My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 112: The King of Wei Wants to Win Over the King of Jin Against the Crown Prince
Yankangfang.

Li Tai looked a little gloomy.

"Why did Zhinu stay in the Eastern Palace for so long? Was she plotting something with the Crown Prince?"

Speaking of intelligence, Li Tai has just as many spies in Chang'an City as the crown prince.

The route of Prince Jin Li Zhi is naturally very clear.

He was waiting with great interest for Prince Jin to come, but it was almost dark and there was still no news.

"Don't worry, King Wei. The Crown Prince must understand your majesty's intentions. It is very likely that he is doing this on purpose to confuse the King of Wei."

"If the prince insists on staying, the prince of Jin cannot leave at will."

Chai Lingwu analyzed and said that it made sense.

Li Tai nodded: "The prince is full of tricks, so we should be careful."

During this period of time, Li Tai had seen the methods used by the prince.

The prince, who used to spend his nights reveling and having no interest in government affairs, has become almost a different person since the loss of Le Tong Chengxin.

And once the prince took action, he almost completely suppressed me in just over two months.

Li Tai felt that he was totally overwhelmed. Not only did his several plots against the crown prince fail, but he was also counterattacked.

"King Wei, King Jin is here to visit and has arrived at the palace gate."

Hearing the servant's report, Li Tai immediately said, "Go and welcome him quickly."

"No, the king will come to greet you personally."

Li Tai was very enthusiastic, not only because the Prince of Jin had the official position of General of the Right Jinwu Guard, but more importantly because of the Prince of Jin's influence.

Although Li Zhi was insignificant in front of the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, he was Li Shimin's legitimate son.

Now that Li Tai is facing the weak crown prince, he naturally wants to win him over and fight against the crown prince together.

At the door, Li Zhi was surprised to see the King of Wei coming in person, and bowed quickly, "Fourth Brother."

Li Tai took Li Zhi's hand and walked inside: "We are brothers, why do we need these empty formalities?"

Li Zhi's feelings in the Prince of Wei's Mansion were completely different.

Li Tai prepared a sumptuous banquet to entertain him, and there were also singing and dancing by Hu concubines, as if he really treated him as his own brother.

He is my brother, but it is not necessarily the case that I have some affection for him in my heart.

After three rounds of drinking, Li Tai asked casually, "Zhi Nu went to the Crown Prince's place, but didn't stay for quite some time. I don't know what they talked about."

Li Zhi replied honestly: "My elder brother said that he wanted to open a large workshop in Jinzhou to mine coal, so he talked to me about the details."

Chai Lingwu sighed, "Perhaps the prince made a lot of money from the ice shop, so he is quite interested in the business."

Li Tai looked worried: "The prince is obsessed with business, I don't know whether it is good or bad."

Li Zhi remained silent.

At this moment he suddenly understood why his fourth brother was not as good as his eldest brother.
-
East Palace.

When Li Chengqian returned, he saw the dishes on the table, which were almost the same as when he left.

Whether it was Du He, the trusted adviser, or his cousin Zhao Jie, or his uncle Li Yuanchang, who he grew up with, they all understood one thing very well.

The prince is the crown prince, the future emperor.

They are confidants, friends, and even subjects of the monarch.

This point is still clear.

"Why are you all standing there in a daze? Eat."

As soon as Li Chengqian came back, the atmosphere became lively again.

They clinked glasses and drank and had fun.

"If you ask me, His Majesty is afraid of Your Highness, so he even brought the child Zhinu here."

"The King of Wei is so useless. His Highness only made a slight move, but he was already unable to resist."

Li Yuanchang, under the influence of alcohol, acted boldly and spoke frankly.

Du He was a little solemn: "The Prince of Jin himself is nothing, but behind him, he has the support of the Grand Princess of Tong'an. Li Ji was once the chief historian of the Prince of Jin's mansion and is very supportive of the Prince of Jin."

"If that's all, then there's no danger to His Highness. But if he joins forces with the King of Wei, I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

"All the ministers in the court must give some respect to the Grand Princess Tong'an. Li Ji also has considerable influence in the army."

"What's more, after the King of Jin was enthroned, his reputation was very good and he was known for his kindness. Now Your Majesty wants to support him, which is not a good thing for us."

Li Yuanchang was a little unhappy and said, "Du He, why are you boosting others' ambitions and destroying your own prestige?"

Zhao Jie said: "I think what Du He said makes some sense. Your Highness really should not underestimate the Prince of Jin."

