My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 348 Supporting Prince Jin in His Succession
Fang Xuanling did not answer.

The meaning is already very clear.

It doesn't mean to completely abandon the second son, but if possible, he might as well save his life.

But this career is over.

In comparison, preserving the Fang family heritage is the most important thing.

At Fang Xuanling's age and status, he no longer had anything to pursue except family inheritance.

The achievement of following the dragon has reached its limit for him.

Even if I could succeed in following the dragon once more, what would be the point?

In terms of status, there is no room for improvement.

If you go any higher, it won’t be a credit.

Unless, you follow Sima Yi's path.

However, the multi-phase system of the Tang Dynasty made it impossible to follow Sima Yi's path.
-
Changsun Mansion.

Changsun Wuji was also very upset.

He is a little unsure now.

Indeed, as long as the Prince of Wei did not seize the throne, the Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince would have little impact on him.

But, is it really without any impact?

"Father, can the prince really succeed?"

Chang Sun Chong was also unsure.

Zhang Sun Wuji shook his head slightly: "It's hard to say. If the prince wants to ascend to the throne now, he can only follow the old path of your majesty."

Changsun Wuji was very clear about this.

Chang Sun Chong was puzzled: "Is the Crown Prince so ambitious?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "It's not a matter of the prince's ambition, but the current situation has forced the prince to do this."

"Your Majesty's body is recovering. Once he fully recovers, there will be no need for the Crown Prince to govern the country."

"Your Highness can either surrender your artillery and wait quietly for the throne, or you can take the throne by force. There is no other way."

"The Crown Prince has already tasted power. Once your Majesty is healthy, if nothing unexpected happens, you can sit on the throne for at least another twenty years."

"Even if the prince is willing to wait, how can those who follow him wait?"

Zhang Sun Chong seemed to be mistaken: "The Crown Prince will definitely attack Xuanwu Gate soon!"

These words were spoken with an affirmative tone.

Chang Sun Wuji sighed and said, "That's roughly it."

Chang Sun Chong asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, can't you see it?"

Zhang Sun Wuji sighed softly: "Your Majesty can certainly see it, but the Crown Prince is your Majesty's eldest son after all, so your Majesty still has a little thought in his heart and does not want to go to war with the Crown Prince."

"The prince is also smart and has a sense of propriety in his actions. He has not completely fallen out with His Majesty."

Many times, Changsun Wuji also admired the prince very much.

After all, compared with the numerous brave generals and talented people under your majesty's command, the strength of Crown Prince Li Chengqian is actually very weak, especially in recent years, as your majesty favors the Prince of Wei, the power of the Prince of Wei's party has expanded, even more than that of the Eastern Palace.

Most of the people on the prince's side are His Majesty's men. The prince himself is short of talent and has few available.

But after the Eastern Expedition, the prince rose rapidly, took control of Liaodong, gathered troops in Luoyang, and even built cannons to capture Tongguan.

One by one, each of these things are growing up independently from Your Majesty.

If there are no powerful generals, then a military academy will be set up and a large number of loyal people will follow.

Changsun Wuji has never underestimated the prince's Military Academy. Now all the officers under the prince's command are from the Military Academy, and their loyalty is unquestionable.

The barbarians of the Shenwu Army were also trained well by the prince.

On Suzaku Street, they were facing the Jinwu Guards. Even though they had been patrolling Chang'an City for a long time and were slightly inferior to other imperial guards, they were one of the Sixteen Guards after all, and were also the top elite of the Tang Dynasty.

The prince's Shenwu Army was able to defeat a larger force with a smaller one.

Even if Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin led the Yulin Guards, they would still be no less powerful.

Changsun Wuji also saw the prince's ambition from this aspect.

With the army trained to such a level of strength, how could the prince wait peacefully for the throne?

Sooner or later, there will be a fight between Your Majesty and the Crown Prince.

If the Crown Prince wins, Your Majesty will move to the Daming Palace.

If Your Majesty wins, the Crown Prince will be deposed.

No matter how much Your Majesty does not want to depose the Crown Prince, the situation has become so irrelevant that Your Majesty has no choice.

Chang Sun Chong hesitated for a while and thought for a while before he said, "Father, why don't we support the prince?"

Zhang Sun Wuji was very surprised: "Do you think the prince can win?"

Chang Sun Chong said, "With father's help, the prince has more than half the chance of winning."

Chang Sun Wuji frowned: "Why do you think so?"

His son obviously has a good relationship with Prince Jin, so why is he thinking of supporting the Crown Prince at this time?

Chang Sun Chong looked a little embarrassed, and said in a slightly awkward tone: "It seems that there is something special going on in the palace with the Prince of Jin."

