My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 152 The Crown Prince Defends His Majesty from a Disaster

Li Shimin listened to the Jinwu Guards' report on the situation in Furong Garden.

His face was so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip.

Is this still my Chang'an? Is this still the Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty?

Furong Garden, a famous and prosperous place in Chang'an, was home to five hundred assassins.

They all carried powerful crossbows.

Even though he was not at the scene, Li Shimin could imagine how critical the situation was.

If the prince had not suppressed the attack on the spot with his superb archery skills, he would have shot and killed the leader of the assassins.

Perhaps a large number of adult princes will all die there.

Goryeo, great Goryeo.

"Go back."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Shimin's voice was very calm, as if he was listening to an ordinary story.

However, Zhang Ananda could understand that there was a raging rage brewing in His Majesty's heart.

“Ananda.”

"The minister is here."

Li Shimin's eyes flashed coldly, and he said in a low voice: "Investigate immediately, and investigate thoroughly now."

"Are those assassins in Furong Garden related to King Wei?"

Zhang Ananda bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will go now."

Looking at Zhang Ananda’s back as he left.

Li Shimin murmured, "Qingque, Qingque, please don't let me down."

Comparing the King of Wei with the Crown Prince was a helpless choice.

However, if the King of Wei was the mastermind behind the assassination, then Li Shimin could no longer protect him.

It is also impossible to protect the King of Wei.

This was no longer a simple rebellion between brothers, but the King of Wei wanted to kill all the adult princes.

So even if I prefer it, there is nothing I can do.

If he was not the mastermind but just a participant, the King of Wei would have to be banished to a distant fiefdom.

As for suppressing the prince, it can only be left to Prince Jin.

But for now, the power of Prince Jin is weak and the Crown Prince is at the peak of his power, so it is difficult to achieve any results.

But something is better than nothing.

Of course, for Li Shimin, the best outcome is that the King of Wei is completely unaware of it.

In this way, the situation in the court can remain stable as it is now.
-
In Hibiscus Garden.

The Lantern Festival Poetry Festival ended successfully, although some unexpected incidents occurred.

But it also added a lot of topics to talk about during this Lantern Festival Poetry Festival.

Especially the gossip about the prince.

It can be predicted that the prince's reputation will be greatly enhanced after tonight.

People will discover that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is so talented in both civil and military affairs.

A poem of Qingyu'an Lantern Festival and a miraculous archery skill.

Tonight's Lantern Festival Poetry Festival will create a legendary story.

It will also leave a deep mark in history books.

"Tonight, you must come back to the East Palace with me."

Su Yuer asked the Roman Princess Theodosius with a smile.

After hearing the translation, Theodosius was very surprised and said, "Can I really do this, Your Highness the Crown Princess?"

Su Yuer heard the translation and chuckled, "Of course, but you should learn my Tang dialect well."

This is indeed a flaw.

We can't ask the prince to learn Roman, that's obviously impossible.

"Of course, Your Highness, I will study hard."

"That's right, Tang dialect is really difficult."

Theodosius was actually already learning Luoyang Hanyin, although she was very smart and outstanding.

But in her eyes, those square characters of various shapes looked like mysterious code symbols.

Pronunciation is even more of a challenge. For foreigners who are used to languages ​​without tones, accurately pronouncing these tones is like walking on a tightrope; they have to be careful but often make mistakes.

Polyphonetic and polysemous words are like a maze, making people dizzy and not knowing how to choose the correct way of expression.

Su Yuer smiled and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has compiled a set of simplified Chinese characters that are easier to learn. Perhaps they will be more suitable for you."

Su Yuer was also very clear about the simplified Chinese characters promoted by the Military Academy.

For beginners, it is indeed more friendly than traditional Chinese characters and Luoyang Hanyu, and most importantly, it has the standard pronunciation of pinyin.

"Thank you so much, Your Highness the Crown Princess."

At this moment, Theodosius truly felt the blessing of God.

After Narender got the news, he said to Alex excitedly: "Captain Alex, we succeeded. Did you hear that? We succeeded."

"This is the best news tonight. Maybe it's because Her Royal Highness the Princess stood before the Crown Princess, but anyway, we succeeded, didn't we?"

Alex said excitedly: "Yes, with God's blessing, Your Highness has been recognized by the Crown Princess. I think the next thing will be smooth."
Narender suggested, "Captain Alex, maybe we should find a place and have a drink."

"I heard that Pingkangfang in Chang'an will be very lively today. We should go and experience the wildness of Chang'an."

Alex nodded and said, "Of course, Li Lunde, this is a good idea."

After the poetry reading.

Outside Hibiscus Garden.

Concubine Yang was wearing an elegant palace dress with her skirt swaying gently. She walked in front of the prince with trepidation, bowed slightly, and looked guilty.

