My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 276 If You Don't Return to Chang'an, You'll Depose the Crown Prince

"Whether the prince is plotting a rebellion is still undetermined."

"Even if he has evil intentions, it would be difficult for him to act in Chang'an City, under the feet of the emperor."

"Your Majesty is wise and insightful, and will handle it properly."

"King Jin just needs to do his best and stay the same in the face of ever-changing circumstances."

"Don't act too hastily, lest you expose your intentions and fall into passivity."

"If the Crown Prince wants to rebel after returning to Chang'an, the Prince of Jin can show his loyalty to Your Majesty at the appropriate time."

"I will explain to your majesty that I support the crown prince out of my concern for brotherhood and the stability of the court, not because I know of the crown prince's intention to rebel."

"In other words, as long as the Crown Prince does not reveal his intention to rebel, the Prince of Jin will have to stand on the Crown Prince's side for the time being."

Li Ji taught patiently.

The current situation is no longer the same as before, with the prince's family now the only one in power.

Li Ji saw clearly that even if the prince returned to Chang'an, as long as His Majesty did not arrest the prince directly, the King of Wei would not be able to compete with him.

The Crown Prince’s only real rival is His Majesty.

The King of Wei is just a puppet of Your Majesty who competes with the Crown Prince in front of the stage. Even if he has the full support of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats, that is only peripheral influence. The core area of ​​power will ultimately fall into the hands of the Crown Prince and Your Majesty.

In this political game, all King Jin can do now is to protect himself.

Then just wait quietly for the opportunity.

Li Zhi said gratefully: "Mr. Li, your words are like a revelation to me. I will act prudently and live up to your teachings."

Calling himself a young slave, Li Zhi had already been conquered by Li Ji.

He did not have the advantages of the King of Wei, nor the strength of the Crown Prince.

If you want to move forward, you can only rely on the help of others.

Li Ji said earnestly: "Prince Jin, when interacting with other princes, you must remain humble and polite, and not be ostentatious."

"The King of Jin should treat the ministers who support the Crown Prince with courtesy and respect, so that they can feel the King of Jin's sincerity."

"For the ministers who are wavering, the King of Jin can show his ability and ambition at the right time to attract their support. But he should pay attention to the methods and not be too hasty."

"As for the ministers who support the King of Wei, the King of Jin does not need to try to please them, but he should not offend them easily. Maintain superficial harmony to avoid making too many enemies."

Afterwards, Li Ji taught Li Zhi many details, including the timing of giving advice to the emperor, the appropriate wording and tone, and how to deal with the reactions of other princes and ministers in different situations.

In Li Ji's heart, he naturally hoped that the final winner would be the King of Jin.
-

Liaodong, Shenwu Palace.

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning penetrated the thick carved window lattices and sprinkled into Li Chengqian's bedroom.

Li Chengqian moved slightly in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were confused as if he had just woken up, but also revealed a firmness that came from going through hardships.

Next to him was Theodosius, who was still asleep.

He seemed to have heard the noise and hummed a few times, but was still sleeping soundly because he was too tired.

Ever since Theodosius came to Liaodong, he had been at odds with Jin Shengman, and the two had been secretly competing for his favor many times.

Li Chengqian also knew about these things, but he didn't care too much about them. He just asked the eunuch Wen Zhong to keep an eye on them and not to go too far.

outhouse.

The eunuch Wen Zhong was already waiting with the palace maids.

Hearing the noise, the serving palace maid stepped inside to serve.

Because Theodosius was also there, Wen Zhong knew the prince's temper and did not come in.

After the prince comes out, the palace maids will be arranged to wash, dress and prepare breakfast.

After breakfast, Li Chengqian went to the study.

The study was filled with various military deployment maps, livelihood planning maps, and a large number of memorials of the Liaodong region.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Li Chengqian held the military and political power of the entire Liaodong. At the same time, he naturally lived a life equivalent to that of an emperor in advance.

This is just like Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. If he chooses to hold on to power, then affairs will become complicated.

Of course, Li Chengqian would not be like Zhu Yuanzhang, who took charge of all matters, big and small. That would be too tiring.

Even though a lot of power has been decentralized, government affairs are still very complicated.

Carefully reading the recent reports on people's livelihood submitted from various places, Li Chengqian nodded slightly with a look of satisfaction when he saw that the people of Liaodong had gradually increased their grain production and their business was booming under the implementation of the new policy.

