The people in King Song's family also knew that there was something strange about this matter, but they dared not say anything. They were able to keep the family property. Although the title was stripped away, at least he was still a rich man. He didn't need to worry about the future. As long as he lived an honest life, he would naturally be much better off than ordinary people.
But if they jumped out to cause trouble at this time, the consequences would be immeasurable. Merchants from all over the country still remember this incident, and Li Xiang could send someone to sue them at any time. Therefore, the descendants of King Song also understood that they should return home honestly from the Heavenly Prison, and then take the family assets and find a corner of Chang'an City to live.
Of course, they didn't dare to go anywhere else. After all, this was the base camp of the Li Tang royal family. The retired emperor still had feelings for the King of Song. Although he no longer had the title, as long as he had the retired emperor's feelings, he could get back at him if he was bullied in the future.
But if you go to other places, that may be impossible. Who in other places knows what you do? What's more, if you go to other places and have enemies following you, no one will know if you die in other places. So no matter how difficult it is in Chang'an City, they must persist here. At least this place is their root.
Li Shimin's birthday came very quickly, which was different from what he had expected. He had originally called back all his sons and grandsons to help him celebrate his birthday, but now, whether it was the King of Wei or the King of Jin, they all went back to their own territories because of this incident, and they didn't even have the chance to attend the birthday celebration.
Thinking of these unfilial children and grandchildren, Li Shimin was not in the mood to celebrate his birthday. After drinking a glass of wine with his ministers, Li Shimin said that he was not feeling well and went back to rest. If he had a son who could make him worry less, it would be very comfortable, but all his sons got involved.
During the investigation, Li Shimin thought that some people had given up. After all, they behaved very gently and would definitely not get involved in this matter. However, after the investigation, he found out that almost all of his sons, except those who died, were involved, and most of his adult grandsons were also involved.
This is just like what Li Xiang said at the beginning. Everyone wants to get a status. We were all born in the royal family. Why do you have the right of inheritance? People like us will be idle royal family members in the future. Even if we want to be idle royal family members, it depends on your mood.
If something implicates us, the new emperor will probably be most keen on killing his own brothers. This is something that has happened in all dynasties. Every new emperor will always send people to keep an eye on his brothers. Even if you want to be an idle prince, it is not that easy.
In addition to this, there is another thing. The previous royal system of nobility has been overturned. The emperor’s sons were basically all princes, and their descendants could also be princes. But now, from the very beginning, you are directly demoted to a lower level.
Moreover, Li Xiang has publicized in many places that if he comes to power in the future, the titles of the royal children will be downgraded. So these people want to fight for their future status. If you say that you don't know anything, then you live in a muddle-headed way and no one will say anything to you. Now Li Xiang has publicly declared war. If it is still the same as before, you will feel that you are living a cowardly life.
Li Shimin also agreed to this proposal. He made all the sons born to Li Yuan into princes. As for his own sons, the older ones remained princes, and the rest also became princes.
Therefore, these people have reason to believe that once Li Xiang comes to power, their status will continue to decline. Just look at the system Li Xiang implements in the army and officialdom. He doesn't care about blood ties or anything like that. He only cares about whether you are useful.
No matter where you come from or what your bloodline is, if you have made contributions and are useful, then you can be praised highly, but if you are useless, then I can only say I'm sorry.
Take Li Chengyi for example, this guy could only be granted the title of marquis at most, but he was capable on the battlefield and has now been promoted to county lord.
This matter has two sides. Some people practice martial arts diligently at home, thinking of joining the army to gain some experience like Li Chengyi. When they come back, they can also earn merit for their descendants. In short, they can get a higher title than before, which will allow their descendants to live more comfortably.
This group is dedicated to the struggle, but in addition to them, there is another group of parasites. Those people don’t want to struggle alone. They think that when we were born, we lived better than others. Now you have to pull us to the bottom and then let us rise up with those ordinary people. Isn’t this artificially creating difficulties for us?
So after these people learned about the situation, they also joined the alliance and began to rebel against what Li Xiang and the court had done. However, they overestimated their own strength. When Li Xiang punched them, the high-rise buildings built by these people were useless and collapsed directly. Including a prince, all of them died in it.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Those sons that Li Shimin likes are now not even qualified to attend the birthday celebration. They are all confined in their own palaces. Moreover, according to Li Shimin’s order, there is no time limit for this confinement. In other words, if Li Shimin is willing, in the future, you can only live in your own palaces.
According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty court, the royal palaces in Chang'an City are not very big. At most, they are a large courtyard with five entrances and a slightly larger circle around it. However, the royal palaces in various places are relatively large. But no matter how big it is, it is just a large courtyard. The common people will feel that they can live here for the rest of their lives on the first day they move in. But these people are accustomed to the prosperity of Chang'an City. Letting them stay in such a large courtyard for a lifetime is like asking for their lives. But they have no other choice. If you want to blame someone, blame you for casually participating in such things, which almost subverted your foundation.
