My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 241: Save the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, and let the King of Jin become the Emperor

"Prince Jin, can the Crown Prince really win for sure?"

"There are so many learned people in the Five Clans and Seven Families, but they cannot see the current situation clearly, or they don't understand the Crown Prince."

"If they really feel there is no hope, why do they still support the King of Wei so much?"

"I think this matter of seizing the throne must have been decided after rigorous analysis and careful discussion."

"This shows that in the eyes of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, they have a chance of winning, and it's not small."

Wu Zhao persuaded Li Zhi earnestly.

After spending almost half a year together, the relationship between the two has become even deeper. Except for the fact that they have never had any other relationship, it can be said that in Li Zhi's heart, Wu Zhao has become his confidante.

Every time Li Zhi came to the palace, he would tell Wu Zetian about recent events and his troubles, and then Wu Zetian would give him advice.

Now the dispute between the King of Wei and the Crown Prince has gradually become more intense.

But my father seemed to be turning a blind eye.

Li Zhi expressed his inner pain, but Wu Zetian advised him to make full preparations and even join the fight for the throne.

"Mei Niang, I am different from the Crown Prince and the King of Wei."

"The prince is now entrenched in Liaodong, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, as well as countless money and wealth. He governs three million people. He can be said to have a strong army and many generals, and he occupies a strategic location."

"Some time ago, you told me about the prince's rebellion, but now, Hou Junji has been captured and is only under house arrest. Father is afraid and dare not make the prince's affairs public."

"Not to mention the King of Wei, who has the support of the Five Clans and Seven Famous Clan. Now, everyone in the government and the country follows the King of Wei's lead."

"In Chang'an, the northern nobles all stand with the King of Wei."

"Look at me, what is there? I have nothing."

There was a bitter feeling on Li Zhi's face. He had grown up and naturally understood the temptation of power. Who wouldn't want to be the supreme emperor?

But compared with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei, the gap is really too great, and there is absolutely no chance of winning.

This made Li Zhi completely lose confidence.

Besides, once you get involved in something like the fight for the throne, there is no way to get out of it unscathed.

By then, no matter who becomes emperor between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, will they let him go?
When facing a huge threat, Li Zhi naturally did not dare to have too many ideas and could only focus on protecting himself.

Wu Zhao shook her head gently and placed her cool little hand on the back of Li Zhi's hand.

He whispered: "When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. When the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is behind it."

"The Crown Prince and the King of Wei are already at loggerheads. At this point, it's a life-and-death struggle."

"Your Majesty, why are you so slow to make a decision? It's because you are both a man and a woman."

"The Crown Prince is the eldest son, the one that Empress Changsun loved the most."

"The Prince of Wei was adopted a few years ago. Your Majesty would rather make the Emperor sad than not want him back. He has been doting on him for many years, and his favor is not inferior to that of the Crown Prince, and he has even slightly overstepped his authority."

"Your Majesty knows very well that no matter whether it is the Crown Prince or the King of Wei, whoever becomes the emperor in the end, the other one will definitely not survive. How can Your Majesty bear this?"

"From your Majesty's perspective, his choice is equivalent to killing his own child."

"Depose the crown prince or kill the king of Wei?"

"So your majesty has been looking for a way to have the best of both worlds and save the lives of the crown prince and the king of Wei."

"From Mei Niang's perspective, the best of both worlds is you, Prince Jin."

Li Zhi was stunned, and subconsciously replied: "What does this have to do with me? How can I ensure that the Crown Prince and the King of Wei can survive?"

Li Zhi found Wu Zetian's words very reasonable and consistent with the current situation and his father's thoughts.

But how could he make the Crown Prince and the King of Wei turn hostility into friendship?

Wu Zhao chuckled and said, "Fool, if you were the emperor, would you kill your brother?"

Li Zhi hesitated and replied, "Of course not."

Wu Zhao looked at Li Zhi deeply, and the moment of hesitation was caught by her.

Originally, she thought that the King of Jin had never thought of killing the King of Wei and the Crown Prince.

But even with such a simple question, King Jin hesitated.

Although it was only a moment, it also meant that after hearing this, the King of Jin might have thought for a moment whether to kill the Crown Prince and the King of Wei to eliminate the threat.

It turns out that the Prince of Jin is not as naive as he appears.

"That's it."

