Chapter 35 Prince
If there is any difference between the current King of Shu Yang Xiu and the former Duke of Sui Yang Jian, it may be that he does not have Dugu Jialuo to guide him, and he does not have the assistance of talented people like Gao Zuo.

Not surprisingly, Yang Xiu had just been settled in the capital, and the officials who were loyal to the King of Shu had just begun to build up momentum and list Yang Xiu's contributions over the years, but then Yang Su impeached him for the serious crime of violating etiquette.

Although the emperor did not punish Yang Xiu for the time being, he did not meet him either. He only ordered him to cultivate himself in the palace and not to go out at will.

However, under Yang Su's persuasion, the emperor ordered Dugu Kai, the Duke of Runan, to go south to take over the position of Governor of Yizhou from the King of Shu.

After the news came out, Yang Xiu panicked and hurriedly wrote a letter to apologize: "I am honored by the country's grace. I failed to obey the law when I was sent to the frontier. I deserve to die."

Sometimes confessing guilt does not lead to forgiveness, and this is especially true for Yang Jian now. What's more, the followers of Prince Jin took the opportunity to impeach Yang Xiu for his crimes of living a life of luxury and cruelty to the people and plundering their wealth in his fiefdom.

Before Yang Xiu could catch his breath, Yang Su and Gong Yuwen Shu were ordered to search the mansion. They successfully found two puppets. The puppets had their hands bound with silk ropes, iron nails pierced their hearts, and shackles on their heads.

One of the puppets had the name of the current emperor written on it, and the other had the name of Yang Liang, the king of Han, written on it. On the sides of each puppet was a line of small characters carved: "Please ask the loving father of Mount Xiyue, the Holy Mother, to collect the spirits of Yang Jian and Yang Liang, and do not let them scatter in this form!
This is undoubtedly a tactic to ward off evil. As for why there is no puppet of Prince of Jin Yang Guang, we can only say that no one dares to take the risk, although Prince of Jin said that he would not care about it in the future.

But Yang Su didn't dare, and Yuwen Shu didn't dare either, let alone the others. This was the only flaw.

But many times, the flaws also depend on whether someone will look into them carefully, especially in the light of the precedents of the deposed crown prince and the King of Qin and the King of Shu.

For example, Yang Liang, the King of Han, who was looking for flaws at this time, was already feeling unhappy and uneasy all day long, even though his ministers advised him to write a letter to the emperor, pointing out that this was a frame-up by the King of Jin.

As long as Prince Jin falls, you will be the only prince left alive, and the Crown Prince of the Sui Dynasty.

But the King of Han did not have the courage and boldness to do so. He was already afraid of his second brother and the people under his command. He even suspected that this was a deliberate flaw sold to him, just waiting for him to take the bait.

So the King of Han actually wrote a letter to the emperor, asking him to allow him to return to his fiefdom to guard it, which made many people feel disappointed.

It is unknown whether His Majesty the Emperor was among them, but the Emperor's anger was directed at the King of Shu, who said in court: "The King of Qin wasted money and property, and I taught him as a father. Now Xiu is harming the people, and I should punish him as a king. I will behead Xiu in the market to thank the people!"

The Prince of Jin quickly pleaded for mercy, and the other officials reviewed the matter, but the extremely angry emperor almost cut off the tongue of the Counselor Qing Zheng in front of all the civil and military officials.

Just because of his words, "Your Majesty has few sons, why is it like this?"

In the end, Yang Xiu was stripped of his title as King of Shu and demoted to a commoner. He was also placed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and placed under house arrest by eunuchs. He was not allowed to see his wife and children again, and was only given two extremely ferocious-looking maids to serve him.

And King of Han Yang Liang was released back to his fiefdom as he wished. So among the five sons of the emperor, only King of Jin was left, and there was no doubt about who would be the crown prince.

During this period, did the deposed Crown Prince, the King of Qin, the King of Shu, and the King of Han have no means to attack the King of Jin? Of course they did, but they were all easily blocked by Queen Dugu Qieluo. The King of Jin was always invincible.

…………

In the 19th year of Kaihuang, after the auspicious date was set, the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince was held on November 3. This was the second crown prince of the Sui Dynasty. It was originally to be held according to the regulations of Yang Yong. However, Yang Guang wrote a letter on his own, requesting to lower the level of the crown prince's formal attire, and proposed a change in the system. The officials of the crown prince's eastern palace no longer paid tribute to the crown prince alone, but paid tribute to the emperor only like the court officials.

This undoubtedly made Yang Jian very satisfied, and they felt that the father was loving and the son was filial.

After three days of ceremony, Li Jiancheng finally had a seat at the banquet in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. His goals had been basically achieved. He only had to wait for Yang Guang to ascend the throne in a few years and then seek to be transferred to another place.

Crown Prince Yang Guang, who was dressed the same as usual, suddenly came over, took Li Jiancheng's hand, pulled him in front of a person and introduced him with a smile: "Brother, this is Jiancheng."

Duke Xiao Cong of Ju first bowed to Yang Guang, then looked at the young man in front of him with a critical eye, and nodded slowly after a moment.

He had only one daughter, whom he always regarded as the apple of his eye. Naturally, she had heard about Li Jiancheng's news early on, not from rumors in the market, but from what he had done.

One has to admit that at such an age, she was able to rush to the Prince of Jin with a letter in the absence of her father, and was loved by the Prince of Jin and his wife, and she was able to make many contributions in the fight for the throne. This was a remarkable thing.

But to be honest, he was unwilling to marry his daughter to such a person. They had experienced many ups and downs, from being an emperor and a princess to where they are now. Naturally, they would no longer hope for wealth and honor, but only for a peaceful and safe life.

Unfortunately, he could not refuse the prince, and his family also depended on the prince's protection. As the patriarch of the Lanling Xiao family, he could not abandon his family because of selfishness.

He gently helped Li Jiancheng up, touched the calluses on his palms and began to ask him about his archery. Li Jiancheng answered obediently. Seeing this, Yang Guang was satisfied and went to talk to other people.

Although he has obtained the position of crown prince, it also irritates his father. The means used in the chaotic times at that time are now clear to the emperor if he wants to know.

Regardless of others, the deposed Crown Prince and the King of Han still posed a threat to him. With just an imperial edict from his father, his position as Crown Prince could be lost at any time.

Therefore, he still needs to manage his power in a more low-key manner. The father and son of the Li family have already shown their loyalty. Both the Crown Prince and the King of Han have been offended and are trustworthy subjects. It would be best to use a girl from his wife's family to consolidate the relationship.

Duke Xiao Cong of Ju was a dashing and unrestrained man, well-educated, eloquent in literature, and skilled in archery and horse riding. It was a pity that he was born at the wrong time. Li Jiancheng felt this even more clearly after a brief exchange with him.

No matter what they talked about, he could always explain the key points clearly, which made people admire him. No wonder even Yang Jian, whose temper became more and more weird and irritable, liked him very much.

After Li Yuan came over, the three of them chatted about the techniques of archery and horsemanship, and they had a very enjoyable chat. Li Yuan was also surprised to have met a close friend, and they agreed to go hunting outside the city during their rest days.

It’s just that this future father-in-law, perhaps because he had some unspeakable distress in his heart, drank quite recklessly, and it seemed that he couldn’t drink much, as he was drunk halfway through the banquet.

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(End of this chapter)