My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 202 How can I live without you?
The fifth day of July, the sixteenth year of Zhenguan.

According to the original itinerary, the prince's army should arrive in Luoyang within ten days.

However, because there are no infantry, the marching speed is naturally faster.

We have covered most of the distance in five days and are expected to arrive two days ahead of schedule.

For Li Chengqian, the five-day march was quite easy. He did not feel tired at all. It was more like sightseeing.

The food during the march was no different from that in Chang'an City.

As a prince, carrying food is one thing, and the post stations in various places have already prepared the best food.

Have a bowl of steamed buns or millet porridge in the morning.

Sometimes it would be soup noodles. The Tang Dynasty already had hand-rolled noodles and ramen noodles. Usually Li Chengqian would eat mutton noodles.

The staple food for lunch and afternoon is mutton-filled Hu pancakes, rice, and steamed cakes.

Roasted lamb is usually eaten when camping at night.

The ingredients are various seasonal vegetables, and the cooks will collect them along the way during the march.

The prince's cook was naturally brought from the Eastern Palace, and he brought an iron pot and lard.

All kinds of stir-fried dishes can be made at any time.

In addition, there are various snacks and fruits.

Fruits include cherries, grapes, pomegranates, peaches, plums, melons, loquats, etc.

The snacks include hundred-flower cakes, various types of biro, almond cookies, etc.

In addition, the army could hunt a lot of game during the march.

When I passed by a jungle yesterday, I found a wild deer.

Li Chengqian personally took action and shot the beast dead with one arrow, and gave it an extra meal in the evening.

Occasionally, the soldiers would hunt hares, pheasants, wild ducks, etc.

So you are worried that you won’t be able to adapt when traveling back to ancient times?

Li Chengqian spoke from his own experience that as long as you have power and influence, you can be happy even if you are on the march.

In other words, Li Chengqian did not engage in extravagant lifestyle, otherwise even if he brought a team of singing girls and camped at night to watch singing and dancing performances, it would not be a problem for him to have beauties sleep with him.

Luohe Camp.

The land on both sides of the Luo River is fertile, and there are many flat areas suitable for camping.

By the time the sun set, the camp had been set up.

Many soldiers washed, cooked and watered their horses by the Luo River.

Li Chengqian was fishing upstream.

Su Dingfang next to him was reporting some situations.

"Li Dao Zong had already set out from Luoyang 25 days ago, bringing with him a number of civilians."

"The civilians who belong to Your Highness will also be led by Li Dao Zong in accordance with Your Highness's wishes."

"Hou Junji and his army will arrive in Dingzhou soon, and will reach Youzhou in about a month."

"Scouts report that the King of Wei's army will soon reach the Wei River."

Having said this, Su Dingfang paused slightly.

But Li Chengqian didn't say anything.

Indeed, now is the best time to seize all of King Wei's troops.

With Cui Shengyu as an insider, it’s not a complicated matter.

But there is no falling out with Erfeng yet, so seizing King Wei's troops now is no different from starting a rebellion.

This is only during the march, there is not much need for it.

Seeing that the prince didn't speak, Su Dingfang continued to talk about other things.

The front line will continuously transmit intelligence.

Espionage was already very common during the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty also arranged special personnel to conduct intelligence gathering.

"Goryeo has recently sent envoys to other countries frequently, trying to win over allies to fight against our Tang Dynasty."

"However, most of the surrounding countries are afraid of the power of the Tang Dynasty and dare not respond easily."

"Baekje captured more than 40 cities of Silla, and then joined forces with Goryeo in an attempt to cut off Silla's access to Tang."

"It is obvious that it is on the same side as Goryeo."

"It is said that Goryeo has mobilized 300,000 civilians to prepare for war, and claims to have 600,000 troops to defend the city."

"The neighboring countries are still negotiating with Goryeo, and our country has also sent envoys to various countries to order them to jointly attack Goryeo."

"The Japanese envoy sent a message, clearly expressing that they would support our Tang Dynasty and send naval forces to assist."

For the Tang Dynasty, if the Eastern Expedition to Goryeo failed, it would be a shame for the Tang Dynasty.

For Goryeo, failure would mean the destruction of the country.

This is a true national destruction, and it is not a problem that can be solved by surrender.

The main reason was that Goryeo’s credibility was too bad. It had surrendered many times, rebelled repeatedly, and then surrendered again.

After surrendering, rebellion was no longer a burden for Goryeo.

This has become their usual military tactic.

So even though Goryeo continued to send envoys to discuss surrender, the officials in the court turned a blind eye.

No one dared to propose accepting Goryeo's surrender, as their credibility was already negative.

Li Chengqian looked at the calm water and estimated that he would be defeated.

There is nothing much to say about Goryeo.

The idea is to destroy the country and directly incorporate it into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Silla, Baekje.

