My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 110 Li Chengqian's core team of rebellion
Li Shimin acted quickly, perhaps out of protection for Prince Jin.

Perhaps it was to let the Crown Prince and King Wei know the situation earlier.

The news had spread just after lunch.

The Mansion of the General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

Facing the imperial edict sent by the Ministry of War.

Zhang Shigui, former General of the Right Jinwu Guard, frowned and said, "Your Majesty has appointed Prince Jin as the general. I wonder how he will arrange for me."

Zhang Shigui, courtesy name Wu'an and nickname Huli, was a famous general of the founding of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Zhang He, the Grand Commander of the Sui Dynasty.

He is different from the treacherous minister in the later novel "Xue Rengui's Expedition to the East" who was jealous of talented people.

In history, Zhang Shigui came from a family of generals. He had outstanding abilities, was good at selecting and appointing people to the right positions, cared for his soldiers, and had keen political insight.

He was both civil and military, and was a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, as famous as Qin Qiong, Yuchi Jingde, Wei Zheng, Cheng Yaojin and others.

He had an excellent talent for archery and was very brave. He could draw a bow weighing about 150 kilograms and never missed his target.

"Your Majesty's intention is to let the general temporarily serve as the chief historian of the Prince of Jin's Palace."

The eunuch said respectfully.

Zhang Shigui frowned slightly.

The current Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jin’s Palace is Ma Zhou, but he is in Jinzhou, handling local affairs, and has not followed the Prince of Jin back to Chang’an.

Your Majesty has appointed him temporarily as the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jin's Palace. The meaning behind this is very clear, which is to let him assist the Prince of Jin.

With a sigh, Zhang Shigui replied gloomily: "I obey your order."

He really doesn't want to get involved in this court struggle.

But what can we do since Your Majesty has issued an edict like this?
-
After Li Zhi returned to the mansion with his aunt Princess Tong'an, he was not in a hurry to go to the mansion of the General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

Instead, he listened to his aunt's teachings.

"Your Majesty told me that the Crown Prince and the King of Wei are going to lead troops to conquer Goryeo. When they return victorious, you will be allowed to return to Jinzhou."

"However, this matter is not so simple. If various incidents occur, will we be able to return on time?"

"Your Majesty once said that the King of Wei should go to his fiefdom as soon as possible. It has been several years and he still has not taken office."

"Zhi Nu, you must prepare yourself mentally and be prepared to live in Chang'an for a long time."

Li Zhi was depressed. Although he was appointed the general of the Right Jinwu Guard, he still could not muster any interest in it.

Listening to my aunt's instructions, I nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Princess Tong'an comforted her, "Don't take it too seriously."

"Your Majesty is right in one thing. The Crown Prince and the King of Wei may not have much objection to you."

"Besides, given the current situation, they can guess your majesty's intentions instead of blaming you."

"You are young after all, eight or nine years younger than them. It would be inappropriate for them, as the elder brothers, to embarrass you, their younger brother, if it gets out."

"Let's talk about Chang'an. You have a powerful official position and troops. Li Ji is your teacher and can speak for you in the court."

"No matter how bad it gets, I am still alive. If your two brothers dare to go too far, I will definitely help you and teach them a lesson."

After listening to his aunt's patient guidance, Li Zhi felt relieved.

If you think about it carefully, it’s actually not bad.

As long as you don't get involved with the Crown Prince and Fourth Brother, it doesn't matter much.

"Thank you, aunt."

Thinking of this, Li Zhi bowed.

"You kid, we are family, why do you have to be so polite? It seems strange."

"My aunt taught me that it was Zhinu's fault."

Princess Tong'an smiled. He liked such humble and polite children.

He advised: "Now that the matter has been settled, you should think more about what will happen next."

"Your Majesty has already issued an imperial edict to the Ministry of War, but you should not rush to the residence of the General of the Right Jinwu Guard."

"The first thing to do is to visit the Crown Prince and the King of Wei."

"As your brother, tell them that staying in Chang'an was not your intention, but His Majesty's intention."

