On May 29, the twenty-eighth year of Zhenguan, the life of Li Shimin, the male lord of a generation, finally came to an end, the sunset shot into the hall from the window, and the entire hall was painted with a layer of dim light......

"None...... Innocent, Jiuniang! Li Shimin's gaze suddenly fixed on the two women closest to him, and a flash of brilliance finally broke out in his eyes.

Empress Changsun's real name is Changsun Wuji, but since she became the queen, no one has ever called her by her real name. And Jiuniang is Concubine Yang's name, and only Empress Xiao would call her that before. Now Li Shimin suddenly opened his mouth and called out the real names of the two, which made them stunned at first, and then sadness came to them, and they stepped forward with tears and responded: "Husband, the concubine is here!" ”

I saw Li Shimin reluctantly raise his arm, gently hold the hands of Empress Changsun and Concubine Yang, the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile, and then he took a few breaths before he said softly: "Wuji, Jiuniang, this is ...... I've been busy with political affairs all these years, and I often don't have time to spend with you, I'm really not a good husband, if there is an afterlife, I must compensate you well! ”

"Husband~" Empress Changsun and Concubine Yang also cried in unison, they didn't expect that Li Shimin would apologize to them in front of their children and courtiers at the last moment of their lives, which moved them at the same time, but also extremely sad.

Looking at the two women in front of him, who were the most important to him, Li Shimin reluctantly comforted them in a weak voice, and then called Li Chengqian and Li Tai to him, although the two of them had done many wrong things before. But now that I see my father's aging appearance, I can't help but shed tears.

Li Shimin first looked at Li Chengqian with a godless gaze. Then he said with some relief: "Cheng Qian, you have done something wrong before. But my father has never blamed you, because I was also at fault for what happened at the beginning, but what makes me happy is that you have completely come out of what happened back then, and now what my father sees is a brand-new eldest son of the Tang Emperor! ”

When Li Shimin said this, he didn't catch his breath, and couldn't help coughing loudly. Li Chengqian cried bitterly and stepped forward to hold his father's arm, and said while helping him caress his chest: "Father~." It's all unfilial piety, don't talk about it, lie down and rest for a while! ”

However, after Li Shimin took his breath, he gently pushed Li Chengqian away, and then turned his eyes to the fat and old Li Tai, but Li Tai kept bowing his head and crying, but his eyes did not dare to look at his father.

Seeing Li Tai's appearance, Li Shimin sighed lightly in his heart, he knew that Li Tai still had some complaints about himself in his heart. I still can't figure out why I handed over the throne to Li Zhi? However, Li Shimin was too lazy to explain now, only to see him sigh at Li Tai and say, "Qingque, among all the princes, you are the most talented one. But it is also the most arrogant one, you have to relax your mind in the future, and you have to learn this from your eldest brother! ”

Li Tai's most hated thing in his life is Li Chengqian. Now when I hear that my father has asked me to learn from him, I also feel a sense of injustice in my heart. I just wanted to say something, but I saw Li Shimin reluctantly waving them down. I had no choice but to swallow this breath and retreat with Li Chengqian.

Then Li Shimin called Li Ke, Li Su, Li Yun, Li Zhen and Li Zhi to him. Among the many sons of Li Shimin, it is the five of them who have the highest achievements, and if nothing else, the five of them will become the most powerful people in the whole world.

Li Shimin looked at the five sons in front of him who were the most proud, and his eyes also showed satisfaction, he had fourteen sons in his life, in addition to the three early sons, among the remaining fifteen sons, there were five emperors at once, which made him feel extremely pleased and proud, and even he could conclude that with this alone, he could become the first person in history, and no one in the past and present would be able to surpass his exploits in this point!

I saw Li Shimin's gaze scan the faces of Li Ke and the five people, the pride on his face slowly faded, replaced by a look of worry, and finally his gaze paused on Li Ke, and then said solemnly: "I remember that Liulang once said that there is no eternal friendship between countries, only eternal interests!" Although this sentence is cruel, it is also a fact, in the future, you four countries get along, there will inevitably be big and small contradictions, but the father only hopes that you can remember that no matter what the relationship between the two countries is, you will always be brothers! cough cough ~ cough cough ......"

When Li Shimin said the word 'brother' at the end, he deliberately accentuated his tone, and it seemed that he had exhausted all the strength of his body, and after finishing speaking, he began to cough violently, which made Li Zhi hurriedly step forward and help Li Shimin caress his chest, and it took a long time for him to recover.

