My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 127 The Time for Rebellion

"Meet Eunuch Wen."

Seeing that it was the eunuch Wen Zhong who came in person, Ji Zhao quickly stood up to greet him.

Wen Zhong glanced at the three simple pots of wine on the table, chuckled, and said, "Lieutenant Ji is quite frugal."

Ji Zhao felt a little embarrassed.

Am I being frugal? I am just short of money.

Unlike the stereotype of eunuchs in later generations, Wen Zhong wore a black fu hat and a round-necked robe, which was similar to the attire of a scholar.

There is nothing feminine about him, and if he doesn't speak, no one would think he is a eunuch.

The voice is not sissy, but rather delicate, and strictly speaking, it is a bit childish.

This depends on the age of castration. If the eunuch was castrated after adulthood, his voice would have already been determined and would be rougher.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was normal for men to have a pale face and no beard, especially those in their twenties. People usually started growing beards when they were around thirty years old.

Some eunuchs would wear false beards when they went out.

Wen Zhong was not very old, so naturally he did not need to wear a fake beard.

"My dear guests, may I need something?"

The waiter in the store came over and asked respectfully.

The term "waiter" means the same as the waiter in later generations.

Everyone turned their eyes to Wen Zhong.

After all, no one can afford it.

Wen Zhong does have money, but he doesn't want to give it.

"Call your shopkeeper." Wen Zhong ordered.

The waiter was startled when he heard the voice and said quickly, "Yes, I'll go right away."

In the Wanguo Tavern, the waiters are also worldly-wise.

Ordinary people might not feel anything, but the waiter knew as soon as he heard the voice that this person was from the palace.

Most eunuchs are not allowed to leave the palace. Those who can leave the palace are not simple people.

Soon, the owner of the Wanguo Tavern came hurriedly.

"My dear, may I ask if you can help me?"

The shopkeeper was in his forties and a little fat. He saw Wen Zhong at first sight and immediately understood what was going on.

The waiter had already told him before coming.

"This is the prince's eunuch, Eunuch Wen."

Ji Zhao introduced.

The shopkeeper was startled and immediately bowed and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Eunuch Wen. I didn't know it was Eunuch Wen who came to visit. Please forgive me for not welcoming you."

Don't treat eunuchs as inferior officials. The prince's eunuchs also have ranks, starting from the fourth rank.

On weekdays, he is by the prince's side, doing the job of serving him.

But once you leave the Eastern Palace, you will be in a truly high position with power.

Except for a group of important court officials, other officials had to be polite when meeting him.

The shopkeeper knew the seriousness of the matter very well, so he naturally did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

Wen Zhong raised his hand slightly and said calmly, "Let's change to another private room. There are too many people here and it's not a good place to talk."

The shopkeeper said quickly, "Please follow me upstairs to the private room on the fifth floor."

The fifth floor of the Wanguo Restaurant is the highest and most luxuriously decorated, reserved for the wealthiest guests.

If you are not a regular or wealthy customer, you are not qualified to go up.

Ji Zhao whispered, "Eunuch Wen, those people are on the third floor."

"Which one?"

Ji Zhao pointed.

Eunuch Wen nodded and ordered, "Put our private rooms on the left and right of that room."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper did not dare to say more and said, "Please wait for a moment, Eunuch Wen. There are guests in the other room. I will go and coordinate something."

Wen Zhong nodded.

The shopkeeper hurried up and entered the room to talk to others in detail.

Ji Zhao and others looked envious.

This is power.

Those who can spend money at the International Tavern are certainly not ordinary people. They can change rooms just by saying so.

The shopkeeper moved quickly and the people inside, including Hu Ji, came out one after another.

Everyone who can be here is smart. The shopkeeper has come out in person, so there must be an important person here. If you want to cause trouble, you will be the only one who suffers.

But judging from his satisfied look, it was obvious that the shopkeeper had given him some benefits.

Wen Zhong, Ji Zhao and their group soon arrived at the private room.

Without further ado, the shopkeeper immediately ordered someone to serve good wine and delicious food.

"There are a few new Hu girls who have arrived recently. They are quite pretty. Should we arrange for them to come in and sing and dance to entertain us?" the shopkeeper flattered.

Wen, the eunuch, shook his head and said, "No need for that. I came here today on the orders of the Crown Prince. I have something important to tell you."

"I have to return to the palace to report, so I won't stay any longer."

"Lieutenant Ji is on a mission for the Crown Prince. You must cooperate well, but you understand."

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly: "I understand."

Before leaving, Wen Zhong glanced at Ji Zhao and said to the shopkeeper, "All the expenses that County Magistrate Ji spent here today will be recorded in the East Palace account."

He also told Ji Zhao: "You can drink and have fun moderately, but don't delay your work."

Ji Zhao bowed hastily: "Please rest assured, Eunuch Wen."

Wen Zhong nodded and left.

"See you back, Eunuch Wen."

After Wen Zhong left, the shopkeeper said to Ji Zhao with a smile on his face: "If County Magistrate Ji needs anything, you can tell me at any time."

