My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 201 Li Shimin: Secret Investigation of the Crown Prince's Rebellion
'Chengqian, I'll wait for you to come back.'

Li Shimin, standing on the tower of Suzaku Gate, looked at the troops that had already set off.

I said silently in my heart.

The prince is very outstanding, but he is also very naughty.

Naturally, a father will focus on disciplining his naughty son.

Just like what Wei Zheng said, if a child is not taught, it is the father's fault.

Li Shimin felt that he had indeed paid too little attention to the crown prince over the years.

This is also because the prince has been outstanding since he was young and does not require him to spend too much energy.

He felt guilty about being adopted by King Wei, so he wanted to make it up to King Wei in many ways.

The King of Wei was a little fat, but Li Shimin really liked him.

Prince Wei inherited Empress Changsun's appearance. Every time Li Shimin saw Prince Wei, he would always think of Guanyinbi. Naturally, he became more tolerant in many aspects.

The reason why he did not appoint a queen was that in Li Shimin's heart, no one could replace Guanyinbi's position.

At that time, Li Shimin was sixteen years old and Guanyinbi was thirteen years old.

Guanyinbi is the white moonlight in Li Shimin's heart. The two of them support each other and go through many ups and downs hand in hand.

This experience of sharing joys and sorrows, life and death, cannot be replaced by anyone.

Seeing the shadow of Guanyinbi in Li Tai was the greatest comfort to Li Shimin.

'Old Deng, wait for me to come back.'

Li Chengqian looked back at Li Shimin on the city wall.

I said silently in my heart.

After the Eastern Expedition to Goryeo, it was not so easy to come back.

At this point, Li Chengqian was also very clear that the conspiracy was about to be exposed.

Now that he has left Chang'an, Li Shimin will definitely send someone to investigate.

Without me dealing with people in Chang'an, the investigation will naturally go smoothly.

So when he comes back again, there are only two paths waiting for him.

Or he was deposed as the crown prince.

Either all military power is taken away from you and you have to wait quietly for the succession.

The reason why the second path appeared after the rebellion.

This has a lot to do with Li Chengqian's actions.

Take the coal mines for example, they brought unimaginable income to the Tang Dynasty’s treasury.

As long as development continues, Datang's fiscal revenue will continue to rise.

Only when the treasury has money can the Tang Dynasty develop better and stronger.

Li Chengqian did not receive any reward for these achievements, but they certainly left a deep impression in Li Shimin's heart.

He made bamboo paper, promoted agriculture, published a government gazette, and opened a military hall.

Each and every one of them has led the Tang Dynasty in a better direction.

Therefore, as long as the prince has not actually launched a rebellion or raised an army to rebel, there is a high probability that Li Shimin will choose to endure it.

As long as it doesn't get to the point where father and son become enemies, it's still acceptable.

It's not just because Li Chengqian is the eldest son, but to maintain the system of primogeniture.

It is also for the future of the Tang Dynasty.

In Li Shimin's heart, he was one of the founding monarchs of the Tang Dynasty, and he and his father had fought together to build this great country.

No one wanted the Tang Dynasty to last forever more than Li Shimin.

In comparison, the King of Wei is far inferior.

The King of Wei might be considered a wise ruler, but he was only a ruler who maintained the status quo.

He will not make the Tang Dynasty stronger, he can only maintain its development.

As for Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

This was not something Li Shimin considered at this time.

Historically, Li Zhi was eventually chosen as the crown prince because the King of Wei was stupid and Li Shimin cared about the crown prince's life and was worried that the King of Wei would kill the crown prince after he came to power.

Unfortunately, despite spending so much time and effort and even replacing the crown prince, Li Chengqian still did not survive more than two years after his rebellion.

The prince's army marched only a mile in armor.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and ordered all parties to stop and rest.

The first step of this rest is to take off the armor.

Although it was still morning, the weather was already very hot. Wearing armor, especially iron armor, made one feel like being roasted in a boiler.

When the sun rises high in the sky, it will really become a barbecue.

The full-armor review is just to make it look better, so that the people, officials, and His Majesty of the Tang Dynasty can see the mighty appearance of the army.

As soon as Chen Yunchao took off his armor, he rode his horse to the prince.

"Your Highness, I heard that the King of Wei built a new carriage and put the stone in the carriage to make the whole carriage cool."

"Your Highness, please build one too."

Chen Yunchao had been in charge of gathering information at Baqiao Station. When he heard about this incident, he thought it was a good idea and proposed it to the prince.

Li Chengqian really hadn't thought of this.

So it’s not that the ancients didn’t enjoy the same things that modern people do, it’s just that the conditions in each era were different.

