Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"The Lantern Festival of the Holy Heaven during the Zhenguan Era"

"A decree from the Sage!"

"On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM) has arrived, and the new day begins!"

"When the divine lamp goes out, the human lamp is lit, and the heavenly official bestows blessings!"

"All people receive the imperial edict, and the whole world rejoices!"

In front of the Chang'an Imperial Palace, on the East and West Markets, on Zhuque Avenue.

It was already late at night, but Chang'an was brightly lit, decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere. Lantern festivals, temple fairs, markets were bustling with merchants, and every peddler and laborer's face was filled with joyful smiles.

Amidst a festive celebration.

As eunuchs held imperial edicts, they recited them aloud on specially lit stages set up throughout Chang'an.

The moment the sound faded.

"Boom boom boom..."

A series of rhythmic drumbeats came from both sides and the back of the stage.

A group of court dancers dressed in red, with painted eyebrows and eyes, moved gracefully from both sides amidst the lively cheers of the people of Chang'an, their gentle smiles radiating beauty.

They danced out.

"My goodness, these are the court dancers! They are all so beautiful and charming!"

"Hiss, these people are all performing for the saints, and now we commoners can actually see them too?"

"Hahaha! This year's Lantern Festival in Chang'an is truly lively! There are court dancers performing on stages everywhere. It's wonderful, wonderful!"

"It's all thanks to His Majesty's mercy on us common people! The Emperor is truly benevolent!"

Li Chengqian, Li Ke, and Li Tai, along with their younger siblings, strolled through the bustling markets of Chang'an.

Li Ke looked nervous, and even Li Tai kept glancing around warily.

He would occasionally check on the few girls from Chang Le and Cheng Yang who were running around, afraid that one or two might get lost in the crowd.

"Brother, brother, I want that! I want that!"

Gao Yang was too young and was being carried by Li Chengqian. When they passed a lantern stall, she suddenly stretched out her little hand in a childish voice, pointed at a lifelike carp lantern, and started to act cute.

Li Chengqian turned his head.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian and his entourage, all exuding an air of nobility, the stall owner immediately approached them with a smile.

"Young master, are you here to solve riddles or to buy a lantern?"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly. The Lantern Festival in ancient times was lively and pure. Walking among the streets and markets, he looked at the bustling crowds around him, all filled with joy.

This also allowed him, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, to finally feel a true sense of accomplishment.

"Hehe, how do you say 'guessing riddles' and 'buying'?"

The stall owner held up a hand.

"If you wish to buy one, it will cost five strings of cash. But if you wish to solve a riddle, it will cost two hundred coins. If you solve the riddle correctly, the lantern will be yours."

Upon hearing this, Li Tai, who was holding Princess Ankang behind him, immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty...elder brother, let me do it!"

Li Chengqian turned slightly to the side, and as the stall owner turned the lantern, a line of text came into everyone's view.

Watching the falling flowers every night

These are just five simple words. Li Tai narrowed his eyes and pondered.

Princess Gaoyang blinked her big eyes, looking at her third brother with anticipation.

After waiting for a while, Li Chengqian smiled, and a smile also flashed in the eyes of the stall owner.

He commissioned a scholar traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations to create this riddle, and received a string of cash from him. How could it be so easily solved?

With his younger sisters watching him closely, Li Tai couldn't help but break out in a fine sweat.

Li Ke smiled and shook his head.

"It seems you've been neglecting your studies lately, Qingque! Heavens, please give me back my brother who loves literature and is obsessed with collecting books!"

Li Ke put on a pained expression, which immediately made Li Tai's face turn red with embarrassment.

Princess Ankang, held in his arms, giggled.

Li Chengqian also let out a soft laugh.

He then took out four sheets of fine paper with several stamps on them and handed them to the stall owner in front of him.

"This is four hundred coins. My brother didn't guess correctly, so it's my turn to guess..."

As he spoke, the stall owner happily accepted the lantern and then reached out and took it down, all while his younger siblings stared in astonishment.

He smiled and nodded slightly to the stall owner.

"Thank you very much"

The stall owner's smile froze instantly, and the special Lantern Festival banknotes he had just received suddenly lost their appeal.

"Brother, brother, why are you robbing me?"

Xiao Gaoyang didn't quite understand. Despite seeing the koi lantern handed to him by his elder brother, he pouted and didn't take it.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian suddenly burst into laughter.

He winked at the stall owner who looked like he had lost his parents.

"Shopkeeper, may I take this lantern?"

The stall owner wasn't new to this business, so he knew that business could be profitable or not. He immediately put on a smile and cupped his hands in greeting to Li Chengqian.

"Hehe, this young master is clever! Watching the falling flowers every night, that's the answer to the riddle. Thank you, young master, you've guessed correctly!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ke and Li Tai behind him both instantly realized what was happening.

"Hey, I thought it was a guessing game. Shopkeeper, you should at least give me a hint."

Li Tai grumbled with some dissatisfaction, while the stall owner could only manage a wry smile.

Without any warning, I would have already lost at least a hundred thousand dollars today. If there had been a warning, wouldn't I have gone bankrupt?

"Brother, brother, I want one too! Chang Le wants one too!"

