My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 155 If you don’t surrender within ten breaths, I will kill you!

"After Helan Chushi was arrested and thrown into the Wannian County jail."

"The Crown Prince directly sent Chen Yunchao, the left inner commander of the Eastern Palace, and hundreds of imperial guardsmen to the Wannian County government office to forcibly seize the person."

"One hundred Tiqi are almost all the Tiqi in the Eastern Palace. When the Crown Prince got the news, he did not hesitate at all."

Hearing Fang Xuanling talking about this, Li Tai said with some regret: "Yes, if the prince hadn't come forward in person, he wouldn't have been allowed to take Helan Chushi away."

Until now, when Li Tai thought about this incident and the prince's arrogance towards him, he still felt a tightness in his chest.

Fang Xuanling reminded: "Hasn't the King of Wei thought about why the Crown Prince values ​​Helan Chushi so much?"

"Is it because he only concerns the reputation of the Eastern Palace?"

"Or maybe it's due to some other reason."

"If it was just a matter of face, why would the prince leave the palace in person?"

After Fang Xuanling said this, Li Tai suddenly came to his senses and said immediately: "Mr. Fang is saying that Helan Chushi participated in the prince's rebellion."

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "It is very likely, otherwise the prince would not be so strong."

"Helan Chushi may seem heroic, but he is actually just a drunkard and a womanizer. The prince knows this, so he is worried that he might say something he shouldn't say in Wannian County Jail."

"In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, after letting Chen Yunchao lead a hundred cavalrymen, he even left the palace in person."

Li Tai regretted, "If I had known this earlier, I should have interrogated Helan Chushi directly after arresting him. I'm sure the secret of the prince's rebellion would have been revealed."

"What a shame, such a missed opportunity."

It was a pity for Li Tai that Fang Xuanling had not completely stood on his side at that time. If Fang Gong had taken action, great things could have been done.

After figuring it out, Li Tai asked, "So Lord Fang has been trying to find a way to deal with Helan Chushi recently."

Fang Xuanling said: "I have my own arrangements. If the King of Wei has any ideas, remember not to act on your own and discuss it with me first."

He was just worried that Li Tai would get carried away and think of some way to alert the enemy.

Li Tai suffered a loss at the hands of the King of Qi, so naturally he would not make the same mistake again.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fang. If I have an idea, I will definitely inform you first and take action only after obtaining your consent."

At this moment, Li Tai cursed Chai Lingwu in his heart, calling him a waste.

If he had half the planning of Lord Fang, he would have been the crown prince long ago.

At this time, he had already deeply realized how powerful Fang Gong's schemes were.

Fang Xuanling continued, "King of Wei, do you know who your majesty plans to send as the commander-in-chief for this expedition to Goryeo?"

Li Tai obviously had not yet realized the profound meaning of Fang Xuanling's words.

After thinking for a while, he said, "It should be Duke Wei, but Duke Wei is old and in poor health."

"Perhaps the emperor will send Hou Junji. After all, it was Hou Junji who destroyed Gaochang."

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling remained silent. He just picked up the teacup and drank a sip of tea without answering the King of Wei.

Li Tai was a little confused. What did Mr. Fang mean?
Did I say something wrong?

Compared with Chai Lingwu, Li Tai felt it was really uncomfortable to talk to Fang Xuanling.

Chai Lingwu would speak out whatever he thought.

As for Mr. Fang, he only tells half the story, and you have to guess and guess for yourself.

Seeing that Li Tai was indifferent, Fang Xuanling put down the teacup helplessly.

"King Wei, do you know who Helan Chushi's father-in-law is?"

Li Tai replied subconsciously: "Helan Chushi's father-in-law, isn't he..."

Having said that, Li Tai suddenly came to his senses.

His tone stagnated, and he exclaimed, "Mr. Fang means that Hou Junji is also the prince's man."

This time, Li Tai felt that he was in big trouble.

Hou Junji was the commander-in-chief of the expedition against Goryeo. If he was the prince's man, it would mean that the entire army heading for the expedition against Goryeo was under the control of the prince.

If so, it would be like he wanted to use the Koreans to kill the prince on the battlefield.

The prince only needs to use a little trick to kill himself on the battlefield.

He died at the hands of the Koreans without anyone noticing.

Even if the emperor blames him, he will not blame the crown prince.

At most, it was to punish Hou Junji for his poor command.

Hou Junji would naturally not care and would just receive some punishment. When the prince ascended the throne, he would naturally rise to prominence with his merits as a follower of the emperor.

At this time, Li Tai felt tremendous pressure.

He also figured it out all of a sudden.

Why was the prince so easy to talk to regarding the assassination in Furong Garden, and he didn't even have the intention of framing me?

