Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

An urgent cry rolled in from afar like thunder, the voice filled with panic and anxiety, before Li Chengqian could recover from his thoughts.

A figure rushed into the hall like a horse that had broken free from its reins without waiting for any notification.

Li Chengqian was concentrating on fiddling with the "flowers and plants" in front of him when he was interrupted by this sudden intruder. He frowned slightly, put down the small shovel in his hand, and looked at the guard in black armor in front of him.

The black armor shone coldly in the sunlight, but the guards looked panicked.

A trace of doubt welled up in Li Chengqian's heart, and he asked, "What's wrong, Xianhuai? Why are you so flustered? Is the sky falling?"

He picked up the silk scarf from the basin and slowly wiped the dirt off his hands that had just been stained from fiddling with the flowers and plants.

The soil had a moist smell and left brown marks on the scarf.

"Your Highness, this is terrible! The sky has truly fallen! News has arrived from Chang'an that His Majesty has passed away!"

When Li Chengqian heard the news for the first time, his face was full of disbelief.

He opened his eyes wide, as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. Even the silk scarf in his hand slipped from his hand unconsciously, fell to the ground, and was stained with dust.

"Xian Huai, can you confirm the authenticity of this news?"

Zhang Xianhuai nodded solemnly. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Your Highness, as you know, we have deployed some Jinyiwei in Chang'an."

"This news was brought by my brothers in the palace. It is absolutely true."

"I heard that the palace is now under martial law, with imperial guards patrolling everywhere. The atmosphere is tense!"

"Lord Changsun has taken control of the palace now. Because His Majesty's passing was so sudden, and to prevent any incidents, Lord Changsun has issued strict orders not to announce the death."

"I think that Lord Changsun is your uncle after all. He should be waiting for your Highness to return to the palace to take charge of the overall situation, right?"

Zhang Xianhuai expressed his guess and looked at Li Chengqian, hoping that the prince could come up with a solution.

Li Chengqian frowned even more tightly as he listened to Zhang Xianhuai's report.

He paced back and forth in the hall, his mind racing. After all, he was a history major, and while he couldn't claim to have read all the Twenty-Four Histories, his understanding of history wasn't far behind.

This was Li Shimin! How could that emperor, who had such a great reputation in history, die so suddenly and without any warning?

The most important thing is that it is only the 15th year of Zhenguan!

He traveled through time and became Li Chengqian, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he was held in Li Shimin's arms. It was a perfect start.

Since he came to this era, he has been carefully playing the role of a prince who has no interest in imperial power and is obsessed with strange skills and tricks.

Thanks to his efforts, Empress Changsun passed away in the 13th year of Zhenguan, changing the original historical trajectory.

Li Shimin doted on Prince of Wei Li Tai, and Li Chengqian was too lazy to argue with Li Shimin. He just quietly developed his own strength in private.

He was like a hunter hiding in the dark, patiently waiting for the opportunity, just waiting for when he would be strong enough, and then he would bring his army to become the first heir to the throne of the Tang Dynasty.

But now Li Shimin had suddenly died? Li Chengqian was somewhat bewildered, and he did not understand what he was feeling right now.

To the common people, Li Shimin was a qualified emperor. He initiated the Zhenguan Administration and made the Tang Dynasty prosperous.

But to himself, he was an unqualified father who gave all his favoritism to Li Tai, putting himself, the prince, in an awkward position.

Not to mention the Li Chengqian in history, even he now finds it hard to accept Li Shimin's inexplicable behavior.

I guess only the queen mother could understand all the grievances. Thinking of this, he sighed heavily for some inexplicable reason, and the sigh was full of helplessness and sadness.

"Although my uncle is my biological uncle, he doesn't necessarily think about me."

"You know, my uncle is not only Sikong now, he is also the head of the Changsun family, and the Changsun family is also a newly rising aristocratic family."

Li Chengqian spoke slowly, his eyes becoming deeper.

