My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 125: King Wei colludes with Goryeo?

After listening to the report from the eunuch Wen Zhong, Li Chengqian just glanced at Prince of Qi Li You with a smile.

Chang'an City is so big that it is impossible for Li Chengqian to completely monitor the King of Wei.

But if you can predict its movement, it will be much easier.

Li Tai went to see King Qi specifically, and Fang Xuanling's plan became much clearer.

He probably wanted to drag himself back into this by using the King of Qi's rebellion.

In the final analysis, it is nothing more than fabricating evidence and slandering oneself.

That's not a big deal.

If that were all, Li Chengqian wouldn't have to worry about anything.

I just feel that Fang Xuanling’s way of doing things wouldn’t be that simple.

He has followed Erfeng for so many years, but he still doesn't understand Erfeng's personality?

How could he depose himself from the position of crown prince without irrefutable evidence?

At the banquet, many princes felt relieved.

From the prince's attitude, they could feel that he had feelings for his younger brothers.

Even though the King of Qi is suspected of treason, the Crown Prince is now helping him.

And let him come out from house arrest to attend the banquet.

This is the best signal for the kings.

"Their energy-cultivation skills are really good. Even in this situation, they are still like nothing happened."

The banquet was halfway through and basically over.

The King of Han, Li Yuanchang, was talking about Cui Wensheng, and originally wanted to see him perform.

As a result, Cui Wensheng sat at the high-guest table, chatting and laughing.

This made Li Yuanchang very depressed.

"Let him laugh. He won't laugh for long."

"There is news that the royal family of Goryeo has come to Chang'an, but has not passed through the Honglu Temple."

Li Yuanchang immediately reacted: "Qinghe Cui clan is colluding with Goryeo? Are they planning to commit treason?"

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "In their eyes, there has never been a Tang Dynasty."

Li Yuanchang immediately said: "Seize the evidence against them and hand it over to Your Majesty for disposal, so that the Cui family of Qinghe will be punished."

"Especially this Cui Wensheng, he must be killed."

Li Chengqian still shook his head: "Killing Cui Wensheng, what impact will it have on the Qinghe Cui family? Even if we blame them and conduct an investigation, we will not be able to implicate the Qinghe Cui family in the end."

For a noble family like the Qinghe Cui family, the problem cannot be solved by killing some of the leaders. Instead, it is helping the Qinghe Cui family solve the problem.

What is a noble family? It is not a concept of dozens or hundreds of people.

But it was the Cui family of Qinghe, with tens of thousands of people.

This is only the Cui surname registered in the Ministry of Households. It is predicted that there are more hidden populations, including tenants, farmhands, etc. under their command.

This is a country within a country.

If things go wrong, the Qinghe Cui family will hold a family meeting and really rebel.

Moreover, the five surnames and seven families are in collusion with each other and have been intermarrying for many years.

Once the Qinghe Cui family takes the lead in rebellion, the other six prominent families will most likely follow suit.

As a result, the Tang Dynasty returned directly to the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

Having said that, there are also many factions within the aristocratic families, and each has its own ideas. If Cui Wensheng is killed, someone will naturally take his place.

This is also why there was no such thing as implicating or killing nine generations of a clan in the Tang Dynasty.

If you issue an edict to execute nine generations of a clan today, hundreds of thousands of rebels will appear tomorrow.

"Then we just don't care about it?" Li Yuanchang wondered.

Li Chengqian was speechless: "They have colluded with Goryeo and committed treason, so of course we have to take care of it."

“But those who do not consider the overall situation are not qualified to consider a country.”

"First of all, we need to know what Goryeo's demands are. Since they have not passed the Honglu Temple, they naturally do not want to submit to our Tang Dynasty."

"Isn't the purpose very clear?"

Han Wang Li Yuanchang hesitated and nodded: "Yes."

What purpose? He didn't know.

But since the prince has made it clear, it is clear.

Li Chengqian continued, "Goryeo wants internal support, and even has different voices in Chang'an to disrupt the situation. After all, they don't have the confidence and ability to deal with the advance of the Tang Dynasty."

"And Qinghe Cui is the most powerful supporter of the Wei Wang Party. Why would he collude with Goryeo?"

"Cui Wensheng colluded with Goryeo. Is this a conspiracy by the King of Wei or Fang Xuanling?"

"Tell me, is it possible that Cui Wensheng colluded with Goryeo at the behest of King Wei or Fang Xuanling? They wanted to do something evil when the Tang Dynasty was conquering Goryeo."

"For example, using Goryeo to murder me."

