My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 385 Li Shimin: Strike First to Gain Strength

The next day.

After the court meeting.

Zhang Sun Wuji reported the matter to Fang Xuanling in secret.

The charcoal basin in the warm room of Ganlu Palace was burning red, but it could not dispel the frost in Li Shimin's eyes.

"Sixty thousand divine warriors!"

"He really wants to rebel!"

Li Shimin's voice was very cold, even colder than the howling wind outside.

I originally thought that the prince would not make any big moves during this period, and even between the King of Jin and the King of Wei, it was just a simple game.

However, he did not expect that the prince had already been planning, or had been preparing since the moment he entered Chang'an City.

How else to explain the behavior of constantly mobilizing troops from Liaodong and sneaking into Chang'an?

Fang Xuanling saw that His Majesty was furious. After a short wait, he spoke first: "Your Majesty, the only solution now is to imitate what happened back then and strike first."

"The prince's troops are hiding in the city under the command of the Jinwu Guards. We can carry out a surprise attack."

"The Crown Prince has the ability of artillery. The Daming Palace is in a strategic location and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, there is no need to attack it by force. You can order the army to surround it and cut off its food and grass."

Li Shimin was silent for a moment, and then spoke with some emotion.

"Strike first?"

He had heard this sentence once in the ninth year of Wude, and for many years thereafter, no one dared to mention it in front of him.

"You want me to reenact the Xuanwu Gate Incident?"

"Last time I killed my brothers, this time you want me to kill my son?"

He recalled the Xuanwu Gate in the ninth year of Wude, when he carried Jiancheng's head up to the tower and swore that his descendants would never repeat the same mistakes. Now it seems that the cruelty of history lies in its rhyme: he eventually became the "Emperor Wen of Sui" that he feared the most, and Li Chengqian became the second "Yang Guang".

Li Shimin once wrote in his annotations to Li Chengqian’s “Zhenguan Zhengyao”: “The ruler is the boat; the people are the water.

Now these cinnabar words are blurred by blood, becoming the most bitter irony.

He thought of the tutors he had personally selected for his son, the lectures on imperial court held on the first day of every month, and the notes of the emperor's mind that he had taken every time he reviewed memorials.

But all the hard work is ultimately no match for the suspicion and ambition that grows in the vortex of power.

"The prince is naturally intelligent, but has gone astray."

Fang Xuanling's words of comfort sounded like a slap in the face to Li Shimin.

As a father, he should have noticed Li Chengqian's ruthlessness when he purged the nobles in Liaodong, and should have been wary of the prince's ambitions.

He recalled the Empress Changsun's last words: "Chengqian has a sensitive mind, so he needs to be treated with more warmth and kindness."

But he replaced the father's tenderness with the emperor's severity, and eventually let his son grow into a vicious wolf that devoured family affection in the wilderness of power.

"If I don't kill Cheng Qian, how can I thank the world?"

He said this to himself countless times, but he could never convince the trembling father in his heart.

He recalled that after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Yuan held his hand and cried bitterly: "This kid actually wanted to kill me!"

At that time, he did not understand his father's grief. It was not until today that he realized that when the identity of an emperor collides violently with the identity of a father, the former will always crush the latter without mercy.

He could tolerate Li Chengqian's first uprising, but he could not tolerate it the second or third time, because the whole world was watching how the Heavenly Khan, who founded the Zhenguan Reign, would deal with his "rebel".

The affection in his eyes gradually faded.

Li Shimin understood that whether to kill the prince or not was another matter. The first thing to do was to defeat the prince's Shenwu Army.

"The Crown Prince's artillery is fierce. Your Majesty, please retreat to Taiji Palace for the time being."

Changsun Wuji bowed and said.

The Daming Palace has a huge advantage over the Taiji Palace. Changsun Wuji is very clear that once the war breaks out, given the prince's character, he will definitely not sit idly by and wait for death.

From the perspective of the prince, he would definitely raise an army through Xuanwu Gate and attack Taiji Palace as soon as possible.

Can Xuanwu Gate stop the prince?

Whether it was Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, or Li Shimin, they all knew that they could not stop it.

The prince’s artillery couldn’t be stopped at Tongguan, let alone Xuanwu Gate.

If the Crown Prince were to force his way through Xuanwu Gate and invade Taiji Palace, and Your Majesty were captured, then everything would be over.

Li Shimin's face was too calm. Facing Zhangsun Wuji's request, he nodded calmly: "Okay."

As an emperor of all ages, Li Shimin naturally has his own courage.

Those who achieve great things are able to bend and stretch.

Back then he was able to lie dormant and wait for the opportunity.

Now it's just a matter of temporarily avoiding the rebellious son's attack, what's wrong with that?

"Your Majesty, perhaps you can ask the Prince of Jin for help. After all, the Shenwu Army in Prince City is mainly hidden by General Lu Tong of the Jinwu Guard. The Prince of Jin is the General of the Right Jinwu Guard. Perhaps he can play a significant role in this."

