My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 119 Was there a precedent of a crown prince ascending the throne in the Sui and Tang dynasties?

Fang Xuanling is a ruthless person.

The so-called "Fang's plans are very detailed" means that Fang Xuanling does things meticulously, without revealing anything, and his plans are extremely in-depth.

When Li Shimin was 19 years old, Fang Xuanling joined him and it has been 25 years since then.

It can be said that Fang Xuanling is undoubtedly the person who is most familiar with Li Shimin.

He knew very well what extent he had to go to in order to convince His Majesty to depose the Crown Prince.

When he presents all the evidence, the prince's rebellion will be a foregone conclusion.

The next day, East Palace.

"a, o, e, y, w, u."

"One, two, three and four tones are divided into level and oblique tones. One and two are level tones, and three and four are oblique tones."

"Just read according to the initials and finals, and that's basically it."

"It's a little different from the current pronunciation, but you'll get used to it."

Li Chengqian is teaching the pronunciation and writing of simplified Chinese characters.

The people listening to the lecture below were Su Dingfang, Pei Xingjian, Xue Rengui, Li Xiang, and Di Renjie.

It's difficult for Su Dingfang. He is already in his forties, and he still has to learn to spell simplified Chinese characters like a beginner.

The official language of the Tang Dynasty today is the Luoyang reading pronunciation. The Luoyang reading pronunciation is not the dialect of Luoyang in later generations, but a language passed down from the Zhou royal family in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The rhyme book "Qieyun" compiled after the Sui Dynasty unified the country was compiled based on the Jinling Yayan and Luoyang Yayan, and formed the official language of the Sui Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty inherited the system of the Sui Dynasty and also used the official language of the Sui Dynasty, called Luoyang Hanyin, which was a new official language formed after the exchange of the Central Plains elegant language with various ethnic groups.

Luoyang reading pronunciation generally has four tones: Ping, Shang, Qu and Ru, and the specific pitch value of each tone is different from that of Mandarin.

Mandarin has four tones, namely yinping, yangping, shangsheng and qusheng.

To put it simply, Luoyang Hanyu is more detailed, has more finals and initial consonants, and Mandarin is much simpler.

"The colloquial words and colloquialisms created by Your Highness are indeed profound and extensive. For beginners, they can quickly get started and are easier to learn."

"Especially in the area of ​​colloquial characters, which are derived from official characters, they simplify the complex. Even if you have never learned official characters, you can understand official documents if you learn colloquial characters."

"If this method is popularized, it will greatly reduce the time for students. It may only take two or three months to use it simply."

Su Dingfang immediately affirmed.

Being in his position, he has to think more than others.

Whether it is a colloquial word or a colloquialism, the prince must not have come up with it in just two days. He must have been preparing for a long time.

It is obvious that the colloquial words and expressions taught by the prince have become a complete system.

In Su Dingfang's opinion, even with the prince's intelligence, it would take at least several years to create this complete system.

The prince started preparing several years ago.

This set of colloquial words and idioms that don't look very fancy is prepared for ordinary people, that is, people who cannot read or write.

There was definitely no idea of ​​a military academy at that time, so the purpose of the prince preparing this system, which is completely different from the current one, is very obvious.

This is to implement new policies and carry out reforms to bring about prosperity.

"You will get familiar with this new set of colloquial characters in the next two days. You will be responsible for the subsequent literacy classes."

Li Chengqian issued the task, which was not difficult for the current group of people.

After all, he is a famous genius in history, outstanding in both civil and military affairs.

In later times, his starting point would be the top scorer in the provincial examination.

I have said a lot of simplified Chinese characters in the past few days, so I estimate it will only take one or two days to learn them.

"Your Highness, can I do this?"

Di Renjie said with some concern.

He was pulled here suddenly and hadn't figured out the situation yet, and no one explained anything to him.

Now I suddenly have to teach others, feeling a little dazed.

"trust yourself."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Although you are young, I heard from your father that you are quite capable."

"Although the students in the Military Academy are much older than you, they are only your enlightenment students."

"Don't worry too much. You'll be familiar with it after a few days of classes."

Since the prince said so, Di Renjie could only bow his head and agree.

Li Chengqian was still very optimistic about Di Renjie. Although he was young, he was already semi-mature and did not need any training.

Many of those who have left their mark in history were those who developed early intelligence.

It’s just that I don’t have much experience and my knowledge is not that rich.

Now, craftsmen have been arranged to print the simplified Chinese version of the Thousand Character Classic enlightenment book.

After the woodblocks were carved, hundreds of copies could be printed in a day.

