My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 113 The Crown Prince Rebelled against the King of Wei to Seize the Heir
The trajectory of history has not affected people far beyond the present-day city of Chang'an.

Zhenzhu Khan of Xueyantuo prepared a wedding procession of 100,000 livestock, but encountered a severe snowstorm.

The news soon reached Chang'an.

The envoy of Xueyantuo also rushed to Chang'an, hoping to ask Li Shimin for forgiveness.

Li Shimin refused the marriage proposal with Xueyantuo on the grounds that Xueyantuo's betrothal gift was insufficient and their sincerity was not enough.

East Palace.

Li Chengqian, who had just returned from the Military Academy, heard the news.

Next came the visit of Princess Gaoyang.

"Brother, you are amazing. Did you know that something like this would happen?"

"During the morning court session, I heard that the Xueyantuo envoy begged hard, but my father firmly disagreed."

"That's good. Xinxing finally doesn't have to marry into the Xueyantuo family."

Gao Yang's eyes turned into crescents from smiling.

Although princesses who married into the Tang Dynasty generally enjoyed a high political status outside.

For example, Princess Wencheng, a member of the royal family, had a palace built for her on the top of a mountain by Songtsen Gampo of Tubo.

However, this only applies to the princesses who are not satisfied with their lives.

Being just a concubine's daughter, it was of course her greatest wish for her to have such a development.

But Princess Xinxing was different. She was the emperor's biological daughter. Even if she married poorly, she could not be compared with those small countries outside the Tang Dynasty.

The small country is barbaric and rude. It can't even find someone to exchange poetry with. Moreover, it is located in a barren area. It is nowhere as good as Chang'an.

In the era of aristocratic families, people valued matching between family backgrounds, and even the royal family was no exception.

Could it be that the wealth and splendor of Chang'an and the gentleness and elegance of the young masters of Chang'an are better than those barbarians in the wild?

With the emperor as her backer and the protection of the royal family, the princess' life in Chang'an could not be more wonderful.

"Actually, this is not my credit. Father had already made preparations."

"Otherwise, Zhenzhu Khan wouldn't have sent tens of thousands of livestock as a betrothal gift in this cold winter."

Li Chengqian said with a smile.

The first month of the new year here is when Princess Gaoyang and Fang Yiai get married.

Now that Princess Gaoyang is one of us, there is no need to hide these things.

Gao Yang thought differently: "Brother, you are too modest. If you hadn't told the emperor about this, even if Zhenzhu Khan lost part of the betrothal gifts, the emperor would have asked him to make up for it and then marry Xinxing to him."

"I heard from the court that the betrothal gift this time includes 40,000 fine horses."

"Xinxing is not favored by the emperor, so I'm afraid he would be willing to give me these 40,000 horses."

"After all, it's because of you, my brother, that Father refused."

Gao Yang was no naive person, so he naturally knew what 40,000 horses meant.

The envoy from Xueyantuo requested that they be given some more time to mobilize the horses from Xueyantuo.

He was also willing to give an additional ten thousand horses as a betrothal gift as an apology.

All the officials in the court were excited about the prospect of having 50,000 fine horses. This would greatly enhance the strength of the Tang army and at least increase the number of Tang cavalry by 15,000.

However, Li Shimin still insisted on refusing.

"Forget it, whatever you want."

"Anyway, I've told you everything."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to argue with Gao Yang about this.

Gao Yang pulled Li Chengqian's sleeve and said coquettishly: "Brother, as the saying goes, be a good person to the end, and you have already helped Xinxing so much."

"Can you please help her a little more, brother?"

Only then did Li Chengqian realize that the jiazi sound had already existed in the Tang Dynasty.

He slapped away Gao Yang's hand that was pulling at his sleeve and said helplessly, "If you have anything else to say, just tell me."

Gao Yang said with a smile: "I knew that my elder brother treats me the best."

"Isn't Xinxing already old enough to get married? I heard from the news that my father wants to marry Xinxing off as soon as possible, so that Xueyantuo's Zhenzhu Khan won't still be thinking about her."

