Li Shentong couldn't believe his eyes. Why would his eldest son appear here? He said anxiously,
"Daoyan, what's going on?"
Li Daoyan couldn't hide the panic in his tone as he said,"" Let father know that a royal guard came to the mansion last night with an edict saying that His Majesty summoned me and mother, and that they had to come…"
"Your son is also…"
"Father, what's going on?”
The other three youths called out in panic.
Li Shentong, Li Shenfu, Li Xiaogong, and Li Yuan's hearts trembled when they heard this.
Not only were they here, but their mother was also brought to Chang 'an by Li Chengdao's men?
The four of them were filled with regret.
When they saw the letter, they gathered their troops and rushed to Chang 'an day and night without thinking. Who would have thought that their home would be destroyed by Li Chengdao!
Li Shentong raised his head and looked at Li Chengdao with a pained expression. He said earnestly,
"Imperial grandson, why are you so stubborn and insist on sitting on the throne?”
"You're only eight years old!"
"You're the eldest grandson of the Great Tang's emperor, so isn't the throne yours sooner or later?”
Sooner or later? Li Chengdao looked at him. If he had known that the fourth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Wude was the incident at Xuanwu Gate, he would not have said so.
If he could really sit on the throne sooner or later, why would he have to go through so much trouble and scheme to sit on the throne?
He wanted to save his life.
He could wait, but Li Er would not let him wait.
Once the Black Tortoise Sect incident happened, the Eastern Palace would be completely eradicated, and his head would fall to the ground.
Seeing that Li Chengdao did not say anything, Li Shentong understood that it was useless to play the family card. He made up his mind and shouted at Li Daoyan,
"For the sake of the Great Tang, this king can risk his life, and so can my son Daoyan and his mother.”
"Daoyan, let me ask you, are you afraid?”
Seeing his father's gaze, although Li Daoyan was afraid, he still shook his head and said loudly,"Father, I'm not afraid!"
Li Shentong's eyes were red, and his voice trembled as he said,"Imperial grandson, did you see that? Even if you have heaven-defying methods today, you have to return to power!”
After saying that, Li Shentong shouted outside the hall,"Men! Invite the eldest grandson of the emperor to step down from the throne!”
"Yes!" Outside the hall, Liu Yu, who was Li Shentong's deputy general, pressed his palm on his saber and strode into the hall.
The civil and military officials looked at Li Shentong in awe. This was Li Yuan's true confidant, someone who was willing to risk everything for the Great Tang and Li Yuan.
Li Shenfu's expression was uncertain. In the end, he waved his hand and asked his deputy to help.
The arrow was already on the bow, and there was no time for him to retreat.
If they couldn't bring Li Yuan back to the Imperial Palace today, the Tang Empire would be buried in the hands of the eight-year-old eldest grandson.
Li Xiaogong and Li Yuan were shocked. They knew that Li Shentong and Li Shenfu wanted to fight to the death and would not give up until they achieved their goal. They could only grit their teeth and raise their palms to let their deputy in.
When the four deputy generals walked in from outside the hall with their sabers, they rushed straight at Li Chengdao.
Ji Gang and Yu Huatian unsheathed their sabers without hesitation and looked warily at the four people walking over.
"Take back your sabers. With me here, why pull out your sabers? The saber was used to kill the enemy, not to deal with one's own family.”
Li Chengdao waved his little hand and looked at Liu Yu, who was walking in front with a knife. He said in a childish voice,
"You are Huai An County Prince's deputy general, Liu Yu. Your son is called Liu E, right?”
"You are the Xiangyi County Prince's deputy general, Zhao Te. Is your son called Zhao Ming?”
As he spoke, Li Chengdao looked at Li Xiaogong's deputy and raised his little finger to point at him." Your name is Wang He, and your son is Wang Meng, right?”
"And you, Zhang Lue, the deputy general of the Prince of Lujiang County. Your son is called Zhang De, right?”