For craftsmen, carving simplified Chinese characters is much more comfortable than traditional Chinese characters, and it is less likely to make mistakes.
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Taiji Palace, harem.

The Yaoguang Hall is exquisite with its carved beams and painted buildings.

This is Concubine Yang's residence. The palace is filled with a faint fragrance, lingering in every corner.

Concubine Yang sat upright on the main seat. Her skin was as white as cream, her eyebrows were as dark as distant black, her eyes were as clear as autumn water, and she was radiant when she looked around.

Her black hair was tied into an exquisite bun, dotted with pearls and jade, which made her temperament more elegant.

Even though she is already in her thirties, she doesn't look old at all, and looks like a young girl in her twenties.

But there is always a hint of sadness between his brows.

"Mother." King Wu Li Ke and King Shu Li Yin bowed and saluted.

After being crowned a king, the prince can no longer live in the palace and will basically move out when he is seven or eight years old.

The only time we want to meet again is on special holidays or when there is something important.

The princes of the Tang Dynasty left Chang'an to establish their fiefdoms when they were about twelve years old.

"I haven't seen you for a year. You've lost some weight."

Concubine Yang frowned slightly, her eyes full of pity: "Come closer, let me take a good look."

Although she said that, Concubine Yang's gaze was mostly on Prince Wu Li Ke.

She doted on her eldest son more because he was her pride, while her second son Li Yin was much inferior.

Perhaps it was this situation that led to Li Yin's eccentric personality.

But by now, I'm used to it.

After some warm greetings.

Wu Wang Li Ke asked, "I heard that this Lantern Festival poetry gathering was hosted by my mother."

Concubine Yang nodded and said, "You all know about the King of Qi's affairs. Concubine Yin has been implicated by this, so it is naturally unsuitable for her to preside over the affairs anymore."

Li Ke asked again: "I heard that mother decided to hold the poetry meeting at the Prince of Wei's Furong Garden and invited the Crown Prince to attend."

“I don’t know if this is true.”

Concubine Yang replied, "Yes, it is true."

Li Ke frowned and said, "Why did mother do this? Is she trying to get us involved in the fight between the crown prince and the King of Wei?"

"We are just bastards. If we get involved, we will likely face catastrophic disasters."

"Even like the King of Qi, it even implicated my mother."

Hearing this, Li Yan beside him showed an expression of anticipation. He really wanted to join in, but he just didn't have the opportunity before.

Concubine Yang replied calmly: "Some things cannot be avoided just because you want to."

Li Ke said: "Mother has been avoiding me for so many years, why has she become confused now?"

These words were a bit hurtful, but Li Ke had no choice.

Concubine Yang looked slightly angry: "Do you think I want to get involved?"

"It's all for you and your brother."

The latter sentence was obviously a sign of care for Li Yin.

Li Ke paused for a moment and said, "Please tell me clearly, mother."

Concubine Yang sighed deeply: "I still have some ears and eyes in the palace, and I can hear a lot of news."

"The fight between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei has reached a point of tit-for-tat. Not only did Your Majesty not try to appease them, but he kept the King of Jin in Chang'an in an attempt to stabilize the situation."

"I have a feeling that Chang'an may appear to be relatively stable on the surface, but in reality, it is even more dangerous with undercurrents."

When the Sui Dynasty fell, there were still many palace maids and eunuchs left in the palace.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, many of these palace maids and eunuchs retained their original positions.

After all, they have been doing this for many years and are very familiar with court etiquette.

As a princess of the previous dynasty, she grew up in the palace since childhood, so it was normal for her to have some once loyal palace maids and officials as her spies.

Li Ke asked in confusion: "But what does this have to do with us? It's a fight between their legitimate sons."

Concubine Yang sighed and said, "Is it really only the legitimate son who will be implicated? Your grandfather didn't do this back then."

"When the nest is overturned, no egg is left unbroken. The fight for the throne is not just what you see."

"Those invisible battles are the most dangerous and the most deadly."

“Sometimes, you can’t avoid it just because you want to.”

"In this case, entering the game earlier can actually help you secure a better position in the future."

When it comes to palace coups and struggles for the throne, Concubine Yang has a lot of experience.

Her father, Emperor Yang Guang of Sui, was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian. He framed Crown Prince Yang Yong and had him demoted to a commoner.

After ascending the throne, he forged an imperial edict from Emperor Wen of Sui and ordered the death of Yang Yong.

After marrying Li Shimin, she once again experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident launched by her husband, killing her brother and sister, and then returned to the palace.

Now, it is the third battle for the throne.

Looking at all the dynasties in history, there are only a handful of people who are more experienced than Concubine Yang in the fight for the throne.