In fact, there is no need for it to exist.

However, it still takes some thought to manage it.

As for the outcome of the battle, Li Chengqian had no idea how he would lose.

This is a full 20,000 kilograms of black gunpowder.

Goryeo was lucky enough to witness the advent of black gunpowder.
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In Chang'an City.

Du He had a feeling that a disaster was about to happen.

If he had known this would happen, he should have followed the prince in the expedition to Goryeo.

Ever since the prince left, Du He felt as if he was being watched.

At first, Du He thought it was Fang Xuanling, who wanted to take advantage of the prince's eastern expedition to find evidence of treason.

However, when everyone in the palace felt this way, he knew that something was wrong.

Fang Xuanling is not yet capable of interfering in the imperial palace.

Who could be able to monitor him in the palace?
So, Your Majesty is already doubting the Crown Prince.

If you think about it carefully, this is not impossible.

One time when I was on duty, I happened to meet Li Anyan.

Li Anyan wanted to say hello to Du He, but Du He quickly winked at him.

Li Anyan was also a cautious person by nature, so he left silently.

It is obvious that Du He is the prince's confidant.

If Your Majesty suspects the Crown Prince of treason, the investigation must start with Du He.

After all, other people, such as Li Yuanchang and Zhao Jie, were out of town, busy with coal mine matters.

Helan Chushi, Chen Yunchao and others have already followed the prince on the eastern expedition.

Taiji Palace, located in the Imperial Household Department.

Zhang Ananda was listening to the eunuchs' report.

Naturally, he was the one who arranged the people to monitor Du He.

"Who has Du He been in contact with recently?"

“Nothing has been found yet.”

Zhang Ananda frowned slightly, but was not too surprised.

The prince certainly did not intend to rebel with just a few people. There must be quite a few people involved.

The prince almost started a rebellion some time ago, so the people heading to Goryeo and Chang'an City will naturally be more cautious. "Continue to monitor and report back if there is any situation."

"There is also Ji Zhao, the county lieutenant of Wannian County, and Lu Tong, the general of the Right Jinwu Guard."

The eunuch bowed and said, "Yes, Eunuch Zhang."

After a slight hesitation, he asked, "We need to arrange for some people to go to Princess Chengyang's place."

Princess Chengyang was Du He's wife and the second daughter of Empress Changsun.

Zhang Ananda thought for a moment and said, "Not for the time being."

His Majesty loves his daughters very much. Although they don't do much, they actually have real power and guards.

However, the dispute between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei spread throughout the court, and the princesses did not dare to get involved, so they kept a relatively low profile.

Strictly speaking, Princess Chengyang also needs to be monitored, but such an arrangement can only be made after reporting to His Majesty first.

If Zhang Ananda made private decisions and angered Your Majesty, he would be committing a crime.

As the emperor's eunuch, Zhang Ananda naturally knew his majesty's temper.

In fact, in Zhang Ananda's opinion, it is still necessary to monitor Princess Chengyang.

As Du Ruhui's second son, he is different from Fang Xuanling's second son Fang Yiai.

Fang Yiai followed the King of Wei because of his relationship with the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

Fang Xuanling himself had an ambiguous relationship with the Five Surnames and Seven Families, and the Five Surnames and Seven Families were supporters of the King of Wei.

Du He, on the other hand, gradually became the prince's confidant after he became the prince's consort.

This is because of Princess Chengyang.

Princess Chengyang had a good relationship with the prince since childhood, so after Du He married Princess Chengyang, he got in touch with the prince through Princess Chengyang.

Then it is obvious that Princess Chengyang was very likely involved in the rebellion.

However, when Zhang Ananda was about to report the matter to His Majesty and obtain His Majesty's approval.

The eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty, Princess Changle, suddenly fell seriously ill and no medicine could cure her.

Whether before or after ascending the throne, Empress Changsun was a model of a good wife and a loving mother, and Li Shimin had an unbreakable relationship with her. He loved Empress Changsun's children and was particularly fond of them.

Regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, she will love them far more than the children born to other concubines.

Empress Changsun gave birth to three sons and four daughters for Li Shimin.

In the second year after giving birth to Li Chengqian, she gave birth to a daughter, who was the eldest princess Li Lizhi.

The name was given by Li Shimin, who hoped that his daughter would be naturally beautiful and talented.

Because he loved Li Lizhi so much, when she grew up, Li Shimin was worried that she would be bullied by her husband's family, so he finally chose Zhangsun Wuji's eldest son Zhangsun Chong as her son-in-law.

To put it another way, it means marrying your uncle's son.

From Li Chengqian's perspective, this is equivalent to marriage between close relatives, but in today's world, marriage between cousins ​​is a relatively common phenomenon.

When she got married, Li Shimin prepared a dowry for Princess Changle that was greater than any other princess's ever given. Although Wei Zheng and Empress Zhangsun stopped him, Li Shimin still gave the princess a grand wedding.