This is also different from what Li Chengqian was considering.

When it comes to marching, Li Chengqian was most concerned about the problems of the soldiers on the march.

The King of Wei was different. He was more concerned about how to make himself more comfortable on the march.

"March first, and then set up camp at sunset, and then modify the carriage."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A lot of melted stones were brought into the military camp, but they had not yet been used to make ice.

Although all the ice-making tools were given to Changsun Wuji, the ice-making stones were left behind.

It takes two or three days to make a batch of black gunpowder, so all the remaining gunpowder, about several thousand pounds, was taken with them.

This can create some cool water while on the march.

It should be noted that this is not ice water, but cool water.

In an environment with small conditions such as no cellar, the stone cannot make ice, that is, cool the water to roughly the same temperature as well water. There is no such thing as drinking cold water during the march will make you more likely to get sick.

Li Chengqian has his own exclusive luxury carriage.

But for the time being, we will take off our armor and ride on horseback.

For Li Chengqian, who has a leg disease, riding a horse is the most comfortable time for him.

The sight of tens of thousands of horses was extremely spectacular. At a glance, all you could see were carriages and cavalry.

The auxiliary soldiers sat on the public carriage.

In front was the coachman and the auxiliary soldiers chatting on the carriage.

Everyone was rejoicing that it was the prince who followed.

There is also a lot of competition to be selected as the prince's auxiliary soldier.

Being from a good family is a necessary condition, and there are also requirements for strength and health.

To be selected to serve as the prince's auxiliary soldiers is one in ten.

They also have armor, of course not iron armor, but ordinary leather armor.

Some of the elite infantry, about a thousand people, carried Mo Dao.

The other two thousand men were armed with spears and shields.

The shields of the Tang Dynasty were mainly made of wood, such as poplar and pine, which are strong and easy to obtain.

It is relatively light, making it easy for infantry to carry and use, and has a certain toughness and strength to withstand general attacks.

The surface or edge of the shield is made of processed animal leather such as cowhide and sheepskin, which has good flexibility and wear resistance, which can enhance the defense capability of the shield and reduce the wear and damage of the shield by enemy weapons.

Used to cover the surface or edge of the shield to reinforce and protect it.

There are two main types of shields.

The hand shield is a small square shield that is easy to carry and use with one hand.

A standee, also known as a tower shield, is large in size, reaching the height of a person's shoulders or even higher, and is also wider.

The large shield that is often seen in later movies and TV shows is the tower shield.

Li Chengqian's army was not well equipped, with only a hundred tower shield soldiers.

They mainly formed a shield formation to protect the prince in case of emergency. Soldiers holding tower shields were usually strong men in the army.

There are quite a few strong men in Li Chengqian's army, and the prince's source of troops are naturally the best quality troops around Chang'an.

The road was rough, but Li Chengqian was relaxed.

The soldiers were also relaxed.

Li Chengqian himself didn't feel much, after all, this was his first time out.

But for the other cavalrymen, it was very obvious.

Because the horseshoes were made more quickly, one can clearly feel that the horse is more stable while moving and will basically not stumble.

This makes the entire marching team move more stably.

Marching rhythm is a very important thing.

There is no such word at present, but generals who lead an army will be more particular about it.

When fighting a war, most of the time is spent on marching.

In such hot weather, even though there are no infantry, we still have to take care of the horses.

Horses can also suffer from heat stroke and dehydration.

Every hour or so, the horse should be allowed to rest in the shade and replenish water.

The soldiers will check the condition of the horses, whether the horseshoes are loose or injured, and let the horses drink water and eat concentrated feed to replenish their energy.

There is also the question of direction. Although there are maps, current maps are always very rough and only provide a general direction.

However, when marching within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, these problems are relatively simple to deal with.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a post station every thirty miles.

Before the army moves, messengers will be sent to inform the post stations first.

For example, at the front of the team now, there are already postmen from the post station leading the way.

They are familiar with the terrain and know where to go, how to go and which direction.

You don't need to worry about getting lost before arriving in Yingzhou.
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Tai Chi Palace, Liang Yi Palace.

Li Shimin inexplicably felt that the hall was a little deserted.

This is the psychological effect.

This is because Prince of Wei Li Tai and Crown Prince Li Chengqian have already left Chang'an.

The son is on a journey thousands of miles away, and the father is filled with deep sorrow.

Li Shimin now felt a little regretful that his two beloved children had to go thousands of miles away.

I feel that I shouldn’t let my two sons travel so far.

After all, whether it is the Crown Prince or the King of Wei, military achievements mean little to them.