He no longer dared to look down on this small county lieutenant.

Being able to establish contact with the Crown Prince and having the Crown Prince's eunuch come in person, the implications here are more than a small shopkeeper of the Wanguo Tavern can handle.

Ji Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Eunuch Wen said that all our expenses here will be paid to the Eastern Palace. When we were downstairs earlier, we ordered three pots of wine."

The shopkeeper understood what he said and said, "Please wait for a moment, County Magistrate Ji."

As soon as I turned around, the shopkeeper came in.

Then he took out a silver ingot.

"This is the wine money I give back to County Magistrate Ji."

Ji Zhao looked at the silver ingot, not daring to take it, and said, "The shopkeeper didn't make a mistake. I just ordered three pots of wine."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Three pots of wine, that's right."

Ji Zhao said: "Here, I just ordered pine leaf wine."

The shopkeeper said, "Lieutenant Ji made a mistake. I looked at the bill and it was clear that Lieutenant Ji ordered three jugs of wine."

Hearing this, Ji Zhao understood everything.

Blinked his eyes: "It seems that I really remembered it wrongly."

The shopkeeper stuffed the silver ingot in his hand into Ji Zhao's hand.

"If County Lieutenant Ji needs your identity later, just let him know. I will not disturb County Lieutenant Ji from performing his duties and will take my leave first."

"Shopkeeper, take care."

Ji Zhao weighed the silver ingot in his hand and smiled.

This is a five-liang silver ingot, equivalent to five thousand coins.

In the Tang Dynasty, silver ingots were equivalent to large payments. One or two thousand coins were okay, weighing only seven or eight kilograms. But if there were tens of thousands of copper coins, that would be seventy or eighty kilograms.

The silver ingots of the Tang Dynasty belong to the large-denomination category, and the standard silver ingots come in denominations of five taels, ten taels, twenty taels, forty taels, and fifty taels.

Further up is the golden ingot.

However, the exchange rate of gold and silver in the Tang Dynasty was not one to ten. Silver was more valuable during this period, and silver was scarce. It was not as abundant as in later dynasties, so the imperial court stipulated that one tael of gold was exchanged for five taels of silver.

"Okay, stop enjoying yourself and get down to business."

"Park Yiyun, Jin Ruixuan, the two of you take turns eavesdropping on the conversation next door."

"Sixth Brother, call the brothers left outside to come in and warm up. Now that they are here, there is no need to worry about them running away."

"Stay here tonight, and take turns to rest, brothers."

Ji Zhao still had some sense and didn't order Hu Ji.

Although everyone wanted to experience it, after all, it was the prince who paid for it, but they were also afraid of missing out.

However, Ji Zhao and his group didn't know this.

After Wen Zhong left the Wanguo Tavern, he did not return directly to the Eastern Palace.

The carriage we were riding in stopped near the east gate of Pingkangfang.

Soon, hundreds of Jinwu Guards rushed over.

The leader was none other than Lu Tong. "Meet Eunuch Wen."

Lu Tong walked to the carriage and bowed.

Hearing the sound, Wen Zhong also got off the carriage.

"General Lu, why do you have to be so polite? We are all working for the Crown Prince. There is no need to be so particular."

Wen Zhong smiled happily.

Most eunuchs have an inferiority complex. After all, they are castrated and their personalities can easily be distorted.

What matters most is the last bit of dignity left.

Most people don't think highly of eunuchs.

Lu Tong was a third-rank general of the Jinwu Guard, but he was so respectful to him. How could he not be happy?

"Eunuch Wen is still working hard for the Crown Prince at this late hour. I really admire him."

Lu Tong said with a smile, in a rather humble tone.

He had lost his face many years ago. To have risen from a humble family to become the General Jinwu today was not something that could be achieved simply by merit.

There are many people in the army who have greater merits than him, but only Lu Tong has been able to sit in this position.

Judging the situation is one thing, but being able to humble yourself is the key.

When it comes to dealing with human relationships and worldly affairs, Lu Tong has done his best.

"I will definitely report General Lu's loyalty to the Crown Prince in detail."

"I'm going to trouble General Lu for this matter."

"The prince's intention is to capture him alive."

Wen Zhong said with a smile.

This made Lu Tong feel a little embarrassed: "I don't know how the prince is going to live."

If no one is hurt, it will be difficult to capture them.

Wen Zhong said: "It's enough to have a breath, it has to serve as evidence."

Hearing this, Lu Tong immediately felt relieved.

"Please rest assured, Eunuch Wen, we will definitely not let anyone escape."

Wen Zhong said, "Okay, don't alarm them for now. The two Koreans are being guarded by County Lieutenant Ji, so they should be fine."

"If there is a situation, General Lu can cooperate with County Magistrate Ji. The lives of the two Koreans must be protected and they must not succeed."

Lu Tong replied: "I understand."

Wen Zhong said: "I will go back to the East Palace first and wait for good news from General Lu."

Lu Tong bowed and said, "Eunuch Wen, take care."

Wen Zhong got on the carriage and left with the Donggong Tiqi.

It was not until the gate of Pingkangfang was closed that Lu Tong began to take action.