After the princess got married, she and her husband lived a sweet and harmonious life.

I thought everything would be perfect, but suddenly I got a serious illness.

After the news spread.

Prince of Jin, Li Zhi, went to the Princess's Mansion as soon as possible.

The reason for such worry is that Princess Changle has the best relationship with Li Zhi.

When she was young, Li Lizhi, as the eldest princess, loved her youngest brother the most.

Therefore, the relationship between Li Chengqian's brothers and sisters is very obvious.

As the leader, Li Chengqian has a good relationship with Princess Chengyang.

The leader sister has a good relationship with the younger brother Li Zhi.

And the other two daughters.

Princess Jinyang was the third daughter of Empress Zhangsun. Just by looking at her title, you can tell how much Li Shimin doted on this daughter.

When Empress Changsun died, the princess was still young. Emperor Taizong of Tang felt pity for his beloved daughter and brought her up by his side personally.

Originally, Princess Jinyang had a good relationship with King Wei.

Unfortunately, he died at the age of twelve.

The youngest daughter, Princess Shinjo, has an average relationship with her three brothers.

When he was old enough to understand, the crown prince had already entered the East Palace, the King of Wei had moved away, and Li Zhi had gone to his fiefdom.

Historically, Princess Xincheng was originally betrothed to Wei Zheng's son. After Wei Zheng's death, Emperor Taizong of Tang suspected him of forming a clique, so the marriage fell through.

However, Wei Zheng was not seriously ill now, so the marriage was not mentioned.

The second time she was betrothed to Changsun Cao's son Changsun Quan, during the preparations for the wedding, Li Shimin passed away and the wedding was forced to be interrupted. It was not until the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, that Princess Xincheng was able to marry after the mourning period was over.

However, in the fourth year of Xianqing, Changsun's family was liquidated. Changsun Quan was implicated and exiled to Xizhou, where he was killed soon after. The princess remarried Wei Zhengju, and died of illness in the third year of Longshuo at the age of thirty.

There were rumors that the son-in-law was disrespectful to the princess, so Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, believed that Princess Xincheng's death was caused by Wei Zhengju, and therefore executed Wei Zhengju.

The eldest princess's mansion.

Li Zhi was the first to rush over to visit his eldest sister.

Soon after Du He received the news, he came with Princess Chengyang.

Finally, Li Shimin came out of the palace to visit in person.

"What disease did Changle have? Why are the medicines useless?"

Li Shimin looked sad and spoke in a questioning tone.

Du He had a solemn expression on his face, and Princess Chengyang burst into tears. She threw herself beside Princess Changle's bed and sobbed, "Sister Changle, how could you be like this..."

Li Zhi looked at Princess Changle, whose face was pale on the sickbed, and his eyes welled up with tears.

The imperial physician was so frightened that he trembled and explained in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the princess's illness is caused by exhaustion and consumptive diseases, so medicine is useless."

Asthenia refers to a general term for various chronic diseases caused by organ deficiency and weak vital energy.

It often manifests itself as physical weakness, dull complexion, fatigue, etc. In other words, it is congenital deficiency.

Princess Jinyang died young due to the same reason.

Zhengma refers to the disease of lumps in the abdomen, tumors in the internal organs or stagnation of qi and blood.

This kind of disease is difficult to cure.

Princess Changle lying on the hospital bed opened her eyes slightly, breathing weakly.

"Father, Qingque, Chengyang."

By the end, I didn't even have the strength to speak.

Li Shimin quickly grabbed Changle's hand.

Seeing Changle's lips trembling slightly, he quickly moved closer to listen.

"Mother."

When she said the last two words, Princess Changle could no longer hold on and her hands went limp.

Maybe he saw his relatives before he died.

Perhaps it was because he saw his mother, Empress Changsun, before he died.

Princess Changle died with a smile on her face.

Chang Sunchong was crying like a baby beside him, and he kept saying, "It's me who didn't take good care of you. It's me who didn't take good care of you."

"Changle, Changle, please don't leave."

"How can I live without you?"

On the ninth day of the seventh month in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Princess Changle of the Tang Dynasty passed away.

Li Shimin cried incessantly.

Princess Changle was ordered to be buried with him in Zhaoling Mausoleum, and the tomb was set up with three stone gates.

All the things Princess Changle used during her lifetime were buried with her as burial objects.

Zhaoling is the burial site of Li Shimin. Li Shimin hoped to see Changle again after his death.

According to the funeral regulations of the Tang Dynasty, the tombs of nobles, meritorious officials, princes, princesses, and concubines could only have one stone gate according to etiquette.

The tomb of Princess Changle is unique among the tombs of Zhaoling Mausoleum.

On the same day, Li Chengqian's army arrived in Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)