My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 143 Assassination of the Prince
As the Jinwu General, Su Dingfang was very busy every day, especially because he had to manage the entire Military Academy on behalf of the Crown Prince.

Now at the Military Academy, Su Dingfang is the one who teaches the students how to read and write, does daily drills, and gives lectures.

As the Lantern Festival approaches, the Jinwu Guards are under great security pressure.

After all, the curfew will be lifted for three days, and Chang'an will be full of jubilation by then, and the Jinwu Guards will have to be fully mobilized to guard Chang'an.

This was also the reason why Li Chengqian did not bring Su Dingfang to the sand table game first.

Su Dingfang became a busy man.

He is different from those idle people like Du He, Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang.

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Su Dingfang came in a hurry.

When the eunuch from the Eastern Palace went to notify him, he was still arranging the security coordination of the Jinwu Guards.

"come and see."

Li Chengqian invited Su Dingfang to look at the sand table and explained the rules.

After listening to it, Su Dingfang was immediately surprised and said: "With this sand table war game, it will definitely greatly improve the students of the Military Academy's understanding of military tactics."

Li Chengqian nodded and immediately invited Su Dingfang to play two games.

Su Dingfang hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

Sand table war games are also a big deal, other matters can be put on hold.

Two games of chess took an entire afternoon.

Su Dingfang was originally very confident, but after encountering the prince's military strategies and tactics, he was greatly shocked, but he was also able to understand them quickly.

In the history of the early Tang Dynasty, Su Dingfang was the second military god of the Tang Dynasty after Li Jing.

Now, he has everything he needs except a stage to showcase his talents.

Li Chengqian handed the book on military strategy and tactics that he had prepared long ago to Su Dingfang.

"This is the tactic I just used."

"You can teach it in the Military Academy then."

Su Dingfang took a quick look and saw that almost all the tactics used by the prince in the previous game were included in it.

It will be of great use not only to the students of the Military Academy, but also to improving his own military capabilities.

"Your Highness's martial arts skills are truly admirable."

Su Dingfang's tone was filled with sigh. He was still very proud of his military abilities. It was not an exaggeration to describe him as a genius.

But the prince was really hit hard.

It’s not that the current prince is very good at leading troops in battle, but Su Dingfang knows that the prince has never led troops in battle.

I have never heard of any teacher teaching the art of war.

However, now, the prince's teaching of military tactics, tactical understanding and innovation, at least in theory, have surpassed him by one level.

It's outrageous, but the tactical book in my hand is very real.

If it weren't for those two games of war chess, Su Dingfang would not have felt it so deeply.

Li Chengqian felt very happy about Su Dingfang's flattering words.

"During the Lantern Festival, your Jinwu Guard is short of people, and the Military Academy is not closed either. Bring the students out and arrange for them to go to the Jinwu Guard to conduct security patrols."

"Concubine Yang is hosting the Lantern Festival poetry gathering at the Prince of Wei's Hibiscus Garden. I will also attend."

"I will inform the King of Jin. You will personally lead the Jinwu Guards and the students of the Military Academy to be responsible for the security of Hibiscus Garden."

Leaving the Eastern Palace would mean certain dangers for Li Chengqian.

This kind of assassination was not the first time in the Tang Dynasty. Even Li Shimin had been assassinated many times.

For example, in the early Zhenguan period, Jie Li Khan of the Eastern Turks felt very annoyed by the foreign wars launched by Li Shimin. In order to get rid of Li Shimin forever, he decided to carry out a "decapitation operation" and sent Turkish spies to track Li Shimin's movements and wait for an opportunity to assassinate him.

The Turkic merchant Vinisa lived in Chang'an as a gold merchant. He bribed the deputy commander of the imperial guards who guarded the gate of Chang'an, the Khitan Kusai, as well as the eunuchs of the palace, the personal servant of Princess Changle, and Hu Lanhua, who was of Xianbei descent, with large sums of money, and learned from them the regularity of the outings of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

At the same time, Jin Shuikuan, a Tang Dynasty intelligence officer and close aide to the Eastern Turkic Khan Jili Khan, learned of the "True God Plan" to assassinate Li Shimin. He secretly came to Chang'an through a caravan informant, informed the Tang Dynasty's "Honglu Temple" and reported to Li Shimin.

Finally, it was Du Ruhui who was responsible for launching a large-scale cracking and counter-attack campaign against the Turkic "True God Plan".

The most recent one was in April of the 14th year of Zhenguan, three years ago, when Ashina Jieshe led an assassination.

Ashina Jieshelu was a Turkic noble, and his father was Shibi Khan. After he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with his brother Tuli, he was appointed General of the Central Army by Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, Ashina Jieshelu had bad conduct and lived an undisciplined life. His brother Tuli criticized him many times, but he was resentful and falsely accused Tuli of treason.

Later, the Turkic tribes in Shunzhou were incorporated into Daizhou. Heluohu also became dissatisfied with Li Shimin, so he formed a society with his uncle Ashina and colluded with him.

