

No.

He would never repeat the same mistake!

Filial piety between father and son!

The Dao of ruler and minister!

Since you won't give me a way to live, then I will carve out a bloody path for myself!

Inside the Taiji Hall, father and son faced off, a tense standoff!

At this moment, Li Shimin was confident of victory.

The Officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans watched the tigers fight from the mountain.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui stood beside Li Shimin.

At this moment, for Li Chengqian, it was as if the sky was falling!

Just then, an urgent dispatch arrived at the palace!

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it's bad! Jing Province has raised an army of 150,000, and yesterday they captured twelve cities! Their forces are heading directly towards Chang'an City!"

...Four gifts have arrived, fulfilling the promise, an extra chapter!

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Ten gifts for an extra chapter, currently four short.

Asking for four gifts.