Theoretically, they were not needed for the eastern expedition to Goryeo.

Li Shimin's original idea was to prepare to lead the army himself and then let the crown prince govern the country.

How did it come to this?

It’s Cheng Qian.

The prince had been pushing for a conquest of Goryeo from the very beginning, which was undoubtedly what Li Shimin had always wanted to do.

In order to compete with the crown prince, the King of Wei also wanted to achieve great success on the battlefield and suppress the crown prince.

The participation of King Wei dragged the Five Surnames and Seven Families into it as well.

This made Li Shimin realize that the eastern expedition to Goryeo might be an opportunity to weaken the aristocratic families such as the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

The five thousand noble families of King Wei are just a microcosm.

The real impact was in shipbuilding and the efforts of the aristocratic families to encourage the people to participate in corvee labor.

The more than 400,000 civilians who went on the eastern expedition to Goryeo were all recruited from the three areas of Hedong, Hebei and Henan.

And these places are the foundations of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

Except for the civilians, including a large number of soldiers from the Zhechoufu, they were also greatly influenced by the aristocratic families.

Among them, there are quite a few who are from aristocratic families, or they are the common people under the jurisdiction and governance of aristocratic families.

There will definitely be losses after a war. In Li Shimin's view, it is worthwhile to weaken the influence of the aristocratic families and occupy the territory of Goryeo.

The current situation is the result of calculations by all parties.

“Ananda.”

After thinking for a long time, Li Shimin suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, I am here." Zhang Ananda bowed in response.

Li Shimin was silent for a moment before he said, "The prince may be plotting a rebellion, and I'll leave it to you to investigate secretly."

"Remember to be careful not to let the news spread."

Now that the prince has left Chang'an, his influence on Chang'an has been greatly weakened.

If we conduct an investigation at this moment, we will naturally encounter little resistance.

Li Shimin is now certain that the prince must be preparing for a rebellion.

But I still need to know how far the rebellion has progressed and who are the people involved in it.

Those who participated in the prince's rebellion were generally dealt with.

All he wants is the prince.

Executing these rebels can also serve as a warning to the prince to a certain extent.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhang Ananda sighed in his heart, His Majesty and the Crown Prince have finally come to this point.

I also don’t know how His Majesty will deal with the Crown Prince when the truth comes out.

The reason why Li Shimin asked Zhang Ananda to act in secret was that he did not want the prince's rebellion to be exposed, forcing him to depose and enthrone the prince.

As long as it is not exposed, it is within the controllable range.
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Jinzhou.

Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang were almost exhausted.

I have never been so tired in my life.

Ever since the first mine started making money.

The two of them became increasingly busy.

Exploration, recruitment, mining, production, and transportation.

Things keep coming one after another.

The excitement of making a lot of money before has now been completely exhausted.

"I don't know what His Majesty is thinking. He even gave us the task of shipbuilding."

"Are the officials of the Ministry of Industry just eating for free?"

As the sun was setting, Li Yuanchang was finally able to take a break and couldn't help but start complaining.

Zhao Jie also looked tired.

"Now that we are heading east to conquer Goryeo, the treasury is in urgent need of money. Your Majesty does not want to take this money out of the treasury."

"Let the prince issue an order to use the funds from the mines. After all, these ships are built to transport coal."

Li Yuanchang couldn't help but ask: "What's the difference between the Eastern Palace's treasury and your Majesty's inner treasury?"

"By the way, according to the schedule, His Highness has already set out today, and all the honeycomb coal along the way has been transported there."

"This is a special instruction from the Crown Prince. We can't be careless about it."

Zhao Jie nodded: "Of course, as early as a month ago, I had people arrange to transport honeycomb coal up and down the prince's march route."

"It's a blessing to be a soldier for the prince. I can even drink boiling water."

This involves Li Chengqian's arrangements.

Drinking water during marching is a big problem, especially in this summer.

Generally speaking, soldiers drink raw water when marching.

Even though the water sources in this era are relatively good, drinking raw water for a long time will cause problems.

In fact, there was no habit of drinking boiled water in this era. Even in later generations, it was not until after the Republic of China that the country vigorously promoted the concept of drinking boiled water.

The problems caused by drinking raw water are actually the most common diseases for people in the dynasty era.

In fact, experienced generals will also pay attention to the issue of drinking water safety. In addition to looking for high-quality water sources, they will also take measures to boil water.

Li Chengqian used honeycomb coal.

Therefore, Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang were arranged in advance to supply honeycomb coal at the post stations along the march.

Allow the troops to drink boiled water and reduce the chance of illness.

(End of this chapter)