"Lupi, arrange for the brothers to guard the four gates of Pingkangfang tightly. No one is allowed to leave without the order of this general."

"The last general takes orders."

"Chen Zhang, you are responsible for guarding the main roads of the Wanguo Tavern. If there is any movement, immediately block the streets and arrest any suspicious people you see."

"The last general takes orders."

"The rest of you, follow me to seal off the Wanguo Tavern and hide at all exits. Don't alert the enemy for now."

"As ordered."

The side hall of the East Palace was brightly lit.

When Wen Zhong returned, it was almost the end of the hour of Hai, which was about nine o'clock in the evening.

At this time, Li Chengqian was conducting sand table simulation and war chess exercises with Li Dejian.

Watching next to them were Zhao Jie, Li Yuanchang, and Du He.

The model making of the sand table is not complicated. The craftsmen of the Eastern Palace are not the best in the Tang Dynasty, but among the common people, they start at the master level.

It took only two days to complete the work.

Wargames representing cavalry, infantry, logistics, resources, etc. were also produced.

The basic war game is based on a hundred people as the basic unit.

While making the sandbox war game, Li Chengqian had already written a set of rules for war game simulation.

This set of rules can be seen as an upgraded version of chess gameplay, incorporating factors such as resources and logistics into calculations and decisions.

It is a turn-based sandbox war chess game.

After the production was completed, Li Chengqian first called all his rebellion team members to play together.

The first person to fight against the prince was naturally Li Dejian. After all, as Li Jing's eldest son, he was more familiar with the use of military tactics.

Just because they were not familiar with the rules, Li Chengqian broke through their base camp in less than half an hour after the first attack.

The second one is currently underway.

After Wen Zhong came back, he did not dare to disturb the prince's interest.

After hearing the prince's question, he opened his mouth and explained the situation.

Including the matter of the outstanding debts at the Wanguo Tavern.

Li Chengqian had no objection to this, as he also had the same idea.

He never looked down on small people, because small people can sometimes play a very important role.

Of course, Ji Zhao was just a small figure compared to the crown prince, but in Chang'an City, especially in front of the common people, he was a real big shot.

Compared with later generations, there is a difference in rank, but in terms of power, it is almost equivalent to the chief of police.

"Keep paying attention and report any news immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian had nothing to explain for the time being.

Everything at present is within his calculations.

Cui Wensheng thought it was one of his people and discovered that the Goryeo royal family was being followed.

Little did they know that this news was deliberately spread to Cui Wensheng by Li Chengqian.

After Cui Fengzhu's banquet, Li Yuanchang didn't know how the prince could incite the Goryeo royal family to rebel, so the current action was to make arrangements.

Once Cui Wensheng received the news that the Goryeo royal family had been discovered, his first reaction was naturally to kill them to silence them.

This was entirely within Li Chengqian's calculations.

The next thing to do is to rescue the Goryeo royal family when Cui Wensheng arranges people to silence them.

A strong character is rare in the world, so it is precious and admired by others.

People who are afraid of death are the norm in this world.

Especially those who have been in high positions for a long time and enjoy life often are most afraid of death.

Because there are so many beautiful things in this world that are worth their nostalgia, they naturally don't want to die.

Will the Goryeo royal family be a tough nut to crack?

It’s easy to guess that anyone who goes to Pingkangfang to seek pleasure cannot be a tough guy.

Under the threat of death, he probably wouldn't have hesitated much, let alone betraying Cui Wensheng, even if it meant betraying Goryeo.

Cui Wensheng also understood this point, so he immediately sent someone to silence the witness.

"So this is how the prince arranged it."

"If these two Koreans were rescued, they would definitely cooperate with us in any way they were asked to."

"Your Highness is wise."

Li Yuanchang and others also heard the report made by the eunuch Wen Zhong, and Li Chengqian did not try to avoid it.

After all, they are willing to follow someone who is rebelling, so their loyalty is beyond doubt.

After listening to it, Li Yuanchang recalled what happened before, and suddenly understood, and couldn't help but praise.

Li Dejian exclaimed: "Your Highness's deep understanding of the art of war is simply astonishing."

"Not only the war game simulation on the sand table, but also the situation in Chang'an is under your control."

On the sand table, most of the area is now covered with red military chess pieces, and red is the color of Li Chengqian's side.

Li Dejian is in charge of the blue chess game, but now the situation is hopeless and defeat is only a matter of time.

When Du He, Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang heard what Li Dejian said, they nodded deeply in agreement.

Even if they had only heard a small part of the prince's current plan, they were already deeply impressed by it.

In the past, when everyone followed the prince in rebellion, they still had many worries in their hearts.

But now, I am full of confidence.

It would be a real loss for the Tang Dynasty if such a prince could not ascend the throne earlier.

Your Majesty should abdicate and move to the Daming Palace, just like the former emperor emeritus, and hand over the government to the crown prince.

Now everyone has a clear understanding in their minds that the prince will surely become famous in this expedition to Goryeo.

By then, the time was ripe.

(End of this chapter)