Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 238 Cheng Qian actually wanted to kill his brother!? [Seeking monthly votes]

Originally, Li Chengqian planned to use the Double Ninth Festival banquet to plot against all the aristocratic families and twenty-nine countries, but the four countries of Japan, Goguryeo, Western Turkestan, and Tuyuhun suddenly appeared.

Especially this Tuyuhun prince Murong Shun, who actually dared to jump out and put pressure on him. He simply didn't know how to live or die.

Although the Tang Dynasty court has always advocated not fighting unjust wars that bully the weak, Tuyuhun has often invaded the Tang Dynasty's borders in recent years, which has long made Li Chengqian unhappy.

If the Tang Dynasty had not been determined to destroy the Eastern Turks, he would have already begun to plan for Tuyuhun and prevent the rise of Tubo.

You should know that the rise of Tubo had a lot to do with its destruction of Tuyuhun.

At that time, Li Shimin focused his attention on Goguryeo and neglected the development of Tubo, which ended up becoming a serious threat to him.

It can be said that Li Shimin's act of sitting idly by and watching Tubo destroy Tuyuhun was a huge decision-making mistake for the entire Tang Dynasty.

Because Tuyuhun was a good buffer zone between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

But with the demise of Tuyuhun, the Tang Dynasty's entire northwest and half of the southwest region, from Anxi to Hexi to Sichuan, were completely bordered by Tubo.

In order to curb the power of Tubo, the Tang Dynasty successively established the Anxi Jiedushi and the Hexi Jiedushi, and deployed 100,000 troops to guard the border.

However, with the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang army suddenly collapsed, and Tubo took the opportunity to capture Liangzhou, causing millions of northwestern territories to instantly become enclaves, which were eventually devoured one by one by Tubo.

Bai Juyi's "In normal times, we maintain peace in the vast western border, but today the border defense is in Fengxiang" vividly illustrates the fall of the northwest.

Therefore, after eliminating the Eastern Turks, Li Chengqian's next goal was to eliminate the two major threats, Tuyuhun and Tubo.

Now that the Tuyuhun people have come to him on their own initiative, he naturally will not miss this opportunity.

But Li Shimin seemed to not want him to clash with Murong Shun, and immediately said with a stern face: "Today is the day when my Tang Dynasty celebrates with other countries. I don't want to see any unpleasantness happen. Crown Prince, little prince, please step back!"

After saying this, the imperial guards at the edge of the banquet hall suddenly stopped their spears and a sense of oppression and murderousness instantly spread throughout the entire venue.

Everyone's expression was serious.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked at Murong Shun. The latter's expression changed again and again, and finally his gaze fell on the middle-aged man.

Then, the two of them returned to their seats without saying a word.

Only Li Chengqian and the officials of the Eastern Palace stood there, looking at them coldly, without moving an inch.

"Prince!"

Li Shimin shouted again with some displeasure.

At this time, Li Yuan spoke again: "Cheng Qian, come sit next to Grandpa!"

"Oh,"

Li Chengqian responded, then exchanged a glance with the officials of the Eastern Palace, then walked straight to Li Yuan and sat down as if nothing had happened.

The officials of the Eastern Palace returned to their respective positions one after another.

The atmosphere began to relax gradually, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the conflict between Li Chengqian and Murong Shun did not occur, any discerning person could see that today's Double Ninth Festival banquet would never end here.

Sure enough, just as Li Shimin was about to announce the official start of the Double Ninth Festival Banquet, the Japanese envoy who had just shamelessly asked for benefits from the Tang Dynasty jumped out again.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, you haven't given us a response to our request just now. We really need the help of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, please allow us to become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Khan of Heaven"

As the Japanese envoy jumped out again, the envoys from other countries, as if they had a last burst of energy, all made requests to Li Shimin again.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin could not help but glare at Li Chengqian fiercely and said in a low voice: "Look at what you have done, what should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Are the benefits from the Tang Dynasty free?"

Li Yuan glanced at Li Shimin with disdain, then waved his hand and said: "Let them dance first. I have never seen people from the North Hu and South Yue dancing together."

"Father!"

When Li Shimin heard Li Yuan's words, his face immediately turned dark.

