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

"What if Father Emperor had 5.37 million strings of cash?"

Li Chengqian wore a half-smile, his face displaying utmost filial piety one moment, but the next, unexpectedly, he revealed his true intentions to Li Shimin.

Li Er was taken aback.

Some people didn't realize what was happening yet.

But then Li Chengqian spoke again in a low voice.

"To be precise, it should be 5,377,455 strings of cash... If Father Emperor had that much money, would you be willing to use it to help your son alleviate the pressure?"

Li Shimin, who was initially just suspicious, suddenly became suspicious after hearing the familiar figure, which was the same figure he had personally calculated after receiving the most recent salt payment.

My scalp tingled instantly.

His once radiant and majestic smile froze and stiffened in the blink of an eye.

"My private treasury! How could you possibly know how much money is in my private treasury?!"

Li Chengqian's smile grew even wider.

"It's true what they say, Father, you're too forgetful. You came to my Taiyuan Prefecture with so many guards and stayed for more than three months. I suppose you left in such a hurry that you forgot how much it takes to feed the people and horses..."

"Look, my grandfather sent someone to deliver everything to me, exactly 5,377,455 strings of cash, which I have already ordered to be deposited into the Royal Bank."

Li Shimin felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.

He staggered back two steps, then cried out in disbelief.

"All of it?! My entire imperial treasury has been moved here?!"

He couldn't believe it. He had only come to stay with his son for a while, but before he could even go back home, his hard-earned savings of two years were given away overnight by his own father, the crown prince.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded with a smile.

Looking at his father's face, which had turned red and even gradually turned black, he was not afraid at all.

He smiled and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for this generous gift. With this money, I am finally confident that I can repay my debt of over 40 million strings of cash."

"Father, please accept my bow!"

"Clap!"

Just as Li Chengqian was about to bow down, a strong arm stopped him.

Li Shimin's eyes were slightly red.

"No! My private treasury, that's the little bit of wealth I've painstakingly accumulated, I can't give it all to you... One million strings of cash, you take one million strings, but give the rest back to me!"

Li Chengqian smiled, exerted his strength in his waist and abdomen, and pressed his shoulders down.

"Father, please accept my bow."

"Two million! That's no more than that! That's the money I need to repair the palace. Look at how dilapidated the Chang'an palace is now... Chengqian, I know you're the most filial child. Two million strings of cash is quite a lot."

The shoulders were lowered again, and one of the father and son bowed while the other supported him.

They were locked in a fierce struggle, neither giving an inch.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your reward!"

Li Shimin: "......"

The floor beneath their feet seemed to be cracking under the weight of the weight.

Noticing the gazes cast upon him by his empress and several concubines, Li Shimin took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

She lowered her head and whispered in the ear of this unfilial son.

"Three million strings of cash! I've already given you the lion's share. Enough is enough!"

As she spoke, she winked at Li Chengqian, meaning that his mother was still here and he should not make her sad.

Li Chengqian, however, smiled slightly.

Speak in a low voice, so that only the two of them can hear.

“Father, the situation is different now. The roles of offense and defense have changed. This is Bingzhou Road, my territory. All of Father’s private funds have been sent to Bingzhou Road.”

"You're making me vomit up what I've already eaten."

Li Shimin was immediately enraged.

"You! Do you really intend to take all of my imperial treasury? Am I, the mighty Emperor of the Great Tang, really going to be unable to even provide rewards for my subjects?"

"Aren't you afraid of being embarrassed?"

Seeing that Li Shimin was about to overturn the table and refuse to do it, Li Chengqian hurriedly grabbed him.

Two dry coughs.

“Father, you know I’m short of money. I’m not wasting this money. So… let’s not let this matter ruin our relationship. Five million strings of cash! I’ll take five million strings, and you…”

"Five million strings of cash?! That's my money!!!" Li Shimin was so angry that he shoved Li Chengqian's arm away.

With reddened eyes, he pointed at Li Chengqian, who was now looking embarrassed, and began to curse.

"I am your father, the Emperor. What? You want to charge me for staying in your Taiyuan residence for a while? Why don't you calculate for me again how much money I owe you over these three months, and how much your mother owes you?!"

"Five million three hundred and seventy thousand strings of cash! That's all my money!"

"You demand five million strings of cash and leave me with only a fraction? You're a true emperor, not a beggar!"

Li Chengqian spread his hands: "Father, you can't beg for 370,000 strings of cash."

Li Shimin laughed in exasperation: "So, should I thank you?!"

Seeing that his unfilial son had his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking as if no matter how much he shouted today, he wouldn't get a single extra copper coin back, Li Shimin was both angry and aggrieved.

"Guanyinbi, your son! Aren't you going to do anything about him?!"

Empress Zhangsun: "......"

