My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 190 Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind

Wubenfang.

"Father, I just received news that the prince forced the Xia Gate to open and left Chang'an City."

Fang Xuanling naturally had his own spies arranged.

When someone informed the palace about the Crown Prince opening the Xiamen Gate, someone also sent the news to the Prime Minister's Mansion.

"Father, have you informed Your Majesty of the Crown Prince's rebellion?"

There was a hint of surprise in Fang Yizheng's words.

In his opinion, the prince was fleeing because of his crime.

The only pity is that Your Majesty did not put the Crown Prince under house arrest at the first opportunity.

"No."

Fang Xuanling shook his head: "I was originally going to file a complaint, but the guard commander Li Anyan was alert by nature and actually noticed something was wrong."

"Not only did they send someone to pass the news to the East Palace, but they also intended to die with me in the palace."

Fang Yizhi was horrified when he heard this: "How dare Li Anyan act like this?"

He didn't expect that his father's trip to the Forbidden City would be so dangerous.

Fang Xuanling sighed, "Of course he dares not. If he is found out to be conspiring with the crown prince to rebel, he will be sentenced to death."

"If we kill the witnesses first, there is still a chance that we can save the prince."

"I'm not afraid that he would kill me, but the prince got the news first, and I guessed that the prince would most likely leave Chang'an by force, so I didn't dare to report it directly."

"Now it seems that I was right. Now that the prince has left Chang'an, it doesn't make much sense to insist on talking."

Fang Xuanling could inform on the secret at any time. The prince had already been scared away, so there was obviously no need to exchange him with Li Anyan.

Fang Yizhi asked, "Then father, will you go and tell His Majesty about the rebellion tomorrow?"

Fang Xuanling shook his head and said, "Now is not a good time. The Crown Prince has 5,000 cavalry. Given the Crown Prince's character, if there is any movement from Your Majesty, he will definitely rebel."

Fang Yizhi could not help but say: "Although the five thousand heavy cavalry are powerful, how can they resist the imperial guards when they are rebelling?"

Fang Xuanling said: "I thought about this on the way back. When His Majesty gets the news, he will naturally order the Crown Prince to return to the palace, and the Crown Prince will naturally not rebel first."

"Instead, we should march quickly to Luoyang, occupy the Eastern Capital, and use Luoyang as a platform to compete with Chang'an."

Fang Xuanling has been in charge of military affairs for so many years, so he is naturally familiar with military strategies.

It is easy to analyze what the prince should do to be most advantageous if he rebels.

As to whether the prince would do this, it is obvious.

Before he went to the palace to file a complaint, he heard an ambiguous piece of news and decisively fled the East Palace, forcing open the city gate and heading to the military camp outside the city.

Such a prince will not drag his feet or hesitate in his actions.

But Your Majesty is different.

Even if Your Majesty knew about the Crown Prince's rebellion, it would be impossible for him to confirm the matter right away.

It is necessary to review and investigate a series of things before concluding that the prince is plotting a rebellion.

This is the time the prince can get.

Taking advantage of the time difference, the prince marched quickly.

Luoyang will definitely not get the news. Once the prince issues an order, the gates of Luoyang will be opened wide.

For the prince, taking Luoyang was just a piece of cake.

Fang Yizhi was stunned and said subconsciously: "How dare the prince act like this?"

As soon as he said this, Fang Yizheng knew he had said something stupid.

Fang Xuanling sighed softly.

As the eldest son, he is good in everything and is quite intelligent, but when faced with big events, he lacks calmness and easily panics.

Fang Yizhi asked: "Father, what should we do now?"

He is a little confused now.

The prince has now fled to Chang'an at night, but reporting the plot to him again will only stimulate the prince to rebel.

Once the prince occupies Luoyang, the whole world will be shaken.

Luoyang City has high and thick walls, and with 5,000 cavalry at hand, it is not an easy task to capture Luoyang.

If a war breaks out, there will inevitably be great suffering.

Fang Xuanling pondered and said, "If you want to achieve great things, you must not lose the big picture because of small things."

"Not only can we no longer file complaints of treason, but we must appease the prince and prevent him from doing anything extreme."

"We have to wait until the Eastern Expedition is over and the Crown Prince returns to the Eastern Palace before we can make a decision."

Turning the entire Tang Dynasty into a mess was not what Fang Xuanling wanted to see.

During those turbulent years, Fang Xuanling firmly followed His Majesty, fought battles in the south and the north, and overcame numerous hardships and dangers to establish the Tang Dynasty.

In order to restore the broken mountains and rivers and for the prosperity and development of the Tang Dynasty, Fang Xuanling worked tirelessly day and night.

