Li Xuanba once "let something slip".
Li Shimin went to look up his posthumous title on purpose. He was so frightened that he ate an extra piece of cake. He lay on the couch groaning with fullness and asked his brother to rub his stomach.
After that, Li Shimin seemed to have lost his memory and never mentioned this matter to Li Xuanba. He just secretly hid the pocket money given by his grandmother and mother, and studied harder and practiced martial arts.
Li Shimin had no doubt about Li Xuanba's "prophecy" at all.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, prophecies were attached to Confucianism, and predictions and divinations were made based on the meaning of classics. During the reign of Emperor Guangwu, the "prophecy and divination" reached its peak, and everyone believed in it.
After the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "study of prophecies and divinations" was crushed by war, and there were not many superstitious people. However, those in power would still create prophecies to build momentum for themselves.
In troubled times, every now and then a person who could predict the future would appear and tell the fortunes of powerful people. After reading the history books, the young Li Shimin foolishly believed that these people could really predict the future.
Then it was normal for my own Ah Xuan to predict the future!
In addition to the fact that Li Shimin was too young to doubt his closest twin brother, the 360 years of chaos before the Sui Dynasty also made everyone think that the Sui Dynasty would last long.
After the brief unification from the Three Kingdoms to the Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms soon coexisted in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After a chaotic war, it became a confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
There were four dynasties in the Southern Dynasties: Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, and five dynasties in the Northern Dynasties: Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. During this period, the dynasties often coexisted and fought against each other.
The Northern and Southern Dynasties period, which lasted for more than a hundred years before the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, was one of the most chaotic periods in Chinese history.
Under such circumstances, the unification of the Sui Dynasty was already a miracle.
The only unified dynasties before were the Qin and Han dynasties, and the Qin dynasty ended in the second generation. Therefore, the Sui dynasty, from top to bottom, was not mentally prepared for peace in the world.
Li Shimin was precocious. He was also influenced by the social atmosphere. Coupled with his brother's prophecy, he guessed that his current stable life would not last long.
But what could a child like him do? He could only tell his brother to shut up and be careful not to be captured by those ambitious people in history books.
Li Shimin didn't dare to ask any further questions.
Isn't that what's written in the books? If you accidentally leak the secret, it's fine, but if you actively leak it, it might be a problem. And even though he's still young, he doesn't want to hear too much about the future. This makes him feel like he's being led by the nose.
Li Shimin was as gentle as clay most of the time in front of his family, but deep down he had a rebellious nature that he himself was not aware of.
Li Xuanba kept his mouth shut, and Li Shimin hid the secret in his heart, not even telling his mother.
This is a secret that belongs only to the two of them.
When the two children were communicating with each other, Yang Guang had a strong ability to observe and noticed that they were distracted.
He was displeased at first, then he laughed inwardly and shook his head.
Yang Guang suppressed himself for too long in order to become emperor. The consequence of more than ten years of life as an actor was that he paid too much attention to the slightest disturbance in the outside world and was often paranoid.
In addition, when he was about to succeed to the throne, he almost failed suddenly. His brothers from the same mother rebelled against him. Many people slandered him as a patricide and usurper, which made him too concerned about whether people respected him.
But Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were just two six-year-old children.
Child prodigies are also children. They have tried very hard to answer the emperor's questions, and it is not worth being suspicious if they are distracted occasionally.
Although there were some setbacks, Yang Guang still sat on the throne smoothly. Now he was very proud of himself. He was still very tolerant to those who did not pose a threat.
Seeing that the two children were frequently distracted and seemed a little tired, Yang Guang had people give Li Xuanba and Li Shimin seats. He also rewarded them with fruits and honey water, and allowed them to take them whenever they were hungry or thirsty.
"I am your cousin, so you can be more comfortable." Yang Guang said gently.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba thanked in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Xuanba: [Our legs are numb from standing, and our waists are sore from bending, so they let us sit down. This is really comfortable.]
Li Shimin bravely asked the emperor for a cushion and stuffed it behind Li Xuanba's back.
Yang Guang generously let the two children drink some honey water to moisten their throats before continuing to ask questions.
This time he was indeed asking about the many relatives of Duke Tang's Mansion, with a particular focus on the Dugu family.
The ties between the same clans are very close, so there is no need for Yang Guang to ask about the Li clan members in the Tang Guogong Mansion; the only close relative of Mrs. Dou from her mother's side is her young nephew, and although the Dou family still has power, Yang Guang knows that there is a difference between close relatives and clan relatives.
The Dugu family was highly valued during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui because of Empress Dugu. Now old lady Dugu has become the oldest person in the Dugu family. Even though she is a daughter married out, according to the remnants of Xianbei customs, old lady Dugu also has a certain say in the Dugu family.