Li Ji and the eldest grandson Wuji, who were standing at the end, heard Li Shimin's words, and their faces showed a little helplessness, and now the reason why Datang, Daqi, Tianzhu and Dawu can maintain good relations is that there is no conflict of interest between the four countries for the time being, and second, there is the pressure of Li Shimin, who is a father.

But now that Li Shimin is gone, Li Zhi has become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the four countries are in charge of the five brothers. Now Li Shimin united Li Ke's five brothers before he died, but in the face of national interests, God knows how long the relationship between the five brothers can last?

When Li Shimin lay down again, the five brothers led by Li Ke and Li Su knelt down in front of Li Shimin's bed, and swore solemnly in front of all the brothers and sisters and the important ministers of the Tang Dynasty: "Father and emperor, rest assured, the sons and daughters must remember your teachings, and there will never be fratricide!" ”

Hearing the oath of his five sons, Li Shimin's face once again showed a smile of relief, but in the end, he specially told Li Su: "Liulang, you have the best relationship with the brothers, and they are all the most obedient to you, so you will have to worry a lot about the important task of coordinating the relations between the four countries in the future!" ”

"Rest assured, the son will definitely live up to his father's trust!" Li Su said with a firm face. He has also thought a lot about the future direction of the four countries in the future, and now he has a vague idea in his heart, but it is not mature enough, and the time has not yet come, so it is not convenient to say it now.

"Good...... Very good! With your words, the father will be relieved! Li Shimin said with a smile. Li Su is his most outstanding son, and he has never lost his words when he promises him, so now Li Su can say this, which means that he already has a perfect plan in his heart, and now Li Shimin can finally feel at ease.

Then Li Shimin called the remaining sons to his side one by one, and forced his body to explain a few words to them, especially for the newcomers of his son and Shangguan Tingzhi, Li Shimin even told them a few more words, so that they should be more considerate of each other when they get along, and never get angry because of some trivial things, etc.

After telling his children, Li Shimin asked Li Ji and his eldest grandson Wuji and Chu Suiliang to come forward, first announcing that he would pass the throne to Li Zhi, and then instructed them to abide by their duties and assist Li Zhi in managing the Tang Dynasty.

It's just that some ministers are keenly aware that Li Shimin didn't appoint Minister Gu Ming, originally with the qualifications of the eldest grandson Wuji and Chu Suiliang and others, he was definitely the best candidate for Minister Gu Quan, but Li Shimin didn't even mention it, and then thought of Li Zhi's previous promotion of Xu Jingzong and Shangguan Yi and others, which made many people immediately understand something, and at the same time, their bodies involuntarily leaned towards Li Zhi's side.

The eldest grandson Wuji and Chu Suiliang also understood what this matter meant, and at the moment, the two looked at each other, and they both saw a trace of despair and helplessness in each other's eyes. Li Shimin did not appoint a minister of Gu Ming, and at the same time shattered their last bit of hope, because this means that when Li Zhi ascended the throne, he held the complete imperial power in his hands, and no one in the entire Tang Dynasty could no longer balance him in power, and with Li Zhi's previous performance, Datang would definitely usher in a round of huge social changes.

After explaining everything, Li Shimin almost exhausted the last trace of energy, and the whole person collapsed on the bed at once, his eyes were also blankly open, gasping for breath, and then he soon passed out again.

At night, Li Shimin woke up again, but this time he couldn't speak at all, just looked at everything in front of him with attachment, and he fell into a coma again after being awake for less than half an hour, and his breathing became weaker and weaker.

When Li Shimin stopped breathing, the surrounding princes and princesses were already crying, and the eldest grandson Wuji and these old ministers were also very sad, after all, they were all old ministers who followed Li Shimin to fight the world, and their relationship with Li Shimin was also very deep.

But the saddest of them, naturally there are the harem concubines such as Empress Changsun and Concubine Yang, many of whom are also crying bitterly, Empress Changsun is not in good health, and she has been holding on to Li Shimin's side these days, and now as soon as Li Shimin leaves, she can't hold it anymore, and she faints on the spot, which leads to a big mess again.

However, before Li Su and Li Zhi could recover from their grief, Li Ji was the first to stand up and said to Li Zhi: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, Your Majesty has passed away, and now is not the time to grieve, please ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne!" ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is invited to ascend the throne!" The eldest grandson Wuji and other ministers also came to their senses and immediately bowed to Li Zhi. According to the Tang Dynasty ritual system, after the death of the emperor, the new emperor must immediately ascend the throne and become the emperor the next day, which is the origin of 'the country cannot be without a monarch for a day', and then deal with the problem of the funeral of the first emperor. (To be continued......)