At this time, Li Chengqian put down the wine glass he was holding, and everyone fell silent, knowing that the prince was about to speak.

Li Chengqian said calmly: "Whether it is the King of Wei or the King of Jin, it doesn't matter."

"They are not our target either."

"According to the current development, we just need to wait for the right time."

Several people agreed: "The prince is right."

Li Chengqian was not bragging, but he already had the ability now.

It was not too difficult for Li Chengqian to go to see His Majesty with Qingque and Zhinu's heads.

The reason why I haven't done this is that the time has not come yet.

It is not yet time to completely take over the entire Tang Dynasty.

The reason why Li Shimin was able to do this was because he had conquered most of the Tang Dynasty.

The civil and military officials under his command are more than enough to support the court and stabilize the situation in the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, the most important thing is that Li Shimin was not the crown prince at the time, but the King of Qin.

And now Li Chengqian is already the crown prince.

For him, the only further step would be a coup d'état.

The one who blocked the road was not the King of Wei or the King of Jin, but His Majesty above.

For an emperor like Li Shimin, would he be willing to abdicate and become an emperor emeritus in the event of a coup?

Don't even think about it, it's absolutely impossible.

Unless it is said that Li Chengqian killed Qingque and Zhinu, and then killed Li Shimin.

However, if that happened, rebellions would surely rise up all over the Tang Dynasty.

The most stable path for Li Chengqian was to follow the ancestral system when he had enough military power, launch the Xuanwu Gate coup, and invite Erfeng to move to the Daming Palace to become the emperor.

Just like what Erfeng once did to Li Yuan.

As for civil servants.

Ah.

Li Chengqian never cared about them. Three-legged frogs are hard to find, but two-legged civil servants are everywhere.

There may be some hard bones in it, but there is more soft bones.

Having said that, Li Chengqian is at least the legitimate eldest son.

To be honest, this is the Li family's family affair and has nothing to do with others.
-
The next morning.

Li Chengqian took Li Yuanchang and Zhao Jie to the Military Academy.

There is also the emperor’s eldest grandson Li Xiang.

The Military Academy is his base, and even if it is a bit tiring, he needs to stabilize it first.

Unlike Li Yuanchang, Zhao Jie himself is good enough. Whether in literary talent or martial arts, he is superior to the younger generation.

What he said while drinking yesterday also made him very interested in the Military Academy.

In Yangzhou, he also led troops personally.

However, when Li Chengqian arrived at the Military Academy, he was still a little late.

However, the situation on the training ground surprised Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang. Because when they arrived, what they saw was 300 students divided into five classes, standing motionless on the training ground.

"Are these the soldiers trained by the prince?" Zhao Jie felt a little dry in the mouth.

He understood military affairs better than Li Yuanchang and deeply understood what such neat military appearance meant.

It was incredible that the team was already so neat, especially when the main general had not arrived yet.

At least in his Yangzhou, this situation would not happen.

Even the veterans of the Sixteen Guards don't have such a will.

It’s mainly because of this spirit and energy, which is so intimidating.

"Otherwise, you just listen to me playing the drums later. After I finish, it will be your turn." Li Yuanchang whispered.

"Okay." Zhao Jie agreed immediately.

As Chen Yunchao pushed the Prince's four-wheeled carriage onto the platform, Li Xiang hurriedly stood beside his father.

Xue Rengui trotted forward, bowed and saluted: "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

As soon as the words fell, the three hundred people who were standing quietly in military posture at the back shouted in unison: "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

With only three hundred people, they shouted out the momentum of thousands of troops.

"Have you checked in yet?"

"Your Highness, all three hundred people are present."

Li Chengqian nodded, then stood up from the four-wheeler.

The strong man next to him understood what he meant and bowed to hand the drumstick to the prince.

Li Yuanchang whispered to Zhao Jie, "The one that the Crown Prince will beat is the assembly drum. During each drill, the Crown Prince will beat the drum first, and then the others will start."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Li Chengqian took action and struck the war drum, and the drum sound echoed in the parade ground.

The slow and heavy drum beats, every sound seemed to hit the students' hearts.

dong dong dong!dong dong dong!
In just a moment, the drum beats became more and more frequent, falling as rapidly as a rainstorm.

It seemed as if there was an unprecedented power blessing, and everyone's blood began to boil in this cold winter.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The drum beats became more and more rapid.

Suddenly, the drumbeat stopped.

Li Chengqian raised his two hammers and hit the war drum hard.

Boom!
"Wind! Wind! Strong wind!"