"I think there will be more trouble over there with Li Tai. My uncle won't help Li Tai get the job. He won't get any benefits from it."

Li Chengqian closed his eyes and kept analyzing various possible situations in his mind, trying to make sense of this chaotic situation.

Zhang Xianhuai was completely bewildered as he listened. He scratched his head and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, but you are the Crown Prince! Is it true that even if His Majesty passes away, you, the Crown Prince, cannot become Emperor?"

"Of course not. I have already secured the throne. I just need to negotiate for my own interests with those ministers from the noble families."

Li Chengqian opened his eyes, a hint of determination flashing in them.

"Don't rush back to Chang'an yet. Let them stir up trouble again. Go and call Mr. Qi and tell him that I have something important to discuss with him."

Li Chengqian glanced at Zhang Xianhuai with an unquestionable majesty in his eyes.

Although Zhang Xianhuai looked puzzled, he bowed respectfully to Li Chengqian, then turned around and quickly retreated to call Mr. Qi.

Li Chengqian quietly looked at the crops in the glass-covered greenhouse in front of him, thinking that the output of these things might double next year.

That’s right, what are planted in these greenhouses are the so-called time travelers’ artifacts - potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn.

Ever since he had some power as a child, he was keen on using his money to build a fleet and go out to sea specifically to search for these high-yield crops.

Sometimes when he didn't have enough money, he would shamelessly borrow from Empress Changsun.

Fortunately, these crops are not difficult to find. The difficulty lies in the fact that during this period, these crops were not as productive as they were in later generations.

But for the current Tang Dynasty crops, they are still shocking.

Just talking about the crop of potatoes, all the time travelers said that it is simple, easy to grow and has a high yield.

But in fact, when Li Chengqian was seriously planting potatoes, he felt that he must have been deceived by these time travelers.

The biggest challenge is soil fertility. Only good farmland during this time can barely meet the fertility requirements of potatoes. Furthermore, there are certain limitations in irrigation conditions and planting techniques.

Every link needs to be carefully controlled. Any slight mistake will seriously affect production.

But fortunately, he was the crown prince, and he was a crown prince who did not rebel or cause any mess.

Apart from liking some strange and tricky tricks, he has no shortcomings.

Li Shimin had him placed in Xianyang early on.

In Xianyang, he established an agricultural department specifically responsible for studying how to increase the yield of these crops and how to adapt to local conditions.

He gathered experienced farmers and knowledgeable scholars from all over the country to join in this great cause.

Thanks to the research of the Ministry of Agriculture in recent years, the yield of these high-yield crops has begun to increase by leaps and bounds.

The potato yield per mu has increased from 500 kilograms at the beginning to 1,500 kilograms now, a threefold increase.

Only Li Chengqian himself knows the hardships involved. Every failure and every attempt is the result of the hard work of countless people.

Corn yield is the lowest among the three crops, but compared with current crops, it performs very well.

Looking at these newly cultivated, thriving seedlings, Li Chengqian couldn't help but squint his eyes.

He seemed to see the scene of the people of the Tang Dynasty being well-fed and well-clothed, and the country prospering under the nourishment of these crops. It was difficult for him to imagine how powerful these things would make the Tang Dynasty in the future.

But it cannot be promoted now. This thing must not fall into the hands of the aristocratic families. Once it is controlled by them, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Soon, a middle-aged man in white slowly walked into the hall. He was graceful and steady, each step conveying a sense of ease and composure.

When he saw Li Chengqian, he bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness."

His voice was gentle and humble, like a spring breeze.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Mr. Qi, the Imperial Guards have sent news that His Majesty has passed away. You should have heard about this by now, right?

Mr. Qi nodded, a solemn look flashing in his eyes. "Your Highness, I already know, but the water in Chang'an is very deep and messy right now. The silt and water have all been muddied. Your Highness, please wait for a while until the silt sinks back to the bottom of the water before you can see clearly what is in the water."

