Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Although the time of suffering passes very slowly, it will always pass silently.

In the blink of an eye, it was late May.

Nearly two months have passed since the Crown Prince and Du He compiled the book.

To date, the Eastern Palace remains heavily guarded, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has never shown up.

Many court officials believed that the prince was deceiving His Majesty and the people, and was not compiling any books, but was just having fun.

Li Shimin had a gloomy face every day when he went to court, as if he had endless anger in his heart.

Prince Wei's Mansion.

Li Tai, whose mood was getting better and better, held a banquet to entertain all his loyal followers.

At the banquet, musicians played music, dancers danced gracefully, and everyone toasted each other, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

Fang Yiai, who was slightly tipsy, raised his glass and congratulated Li Tai: "Congratulations, King Wei. Two months have passed, and the East Palace is as quiet as stagnant water. The position of crown prince will probably change hands soon!"

Chai Lingwu, who was drunk, followed closely behind him: "Hehe, the crown prince must be the King of Wei. We congratulate the King of Wei on his promotion to the crown prince in advance!"

The rest of the gang members were very smart and they all shouted loudly.

"Congratulations, Prince!"

The call of "Prince" gave Prince of Wei Li Tai goose bumps all over his body and every limb of his body was throbbing with excitement.

He stood up with his glass in hand, motioned to his followers, and spoke loudly and excitedly.

"Okay, okay, no need to be so polite."

"After the mission is accomplished, this king will reward you according to your merits."

"Come, let us drink this cup together and celebrate a better tomorrow!"

Everyone's faces were filled with joy. They raised their glasses to gesture towards Li Tai, then drank the wine in their glasses.

After drinking, Li Tai had a smile on his face. He waved his hands and spoke loudly again.

"Let's continue playing music and dancing!"

For a moment, drums and music sounded, phoenixes sang and danced, and the guests talked to each other and laughed heartily.

While the young people were singing and dancing, Wei Ting, Du Chuke and Cui Renshi were drinking in silence.

The matter has not been settled yet, and no one knows if there will be any changes.

The more abnormal Donggong's behavior was, the more panicked they became.

After the banquet.

Li Tai returned to the study and called Wei Ting and the spy leader Wei Suan over.

"Wei Ting, should we implement the second step of the plan?" Li Tai asked, suppressing his excitement.

Wei Ting smiled and nodded: "King Wei, now is the right time!"

"Okay!" Li Tai shouted happily, and then gave instructions to Wei Suan.

"Wei Suan, you can implement the second step of the plan and spread the second statement to the people of Chang'an."

"It's just that the Crown Prince and Du He were not compiling books, but were having sex with beauties from the Western Regions in broad daylight."

Their plan was simple. The first step was to praise the prince highly so that everyone would have good expectations of them.

As the time gets closer and everyone's expectations reach their peak, things take a 180-degree turn and the expectations turn into complaints.

By then, the crown prince's reputation will be ruined, and even if the emperor does not want to, the officials will not allow Li Chengqian to continue to serve as the crown prince.

Wei Suan bowed respectfully and said, "Don't worry, King Wei. I will do it right away."

With the spread of rumors by countless spies, the news quickly spread throughout Chang'an City.

All the people were stunned.

Outrageous!

The peerless book they had been looking forward to for a long time turned out to be fake news?

It turns out that the prince neglected state affairs and sealed off the East Palace in order to indulge in lust during the day?

Faced with this news, the people could not accept it for a while.

Countless people flocked to teahouses, taverns, and workshops to inquire about the latest developments from "well-informed" people.

As the rumors grew more and more, and the prince took no time to come out to explain, the people, who initially did not believe that the prince was committing adultery in broad daylight, now believed it completely.

All the people felt like they were being fooled and cheated.

Their brilliant intelligence was severely insulted, and everyone's expectations for the prince turned into resentment.

"How can such a foolish and incompetent person be the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty?"

"That's right, the Tang Dynasty doesn't need a dissolute person as the crown prince!"

"If such a person were to take power, he would definitely be the second King Zhou of Shang."

"If we leave the foundation of the Tang Dynasty in his hands, won't it be destroyed in three generations?"

Everyone was belittling and condemning Li Chengqian, with some even calling for a replacement of the crown prince.

Li Tai saw that his plan was successful and Li Chengqian had aroused public anger, so he asked the spy leader Wei Suan to add fuel to the fire.

Soon new rumors began to spread among the people.

"The prince's lame leg damages the majestic image of the Tang Dynasty."

"The prince wants to take a woman from the Western Regions who came from a brothel as his concubine."

Once the rumor spread, it caused a sensation. In an instant, all the people in Chang'an City criticized the prince.

The public's calls for a replacement of the crown prince are growing louder.

The moon is bright in the sky and everything is quiet.

The Ganlu Hall was brightly lit.

Niu Jinda, the commander of the Hundred Cavalry Division, reported to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, the Eastern Palace is heavily guarded and our people cannot enter."

"Where are the spies in the East Palace?"

"No news."

Li Shimin waved at Niu Jinda, signaling him to step back.

"I will retire at the end."

Niu Jinda was respectful in his heart and left Ganlu Temple quietly.