Nowadays, a large number of old nobles in Liaodong have been tried, power has been directly transferred to the village level, government orders are implemented, and the development of the entire Liaodong is very rapid.

Especially the development of farmland, which is almost the fastest speed in this era.

This year's autumn harvest will surely be a bumper harvest.

After dealing with people's livelihood affairs, Li Chengqian turned his attention to military deployment.

The military's memorials recorded the army's training and border defense conditions.

The main threat to Liaodong comes from the grassland. When the nomadic people cannot survive, they can only choose to plunder. This situation is inevitable.

More than an hour has passed since I reviewed today's memorials.

Li Chengqian asked, "Wen Zhong, is there any news about Baekje recently? How is Changsun Wuji doing there?"

Wen Zhong bowed slightly and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, I heard that Changsun Situ supported the new policies that Your Highness implemented in Baekje on the surface. He also encouraged agriculture and commerce in Baekje and reduced some taxes in accordance with some regulations of the new policies. The people praised this."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, his expression slightly relieved: "That's great, it seems that uncle still takes the overall situation into consideration. However, I heard that he is vigorously rectifying the administration in Baekje, is this true?"

Wen Zhong continued, "That's right, Your Highness. After Changsun Situ arrived in Baekje, he investigated corrupt officials and punished many of them. This move really boosted the morale of Baekje's officialdom."

Li Chengqian tapped the tabletop with his fingers, thinking: "Rectifying the administration of officials is a good thing, but I wonder what kind of people he replaced them with?"

After the news of Changsun Wuji's arrival in Baekje spread, many scholars and students from the Tang Dynasty who came to Liaodong to seek official positions preferred to go to Haidong, which is the Baekje area.

Wen Zhong showed hesitation and whispered, "Your Highness, according to the news from below, most of the officials replaced by Changsun Situ are his confidants."

"Among these people, many are truly talented and have managed local affairs in an orderly manner, but there are also a few whose style of doing things is hard to understand and they just blindly follow the orders of Changsun Situ."

Li Chengqian snorted: "I knew that although my uncle's move has the merit of rectifying the officialdom, it is also inevitably suspected of cultivating power."

"You should have people pay more attention to it. Apart from government affairs, they should not be allowed to interfere in military affairs."

As long as the military power is secure, other aspects will not be a big deal.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will pay full attention to it." Wen Zhong responded respectfully.

After lunch.

Li Chengqian walked out of the Shenwu Palace and headed to the Liaodong Military Academy.

Along the way, when the people saw the prince's carriage, they knelt down and saluted, their eyes full of respect and gratitude.

Li Chengqian smiled and motioned the people to stand up. He liked to get in close contact with the people and listen to their stories about the trivialities of life and their views on the new policies. In the Military Academy, thousands of students were either training hard or studying tactics.

Li Chengqian went to the Military Academy quite often, at most once every two or three days, and most of the time he would teach in person.

Middle-level officers are the backbone of the army and the key to the strength of the entire army.

More importantly, the Military Academy was Li Chengqian's main way to control military power.

The Military Academy also plays an irreplaceable role in cultivating loyal people. In Li Chengqian's view, it is not enough for an army to have strong combat effectiveness, loyalty is its soul.

The Military Academy is not only a place to teach military skills, but also a cradle for cultivating loyalty and patriotism.

Here, students not only learn martial arts and military tactics, but also are influenced by the Tang Dynasty culture and values.

Li Chengqian often went to the Military Academy in person to tell the students about the glorious history of the Tang Dynasty and emphasize the important responsibility they shouldered to defend the country.

Through these educations, the students have a deep understanding of their mission and have integrated loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and love for the country into their blood.

Before Li Chengqian unified Liaodong, the forces on this land were complicated and there were contradictions and conflicts between different tribes and ethnic groups.

Even if the country is unified now, it is actually impossible for these contradictions and conflicts to completely disappear.

The establishment of the Military Academy provided a common platform for these young people from different places.

Here, they put aside their regional and ethnic differences and worked together for a common goal: to defend the Tang Dynasty and serve the prince.

Through studying and training at the Military Academy, they established deep comradeship and formed a close-knit collective.

This cohesion not only enhanced the army's combat effectiveness, but also helped integrate local forces in Liaodong and promoted unity and stability in the Liaodong region.