"I know, Mr. Qi, I summoned you here to ask you a question. How are you doing with the task I asked you to do?

"Li Chengqian looked at Mr. Qi with anticipation in his eyes.

Mr. Qi smiled softly. He pulled out an account book from his sleeve, opened it, and said, "Your Highness, you may be the richest person in the Tang Dynasty besides the aristocratic families. Perhaps the aristocratic families are not as rich as you."

"Seven days ago, we sold our last batch of colored glass to aristocratic families, earning a profit of 43,580,000 strings of cash. Currently, we have 653,210,000 strings of cash available for disposal."

Hearing this number, even Li Chengqian couldn't help but gasp.

He knew he had made a lot of money over the years, but he didn't expect it to reach such an astonishing amount.

You should know that the annual income of the Tang Dynasty’s treasury is at best 3000 million strings of cash.

But even in his current situation, Mr. Qi still said that he might not be as rich as these aristocratic families. It seems that the wealth of aristocratic families is really unfathomable.

Li Chengqian secretly made up his mind that the five surnames and seven families must be killed!

They are like blood-sucking worms attached to the Tang Dynasty, constantly eroding the foundation of the country.

"Well done! Is our army now fully armored?"

Li Chengqian asked, the army's equipment situation is related to whether his plan can be implemented smoothly.

Mr. Qi paused after hearing Li Chengqian's words, then said, "Your Highness, it's not easy to fully equip all the troops with heavy armor. Even if you have money, you may not be able to buy something like iron. Currently, all the soldiers of our 105th Battalion hidden in Xianyang are wearing light armor."

"The five thousand soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion are all equipped with short and light armor, and the most important thing is the firearms in their hands."

"The Ministry of Works has been working overtime day and night. We've now achieved a musket and ten rounds of ammunition for each person. However, we're still a ways off from the two muskets you requested, firing in rotation. However, the craftsmen are working hard to improve their craftsmanship and increase production efficiency."

"Three thousand battalions of three thousand heavy cavalry are now fully equipped."

"Your Highness, you haven't seen it! Those heavy cavalrymen, sitting on their tall warhorses, look like gods of war. I'm afraid they're no less powerful than the Black Armor Army."

"The nine thousand logistics officers and soldiers are all equipped with light armor. If there is any disturbance in Chang'an, Your Highness can dispatch troops at any time to restore order!"

"We may not be able to wear full heavy armor, but full light armor is not difficult for us!"

After hearing what Mr. Qi said, Li Chengqian finally felt relieved.

Although he is the prince, as the saying goes, it is better to have something yourself than to have it from your parents.

The soldiers of the three camps are different from the soldiers of the imperial court. Each of them is a genuine farmer with a clean family background.

It was Li Chengqian who sent people to collect them from village to village.

He treated these soldiers like his own brothers. They not only ate the best food, but also used the best things.

Every soldier has undergone rigorous training and can be considered an elite soldier.

This is a force that is not subject to any constraints and only obeys Li Chengqian.

He only needs to go through the baptism of war once to become an elite soldier!

This was so that when he wanted to take action against the aristocratic families in the future, he wouldn't have to argue so much in the court. Even if the imperial court didn't send troops, Li Chengqian still had his own private army.

Li Shimin probably would never have imagined that his Crown Prince, who seemed to be idle and not doing his job all day, had quietly built up his own power in Xianyang.

This is right next to my bed. No matter which dynasty it is, if any prince is discovered, it will be a taboo.

Moreover, the offerings from so many people are an astronomical figure, and no one can do it perfectly without revealing any flaws.

Unfortunately, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was formed when Li Chengqian was seven years old. By the time he and Li Shimin applied to go to Xianyang to study those strange and tricky skills, the entire Xianyang city, from top to bottom, had already been shaped like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

It's not the shape of a prince, and now the grass on the grave is two meters high! His influence is like an invisible net, which has spread throughout Xianyang without him noticing, and all of this will become his powerful weapon in this power struggle.