"In this way, I believe they won't make things too difficult for you in the future."

"There is one more thing you must remember clearly. No matter who between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei tries to win you over, you must not agree."

"Don't get involved in anything related to the Crown Prince and King Wei. Just stay away from them."

Li Zhi bowed again: "Thank you for your teachings, Auntie. I understand."

Princess Tong'an nodded kindly: "I haven't seen Yaning for a long time. You are a new official and have a lot of things to do. Let Yaning stay at my place for a few days."

"It is better to visit the Crown Prince and the King of Wei sooner rather than later. Even though they haven't made any move, I'm sure they have known about my aunt's visit to the palace with you."

"You live far from the Jin Palace, so don't bother. I'll prepare some gifts for you later. You can send them to the Crown Prince and the King of Wei. The more gifts, the less blame."

Li Zhi hurriedly said, "How can you take my aunt's things?"

Princess Tong'an glared at her and said, "Do you still treat me as an outsider?"

"Child slave dare not."

"That's it. It's getting dark early today, so you should go visit her earlier and don't waste time."

"Yes, great aunt."

Li Zhi's eyes were a little red. Apart from his mother, this was the first time someone was so kind to him.

Excluding my father’s side, Li Zhi was born in the second year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin was very busy at the time. He already had eight princes, and Prince of Wei Li Tai had just been adopted back, so he naturally neglected Li Zhi a lot.

In other words, Empress Changsun loved this youngest son.

When Empress Changsun died, Li Zhi was only eight years old. In his grief, Li Shimin valued the crown prince and loved the King of Wei even more.

King Li Tai of Wei was not yet in office at the age of nineteen, but Li Zhi had already been granted a fiefdom when he was twelve.

The treatment is totally different.

Even if he is allowed to stay in Chang'an now, it is not because of missing him, but to stabilize the situation between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei.

In comparison, the aunt treated him sincerely and considered him in every way.

"You kid, you are so old, why are you still crying?"

Princess Tongan took out a handkerchief and wiped Zhinu's tears.

This time, Li Zhi cried even harder.

It took a long time before it calmed down.

Carrying a cart full of gifts, he headed to the East Palace.

The crown prince is the eldest brother, and as the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. It is reasonable and moral for Li Zhi to pay his respects to the crown prince first.
-
Side hall of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian asked someone to bring in a long table.

Put out two mutton hotpots, side dishes and sauces.

There is also roast lamb, braised pork, stewed venison, and pheasant soup.

Various types of Biro snacks and fruits.

The wine is red wine, Jiannan Shaochun.

The reason why it was so grand was because another core member of Li Chengqian's rebellious army, Zhao Jie, had returned.

Zhao Jie's mother was Princess Changguang, Li Shimin's sister.

His father, Zhao Cijing, died in battle in the early years of the Wude period.

His mother, Princess Changguang, later remarried Yang Shidao, who is now the Minister of the Central Secretariat of the imperial court, the head of the Secretariat, a third-rank official, and the prime minister.

Zhao Jie was appointed as a governor at a young age. Now he serves as the governor of Yangzhou and has returned to Beijing to report on his work.

Although this was largely due to Li Shimin's care for him, his own abilities were also good enough.

Li Chengqian sat in the first seat, looking at Du He, Li Yuanchang and Zhao Jie in front of him.

This means that the core team for the rebellion is in place.

"Cheers to the prince!"

Li Yuanchang was the first to pick up the wine glass in his hand and shouted loudly.

Among the few people, Li Yuanchang has the highest seniority and status.

"Cheers to the prince!"

Du He and Zhao Jie also raised their glasses and spoke loudly.

Li Chengqian picked up the wine in his hand and said, "Gentlemen, let's drink together!"

After they finished drinking, the eunuch Wen Zhong next to them immediately stepped forward to pour wine. Today, the palace door was closed, guarded by guards outside, and the palace maids and eunuchs were dismissed. It was obvious that the few people wanted to talk about some private matters, and only the eunuch Wen Zhong could serve them.

"Governor Zhao, how come you are even later than me?"