He really regretted letting Li Yuan attend the banquet and felt that he was wise not to invite Li Yuan before.

However, Li Yuan did not speak softly, especially to Jie Li, who was near the Chrysanthemum Terrace, whose ears were as pointed as a dog.

The moment he heard Li Yuan's words, he immediately called out to the envoys from the twenty-nine countries and said with a smile, "Since the music we just performed for the Heavenly Khan didn't impress him, let's perform a dance for the Emperor!"

After saying that, he went down to the stage and jumped up himself.

There was no way out. If he wanted to survive in Chang'an, he had to lower his noble eagle-like head.

"Good good!"

Li Yuan nodded happily, then waved his hand to signal the audience, "Play the music, dance!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the envoys from the twenty-nine countries and their dancers had no choice but to rush into the center of the banquet hall.

Accompanied by cheerful dance music, they began to show off their country's dance with all their might.

All the ministers present were dazzled and drank happily.

"Okay!"

Li Yuan clapped his hands and laughed, as if he hadn't laughed so happily since the day at Xuanwu Gate: "Today is really an eye-opener, a real eye-opener!"

After saying this, he smiled and looked at Li Chengqian beside him and said, "What do you think, grandson?"

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it feels like we're all one family!"

"Hahaha! We are one family under heaven!"

Li Yuan clapped his hands and laughed again: "This really is the world of one family!"

Li Shimin: "."

The princes and concubines present: "."

Somehow, they suddenly had a feeling that they shouldn't be here.

However, today is the Double Ninth Festival that everyone celebrates together, so how come it has become a one-man show for the grandfather and grandson?
Who is the protagonist?
Not only the princes and concubines had such doubts, but even the civil and military officials had such doubts.

Until Li Shimin finally couldn't stand the grandfather and grandson's behavior of stealing the show, he took the initiative to attack and said, "Prince, it's your turn to explain to the other countries!"

"Explain what?"

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin with a puzzled look on his face.

"Rebel!"

Li Shimin was furious. He immediately raised his hand and pointed at the audience, saying in a deep voice, "You can't let them keep dancing like this!"

"Too!"

Li Chengqian pretended to understand and nodded, then raised his hand to signal the musician.

Soon, the music stopped and the exotic dancers retreated one after another.

Li Chengqian stood up and walked to the Chrysanthemum Terrace. He looked around at the envoys and said, "Everyone, just now you petitioned my father, the Emperor, to have the Tang Dynasty accept you as a vassal state, and even to ask for the Tang Dynasty's full support. Actually, it is not impossible."

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

Li Shimin's face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but say quickly: "Cheng Qian! This matter is not to be taken lightly!"

"hehe!"

Li Chengqian smiled and asked, "Didn't the Emperor ask me to preside over this?"

"But."

"Alright, Father, listen to me first!"

Before Li Shimin could finish his words, Li Chengqian interrupted him with a wave of his hand. He then looked around at the envoys and said, "The Tang Dynasty can agree to your request, but we have two conditions. If you can agree, we will give you the divine seed and help you!"

"May I ask the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, what are these two conditions?" The King of Gaochang spoke first.

Li Chengqian smiled at him and continued, "These two conditions are very simple. First, from the day you become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, all your country's currency must use the currency of the Tang Dynasty. You cannot mint coins privately. Second, you must sign a military alliance with the Tang Dynasty. Any country attacking you will be considered a declaration of war against the Tang Dynasty. Likewise, if any country attacks the Tang Dynasty, you must unconditionally participate in the war, stand guard and support the Tang Dynasty, and never betray it."

"As long as you agree to these two conditions, the Tang Dynasty will do its best to satisfy whatever you want!"

"Of course, if you violate any of these two clauses, it will be considered as declaring war on the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty will send troops to attack you!"

"This"

When the King of Gaochang heard this, his eyes widened instantly and his face was full of helplessness.

The envoys from the other twenty-eight countries were also stunned and speechless with surprise.

The first one is actually acceptable, because the coins of the Tang Dynasty are very exquisite, and they often smuggle the coins of the Tang Dynasty back to their country for use, so they are not opposed to completely adopting the coins of the Tang Dynasty.

What really made things difficult for them was the second point, signing a military alliance.