Changsun Wuji put forward a new idea.

Fang Xuanling's eyes moved slightly when he heard this, but he didn't say much.

If this war starts, the crown prince will be deposed.

It is natural that the Tang Dynasty cannot be without an heir. The next candidate for the crown prince will probably be chosen between the King of Wei and the King of Jin.

Of course, it is impossible for Changsun Wuji to support the King of Wei. Once the King of Wei becomes the crown prince and ascends the throne in the future, how will the Guanlong clans cope with the situation and allow the Five Surnames and Seven Families to rise up in the court again?

What's the point of suppressing it for so many years?

Therefore, the person that Changsun Wuji supported could only be Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

Changsun Wuji also felt Fang Xuanling's gaze, but what made Changsun Wuji a little strange was that Fang Xuanling had no intention of speaking, as if he had tacitly agreed to the matter.

In fact, Fang Xuanling also knew that even though the King of Wei was favored by His Majesty, it was actually very difficult for him to ascend to the throne.

It might have been possible before, but not now.

Although Cui Wenxin of the Qinghe Cui family had taken the responsibility of colluding with the Turks, any discerning person could see that the King of Wei must have been involved.

How can a person who can even sell out his own people shoulder the responsibility of governing the country?

Handing over the Tang Dynasty to King Wei was a disaster for the people of the world and a tragedy for the Tang Dynasty.

On the other hand, the King of Jin is at least kind and filial.

Moreover, although Fang Xuanling had some contacts with the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans, after all, the Fang family had a declining population. Compared with aristocratic families like the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans, there was a huge gap between them, so there was no need to get so deeply involved.

Therefore, making Prince Jin the crown prince would not have much impact on Fang Xuanling or even the Fang family.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin thought for a short while and said, "Okay, let Zhinu see the world." This sentence almost laid the foundation for Li Zhi to inherit the throne.

Under such circumstances, Li Zhi's participation would be a great achievement.

Such achievements will surely be of great help in selecting the crown prince in the future.

After setting the tone, Li Shimin discussed the details with Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling.

It’s not complicated at all, the main thing is how to avoid Li Chengqian’s artillery.

Sixty thousand Shenwu troops are nothing; the key lies in the artillery.

But as long as Li Shimin withdrew from Taiji Palace, the Prince's cannon would be of little use.

Even if they broke through the Xuanwu Gate, what could they do if they couldn't capture Li Shimin and couldn't use the emperor to control the princes?

The pros and cons of artillery are now clear. The artillery in the prince's hands cannot flatten the entire Chang'an.

To put it more exaggeratedly, even if the 200,000 imperial guards in Chang'an were not enough, Li Shimin could temporarily leave Chang'an.

He raised the Tang army and attacked the prince.

Could it be possible that the prince could conquer the entire Tang Dynasty?

This is Li Shimin’s confidence.

As long as we make up our minds, we can mobilize troops from all over the world to encircle and suppress the prince.

No matter how powerful the artillery is, it is impossible to defeat hundreds of thousands of troops.

If the prince occupied Liaodong it would be very troublesome, but now that the prince is in Chang'an, he would be alone in deep territory.

This is also the reason why Li Shimin was not afraid of the prince but did not take action against him.

Speaking of which, Li Shimin still hoped that the prince would now be able to protect himself and could wait peacefully for the succession.

But now, it is obviously impossible.

The court meeting was over.

Changsun Wuji returned home and called his eldest son Changsun Chong.

"Chong'er," Changsun Wuji looked serious, staring at Changsun Chong with sharp eyes.

"The situation in Chang'an has reached a critical moment. Crown Prince Li Chengqian has 60,000 Shenwu troops and artillery weapons, and intends to rebel. Your Majesty and I are planning a countermeasure."

Chang Sun Chong was shocked. Although he had heard some rumors before, he was still shocked when he heard it confirmed by his father.

"Father, what should we do? The prince's forces are so huge, and they have artillery. I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with him."

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty has decided to temporarily retreat to Taiji Palace to avoid the Crown Prince's artillery. After discussion, we believe that Prince Jin can play a key role in this. This time, I asked you to befriend Prince Jin for the sake of the overall situation."

"Make friends with the King of Jin?" Chang Sun Chong was a little confused. "Father, why the King of Jin? The King of Wei is also quite favored by His Majesty, and..."

"Shut up!" Zhangsun Wuji interrupted Zhangsun Chong, speaking sternly, "It seems that Cui Wenxin is responsible for the King of Wei's collusion with the Turks, but Your Majesty, don't you understand? How can a person who sells out his country and his people shoulder the responsibility of the country? If the King of Wei takes the throne, the Five Surnames and Seven Families will surely rise again, and the efforts of the Guanlong clans for many years will be wasted. This is not what we want to see."

Chang Sun Chong suddenly realized what was going on and quickly bowed his head and said, "Father is right. I understand. The King of Jin is kind and filial. If I can make friends with him, I will have a bright future..."