The four deputies were stunned and stopped in their tracks.
Li Shentong suddenly felt uneasy and could not help but ask,"Imperial grandson, what do you mean by this?”
"I don't mean anything else."
As Li Chengdao spoke, he looked at Ji Gang." Call them out."”
"Yes."
Ji Gang cupped his fists in response.
Soon, under the shocked gazes of the officials, four more children were brought out.
"Father!"
"You're here too!"
Hearing the voices of the four children, the four deputy generals panicked, and their hands that were holding the hilts of their swords trembled.
Li Shentong, Li Shenfu, Li Xiaogong, and Li Yuan looked at Li Chengdao in disbelief.
They never expected that the eldest grandson would not only 'invite' their families to Chang 'an, but also the family of his deputy general.
At this time, the four deputies turned their heads and looked at Li Shentong and the others pleadingly.
The four Regional Kings could ignore their families, but they couldn't.
The junwang's family was big and powerful. Even if he lost his wife's child, he could still remarry and have another child. However, they only had this one child.
Li Shentong gritted his teeth and waved his hand.”
The four deputy generals immediately heaved a sigh of relief. They cupped their fists in shame and quickly retreated out of the hall.
"Great!" Li Shentong said angrily.”
"But do you think that by doing this, this king has no other way?”
"Deputy General Zhou!"
Li Shentong shouted. Suddenly, a burly man walked in from outside the hall. He looked back at him and said,"Are you afraid?"
"Your Majesty, I don't have children, so I'm not afraid of having no descendants!" Vice General Zhou grinned.”
Suddenly, Li Chengdao said,"Then why don't you think about your eighty-year-old mother?"”
Hearing this, Deputy General Zhou was stunned for a moment. Then, he saw Yu Huatian walk into the back hall and bring out an old woman with white hair and dressed in cotton clothes.
The old woman was a little dizzy. She touched the front with both hands and walked out shakily. Her voice was filled with fear as she said,"My son…"
"Mother!" Deputy General Zhou was so frightened that he cried out in horror. Then, he knelt down at Li Shentong and cried out,
"Your Majesty, I can die, but my mother is innocent!”
Li Shentong's expression was dull. He raised his palm and waved, asking him to retreat outside the hall.
" That person..." Li Shentong looked back at the outside of the hall, wanting to choose a deputy general to enter.
When the elites of the four Commandery Princes standing outside the hall saw Li Shentong's gaze, they were so scared that their faces turned pale.
The corners of Li Shentong's eyes twitched a few times. He did not dare to call anyone now, afraid that he would call a deputy general into the hall. Then, the imperial grandson standing on the steps would also call him out from the back hall.
"Imperial grandson, I brought 2321 soldiers this time. They are all elites!" Li Xiaogong suddenly said.”
Li Chengdao glanced at him and nodded slightly."
"Then the number of people matches. I sent people from Jinzhou to pick up 2,321 households. Ji Gang, take a list and show it to the Prince of Hejian.”
"Yes!" Ji Gang responded and took out a list from his pocket. He walked down the stairs and handed it to Li Xiaogong.
"..." Li Xiaogong looked at the names on the list, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. It was really as Li Chengdao had said. The number of people matched, and there was no difference at all.
Then what was the point of helping the king? His life was in this kid's hands!
The four Commandery Princes had risked their lives to bring 2,000 elite soldiers with them. How many of them would dare to risk their lives with the heads of their entire family?
Moreover, how many of them loved their children and wives dearly?
If they really risked their lives, Li Chengdao might not even need to make a move. The elites he brought would probably turn their backs and target the four Regional Kings.
Li Yuan looked at the silent Li Shentong and then looked at the sighing Li Xiaogong. She tactfully closed her mouth.
Li Shenfu, who was standing at the side, raised his trembling palm and stroked his beautiful beard.
He finally understood why his cousin was locked up in King Qin's mansion.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]