My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 122 Li Shimin's Support for the Crown Prince

The news that the prince created a set of simplified characters spread quickly, causing a strong response in the literary circle.

In fact, every move of the prince is watched by many people.

After all, the crown prince is now in his twenties and has served as regent many times.

According to normal logic, even if the Prince of Wei was fighting for the throne, the possibility of the Crown Prince ascending the throne was believed to be 80 to 90 percent within the court and the public.

Without special circumstances, it is basically impossible to depose the crown prince.

Then the prince's promotion of simplified Chinese characters has far-reaching significance.

Did he intend to abolish the Luoyang Hanyu system and fully promote simplified Chinese characters after ascending the throne?

What about those scholars who have learned Luoyang Hanyu since childhood?

This frightened many scholars, because even though they themselves often wrote some vulgar characters, Luoyang Hanyin was an official character.

The prince is going to create a new era, what should these people from the old era do?

Becoming a remnant of the old era, is there no ship in the new era to carry me?
After listening to Zhang Ananda's story, Li Shimin frowned slightly.

"Ananda, what do you think?"

Zhang Ananda thought for a moment and said, "The prince probably thinks that the students at the Military Academy learn too slowly, so he wants to promote colloquial words and expressions in the Academy."

"I have also read the Thousand Character Classic written in vernacular Chinese. It is indeed much simpler than the official text, and the strokes are not that complicated."

"Perhaps within a month, the students will be able to recite the Thousand Character Classic from memory."

Zhang Ananda was a eunuch. Although he was well educated, he did not belong to the circle of scholars.

Looking beyond the circle, the use of colloquial characters is actually a good thing, as it reduces the difficulty for beginners.

Li Shimin said: "It is said in the memorial above that the Crown Prince has been planning this for a long time and has formed his own system. He even designed a set of pronunciations, which is called Pinyin."

"It is said that we want to dig up the roots of scholars."

Zhang Anan said: "I think the prince wants to dig up the roots of the family."

Li Shimin burst into laughter immediately.

"I feel the same way. The prince is indeed ruthless. He wants to completely overthrow the foundation of the family."

"Please take all these memorials away. I am too lazy to read them."

"Inform the Censorate that the popular characters are only prepared for the students of the Military Academy and are not intended to be promoted for the time being. Don't make such a fuss."

"They keep an eye on the prince's actions all day. Don't they have anything else to do?"

As long as it can strike a blow to the aristocratic families, it is politically correct for Li Shimin.

Moreover, the promotion of vernacular characters has indeed lowered the threshold for reading. With more people reading, the power of the aristocratic families has been dispersed.

When Li Shimin's edict reached the Censorate, it immediately caused an uproar.

But they had no other choice.

This scene is just like when the Sui Dynasty established Luoyang Hanyin as the official language.

There were also many voices of opposition at the time.

But as long as the emperor insisted, his subjects could only watch helplessly.

Censorate.

"I'm afraid this matter still requires Duke Wei to step in. Your Majesty is most willing to listen to Duke Wei's advice."

"By the way, I don't think I've seen Duke Wei in the past few days."

"Mr. Wei is currently in the Zhanshi Mansion in the East Palace."

"Zhanshi Mansion? Why is Lord Wei going to the East Palace?"

"It is said that he went with Mr. Zhang to compile Tian Kai Gong Wu."

"Why did Duke Wei get involved with the Eastern Palace?"

The censors looked at each other in bewilderment.

Someone said: "Don't forget, Duke Wei is the Prince's Junior Tutor."

"Perhaps it was Duke Wei who brought up the word vulgar."

"Then go find Mr. Chu?"

All of a sudden, I was at a loss.

Li Chengqian also heard the news, and Zhang Ananda asked the eunuch to pass on the message.

Upon hearing that there was strong opposition from the Censorate, Li Chengqian just smiled and ignored it.

Erfeng was hoping that he would quarrel with the civil servants.

Promoting vulgar characters can suppress aristocratic families, strengthen education, and suppress the influence of himself as the prince.

Erfeng would of course support it.

However, education is not something that can be achieved overnight.

It takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person. This is a gradual process.

"The Sitiantai has calculated a good day in the near future."

"Gao Yang's marriage is over, so it's time for Cui Fengzhu to get married too."

The matter between Wu Ziqing and Cui Fengzhu has been dragging on for a long time.

The original plan was to get married before the New Year, but because of Cui Guangrui's surrender, Li Chengqian changed his mind.

On New Year's Day, all officials returned to Chang'an to report on their work, which had an even greater impact.

Getting married at this time would be a comprehensive enough blow to the Cui family of Qinghe.

Li Chengqian was still wondering whether Qinghe Cui would attempt an assassination.

As a result, there has been no response until now.

"I received a letter from the Astronomical Bureau yesterday, saying that the seventh day is a good day."

The eunuch Wen Zhong replied that he couldn't handle the big things, but he needed to put in enough effort to deal with the small details.

The prince remembered their old friendship, but he couldn't be too useless.

The Sitiantai of the Tang Dynasty was the Qintianjian of later generations, which was in charge of astronomy, calendar, divination, and fortune-telling.