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said, "So, Xinxing already has someone in mind."

"No wonder you were so anxious when the emperor said that Xinxing should go to marry the emperor. You even ran to Taiji Palace to stop my carriage."

"Tell me, which young man stole the heart of our fifteenth sister?"

Hearing this, Gao Yang knew that his elder brother had basically agreed.

"It's the young master of the Changsun family, Changsun Xi."

"During the spring outing last year, the two of them fell in love with each other, and they kept exchanging letters. Xinxing had already fallen in love with her."

Li Chengqian smiled when he heard this and said, "They kept exchanging letters. I'm afraid you, Gao Yang, are the one who delivered the letters."

Gao Yang's eyes were so bright that they turned into crescents. He said, "I can't hide anything from you, big brother."

Li Chengqian pretended to hesitate: "But this eldest grandson Xi is still far from being suitable for the fifteenth sister."

Although Changsun Xi was from the Changsun family, he was only the nephew of Changsun Shunde, Duke of Xue.

My father, Changsun Jingdao, was only the captain of the Left Guard.

He is a cousin of Empress Changsun and Zhangsun Wuji.

He is considered a illegitimate branch of the Changsun family.

Under normal circumstances, the emperor's daughter rarely marries a illegitimate son of an aristocratic family, and at least marries the second son of a legitimate family.

"That's why I need your help again, ok, bro."

Gao Yang started to pull Li Chengqian's arm and act coquettishly again.

Li Chengqian said helplessly: "Okay, okay, let me go first, I'm almost dizzy from your shaking."

"Hehe, big brother has agreed."

"Yes, I will tell my father about this when I see him."

Gao Yang walked directly behind the prince's carriage and said, "There is no time to lose. It will only take a moment. To avoid any more trouble, you should go now, big brother."

"If it's too late, maybe Father will have already found a candidate, and that would be troublesome."

After saying that, Gao Yang prepared to push the prince's four-wheeled cart to Taiji Palace.

However, they had used all their strength, but after pushing the cart a few meters, they were already out of breath and exhausted.

This one is made entirely of solid wood. Apart from having four more wheels, it is similar to the solid wood sofas of later generations and weighs several hundred pounds.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"My elder brother bullied me"

"How did I bully you? Didn't you push me?"

"I saw him pushing it easily, who would have thought it was so heavy."

Li Chengqian said: "Okay, I promise you."

Only then did Chen Yunchao step forward and push the cart.

Gao Yang looked at Chen Yunchao's hands pushing the four-wheeled cart, and only then did he realize that Chen Yunchao was very strong.

For a moment, there were a few blushes on her face.

But because I used a lot of strength just now, it's not very obvious.
-
Xingningfang, the Grand Princess’s residence.

After Li Zhi returned from the Prince of Wei's Mansion in Yankangfang yesterday, it was already late, so he naturally stayed here.

It gets dark early in winter, and Princess Tongan is old, so she went to bed early, and stayed there until this morning.

Li Zhi then reported to his aunt about his meeting with the Crown Prince and King Wei yesterday.

For Li Zhi now, his aunt and Li Ji are his greatest supports in Chang'an City.

"It seems that Qingque's intention to seize the throne has been exposed. He has no scruples at all in trying to win you over."

"Your Majesty knows that this is the source of cholera, but you still do as you please. You are really out of your mind."

"It is the prince who has impressed me." "With just one simple move, he has frightened you, and then he killed two birds with one stone by using the coal issue. This method is really terrifying."

Princess Tongan's tone was somewhat sighing.

He didn't have much contact with Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and most of the news he heard were some previous rumors.

The impression of the prince is that he is absurd, extravagant, and has corrupt personal qualities.

The Crown Prince has only recently shown outstanding martial arts skills, but has always been suppressed by the King of Wei in terms of momentum.

It was not until today, after hearing what Zhinu said, that I realized how cunning the prince is.

