My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 164: Prince Jin also wants to seize the throne?

Historically, Li Chengqian was deposed this year, and Li Shimin originally made Prince of Wei the crown prince.

As a result, the King of Wei lost his mind and decided to kill his son and pass on his younger brother.

Li Shimin believed such a lie. Perhaps he was too sad about the prince's rebellion.

However, after several ministers analyzed it, they understood it.

Li Shimin still had deep feelings for Li Chengqian. Because of his deep affection for his son, he could not bear to execute Li Chengqian even when the prince rebelled.

After being reminded by his ministers, Li Shimin knew that once the Prince of Wei became the crown prince, Li Chengqian would definitely die.

After some tug of war, Li Zhi was finally made the crown prince.

It was at this time that Li Zhi entered the Eastern Palace and met Wu Zhao.

"It must be Wu Cairen."

Li Chengqian said in an affirmative tone.

The eunuch Wen Zhong flattered him, "Your Highness is wise, and you must be a talented military man."

"Tell me, how did the Prince of Jin hook up with Wu Cairen?"

Li Chengqian was a little curious. After all, the trajectory of history had changed. He didn't expect that the situation was still the same and Li Zhi was still involved with Wu Zetian.

The eunuch Wen Zhong began to talk about the situation of Prince Jin.

Originally, last time, Li Zhi asked for advice on how to handle the case files of the Right Jinwu Guard.

With Li Chengqian's affirmation, Li Zhi immediately made arrangements. He granted some power in the form of bounty and allowed the ghostwriter to help the Right Golden Guard catch criminals in order to solve the problem of insufficient personnel in the Right Golden Guard.

And under such a policy, the effect is very significant.

After all, many previous criminals did not actually escape from Chang'an. After a round of screening, they even went back home to live a normal life.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. Under the stimulation of bounty and power, the ghostwriter suddenly became very motivated.

At one time, a large number of fugitive criminals were arrested.

In just over half a month, almost 80% of the files of the Right Jinwu Guard had been cleared out.

This situation was soon known to Li Shimin.

Only then did Li Shimin realize that this legitimate son, whom he had always ignored, was actually quite capable.

In addition, Li Zhi was well-behaved and sensible, so he was often summoned to the palace to meet the emperor.

As she entered the palace more often, Wu Zhao naturally had opportunities.

"Your Highness, should we disclose the matter of Prince Jin to His Majesty?"

The eunuch Wen Zhong asked.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "No need, just be more careful and let them be."

It is obviously not in place yet. Maybe the two of them just meet a few more times, and when the rice is cooked, it will be called a handle.

The reason why the behavior of Li Zhi and Wu Zhao was known to the eunuch Wen Zhong.

It was because of Li Chengqian's previous instructions to secretly monitor the actions of Prince Jin.

There were already quite a few Wen Zhong spies in the palace, and with the prince's instructions, they would naturally discover it if they paid careful attention.

the other side.

Wu Zhao returned to her palace happily.

Her contact with Li Zhi made her feel very satisfied.

But the maid Haruyuki was a little worried.

"Madam, have we given up on the Crown Prince?"

After all, he had spent a lot of effort to curry favor with the prince. Now that he had changed his target, Chunxue felt it was a pity, but he was also worried about causing the prince's disgust.

Wu Zhao sighed, "The Crown Prince's character is destined to make him not pay attention to me. In his eyes, I am just a dispensable tool, just like Your Majesty treats me like this."

"I have planned so much for the prince, but I can't even get a simple promise. Why should I waste my time?"

In Wu Zhao's opinion, it is necessary to stop the loss in time for the prince.

Chunxue hesitated and said, "But the Prince of Jin is not the crown prince after all. He might have to go back to Jinzhou after some time. He won't stay in Chang'an forever."

Hearing this, Wu Zhao's eyes flickered and she said softly, "Who said that the King of Jin would definitely return to Jinzhou? If the King of Wei can stay, the King of Jin can naturally stay too."

Chunxue was a little confused, because once King Jin left, all their efforts would be wasted.

"But."

Wu Zhao sighed sadly: "There is no but, we no longer have any choice."

Being trapped in the deep palace, it is so difficult to escape.

If I had known the situation today, I should not have gone to so much trouble to enter the palace. The identity of a concubine would have become a shackle that binds me.

But for Wu Zhao at that time, if she didn't enter the palace, would she be bullied by her brothers?

Even if we go back to the past, there seems to be no choice.

Not now.

Your Majesty has only three legitimate sons: the Crown Prince, the Prince of Wei, and the Prince of Jin.

Only these three people have the ability and possibility to help her get out of her current situation.

It is impossible for King Wei, because King Wei's party are all from aristocratic families and they care most about moral ethics.

He wanted to curry favor with the prince, but the prince looked down on him.

Yes, apart from the identity of a talented person, what else is worthy of the prince's attention?

Prince Jin, this is a pleasant surprise.