"So mother chose the King of Wei."

At this time, Li Yin interrupted and asked.

Because in his opinion, whether it was his grandfather or his current father, it was the second son who defeated the eldest son and succeeded in winning the throne.

According to convention, this time we should support King Wei.

After all, there was no precedent of the eldest son succeeding to the throne in the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Now the mother has scheduled the poetry meeting at the Prince of Wei's Furong Garden and has deliberately summoned the Crown Prince there, isn't it just to provoke the Crown Prince?

When Concubine Yang heard what her second son said, she couldn't help but hold her forehead and felt a headache.

Li Ke glanced at his brother Li Yin and said in a deep voice, "Mother chose the crown prince."

Li Yin was stunned, and subconsciously looked at his mother and asked, "Ah, choose the prince? Why?"

"idiot."

Even though Concubine Yang was well-educated, she couldn't help but curse.

Li Yin felt a little aggrieved.

Shouldn't we support the King of Wei? Why does my mother want to break the tradition of the two dynasties?
Li Ke explained: "Mother decided to hold a Lantern Festival poetry gathering in Furong Garden and invited the prince to attack the prestige of the King of Wei among the scholars."

"It is also to bring fame to the prince."

Li Yin was puzzled and asked, "The King of Wei is good at literature, and the Crown Prince is good at martial arts. This is a Lantern Festival poetry gathering, how can it help the Crown Prince become famous?"

"Even if I write a good poem, the King of Wei has more scholars following him. No matter how much money I spend, I may not be able to surpass the King of Wei."

Li Ke shook his head slightly: "Poetry, Xiao Daoer."

"The aristocratic families are supporters of the King of Wei, but the prince has won the hearts of the poor by making bamboo paper and lowering the price of books."

"It doesn't have to be in the poetry contest. As long as the crown prince appears in Hibiscus Garden, it will be a great suppression of the King of Wei."

The prince's reputation in Chang'an City seemed to be worse than that of the King of Wei, but Li Ke knew that when the prince announced the bamboo paper craft, he had become the benefactor of many poor scholars.

Although bamboo paper has not yet appeared on a large scale in Chang'an City and completely replaced the previous paper.

But the price of books has been falling continuously, and has dropped by nearly half so far.

When bamboo paper is produced on a large scale, the price of paper will be shockingly low.

Nowadays, most bookstores want to quickly clear out the books and papers in the store to reduce losses.

Just based on this point, when the prince appears, he will definitely attract a lot of applause.

Concubine Yang said: "Not only that, the reason why I want to invite the prince to participate in the poetry meeting also has a lot to do with the prince himself."

"Not many people know this news yet, and the prince has no intention of showing off."

"During the winter hunt not long ago, the prince wrote a poem to suppress the King of Wei."

"The prince's attainments in poetry are also not low, and he is likely to surpass the king of Wei."

Li Shimin did not publicize this news. The King of Wei was already suppressed, and then news of the Crown Prince's talent in poetry and lyrics spread. This meant that the Crown Prince had completely crushed the King of Wei in both civil and military affairs.

The reason why Concubine Yang knew this news was naturally because she had spies in Taiji Palace.

"The prince can also write poetry?"

Li Yin was a little surprised.

Li Ke thought it was normal.

"The Crown Prince is already an outstanding writer, and the Thirteen Regents have won praise from the court officials. Do you think he doesn't even understand poetry?"

"Not writing doesn't mean I won't, it just means I don't need to."

"Besides, the prince's martial arts have never been demonstrated before. Perhaps the prince just doesn't bother to show them off."

After hearing this, Li Yin thought about it carefully and reacted.

Then I thought about what happened at the banquet.

"The prince has planted people in our mansion."

"When Prince Ji was enfeoffed, he was only eight years old, and the Crown Prince was only thirteen years old, right? So they planted spies there?"

"And the King of Yue, he knows everything about his situation in the palace. I went to ask the King of Yue yesterday, and he said that it was true. Even my father didn't know these inside stories, but the Crown Prince knew them."

"The Crown Prince is far away in Chang'an. Our vassal states are so far apart from each other, but he controls them all. What does the Crown Prince want to do?"

Li Yin did not tell anyone about his own affairs, because his absurd deeds were well-known and his father even wrote a letter to scold him.

However, when these words came out, Li Ke and Li Yin reacted immediately.

That's why they couldn't avoid talking about the fight for the throne that their mother talked about.

"It's still my mother who has foresight."

Li Ke said admiringly.

The purpose of the Crown Prince's surveillance of the other princes is now very clear.

(End of this chapter)