Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Hearing Cen Wenben's humble words, Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, then said with a smile on his face.

"Minister Cen is too modest. You have taught me for more than a year. How can you not be considered my mentor?"

Although Cen Wen had been to the Eastern Palace no more than 40 times, he had been ordered to come to the Eastern Palace to discuss government affairs since last year, and it had been more than a year.

Cen Wenben declined firmly, saying, "Your Majesty has trusted me to discuss academic matters with you. I dare not call myself your teacher. I hope Your Majesty will not embarrass me."

Nowadays, not just any teacher can be accepted. Once one is confirmed as the prince's teacher, his future destiny will no longer be under his control.

If the prince can successfully ascend the throne, but forgets about his teacher, he will have nothing to say.

But once the prince plots treason, he, as the prince's teacher, will be implicated, and even his family will be implicated.

Who would want such a thankless title?

Du He watched Li Chengqian's actions and finally understood what his purpose was.

"Li Chengqian actually wants to win over Cen Wenben!"

If this is the reason, then everything Li Chengqian did was completely in vain.

Because Cen Wenben was not a meritorious minister, nor was he an old man in the Qin Palace, nor was he a member of a prominent family.

Just as he told Li Chengqian, Cen Benwen was just a scholar. He was trusted by Li Shimin and promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling because he could write well.

Cen Wenben did not have deep roots and was not too obsessed with power, so apart from being loyal to Li Shimin, he would not choose to take sides.

Cen Wenben supported Li Chengqian as the crown prince only because Li Chengqian was the eldest son, not because he supported him as a person.

Li Chengqian saw that Cen Wenben was determined and knew that he couldn't eat hot tofu in a hurry.

He forced a smile and said, "Mr. Cen, let's start today's class."

"Huh~" Cen Wenben breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly clasped his fists and saluted towards Li Chengqian, saying, "As you command!"

An hour later, Cen Wenben also finished today's teaching.

Li Chengqian tried to persuade him to stay, "Minister Cen, if you don't have any urgent government affairs to deal with later, why not stay and have a cup of warm wine?"

"It's freezing outside now, wouldn't it be a great pleasure to warm up by the charcoal fire and drink warm wine?"

Cen Wenben did not accept Li Chengqian's request to stay. He declined with a panicked look on his face.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I have something important to attend to. Please forgive me."

After clasping his fists and bowing, Cen Wenben, holding two thick books, left the hall as quickly as if his feet were greased.

Li Chengqian watched Cen Wenben leave quickly, and his smiling face gradually became serious.

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Du He who was eating pastries and said unhappily.

"Du He, you still have the heart to eat cakes, hurry up and think of a solution for me?"

Du He stuffed his mouth with pastries and pretended to be stunned and asked, "Your Highness, what do you want me to do?"

Seeing that Du He pretended to be ignorant, Li Chengqian's face suddenly turned dark.

He said unhappily, "Du He, you are so smart, I don't believe you didn't see it!"

"Hurry up and give me some advice. How can I recruit Cen Wenben into my team?"

Previously, Ma Zhou’s attitude was the same as Cen Wenben’s. He just remained neutral and did not become a member of the East Palace’s huge staff.

After Du He's personal intervention, Ma Zhou's attitude has changed significantly, and he has already stepped half a foot into the East Palace camp.

As long as he didn't commit any major rebellion, Ma Zhou would firmly support him.

After Du He swallowed the pastries in his mouth and drank a cup of warm tea, he spoke seriously.

"Your Highness, I suggest you not spend too much time on Cen Benwen."

"Except for his younger brother Cen Wenzhao who serves as a secretary, Cen Wenben does not have much family power, and he is not the leader of a faction."

"Besides, he also supports the eldest son ascending the throne, so there is no need for him to become a member of the Eastern Palace."

People like Fang Xuanling, Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin represented the interests of the Shandong gentry and they belonged to a whole.

Zhangsun Wuji, Yuwen Jie, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang and others represented the interests of the Guanlong families and also huddled together for warmth.

The Pei, Liu and Xue families in Hedong were also united as one. The nobles and officials in Hedong were headed by these three families.

Cen Wenben is a lone man who does not belong to any major force. Even if he holds a high position, he cannot play a big role.

Recruiting Cen Wenben would not only not bring much benefit, but would also easily arouse Li Shimin's fear, which would be counterproductive.

Li Chengqian curled his lips and said, "Du He, why didn't you remind me earlier?"

"You just kept shaking your head, are you trying to make fun of me?"

Well...

Du He didn't expect that Li Chengqian would turn the tables.

He glanced at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I was not prepared for your sudden action. How could I interrupt your train of thought?"

"Besides, I am just a subordinate. How dare I say anything in front of you two big guys?"

Hearing what Du He said, Li Chengqian almost laughed out loud.

Du He is extremely bold, even more daring than him. How could he not dare to speak?

Moreover, when talking about the topic of treason with a group of aides in the Eastern Palace, only Du He had the courage to discuss it with him, while the others hesitated and could not make any sense.

Li Chengqian did not dwell on this issue for long, but frowned and talked about something else.

"Du He, Chongwenguan has already recruited hundreds of scholars, but the Eastern Palace has no vacancies to accommodate them."

"These scholars have not had anything concrete to do for a long time, so their talents cannot be exercised. Meanwhile, the East Palace is supporting them like this, and the pressure of money is quite high."

"You have to think of a way for me to properly place them!"

Since the scholars recruited by Chongwenguan had not yet obtained the status of officials, the court would not give them salaries, and Li Chengqian had to support them out of his own pocket.

As their master, Li Chengqian could not possibly not give them money, otherwise they would not follow Li Chengqian.

After all, relying on faith for support is useless. These scholars also need food, clothing, shelter and transportation, and their expenses are much greater than those of ordinary people.

Du He asked in confusion: "Your Highness, when did Chongwenguan recruit hundreds of people?"

"Didn't the Eastern Palace only recruit 85 scholars to participate in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival last year?"

Chongwenguan recruits once every three months, and as of today, it has only recruited four times. How could so many scholars come to join the Eastern Palace?

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Ever since Li Tai was driven away to his fiefdom and I have won victory after victory in the Liaodong battlefield, many people from aristocratic families and children from poor families have flocked here."

"So far, the Donggong Chongwenguan has recruited 418 scholars, and 285 of them have not been assigned positions!"