My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 187 Fang Qing Arrives Just in Time
Fang Yizheng was actually a little slow to react.

Previously, he had been persuading his father to report the prince for treason, but his father was reluctant to agree.

Now, after seeing the portrait of the prince in the official gazette, why did he suddenly decide to appeal immediately?

I want to learn from Crown Prince Liu Ju.

These words made Fang Yizheng's heart tremble.

The story of Crown Prince Liu Ju is a major event in history books.

Distribute weapons and call on the people of Chang'an to attack the palace.

Such a thing is unique in the entire history.

However, in reality, most people in Chang'an did not believe in Crown Prince Liu Ju. Even so, there were still tens of thousands of people who followed him.

In the end, the battle lasted for five days and five nights, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, and ended with the defeat of Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Today, Crown Prince Li Chengqian has won the support of the people in Chang'an.

If he called on the people to rebel, how many people would follow him?

Can we really take down the Taiji Palace?

What's more, the prince has 5,000 cavalry, more than 2,000 guards of the Eastern Palace, and the support of the left and right generals of the Jinwu Guard.

Fang Yizheng didn't dare to imagine what the scene would be like if a fight broke out.

"What is Father going to do?"

Fang Yizheng was not asking how to appeal, but how to prevent the prince from taking risks.

Fang Xuanling said in a low voice: "The Crown Prince is still in the East Palace. This is the best opportunity. After I report this danger to Your Majesty, I ask Your Majesty to temporarily place the Crown Prince under house arrest and remove his military power."

"As long as we put the crown prince under house arrest first, he will not be able to cause unrest, and then we can investigate."

"So we must enter the palace late at night and act in secret."

At this critical point, Fang Xuanling finally stopped hesitating.

As the saying goes, a wise man makes many plans. The previous entanglement was based on the fact that Fang Xuanling was optimistic about the prince.

Fang Xuanling looked down on King Wei, even though he was now in the King Wei's camp.

Of course, the most important thing is that the prince gave him the feeling that he once was his majesty.

Your Majesty did not kill all of Li Jiancheng's officials in the Eastern Palace back then, and the Crown Prince now, apart from showing his strength, does not have the attitude of saying "those who obey me will prosper, and those who defy me will perish."

In Fang Xuanling's mind, the most anticipated result was that the crown prince would succeed to the throne legitimately and that the Fang family would not be held accountable in the end.

Reporting the prince for treason was just Fang Xuanling's trump card, a way out reserved for himself and his descendants.

In this way, Fang Xuanling can leave a good reputation, the Tang Dynasty can become more prosperous, and everyone will be happy.

But after seeing the portrait of the prince, Fang Xuanling knew he was wrong.

It was not because all the arrangements made by the prince were in preparation for rebellion, but because Fang Xuanling saw the prince's determination to rebel.

Will such a person let him go and let the Fang family go?

High probability is not.

So Fang Xuanling decided to strike first.

The Eastern Expedition is only a few days away, and the Crown Prince is still in the Eastern Palace tonight. If we don’t take action now, when will we take action?

He believed that after listening to his analysis, His Majesty would first strip the Crown Prince of his military power, even if he was hesitant in his heart.

"Prepare the carriage quickly." Fang Xuanling ordered.

It is now the hour of Xu, which is eight o'clock in the evening.

Above the night sky, the stars are shining and the moonlight is like water.

Fang Xuanling put on his official uniform and, with the help of his son, got into the carriage.

drive.

As the driver shouted, the carriage slowly moved out of the town.

The gates are closed during curfew.

However, this was nothing to Fang Xuanling, as the Wuhous in Wubenfang naturally knew this prime minister.

Seeing that it was the carriage of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he hesitated and asked, "May I ask if it is Prime Minister Fang in person?"

Fang Xuanling opened the carriage door curtain and revealed his figure: "I have important business to attend to in the palace. Please open the gate quickly."

The warriors quickly opened the gate.

"Mr. Fang, would you like to go to Anshangmen?" the coachman asked.

Fang Xuanling pondered and said, "No, go through the Suzaku Gate."