In the eyes of the prince, he had already become a dead man.

"Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang, what should we do? What should we do?"

"By then, the prince will definitely find a way to kill me."

"Mr. Fang, save me!"

Li Tai was really anxious.

"Don't be impatient, King Wei. We have to wait until after the autumn harvest to attack Goryeo."

"As long as we expose the Crown Prince's rebellion before this, nothing will happen."

"So the most urgent task is to incite Helan Chushi to rebel and obtain evidence of the Crown Prince's affair with Hou Junji."

Fang Xuanling soothed calmly, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

How can the King of Wei, who is so cowardly and cunning, accomplish anything great?

Li Tai nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Mr. Fang is right, the first is Helan Chushi."

Fang Xuanling pondered and said, "It's not just Helan Chushi and Hou Junji. I also suspect that there are also people of the Crown Prince around His Majesty."

"Since the Crown Prince can secretly communicate with Hou Junji, then the Crown Prince can definitely bribe more people."

"The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne and the legitimate heir. Few people would refuse the Crown Prince's invitation."

Li Tai's breathing stagnated and he was shocked.

It turns out that the prince is so powerful that he has secretly colluded with so many people. Even the emperor is around the prince's people?
Li Tai certainly did not doubt Fang Xuanling's guess, so he asked, "Who around Mr. Fang is colluding with the Crown Prince?"

Fang Xuanling shook his head slightly: "There are no clues for now, but there is a suspect."

"Who is it?" Li Tai asked.

Fang Xuanling said: "The official under the Crown Prince Yin is now the commander of the guards around His Majesty, the General of the Left Garrison Guard, Li Anyan."

Li Tai exclaimed, “It’s him!”

This person was beyond Li Tai's expectations.

You know, Li Anyan has always been known for his loyalty.

After his uncle was defeated at Xuanwu Gate, Li Anyan fought desperately for his uncle and only then did he gain the appreciation of his father.

How could such a loyal person betray his father and join the prince?

Fang Xuanling said: "It's just a guess, and I can't be sure yet, but in my opinion, if the prince wants to rebel, he must have bribed the guards around your majesty."

"Among all the guard commanders, Li Anyan is the most likely."

The reason why Fang Xuanling said this was because he knew 80% of the guard commanders around Li Shimin and they were familiar with each other.

Some of them had a very good relationship with Fang Xuanling.

When Fang Xuanling was in charge of military affairs, he knew all the brave men in the army. After eliminating these people, there were naturally not many candidates left.

Li Anyan came into Fang Xuanling's sight.

Li Tai was greatly shocked at this moment, or rather, his heart rate had not dropped at all today.

Wave after wave, with no sign of stopping.

Only then did Li Tai realize how bad the situation had become in his game with the prince.

Perhaps the prince never took him seriously. If it weren't for Fang Xuanling's help, he would have died without knowing how he died.

At this moment, Li Tai's face suddenly lit up, and he said, "If we can find evidence that Helan Chushi helped the crown prince to have an affair with Hou Junji, and secretly colluded with the guards around my father, then we can completely prove that the crown prince is plotting a rebellion."

At this point, Li Tai realized how stupid it was for him to go to see the King of Qi.

Just as Fang Xuanling said, if these two pieces of evidence were found and it was proven that the prince was plotting a rebellion, then there would be no chance for the prince to turn things around.

But if what happened with the Prince of Qi were to be exposed, it would be said that he had conspired with him to slander the Prince.

My father will definitely feel that other people may have been slandered as well.

Evidence is one thing, whether your father believes it or not is another.

Fang Xuanling had set up a situation where the crown prince would be deposed, but he was clever enough to find a way out of it.

At this moment, Li Tai felt so upset that he really wanted to slap himself twice.

If it was really because the Prince of Qi failed in his bid for the throne that the Crown Prince escaped, Li Tai felt that he might vomit three liters of blood.

Fang Xuanling advised: "During this period, it is best for the King of Wei to keep some distance from the Cui family of Qinghe. As for the training of the palace soldiers, now that it is a foregone conclusion, go and have a look more often, and you can also arrange for some of your own people to go in."

"The aristocratic families are not united. Those palace soldiers will be the elite troops under the King of Wei in the future. It is not a good thing to have them all controlled by others."

"If the King of Wei has a confidant who is trustworthy and has some basic knowledge of military affairs, he can be sent there."

Fang Xuanling's words were so clear that Li Tai naturally understood them.

This was to ask him to arrange for Fang Yiai to take over the palace troops.

In the beginning, Fang Xuanling actually didn't want to get involved in so many things, nor did he want the Fang family to be involved in military power. After all, his influence on the army was too great, which might easily arouse His Majesty's suspicion.