You have to know that before this, they had signed treaties with the Tang Dynasty, but the treaties they signed were basically torn up at will, just like the treaty signed by Jie Li and Li Shimin, which was torn up at will and had no binding force.

However, the alliance that Li Chengqian requested to sign was very different from the alliance they had signed before, because it mentioned a very important key point, which was to participate in the war of the Tang Dynasty.

If they do not participate in the Tang Dynasty's war, it would be equivalent to violating the alliance, and the Tang Dynasty could directly attack them with justification.

It was obvious that the military alliance was meant to bind them tightly to the Tang Dynasty, but they only wanted to take advantage of the Tang Dynasty and did not want to be tied to it at all.

Because of the Tang Dynasty's ambition, foreign wars were inevitable.

In other words, their country's army was destined to become the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty.

This is very difficult for them to accept.

Therefore, the moment Li Chengqian finished speaking, they all fell silent.

The civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty all had sarcastic expressions on their faces and started to speak in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, weren't you all shouting happily when you wanted benefits? Why are you all silent now?" Cheng Yaojin was the first to mock.

Yuchi Gong, standing by, said, not to be outdone: "I see, the Crown Prince's two conditions make it seem like the Tang Dynasty is at a disadvantage. How can they help us? Why bother giving them those benefits for free?"

"Yes! I also think we shouldn't give it to them. That's a magical seed that produces five to six thousand kilograms per mu!" Du Ruhui also agreed with a smile.

The rest of the ministers looked at the foreign envoys as if they were watching a Sichuan opera face-changing performance. Their expressions kept changing, and they all wished they could crawl into the ground.

How excited I was just now, how embarrassed I am now.

Li Shimin's mouth corners slightly raised, and he seemed to be very satisfied with Li Chengqian's two conditions.

Although he still didn't quite understand the meaning of the first condition, the condition proposed by Li Chengqian definitely had its deep meaning.

Just as the envoys from the twenty-nine nations were feeling ashamed, Murong Shun's voice rang out again: "Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, I have something to say to you!"

"Ok?"

Li Shimin frowned, obviously somewhat displeased with the little prince's rudeness.

Although he had just intimidated the other party, the other party was obviously ignorant of his own limitations and jumped out again.

Li Shimin suppressed his anger and said solemnly, "I wonder what the little prince wants to say to me?"

"It's not a big deal. I just heard that the Khan of Western Turkic Khaganate once asked the Tang Emperor for a marriage, hoping to marry a Tang princess to maintain peace between the two countries. I wonder if this is true?"

Murong Shun asked arrogantly.

Changsun Wuji, standing by, immediately shouted angrily, "How dare you, Murong Shun, be so rude to His Majesty! Kneel down and apologize!"

"What crime has Xiao Wang committed?"

Murong Shun smiled disapprovingly and said, "I just wanted to ask the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty if this is true. Is it true that in your Tang Dynasty, you can't even ask about this?"

"If that's the case, then I'm afraid I must have misheard what I heard about the Tang Emperor opening the way for public opinion."

"Hahaha!"

The people behind Murong Shun burst into laughter.

The middle-aged man beside him also showed a sarcastic smile.

Changsun Wuji and the ministers of the Tang Dynasty were all livid.

Li Shimin tried his best to suppress his anger and said solemnly, "The matter you asked about is indeed true, but it is a matter between the Western Turks and the Tang Dynasty. It has nothing to do with you, Tuyuhun."

"No, no, no, it's still related!"

Murong Shun waved his hands repeatedly, then smiled and saluted Li Shimin, saying:

"Because my Tuyuhun also wishes to coexist peacefully with the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I, the prince, would like to propose marriage to the Tang Emperor today. I ask for the hand of a Tang princess, so that our two countries can coexist peacefully. I wonder if the Tang Emperor would agree?"

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

It's a mess, everything is in chaos, and the situation is almost out of control.

Some people were enlightened and their thoughts became clear.

Someone was stepped on and started cursing.

It seemed that no one had expected that Murong Shun would threaten Li Shimin to marry the princess in front of so many people.

This made Li Shimin's anger reach its peak in an instant.

