My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 145: Secret Passage, Plan to Kill the Prince

Prince Wei's Mansion.

Li Tai was in a bad mood.

During this period of time, he was hardly in a good mood.

There was no news from Fang Xuanling. Apart from the one time he came to the Museum of Literature, there was no useful information afterwards.

However, Li Tai also knew that Fang Xuanling was indeed very busy and was not deliberately ignoring him.

Fang Xuanling was in charge of arranging logistics for the attack on Goryeo. I heard that even when it was time to get off work, he was still handling official business in the imperial city office.

This time Li Tai did not turn the table over. After all, he had already received the news that the prince would be promoted.

As for the manifesto against Goryeo, it was a good thing for him.

"King Wei, I think the Crown Prince must not have gotten anything out of those two members of the Goryeo royal family."

"If something happens, the Crown Prince will definitely take this opportunity to attack the King of Wei."

Li Tai was not satisfied with Chai Lingwu's words and said, "I was not involved in Cui Wensheng's affairs in the first place."

"I have never seen those two members of the Goryeo royal family. If the prince wants to attack me, it is nothing more than slander."

"Now that Cui Wensheng has escaped, what else can the prince do? At most, he can just issue Cui Wensheng an arrest warrant."

After thinking for a while, Li Tai continued, "Chang'an City has announced twice today. Now many people think that it was the prince who advocated expelling the Koreans, but perhaps this was the prince's idea in the first place."

"Do you think the prince will still attend the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival tomorrow under the current circumstances?"

Chai Lingwu hesitated and said, "I think so."

Li Tai sighed, "I don't know what has become of my Hibiscus Garden."

"We need to arrange more talents for the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival tomorrow, to prevent those assassins from turning their attacks on me when they fail to kill the crown prince."

Li Tai also knew some rumors about the assassination of the prince, after all, that was his Furong Garden.

But Li Tai had no intention of investigating and just let it go.

Although His Majesty will certainly blame him for the assassination of the Crown Prince in Furong Garden, it won't be a big problem as long as he is not the real mastermind behind the assassination.

At most, it can be considered as a failure to control one's subordinates.

But if the prince was really assassinated, it would be a great thing for Li Tai.

Then he wouldn't have to put so much effort into fighting for the throne, the position of crown prince would naturally fall on him.

However, Li Tai always felt that it would be difficult for those assassins to succeed.

It is not an easy task to assassinate the prince, the key lies in the prince's martial arts.

Li Tai had witnessed it with his own eyes. Even if a dozen assassins could suddenly attack the prince, they might not be enough to kill him.

On the contrary, he should be more careful.

"Don't worry, King Wei. We will not give any villains any chance to take advantage of us." Chai Lingwu replied.

Li Tai nodded.

Theoretically, no one would assassinate him. Killing him would be meaningless and would instead help the prince.

Li Tai was very clear that this was not in the interests of the people behind the assassins.

I'm just worried that some stupid assassins might do something unexpected.

After thinking for a moment, Li Tai said, "Let's go to the King of Qi early tomorrow. The Crown Prince must be thinking about the Lantern Festival Poetry Meeting."

Last time, the Crown Prince presided over the wedding of Cui family's eldest daughter, but he ended up inviting the King of Qi to attend as well, leaving him with nothing.

This time Li Tai learned his lesson and rushed over early in the morning.

Even if the Crown Prince wanted the King of Qi to attend the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival, he would still have time.

After all, the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival is held at night.
-
Liquanfang.

Theodosius trying on his best headdress.

Prepare for the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival.

She wanted to attract the prince's attention as quickly as possible.

Narender is narrating what happened during the day, the Tang Dynasty expelled all the Goryeo people.

This incident was the most shocking to envoys from various countries.

Since the Tang Dynasty would expel the Koreans, it might also expel the people of their country.

If their country provokes the Tang Dynasty.

This will have a certain impact on Chang'an's housing prices, and foreign businessmen need to consider the final outcome.

Of course, if you can obtain a household registration in the Tang Dynasty and become a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, you won’t have to worry about these things.

But becoming a citizen of the Tang Dynasty is not an easy thing.

It would be simpler for women. As long as they married a Tang man, they could become Tang citizens.

If you are a man, you need to make certain contributions to the Tang Dynasty.