When the drum fell, a deafening roar sounded.

The sound echoed across the training ground.

Zhao Jie was shocked beyond words, his eyes widened, his mouth slightly opened, and for a moment he even forgot to close it.

When he was leading troops in Yangzhou, he thought he had some methods of commanding the army, but compared with the scene before him, he realized that his achievements were simply not worth mentioning.

Li Yuanchang was very satisfied when he saw Zhao Jie's expression. He was used to the training situation now and naturally would not be too surprised.

Li Chengqian waved his hand while sitting on the four-wheeled cart. Li Xiang beside him understood and said loudly: "Prince, move forward."

The eight drum-beating warriors shouted, "Yes, sir."

Then the war drums were beaten.

The students below were also marching in unison to the sound of drums.

Full of sense of ritual, it seems to have an inexplicable power.

Others may be unfamiliar with this, but Li Chengqian is very clear about it. This is the power of the queue.

In fact, Li Chengqian was not only tidying up the queue, but also organizing the housework simultaneously.

However, he did not go in person. Instead, he asked his eldest grandson Li Xiang to inspect the palace several times. The main internal affairs were handled by Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian.

If the prince goes to investigate personally, the impact will be greater.

Li Chengqian's drill training had a great influence in the Military Academy. After all, other great generals such as Yuchi Jingde, Li Daozon, Li Ji, and Li Jing also came to watch.

I want to see how the prince trains his troops.

After watching it, there were mixed reviews.

Li Jing naturally saw something, but he kept it to himself and didn't say anything.

As for people like Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, and Cheng Yaojin, it seems that they are not very useful.

To them, it felt more like they were training as a guard of honor.

After all, the Prince's Eastern Palace and His Majesty's guard of honor are roughly this neat, but to be honest, most people think they are just for show.

They didn't even practice using weapons, they just practiced walking. If this were put into a battlefield, would they be able to defeat the enemy?

Such rumors naturally reached Li Chengqian's ears, but he just smiled.

Although I had never been a soldier in my previous life, I had received military training and had been exposed to military training.

Anyone who has ever stood in a queue will know that queue training can give people strength.

Standing at attention and marching in step are first and foremost about cultivating the soldiers' spirit.

Change to uniform clothing and pass strict queue movement requirements, such as keeping chest out, head up, abdomen in, standing straight, etc.

Help soldiers develop good body posture and show a mighty and upright image.

This is unique in the Tang Dynasty.

Such a unique temperament can also enhance the self-confidence of the army.

The next step is to strengthen the sense of discipline. The drill training requires soldiers to strictly abide by various action standards and instructions, and be familiar with the drum beats and execute them accurately.

This helps to cultivate soldiers' respect for discipline, allowing them to consciously abide by discipline and carry out orders under any circumstances.

In addition, there are many benefits such as enhancing teamwork, cultivating a sense of obedience, improving action efficiency, and enhancing endurance.

The most important thing is that after long-term queue training, all the students will form a group.

The leader of this group is the prince himself.

To a certain extent, Li Chengqian's new training method had won the hearts of three hundred students in just half a month.

This is due to the effect of the prince's halo, as well as the brainwashing effect of Li Chengqian's earlier lectures.

Unlike the gold medal lecturers in his previous life, the students naturally trusted Li Chengqian. They firmly believed in what he said from the beginning, which was why he was able to achieve such good results in a short period of time.

The news of the prince's military training finally reached the ears of Li Shimin in Taiji Palace.

After listening to this, Li Shimin's opinion was similar to that of most generals.

It is believed that the prince is conducting training in the same way as training a guard of honor.

Of course Li Shimin was clear about the combat effectiveness of his own guard of honor.

So I didn’t care too much about it.

After all, it's just hearing people say it, so it won't make much of a difference.

Li Shimin had strong military capabilities, but his strength lay in strategic command and leading troops in battle.

In terms of military training, from the very beginning, the troops led by Li Shimin were elite.

The situation of training the government soldiers has never happened before.

"Isn't there going to be a big lecture in a few days? Go and inform them. Then I will go and see it myself."

"Also, the Crown Prince has achieved great results in training his troops. Tell him to prepare well and don't let me down."

Except for the day when classes started, Li Shimin never went to the Military Academy.

After all, most of the officers in the Military Academy are illiterate brigade commanders and low-level officers who are still in the literacy stage, so there is no need to pay too much attention to them.

Perhaps when he sees it with his own eyes, he will have different feelings than he does now.

(End of this chapter)