"My Liangzhou is still behind your Yangzhou. Could it be that Hu Ji has entangled your legs and you can't move forward?"

Li Yuanchang laughed and joked.

Chang'an is in Yongzhou, and to the southwest is Yangzhou, and further away is Liangzhou.

But Zhao Jie only arrived today, two days later than Li Yuanchang.

Zhao Jie was depressed and said, "Don't mention it. We should have set off a long time ago. Who would have thought that during the New Year, there would be a case of a Han woman running away with a Hu merchant."

"I had no choice but to send more people to search. The merchant was fast and familiar with the route, so he almost escaped from Yangzhou. Fortunately, he was caught."

According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, Han women, that is, women of the Tang Dynasty, were strictly prohibited from marrying foreigners.

Violators will be exiled 2,000 miles away. If the marriage is not actually concluded, the punishment will be reduced by three levels.

Foreigners who obtained Tang Dynasty household registration could marry Han women, but they were not allowed to take them out of the Tang Dynasty. If they violated this rule, both parties would be exiled 2,000 miles away.

Hearing that there was some fun, Li Yuanchang asked, "What about the Hu merchants? How were they dealt with?"

Zhao Jie drank and cursed: "It was winter, and I was late for my return to Chang'an. So I had him beaten a few more times, but he was weak and died in just a few hits."

"It's New Year's Day, damn bad luck."

Li Yuanchang nodded in agreement and said, "It's good to kill him. This happened to me in Liangzhou before. They exiled him and wasted food."

"I was shot and killed halfway along the way."

Du He said enviously, "You guys are really having a good time out there."

The status of the Hu merchants was very low, especially those who did not even have household registration in the Tang Dynasty, and no one cared even if they died.

Most Hu merchants traveled in groups and were proud to marry Han women.

This means that when some Hu merchants are preparing to return to their country, they often use means of seduction and deception.

Killing is a crime.

But Li Yuanchang was the King of Han, and Zhao Jie was Li Shimin's nephew and a royal relative.

Killing a few Hu people is not worth mentioning.

"Where is Hu Shang from?"

Li Chengqian asked.

Zhao Jie said: "They are from Tubo. Since Princess Wencheng married, these Tubo Hu merchants have appeared in large numbers and are the most active."

"Everyone thinks they are Songtsen Gampo. They are really trying their best to marry a Tang Dynasty Han woman."

Li Chengqian nodded: "It seems that Wencheng's entry into Tubo had a great impact."

Princess Wencheng's marriage took place last year, which was the 15th year of Zhenguan.

In just over a year, it had such a great impact on Tubo.

Zhao Jie said: "Who says it's not true? Prince, haven't you heard that in order to express his love for Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo is said to have spent a lot of money to build a huge palace for Wencheng on the top of the Red Mountain, which is considered a sacred mountain by the Tibetans."

"It is said that Songtsen Gampo prepared 100,000 taels of gold alone, and also collected a large amount of corvée labor in Tubo."

"I heard that Red Mountain is the steepest and most dangerous. Just transporting wood and stones would be a huge undertaking."

"Many women from the royal family are envious of this. When His Majesty wanted to find someone to marry, many people were unwilling to go. Now, they are probably regretting it to death."

"Those Hu merchants from Tibet worship Wencheng as a saint, and they get angry if someone says anything bad about them."

After listening to this, Li Chengqian had a partial impression of the current situation in Tubo.

From a national perspective, it was most appropriate to attack Tubo while Songtsen Gampo was building the Potala Palace.

After all, in Li Chengqian's heart, Tubo should have belonged to the Tang Dynasty, it was just a matter of returning earlier.

Historically, after Goryeo was destroyed, the second country to rebel was Tubo, which also instigated a group of neighboring countries.

But sending troops right after the marriage would be unjustifiable and no one in the government or the public would agree to it.

After thinking for a while, Li Chengqian said, "After my cousin returns to Yangzhou, you can send someone to contact Wencheng in my name."

