Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

What a joke!

How could his father not know what his son was like?

He had no problem handling state affairs, but had no experience in military strategy.

When raising his other sons, he never considered teaching them military tactics.

Because he has almost dealt with the surrounding countries.

Therefore, the successor only needs to run the country and avoid internal strife.

Li Chengqian had long anticipated his father's reaction and had even thought of an excuse in advance.

"Father, you joined the army at the age of 16, and in less than ten years, you conquered half of the Tang Dynasty."

"Under the rule of my father, the Tang Dynasty has been governed by the four seas, and the people live and work in peace and contentment."

"I am your eldest son. As the heir apparent who will inherit the Tang Dynasty, I should also follow the example of my father."

"Not only must culture be able to stabilize the country, but military power must also be able to stabilize the country!"

People have self-knowledge.

Li Chengqian was not stupid. He knew that if he wanted to convince his father, he should not show off his talents, let alone his almost nonexistent military strategies.

Instead, he explained to his father what kind of abilities the future monarch should possess.

Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Shimin's expression softened and he glanced at Li Chengqian's lame leg.

Then he pointed to a seat on the side and said calmly, "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Father."

After Li Chengqian bowed, he dragged his lame leg and walked slowly towards the cushion beside him.

He walked very slowly and with great difficulty, a bitter smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He knew that his father was looking at his lame leg at this moment.

Unlike Du He's sympathetic gaze, although he could not see his father's eyes, he felt as if his back was stabbed by a knife, extremely sharp.

Although it is hard to walk with a lame leg, he has gotten used to it over the years.

The only thing he couldn't bear was his father's sharp gaze.

Li Shimin's eyes were always on Li Chengqian. After he sat down cross-legged, he withdrew his gaze and then returned to his seat and sat down.

There was a pause of about ten breaths.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Father joined the army when he was young because the country was in turmoil at that time. Now that Father has cleared all the powerful enemies for you, why do you insist on going to the expedition?"

"Once father has cleared the last obstacle of Goguryeo, there will be no war in the Tang Dynasty for a long time!"

"When you succeed to the throne, you only need to improve people's livelihood and let the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Powerful countries such as Tubo, Gaochang, Turkic, and Xueyantuo have all been swept away by the Tang Dynasty.

If we defeat Goguryeo now, the powerful country will be basically defeated.

Other weak countries are not a concern.

It has to be said that Li Shimin was very conceited, and he had the capital to be conceited.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, and said calmly: "Father, although we have defeated Western Turkic, Tibetan, Xueyantuo and other countries many times, they will come back again soon."

"In the 12th year of Zhenguan, the Western Turks rebelled. After our Tang army went there to suppress the rebellion, they rebelled again only two years later."

"For example, in the sixth year of Zhenguan, Gaochang rebelled. After being suppressed, it rebelled again in the fourteenth year of Zhenguan."

"This shows that the vassal states are not our own people after all. Their submission is only temporary. As long as they become a little stronger, they will come back again."

"I boldly speculate that these vassal states will continue to rebel in the future."

Li Chengqian's analysis is well-founded.

And history has proven that he was not wrong.

These vassal states, especially Tubo, caused the Tang Dynasty to suffer a lot in the future.

"Cheng Qian, you have improved a lot."

Li Shimin said with admiration.

Unexpectedly, after Kong Yingda, Zhang Xuansu and other strict teachers stopped teaching Cheng Qian, he not only did not continue to degenerate, but became much more open-minded and wise.

At this moment, he felt that Li Chengqian was a very qualified crown prince.

If I hadn't been lame...

Li Shimin himself was a person who loved to learn from history and had a relatively in-depth study of historical materials.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan, when he first conquered the Eastern Turks, he, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and other ministers studied the governance issues of these countries.

Either disperse the people of Eastern Turkestan and relocate them to various places in the Tang Dynasty.

Then the people of the Tang Dynasty will be relocated to live in East Turkestan, so that this territory can be completely consolidated.

But the population of the Tang Dynasty was too small at that time, with only more than 200 million households in the whole country and a population of less than 3000 million.

The territory of Eastern Turkestan is too large to be defended by a small number of people, and even if we want to send more people there, we are powerless.

Therefore, this method was rejected by both him and his court officials.

In desperation, they could only take the second approach.

A protectorate was set up in the conquered territory, and the specific governance was still done by the people of that country, but the leader of that country was summoned to Chang'an to serve as an official.

To put it bluntly, it means being a hostage.

This approach has both advantages and disadvantages.

For the current Tang Dynasty, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

So it has been used ever since.

Li Chengqian continued, "Father, I know you don't believe in my ability, and I know myself well."

"This time, I am leading the army on behalf of my father to fight against Goguryeo in order to encourage the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

"For the specific command of the battle, I can ask a general to take charge, and I can also learn from him the experience of commanding an army."

"If there is a rebellion in a vassal state in the future, I will be able to deal with it!"

Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Shimin frowned and said.

"Cheng Qian, what you said makes sense, but you were also listening in Liangyi Hall today as to why my father wanted to lead the army in person, so you should know it clearly."

Li Chengqian stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Father, I know what you mean."

"But I feel that my father has already made great achievements in civil and military affairs, and even if Goguryeo wins this big victory, it will not cause much sensation among the people."

"Because the people are used to the fact that the emperor always wins in battles, they think it is natural for the emperor to lead the army to defeat Goguryeo."

Li Chengqian paused, swallowed, and raised his voice slightly.

"If I, your son, go to war on your behalf and defeat Goguryeo again, the people will be greatly surprised."

"They will think that your majesty is great, and the prince he trained is not bad either. This is a true emperor who will be remembered for all time."

"When the time comes, Father will go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods under the call of the people, and it will be a natural thing to do!"

Li Shimin's heart was slightly moved.

Although he didn't quite agree with what Li Chengqian said.

But the four words "the greatest emperor of all time" struck his heart directly.

This is his lifelong pursuit.

Li Chengqian saw that his father was interested, so he took advantage of the situation and began to use his trump card.

"Father, before she died, the Queen Mother held my hand and repeatedly told me."

"When I grow up, I will not be able to stay under your father's wings forever. I will help you share your worries!"

"I have never forgotten my mother's instructions. I beg you to let me go on your behalf to conquer Goguryeo and recover the country!"

When mentioning Guanyin Bi, Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian's face, which was also filled with deep guilt.

He thought of the last words that Guanyin said before she died.

"Your Majesty, Cheng Qian's legs are inconvenient. I beg Your Majesty to be cautious in deposing the crown prince!"

At this moment, Li Shimin was completely moved.

Apart from the guilt he felt towards Guanyin Bi, what Li Chengqian said was also true.

The submission of vassal states was only temporary; sooner or later they would escape from the control of the Tang Dynasty again.

Now, while he is still young, we should cultivate the prince's ability to command troops in advance.

It just so happened that Cheng Qian had this intention, and the effect would be much better than forcing Cheng Qian to lead the army.

After Li Shimin pondered for a while, he said to Li Chengqian in a serious tone.

"Cheng Qian, this decision is of great importance. Let's ask for opinions from all officials at the court tomorrow."

"If all the officials agree that you can go to war on behalf of the emperor, the emperor will agree to it."

Li Chengqian was delighted. He cupped his hands excitedly and said, "Thank you, father. I will not let you down!"