Li Shimin went to the Jiucheng Palace in Tiantai Mountain. Ashina Jieshe learned that Li Shimin's son Li Zhi would come to the palace to pay a visit to Li Shimin on April 40, so he took men with him and prepared to launch a surprise attack with weapons in hand.

As a result, Li Zhi had not arrived yet, so he broke directly into Li Shimin's bedroom.

Because they were wearing Tang army uniforms, the soldiers guarding the emperor did not react at first and allowed them to rush into Li Shimin's bedroom.

At the critical moment, Li Shimin's personal guard Sun Wu took action, fighting with the assassin while organizing the guards to fight back, holding the last line of defense and waiting for reinforcements. After Ashina Jieshe's assassination failed, he wanted to escape to the outside of the Great Wall, but was eventually captured by the imperial guards at Weishui.

Li Shimin only beheaded Ashina, the leader of the society and several people with serious crimes, without implicating others, and rewarded Sun Wukai handsomely.

There were many similar assassination attempts against Li Shimin, but Li Shimin also had his own intelligence department in Chang'an to dismantle and counter them.

More assassination plans may have been discovered and arrested before they even began.

Li Chengqian had never been assassinated before. After all, there was not much meaning in assassinating the crown prince. Li Shimin was still young and strong, and he had many successors.

But now, that’s not necessarily the case.

Especially when the news that the crown prince advocated an expedition against Goryeo reached Goryeo, Yeon Gaesomun was very likely to arrange for someone to assassinate the crown prince.

After conferring the title of Crown Prince Nongze Shengrui, other countries will know that the current crown prince may be as capable as the Heavenly Khan in both civil and military affairs.

Moreover, the prince seems to be more powerful than the Khan to a great extent.

After all, Li Shimin did not have much idea of ​​participating in the world political landscape, and the Persian delegation's request for the Tang Dynasty to send troops was directly rejected.

But the prince was speaking for the Roman delegation and had some ideas about getting involved in the political struggle in Central Asia.

This is a situation that the rulers of most countries do not want to see.

They would speculate whether, after the crown prince inherited the throne of the Tang Dynasty, he would be more direct, or even order the Tang Dynasty to send troops to intervene in neighboring countries.

This is the threat Li Chengqian has to face.

Therefore, when it comes to assassination, it is better to be careful.

When participating in the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival, one must strictly control the surrounding area to prevent any possible assassination.

Although Li Chengqian is very strong in martial arts, it would be embarrassing if he were to climb through a window in a gutter.

You only have one life.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will do my best to protect Your Highness' safety."

Su Dingfang said seriously and firmly.

The crown prince is his political leader. As long as the crown prince successfully inherits the throne, Su Dingfang's future will naturally be bright.

Therefore, the safety of the prince is the most important thing for him now.
-
Liquanfang.

The Byzantine princess Theodosius was licking the pastry.

There is no such delicious food in Constantinople.

Although the weather was cold, Theodosius could not help himself.

"Your Highness, Commander Alex, we now have enough money."

"My friends are all willing to help me, and our friends in the Persian envoys are also willing to help us get the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to send troops."

As Narender spoke, he clapped his hands, and servants behind him carried in boxes one by one.

When the box was opened, it was full of gold, silver and jewelry. Narender was very glad that he had made the right investment in this business.

These treasures alone were enough to make him rich.

He has been running around Chang'an City these past two days, contacting various Sogdian merchants, visiting them one by one, and informing them of the current situation in Rome.

And got the tokens and letters of Alex and Theodosius.

With this letter and token, the Sogdian merchants could go to Constantinople in Byzantium and exchange them for enough money from the two Byzantine emperors.

The Sogdian merchants would sail far away to sell the goods of the Tang Dynasty. By investing in the Roman missions, they could make a lot of money when they arrived in Byzantium.

Although the war situation on the Byzantine front was not good, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and no one thought that the Arab Empire would definitely be able to capture Constantinople.

As long as the Byzantine Empire existed, these Sogdian merchants who had helped the Byzantine royal family would enjoy privileged treatment in the areas ruled by Rome.

Of course, we are willing to do such a deal.

The Persian delegation was not a special delegation from the Persian Empire, but Persian envoys stationed in Chang'an.

The Tang Dynasty was the source of the Silk Road, and various countries would send representatives to Chang'an for a long time to protect and safeguard their own interests and to gather intelligence information.

Persuading the Tang Dynasty to send troops to help Persia is also a long-term mission of the Persian delegation. However, so far, they do not even have the qualifications to meet the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, so naturally there is no possibility of completing it.

And now, the Roman delegation has also come to ask His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to send troops to attack the Arab Empire. Although Persia and Rome have a long-standing hatred, at least their demands are the same at this moment.

Therefore, the Persian delegation donated a lot of money to provide support to the Byzantine delegation.

For Narendra, even if the Byzantine mission was unsuccessful, he had already made a fortune.

If successful, you will earn more than just money, you can even enjoy a higher status of power in the Tang Dynasty and Rome, which is a good deal.

Now he no longer looks down on those small businesses.

"Li Lunde, I will write to His Majesty the Emperor. You will be Rome's friend forever."