Several thoughts flashed through her mind, but Wu Zhao remained calm and continued with the previous topic.

"If the Prince of Jin becomes the emperor, both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei can survive, but Your Majesty has not thought of this yet."

"This is King Jin's chance."

"Since ancient times, the battle for succession to the throne has never been about who has greater power. Unless his power and authority are greater than that of the emperor, the one who ultimately decides the outcome is your majesty."

"Although the prince is strong, can he be stronger than the Tang Dynasty?"

"The King of Wei has the support of the Five Clans and Seven Nobles, and he is very powerful, but can he disobey Your Majesty?"

"In the end, all victories and defeats are in the hands of your majesty."

At this point, Wu Zhao's tone was full of temptation and longing: "As long as Your Majesty can think of this, and think that only by choosing the Prince of Jin to inherit the throne can the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei be preserved at the same time, the final winner must be the Prince of Jin."

Li Zhi was moved.

He had thought about the fight for the throne, but he didn't expect it to be so detailed, so delicate, and so comprehensive.

Li Zhi could guess a little about his father's thoughts.

During these days, especially when the King of Wei was away, Li Zhi became a frequent visitor to the palace, even more frequently than the King of Wei had been before.

The relationship with his father gradually deepened.

People are like this. When they are not around, they naturally feel less intimate. But when they see each other all day long, they will inevitably develop feelings for each other.

As the commander-in-chief of the left and right Jinwu Guards in Chang'an City, Li Zhi also needed to report various news to his father frequently.

My father’s concerns are almost exactly the same as what Wu Zetian said.

"But how should I do it?"

Coming back to his senses, Li Zhi said with some distress.

This is the truth, but he can't just say to his father, let me be the emperor, so that the prince and the king of Wei can both survive.

I can only remind my father in an obscure way.

But my father is such a great figure, how could he not be noticed if he reminded me?

If my father were to notice my little thoughts, things would probably change and not be so simple.

When Wu Zhao heard this, she realized that the Prince of Jin was completely moved.

This made her breathe a sigh of relief.

If Li Zhi didn't fight for it himself, how could the throne fall to him?

Most importantly, it is difficult to say how much her contribution was.

Now, as long as the Prince of Jin can become the emperor, she will be the first meritorious official, and it will be easy to get rid of the current predicament. After so many years, Wu Zhao was still a little excited, and finally saw hope.

Eat the food one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

Wu Zhao knew very well that one should not be impatient when dealing with important matters.

"King Jin doesn't need to be too deliberate. Just wait and see what happens."

"Now that the Crown Prince and the King of Wei have not yet completely confronted each other, what the King of Jin should do is to prepare his own strength and prepare for the future."

"Besides, in this case, Hou Junji was captured thanks to Li Ji."

"The Duke of Wei is now old and in poor health. Hou Junji, who colluded with the crown prince, has been arrested by your majesty. The only one who can command the army is General Li Ji."

"Prince Jin, don't underestimate yourself. The Left and Right Jinwu Guards have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, plus General Li Ji. In terms of military strength, we are only slightly inferior to the Crown Prince."

"With the addition of Princess Tong'an, the influence of Prince Jin is already extremely huge."

"The King of Wei has a high reputation, but what's the use of having so many people? The King of Wei's party is just for show, but it is useless in the real struggle."

"What's more, the King of Jin has a very close relationship with the eldest son of the Changsun family."

Before Princess Changle passed away, she entrusted Zhangsun Chong to take care of Prince Jin.

Li Zhi became good friends with Chang Sun Chong.

Li Zhi told Wu Zetian about this matter.

"It's just that my uncle has always supported the prince."

Li Zhi said worriedly.

Changsun Wuji can be said to be a die-hard princeling. No matter how good his relationship with Changsun Chong is, in the end he still has to listen to his uncle.

Changsun Chong has a noble status and relies entirely on Changsun Wuji.

Li Zhi saw this clearly.

Wu Zhao raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "Without the permission of Changsun Situ, does the King of Jin think that he can have such a good relationship with the eldest son of Changsun?"

"There have been a lot of rumors in the past few days, and even a lot of nobles have tried to curry favor with him. Could it be that Changsun Situ didn't know about this?"

"Prince Jin, please don't forget that Changsun Situ is not only the prince's uncle, but also your uncle."

