My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 195 King Wei: I want to be the crown prince

It is the most foolish thing to gamble your life on other people's kindness.

According to the analysis of the current situation, Li Chengqian could feel that Fang Xuanling had not done anything to inform on others for the time being.

Otherwise, with Erfeng's personality, even if she was acting in secret, there wouldn't be any news about it.

There was no movement at all, including from Zhang Ananda's side.

Of course, if Erfeng already knew.

There is no need for any other means, as long as Li Chengqian returns to the East Palace to participate in the sacrifice.

With just one imperial edict, the prince could be easily placed under house arrest.

Assuming Fang Xuanling does not report it now, who can guarantee that he will not report the prince's rebellion to Your Majesty during the sacrifice?

By then, I will be at the mercy of others.

Anyway, no matter how things happen, Li Chengqian has already made his decision.

There is no way I can return to Chang'an.

As for Erfeng's doubts, let her be suspicious.

At this moment, the seemingly calm Chang'an City is actually undercurrent.

Imperial palace office.

In the official residence of the Shangshu Province.

Fang Xuanling was also pondering over countermeasures.

If the prince returns to Chang'an to participate in the sacrifice, should he report to His Majesty that the prince is plotting treason?

After thinking for a long time, Fang Xuanling finally let out a sigh.

This temptation is too big.

There was no way he could bear it.

Having missed the opportunity to enter the palace that night, how could I miss it again during this sacrifice?

The prince had two choices, to return or not.

Fang Xuanling also needs to prepare two response plans.

When the prince returned, he naturally reported it.

If the prince does not return, we must think of some ways to prevent him from taking the path of rebellion.

Fang Xuanling was neither a powerful official nor a treacherous official.

It's not yet to the point where I won't give up until I achieve my goal.

He didn't want the national strength of the Tang Dynasty to be consumed by internal strife.

It has taken a lot of effort to achieve today's prosperity. How can we destroy it for our own selfish reasons?

After all, it's not cruel enough.
-
Prince Wei's Mansion.

Li Tai frowned, "I heard that the Eastern Palace is buying all kinds of food and supplies."

"And there were a lot of carriages and horses."

"What is the prince planning to do? Is he really planning to rebel?"

No matter how stupid he was, Li Tai already sensed that something was wrong.

It is obvious that the East Palace is preparing for war by doing this.

If Chai Lingwu had not reminded him before, Li Tai would have thought that the prince was preparing for an eastern expedition to Goryeo.

But with Chai Lingwu's reminder, Li Tai had to consider the possibility of the prince raising an army to rebel.

"It's very likely." Chai Lingwu's brows were also a little nervous.

Once it comes to rebellion, it won't be so easy.

Chai Lingwu reminded: "King of Wei, if the crown prince raises an army to rebel, he may attack the camp at the first opportunity."

Li Tai couldn't believe it: "You mean, the prince raised an army and attacked my camp first?"

Chai Lingwu analyzed: "The prince certainly doesn't dare to attack Chang'an, and he can't get in either."

"The King of Wei's military camp is only a few dozen miles away from the Crown Prince's military camp."

"It's hot right now, and the soldiers are training without armor. If the prince attacks the camp, I'm afraid they will be defeated in one blow."

"They have seized the five thousand sets of armor and several thousand cavalry from the King of Wei's camp. The Crown Prince has tens of thousands of armors. This could be a serious threat."

Ten thousand armored cavalry are a huge force in the entire Tang Dynasty.

The sixteen guards of Chang'an Imperial Army only had a few sets of armor in total, probably less than five thousand sets in total.

Erfeng emptied the national treasury for the safety of the Crown Prince and the King of Wei.

If all of this falls into the hands of the prince, things will really get out of hand.

"You're right. We need to be on guard against the prince."

"In the past few days, the Prince's military camp has been conducting military exercises, probably in preparation for an attack on the camp."

"If the prince gets these five thousand cavalrymen from me, I'm afraid even my father will have a headache."

"Go and tell Cui Shengyu to come into the city. I want to personally tell him about this matter."

Li Tai suddenly became worried.

For him, the prince's rebellion was certainly a good thing.

This means that the prince will inevitably be deposed.

But what if the prince’s rebellion succeeds?

Ten thousand armored cavalry.

Back then, my father relied on 3,500 black-armored soldiers to defeat an army of 100,000.

How many people are needed to subdue the prince with these ten thousand armored cavalry?

Li Tai did not forget that, besides him, Hou Junji was also the prince's man.

If the prince brings these tens of thousands of armored cavalry and joins forces with the marquis, they will have a total of 40,000 to 50,000 elite troops.