"Have Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng returned to Chang'an?"

Hearing Si Tiantai, Li Chengqian asked casually.

Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng are not only famous in later generations, but also very famous in the current Tang Dynasty.

The earliest time was in the first year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty. Yuan Tiangang read the fortunes of Du Yan, Wang Gui and Wei Ting in Luoyang, and all his predictions came true. After that, his fortune-telling skills were gradually recognized by the world.

"Your Highness, they are still in the southwest testing the king's energy and have not yet returned to Chang'an."

In June last year, Venus appeared repeatedly during the day, and there were prophecies in the palace, forbidden gardens, and streets and alleys that the Tang Dynasty would change its ruler in three generations. Some ministers also secretly reported that when they observed the sky at night, they discovered that royal aura appeared in the southwest region.

Li Shimin quickly summoned Yuan Tiangang, the Huoshan Commander, and Li Chunfeng, the Grand Historian Commander, to discuss countermeasures.

Yuan Tiangang volunteered to go to the southwest to measure the royal energy in order to destroy the terrain, release the royal energy, and ensure the safety of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian's predecessor also sent Du He to Langya to find Yan Liren to decipher the secret.

This is why Du He came back and said that when the celestial phenomena changed, great things would be accomplished.

The prophecy states that the Tang Dynasty will have a new ruler in three generations. From today's perspective, the third generation will naturally fall on the crown prince Li Chengqian.

It also became a statement used by the Wei Wang party to attack the prince.

In fact, from Li Chengqian's perspective, this prophecy is quite accurate.

In history, after Li Zhi's death, it was Wu Zetian who changed the dynasty and the Tang Dynasty became the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

As for the current matter of Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng, they are excavating mountains and chiseling rocks in Zhangjiaya, Langzhong, and cutting off the dragon's neck.

There is no specific explanation.

It can be said that he was useful. After all, the Tang Dynasty had changed rulers for three generations.

If you want to say that he is useless, then after the Shenlong coup, Li Xian became emperor again, restored the Tang Dynasty, and continued the Tang Dynasty. It can only be said that different people have different opinions.

"Tell Su Dingfang to pay more attention to the movements of the King of Wei."

"I always feel that he might be planning some conspiracy."

"Now that we have Fang Xuanling's help, he may have some big plans. We should not underestimate him."

"By the way, the spy you were asked to instigate a rebellion in Fang Xuanling has made some progress recently."

Li Chengqian thought of the abnormal behavior of King Wei yesterday and took it more seriously.

If it was just the King of Wei, Li Chengqian wouldn't care, but with Fang Xuanling added, the meaning became different.

The eunuch Wen Zhong said: "Don't worry, Your Highness. I have already persuaded an old steward in Fang Xuanling's mansion to rebel."

Li Chengqian asked curiously, "How did you instigate the rebellion so quickly?"

After all, there was no news before, and they suddenly rebelled.

The eunuch Wen Zhong said somewhat embarrassedly: "I followed your highness's instructions and after careful consideration, I found Ji Zhao, the former bad commander and now the county lieutenant of Wannian County."

"Ji Zhao asked someone to check the situation of Fang Mansion. The old housekeeper had been following Fang Xuanling for a long time. He was deeply trusted by Fang Xuanling and his son. All the affairs of Fang Mansion were handed over to him."

"This old housekeeper has three sons, and the one he loves the most is the youngest."

"Some of Ji Zhao's bad guys are familiar with his youngest son, and he is the most fond of gambling."

"So Ji Zhao had people set up a trap so that the old housekeeper's youngest son owed 50,000 yuan in high interest."

"Using this as a threat, the old housekeeper agreed to be an insider and pass on the confidential information of the Fang Mansion."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly: "My Tang Dynasty prohibits gambling, is this a comprehensive plan?"

The Tang Dynasty law "Tang Law Commentary" has clear provisions on gambling in groups. If you participate in gambling and gamble with money or property, you will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane for less than five pieces of goods, and your family property will be confiscated.

If someone sets up gambling and takes a cut of the profits, the law stipulates that the stolen goods will be counted as theft. In addition, if someone is caught setting up gambling in the capital, he will be sentenced to death, and if someone is caught setting up gambling among the people, he will be sent to exile.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, every dynasty has enacted strict laws to prohibit gambling. For thousands of years thereafter, gambling was considered an illegal act in the laws of every dynasty.

According to the law, debts, contracts and other behaviors related to gambling are all deemed invalid.

The eunuch Wen Zhong replied: "The old housekeeper's boy did not borrow money from the gambling house, so he must return it."

After hearing this, Li Chengqian understood.

This is a loophole in the law that the gambling houses exploit.

Although the money was borrowed from the gambling house, it was nominally a contract with someone else. Even if the government confiscated the money, the contract in black and white was here, and if a lawsuit was filed, the money had to be repaid.

However, the Tang Dynasty Law Commentary also has regulations on interest: All public and private property loans can be made according to private contracts, and the government will not be involved. The monthly interest rate shall not exceed 6%. Even if the accumulated interest rate is long, it shall not exceed 100%.