The wealthy young woman from Chang Le had money. The purse at her waist was bulging and was originally meant to be filled with gold, but Li Chengqian insisted that it be exchanged for special banknotes.

However, it is obvious that what I bought with my own money is not the same as what my brother gave me as a gift after solving riddles.

Li Tai stepped forward again.

"Brother, let me try again! I refuse to believe it today!"

The stall owner smiled and, after selecting a lantern shaped like a jade rabbit from Chang Le, immediately revealed the riddle.

"Almost six pounds!"

As soon as Li Tai saw the riddle, he pointed at it instantly, and the Li Tai who had shown literary talent since childhood returned to his expression.

"Shopkeeper, this is the character for 'soldier'!"

Stall owner: "......"

Watching Li Tai proudly pay, he bought the lantern, which was priced at five strings of cash, for two hundred coins.

Li Ke, who was standing to the side, also began to have his own thoughts.

"Shopkeeper, I'll have one too..."

The Li family really has a lot of daughters.

Just as Li Chengqian and his group left, amidst the stall owner's utterly dejected gaze, the stall owner looked at his stall and saw that most of the lanterns were gone, and his legs went weak.

"over......"

"Clap!"

The wail that was about to escape his lips was interrupted by a metallic clang that made his body tremble almost instinctively, and his eyes light up. The stall owner looked up instantly.

"Shopkeeper, this is a tip from our young master. Please accept it carefully!"

One of the soldiers from the Crown Prince's Sixth Guard was dressed in civilian clothes, but his burly figure still stood out in the crowd.

The stall owner suddenly realized that when those young men and women had been in front of his stall earlier, there seemed to have been several burly men standing not far away...

By the time he realized what was happening, the person in front of him had already left.

Only a bulging brocade pouch was left behind.

Just as the stall owner was quickly packing up his goods, before he even had a chance to look at them...

"Snap! Shopkeeper, this is a tip from our third young master."

"Snap! Shopkeeper, this is a tip from our fourth young master."

Stall owner: "......"

Li Chengqian accompanied his younger brother and sister to stroll around and admire the lanterns.

On the other side, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty was dressed as the young master Li from Taiyuan. He was already quite handsome and possessed both martial arts skills and a noble air.

Now dressed in fine clothes, holding a folding fan specially made according to his own unfilial son's saying that a young master should be wearing a folding fan, and with the words "public-spirited and righteous" written in his own white-flecked calligraphy.

Behind them, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and the others looked helpless.

Hey!

His Majesty is disliked by the Empress and the others for being a hindrance and a disgrace, and now it is these old ministers who are suffering.

Du Ruhui followed behind the group, his eyes constantly scanning the scene around him where ordinary people of the Tang Dynasty were using the "Lantern Festival Special Notes" proposed by His Highness the Crown Prince to make purchases.

After pondering for a while, I quickly made progress.

"Your Majesty, Master..."

"Hmm! What's up, Kemin?"

Li Shimin unfolded his folding fan with a whoosh.

His enthusiastic smile made Du Ruhui's old face stiffen.

We don't know why His Majesty the Emperor would carry a folding fan on such a cold day during the Lantern Festival, attracting strange looks from those around him.

But I mean, at least put on the mask of being the emperor!

Why not just pretend a little?

Take a deep breath.

Du Ruhui pointed to the bustling crowd and stalls around him.

"Master, these special Lantern Festival banknotes are indeed as the eldest young master said. The people can support them, and they are quite convenient to use. A small piece of paper with different denomination stamps on it indicates how much money is being made."

"Sir, if this can be implemented for a long time, it would be a very good thing."

Even Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling did not realize that the benefits of this thin, stamped piece of paper they spoke of went far beyond its convenience and ease of use.

however.

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, who had never hidden from his own crown prince what he wanted to do or what his future plans were, held a folding fan that fanned the cold air in his hand.

But then suddenly he froze.

His gaze fell on the special banknotes that the common people had exchanged at several Lantern Festival exchange points in Chang'an, and his expression became complicated.

"Good stuff, yes, it really is good stuff..."

Even now, he can't forget that just two days after New Year's Eve, his own crown prince suddenly approached him and said he wanted to conduct some kind of pilot project on the Lantern Festival to test the credibility of the royal family.

At that time, the other party proposed to replace the copper coins in the hands of the common people and the gold and silver in the hands of the merchants with a thin sheet of paper stamped with an official seal.

Li Shimin even wondered if the other party had taken the wrong medicine.

I'm crazy about money.

Now it seems...

"If this kind of paper money could really be implemented throughout the country, our Tang Dynasty royal family would not only be able to better control precious metals such as gold and silver, but also use it as a means to impose sanctions on neighboring countries. This is what is known as financial warfare and currency warfare!"

Li Shimin murmured his own crown prince's words.

Looking around, Li Shimin saw the curious and surprised expressions on the faces of both merchants and ordinary people as they used these Lantern Festival special notes, and he suddenly felt a strange sense of absurdity.

He had the illusion that this world was no longer the world he was familiar with.

"Kemin, Fuji, Xuanling, what do you think... if the Crown Prince becomes emperor, what will the Tang Dynasty become?"

......