...

The next day, after the court meeting.

Li Shimin could no longer sit still, so he asked Wang De to take the imperial edict to the Eastern Palace in person and call Li Chengqian, the rebellious son, to Ganlu Palace.

As soon as the father and son met, Li Shimin pointed at the tip of Li Chengqian's nose and scolded him with a stern face.

"Cheng Qian, tell me the truth, what on earth are you doing?!"

Li Chengqian, who was busy compiling books and was physically and mentally exhausted, heard his father's scolding tone and said with a bit of impatience.

"Father, I am writing a book that will benefit the country and the people!"

Li Shimin shook his hands and said, "Nonsense, tell me the truth!"

Li Chengqian became angry when he saw that his father did not trust him at all, and he spoke loudly.

"Father, I have said that I am compiling books that will benefit the country and the people. Why don't you trust me?"

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "There has been no movement for more than two months! How can I trust you?"

"Do you know what kind of rumors are spreading among the people now?"

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian said with a serious face: "Father, just wait. Once the book comes out, I promise that I will surprise you!"

"Now is the critical period for book compilation. I will take my leave first!"

After saying this, Li Chengqian bowed to Li Shimin and turned away without hesitation.

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian's limping gait, which did not look like a crown prince at all, and the anger on his face reached its peak.

...

Another three days passed.

Even many officials in the court began to discuss that the prince was not worthy of his position.

It was a very quiet night.

Ganlu Hall

Inside the spacious hall, Li Shimin sat alone in a daze, staring blankly at the two names written on the rice paper.

On the left is Li Chengqian, and on the right is Li Tai.

He had some expectations for Li Chengqian at the beginning, but as two months passed, the Eastern Palace did not give him any feedback, and Li Shimin's heart began to waver.

He was aware of the rumors circulating among the people in recent days, and he was also aware of the calls for a replacement of the crown prince.

Li Shimin kept questioning himself.

Is there really any hope for the prince?

If the Tang Dynasty is handed over to a crown prince like this, will it not perish in the third generation?

Guanyin, oh Guanyin, if you are still alive in heaven, please tell me in a dream how to make the decision.

At this moment, Li Shimin also realized how difficult it was for his father, Emperor Li Yuan, to determine the successor.

Li Shimin was in a bad mood. He stood up and paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

After a long silence, Li Shimin gritted his teeth and seemed to have made up his mind.

He sat back at the desk with a serious expression, picked up the pen on the table, dipped it in ink, and drew a big cross on Li Chengqian's name.

At this moment, Li Shimin finally made up his mind and decided to announce the dethronement of the crown prince at the court meeting tomorrow and make Li Tai the new crown prince.

This time, even if all the officials obstruct him, he will give this order!

At the same time, in the East Palace not far from Ganlu Palace.

Inside Chongwen Hall.

More than twenty thick candles were lit all around, illuminating the spacious hall.

Du He, Li Chengqian and a group of scholars from Chongwenguan all gathered around the wooden table in the middle of the hall.

They held their breath and focused their eyes on an old decorator.

The elderly decorator was deft and nimble. He quickly stacked the papers that were filled with words and had holes punched on the left pages in order.

Then he skillfully passed the cotton thread through the small holes on the pages to secure the book firmly.

As the decorator completed his action, the crowd instantly erupted in huge cheers.

"Great!"

“The dictionary is finally completed!”

The scholars from Chongwenguan, young and old, surrounded Li Chengqian and Du He, shouting and dancing wildly.

After everyone celebrated wildly for a while, they slowly returned to silence, and everyone's eyes turned to Li Chengqian and Du He in the middle.

During the period of compiling the dictionary, these scholars from Chongwenguan completely changed their views on Li Chengqian and Du He.

No matter what outsiders say, in their hearts, the prince is wise and able to endure hardships, and the prince consort is talented.

Du He smiled and signaled to Li Chengqian with his eyes, asking him to say a few words to everyone.

Li Chengqian nodded, took a deep breath and spoke loudly.

"My fellow scholars, everyone in the court and even the common people think we are fooling around. No one believes us."

"Everyone is waiting for us to fail to deliver results, waiting to laugh at us, and then kick us when we are down!"

After hearing Li Chengqian's words, everyone in Chongwenguan's eyes turned red.

When the Prince Consort Du He spoke out about the court officials and the people's distrust of them, everyone felt breathless.

If everyone says we are not good enough, we must do something to achieve something.

For nearly two months, except for eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, they spent all their time in Chongwenguan, and even worked by candlelight at night.

All the books in Chongwenguan were swept through by this group of crazy scholars.

Just to prove myself.

Li Chengqian then shouted: "It's a pity that they all looked down on us. We didn't fulfill their wishes."

“With our hard work day and night, we... did it!”

Li Chengqian shouted the last three words.

He had been under the greatest pressure during this period, and he was venting his frustration.

"Long live the prince!"

Everyone surrounded Li Chengqian and shouted wildly.

Outside Chongwenguan.

Hearing the huge cheers coming from inside, Xi Junmai, who was in charge of guarding, also curled up a smile.

Finally succeeded!