Li Zhi asked in confusion: "Aunt, my brother is mining coal, which is a good thing for the benefit of the people. How can you kill two birds with one stone?"

Princess Tong'an said with a smile: "This stone is coal, and you, Zhinu and Qingque, are those two birds. It's quite descriptive."

"The words the prince said to you earlier were to let you know his power in Chang'an and to make you afraid of him."

"It is true that mining coal will benefit the people, but if the prince really wants to go to Jinzhou to do this, even though you are the King of Jin, can you still stop him?"

"Why didn't you start mining earlier or later? Why did you wait until you went to see him before telling him this?"

"So the mining is just a cover-up. What the prince wants to do is to use the mining to create a rift between you and the King of Wei so that you lose trust."

"In this case, you and the King of Wei cannot truly unite to fight against him. The Crown Prince's strategy of forming alliances is truly a masterpiece that he has inherited from his grandfather."

Although Li Zhi was precocious, he was only fourteen or fifteen years old after all. He had little experience and had not yet fully grown up. How could he have seen such calculations?

His first impression yesterday was that the King of Wei was hypocritical and was dragging him into dealing with the Crown Prince.

The prince made him feel very strong and powerful, but he also felt that the prince was a good person and involved him in things that benefited the people. He even felt a sense of closeness to him.

It was not until today that I heard my aunt's analysis that I realized the prince's calculations were so profound. It was truly horrifying.

"Auntie, how should I deal with this?"

Li Zhi was a little panicked and had no idea what to do.

Princess Tong'an pondered and said, "The King of Wei cannot possibly defeat the Crown Prince. Even if you sincerely cooperate with the King of Wei, you can't really deal with him."

"With such cunning, you are no longer able to deal with him."

Having said this, Princess Tongan paused slightly.

She knew that the person who was really playing chess with the prince was His Majesty.

But there is no need to tell this to Zhinu.

"This is a good thing. You didn't really plan to join forces with Qingque."

"From now on, if the King of Wei calls you, you will go, but you cannot participate."

"As for the prince's coal mining, we must do our best to cooperate. After all, it is a good thing for the country and the people."

"Besides that, just be more careful about your words and actions."

"The King of Wei has many noble families to support him, and he has no shortage of counselors and aides. He only needs your name, and he won't really ask you to conspire with him on important matters."

Li Zhi felt relieved and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Auntie, for explaining the mystery and pointing me out. Otherwise, I would still be kept in the dark."

"Now, thanks to my aunt, I can see the bright moon and know what to do from now on."

Li Zhi was really grateful that his teacher Li Ji asked him to seek help from his aunt.

Otherwise you won't even realize you've become a pawn.

However, Li Zhi also understood one thing from his aunt's words.

That means the King of Wei cannot defeat the Crown Prince.
-
Can the King of Wei really not defeat the Crown Prince? Fang Xuanling doesn’t think so.

Wubenfang, at the gate of Fang Mansion.

A fast horse came galloping and the man dismounted.

The guard stepped forward and called out "Butler Zhang", asking him to help lead the horse.

Butler Zhang asked, "Is the master here?"

"exist."

Butler Zhang entered the mansion and soon met the head of the family and the eldest son in the main hall.

"Greetings to the head of the family, the eldest son."

In the Tang Dynasty, not everyone could be called a "gongzi". Only the sons of dukes and marquises could be called a "gongzi".

In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling was canonized as Duke of Liang, and Fang Yizheng could then be called a prince.

Fang Xuanling said: "Aqi is back. It must have been a hard journey."

Butler Zhang bowed and said, "It's not hard to serve the master like a dog or a horse."

After saying that, he took out a letter from his bag and handed it to the owner.

"This is a letter written by Quan Changshi to the head of the family."

Fang Yizhi, who was standing next to him, stepped forward to take it, and then handed it to his father.

Fang Xuanling nodded, opened the envelope and began to look through it.