It can be said that Fang Xuanling devoted his entire life to the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

How could he be willing to see the turmoil and wars in the Tang Dynasty?

Therefore, it would be safest to wait until the Crown Prince returns from the Eastern Expedition and dispel his doubts before reporting the matter.

Outside the window, the night is like ink.

The father and son fell into deep thought.
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Taiji Palace, Chengqing Palace.

Upon hearing the news that the prince had forced the city gate open, Li Shimin subconsciously asked, "Did something happen in the military camp outside the city?"

After all, Li Shimin could never have imagined that the prince would run away just because Fang Xuanling entered the palace late at night.

I also didn't know that Li Anyan, the commander of the imperial guards, was the prince's man.

Normally speaking, the prince must have urgent business to leave the city.

He did not restrict the crown prince's travel. The crown prince had been traveling back and forth between the military camp and the East Palace frequently in recent days. Now that the city gate was forced open, it could only be related to the military camp outside the city.

"This, I haven't heard the news." Zhang Ananda didn't figure it out either.

Li Anyan, who was standing by, heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this.

It seems that His Majesty will not blame the Prince too much for forcing the city gate open.

Li Shimin frowned slightly, and said in a slightly blaming tone: "Why did the gatekeeper allow the prince to open the city gate? Without my imperial edict, how could the gate be opened according to the prince's order?"

"I have given the city gate guard the responsibility of guarding the city gate. How can I allow him to be intimidated by the crown prince so easily? This matter must be investigated thoroughly. Anyone who neglects his duty will be severely punished."

In Li Shimin's view, the prince had no right to open the city gates at night, and even if he was forced, the gate guards should stick to their duties.

The duty of the city gate is so important that the gate will be opened when there is a threat.

If others also threatened a few times, wouldn't it be easy to open the city gate?

The city gate is the foundation of Chang'an City's defense.

Li Shimin naturally treated the crown prince with understanding, after all, he was his son.

But of course the city gate guards must be held accountable.

Fortunately, the city gate officer knew that this situation would happen, so when he reported the matter, he explained the whole story in detail.

Zhang Ananda explained: "The gatekeeper originally refused to open the gate for the prince, but the prince later dismissed the gatekeeper and the gate was opened."

Li Shimin was displeased: "How can the prince have the power to dismiss him?"

Zhang Ananda reminded him, "The Crown Prince can exercise the power of regent. Your Majesty has not taken back the power since he granted it to the Crown Prince. Therefore, the Crown Prince can first dismiss officials below the fifth rank, and then the Ministry of Personnel will review and approve them."

Li Shimin was silent for a moment.

Only then did he remember that he seemed to have never taken back the prince's power as regent.

The power to regulate the country is not something the crown prince possesses himself.

Instead, it needs to be granted or taken back by the emperor.

According to normal procedures, the crown prince would only be granted the power to govern the country if the emperor was on a campaign or tour, was seriously ill or unable to govern, or in other special circumstances.

When Li Chengqian was thirteen years old, he was granted the power of regent.

Li Shimin loved hunting and often went out hunting. He would be away for ten days or half a month at a time, which often led to the situation where the crown prince served as regent.

Li Shimin liked to play, and sometimes when he was in the mood, he would just go out.

It's very troublesome to give and take back.

Therefore, after going out hunting a few years ago, Li Shimin did not take back the prince's power to regulate the country.

After all, when the crown prince was regent, he handled government affairs well.

The power of the crown prince to supervise the country was clearly stipulated in the Tang Dynasty law and was mainly divided into four major parts.

Administrative decision-making power, military command power, judicial trial power, and ceremonial hosting power.

Administrative decision-making power includes the appointment, dismissal, rewards and punishments of officials below the fifth rank.

Now the Crown Prince, in his power as Regent, has dismissed the City Gate Guard, which is in compliance with the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

"The prince is good at taking advantage of loopholes."

Li Shimin let the matter go with just a few words.

There was no thought of punishing the prince. The Eastern Expedition was imminent, and punishing the prince at this time would easily affect his reputation in the army.

Li Shimin still wanted to see the prince perform well on the Liaodong battlefield.

Who doesn't want his successor to be an outstanding emperor with both civil and military skills?

Such small achievements would not affect Li Shimin's authority.

"The prince should also make decisions in an emergency."

Zhang Ananda spoke.

Li Shimin nodded.

I agree with this statement.

"Ananda, tomorrow you go to the prince's military camp outside the city and ask the prince why he is like this."

"As a prince, how can you disregard the law like this? You should set an example yourself."

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

When there was no conspiracy, Li Shimin still cared about and loved Li Chengqian.

For some minor mistakes, just a warning is enough and that's basically it.

In Li Shimin's heart, the prince is still very good and excellent.