There are three or two checkpoints before entering the palace, which are clearly the three main gates of the imperial city: the Hanguang Gate on the left, the Suzaku Gate in the middle, and the Anshang Gate on the right.

Wubenfang is right next to Anshangmen.

Fang Xuanling chose the Suzaku Gate because entering the imperial city through the Anshang Gate was too close to the Eastern Palace.

At this time, Fang Xuanling subconsciously wanted to avoid the direction of the East Palace.

The gates of the imperial city will not be closed.

Even officials of the Tang Dynasty occasionally had to work overtime at night.

When Zhuque's guards saw that it was Prime Minister Fang, they did not ask or stop him.

It is normal to have any ideas at night and suddenly want to go to the imperial palace.

Officials of the third rank could have their carriages driven into the imperial city.

However, this time the carriage did not enter the office of the Shangshu Province, but went straight to Chengtian Gate of Taiji Palace.

Under the tutelage of Chengtian.

When the carriage came over, the gate guard immediately came to greet it.

Fang Xuanling walked out of the carriage.

The guard saw who was coming and bowed, "It turned out to be Prime Minister Fang."

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice: "I have something important to report to Your Majesty immediately. Open the city gate quickly."

The leader of the guards looked behind Fang Xuanling and saw no one else.

So he ordered people to open the city gate.

After all, Fang Xuanling is just an old man in his sixties and poses no threat to Your Majesty.

The city gate opened a crack.

At this moment, for some reason, Fang Xuanling felt a little nervous.

He hasn't felt this way in a long time.

Just thinking about what he had done tonight and what kind of consequences and turmoil would be brought to the Tang Dynasty made Fang Xuanling feel a little disturbed.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Xuanling strode towards the palace.
-
The rear hall of the East Palace.

The Crown Princess was dressed in an elegant palace dress, with a solemn expression, sitting upright on a brocade cushion.

In front of him stood an exquisite copper stove, with curls of green smoke rising up from it, emitting bursts of faint fragrance.

The Crown Princess clasped her hands together, closed her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and prayed silently in her heart:
God has mercy on His Royal Highness, and I wish His Royal Highness a safe journey. Swords and guns are merciless, and the battlefield is dangerous. I only pray that the gods in heaven will protect him and keep him safe. Let him stay away from disasters and return safely.

Su Yuer frowned slightly, revealing her inner worry and uneasiness.

The maids stood quietly by, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing the Crown Princess's devout prayers.

She naturally did not dare to oppose the prince's will to march east to Goryeo, but to her, the prince was everything to her.

This time, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and there are swords and sabers everywhere. I don’t know when I can return, so how can I not be worried?

Outside the hall, the breeze blew gently, and the leaves rustled.

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

"If praying to gods and Buddhas were useful, why would there be so much sorrow in the world?"

Li Chengqian walked in and shook his head slightly.

Su Yuer slowly stood up: "But this is all I can do for Your Highness."

"After Your Highness leaves, I will stay in the palace and pray for Your Highness day and night, hoping that Your Highness will return victoriously as soon as possible."

Li Chengqian sighed softly and held Su Yuer in his arms.

"Don't worry, Yu'er. I am sure to win this expedition to Goryeo. They are just a bunch of chickens and dogs. I can defeat them easily."

"Just wait for my good news."

Now, 20,000 kilograms of black gunpowder have been produced.

Twenty thousand kilograms of black gunpowder and five thousand heavy cavalry.

No matter how strong the city defenses were, they were as fragile as glass to him.

Not to mention how easy it is to blow open the city gate, the power of the thunder alone is enough to make the enemy lose their courage and morale.

For others, it may be a difficult battle.

But Li Chengqian had already seen the outcome of this war.

Even the arrangements for the surrendered soldiers from Goryeo had already been set up with rules.

This trip to Goryeo is just for sightseeing.

The real goal is to take advantage of this situation to suppress Hedong, Hebei, Henan, the roots of the five surnames and seven families, and the three areas.

With the power of a great victory, they checked the population, measured the land, and rounded up the hiding households.

These are the foundation of the family and the greatest confidence in confronting the imperial court.

Only by eliminating these drawbacks can the Tang Dynasty enjoy peace and prosperity.