Originally, Wu Zhao went fishing with the mentality of having no chance of success, but she actually caught the big fish, Prince of Jin.

"But how can we help King Jin?"

Chunxue was puzzled. The Prince of Jin was outside the palace and his wife was inside. They had met only a few times, so how could they help each other with plans?

Wu Zhao said confidently: "There will be a chance."
-
The Mansion of the General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

When Li Zhi returned to his mansion, he couldn't help but think of Wu Zhao's voice, appearance and smile.

There is nothing wrong with a young man admiring Ai.

It's not that Li Zhi has never seen beautiful women. As the Prince of Jin in the Tang Dynasty, he is nothing compared to his father, the crown prince, and the Prince of Wei.

But as a legitimate prince, Li Zhi's status was extremely noble, and he could be said to be at the pinnacle of the entire Tang Dynasty.

All roads lead to Chang'an.

Some people got in through exams, some bought their way in, and some fought their way in.

However, Li Zhi was born in the most noble place in Chang'an.

His starting point is the end point that 99% of people in the world cannot reach.

With such an identity, he must have seen all kinds of beauties.

If you are lustful, there is no beauty that you cannot get.

All nations come to Chang'an to pay tribute, and beauties from all over the world, of all types, are available for you to pick.

Why did he fall for my father’s woman?

Of course it was because it gave him a different feeling.

Li Zhi couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Wu Zhao.

That was because of the ghostwriter matter. The emperor summoned him to the palace to reward him and praised him highly.

On the way back, I happened to see Wu Zhao resting on the side after spraining her ankle.

I went up to him out of curiosity and asked about the situation. After a conversation, I developed a good impression of him.

But after knowing Wu Cairen's identity, he kept his distance.

The second time I entered the palace, I saw him again and we had another conversation.

Entering the palace for the third time.

the fourth time.

No matter how stupid Li Zhi was, he knew that Wu Cairen was waiting for him specially. However, instead of feeling disgusted, he even felt proud.

Because Wu Zhao gave him a feeling he had never had before.

After a few interactions, this feeling was established. Wu Zhao was born smart, and her talent in political intrigue was fully utilized, otherwise there would be no Wu Zetian.

Li Zhi's marriage to Princess Jin was requested by Princess Tong'an and approved by Li Shimin.

One step at a time, and the true appearance of the bridal chamber will be revealed.

She looked good, and Li Zhi and Princess Jin loved each other, but the feeling of romance was missing.

It is impossible for other women to give him the feeling of ambiguous love. After all, as long as he expresses his thoughts, who would be unwilling?

So Li Zhi's experience in love and romance is blank.

In other words, for most of the royal children, as they are born nobles, they have also lost the qualifications to fall in love.

This is why many royal children in history were love-sick and did ridiculous things.

Li Zhi is now immersed in the sweetness of love.

It took a long time before I came back to my senses.

Li Zhi called Li Yifu and said, "Go check on the Zhonglangjiang under Lu Tong to see what's going on."

Li Yifu asked with some surprise: "What does King Jin mean?"

He had previously suggested to King Jin that he should be careful of Lu Tong, as he was the prince's man.

But it was rejected by Li Zhi at that time.

Li Zhi nodded: "We can't just do nothing. After all, I'm already the General of the Right Jinwu Guard."

"You should do your job well. Lu Tong is the prince's man, so it's not easy to move him, but we can't be completely defenseless."

"At least we need to know whether Lu Tong will bring any trouble to our Jinwu Guards when he helps the Crown Prince."

"If I provoke my father to blame me, I will have an excuse."

"Not only the Zhonglangjiang, but also the Langjiang would be better to know more so that we can make arrangements."

The Zhonglang Jiang and Lang Jiang are middle-level officers of the Jinwu Guard. They are also the backbone and the people who actually carry out the operations.

Li Zhi originally wanted to stay in the position of You Jinwu Guard temporarily. He did not want to get involved in the fight between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, so he did not attach too much importance to the power of You Jinwu Guard.

However, today Wu Zhao reminded him.

Spring is approaching, flowers are blooming, and Wu Zhao is dancing among the flowers.

After the dance, her dress was stained with many broken leaves and petals.

"How can one walk through a field of flowers without getting a single leaf on himself?"

"How can the King of Jin avoid being dragged into the fight between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei by His Majesty?"

'Only by being well prepared can you truly retreat unscathed, rather than being a pawn of others and being manipulated at will.'

Hearing this, Li Zhi couldn't help but recall that the King of Wei suddenly dragged him to the residence of General Lu Tong of the Jinwu Guard, and only told him about the person he wanted when they arrived.

Could he refuse at that time?

No.

Later, he had no choice but to go to the East Palace to apologize to the prince and make it clear that he had absolutely not allied with the King of Wei.

After thinking about it this way, Li Zhi finally understood.

