Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

When the Crown Prince and Du He proposed to build a monument to heroes, Li Shimin had already discussed with a group of prime ministers and left this opportunity to improve his reputation to the Crown Prince.

Although he is very envious now, he is too embarrassed to go back on his word and snatch this fame from his son.

Li Chengqian nodded happily and said, "Father, please rest assured. I will definitely do a good job on this matter!"

Although the army had just returned to the capital, the court had already made public the prince's heroic feat of leading the army to annihilate the Three Kingdoms a few days ago.

Now the people in Chang'an City are celebrating for his leading the army to annihilate the Three Kingdoms, and countless people are praising his wisdom and ability.

When he buries the remains of the former Sui martyrs under the monument, his fame will rise to a higher level.

Li Chengqian asked with some doubt: "Father, before I led the army on your behalf, you said that after I conquered Goguryeo, I would lead the army to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods."

"I wonder when my father will set out to complete the feat of Fengshan at Mount Tai?"

When he heard the word "Fengshan", Li Shimin's face was full of longing.

The most important affairs of state are sacrifices and military affairs.

Sacrifice is a ritual, and the Tang Dynasty ruled the country according to rituals and laws. Even the enlightened emperor Li Shimin believed that the most important thing was sacrifice.

The worship of the Taimiao the day after tomorrow will be an extremely grand and solemn ceremony, and all officials above the fifth rank who remain in Chang'an will have to participate in it.

Li Shimin would bring Li Chengqian and Li Zhi with him to tell his ancestors about the epic feat of destroying four kingdoms in one battle.

The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was the highest level of sacrifice. Only the emperors who had benefited the whole world and whose achievements surpassed those of the Three Sovereigns were qualified to go to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony.

There are only a handful of emperors who have been to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, including Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Guangwu of Han.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I have discussed with the prime ministers that I will lead the civil and military officials to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods when the flowers bloom next spring."

"In addition to going to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods, I will also tour the surrounding prefectures and counties. It will probably take several months to go there and back."

"While I am away, you will be the regent!"

The emperor’s travel is no small matter, as the number of attendants and imperial guards accompanying him alone is no less than ten thousand.

Moreover, the prince has grown up now, and he has wise counselors and brave generals under his command. He is becoming more and more powerful, so we have to be on guard against him.

When he led all the officials to leave Chang'an, he also had to prepare sufficient backup plans, otherwise if the prince was anxious to ascend to the throne early, he might not be able to return to Chang'an.

Li Chengqian responded respectfully: "I obey your order!"

"Please rest assured, Father. I will manage the country well."

Li Chengqian did not feel too much about the matter of being the regent.

Because since he became the crown prince, he has served as regent more than once.

Every time, his father would separate the military and political power, and he could only review memorials and handle some minor matters.

Li Shimin nodded.

He stared at Li Chengqian with deep eyes, then walked to the screen with his hands behind his back, looked at the words written by Guanyinbi on it for a while, and then asked without turning his head.

"Gao Ming, this time you led your troops to attack Goguryeo, and Qingque instigated Zhang Junyi to flee from the battlefield, causing the army to suffer heavy losses."

"Do you hate Qingque?"

Li Chengqian was stunned.

His hands were tightly grasping the corners of his robe, and his breathing became rapid.

After a long silence.

Li Chengqian said in a hoarse voice: "Hate!"

Li Shimin said calmly, "Master, Qingque's behavior is treason and he has failed to correct his attitude in the face of major issues. You are right to hate him."

"Father also hates Qingque and wishes he could draw his sword and chop him to death."

"But he is your father's child after all, your biological brother from the same mother. Your father can't bear it!"

After hearing his father's true feelings, Li Chengqian fell silent.

As expected, Du He was right. His father would use Qingque's treason to test him.

Although my father said it was serious and wanted to kill Qingque, what he actually did was completely inconsistent with what he said.

"Hey!"

Li Chengqian sighed secretly.

My father’s thoughts are as deep as a bottomless abyss, unfathomable!

Li Shimin suddenly turned around, stared at Li Chengqian with burning eyes, and asked calmly.

"Gao Ming, do you think that the punishment of sending Qingque to his fiefdom by the emperor can offset the mistake he made this time?"

"We are the only two of us here, father and son. Father wants to hear the truth from you!"

Hearing his father's words, Li Chengqian almost laughed out of anger.

It was a rule set by the New Tang Law that the prince would be sent to his fiefdom after he came of age. However, my father was reluctant to part with the Prince of Wei and had gone against all odds to keep him in Chang'an.

Is this a punishment?

If the King of Wei had gone to his fiefdom earlier, would he have been in such a mess? He almost embarked on the road of no return by launching a palace coup!

Including the now adult Prince of Jin Li Zhi, he still stays by his father's side and has not gone to his fiefdom to be a vassal.

Isn't this just following the old path of King Wei?

Li Chengqian licked his dry lips and responded in a deep voice.

"Father, the Duke of Ying, the King of Jiangxia, and the Minister of Justice have been tricked by the King of Wei. They are somewhat dissatisfied with the way your father dealt with the King of Wei!"

Li Shimin was of course aware of the group of generals who were directly affected.

Otherwise, he would not have taken the opportunity to dismiss Gao Shilian and Liu Dewei, and let Li Ji, Li Daozon and Zhang Liang take on the important tasks.

What Li Shimin wanted to hear most was what Li Chengqian was thinking, so he asked with a slightly frown.

"Gao Ming, what are you thinking?"

Li Chengqian responded: "Father, Qingque is my brother, how can I put him to death?"

"However, Qingque's foolish actions caused us to lose thousands of innocent soldiers and almost caused King Jiangxia to die outside Anshi City!"

"If Qingque stood in front of me, I would whip him hard with my horsewhip twice to tell the spirits of the dead soldiers in heaven!"

Hearing what Li Chengqian said, a smile appeared on Li Shimin's face.

Li Shimin said with relief: "Gao Ming, when the Yuanzheng period comes, the emperor will call all your brothers back to Chang'an for a reunion."

"Then the emperor will personally give you a whip, and you, as the elder brother, will teach your younger brother a lesson!"

Li Chengqian said respectfully: "Thank you, Father!"

The father and son chatted for another half an hour before Li Chengqian left Ganlu Palace on a sedan chair.

Outside the gate of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian, who was riding on the sedan chair, gave orders to the guards on the left.

"Go to the Ministry of Works and invite Du He to the Mingde Hall of the Eastern Palace."

"promise!"

After bowing, the guard quickly ran towards the Shangshu Province.

The Secretariat and the Six Ministries were located in the middle of the Imperial Palace, and the Six Ministries had their own separate offices.

Half an hour later.

Du He, with a cheerful look on her face, walked into the East Palace unhindered and walked towards the Mingde Hall skillfully.

"Brother Du."

Qin Huaidao, who was guarding the gate of Mingde Hall, greeted Du He with a smile on his face.

Du He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Huai Dao, it's a pity to let you, the Right Guard Lieutenant Colonel, guard the gate in the future!"