If we recruit more soldiers, it won't be difficult to gather an army of 200,000.

The Tang Dynasty had only 700,000 troops in total, and they also had to defend the border.

If this continues, it is possible that the prince will become powerful.

"No, prepare the horses immediately, and I will go there myself."

Li Tai became a little nervous.

If this is the case, what is the point of him being named the crown prince?

Who knows, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, my father might choose to resolve the situation peacefully under the threat from the crown prince.

This possibility is still very high.

Outside Chang'an City, King Wei's military camp.

Purely from the perspective of source of troops.

The knights in the King of Wei's camp are individually better than those of the Crown Prince.

These children from noble families were all literate, had learned martial arts since childhood, and had no shortage of meat.

Especially in riding, everyone is skilled.

From all comprehensive aspects, it is enough to overwhelm the prince's 5,000 cavalry.

This is also the confidence of King Wei.

However, wars are influenced by many comprehensive factors, and victory is not determined by who has better troops.

Inside the big tent, Cui Shengyu was chatting with Fang Yiai.

Compared to the tense atmosphere in the prince's military camp, it is relatively more relaxed here.

Originally, Cui Shengyu was the commander of these 5,000 cavalrymen, but later Li Tai arranged for Fang Yiai to come over.

Cui Shengyu also gave Fang Yiai two thousand cavalry.

However, this did not have much impact on Cui Shengyu.

Because these five thousand noble families all came from the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats, and as the eldest son of the Qinghe Cui family, the head of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats, Cui Shengyu had a strong appeal to these five thousand cavalrymen.

Apart from anything else, more than half of the officers and soldiers among the 5,000 cavalry were from his Cui family.

Fang Yiai was also from Qinghe, and in fact, there were many familiar comrades in this army.

Therefore, there is no obstacle to integrating into it.

"The King of Wei is here!"

Following a shout, Cui Shengyu and Fang Yiai hurried out to greet them.

After Li Tai and Chai Lingwu entered the big tent, Li Tai waved his hand and immediately dismissed his attendants.

Only the guards at the gate were on duty. "The King of Wei has important business."

Despite such a big event, the King of Wei still looked serious. Cui Shengyu couldn't help but ask seriously.

"It's about the prince preparing to rebel."

Li Tai was the first to come with a thunderbolt.

Both Cui Shengyu and Fang Yiai were shocked.

The one who was most shocked was Cui Shengyu.

The prince is going to rebel?

Then what should he do.

After all, Cui Shengyu had secretly allied with the prince and obtained the prince's promise.

I thought it was a favorable situation, but it turned out that the prince wanted to rebel, which was a huge headwind.

"Is the information from King Wei accurate?" Cui Shengyu asked with some concern.

Li Tai didn't say anything, so Chai Lingwu continued, "That's roughly correct."

"The biggest worry now is that the prince might attack the camp after raising his army."

These words left Cui Shengyu a little confused.

Fang Yiai was even more confused and didn't know what was going on.

After all, they were in a military camp outside the city, with no access to information and no idea of ​​the current situation.

Chai Lingwu then briefly explained the whole story.

It would also help the two of them to understand each other a little.

"We are too close to the prince's military camp, dozens of miles away. It may take less than an hour to rush over here."

"If the prince charges in full armor and raids the military camp, how can we resist?"

Li Tai expressed his concerns at this time.

Fang Yiai nodded in agreement: "What the King of Wei said is very true. If the Crown Prince leads 5,000 cavalry to attack us, we really won't be able to resist."

Having armor or not having armor are two completely different concepts.

Since ancient times, all dynasties have not banned civilian weapons, but anyone who privately keeps armor will be charged with treason.

If a soldier's combat power is one when he is not wearing armor, then after wearing armor, it is not as simple as one plus one, but directly soars to one hundred.

It may sound fantastic that an ancient general chased and attacked hundreds of people, but it was not uncommon in history.

Most of the records about generals say that they died of exhaustion, and rarely do they say that they were hacked to death by some soldiers.

This is the horror of armor. In this age of cold weapons, a set of high-quality armor cannot be broken by swords or hurt by arrows.

Being hit by dozens of arrows and still charging forward with a body full of arrows, this is the true portrayal.

Ordinary militiamen, armed with knives, can't even break through the defense.

Wearing armor is a cumbersome task. If the prince leads 5,000 cavalry to attack the camp, the King of Wei will not even have the time to put on armor.

In this situation, it is a completely one-sided situation.

No matter how powerful the general is or how sophisticated the formation is, it will be of no use at all.

“We will also conduct military exercises.”