"The King of Jin has finally figured it out. How can we escape the fight between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei while we are in Chang'an?"

"Whether you want to intervene or avoid it, you have to be prepared."

"I have already found the candidates. I just need to contact them once or twice and they will pledge their loyalty to King Jin."

Li Yifu said happily that when Li Zhi was named the General of the Right Jinwu Guard, he was very active.

The idea of ​​using a ghostwriter to handle case files was proposed by Li Yifu.

At that time, it was also suggested to instigate the General of the Central Army and the Generals around Lu Tong to act as spies and secretly monitor Lu Tong.

Hearing this, Li Zhi couldn't help but whispered, "Yes, thanks to her."

Li Yifu didn't understand: "She?"

Li Zhi came back to his senses and said, "Nothing, I'll leave this to you."

Li Yifu said confidently: "Please rest assured, Prince Jin, I will definitely handle this matter."

Looking at Li Yifu's leaving back, Li Zhi became more determined.

Li Yifu is very motivated.

He has always wanted to make progress, but since King Jin doesn't want to make progress, how can he make further progress?

Now that King Jin has figured it out, it's time to show his abilities.
-
The next day, East Palace.

Li Chengqian brought the Crown Princess and Theodosius back from a spring outing in the Forbidden Garden.

There are three large gardens in the imperial palace, namely the West Inner Garden, the East Inner Garden and the Forbidden Garden.

Among the three gardens, the Forbidden Garden is the largest. The East Inner Garden and the West Inner Garden are only one or two miles in area. The Forbidden Garden is located in the northwest of Chang'an City, backed by the Wei River in the north, covering the entire Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty to the west and connected to the palace city in the south, with a circumference of more than 120 miles.

"Your Highness, Grand Tutor Wei has been waiting for a long time."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, then went to the main hall.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Wei Zheng bowed.

Li Chengqian said with concern: "Duke Wei has just recovered from a serious illness. You should rest at home and don't overwork yourself."

Wei Zheng said: "Your Highness, although I have just recovered from my illness, I am still concerned about state affairs and dare not slack off for a moment."

"There is something I want to discuss with Your Highness."

Li Chengqian nodded: "You can talk about it."

Wei Zheng said: "The Tiangong Kaiwu that Your Highness asked to be compiled has now been mostly completed. Now is the time for spring ploughing, so I would like to make rubbings of the two chapters "Nai Li" and "Nai Fu" and promote them first."

Tiangong Kaiwu consists of three parts, upper, middle and lower, with nineteen chapters. Originally, there were eighteen chapters, but Li Chengqian also added "Medicine".

"Nai Li" records the rice cultivation techniques in detail, including different rice varieties, planting seasons, seedling cultivation, transplanting, rice field management and other aspects.

In addition to rice and beans, other common food crops such as millet, sorghum, and wheat are also mentioned, introducing their growth characteristics, planting areas, and importance in people's lives.

There are also irrigation tools such as agricultural facilities, which have developed from simple tools such as the winch and windlass in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the dragon-bone cart in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The keel cart is an irrigation machine that uses a chain drive to drive the scraper in the water trough to flip and direct water from a low place to a high place.

"Naifu" is mainly about sericulture and silk reeling, from the silkworm rearing process to the silk reeling technology, silk handling and processing.

Including silk weaving technology, cotton, linen, and fur textile technology.

The reason why Wei Zheng wanted to promote it first was mainly because he saw the fame brought by the curved plow designed by the prince and its promotion by His Majesty.

After this life-and-death crisis, Wei Zheng became more open-minded about many things, but the only thing he couldn't let go of was his reputation.

The people of the Tang Dynasty had varying degrees of farming skills, and there was no unified way of learning.

Generally, it is passed down from father to son and exchanged among neighbors, which results in the grain grown on some fertile fields not being able to achieve a good harvest.

There are many details involved in intensive farming.

Promoting farming techniques, or in other words, training the people of the entire Tang Dynasty in farming skills, is also an urgent matter.

The book "Tiangong Kaiwu" contains the names of many officials, including Wei Zheng.

Such things that benefit the people, especially the lowest class, will surely leave a deep mark in history books.

No wonder Wei Zheng was so anxious.

Li Chengqian said: "Okay, then please ask Duke Wei to report to His Majesty immediately."

This is equivalent to giving the main credit to Wei Zheng.

Li Chengqian didn't care much about this. He was the crown prince, and these achievements didn't mean much to him.

On the contrary, if your reputation is too great, His Majesty will be more wary.

Including now, Li Chengqian has already felt it. Although there has been no movement from His Majesty for the time being, in fact, the precautions have been strengthened in some places.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Wei Zheng replied happily, this is an unexpected surprise.

He believed that under his advice, His Majesty would promote it quickly.

Just as Wei Zheng was about to leave, Li Chengqian stopped him.

"There is one more matter I would like to discuss with Duke Wei."

(End of this chapter)