Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the first person to be named King of Chu was Li Zhiyun, the fifth son of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan.

Li Zhiyun was the prince who was killed by Yin Shishi. He was only 14 years old when he died.

In the third year of Wude (620), Li Shimin's second son, Li Kuan, was adopted by his uncle, Li Zhiyun, the King of Chu.

The good times did not last long. After a few years, the young Li Kuan also died of illness.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin posthumously conferred the title of King of Chu on Li Kuan.

It is no exaggeration to say that anyone who bears the title of King of Chu has some bad luck.

Now that Li Shimin has made Li Ke the King of Chu, it is intriguing whether he wants to improve his status or to trap him in the curse of the King of Chu's death.

Li Chengqian frowned and explained: "Among the titles of nobility, Qin, Jin, Qi, Chu, and Wei are the most respected, followed by Wu, Shu, Zhao, etc."

"Before my father ascended the throne, he was the King of Qin, Li Zhi was the King of Jin, Li Tai was the King of Wei, and Li You was the King of Qi, so these titles cannot be used."

"Now, in order to promote Li Ke, my father changed his title to King of Chu to match the power he holds!"

After hearing Li Chengqian's words, Du He fell into deep thought.

According to Li Shimin's plan, could it be that he wanted to create a three-way balance of power to achieve the best state of mutual checks and balances?

Before this, Li Shimin only supported Li Tai to restrain Li Chengqian. Later, Li Tai, due to his huge ambition, embarked on the path of rebellion.

So Li Shimin learned a lesson from this and supported Li Zhi and Li Ke at the same time to compete with Li Chengqian?

Li Chengqian glanced at Du He and then told him what had happened recently.

"Empress Yuanzheng, my father appointed Li Ji, Duke of Ying, as the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Chu's Palace!"

"Appoint General Yang Sixun of the Left Tunwei as the Chief Clerk of the Songzhou Military Governor's Office!"

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian continued, "Father dismissed Ma Zhou from his position as Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jin's Palace and appointed Chu Suiliang as Chief Clerk of the Prince of Jin's Palace instead!"

"Furthermore, my father has also appointed General Li Mengchang of the Right Guard to concurrently serve as the military commander of the Prince of Jin's Palace!"

What the hell!

During his trip to Japan, Li Shimin caused so many troubles!

When Du He saw that Li Chengqian's face turned extremely ugly, his heart suddenly tightened and he asked hurriedly.

"Your Highness, is there any other bad news?"

We have already heard a lot of bad news, and seeing Li Chengqian's face, there may be even worse news.

Li Chengqian nodded, and then said in a deep voice: "The Minister Liu Li was demoted to the governor of Xiangzhou because he leaked the secret words that the emperor said to him in private!"

"The current position of Minister of the Court is concurrently held by Yang Shidao!"

"As for the Minister of Personnel, my father has reappointed Gao Shilian, Duke of Shen, to the position!"

Du He, who had originally had a calm expression, suddenly showed a look of astonishment on his face.

"Liu Li was demoted?"

Some of the news we heard before were all means used by Li Shimin to check and balance the Eastern Palace, and it was nothing big to talk about.

But Li Shimin demoted the Shizhong Liu Li to the position of Governor of Xiangzhou, which affected Li Chengqian's power!

Li Chengqian asked in a deep voice: "Du He, what do you think I should do next?"

"I have a feeling that my father will continue to weaken my power, and the target is likely to be Hou Junji!"

The current head of the three ministries, Shangshu Zuo Pushe Changsun Wuji, clearly supports Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

The Minister of the Court Yang Shidao must also support King Chu Li Ke.

Only Shangshu You Pushe Hou Junji supported him.

As for the Zhongshu Ling Ma Zhou, he currently has a relatively friendly attitude towards him, but he has not clearly sided with him, which is also a rather troublesome matter.

During the time when Du He went to Japan, Li Chengqian was in a very bad mood.

Du He thought for a long time, then analyzed in a low voice.