"If His Majesty knew about this, I'm afraid it would be difficult for the position of Crown Prince to fall into the hands of Prince Jin."

Chang Sun Chong also learned about this matter by chance.

Previously, when Chang Sun Chong was chatting with Li Zhi, Li Zhi accidentally let the secret slip. Chang Sun Chong did not ask any further questions at the time, but sent someone to investigate afterwards.

Not long after, it was discovered that Prince Jin seemed to be in the palace and there were some special circumstances.

If it were someone else, the investigation would definitely not be able to continue.

However, Changsun Chong is the eldest son of Changsun Wuji and a legitimate royal relative. What may be troublesome for others in the palace is not a big deal for him.

When Chang Sun Chong was a child, he grew up almost entirely in the palace, so naturally he had some connections and friends.

The affair between Li Zhi and Wu Cairen came to light.

Upon hearing the news, Chang Sun Chong was shocked.

This is your Majesty's talent.

Although in the Tang Dynasty, apart from the Queen, there are only four imperial concubines who can barely be considered as Xiao Ma's mother, and talented people naturally cannot be considered as such.

But no matter what, she is your Majesty's woman.

If His Majesty knew about this, how could Prince Jin ascend to the throne of Crown Prince?

By then, everything you have done will be in vain.

Chang Sun Chong even suspected that the King of Wei had known about this matter for a long time, but just used it as a handle and had never taken action against the King of Jin.

After all, the biggest enemy of King Wei is the Crown Prince, so there is no point in targeting King Jin.

If the crown prince falls, the King of Wei will use this matter to attack the King of Jin.

Wouldn't the position of Crown Prince eventually belong to the King of Wei?
Then what about his eldest grandson’s family?

The ascension of King Wei meant that the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats would gain power, and the Guanlong clans would fall into decline.

The Guanlong clans originally had insufficient foundation, and once they were suppressed, it would be difficult for them to rise again.

"I thought it was something else, but it turned out to be this."

"Don't worry, His Majesty has known about this matter for a long time, it's not a big deal."

After listening to this, Changsun Wuji said with a smile.

Chang Sun Chong was stunned and asked subconsciously: "Your Majesty has known about this for a long time?"

"Your Majesty doesn't blame Prince Jin?"

Zhang Sun Wuji waved his hand generously: "It's just the title of a talented person. It's nothing to your majesty. Besides, there's nothing out of the ordinary between the Prince of Jin and the Wu talent."

"It's just that the relationship is better. It won't have much impact. As for the future, we'll talk about it later."

This would be hard to imagine in other dynasties, but in the open-minded Tang Dynasty, it was not a big deal.

After the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China, many Hu people became Han people, learned Han etiquette, and spoke Han language.

But some customs are not so easy to change.

You have to know that during the Xiongnu period, when the Xiongnu Khan's wife died, her brother's son would inherit her inheritance. Such things were common.

Although the Tang Dynasty was not so absurd, it did not take this too seriously.

Li Zhi didn't even think about what the palace was like. Could he hide anything he did?

Maybe it will be possible in the future Tang Dynasty, but it is definitely not the Tang Dynasty today.

Many people secretly report to His Majesty any disturbance in the palace.

As early as when Li Zhi met Wu Meiniang for the second time, the news had already reached Li Shimin's ears.

But Li Shimin didn't care too much.

Li Shimin himself didn't care much about these aspects.

As long as it doesn't expose the truth and damage the royal family's reputation, Li Shimin doesn't bother to care.

Li Shimin also knew that Li Zhi might have some affinity with Wu Cairen, but nothing substantial had taken place yet, and each meeting was very short.

"But if the King of Wei knew about it."

"That's when."

Chang Sun Chong was a little worried.

Changsun Wuji didn't care at all.

Maybe he took too good care of his son.

"Don't worry, don't you think that the Crown Prince had already kept a boy as a concubine? It would only cost His Majesty a few whips. If you really want to make Prince Jin the Crown Prince, this matter would not be a big deal."

"Even if the King of Wei knew about this and came to cause trouble, he would not interfere with your majesty's intention to appoint a crown prince."

At this point, Changsun Wuji patted his son on the shoulder and said earnestly: "I know you want to go one step further, but we must stand on the side of His Majesty."

"Don't get involved with the prince. If the prince fails, there will be great disaster."

"If the prince wins, there is no need to worry. If the prince wants to rule the country, he will have to deal with the Five Surnames and Seven Clans. As long as he deals with the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, we Guanlong clans will be indispensable."

"So what if I am not as respected? Can it affect the honor of my Changsun family?"

"It's not a bad thing to worry less about court affairs."

"Some positions are not easy to fill if you don't have the talent you have. You only see the power but not the difficulty."