But now that we are on the side of King Wei, we prosper together and suffer together, so we have fewer concerns.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Fang, I..."

Just as Li Tai was speaking, there was a sudden shout from outside.

Immediately afterwards, Chai Lingwu rushed in.

Li Tai frowned immediately: "You are so flustered, how can you be so unbecoming? Can't you see that I am talking to Lord Fang?"

No matter how he looked at Chai Lingwu, he felt uncomfortable.

I didn’t feel anything before and was quite dependent on him, but now compared with Mr. Fang, it’s like one is in heaven and the other is at the bottom of a well.

Chai Lingwu looked anxious and did not sense the alienation in the King of Wei's words. He quickly said, "The King of Han brought the guards of the Eastern Palace and surrounded the residence of Master Cui, saying that he wanted to arrest him for interrogation."

"What!" Li Tai sat up immediately.

Just as he was about to take action, he looked at Fang Xuanling.

"Go quickly."

Fang Xuanling knew that there must be something going on between Cui Shengyu and the King of Wei. If the prince caught him, there would be a lot of trouble.

The King of Wei went out in a hurry.

He is now facing the same situation as when the prince rescued Helan Chushi.

If Cui Shengyu couldn't stand the interrogation and said something he shouldn't have, it would be a big trouble for King Wei.

Li Tai finally understood what the prince felt at that time.

I really feel the same way.
-
Qunxianfang is located in the west of Chang'an West Market, near Jinguang Gate.

Cui Shengyu's mansion is here.

There are many factions within the Qinghe Cui family.

They can be roughly divided into reformists and conservatives.

Cui Wensheng is a conservative, while Cui Shengyu belongs to the reformist faction.

For example, the view on business.

The Qinghe Cui family owned a large amount of land, manors and numerous tenants. These land resources provided them with a stable economic income, so that they did not need to rely on commercial trade to maintain the family's livelihood.

However, because the political resources were hit by the Guanlong clan and Li Shimin, the political influence of the Qinghe Cui family became weak.

The conservatives hoped to re-enter the court by participating in the fight for the throne of King Wei.

Reformists like Cui Shengyu hope to accumulate more wealth through other means, such as increasing their market share of commodity products, or even building a private army for the Qinghe Cui family.

Strictly speaking, Cui Shengyu's current practice is very similar to that of Li Tang in his early years.

So after Cui Shengyu came to Chang'an, he decided to locate his mansion in Xishi.

There is a lot of business activity here, and there are merchants from all over the world.

However, at this moment, the gate of his mansion was surrounded by guards from the Eastern Palace.

Han Wang Li Yuanchang, sitting on his horse, looked at the guards in front of him and sneered, "A bunch of unruly people dare to stop me?"

"If you don't get out of the way, I will shoot all of you here today."

As Li Yuanchang finished speaking, the surrounding Ti cavalrymen took out powerful crossbows from their horse bags.

Unlike Chen Yunchao, Li Yuanchang, as the King of Han, is bolder.

He really dares to kill people.

So when the guards of the Eastern Palace came out, Li Yuanchang asked them to bring powerful crossbows.

In the absence of defensive equipment such as shields, the damage caused by a powerful crossbow is extremely terrifying.

Obviously, the guards in Cui Shengyu's mansion could not have shields.

At this time, Cui Shengyu had already arrived at the door. Facing the crossbows around him, he said calmly, "I don't know which law of the Tang Dynasty I have violated, and how fortunate I am to have the King of Han come in person."

Although Cui Shengyu was a commoner, his title as the eldest son of the Qinghe Cui family was already comparable to that of a third-rank official.

Li Yuanchang scolded: "Why, do you need me to remind you?"

"The assassin of Furong Garden, you, Qinghe Cui, are the biggest suspect."

"Now, I want to interrogate you."

"If there is resistance, shoot without mercy!"

After saying this, Li Yuanchang did not hesitate at all. He picked up the crossbow and shot an arrow at the guard next to Cui Shengyu.

call out!
At a distance of more than ten meters, the crossbow arrow arrived in an instant and hit the guard's thigh directly.

In this day and age, this leg can be said to be almost useless.

No one expected that the King of Han would be so direct and decisive.

"Help him in quickly and call a doctor."

Cui Shengyu was shocked, but after he came to his senses, he immediately asked someone to send the guard back home for treatment.

"King of Han, you should know that I have only been in Chang'an for a few months, and most of the time, I have been training troops outside the city."

"The matter of the Hibiscus Garden assassin has nothing to do with me."

At this moment, Cui Shengyu could hardly maintain his calm expression.

Li Yuanchang laughed: "If I say you are suspicious, then you are suspicious."

"Don't talk nonsense. If you don't surrender within ten breaths, I'll kill you!"

(End of this chapter)