As early as before, after the crown prince revealed that it was not he who was plotting a rebellion, but the rebellion of the King of Qi, Fang Xuanling felt that there was something fishy going on.

So he used personal connections to ask Sun Fujia for details of Yin Hongzhi's rebellion.

Upon learning that Yin Hongzhi and Hegan Chengji had been in contact for a long time, he became more certain of his guess.

Hegan Chengji was the crown prince's trusted guard. Did Yin Hongzhi tell the crown prince about his conspiracy to rebel?
If he had said so, it was that the Crown Prince had been using Yin Hongzhi and the King of Qi, and even plotted against them as a cover for his own rebellion.

Even if he hadn't said it, the prince must have known it a long time ago, so he took advantage of the situation.

If the Crown Prince really had no intention of rebelling, then why didn't he report this to Your Majesty as soon as he knew that the King of Qi was planning a rebellion?

Fang Xuanling concluded that there must be something fishy going on here, and it was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

In order to confirm my guess and to better understand the whole story.

More than half a month ago, he asked Zhang Aqi, the housekeeper of the palace, to go to Qizhou to meet Quan Wanji, the chief historian of the Prince of Qi's palace.

Fang Xuanling and Quan Wanji seem to have little contact, but few people know it.

When Fang Xuanling was 18 years old, he was admitted as a Jinshi in his province. He was familiar with Quan Wanji's father, Quan Zhuojie, the governor of Kuangzhou in the Sui Dynasty.

Later, when he was recruiting talents for the Qin Wang's court, he tried to win over Quan Zhuojie, but Quan Zhuojie was cautious and honest and did not dare to participate, but this did not hurt their relationship.

After that, Quan Wanji served His Majesty, and Fang Xuanling also secretly contributed his efforts.

"Father, what did Chief Secretary Quan say?" Fang Yizhi, who was standing next to him, saw his father frowning slightly and couldn't help but ask.

Fang Xuanling did not answer immediately, but dismissed his attendants first, then said: "Yin Hongzhi did try to win over the Chief Secretary Quan, but the Chief Secretary Quan did not know about his rebellion."

Fang Yizhi heard this and said, "In that case, the prince may not be involved in this."

Fang Xuanling shook his head slightly: "Since the Crown Prince is involved in the conspiracy, he will naturally not show up in person. I asked Ah Qi to talk to Chief Secretary Quan and ask him to find the correspondence between the King of Qi and Hegan Chengji."

"The Prince of Qi came back to Chang'an in a hurry, and those letters should still be hidden in the Prince of Qi's mansion."

"After some time, when the treason case is settled, His Majesty will probably summon Chief Secretary Quan back to Chang'an and bring him here at that time."

Fang Yizhi thought for a while and asked, "Father, have you really decided to help the King of Wei?"

When Fang Xuanling heard this, there was some hesitation on his face.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "I have to find some way for you to protect yourselves. Although it was originally instructed by His Majesty, now that the Crown Prince has the temperament, it may be impossible for him to escape unscathed."

"As long as we can find evidence of the Crown Prince's rebellion, we can attack or defend."

Fang Xuanling was very clear that given the current situation in Chang'an, the possibility that the Prince of Wei could seize the throne was not even half possible.

But there is only one thing that can help the King of Wei turn defeat into victory, and that is the crown prince's rebellion.

As long as there is evidence that the crown prince is plotting a rebellion, even if the crown prince is legitimate and His Majesty loves him, the crown prince's position will have to be abolished.

Only in this way can the King of Wei truly succeed in his bid for the throne.

But even now, Fang Xuanling has already started to plan, look for evidence, and even forge evidence.

But in his heart, he still hadn't really made up his mind.

Even the King of Wei is unaware of the current arrangements, as they are all being carried out in secret.

The matter was accomplished in secrecy. It was the King of Wei who ruined the matter on the Helan Chushi side.

Even if he really decided to help the King of Wei overthrow the Crown Prince, Fang Xuanling did not intend to tell the King of Wei too many details.

(End of this chapter)