Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Du He's achievements now have surpassed his father in all aspects except his official rank.

If my father and mother knew that Du He had achieved such great success, I believe they would be extremely pleased.

"it is good!"

Du He smiled and nodded.

The three brothers then chatted for a while and then left the Tai Chi Hall.

After returning to the Ministry of Works, Yu Chang, the Vice Minister of Works, first reported on the major and minor events of the past few months, and then handed over the important government affairs that needed to be handled to Du He for review.

After Yu Chang left, Xiao Kai rushed in impatiently.

After closing the door of the room, he quickly walked up to Du He and said with envy on his face.

"Brother Du, you have completely made a name for yourself now!"

"Third rank of the Secretariat, Minister of Works, General Zuo Wuhou, Duke of Korea, any of these titles, I am afraid I will never be able to achieve in my entire life!"

Without waiting for Du He to speak, Xiao Kai continued with a resentful look on his face.

"Brother Du, we, the Four Swordsmen of Chang'an, have been around for so many years and have endured countless insults. I never thought you would be so talented!"

"Tell me the truth, when you were fooling around before, were you secretly working hard?"

They knew each other when they were teenagers and studied together in the Imperial College.

During that time, they were a group of uneducated people who only thought about living a life of debauchery and pleasure every day.

Even Du He's performance in the Imperial College was not as good as that of him, Cui Shenji and Wang Jingzhi.

Du He shook his head and said, "Brother Xiao, you don't have to belittle yourself and think too lowly of yourself."

"As long as you wholeheartedly support His Royal Highness, you will definitely have a place in the court in the future!"

"But if you want to hold an important position, you must study hard during this period, and you must also learn more about handling government affairs. Otherwise, even if you are given a high position and generous salary, you will not be able to accept it."

Hearing Du He's instructions, Xiao Kai nodded solemnly.

When Du He was first appointed as the Minister of Works, he didn't feel much inside and continued to live a carefree life like before.

But now he found that the gap between him and Du He was getting bigger and bigger, and he actually felt a sense of crisis in his heart.

The two chatted for a few words, and then Xiao Kai left the office.

After Du He quickly finished handling the government affairs, he said hello to Yu Chang and then hurried to the East Palace.

Mingde Hall.

When Du He walked in, he found Li Chengqian standing in front of the windowsill in a daze.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Chengqian came back to his senses and said to Du He, "Du He, sit down and talk."

After the maid served tea and cakes, Li Chengqian dismissed his attendants.

Silent for a moment

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice: "Du He, father promoted Li Ke's mother to Yang Guifei, and now he has summoned Li Ke back to Chang'an. Do you think father wants Li Ke to replace me as the crown prince?"

It’s not good to be familiar with history books!

Through analyzing his father's appointments of officials during this period, Li Chengqian found that he was becoming more and more like the Western Han Dynasty Crown Prince Liu Rong, Liu Ju and others.

If we continue like this, and a few more treacherous ministers come and slander us in front of the emperor, what will happen then?

He simply launched a palace coup, imprisoned his father and ascended the throne ahead of time!

After being the crown prince for twenty-one years, he was already tired of it!

Seeing the violent aura emanating from Li Chengqian, Du He quickly replied.

"Your Highness, Li Ke has the blood of the former Sui Dynasty flowing in his body. The Guanlong Group, Shandong Group and Hedong Group will never let him ascend to the throne!"

"I can't guess what your majesty's intention is, but it is very likely to check and balance the East Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion."

"Or maybe, Your Majesty is just testing your patience?"

Hearing Du He's last words, Li Chengqian frowned.

He tried to think from his father's perspective, but no matter how he speculated, he felt that his father should not let Li Ke return to Chang'an.

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Du He, is it necessary for father to do this?"

"I have been the crown prince for twenty-one years. I have handled state affairs well and have made some achievements in martial arts. Isn't it hurtful for my father to do this?"

As long as he doesn't feel that his position as crown prince is threatened, he will behave himself.

But as the threat he felt grew greater and greater, when it exceeded his patience, father and son began to kill each other.

Du He whispered, "Your Highness, if His Majesty was not seriously ill, he would definitely not have made so many arrangements!"

"But your Majesty's illness is getting worse, and he looks sick. He is also afraid that you will not be able to hold back and take the throne early!"

"Besides this, the Guanlong Group supports Li Zhi, which is also what Your Majesty is worried about."

The Guanlong Group headed by Zhangsun Wuji never thought of supporting either Li Chengqian or Li Tai.

Because Li Chengqian and Li Tai are older, they not only have a group of supporters, but are also relatively strong in their tactics.

The goal of the Guanlong Group was very clear, which was to support the young and cowardly Li Zhi to ascend the throne, so that they could later undermine Li Zhi's imperial power and completely control the power of the court.

There was a pause.

Du He continued, "Your Highness, His Majesty's current move also has some of the shadow of the Supreme Emperor's checks and balances on imperial power in the past."

"At that time, Emperor Gaozu also left the crown prince, the King of Qin and the King of Qi in Chang'an, and let the crown prince take charge of the central government, let the King of Qin take charge of the military power, and let the King of Qi serve as the Minister of Education and the Minister of the Court, and the Grand Commander of Bingzhou."

"It was only because the power of the King of Qin was too strong at that time that this balance of power was broken."

Analyzing the problem from the emperor's perspective, everything they did was to consolidate their own power.

Li Yuan did this at that time because he could not suppress Li Shimin and it was a helpless act.

The reason why Li Shimin followed Li Yuan's old path was not only because his health was deteriorating, but also because Crown Prince Li Chengqian was too old.

Li Chengqian is already 28 years old this year. Can he still willingly serve as the crown prince for more than ten years?

No one can guarantee it!

Li Shimin did not have a God's perspective. He did not know that he only had three years left to live, so he took a series of checks and balances.

Li Chengqian's eyes were full of sternness as he said, "Du He, let's not worry about what our father's intentions are. We have to make preparations for these two years!"

"First, follow the legal process and wait for Father to ascend the throne a hundred years later!"

"Second, accumulate great power to ensure that we can quickly take control of government affairs!"

Du He did not raise any objection to Li Chengqian's proposal.

During this period, the forces of Prince Jin's Mansion will make a lot of plans, and the Eastern Palace certainly cannot sit idly by and wait for death. It must have multiple plans to deal with various emergencies.

Du He stayed in the East Palace for three hours. After leaving the East Palace, he did not go to the Ministry of Works, but went straight home.

Princess Chengyang's Mansion.

When Du He saw Li Yi and Ling Long for the first time, he told them about the reward he had received today.

Li Yi was surprised and asked, "My husband, your title has been promoted to Duke of Korea?"

"And the emperor has also given you the Prince of Wei's Palace as a reward!"

She didn't feel much about Du He's other official positions, after all, the fluctuations in official positions were huge.