Zhao Jie was a little confused: "Why did your highness contact Wencheng? For that batch of gold?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "In order to express his respect for Tubo, His Majesty asked Wencheng to bring a lot of craftsmen from Chang'an."

"Now Tubo is encouraging trade again, and under the pretext of making friends with the Tang Dynasty, we are trying to attract merchants from the Tang Dynasty and Tubo to come."

"It can be seen that Tubo will surely rise rapidly in the next few years."

"Although the land of Tubo is barren, it is extremely high, with mountains running through it, and a harsh climate, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"If it becomes powerful, it will be a threat to our Tang Dynasty. We should take precautions early."

Later, when Tubo rebelled, Princess Wencheng was still alive but was powerless to stop it.

He had a great reputation in Tubo, but had no real power.

The original intention of the marriage between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo was to establish friendly relations between the two countries, strengthen ties through marriage, and reduce conflicts and wars.

Princess Wencheng married into Tubo mainly to play a symbolic role in cultural exchange and promoting peace, rather than to control the political situation in Tubo.

Women who are married to foreign countries tend to influence the relationship between two countries subtly through their behavior and influence rather than directly interfering in politics.

But in Li Chengqian's view, since Princess Wencheng has influence, it naturally cannot be wasted.

He planned to use the Tang Dynasty as Princess Wencheng's backer to support her plan to seize power.

On the one hand, it can be used to control Tubo, and on the other hand, it can stabilize the border.

After hearing the prince's words, Du He, Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang looked at each other.

They didn't expect the prince to be so far-sighted, which was very different from the impression they had of the prince.

The prince never cared about these things before. He was only focused on dealing with the King of Wei.

"Okay, after I return to Yangzhou after the New Year, I will immediately send someone to contact Wencheng in Tubo."

Zhao Jie was not vague and agreed immediately.

After several rounds of drinking, Zhao Jie whispered, "Your Highness, I returned to Chang'an today and heard a lot of news."

"I don't know what we should do from now on."

This is the arrangement for rebellion.

Today we closed the palace door, drank wine and ate meat, and the main topic of conversation was this.

Li Chengqian remained calm and just glanced at Li Yuanchang.

Li Yuanchang immediately understood what he meant and began to tell the story right away.

"You are so behind the times with this news. You should know about the expedition to Goryeo."

"I heard about it, but it seems it hasn't been decided yet."

"Nothing has been decided yet. Everything has been decided. This time we need to gain control of enough military power from Goryeo."

Zhao Jie hesitated and said, "Fighting on the battlefield is not an easy task."

Li Yuanchang chuckled and said, "Then we have to talk about the Military Academy. When His Highness takes you there tomorrow, you will understand."

Li Yuanchang was dragged by Li Chengqian to beat the drum. He was very tired and this time he wanted to drag Zhao Jie into the water as well.

Zhao Jie was still a little worried: "I heard that the King of Wei has the support of the Five Surnames and Seven Nobles, and the palace soldiers have been replaced with elite soldiers from aristocratic families, and he is also preparing to build seagoing ships in Yangzhou."

"If he gains fame in the Goryeo war, he will be even more difficult to deal with."

Du He smiled faintly: "You can let Governor Zhao know that the commander of this expedition to Goryeo is Hou Junji."

Hearing this, Zhao Jie immediately became alert and was about to speak.

At this moment, the knock on the palace door immediately dampened Zhao Jie's enthusiasm that had just been ignited.

Several people looked towards the direction of the palace gate. After all, the things they were talking about were the most confidential matters.

If someone else hears it, it is very likely that there will be no recovery.

Suddenly, Du He frowned, and Li Yuanchang and Zhao Jie looked fierce.

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Don't worry, everyone. Don't forget that this is the East Palace."

"Wen Zhong, go and ask what it is."

The eunuch Wen Zhong hurried to the palace door and opened it slightly to allow the cold wind from outside to flow in.

After understanding the situation, he quickly closed the door and returned.

He reported, "Your Highness, it is the Prince of Jin who is here to visit."

Hearing this, several people immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "You guys eat first, I'll go see what Zhinu is doing."

(End of this chapter)