The scene was too tragic.
The ground was covered in pools of blood of different sizes, and broken limbs were strewn all over the ground. The corpses piled up like a small mountain.
Less than half of the 2,000 Changlin soldiers remained.
Li Yuanji's headless corpse looked so shocking.
Fresh blood had completely dyed Li Changqing's white armor red. He looked like a demon god from the abyss of hell.
Even Li Yuan didn't dare to face his baleful aura.
Li Yuan glanced at Li Yuanji's corpse, then his gaze fell on Li Jiancheng. He said in a trembling voice,""What exactly happened to make you fight each other?”
At this moment, Li Jiancheng's heart was filled with fear. He only wanted to live and could not care about anything else, let alone think of an excuse.
"It's Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother instigated me to use Xiu Ning's marriage to lure Sixth Brother into the palace." He set up an ambush at Xuanwu Gate to kill his sixth brother. It was all instigated by fourth brother. I originally didn't want to do this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yuan's body swayed. If it wasn't for Li Xiu Ning's timely support, he would have lost his balance and fallen to the ground.
Based on Li Jiancheng's words, he instantly deduced the whole story of the brothers killing each other.
For a moment, he was heartbroken.
They had conquered the country and sat on the throne, but in the end, their sons were killing each other!
His tiger eyes were filled with tears as he looked at Li Changqing and said in a pleading tone,"Evergreen, the Crown Prince is your elder brother after all. Now that Yuan Ji had already submitted, he would…spare the Crown Prince's life.”
Li Changqing didn't say anything. He just silently looked at the man who had raised him like his own son for more than ten years.
The memories of his childhood surfaced in his mind.
Amongst his brothers, Li Yuanji and Li Yuanba were the least favored by Li Yuan, while Li Changqing, Li Shimin, and Li Jiancheng were the most favored.
Especially Empress Dou, who had already passed away. She treated Li Changqing better than her own son.
He had made Li Shi Min and the others jealous countless times.
The entire place was silent.
Everyone did not dare to breathe too loudly. Their gazes fell on this man who was as brave as a demon god.
Li Yuan's eyes were filled with a strong desire to lick a calf.
No matter what, Li Jiancheng was still his son.
He didn't use the imperial order to suppress Li Changqing because Li Jiancheng had made a huge mistake first. He didn't want to be biased.
As time passed, Li Jiancheng's forehead was completely drenched in sweat.
It was unknown if it was because of the scorching sun or because of the cold sweat from fear.
However, even though the sun was high up in the sky, he still felt cold all over.
This was because Li Changqing's aura had been locked onto him all along!
After a long time, when Li Jiancheng was so nervous that his heart was about to jump out of his chest, Li Changqing finally spoke.
"The Crown Prince has the intention to kill this son, so this son will treat him as an enemy and will not rest until he dies!
However, father had raised me, so I was caught in a dilemma.
If I don't kill him, your son will be unhappy and his thoughts will not be clear. If he killed him, his father would definitely be heartbroken. He would be unfilial to his father.
After thinking about it, your son decided to throw a halberd at the Crown Prince. Everything depends on the will of heaven.
Regardless of life or death, today's resentment will be dispersed with the wind. I should be grateful for my father's kindness.”
Hearing this, Li Jiancheng's face turned pale. He shouted in horror,"Father! Li Changqing had the courage of an overlord. Even generals like Xue Wanche and Feng Shili couldn't block his halberd. Don't agree to it! Otherwise, your son will only die!"
Li Yuan closed his eyes in pain, his heart filled with hesitation. After a long while, he opened his eyes again. It was as if there was a bright light that made people dare not look straight at him.
"Zhen…agrees!"
Li Changqing's cold expression revealed a trace of a smile for the first time. The killing intent in his eyes slowly dissipated.
He turned around and faced Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng was horrified and ran back hurriedly, shouting,"Raise your shields! Raise your shields!"
The 30 fully-armed guards beside him immediately raised their shields and protected Li Jiancheng firmly.
In the next moment, an astonishing sonic boom was heard. The halberd pierced through the sky and turned into a silver light, rushing towards Li Jiancheng like a meteor.
"Boom!" The thirty armored guards were all sent flying.
The armor on their bodies cracked and turned into pieces that fell to the ground.
Li Jiancheng, who was protected inside, lay motionless on the ground.
His face was pale, without a trace of blood. His eyes were empty as he looked at the sky. His pupils were filled with extreme fear.
Li Jiancheng didn't die. The 18-foot-long halberd that weighed 800 jin brushed past his head, shattered his crown, and stabbed into the city wall behind him.
Seeing this, Li Yuan heaved a sigh of relief.
If Li Changqing killed Li Jiancheng, he really didn't know what to do.
Soon, his face turned cold and he scolded angrily,""The Crown Prince has no tolerance for others. He is filled with jealousy and hatred and is not worthy of governing the country. Now Li Jiancheng is deposed as prince and imprisoned in the palace. Without my decree, he is not allowed to go out!
The King of Qi, Li Yuanji, was cruel and merciless. He would seek revenge for the smallest grievance and instigated the Crown Prince to kill each other. Now that he has died, he is not guilty and has ordered the Imperial Clan to bury him.”
On the city wall, Li Jiancheng's face turned pale after hearing Li Yuan's edict. He looked like a walking corpse.
Suddenly, he burst into laughter.
"Imperial Father, you actually deposed me, the eldest son, for an adopted son! You didn't pursue the matter of Fourth Brother's death. Parent-son is not as good as adopted son, born in the Li family, how unfortunate!
You and mother have doted on him since he was young. Why don't you just make him the Crown Prince and pass on the country to him!”
Li Yuan's expression kept changing.
Finally, he waved his dragon robe and shouted,"Take the deposed Crown Prince away!"”
The two imperial guards on the left and right immediately went forward and escorted Li Jiancheng away.
Li Changqing bowed to Li Yuan and said,""The border is tight and the Turks are eyeing us covetously. Your son requests to guard Youzhou and guard the border for the Great Tang to resist the Turks.”
Youzhou, which was also Beijing in the future, had an extremely important geographical location.
Once Youzhou was lost, the Turkic army would be able to march straight into the heart of the Central Plains.
At that time, the people of the Central Plains would be under the iron hooves of the Turks.
Li Yuan was shrewd and intelligent. He immediately saw through the reason why Li Changqing requested to stay in Youzhou.
Defending against the Turks was one thing, but more importantly, he didn't want to be embroiled in this chaotic royal dispute.
Unlike Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, he was not interested in the country, but only in protecting the people.
"You should give birth to a son like Li Changqing!"
His biological sons, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, fought for the throne openly and secretly. They were like fire and water, and there was no longer a trace of brotherhood.
Only Li Changqing still thought of his father.
Even if Li Jiancheng tried to kill him, he still spared Li Jiancheng's life out of consideration for his love for him.
Otherwise, with his godly bravery, even if Li Jiancheng had ten lives, he would have died under that halberd.
Ever since he ascended the throne, Li Yuan would sigh in his heart every night. If only Li Changqing was his biological son.
If Li Changqing was his biological son, he would not hesitate to abolish the eldest son inheritance system and make Li Changqing the crown prince.
However, the Li Tang Empire had to be inherited by the descendants of the Li Clan!
Forcefully suppressing the urge to make Li Changqing the Crown Prince, Li Yuan said,""I allow you to guard Youzhou, but not the border forever. At most three years. When your coronation ceremony is held, you must return to the capital!”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]