Furthermore, the brothers that Yang Guang killed and imprisoned were all brothers from the same mother, that is, they were all sons of Empress Dugu. He was worried that the Dugu family would have complaints.
Li Yuan was loved by Yang Guang's father, the emperor and his mother, and was very friendly with Emperor Wen of Sui's sons. Yang Guang suspected that Li Yuan would unite with the Dugu family to oppose him.
Li Shimin couldn't think of these things for the time being, and Li Xuanba only thought of them when he was asked.
But he remembered that his mother had asked them to memorize the genealogy, and especially the genealogy of the Dugu family, and when the emperor asked, they recited it word for word. Did their mother guess what Yang Guang was thinking?
The two children still followed the previous plan, and very mechanically recited the genealogy of the Dugu family and the official positions held by the living people one by one.
While reciting, the two men stood with their hands behind their backs, shaking their heads and narrowing their eyes slightly, just like an old teacher teaching a child to recite the Thousand Character Classic.
Yang Guang couldn't help but hold his forehead and laughed again: "Okay, okay, I know you have a very good memory, you don't have to recite it."
Li Xuanba opened his eyes wide and said with sparkling eyes: "Your Majesty? Don't you need to memorize it? My second brother and I have memorized the genealogy of all the big families that are related to our family in advance!"
Li Shimin also opened his eyes wide.
He was so scared that his eyes widened.
This, this, this... Ah Xuan, what's wrong with you? Did you eat the wrong thing?!
Oh oh oh. Li Shimin remembered that his younger brother had told him in advance that he should pretend to be a normal child to please the emperor.
But why do this expression, this action, and this tone seem so familiar?
Li Shimin fell into deep thought.
In Yang Guang's view, his contemplation was just like a child getting distracted again after getting tired of reciting lessons.
This time Yang Guang no longer cared about the two children's distraction. He was very pleased with Li Xuanba's boasting and followed Li Xuanba's words and said, "Okay, I know you two are smart. Reward!"
The beautiful palace maid brought the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone that had been prepared long ago.
Li Xuanba smiled with his big eyes turned into crescents and thanked the emperor repeatedly.
Li Shimin: "…"
Li Xuanba: [Brother, what are you standing there for? Smile for me.]
Listening to his brother's calm and indifferent heartbeat, Li Shimin suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
That's great, Xuan didn't eat the wrong thing QAQ.
Li Xuanba learned from Li Shimin, and Li Shimin just acted like himself, smiling his bright big eyes into crescents.
Yang Guang looked at the two children, whose smiles and voice tones were extremely similar, and found it even more interesting, as if he had seen a rare toy.
He had originally only viewed the twin prodigies of the Duke of Tang's mansion as something of a curiosity, but after Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had won his favor, he began to look at them with the same eyes as he would look at talented juniors.
If Li Yuan was loyal to him, these two smart children would be perfect for the crown prince, Yang Guang thought.
Like his father, Emperor Yang Jian, Yang Guang was suspicious of his relatives but only trusted them.
Compared with outsiders, relatives are more trustworthy.
In his later years, Yang Jian was suspicious and killed loyal ministers indiscriminately. He only trusted members of the royal family and his relatives, which led to the throne being almost unstable when Yang Guang succeeded to the throne.
Yang Guang cleaned up a group of royal family members and relatives by marriage, and followed Yang Jian's old path, wanting to cultivate relatives who were loyal to him to replace foreign officials.
Li Yuan was his cousin, whose brothers were all dead and whose wife was also an orphan. Yang Guang knew rationally that if he wanted to cultivate relatives, Li Yuan was the most suitable person to become his trusted minister. But Yang Guang was also worried that Li Yuan would become the second "Yang Jian".
Yang Guang was so conflicted and entangled.
Because of this contradiction, Yang Guang even tested two six-year-old children.
Now after the test, Yang Guang was reflecting again. As an emperor, it seemed a bit too much to test whether his aunt and Li Yuan were loyal to him from a six-year-old child.
Although Yang Guang would not reflect on himself after reflection, he would give the other party some benefits.
He thought about it and whispered something to the eunuch beside him. The eunuch left and when he came back, he had a tray full of gold in his hand.
Yang Guang smiled and said, "I have just given you as the emperor. This is the reward I give you as your elder."
Li Xuanba said sweetly, "Thank you, uncle! My nephew and I are learning how to run a shop with my sister and earn our own money. With your reward, my nephew can make the shop bigger and stronger and earn a lot of money to buy gifts for you!"
Li Shimin: "???!"
The younger brother next to him seemed to be possessed by a ghost... No, no, it was himself who was possessed. Li Shimin was terrified.
And brother, why did you call His Majesty your uncle directly? !
Li Xuanba: [Brother, why are you so dazed today? Thank you now.]
Li Shimin stammered, "Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty! I have never seen so much gold!"