As for what Erfeng will decide at that time, it is not up to him.

Erfeng became the crown prince and emperor by seizing the throne through Xuanwu Gate.

Eight hundred people could not take down Xuanwu Gate, so naturally an insider was arranged. But now Zhang Ananda is in charge of Xuanwu Gate, so it is almost impossible to bribe him.

But no matter how strong the Xuanwu Gate was, it could not withstand the bombing of thousands of kilograms of gunpowder.

Li Chengqian has enough confidence in himself.

Perhaps, Erfeng is the king of this era.

But what he controls is the crystallization of wisdom thousands of years later. No matter how powerful Li Shimin is, he is still limited by the pattern of the times.

To be honest, Li Chengqian was not very enthusiastic about being emperor.

Rebellion is for the purpose of self-salvation.

Just when Li Chengqian and Crown Princess Su Yuer were expressing their affection for each other.

A eunuch figure came hurriedly.
-
Taiji Palace, outside Chengqing Hall.

Li Anyan was leading the palace guards on duty and patrol.

As the commander of the night guard, Li Anyan was mainly responsible for night security work.

But every few days, it will be daytime shift.

Those who can serve as palace guards are naturally elite, each of them has an upright posture and a sharp gaze.

Scanning every corner around vigilantly.

Occasionally, a night bird would fly by, causing the guards to briefly become alert, but they would soon return to calm.

At this moment, in front of the gate outside the palace.

Several guards were walking towards them along with a figure.

"He who comes is stopped!"

It was a little dark at night, and Li Anyan couldn't see the person coming, but since there were imperial guards accompanying him, he didn't need to be too nervous.

Fang Xuanling saw that the person on duty was Li Anyan.

He thought to himself that something was wrong, but his face remained calm.

"Please tell His Majesty that I have something important to report."

Li Anyan looked carefully and could not help but bow with a smile: "It turned out to be Prime Minister Fang."

Then he explained, "Prime Minister Fang has arrived at an unfortunate time. His Majesty is in a good mood tonight and is currently doing some crazy things. Please wait for a while, Prime Minister Fang."

The palace’s entertainment activities at night usually consisted of singing and dancing.

After singing and dancing, the next step is naturally the joy of sex.

No wonder Li Shimin's mood was always disturbed every time he went to the palace for business at night.

This is not a coincidence. After all, Li Shimin was strong and in his prime.

There were ministers to help with the government affairs in the court, and when he visited her at night, it was natural that he could not be considered to be indulging in beauty.

Fang Xuanling frowned slightly.

How can we wait to report the Crown Prince for treason?

So he said in a deep voice: "Please ask Commander Li to tell Eunuch Zhang that I have something important to report."

Fang Xuanling knew that as long as the news could be passed on, His Majesty would definitely summon him.

Li Anyan hesitated and said, "Prime Minister Fang, please wait. Your Majesty has been doing this for quite some time, and he may be at a critical juncture right now."

"If I ruin your majesty's good deeds, I won't be able to bear the blame."

"According to past practice, it shouldn't take long."

Although it is said that something big happened.

But in Li Anyan's opinion, is there anything that could be more interesting to His Majesty than this?

Even if there is an earthquake, flood, or plague.

It won't take more than a stick of incense to stick.

Fang Xuanling scolded: "Commander Li, don't forget your responsibilities. If you delay important matters, can you afford it?"

"If your majesty blames me, I will bear the responsibility alone. It has nothing to do with you."

Not right.

Twelve out of ten things are wrong.

Li Anyan is capable of such a job as the commander of the imperial guards, so he is naturally a vigilant person.

He looked at Fang Xuanling suspiciously.

There was a probing look in his eyes.

I felt a little nervous.

What important matter could there be that requires the prime minister to enter the palace late at night to report secretly?

No matter how big the matter is, can't we wait until the next day to talk about it?

Unless this major event happened in Chang'an City, or in the palace.

Thinking of this, Li Anyan asked, "I wonder what is the matter that makes Prime Minister Fang so anxious?"

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling thought to himself that something was wrong.

He knew that he had aroused Li Anyan's suspicion.