"Your Highness, His Majesty's health is getting worse day by day, and now is the time when he is in the most complicated state of mind."

"He supported the King of Jin and the King of Chu just to ensure that his throne would not be affected, so you don't have to worry!"

"You are behaving so wisely now, there is no reason for His Majesty to change the Crown Prince!"

Li Chengqian served as the crown prince for twenty-one years. During these years, he handled government affairs very well and did not make any major mistakes.

The two princes, Li Zhi and Li Ke, had no experience in handling state affairs or regulating the country.

Li Shimin would have chosen these two people to ascend the throne unless he was out of his mind.

The only possibility is that when Li Shimin was on his deathbed, Zhangsun Wuji tampered with Li Shimin's will and allowed Prince of Jin Li Zhi to ascend the throne.

But at that time, Du He would definitely suggest Li Chengqian to gather all the forces under his command and wipe out all the people of the Prince of Jin's Mansion in one fell swoop.

Du He continued, "Your Highness, no matter how His Majesty tries to weaken the power of the Eastern Palace or test you during this period, just relax."

"You continue to handle state affairs for His Majesty and show your generosity and generosity!"

"As for the King of Jin and the King of Chu, leave them to me!"

In Du He's opinion, Li Ji, who was good at protecting himself, would not support Li Ke in seizing the throne even if he was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Chu Palace.

As for relying solely on the Hongnong Yang family and other small and medium-sized families, their strength is still somewhat weak.

Besides, Li Ke, a bastard, still has the blood of the former Sui Dynasty flowing in his veins, and the people of the Guanlong family will not let him ascend the throne.

Therefore, Li Chengqian’s real opponent is Prince of Jin Li Zhi!

When Li Chengqian heard Du He's words, his solemn expression softened.

He nodded in approval, then spoke softly.

"Du He, what you said makes sense. I will keep calm!"

"But in order to avoid repeating the same mistake as Crown Prince Liu Ju, you have to send more spies to infiltrate the Prince of Jin's Palace!"

"If you can win over Duke of Liang Fang Xuanling, you will have someone who can compete with Zhangsun Wuji, and I will have a better chance of succeeding to the throne."

During this period, Li Chengqian read the history books of the Western Han Dynasty several times and summarized the experience of why Crown Prince Liu Ju was ultimately unable to ascend the throne.

Emperor Wu of Han's eldest son, Liu Ju, was kind, generous, gentle and cautious. He was adept at handling state affairs, and Emperor Wu of Han attached great importance to him.

If nothing unexpected happens, Crown Prince Liu Ju will definitely be the future emperor of the Han Dynasty.

However, in the later years of Emperor Wu of Han, Jiang Chong and Su Wen used witchcraft to frame the crown prince, and also reported to Emperor Wu of Han that the crown prince Liu Ju had colluded with powerful officials and intended to seize power and usurp the throne in advance.

Crown Prince Liu Ju was unable to prove his innocence, so he forged an imperial edict to capture and kill Jiang Chong. He fought a fierce battle with Prime Minister Liu Quti in Chang'an City, and committed suicide out of fear of punishment after being defeated.

Li Chengqian felt that his current situation was very similar to that of Crown Prince Liu Ju, and even their personalities were exactly the same.

The only variable at the moment is whether my father will become as incompetent as Emperor Wu of Han in the next few years!

If my father believed the slander of Zhangsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, Yu Zhining and others, and used conspiracy and trickery to frame him, the consequences would be disastrous!

Du He replied solemnly, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will definitely send more spies to infiltrate the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Prince of Chu's Mansion!"

"As for contacting Fang Xuanling secretly, I will try again later!"

Then Du He and Li Chengqian chatted for more than two hours before they analyzed the current situation clearly and formulated a follow-up plan.

...

When Du He returned to Princess Chengyang's Mansion, the sky had already become dark.

In the lobby.

When Li Yi saw Du He, she ran out and said coquettishly, "My husband, you returned to Chang'an this morning. Why did it take you so long to return to the Princess's Mansion?"

"Are you hiding the Japanese witch?"