"Li Lunde, maybe we should think about how we can get closer to the prince at the Lantern Festival poetry gathering."

Alex suggested.

Nalund patted his chest and assured: "Sir Alex, I have already taken care of this matter."

"I sent 100,000 yuan to the officials of the Honglu Temple of the Tang Dynasty."

"He has promised me that he will place our Roman delegation as close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as possible."

"Tomorrow night, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only needs to slightly turn his eyes to see the most beautiful Princess."

In the Tang Dynasty, bribery was a common occurrence for envoys from various countries.

The officials of the Tang Dynasty were more corrupt than imagined, even though it was just a new empire.

In the early years of Zhenguan, Li Shimin provided working meals to solve the problem of hunger among ministers during court meetings. Now it has gradually evolved into a practice for administrative agencies such as prefectures and counties to regularly hold banquets with reimbursable expenses.

Some officials not only ate and drank at the banquets, but also engaged in bad behavior by hiring prostitutes to serve them and charging the expenses to public funds.

Especially in Chang'an area, it was prosperous and dazzling, with so many flowers that it was dazzling.

This has also led to the prevalence of extravagance, and spending public funds has become a common practice among officials.

Important officials of higher status were slightly better and were relatively restrained. After all, the rewards given to them by the court and the wealth brought by their own power were already a considerable amount.

For the middle and lower level officials of the Tang Dynasty, they tried every possible means to make money.

Corruption, bribery and abuse of power were hidden beneath the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

With the help of an investment banking document, the aristocratic family took control of the power of selecting officials, which made the officials in the court almost like grasshoppers on the same rope.

It is assumed that no one will attack others on the charge of corruption.

In the Tang Dynasty law "Tang Law Commentary", the punishment for officials' corruption and bribery was relatively lenient.

If there are no major problems caused by corruption, even if it is discovered, it can be protected by spending a little more money.

Li Shimin did create the Censorate, which had the power to impeach and inspect, and could promptly detect and correct corrupt officials.

In fact, even the censors in the Censorate would not specifically investigate and deal with corruption.

After all, there are too many people involved here.

Generally speaking, it is because 90% of the officials in the court come from aristocratic families, which leads to the situation of protecting each other.

For example, Wei Zheng himself was honest, but he was just pretending to be honest. This does not mean that he was corrupt or took bribes, but that he was rich but he wanted to act like an incorruptible person.

When Theodosius heard that he could sit closest to the Crown Prince at the Lantern Festival Poetry Party, he couldn't help but feel happy.

The Tang Dynasty's expulsion of the Koreans made Theodosius realize how strong the will of the Tang Emperor was.

And His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the future Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

This is even more powerful than the Roman emperor.

Of course, I'm talking about Rome today.

Her grandfather Heraclius, once a Roman emperor, was also able to control the will of the entire empire.

Unfortunately, Rome has become a mess since my grandfather's death.

Theodosius really hoped that she could marry the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty.

She had already inquired about it and found out that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was very young, only twenty-four years old.

She is only sixteen years old this year, and the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty meets the standard of her dream prince charming.

As for the lameness, she simply filtered it out.

What's wrong with a lame leg? It's not the smallest leg that's lame. It won't have any impact on your happy life in the future.

If the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was not convenient, Theodosius felt that he could take the initiative himself.

In Rome, due to inbreeding, all kinds of freaks emerged one after another. Compared with that, lameness was really nothing.

Thinking of this, Theodosius became worried again.

She was afraid that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty would look down on her.

"Narende, if I can marry the prince of the Tang Dynasty, then you will get everything you want."

Theodosius said seriously.

She has no other help now. Rome's reputation is not useful in the Tang Dynasty. The only person who can help her is the Sogdian merchant Nalund.

Nalunde bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, I will do my best to help you win the favor of His Highness, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."

The Sogdians actually had a pretty good political status in the Tang Dynasty. Because they had been engaged in cross-border trade for a long time and were proficient in multiple languages, this advantage enabled some of them to serve as translators and other positions in the Tang Dynasty's diplomatic affairs.

For example, An Lushan in the history of the Tang Dynasty worked as a translator on the northeastern border in his early years by virtue of his knowledge of multiple languages, and later he was promoted continuously.

But as of now, the Sogdians' influence is mainly on the middle and lower classes of the Tang Dynasty. They have no influence at all on places like the Tang Dynasty's power center, the imperial court.