Fang Xuanling's mind raced, and he regained his composure in an instant. He said calmly, "Don't worry, Commander Li. I was just too anxious. In the memorials submitted by various places recently, there are signs of plague in Yizhou and Tongzhou."

"I am worried that if an epidemic breaks out, it may endanger Chang'an, so I went to the palace late at night to report to Your Majesty and ask for a quick decision."

This statement is perfect.

After all, there was a rampant plague in the past two years, causing too many deaths and injuries. Yizhou and Tongzhou are both close to Chang'an. If a plague really occurred, it would naturally have to be isolated as soon as possible.

To prevent the plague from spreading in Chang'an city.

After receiving this information, it seemed reasonable for Fang Xuanling to enter the palace late at night.

But these words could not completely dispel Li Anyan's doubts.

Once doubts arise, they are not so easy to eliminate.

Although the Eastern Palace did not inform him of some of the prince's thoughts, Li Anyan could guess them himself.

As long as the prince successfully marches east, he will be able to greatly increase his power and even control more military power, thus preparing for future major events.

In Li Anyan's eyes, Fang Xuanling, as the Grand Secretary of the Wei Wang Literary Academy, was the enemy of the prince.

Now is the most critical time for the prince, and it is never too careful.

After thinking for a while, Li Anyan said, "So it's such a big deal. I'll go and tell Eunuch Zhang right away."

After saying this, he bowed, turned around and walked into the courtyard.

Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

What he didn't know was that after being admitted to the hospital, Li Anyan did not go directly to Chengqing Palace to find Eunuch Zhang.

Instead, he called one of his confidants and told him, "Go to the East Palace quickly and tell the eunuchs that Fang Xuanling entered the palace to meet the emperor late at night. If something unexpected happens, inform the crown prince immediately."

The confidant is Li Anyan's own man. When he was an official under Prince Yin, he was his subordinate.

Li Anyan naturally did not tell anyone else about the rebellion, but he asked his confidant to pass the message to the prince.

When the prince hears the news, he will naturally make preparations.

After the confidant responded, he hurriedly left through the side door of the courtyard.

Li Anyan was waiting leisurely in the yard.

If his confidant doesn't come back, there is no way he will tell His Majesty the news first.

Soon, a stick of incense passed.

Fang Xuanling, who had been waiting outside for the call, felt something was wrong.

The courtyard in front of Chengqing Palace is only about two hundred steps away, so even if it's slow, the news should have arrived.

It is impossible for Your Majesty not to see him.

Then there is only one possibility, Li Anyan did not pass the message, but quietly informed the prince.

Thinking of this, Fang Xuanling's eyes changed.

He was about to break into the door immediately.

Several guards immediately stopped them.

The noise immediately spread into the hall.

Zhang Ananda walked out and just saw Li Anyan walking towards him.

He asked, "Why is there so much noise outside the courtyard?"

Li Anyan bowed and said, "It was Prime Minister Fang, who said he had something important to report."

"I told him to wait for a moment. I thought His Majesty was in a very good mood right now, so we shouldn't let this ruin His Majesty's mood."

"But Prime Minister Fang insisted on seeing the emperor, so I had no choice but to come and tell Eunuch Zhang."

At this point, Li Anyan sighed: "Your Majesty has finally found interest these days. Can't even the most important thing wait for a little while?"

Li Anyan spoke slowly, obviously trying to buy time.

Eunuch Zhang nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's rare for your Majesty to be interested."

"But since it is Prime Minister Fang, he must report it. Please wait a moment. I will go inside to ask His Majesty's will first."

Eunuch Zhang walked into the hall.

Listen to what's going on inside.

He asked the eunuch on duty, "How is His Majesty doing?"

The young eunuch replied, "It's just the right time."

Eunuch Zhang thought about it and decided that no matter how urgent it was, another ten breaths wouldn't matter.

Last time, because of Helan Chushi's murder, I disturbed His Majesty's interest and was blamed for a long time.

After a moment, a satisfied sound was heard from inside.

Then he entered and said softly, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fang requests to see you."

Li Shimin smiled on the bed and said, "He came just in time."

"Change."

"Let Fang Qing wait in the main hall."

Eunuch Zhang bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)