Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

When the people learned that Li Shimin was taking civil and military officials to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, they all expressed their approval.

Under your majesty's governance over the years, their lives have become much better off than before. Not only can they have enough food every day, but they can even get half a pound of pork to try occasionally.

In addition to your majesty's civil governance, in recent years you have also brought the surrounding vassal states under control, and every year countless vassal states pay huge tributes.

You must know that Goguryeo, which the former Sui Dynasty could not conquer, was easily conquered under your Majesty's leadership, and the Han martyrs were also brought back with regret.

In addition, Your Majesty also completely turned the territories of Baekje and Silla into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Your Majesty's achievements in civil and military affairs surpass those of emperors in all previous dynasties. He deserves to be enthroned at Mount Tai.

In the dense crowd, someone conspicuous enough to speak loudly was heard.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The rest of the people knelt down and kowtowed in the direction where Li Shimin left, and shouted loudly.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The thunderous shouts of the people behind him also reached the ears of Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, Du He and others.

Li Chengqian, who was riding on the sedan chair, squinted his eyes and looked at the tall dragon sedan chair in front of him, then clenched his fists and murmured.

"I also want to become an emperor like my father, respected by all the people!"

Although he himself has a good reputation among the people, compared with the huge influence of his father, his reputation seems so insignificant.

...

Three days later.

The huge Fengshan team arrived at the prosperous Eastern Capital Luoyang.

In order to welcome Li Shimin, Li Chengqian and all the officials, Luozhou Governor Zhang Liang, Luozhou Governor Jia Dunyi and others went out of the city fifty miles in advance to welcome them.

In addition to the officials in Luozhou, there was also King Wei Li Tai who had arrived in Luozhou in advance and was waiting.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"I wish your majesty good health and great respect."

Li Shimin did not get off the dragon chariot, but asked Jin Wang Li Zhi, who was also riding on the dragon chariot, to speak on his behalf.

When Li Tai saw his ninth brother Li Zhi walking down from the dragon chariot, there was a look of astonishment on his chubby face.

"Why can Ninth Brother ride on the Dragon Chariot?"

"Could it be that the person that the emperor values most is not Li Chengqian and me, but my ninth brother Li Zhi?"

You have to know that Li Zhi was not a child. He had already reached the age to be a fiefdom. His father invited such a special prince to ride in the dragon chariot. There must be a divine intention behind this.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, the person accompanying my father on the dragon chariot should be the Crown Prince Li Chengqian!

Just when Li Tai was feeling complicated, Li Zhi had already walked up to him quickly and waved his hand.

"King Wei and the others, there is no need to be so polite."

"Your Majesty has ordered that we rest in Luoyang Palace today and continue our journey tomorrow!"

"Your Majesty has been traveling for several days and is tired now, so I will not summon you to see me."

After Li Tai and a group of officials heard Li Zhi's words, they bowed and saluted together.

"According to the order!"

Li Zhi nodded slightly, then turned to look at Li Tai and whispered.

"Fourth brother, the emperor invites you to ride on the dragon chariot, and we will have a night talk in Luoyang Palace tonight."

If Li Tai had heard his father invite him to have a chat in the evening when he was still in Chang'an, he would have jumped for joy.

His father acted in this way because he was particularly fond of him, which made him see the possibility of competing for the position of crown prince.

But now he was banished to Xiangzhou by his father to be a vassal king. He had lost the opportunity to compete for the throne, and his ambition grew to rebel and become emperor.

Therefore, Li Tai was very nervous when his father summoned him for a night talk.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Li Tai's face quickly returned to calm. He smiled and patted Li Zhi on the shoulder and said.

"Ninth brother, let's go see our father as soon as possible."

"Fourth brother, I haven't seen father for two months. I've been worried about him for a long time. It's like I'm suffering from lovesickness."

As he spoke, Li Tai walked past Li Zhi and walked towards the dragon chariot in the distance with a grunt.

Li Zhi watched Li Tai dragging his fat body away with difficulty, and a faint sneer suddenly appeared on his young and immature face.

"It's quite similar."

Li Zhi complained in his heart.

During this period, he had more contact with his uncle, and received a lot of information about his fourth brother from his uncle. He also knew that his fourth brother might have rebellious intentions.

For Li Zhi, his fourth brother Li Tai's rebellion was also a good thing.

Once my father sees the dangers of power in the hands of the princes and the crown prince, he will probably further weaken the crown prince's authority, thereby intensifying the conflict between him and the crown prince.

As a powerless and obedient prince, he would not pose any threat to his father's position, so his father would naturally favor him more.

Li Zhi clasped his fists towards Zhang Liang, Jia Dunyi and others, and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Everyone, go back and get busy."

Then he turned around and strode towards the dragon chariot.

After Li Zhi walked away, Zhang Liang, with a smile on his face, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whoo~"

"Fortunately!"

Since Your Majesty does not summon him now, it means that Your Majesty will not interrogate him about his adoption of more than 500 illegitimate sons and his remarks of rebellion before the Fengshan ceremony.

Although Ma Zhou was also investigating the matter in Luoyang, he could not take action against himself for the time being because he could not find the sorcerers Cheng Gongying and Gongsun Chang to confirm their testimony.

After Your Majesty leaves Luozhou, Zhang Liang will take advantage of this short period of time to quickly transport the weapons and armor to Xiangzhou.

As for the Crown Prince Li Chengqian who was the regent in Luoyang, and the troublemaker Jia Dunyi, the governor of Luozhou, Zhang Liang did not take them seriously at all.

The military power of Luozhou was in his hands, and all the civil and military officials in Luozhou were controlled by his adopted son. The prince and Jia Dunyi could not cause any trouble.

...

Luoyang Palace.

Inside the Mingtang Hall.

Li Chengqian sat high on the dragon throne, touching things here and there with excitement, a bright smile on his face.

Although Du He was the only minister sitting in the hall at the moment, he enjoyed the feeling of sitting in a high position very much.

Li Chengqian looked at Du He with an indifferent expression, and then said with emotion.

"Du He, what do you think about moving the imperial palace to Luoyang after I ascend the throne?"

"Although Chang'an is located in Guanzhong and is surrounded by mountains, it is in a remote northwest corner after all, with traffic congestion and extremely inconvenient travel between the north and the south."

"Luozhou is located in a plain. It not only has the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, but also has official roads extending in all directions. Such convenient transportation is also conducive to the development of business and tourism."

"And after the capital is established in Luoyang, it will be more convenient for me to monitor the world!"

Although the city of Luoyang is not as solid as Chang'an, which is surrounded by mountains, nor is the transportation as convenient as Kaifeng, which is located on a thousand-mile plain.

However, Luoyang is closer to the Central Plains than Chang'an. Compared with the plain Kaifeng, it is separated by mountains such as Songshan Mountain and Funiushan Mountain. It is a compromise between Chang'an and Kaifeng.

Du He shook his head and said, "Your Highness, after you ascend the throne, the imperial city can be moved wherever you want."

"Your Majesty, the King of Wei, and the King of Jin are all in Luoyang Palace now, and Luozhou is still Zhang Liang's territory, so we should talk less about these topics."