Yang Guang finally couldn't help himself, unable to hold up his emperor image, and laughed so hard that his stomach hurt: "What cousin? Just call me uncle. Is Li Yuan really that poor? Can such a small amount of gold make you dumbfounded?"
Li Xuanba complained: "Father may not be poor, but he is very stingy to me and my brother."
Li Shimin: "…" Stop imitating me. I feel creepy when I see a smaller version of myself!
"Yeah, yeah, not stingy." Li Shimin stammered, "It's very good to us."
Li Xuanba tilted his head and asked, "Brother, have you ever seen so much gold?"
Li Shimin shook his head.
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "But my uncle said that my father is not poor, but my father has never shown us gold! The only gold I have seen is the jewelry of my grandmother and mother!"
Li Shimin was confused: "Is that so? Maybe it's Ye Ye's thriftiness?"
Li Xuanba imitated Li Shimin's confusion: "So it's because of Ye Ye's thriftiness?"
Yang Guang laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes: "Li Yuan is not a thrifty person. Maybe he used all his gold to buy good horses."
Li Xuanba's eyes widened. "What? Father raised a good horse? He never let my brother and I ride a good horse. My brother and I have never touched one. Uncle, father is really stingy."
As expected. Li Xuanba's heart sank.
When Yang Guang continued to test him and his second brother, Li Xuanba felt something was wrong.
Although history books record that Yang Guang was suspicious by nature, this was the first year of Daye, when Yang Guang was at his most high-spirited. Li Yuan did not have the power he had at the end of Daye, but was only the governor of Zhengzhou and the prefect of Xingyang. Yang Guang should not have been too dissatisfied with Li Yuan.
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Li Xuanba recalled a "historical anecdote" about his mother.
It is said that when Li Yuan was the governor of Fufeng, he got several fine horses. His mother advised him to give them to Emperor Yang of Sui, but Li Yuan was reluctant to do so. Yang Guang was dissatisfied with Li Yuan because of this. Later, Li Yuan recovered and gave Yang Guang falcons and fine horses many times, and then he was appointed as a general. Only then did Li Yuan feel that his deceased wife was right.
Li Yuan's love for collecting fine horses certainly did not start when he became the governor of Fufeng; Yang Guang's dissatisfaction and suspicion towards Li Yuan certainly was not just because he envied the fine horses in Fufeng.
The contradiction had been planted long ago.
Li Shimin: "…" This expression is imitating himself again. Is this what Ah Xuan meant by learning from others?
Ah Xuan, you are a "stupid student"!
After being frightened by Li Xuanba several times, the carefree Li Shimin began to get used to it and cooperated hard.
Although he didn't know why Ah Xuan suddenly said that Ye Ye was stingy, Ah Xuan didn't mention this matter yesterday. But out of trust in his brother, Li Shimin still did not hesitate to sing the same tune with his brother.
"Really? No way? Yeye is really good to us. Although I have never touched a good horse." Li Shimin hesitated, "Is it because Yeye hasn't bought a good horse yet? That's why he doesn't let us touch it."
Li Xuanba also showed a hesitant look: "It turns out that father hasn't bought a good horse yet."
Yang Guang wiped away the tears from his laughter and said, "It's not that he didn't buy a good horse, he's just stingy. He didn't even want to give me his favorite horse, let alone you?"
Li Xuanba immediately pretended to be wronged: "Father is so stingy."
Li Shimin was already numb to Li Xuanba, the "scholar", and parroted, "Stingy."
Li Xuanba patted his chest and said, "Uncle, my brother and I are as generous as our mother, not as stingy as our father. Whenever my brother and I have something good, we will immediately give a portion to you first!"
Li Xuanba: [Brother, why did you spend so much time in a daze today? Hurry up and follow me.]
Li Shimin hurriedly said: "Ah, yes, Xuan and I are not stingy!"
Yang Guang smiled and waved to the two children: "Come, come to me."
Li Xuanba jumped over happily.
Li Shimin: "…" So this is what I usually look like.
He also followed with gritted teeth, and he and Li Xuanba were rubbed on the head by Yang Guang on the left and right.
"You are good and filial children. Madam Dou has taught you very well." Yang Guang felt a little itchy in his heart when he thought of Dou's appearance.
But he immediately thought of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, and the itch in his heart disappeared.
Yang Jian's daughter married the son of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yong. When Yang Guang was young, he followed Yang Jian to meet Yuwen Yong many times. The majestic image of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou left a deep impression on Yang Guang.
There were few people in Yang Guang's life whom he truly admired and admired, and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou was one of them.
Because of the similarities between Dou's eyes and eyebrows and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yang Guang's amorous thoughts about Dou's outstanding beauty disappeared.
Thinking of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, he carefully looked at the facial features of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba.
In a trance, he seemed to see the appearance of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou again.