"Of course, we still need more help from you now."

"We have to find a way to meet with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. Only in this way can we gain his support."

Although Alex was happy that the financial problem had been solved, he cared more about the Tang Dynasty being able to send troops to help Rome.

But now it's going well, which is good news.

There is no need to rush into war. After all, although the situation in Rome is not very good, it will not fall all of a sudden.

"Of course, Commander Alex, I will continue to help you."

"Although your mission has not been completed yet, I have heard the news that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty did not directly refuse because of the Crown Prince's intervention."

"The people in the Arab delegation have become very nervous. As soon as they received the news, they arranged for someone to pass the message back."

"I think if the emperor of the Arab Empire heard this news, even if His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was still hesitant, they might reduce their war against Rome and Persia to guard against the possibility that the Tang Dynasty might send troops."

Narend smiled and said that it was the people from the Persian delegation who told him the news, and it was for this reason that the Persian delegation readily provided financial support.

"God bless you, this is really good news."

Alex and Theodosius looked at each other and said happily.

Theodosius thought for a moment and said, "So, as long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince supports it, His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will not directly refuse, which will be very beneficial to us in Rome."

Alex nodded. "Yes, that's it."

Nalund said: "That's true. As long as His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty does not refuse, the Arab Emperor will be worried, which will affect the war situation in Central Asia. At least it can buy Rome a lot of time."

"Oh, by the way, there is another piece of good news. Perhaps Her Royal Highness will be very happy to hear it."

Theodosius did not expect that he would be mentioned, so he asked, "What is the good news?"

Nalunde smiled mysteriously and said, "I heard that the Crown Prince used to like beautiful women. With the beauty of the princess, if the Crown Prince takes a fancy to her and she becomes his consort, it will definitely be of great help to our mission."

Theodosius hesitated: "Will His Royal Highness really like me?"

She used to be very confident, but after learning about the situation in the Tang Dynasty, she lost confidence in her beauty.

Just as Narend said, there has never been a shortage of top beauties in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty.

As the most beautiful woman in the world, who wouldn’t want to marry the Crown Prince of Tang Dynasty? That must be the highest honor.

"Oh, Princess, you shouldn't look down on yourself like this. You may not be the most beautiful, but you are unique."

"You are a princess from the distant Roman Empire. Rome is an empire that can be compared with the Tang Empire. You are born noble."

"In the Tang Dynasty, people value matching. Not every beautiful woman can match the status of the Tang prince, but you can."

Narend's words gave Theodosius a lot of confidence.

"Think about it, Princess, if you could marry the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty and give birth to his children."

"Then the possibility of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty sending troops will become very high, and Rome and the Tang Dynasty will have the most sincere friendship."

"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince becomes the new Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, will he watch his child's grandfather being bullied by other countries?"

Narend's words were full of temptation.

Theodosius also fell into a vision of the future.

"It's just that we don't even have the qualifications to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty right now."

Alex said helplessly.

"No, we already have our chance."

Nalunde narrated: "In two days, it will be the Lantern Festival of the Tang Dynasty. I have heard that the concubine of the Tang emperor will host a Lantern Festival poetry gathering. According to the custom, envoys from various countries will be invited to participate in this poetry gathering."

"I have already visited the officials of the Honglu Temple, and they said that we will also be eligible to participate in the poetry meeting."

"And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty will also participate in this poetry gathering."

"This is our chance, and it's also Her Royal Highness's chance."

Alex and Theodosius were immediately excited and prayed sincerely: "God bless Rome, and may everything go well."

at the same time.

The news that the prince would attend the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival also spread in Chang'an, attracting many scholars to participate enthusiastically.

Although the Wei Wang party has a great reputation in Chang'an, there are no fools among scholars.

If you can be valued by the prince, it would be like rising to heaven in one step.

Besides, the crown prince is the legitimate heir, and it is not an easy task for the King of Wei to seize the throne.

But there is still a group of people who are plotting to assassinate the prince.

In a certain house in a certain neighborhood of Chang'an.

A woman in plain clothes is wiping the dagger in her hand.

Shan Yao is the daughter of the flying general Shan Xiongxin.

Shan Yao's father, Shan Xiongxin, was executed by Li Shimin. She grew up listening to her father's heroic deeds and was full of resentment towards the Tang Dynasty royal family.

But assassinating Li Shimin was almost an impossible task, and she had not found any opportunity over the years.

Now the prince is going to the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival, so perhaps we can assassinate him first.

"Let that dog emperor also feel the pain of losing his loved ones."

Shan Yao gritted her teeth and spoke in a firm tone.

"Young lady, your noble body should not be put at risk. Let us go this time."

The people who were speaking were Shan Xiongxin's former personal guards. After Shan Xiongxin's death, these personal guards took the young Shan Yao away and raised her.

"No, Uncle Chen, Li Chengqian is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. He must be heavily guarded when he travels."

"It's hard for you to get close, but I can pretend to be a maid in Hibiscus Garden and get close to the Dog Prince."

(End of this chapter)