"That's right." Zhang Sun Wuji's expression eased a little. "Now the crown prince is plotting a rebellion. If he fails, the crown prince's position will be vacant. If the prince of Jin can make achievements in this matter, he will have a great chance of inheriting the crown prince's position. You should make friends with the prince of Jin not only for the sake of your family, but also for the future of the Tang Dynasty."

"I will never let my father down!" Chang Sun Chong said firmly.

"Listen carefully," Changsun Wuji approached Changsun Chong and lowered his voice, "Now that His Majesty has agreed to let Prince Jin participate in this matter, this is a great achievement. You go to see Prince Jin and tell him that a big change is imminent and let him be prepared. At the same time, show him that our Changsun family is willing to fully support him. But remember, be careful with your words and don't be too ostentatious, so as not to attract other people's attention."

Chang Sun Chong nodded seriously, keeping his father's words in mind. "Father, when should I go to see the King of Jin?"

"We must go there early tomorrow morning. This matter cannot be delayed."

Zhang Sun Wuji looked deep into the dark night outside the window. "The situation is changing rapidly, and we must seize the initiative. After meeting the King of Jin, we must adapt to the situation. If he has any needs, as long as it does not violate the principles, we will do our best to help him."

Changsun Wuji sighed in his heart. When he asked his son to befriend Prince Jin, he actually never thought that Prince Jin would one day succeed in winning the throne.

After all, the crown prince was so dazzling that even if he rebelled, His Majesty never thought of deposing him.

As for the subsequent incident at Tongguan, it seemed that His Majesty had no choice but to compromise, but in fact, Changsun Wuji knew in his heart that His Majesty was just using this incident to restore the crown prince's position.

Later, when he was seriously ill and dying, he still wanted to hand over the Tang Dynasty to the prince.

If the Dragon had not recovered and the Crown Prince had not been so aggressive, Your Majesty would not have resorted to war with the Crown Prince.

"Yes, father." Chang Sun Chong responded.

"And more." Changsun Wuji paused and continued.

"To befriend the King of Jin, you don't have to flatter him blindly. You have to treat him with sincerity and let the King of Jin feel our sincerity. At the same time, you have to communicate more with the King of Jin, understand his ideas and plans, and report to me in a timely manner."

Changsun Wuji also didn't want to be a scapegoat for others, so at this point, he naturally had to plan for the future.

"I understand. Father, if the prince's rebellion succeeds, what should we do..." Chang Sun Chong was still a little worried and couldn't help asking.

The prince's power is so great that even Chang Sun Chong feels that the prince's rebellion has a high chance of success.

It's not that he was worrying too much, but it was the prince's real military achievement.

Pacificating Liaodong sounds simple.

You should know that at that time, the Sui Dynasty's million-strong army was blocked at Liaodong City of Goryeo, but the prince not only easily captured Liaodong City and destroyed Goryeo, but also captured Silla and Baekje in one fell swoop.

Even Tongguan, the throat of Chang'an, is now controlled by the prince.

What Chang Sun Chong was most worried about was that if the prince failed to rebel in Chang'an City, but instead escaped from Chang'an and returned to Luoyang, what would happen then?

Zhang Sun Wuji's eyes were stern, and he said in a deep voice: "The Crown Prince is plotting a rebellion, which is intolerable to heaven and will never succeed! Your Majesty is wise and brave, and with our help, you will definitely be able to put down the rebellion. You don't have to worry about this, just focus on making friends with the King of Jin."

Changsun Wuji knew the risks involved, but there was no way he would conspire with the prince.

This matter had been discussed before in Taiji Palace.

The prince cannot leave Chang'an.

No matter what the cost, the prince's rebellion must be resolved in Chang'an.

On the other hand, His Majesty has issued a secret decree, asking Li Jing to mobilize 300,000 troops to besiege Chang'an in order to prevent the Crown Prince from escaping to Tongguan and returning to Luoyang after his defeat.

"Yes, father. I will do my best to contribute to the family and the Tang Dynasty." Chang Sun Chong clenched his fists and spoke in a firm tone.

Chang Sun Chong knew that worries were worries, and the only thing he had to do at this time was to move forward.

"Okay, my Changsun family has been loyal for generations, and this time we will do our best to maintain the stability of the Tang Dynasty. You have a heavy responsibility and must not take it lightly."

Changsun Wuji patted Changsun Chong on the shoulder, his eyes full of expectation.

Chang Sun Chong looked at his father and felt a sense of mission in his heart.

He knew that his trip was not only related to the rise and fall of his family, but also to the fate of the Tang Dynasty. In this ever-changing situation, he must act prudently, share his father's worries, find a way out for his family, and contribute his own strength to the future of the Tang Dynasty.

"Don't worry, father. I will definitely fulfill my mission!" Chang Sun Chong solemnly promised again.

(End of this chapter)