"Besides, Changsun Situ would never want to see the King of Wei succeed in his bid for the throne."

"The Guanlong clans and the Five Surnames and Seven Families have always been on opposite sides."

"The reason why Situ Changsun allowed the eldest son of ...

"Of course, it doesn't mean that the Prince of Jin must do anything with Changsun Situ. Before the Crown Prince falls and His Majesty makes a choice, Changsun Situ will definitely not openly support the Prince of Jin."

Wu Zhao analyzed various situations in detail, allowing Li Zhi to have a better understanding of the current situation, including possible choices and outcomes.

After all, Li Zhi is still too young. Although he is very talented, he has almost no experience in political struggles.

Wu Zhao was almost at her best in political struggle.

From the various family affairs in her childhood to the open and secret struggles in the deep palace and backyard, she is very experienced in struggle.

From historical situations, we can see that the road from Wu Zhao to becoming Wu Zetian was almost steady and neat, without any drag.

Finally, she established the Wu Zhou Dynasty and became the first empress in history. Such an achievement is enough to illustrate the level of her political awareness.

There were so many empress dowagers who ruled the country from behind the scenes, but there was only one empress, which was of great significance.

"Thank you, Mei Niang."

Li Zhi held Wu Zhao's hand and spoke affectionately.

He was originally ignorant, but because of Wu Zhao, he suddenly saw a wide road leading to the sky.

Before this, Li Zhi had never thought that he was so close to the throne.

Even in Li Zhi's mind, he was more than 50% sure at this moment.

Since ancient times, in the fight for the throne, let alone a 50% chance, even a 10% or even a half chance would be enough for people to fight for it, regardless of life and death.

"Prince Jin, please don't let Mei Niang down in the future."

Wu Zhao leaned gently in Li Zhi's arms, her tone gentle and intimate.

Feeling the softness in his arms, Li Zhi felt as if he had the whole country and the beauty in his arms.

However, good times are always short-lived.

Before Li Zhi had time to feel it properly, Wu Zhao had already broken free.

"Prince Jin, the time has come."

During the time of an incense stick, no matter how many times Li Zhi came, the two of them had a great time chatting.

As long as the time comes, Wu Zhao will leave resolutely.

This always made Li Zhi feel unsatisfied.

But Li Zhi had no way to deal with Wu Zhao's insistence.

He also understood that this was in the imperial palace, and the woman in front of him was nominally his father's woman.

If the news got out accidentally, it would be fine for herself. At most, the emperor would scold and blame her. But Mei Niang's reputation would be completely ruined. She would definitely be sent to the cold palace or become a nun.

By then, the two will never meet again.

Although he was reluctant, Li Zhi could only leave looking back every few steps.

Wu Zhao silently watched Li Zhi's leaving back and sighed in her heart.

What she said to Li Zhi was not entirely true.

Nine points are true and one point is false.

Except for the matters concerning the crown prince, everything else was true, obtained through the collection of a great deal of intelligence and the expenditure of a great deal of mental calculation.

But Wu Zhao knew very well in her heart that the King of Wei was not the problem, but the Crown Prince.

Why did Your Majesty allow the Prince of Wei's party to grow so strong? Ultimately, it was to deal with the Crown Prince. To put it another way, Your Majesty wanted to suppress the Crown Prince through the Prince of Wei and the five surnames and seven families.

The prince now is no longer the rising sun, but the scorching sun at noon, truly reaching the height of his glory.

That's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and the invincible Thunderbolt that can attack cities.

The news from Goryeo was not a big secret in Chang'an. The prince swept through the Goryeo nobles and took complete control of the entire Goryeo in his own hands. Only those who understood this strength knew how terrifying it was.

The Tang Dynasty was strong, but it was a country where the emperor and the aristocratic families ruled the country together.

Goryeo was weak, but it was completely controlled by the prince.

In addition to the father-son relationship between Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, in Your Majesty's heart at this time, the Crown Prince is still the most suitable successor, and even the most outstanding heir to the throne in every dynasty since ancient times.

Military power can expand territory, and civil power can govern the local area.

Unfortunately, he turned a blind eye to her and didn't care at all.

But then again, the King of Jin still has a certain chance of winning, just not as much as the 50% he imagined, but around 20%, so it should be there.

On the other hand, for the prince, it’s 80 percent likely.

(End of this chapter)