If the principal and interest of government property and public offices are stopped, if they are not fully delivered within fifty days, the remaining principal and interest shall remain the same as before and shall not exceed double.

That is, the interest on private loans shall not exceed six points per month, and the cumulative amount shall not exceed one times the principal.

If it is a loan from government property or a public office, after the payment of principal and interest is stopped, if it is not repaid within fifty days, the remaining principal can earn interest as before, but it cannot exceed double.

In most cases, the legal system of the Tang Dynasty was very similar to that of later generations.

The biggest difference is that the legislative thought emphasizes "conformity with rites", truly realizing the unity of rites and law, fully implementing the Confucian spirit of rite governance, and integrating moral and ethical concepts such as the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues into legal provisions.

Behaviors that violate the family's ethical order, such as being unfilial and unbrotherly, would be severely punished in the Tang law.

"But find out where Fang Xuanling went on that day of the imperial court."

Li Chengqian did not ask any more questions. Although the method was a bit despicable, it was normal to make a quick breakthrough.

He is not a pedantic person either.

The eunuch Wen Zhong said, "The old steward didn't know about the itinerary that day, but he had already agreed to go find the coachman who drove Fang Xuanling that day."

"Through the groom, we should be able to find out where he went."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

After the New Year's Day court session, Li Chengqian sent someone to ask his father-in-law Su Tan.

Su Tan immediately launched an investigation upon hearing the news, but the result of his investigation for Li Chengqian was that no one visited the Dali Temple that day.

So the information Li Chengqian got was that Fang Xuanling did not go to the Dali Temple.

It was obvious that Fang Xuanling had made careful arrangements to conceal his whereabouts.
-
Wubenfang, Fangfu.

Fang Xuanling returned from attending a meeting between the emperor and his ministers.

"Father, His Majesty has given an explanation about the Crown Prince's promotion of popular characters in the Military Academy."

This incident actually had a huge impact, but the prince did what he wanted and no one dared to provoke him.

Fang Yizheng knew that the Fang family had now joined the King of Wei's camp, so naturally he didn't want the prince to become too powerful.

Fang Xuanling shook his head slightly and said, "Although this matter has been mentioned, it is clear that Your Majesty will not fall out with the Crown Prince over this matter."

"We invited many famous scholars to teach us before, but they still couldn't teach us well. Now we use colloquial characters, maybe the progress will be faster."

"Besides, it is currently in the temporary stage and is limited to the Military Academy."

Fang Xuanling would communicate most of the important political affairs with his eldest son.

Firstly, Fang Yizheng still had some political acumen. Secondly, Fang Xuanling was old. After his death, the Fang family would be headed by the eldest son, so he naturally had to be nurtured with all his heart.

Although Fang Yizhi felt it was a pity, it was also expected.

Let’s talk about some things in the mansion.

"Father, I heard from the servants that Princess Gaoyang has not consummated her marriage with Yiai, and she is not even allowed to enter the main room, so she can only sleep in the side room."

Fang Xuanling frowned.

Princess Gaoyang's marriage was, to some extent, a form of compensation and protection from His Majesty.

If the prince ascends the throne, at least because of Princess Gaoyang, he will not be too harsh on the Fang family.

"Let them be."

Fang Xuanling said calmly that he didn't need to care so much now.

If the crown prince is determined to rebel, the Fang family will not need Princess Gaoyang's presence much.

Fang Yizheng wanted to say something, but was suddenly stopped by his father's eyes.

Following my father's gaze, I saw a figure in the main hall.

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "Old Chen, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Old Chen is the old steward of the Fang Mansion. He has followed Fang Xuanling for many years. He is only a few years younger than Fang Xuanling and is also in his sixties.

Lao Chen replied nervously, "It's a little dirty. The people down there aren't doing their job well, so I came here to clean it."

Fang Xuanling nodded: "Okay, you can leave first."

"Yes, Master."

Looking at the old butler's back as he left, Fang Yizheng was a little confused.

Fang Xuanling said, "Something is wrong with Old Chen."

Fang Yizhi said: "Mr. Chen has followed my father for many years. His loyalty is obvious. There shouldn't be any problem."

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "In order to plot a rebellion, Yin Hongzhi investigated the movements of officials and trained many spies and assassins."

"The list of spies and the codewords are now in the hands of the Crown Prince, and the assassins have also been taken into the East Palace, but this matter has not been reported to His Majesty."

"I will teach you another lesson today. Don't trust anyone easily, even those closest to you."

"Many times, the people you think are closest to you are the ones who betray you."

"When something is found to be wrong, it must be investigated thoroughly."

"Later, you will secretly investigate the situation at Old Chen's home. He has been with me for many years and has never embezzled any money from the mansion. If he betrayed me, it must be related to his concerns, and Old Chen's concerns are his wife and children at home."

"Old Chen has three sons, and he loves his youngest son the most. You can start your investigation with the youngest son."

Although Fang Yizhi felt that his father was making a fuss, he still said seriously, "Yes, father."

ps: Update.

(End of this chapter)