There is a saying among the people that a nephew resembles his uncle. Madam Dou was a woman, but her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to those of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. It is not surprising that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, who looked like Madam Dou, also looked like Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou.
Suddenly, Yang Guang's affection for Li Shimin and Li Xuanba deepened.
If there was someone in the Yuwen family's side branch who looked like Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yang Guang would kill him immediately.
However, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were not very related to Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, and they were still his cousins, so Yang Guang was happy.
He was so happy that he waved his hand and presented a box of pearls sent from the south as tribute for the two children to play with as marbles.
This time, Li Xuanba's eyes really curved into crescents.
Li Shimin kept glancing at his brother's overly happy face.
Li Xuanba: [What are you looking at? ]
Li Shimin withdrew his gaze, feeling very anxious that he could not communicate freely with his brother through telepathy.
But Li Shimin did not answer, and Li Xuanba also knew what Li Shimin's expression meant.
Li Xuanba: [Are you curious about why I suddenly started acting? ]
Li Shimin blinked. Yes, yes, yes!
Li Xuanba: [Look at that plate full of gold.]
Li Shimin looked at the gold.
Li Xuanba: [Take another look at this box of top-quality pearls.]
Li Shimin looked at Zhenzhu.
Li Xuanba; [Making money is not shameful. ]
Li Shimin: "…"
We are the second and third sons of the Duke of Tang's mansion. Ah Xuan, are you so obsessed with money?
Li Xuanba: [Oh, you don't love money, right? Don't you want to divide the mansion to support me? Even if the mansion is given to you by the emperor, does it cost money to repair it? Does it cost money to buy new furniture and renovate the garden? Does it cost money to buy food, clothing, housing and transportation? You want to march and fight in the future. Horses, armor, weapons, and food, which ones don't cost money? Do you want your father to pay for you? Then my brother will make a fuss. ]
Li Shimin's small body trembled.
Li Xuanba: [If we have money, we won't have to rely on our father and brother. And you guessed it, troubled times are coming. Without money to recruit soldiers, how can you protect me, my mother, and my sister?]
Li Shimin suddenly raised his head, and his pair of phoenix eyes were forced to widen into round phoenix eyes.
What are you waiting for? Hurry up!
Uncle, look at my expectant eyes, can you appreciate it a little more!
"My nephew is not as smart as Ah Xuan, but I learn riding and archery very quickly!" Li Shimin's eyes sparkled, "In the future, my nephew will become your champion marquis!"
Yang Guang was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and patted Li Shimin on the head: "Okay, uncle will wait for you to grow up and become the champion marquis for uncle."
Although the people who taught Yang Guang to read history disliked Emperor Wu of Han and believed that he was a warmongerer and not a wise ruler, Yang Guang admired Emperor Wu of Han's unrivaled courage and spirit.
He wanted to do what Emperor Wu of Han could do, and he could do it even better!
Emperor Wu of Han had Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. Li Yuan now seems not loyal enough to be his Wei Qing. But this little cousin may really be my Huo Qubing?
Yang Guang said to Li Xuan: "Then Sanlang will become my Huo Guang?"
Li Xuanba was shocked.
He used his thick skin to imitate his second brother and pretend to be a child to please Emperor Yang of Sui, but he was not as good as his second brother who said "Marquis of Champion"?
Was his second brother born with the ability to please others? !
Li Xuanba said sternly: "Huo Guang is a powerful official, and I don't want to be Huo Guang. I want to be Xiao He and Han Xin, my cousins, with my second brother!"
Li Shimin was dumbfounded: "But Xuan, Han Xin was killed."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Second brother, Han Xin lived longer than Huo Qubing. If you have to choose one, you should be Han Xin."
Yang Guang looked at Li Shimin, whose face was full of disbelief, and almost choked with laughter.
Li Shimin said aggrievedly: "Then my nephew is not Huo Qubing, my nephew is Li Shimin. My nephew is my uncle's champion marquis Li Shimin, not Huo Qubing."
Yang Guang smiled and patted Li Shimin on the head: "Good, good, you are my Champion Marquis Li Shimin, not Huo Qubing or Han Xin."
Yang Guang waved his hand again and this time gave a pony to Li Shimin and Li Xuanba respectively.
"Li Yuan is stingy and won't let you touch good horses. I will give you good horses!" Yang Guang took the hands of the two children and strode towards the horse garden in the West Garden. He was going to personally choose horses for Li Shimin and Li Xuanba.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba followed happily.
Li Shimin was truly delighted, but Li Xuanba was just pretending.
Li Xuanba: [Brother, I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. I really want to lie down and take a deep sleep. Can he walk slower? It's so hard for me to follow him.]
In his excitement, Li Shimin could only take time to give his brother a look that said "perseverance".
Brother, hold on! Just like what you said, making money is not bad!