It is inevitable to make some small mistakes, so there is no need to be too harsh.

Chengmenlang: ???
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The next morning.

The location of the prince’s military camp outside the city.

Today's drill is cancelled.

Conduct military exercises.

All the cavalrymen put on their armor and were ready for battle.

The auxiliary soldiers began to pack their bags and supplies quickly.

Under the arrangement of the prince, Chen Yunchao led 300 cavalrymen, fully armed, and headed straight for Baqiao Posthouse.

In about half an hour, the army can set out at any time.

At this critical moment, there is no room for ambiguity.

In the military tent, the situation of each army was constantly reported in.

While Li Chengqian was listening to the report, he was also waiting for news from Chang'an City.

Whenever there was any unusual movement by the Chang'an army, Li Chengqian would give the order without hesitation and march quickly to Luoyang.

"Your Highness, the city gate is open as normal, and there is no movement at the moment."

Helan Chushi led dozens of riders to investigate the situation.

"Explore again."

"Yes."

After some time.

Li Dejian also came back.

He also took some people out in the morning.

He went to the Eastern Palace to contact the eunuch Wen Zhong and inquire about the army in Chang'an City and the situation in the palace.

"Your Highness, everything is normal in Chang'an City."

"Explore again."

"Yes."

The atmosphere in the military camp was somewhat tense.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, but he was still worried.

Not long after.

A rider rushed straight towards the military camp from Chang'an city.

Brought a letter from Li Anyan.

The letter contained a detailed account of what happened last night.

After reading it, Li Chengqian felt a little uncertain.

Then he showed the letter to Su Dingfang who was standing next to him.

After reading it, Su Dingfang pondered for a moment and said, "I think Commander Li is not making a fuss over nothing."

"But Fang Xuanling gave up the appeal after he realized that Commander Li had informed Your Highness."

Li Chengqian asked, "General Su, do you mean that Fang Xuanling has evidence of my conspiracy to rebel?"

Su Dingfang didn't know how to answer for a moment.

After all, he was new, and he didn't know what preparations the prince had made for rebellion.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Regarding the plague, it is normal to go to the palace to see the emperor late at night."

"But if it was just about the plague, why would Fang Xuanling not even wait for a moment, and would rather spoil your Majesty's interest in order to see him?"

"Therefore, I conclude that it must be more than just reporting the plague."

"The plague in Tongzhou and Yizhou mentioned by Fang Xuanling only showed some vague signs. It's not worth being so nervous."

Li Chengqian nodded.

I think that's the truth.

"Then wait for the news."

According to convention, at this point in time, Erfeng should be discussing matters with his subjects.

At this time, it was no longer Li Anyan's turn.

So if Fang Xuanling wanted to tell a secret, this was the best time.

The situation is considered stable only when there is no more noise after the king and his ministers have discussed the matter.

East Palace.

Carriages were gathering.

The eunuch Wen Zhong arranged the personnel to continuously move the stock of gunpowder bags from Wulei Hall onto the carriages one by one.

This is the most important thing at the moment.

The prince had instructed that the things in these wooden boxes were of vital importance and must be handled with care, and no mistakes could be made.

Also do not allow contact with any source of ignition.

"Eunuch Wen, do I have to go too?"

Xiang Ke asked a little nervously.

He didn't expect that the prince would take him with him on the eastern expedition to Goryeo.

I thought that after the prince went out, he could have a good rest and enjoy himself for a while.

"This is His Highness's order. Do you intend to disobey it?"

Wen Zhong spoke in a bad tone.

Xiang Ke quickly explained: "No, it is my honor to serve Your Highness."

Wen Zhong's expression softened: "It is your blessing to follow His Highness on the Eastern Expedition."

"I want to go but I haven't had the chance yet."

"The fact that His Highness remembers you shows that he values ​​you very much. You will go to Liaodong with His Highness and you must serve him well."

"When we return victorious, you will definitely benefit from it."

Xiang Ke heard it and thought it made sense.

At least he is much luckier than Hua Guan.

He made ice for His Highness, but out of luck, he was killed.

Now the prince doesn't care about the ice-making method anymore.

It was really a waste of life.

Looking at the boxes of Thunderbolt, Xiang Ke couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Although he has not yet seen the power of these thunderbolts.

But if so many of them were deployed on the battlefield, it would surely be earth-shattering.

It is a blessing to witness it with my own eyes.

At this time, a young eunuch trotted over and whispered something in the ear of the eunuch Wen Zhong.

After hearing this, Wen Zhong's face changed.

A guard was summoned immediately.

"Hurry up and report to His Highness that Eunuch Zhang is on his way to the military camp."

(End of this chapter)