"In the next two days, we must keep an eye on the situation in the prince's military camp and send out scouts to warn them."

Li Tai expressed his ideas and was recognized by everyone.

If everyone is cavalry against cavalry, let alone defeating the prince's cavalry, defense will still be no problem.

"Will the prince really start a rebellion?" Cui Shengyu suddenly asked this question at this time.

In fact, this sentence was a bit abrupt, but Li Tai and others didn't think much about it.

"Whether you oppose or not, you must be prepared."

"So as not to be overwhelmed by then."

Chai Lingwu spoke.

Cui Shengyu nodded, but his eyes flickered a little.

He is now considering whether to follow the Crown Prince or the King of Wei.

Because according to the current situation, if the prince rebels, he will be directly confronting Your Majesty.

Can you win?
Even if he had 5,000 cavalry, everyone thought the prince's chances of winning were slim.

Who is your Majesty? You are the emperor who truly fought your way out of the midst of thousands of troops.

Not to mention that he has many brave and famous generals under his command.

Li Jing, Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, Xue Wanche, Li Daozon, Yuchi Jingde.

Who is on the prince's side?

In addition to the less well-known Su Dingfang, perhaps we should also add Hou Junji who was on the march.

But can they defeat the combined forces of Li Jing and His Majesty?

The difference is huge.

From this perspective, it seems easier for Cui Shengyu to support King Wei.

It is inevitable that my mind is shaken.

Moreover, relatively speaking, the King of Wei is obviously easier to control than the Crown Prince.

"If the crown prince rebels, Your Majesty will certainly depose him and make the King of Wei the crown prince."

Fang Yiai said happily.

This is what the Wei Wang Party has always dreamed of.

Hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help but curl up his lips slightly, and said with a smile: "It's a little early to talk about this now. Right now we have to prevent the crown prince from rising to power."

Fang Yiai said subconsciously: "Could it be that the Crown Prince can defeat His Majesty? I don't know what the Crown Prince is thinking, he actually rebelled."

Chai Lingwu said, "The prince's rebellion does not necessarily require him to capture Chang'an. As long as he does not lose, he wins."

Fang Yiai was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Chai Lingwu analyzed: "After the prince started the rebellion, he must have joined forces with Hou Junji as soon as possible, and then occupied Hebei Road, recruited soldiers, and gathered a large army to resist Your Majesty."

"Hou Junji is a famous general of our Tang Dynasty. Although he has no moral integrity, he has made great achievements in battle. With his help, it will be easy for us to gain power in Hebei Province and become a major threat."

"If Your Majesty cannot win quickly, a standoff is very likely to occur."

"Once it's dragged on for two or three years, the situation won't be so simple anymore."

Fang Yiai was still a little confused and asked, "What's wrong with two or three years?"

Chai Lingwu sighed, "If the prince can resist your majesty for two or three years, then for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, your majesty is likely to reconcile with the prince."

This possibility is very high. First of all, Li Chengqian is the eldest son and the crown prince who has been regent for many years.

There is no problem with moral ability.

Although Li Chengqian's rebellion was an act of treason, Li Shimin, as a father, still loved his son deep in his heart and could not bear to see the situation of father and son killing each other continue.

The second is the need for political stability.

Two or three years of confrontation would bring great turmoil and destruction to the Tang Dynasty. The continued war would consume a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources, the people's lives would be difficult, and the national economy would suffer severe damage.

A long-term confrontation will also cause panic within the court, and various forces may take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and trigger more political crises.

Then there is the matter of succession to the throne.

If the prince can hold on for two or three years, it will be enough to show his excellence.

The Tang Dynasty was a new dynasty that had only been established for a few decades. Having an outstanding successor was crucial to its development.

Therefore, even if the crown prince rebels, if it lasts for too long, there is still a certain possibility that he will inherit the throne of crown prince.

The reason for such an idea, after all, has a lot to do with Li Shimin, who lowered the lower limit of being an emperor.

After all, Li Shimin killed his brothers, but he still became the emperor.

The prince just rebelled. In comparison, it seems that there is no big problem for him to come back and continue to be the prince.

What Chai Lingwu didn't notice was when he brought up this topic.

Cui Shengyu's eyes brightened.

Originally, he wanted to abandon his secret cooperation with the prince and continue to support the King of Wei.

But now looking at it this way, I feel that the prince's side has more investment value.

If he took these five thousand cavalrymen to join the prince, that would be ten thousand cavalrymen.

Even if Your Majesty wants to defeat the Crown Prince in a short period of time, it is not an easy task.

Giving timely assistance is far more helpful than just adding icing on the cake.

(End of this chapter)