"If I die on the battlefield, the position of crown prince will pass to the King of Wei."

Li Yuanchang was stunned for a moment, then he was furious: "The King of Wei is so vicious, I must report this to His Majesty and have him punished."

Li Chengqian waved his hands helplessly: "I'm talking about hypotheses."

"what!"

Li Yuanchang was a little confused. How could it become a hypothesis again?

Then I realized the meaning of what I just said.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?" Li Yuanchang asked.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "If we want to complete this plan, the key lies in the Goryeo royal family."

"These words cannot come from our mouths, but must come from the mouths of the Goryeo royal family."

Li Yuanchang felt that his brain was not enough: "He is working with Cui Wensheng, so how can he speak for us?"

Li Chengqian said calmly: "As long as they are human, they will have weaknesses, so this requires further investigation."

"Find his weakness, get a handle on him, and the matter will naturally be accomplished."

Li Yuanchang didn't know what to say. He felt that this was something that could not be done.

However, seeing that the prince seemed very confident, I didn't think much about it.

Anyway, just follow the prince's arrangements.

After coming back this time, Li Yuanchang felt that he had changed, as if he had become stupid.

But when I think about it carefully, it doesn't make sense. It should be that the prince has changed and become unpredictable.

In front of him, I felt like a fool.

In the past, the Crown Prince’s orders were centered around Du He, but now the Crown Prince is personally responsible for all strategic planning.

Forget it, I can’t understand it either way.

Then don’t watch it, just follow the prince.

The affair between Wu Ziqing and Cui Fengzhu seemed not to cause much waves in Chang'an, but smart people knew that it had a huge impact on the aristocratic families.

Originally, the legitimate daughters of the seven prominent families were not allowed to marry outside the family. Now that Qinghe Cui family has set this precedent, how can they refuse others in the future?

Could it be that I am not even as good as a poor student from the south who came to study?

The impact of this kind of thing is far-reaching, and naturally no results can be seen in a short period of time.

The aristocratic families in the early Tang Dynasty were still slightly stronger, mainly because Li Shimin also wanted to focus on stability.

Although Li Shimin seemed to have done nothing, in fact, he had been suppressing the Five Surnames and Seven Families in many details and government affairs.

Starting from the Weishui Alliance in the first year of Zhenguan, such blows have been in effect silently.

Until now, the strength of the family has been continuously reduced.

Li Shimin truly achieved the goal of governing a large country like cooking a small fish, using the method of boiling a frog in warm water to reduce the power of the Five Surnames and Seven Families. Historically, by the time of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, laws could be issued to prohibit internal marriages among the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

By that time, the Five Surnames and Seven Families no longer had the strength to challenge the Tang Dynasty.

The next day, Li Chengqian transferred fifty students from the Military Academy.

He temporarily resumed his status as brigade commander and, under the leadership of Li Dejian, went to the outskirts of Chang'an to train 5,000 palace soldiers.

"Your Highness, this has some bad consequences."

Li Jing persuaded, after all, he was also one of the vice presidents of the Military Academy.

The Crown Prince secretly transferred students from the Military Academy, and such behavior could easily arouse the suspicion of His Majesty.

"I just want to give them some experience."

"What we learned at the Military Academy is just theoretical knowledge. With practice, we will naturally have a deeper understanding."

Li Chengqian's excuse was far-fetched, but at least it gave Li Jing a way out.

Li Jing was helpless about such things.

When Zhang Ananda found out, he reported it to His Majesty.

Li Shimin didn't feel much.

The King of Wei had replaced his palace soldiers, and the Crown Prince asked the students of the Military Academy to help with the training, so it didn't seem like a big deal.

"Go with the prince."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The matter was left like this. From more perspectives, it was equivalent to the Military Academy completely handing over power to the prince.

The reason for this situation, in addition to the fact that Li Shimin did not want to hit the prince too hard, was also closely related to the current situation of the Military Academy.

Li Shimin had previously called Li Jing to question him about the teaching situation at the Military Academy.

Li Jing's answer was: "Most of the students in the Military Academy are illiterate and have never read the Art of War. Even if the teacher is the best, it will be useless."

"Only after they have acquired sufficient knowledge can they comprehend the contents of the Art of War."

This is probably the sorrow of the lower class. Most of the brigade commanders of the imperial army have worked their way up from the bottom. Children of aristocratic families look down on this position.

To make an analogy with later generations, it is equivalent to teaching university calculus in elementary school. Even if the world's best teacher comes, it will be useless.

Even if you play the lute to a cow, the cow can still cooperate with you.

