This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Li Shimin hummed in agreement. Since the decision had been made to abolish the hereditary chieftain system and establish direct imperial administration, money and grain were indispensable. If he could appease those powerful chieftains with money and grain, that would be the best outcome. He asked, "How much money and grain do you need?"

Cheng Jun said, "The more the better."

"..."

Upon hearing these four words, Li Shimin immediately fell silent.

Wen Yanbo looked at Cheng Jun and reminded him, "Cheng Jun, our Great Tang Dynasty has only recently recovered..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin suddenly raised his hand to interrupt him, "Minister Wen, stop talking."

After Wen Yanbo shut up, Li Shimin said to Cheng Jun, "I will prepare the money and provisions for you. I will give you as much as I can."

Li Shimin turned to Zhang Anan and said, "Anan, draft an imperial edict."

Zhang Anan immediately walked to the desk beside him, spread out a brand-new imperial edict, picked up his pen, and waited for Li Shimin to continue.

Li Shimin did not directly tell him the contents of the imperial edict, but first looked at Cheng Jun and said:

“Minister Cheng, what Minister Wen just said is not without reason. The journey to Lingnan is also fraught with danger.”

"I will draft an imperial edict for you, granting you the authority to mobilize troops."

"With this imperial decree, all the prefectures and counties surrounding Lingnan Circuit shall be at your command."

Li Shimin said with a serious expression, "I will also have the Ministry of War cooperate with you to notify the various military commands in advance. You should prepare for the worst."

"If anything goes wrong, you should have the sons of the military officers mobilize troops to suppress the powerful chieftains of Lingnan Road."

"I will also keep a close eye on the situation in Lingnan Province from the capital. You don't need to worry about anything when you do things. I will fully support you."

Cheng Jun smiled upon hearing this. For Li Shimin, the words "full support" were not just empty words; it was a genuine decision to mobilize the entire nation to help him implement this plan. He cupped his hands and said, "Your subject obeys!"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Go to the Eastern Palace now and tell Chengqian the news."

Cheng Jun cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."

Wen Yanbo also cupped his hands in greeting, "Your Majesty, I shall take my leave."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Go, go."

Cheng Jun and Wen Yanbo bowed again to Li Shimin, who was sitting on the dragon throne, and then turned and left Ganlu Hall.

Outside the Ganlu Hall.

Wen Yanbo and Cheng Jun walked side by side toward the outside of the palace. Halfway there, Wen Yanbo turned to look at Cheng Jun and said with emotion, "I never imagined His Majesty would be so decisive and efficient."

Cheng Jun laughed and said, "That's just His Majesty's style."

Wen Yanbo suddenly became serious. "Nephew Chuxia, you must be careful on your journey. If you encounter any danger, you must take His Highness the Crown Prince away from Lingnan immediately."

Cheng Jun nodded. "Understood."

"Then I'll go to the East Palace first."

Wen Yanbo waved his hand, "Go ahead, go ahead."

After exiting Chengtian Gate, Cheng Jun first greeted Yuchi Jingde, who was guarding the palace gate, and then watched Wen Yanbo head towards the Censorate before heading towards the East Palace with the official document in his hand.

Upon arriving at the gate of the East Palace, Cheng Jun saw Fifth Ren, a guard of the East Palace, on duty.

At this moment, Wu Ren also saw Cheng Jun and immediately stepped forward to bow, saying, "Greetings, Marquis of Chang'an."

Cheng Jun smiled and asked, "Is His Highness the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace?"

"exist."

Fifth Ren nodded, then spread his palms out towards the East Palace gate, indicating that he should lead the way. "Lord Chang'an, please."

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "Thank you for leading the way."

Soon, Cheng Jun followed behind Wu Ren and arrived at the Xiande Hall of the East Palace.

At this very moment, inside the Xiande Hall, Li Chengqian was engrossed in reading the memorials.

At that moment, the voice of Fifth Ren could be heard from outside the hall.

"Your Highness, the Marquis of Chang'an has arrived."

Li Chengqian looked up and saw Wu Ren and Cheng Jun standing at the door. He exclaimed in surprise, put down the memorial in his hand, and said, "Cheng Jun? What brings you here? Come in quickly!"

Cheng Jun entered Xiande Hall, cupped his hands in greeting to Li Chengqian, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian grinned, "We're all family, no need for formalities."

After Cheng Jun sat down in front of him, Li Chengqian asked curiously, "What brings you to my place?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and then said, "His Majesty sent me."

"Is something important?"

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's question, Cheng Jun nodded, "His Majesty intends for me to go to Lingnan."

Li Chengqian asked in surprise, "Going to Lingnan because of Feng Ang?"

“Yes.” Cheng Jun nodded again and explained, “I submitted a memorial to His Majesty, and His Majesty decided that if Feng Ang does not rebel, I will be sent to Lingnan to pacify him.”

"At the same time, Wen Yanbo, the Grand Censor of the Censorate, also allowed me to take on the title of inspecting local areas."

Li Chengqian looked at him suspiciously, "It's not just about pacifying Lingnan and inspecting the local areas, is it?"

Cheng Jun smiled, "Your Highness has a discerning eye. This trip is mainly to promote the reform of replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials."

As he spoke, Cheng Jun told Li Chengqian about the reform of replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials.

Li Chengqian was deeply shocked and looked at him in disbelief, "Can this really be done?"

“Lingnan Road is not like any other place. If we ask those powerful chieftains to give up their power, it would be strange if they didn’t rebel.”

Cheng Jun stroked his chin and said, "So this matter can only be carried out if Feng Ang does not rebel."

"With Feng Ang's help, this matter will be relatively easier to handle."

Li Chengqian muttered to himself, "It can't be that simple..."

"My father summoned you here to tell me this?"

Cheng Jun looked at him with a serious expression, "His Majesty wants you to come with me to Lingnan."

"what?!"

Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "I want to go too?"

Cheng Jun nodded. "His Majesty said that you will represent the court to go to Lingnan Circuit. Firstly, you can stay in Lingnan, and secondly, it will put Feng Ang at ease."

"There is a third point. Although His Majesty did not say it explicitly, I believe Your Highness can also imagine it. If this matter is accomplished, the benefits Your Highness will receive will be comparable to the trip to Tuyuhun."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian was immediately tempted.

The benefits he gained from his trip to Tuyuhun were obvious to the naked eye.

At least now, no one in the imperial court is mentioning the struggle for the throne anymore.

His position as crown prince is as secure as a mountain.

If he gains merit during his trip to Lingnan, his good name will be praised throughout the Tang Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian grinned and said, "It seems my father wants me to get some experience again. This is a good thing, how could I miss it?"

"It's unlikely that it's just the two of us going this time, right?"

Cheng Jun smiled and said, "Of course. Besides Your Highness and me, the people who came with us included my eldest and second elder brothers, the sons of military officers such as Yuchi Baolin and Li Dejiang, as well as the talented young men from the neighborhood who participated in the selection of censors last year."

Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "So many people are going?"

"They're treating Lingnan like the Tuyuhun."

After saying that, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Hahahaha..."