If Theodosius could marry the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, then Narendra would become the most prestigious Sogdian in the Tang Dynasty.
-
evening.

The Tang Dynasty has begun to become extremely lively tonight.

Because starting today, the curfew will be lifted.

When night falls, the city of Chang'an is decorated with lights and is bustling with activity.

The streets are crowded and the lights are bright.

Countless lanterns are hung high, red, yellow, pink or purple, like stars falling on the earth.

The streets and alleys were filled with people, men, women, old and young dressed in their best clothes, with joy on their faces. Children held lanterns, ran and played, and their laughter echoed in the air.

The market was even more lively, with a dazzling array of stalls and vendors shouting one after another.

There are people selling Yuanxiao. The plump white Yuanxiao served in a bowl exudes an enticing aroma.

There were jewelry for sale, and the exquisite hairpins and necklaces sparkled under the lights, attracting the attention of many women.

There were also street performers performing juggling, balancing bowls on their heads, breathing fire and other stunts which drew cheers from the crowd.

Temples and Taoist temples are full of incense. People come here to pray for blessings and a safe and smooth new year.

This carnival will last for three days.

It is also the busiest time of the year in the Tang Dynasty.

However, in Tongjifang, Chang'an City, there was a house where lanterns were hung, but the atmosphere inside the house was out of tune with the carnival of the Tang Dynasty.

Tongjifang is located at the southern gate of Chang'an, near Qixia Gate.

In this block is the spy intelligence station set up by the Koreans in Chang'an.

Kim Yun-ho is the person in charge of Goryeo in Chang'an.

Ten years ago, he had come to Chang'an and obtained a Tang Dynasty household registration.

He did not disguise himself as a businessman, but as an elegant scholar.

He often wore a plain robe, holding a book, and appeared in various academies in Chang'an.

With his profound knowledge and humble attitude, he quickly integrated into the literary circle of Chang'an.

During his exchanges and discussions with other literati, he quietly collected information about Tang culture, academic trends, and the court's policies on culture and education.

At this moment, more than ten people gathered in the house, kneeling together.

The one at the top is Kim Yun-ho.

The atmosphere was heavy, and everyone looked at each other, their faces revealing anger and uneasiness.

"The Tang Dynasty is so rude. That damned prince actually persuaded the Tang Emperor to expel all of us Koreans."

"It's time to let them know how powerful we are, sir, please give the order."

Everyone started talking, their words filled with resentment and anger.

Jin Yunhao waved his hand, and the room suddenly became quiet.

"Tomorrow night, the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival will be held in the King of Wei's Hibiscus Garden. This is the best time for us to take revenge."

"I have prepared three hundred men. When the time comes, we will rush forward and will surely kill the prince."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone raised a question: "Shangguan, the prince will definitely heavily guard Furong Garden. How can three hundred people get in?"

"Even if they can disguise themselves as servants in Hibiscus Garden, three hundred of them would be too conspicuous."

Everyone nodded, thinking that it was too outrageous for three hundred people to kill the prince.

However, Jin Yunhao replied calmly: "You all know that this year, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty gave Furong Garden to King Wei, and King Wei once repaired Furong Garden."

"And the craftsmen who are responsible for repairing Hibiscus Garden are the ones I arranged."

"In Furong Garden, Qujiang Pond is the most famous, but who knew that there is a secret passage under Qujiang Pond."

Kim Yun-ho did not have the ability to predict the future. He took great pains to build this secret passage, but it was not prepared for the crown prince.

But it was prepared for Goryeo.

He was originally a subordinate of Yeon Gaesomun, who had great ambitions for the Tang Dynasty.

Kim Yun-ho built this secret passage in preparation for Goryeo's future attack on the Tang Dynasty.

He hoped that one day the Goryeo army would arrive at Chang'an, and then use this secret passage to break through the city defenses and capture Chang'an.

But I didn't expect that this secret passage would come into play so soon.

However, if I can kill the prince, it won't be a wasted effort.

After all, killing the prince is more practical than the unrealistic fantasy of the Goryeo army approaching the city of Chang'an.

In Jin Yunhao's mind, the threat posed by the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty to Goryeo was too great.

At this moment everyone suddenly became excited. With this secret passage, they could prepare enough manpower to assassinate the prince.

(End of this chapter)