There was a flicker of anxiety and apology in his eyes: "Your Highness, the assassination in Hibiscus Garden was my fault."

"I originally invited Your Highness to participate in the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival with good intentions, but I did not expect such an accident to happen. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Since the King of Wu had told her that there might be an assassin, Concubine Yang had been very nervous.

Originally, seeing that the prince was on high alert, he relaxed a lot, but he didn't expect that hundreds of strong crossbowmen would suddenly appear and try to kill the prince. It was really horrifying.

Thinking about it now, Concubine Yang feels a little scared.

Not only the prince, but also the assassins killed him. How could she and her two sons be spared?

Li Chengqian looked calm. The assassin's incident had no effect on him at all. Hearing this, he replied, "There is no need for Concubine Yang to do this. This matter was not something that Concubine Yang could have predicted."

"Although there were some twists and turns, fortunately it was safe."

Li Chengqian would naturally not blame Concubine Yang for this matter. Strictly speaking, this was also Concubine Yang's good intention.

Judging from the results, whether it was the Qingyu Case Yuan Xi Poem or the response to this assassination attempt, it was a huge boost to his reputation and a good thing.

At the same time, it can also enhance the solidarity of the people of the Tang Dynasty and provide a legitimate reason for the conquest of Goryeo.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."

"Concubine Yang, you are too kind."

Concubine Yang felt relieved and got on the carriage.

The convoy returned to the palace along the same route.

The security on the road was even tighter this time, with a large number of Jinwu Guards providing protection.

Although the possibility of being assassinated again is very small, Lu Tong dare not let his guard down at all.

The atmosphere on Li Chengqian's prince carriage was a little awkward.

Obviously, the translator is not qualified to sit on the prince's carriage.

Without an interpreter, Li Chengqian and Su Yuer didn't know how to communicate with Theodosius.

Su Yuer took Theodosius's hand and said to Li Chengqian with a smile, "Don't worry, Your Highness. She is very smart and will learn Chinese quickly." Li Chengqian glanced at Theodosius and said, "Let her learn simplified Chinese characters."

Su Yuer smiled and said, "I think so too."
-
On the other side, on the carriage of King Wei.

Unlike the crown prince, the King of Wei naturally did not have the privilege of martial law, but he was also protected by more than a dozen Ti cavalry.

Sitting opposite Li Tai in the carriage was Sheng Yu, the eldest son of the Cui family.

Chai Lingwu and Fang Yiai were both riding horses outside.

"Are you planning to kill me too, Master Cui?"

Even now when Li Tai thinks about it, he still feels a little scared.

He didn't think that the Goryeo warriors would let him go after killing the prince.

"King Wei, this was an accident. I didn't expect them to be so crazy." Cui Shengyu explained.

Li Tai said sternly: "Accident, you're telling me it's an accident now?"

"If the prince had not been cautious and brought enough troops, everyone would have died there."

"Hundreds of powerful crossbows! How dare you?"

Cui Shengyu said: "King Wei has misunderstood. This has nothing to do with our Cui family. I had no knowledge of this beforehand."

"The King of Wei should know this. In order to avoid being implicated, we never come into direct contact with them."

Li Tai asked, "Where is Cui Wensheng? Where are the two Goryeo nobles who are still imprisoned in the East Palace?"

Cui Shengyu was silent for a moment: "He broke the rules, so he left Chang'an."

"If the prince hands over the two Koreans to Your Majesty, then he will commit suicide in Qinghe and send his head to Chang'an to apologize to Your Majesty."

Li Tai paused slightly. He had a pretty good relationship with Cui Wensheng. After all, the other party had given him strong support in the past two years.

Cui Wensheng took the lead in helping him deal with the affairs of the palace soldiers and the shipbuilding in Yangzhou.

In the past few years, Cui Wensheng also united various aristocratic families to continuously provide financial support to the Prince of Wei's Palace.

Li Tai said in a deep voice: "The Crown Prince will not miss this opportunity and will definitely hand over the two Koreans to Father."

Cui Shengyu nodded: "Yes, so Uncle Cui is destined to die."

Li Tai was a little worried: "Will it not implicate us? This matter has a huge impact. The prince will definitely not let go of this opportunity easily. If he finds out any clues, my father will not be able to save me."

Cui Shengyu said in a gentle voice: "Don't worry, King Wei. This matter has nothing to do with us. True gold is not afraid of fire. No matter how they investigate, it will be fine."

"Last year, His Majesty gave Hibiscus Garden to King Wei. King Wei asked Uncle Cui to arrange for someone to repair it. The repairs were left to the people below to arrange, so someone took advantage of the loophole."

"Those who accepted bribes will be handed over to the Dali Temple for trial. Uncle Cui has never come into contact with those people. It was their own greed that led to such a mistake."

"This includes the assassins who sneaked in this time and acted as servants of the maids. They also acted on their own initiative."