"In terms of merit and ability, who can compare to Lord Fang? But you haven't seen how hard Lord Fang worked in managing state affairs."

Speaking of this, Changsun Wuji felt a little emotional.

Naturally, his talent was not as good as Fang Xuanling's, and he was not worthy of the title of the first meritorious official in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Even in government affairs, although he was the Shangshu You Pushe, in fact many things in the six ministries were still done by Fang Xuanling, the Shangshu Zuo Pushe.

Changsun Wuji could see that Fang Xuanling often worked overtime and worked hard.

Changsun Wuji knew what level his son was at.

The reason why he is so active in the affairs between Your Majesty and the Crown Prince is simply because he wants to gain more power.

But Changsun Wuji, who was in a high position, understood that power and responsibility were equal.

Even if Fang Xuanling's current job is given to his son, can he do it well?

Since you can't do it well, why take the risk to get the credit of following the dragon?

With the Changsun family’s current status, no matter how many achievements they have, it will be difficult to move up to the next level.

"Yes, I will follow my father's teachings."

Chang Sun Chong felt somewhat unwilling in his heart. After all, he didn't want to always live in his father's shadow.

I also want to build a career and achieve some success.

This may be the idea of ​​most second-generation people, to prove themselves.

Fortunately, Chang Sun Chong is a good boy.

Sensible and obedient.

Even if he was unwilling, he would not make a decision that went against his father's will.
-
Pingkang Square.

Cui Shengyu, the eldest son of the Qinghe Cui family, was having a secret conversation with Lu Zhijie, the eldest son of the Fanyang Lu family.

"The King of Wei is no longer reliable."

"In my opinion, even if the crown prince is defeated by your majesty, you will not make the King of Wei the crown prince."

"With the support of Changsun Situ, it is more likely that the Prince of Jin will be made the Crown Prince."

Cui Shengyu frowned and said, taking a sip of wine.

This incident made him very upset, as it meant that the family's years of investment had gone down the drain.

Of course, as long as you choose the right person, it can still be saved.

Lu Zhijie was a little puzzled: "Doesn't your majesty favor the King of Wei? If the prince loses, he will also be the King of Wei according to the law."

This is the view of most people. After all, Your Majesty's favor for the King of Wei once even surpassed that for the Crown Prince.

Cui Shengyu shook his head and said, "This is not the right time. For His Majesty, what does he want to see most?"

"It was after the crown prince ascended the throne that he killed the king of Wei and the king of Jin."

"Or did the King of Wei kill the Crown Prince after he succeeded to the throne?"

"If your majesty does not want to see brothers killing each other, then the Prince of Jin will be in your majesty's eyes."

"If the King of Jin ascends the throne, the King of Wei and the Crown Prince can both survive."

Lu Zhijie couldn't believe it: "The prince has started a rebellion, does your majesty still want to save his life?"

"This, this is impossible."

Cui Shengyu smiled and said, "What's impossible about this? Look at it now. The prince has already led 30,000 Shenwu troops into the city. He bombarded Tongguan a few days ago, and now he has forcibly seized Qixia Gate."

"Your Majesty has already woken up and made arrangements on Suzaku Street, but he has not ordered anyone to take action."

"If Your Majesty was determined to get rid of the Crown Prince, you would have already ordered the Imperial Guards to do it."

"Even if we don't kill him on the spot, we should at least capture the prince."

"Yes, His Majesty did nothing. He even tacitly agreed to let the Crown Prince govern the country. He just strengthened the defense of the palace city."

"This means that in His Majesty's heart, he still wants the Crown Prince to inherit the throne."

Lu Zhijie asked hesitantly, "Then should we go and seek refuge with the prince?"

Cui Shengyu shook his head: "No, we should support King Jin."

"The Crown Prince doesn't need us, but the King of Jin does."

Lu Zhijie was surprised and said, “But the King of Jin already has the support of Changsun Situ.”

Cui Shengyu sneered: "Does Changsun Situ really support the King of Jin? The King of Jin must know this clearly."

"For Changsun Situ, the King of Jin is just a way out for him."

"If the crown prince loses, then Changsun Situ will support the king of Jin to take the throne."

"Now, that old fox won't be willing to get involved."

Lu Zhijie frowned: "But how can King Jin get rid of his addiction?"

Cui Shengyu said confidently, "It's very simple."

"I predict that there will be a battle between the Crown Prince and Your Majesty, and this battle will probably take place at Xuanwu Gate."

"If the prince wants to seize the palace, he has to enter through the Xuanwu Gate."

"In recent days, the number of guards at Xuanwu Gate has increased several times, which shows that Your Majesty has something in mind."

"If the prince attacked Xuanwu Gate and the prince of Jin led his troops to rescue him, what do you think your majesty would think?"

(End of this chapter)