Li Chengqian knew very well that only by bringing together the forces of all parties in Liaodong could the long-term stability of Liaodong be truly achieved, and the Military Academy was an effective means to achieve this goal.

On the high platform of the Jiangwutai training ground.

After Li Chengqian gave the students some chicken soup.

Many students' faces flushed with excitement.

They shouted: "We are willing to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! We are willing to serve the Tang Dynasty!"

The sound resounded through the sky, majestic and powerful.

Li Chengqian doesn't want too much chicken soup.

Every time I come to the martial arts hall, the lectures are never the same.

After leaving the Military Academy, Li Chengqian went to inspect the weapons workshops and factories.

In the weapons workshop, the fire was blazing and craftsmen were carefully making various weapons.

Li Chengqian picked up a newly forged long sword, felt its weight and sharpness, expressed his appreciation for the craftsmen's skills, and urged them to ensure the quality of the weapons.

The factory cluster in Liaodong is an important guarantee for Liaodong's military and other aspects at present, with more than ten thousand craftsmen performing their duties.

Li Chengqian inquired in detail about the production progress and living conditions of the craftsmen. Craftsmen, or workers, are an important force for the development of Liaodong and they must be given enough care.

Not only men, but also a large number of women.

Textile factories are almost entirely staffed by women.

In the workshop, rows of wooden looms are arranged neatly. The female workers operate the looms skillfully. Colorful silk threads shuttle between the looms. After a while, pieces of exquisite cloth are born in their hands.

Li Chengqian asked about the female workers' work situation and salary. The female workers said that working here not only allows them to support themselves, but also allows them to learn a skill, and their lives are much better than before.

In order to integrate resources and improve production efficiency, Li Chengqian also set up a special material distribution center in the industrial cluster area.

This is the place where we are responsible for purchasing raw materials and allocating them reasonably according to the needs of each workshop.

At the same time, strict quality inspection standards have been formulated. Each product must go through multiple inspection processes before leaving the factory to ensure quality.

The factory has also not neglected the training of professional and technical personnel. It has set up a special technical school and hired skilled craftsmen from all over the country to serve as teachers to teach young apprentices various skills.

Apprentices here not only learn theoretical knowledge, but also perform practical operations in the workshop and apply what they have learned to actual production.

After a busy day, Li Chengqian returned to Shenwu Palace.

At this time, Su Dingfang was already waiting in the Shenwu Palace.

"Why are you so anxious?"

Seeing Su Dingfang's serious expression, Li Chengqian asked.

Su Dingfang took out the document and handed it to the eunuch Wen Zhong, saying in a deep voice: "Your Highness, His Majesty has issued an edict, ordering Your Highness to return to the capital within three months and return to Chang'an to attend the celebration banquet."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian took the imperial edict from Wen Zhong with a calm expression and read it.

There is nothing surprising about this.

As the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, it was impossible for Li Shimin to let him stay in Liaodong forever.

Li Chengqian himself had never planned to stay in Liaodong to develop.

Although Liaodong is large, it is still not enough compared with the entire Tang Dynasty.

Besides, as the crown prince, he is the future heir to the Tang Dynasty. Is he really going to give up the crown prince position, declare himself king in Liaodong, and then start a civil war and go back to the path of dominating the world?
That would have consumed too much time and energy, and would have been an extremely heavy blow to the people of the Tang Dynasty.

This is not what Li Chengqian wants.

Unless it was absolutely necessary and there was no way out, Li Chengqian would not resort to rebellion.

"Has the news of the imperial edict spread?"

Li Chengqian asked casually.

This time, the imperial edict was delivered via the post station.

The Liaodong Post Station was the same as the Datang Post Station and was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, so the first person to receive the news was Su Dingfang.

Imperial edicts are generally divided into two categories: secret edicts and special edicts.

The so-called secret decree means that the content of the decree is strictly confidential and can only be known by specific people.

Another method is to transmit an imperial edict, the content of which will be announced along with the delivery of the post station, and the imperial edict itself is more of a formal procedure.

"Yes, your highness, the news has spread."

Su Dingfang replied.

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment, knowing that Li Er's decree this time was almost an ultimatum.

If you don't accept it, you will remain in Liaodong.

In Chang'an, the next focus of the court's discussion would be on deposing the crown prince.

"How are the preparations that were asked to be made going?"

After thinking for a while, Li Chengqian asked.

Su Dingfang said firmly, "Your Highness, everything is ready."

(End of this chapter)