Li Tai was a little unconvinced and asked, "You didn't participate? Cui Wensheng didn't participate either?"

Cui Shengyu smiled and said, "How can Uncle Cui be in charge of such a small matter? Of course, it will be handled by the people below."

"I have only been in Chang'an for a short time. I am concentrating on training the palace soldiers for the King of Wei. How could I care about these minor details?"

Aristocratic families have always acted cautiously, especially in matters such as assassinations. They would never leave any evidence behind, but would just push things forward in secret and would not even get involved in the specific process.

Whenever something went wrong, no matter how they investigated, they could not trace it back to them, because the people below them were bribed.

This is different from letting subordinates take the blame, there is really no loophole.

Cui Wensheng's situation was an accident. The matter of Cui family's eldest daughter made him lose his mind.

The older generation values ​​family honor more than anything else.

Cui Shengyu didn't feel anything. He believed that the family should obey the development of the court instead of blindly opposing the court.

Complying with the will of heaven is the foundation of family inheritance.

If you really want to go against the emperor, you might as well just rebel.

"In this case, I am relieved."

Li Tai felt much more at ease, at least the investigation could not be traced to him, and at most he would be scolded by his father.
-
Inside the East Palace.

The Crown Prince was assassinated today, so Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang naturally had no time to enjoy themselves.

"These Koreans are damned. They actually hid so many powerful crossbows."

Li Yuanchang was also a little scared. The assassin lineup was too powerful and he almost died there.

Fortunately, the prince is brave.

"I'm afraid these people are not here specifically to deal with Your Highness."

"They want to assassinate your majesty."

Zhao Jie expressed his speculation.

Hundreds of people, and hundreds of powerful crossbows were secretly built. This is not something that can be raised all at once.

The prince had a bad reputation in the past two years, so the Koreans would not prepare to assassinate him.

Obviously, this team of assassins was prepared for Your Majesty.

His Majesty himself has also experienced many assassination attempts, each one larger than the last.

"Then why did they want to assassinate His Highness? Wouldn't it be better to assassinate His Majesty?"

What King Han Li Yuanchang said was somewhat treasonous.

He hoped that His Majesty would be killed by an assassin, so that the Crown Prince could succeed to the throne legitimately and with fewer twists and turns.

"It's because Your Highness has been in the spotlight recently, especially the incident with the curved plow."

"The Koreans can steal the curved plow, but they can't compare with us in the Tang Dynasty."

"The stronger our Tang Dynasty is, the more afraid Goryeo will be."

"Besides, Your Highness has always advocated conquering Goryeo. If we wait until Your Highness ascends the throne, Goryeo will have no chance of survival."

Zhao Jie analyzed.

Li Yuanchang said disdainfully: "If they assassinate His Highness, will His Majesty not destroy Goryeo?"

Zhao Jie explained: "Your Majesty will naturally raise an army to attack Goryeo, but raising an army out of anger is a serious matter. If you cannot annihilate them in one fell swoop, you may not necessarily attack by force."

"But Your Highness is different. Even if the war is not going well, you will still forcibly exterminate Goryeo."

The Tang Dynasty always wanted to destroy Goryeo, and so did the Sui Dynasty.

However, Goryeo was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it would be too costly to conquer it, and people's livelihood issues had to be taken into consideration as well.

If it drags on for too long, there will be a wave of opposition from the court.

Historically, Li Shimin also attacked Goryeo three times but failed to destroy it.

Finally, problems arose within Goryeo and internal strife broke out, so Goryeo was finally conquered after seeking help from Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

A strong fortress often begins to collapse from within.

"Your Highness has saved His Majesty from disaster this time."

Li Yuanchang said with a pursed mouth.

That being said, Li Chengqian knew that it was almost impossible for the Koreans to assassinate Erfeng so blatantly.

In history, Li Shimin had never encountered such a serious assassination attempt.

This shows that the Koreans never found an opportunity.

Assassinating the emperor is a very difficult task in itself. It is not something that can be done just by wanting to.

Even if Erfeng went to Furong Garden, it was at most a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The most important thing is that the Prince of Wei and the aristocratic families do not want Li Shimin to be assassinated or die before the Prince of Wei succeeds in his bid for the throne, as this will only benefit the prince.

No matter how powerful the Wei Wang Party is, as long as Your Majesty passes away, the Crown Prince will definitely ascend the throne.

Once the prince ascends the throne, there is no doubt that the first people to be liquidated will be the Prince of Wei's party.

Therefore, assassinations like the one in Furong Garden would never be allowed to happen.

Only the prince can enjoy this treatment.

"This matter is definitely related to King Wei." Li Yuanchang said in a firm tone.

He did not say that the King of Wei was the mastermind. After all, the Korean assassins intended to kill the King of Wei as well.

(End of this chapter)