In fact, Li Jing has a guess that he hasn't said yet, and perhaps Your Majesty has also felt it.

The idea of ​​establishing the Military Academy and recruiting brigade commanders as students was proposed by the Crown Prince.

The current situation may have been part of the prince's plan.

Even though Li Shimin arranged so many famous generals to teach, it was of no use.

This Military Academy eventually became the Prince's Military Academy.

That day, Li Chengqian asked someone to prepare gifts and came to Changsun Wuji.

"Uncle, I'm here to wish you a happy new year."

Changsun Wuji was obviously a little surprised that the prince came, but he didn't think too much about it and hurried to greet him.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Changsun Wuji said with a smile, "The weather will soon be hot, and Bingsi's business will also pick up."

"Does the East Palace have enough ice reserves now?"

Ever since Li Chengqian gave him the list of things needed for ice making last time, Changsun Wuji began to use his connections to make large-scale purchases, buying saltpeter in a steady stream and sending it to the Eastern Palace.

When Bing Si opened last year, it was only busy for a short while. After all, the weather turned cooler and fewer people bought Su Shan.

This time, after the beginning of spring, especially in the summer, it is the peak season for buying and selling Sushan.

By then, the deserted Bing Si Pu will be crowded again.

Nowadays, the winter in Chang'an is very short. Basically, the weather will become hot after the beginning of spring.

Changsun Wuji had been preparing to make a fortune from this.

The sweetness he tasted last year made him extremely comfortable.

Who would complain about having too much money?

"Don't worry, uncle. There isn't much else in the East Palace right now, but the ice cellar is full of ice. Naturally, it won't be like before."

"After the beginning of spring, I will also prepare to open more ice cream shops."

Li Chengqian said with a smile.

Changsun Wuji was naturally very satisfied with this answer.

"What a pity! If we could sell Sushan to Luoyang, we would definitely make more money."

Changsun Wuji was testing the prince.

Li Chengqian said, "We have to sell it, but not now. We have to wait until the ice shop in Chang'an is fully occupied. By then, we will need your help."

Changsun Wuji really didn't expect that the prince would have such intention.

I couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness, aren't you worried that this ice-making method will be leaked?"

Outside of Chang'an City, others will have plenty of ways to steal the ice-making method.

Li Chengqian said with a smile: "We eat meat and give others some soup. We can never make enough money."

"Even if it's leaked, so what? We only have Chang'an and Luoyang. Other places are barren and the profit is just a small fraction."

The richest places in the Tang Dynasty were Chang'an and Luoyang.

The prince joined forces with the prime minister of the time and directly monopolized the power.

As for other places, people can barely make ends meet, so where can they find spare money to eat Sushan?

Only some local big households can benefit from this, so this business cannot possibly expand.

"Your Highness is wise."

Changsun Wuji agreed with this statement very much.

Li Chengqian continued, "This time, in addition to the matter of Sushan, I also have a business that I want to do with my uncle."

"Your Highness, please speak."

Changsun Wuji was a little curious about what new business the prince had.

"I plan to mine coal in Jinzhou, under the name of a business, process it, and then sell it to Chang'an."

Hearing this, Changsun Wuji frowned slightly: "The war against Goryeo is imminent. If corvée labor is used, I'm afraid it will have too much impact."

Li Chengqian was speechless. As expected, Wang Chao’s first thought was to get free labor.

"It's not corvée labor, but a system of paying wages. The more you work, the more you get. For 15 catties of coal, you get one penny."

"So the monthly wages for miners are about 1,500 to 2,000 yuan. This kind of income is still very motivating for ordinary people."

Li Chengqian's original plan was to charge one penny for every ten kilograms of coal. But after Di Zhixun gave him the rules, he realized that he had thought too simply.

The current rule is that 15 jin of raw coal is charged one penny.

Chang Sun Wuji frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and then asked: "The funds required to open a mine are very large. Your Highness has calculated how much money is needed in the early stage to start it."

Li Chengqian stretched out his palm with five fingers spread out.

Zhang Sun Wuji asked: "Five million yuan?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Fifty million yuan."

This number was strictly calculated by Li Chengqian.

The main reason why no businessmen invest in mining is that the cost is too high.

According to the current regulations, in addition to the workers' wages, which is the biggest expense, it is also necessary to purchase tools and equipment, and feed the staff.

Basic tools such as pickaxes, shovels, carts, and some simple lifting equipment.

Including the construction of craftsmen's residences, transportation, cleaning and processing of coal.

In the early stage, based on the configuration of 3,000 miners and 2,000 other personnel, the investment cost was about 50 million.

(End of this chapter)