As the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty who could conquer the world on horseback and rule the world on horseback, he had experienced countless wars.

Today, he was angered by a prince from a foreign country and revealed his murderous intent on the battlefield for the first time, staring at Murong Shun.

When Murong Shun was stared at by Li Shimin, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

However, Murong Shun did not meet Li Shimin's gaze. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Li Chengqian and raised his eyebrows, saying, "I wonder if the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty can make the decision on this matter?"

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian snorted, but ignored him.

In fact, when he learned that the four countries of Wa, Goguryeo, Western Turks, and Tuyuhun had come uninvited, he had been paying attention to them.

Especially this Murong Shun, who kept looking back and forth among the female members of the royal family while attending the banquet.

It goes without saying that this guy has bad intentions.

Now, this guy threatened Li Shimin in front of him to marry a Tang princess, which made Li Chengqian feel like watching a good show.

After all, this was the first time Li Chengqian saw someone other than himself threatening Li Shimin.

However, before Li Shimin could speak, the chubby Li Tai, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Which Tang princess does the prince want to marry?"

Swish!
As soon as Li Tai finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Because no one could have imagined that Li Tai would ask such a question.

When Li Tai felt everyone's gaze, he immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.

But in fact, in his heart, he didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said.

Because Li Chengqian had been the center of attention in front of everyone before, but he couldn't even get a word in, which made him feel very aggrieved.

Therefore, he felt that there was nothing wrong with him standing up and saying a few words.

And what's wrong with just asking the other person which princess he wants to marry?

Could it be that they can't even ask others which princess they want to marry? This is too closed-minded!
My father will definitely support me!
Thinking of this, Li Tai couldn't help but turn his gaze to Li Shimin, only to see that Li Shimin was also looking at him.

However, Li Shimin's eyes did not show any understanding or appreciation, but rather a coldness that he had never seen before.

"Father."

Li Tai trembled all over and hesitated to speak.

But Murong Shun suddenly burst into laughter: "Since His Royal Highness the King of Yue has asked sincerely, then I will pick one!"

As he spoke, he looked around at everyone and jokingly said, "To be honest, I haven't taken a close look at the princesses of the Tang Dynasty!"

After hearing this, some people might think that he is a young and ignorant person who really does not know his place.

In fact, what he did was not a reckless act. He wanted to take advantage of such an occasion to force Li Shimin to agree to his request.

Moreover, he knew that the Western Turks also wanted to marry a Tang princess. When he asked for the princess in front of Li Shimin, he was actually pulling the Western Turks into his camp.

Once Li Shimin agrees to him, he will inevitably agree to the Western Turks as well.

On the contrary, if Li Shimin rejected him, the Western Turks would also be rejected.

In this way, Li Shimin would offend both Tuyuhun and Western Turkic states.

The Tang Dynasty had just experienced the war to destroy the Eastern Turks. Did it really have the strength to go to war with both of them at the same time?

I'm afraid even Tian Khan has to think about it, right?
What's more, there is the covetous Goguryeo and the sinister Japan.

Therefore, he was very confident that his "recklessness" would not anger Li Shimin and cause him to kill him.

What’s more regrettable is that the person who answered him was not Li Chengqian, but this stupid King of Yue.

Because if it was Li Chengqian who answered him, he could take the opportunity to stir up a dispute between Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, the father and son, and benefit from it.

However, even if Li Chengqian had not been fooled, his evil plan would have succeeded.

Just as he was pretending to choose a princess, Fang Xuanling spoke up first, saying, "Prince, you've misunderstood. His Royal Highness the King of Yue means that the Tang princess is still young, and now is not the time to marry her!"

"Yes, yes, that's what I mean."

Upon hearing this, Li Tai quickly agreed.

However, the moment he finished speaking, Li Chengqian glanced at him coldly.

Empress Changsun, who had been paying attention to Li Chengqian, was shocked.

Because Li Chengqian's eyes clearly contained a strong murderous intent.

No way!
Could it be that Cheng Qian really wanted to kill Qingque?

Empress Changsun's heart was in her throat, and she couldn't help showing a worried look. She then turned her head to look at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin had a gloomy face and said nothing.

　Please give me a monthly ticket. Please give me a monthly ticket.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)