Watching this father and son, who had just reconciled but hadn't even had a cup of tea left before they started fighting again, I felt utterly exhausted.

Without her, this family will truly fall apart.

Hey......

“Brilliant! Since you are short of money, your mother has some money. The gold you sent to Chang'an has not been used by your mother yet. I will send it to you. You don’t need to touch your father’s private treasury.”

Li Chengqian closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

"That was gold that I gave to Mother! You may take it and throw it away, but there's one thing I will never ask for back!"

Empress Zhangsun sighed, speechless, but her gaze was forced to turn to the Emperor, whose eyes were blazing with fury as he glared at Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

"Your Majesty, why not give the imperial treasury to Gao Ming? At worst, I'll give you my gold..."

"I only want my own private funds! I don't spend women's money!"

Li Shimin roared and gasped for breath, while Li Chengqian remained silent and indifferent.

At this moment, the father and son were like two angry bulls, staring at each other as if they could collide at any moment...

"Four million strings of cash! You give me four million strings of cash, and I'll call it quits today!"

Li Shimin conceded again, but his heart felt as if it were bleeding.

Li Chengqian shook his head: "Either Father Emperor takes the 370,000 strings of cash and we let this matter drop today, or I will have all the imperial treasury funds put into the treasury and registered, and put them directly into the budget in three days at most."

"I am your father!" Li Shimin was furious. Suddenly, he picked up a board and lashed it across the buttocks of the Ninth Prince Li Zhi, who was still tied to a stool.

"Crack!"

Caught off guard, Li Zhi's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted from the pain on the spot.

Seeing this, Gao Hai hurriedly stepped forward and adjusted the cushion on the Ninth Prince's bottom as the father and son's eyes clashed again.

Li Chengqian remained unmoved, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

He spoke softly.

"The Tang Dynasty also belongs to Father Emperor!"

“This money is given to me, and I will use it to develop people’s livelihood, strengthen the military, and build ships, while Father Emperor will only use it to repair the palace.”

Li Shimin was unwilling to give up: "Even if you want to do these things, you can wait. When the tax revenue comes up this year, you can use the tax revenue from Bingzhou Road to do them."

Li Chengqian gave a soft snort.

"Is this Zhenguan era name not mine? When future historians record the achievements of the Zhenguan era, won't they also attribute them to me?"

Li Shimin: "......"

Seeing that Li Shimin was unable to hit him or reason with him, and his face was turning redder and redder, he was about to get angry and raise the board in his hand to slap Li Zhi's buttocks.

Empress Zhangsun hurriedly got up and stepped forward to stop her.

"Alright, Your Majesty, Chengqian is right. There's no rush to repair the palace. Besides, won't there be a salt payment coming in at the end of this year?"

"Chengqian doesn't want all of Your Majesty."

Empress Zhangsun gently stroked Li Er's chest with one hand while taking the board from his other hand.

This caused Li Zhi, who was sitting on the bench, to burst into tears.

There is a kind of happiness in regaining lost maternal love.

Lowering her voice slightly, Empress Zhangsun leaned close to Li Er's ear, who was still furious.

"Your Majesty, it's wise to stop while you're ahead. At least you can keep some... Your Majesty, take this money first, and I'll try to think of a way to help you."

She looked down and exchanged a glance with her trusted Guanyin maid.

Li Shimin took a few deep breaths and gritted his teeth.

"Three hundred and seventy-seven thousand four hundred and fifty-five strings of cash! Not a single copper coin less, send them all to my Chengyi Palace!"

Li Chengqian immediately smiled.

He gave an order to Gao Hai beside him.

"Did you hear that? Go and deliver my father's portion right now, or I'll break your legs!"

Gao Hai hurriedly left.

It's this late; I really won't be able to sleep tonight.

Emperor Taizong (Li Er) has passed away.

Within the sleeves of his robe, tiny scraps of paper mingled with the falling snow, scattering everywhere.

Tonight, the sound of wind chimes ringing in Chengyi Hall will inevitably become a sleepless melody of heartbreak.

Watching her husband's departing figure, Empress Zhangsun let out a long sigh.

I have once again averted a world war.

"Waaah, Mother, Mother..."

When Li Zhi saw that his father had finally left, he couldn't hold back and burst into tears of grievance.

Empress Zhangsun's face immediately turned cold.

He glanced at Li Zhi, who was sitting on the bench.

"Don't force me to slap you at this moment!"

Li Zhi: "???"

Empress Zhangsun ignored her incorrigible youngest son and turned to glare at her own crown prince with her beautiful eyes, who was already wearing his signature fawning smile.

"You! Can't you just give in to him a little? You know your father's temperament; he values ​​the imperial treasury more than his own life!"

"Hehe, Mother, I'm just desperate for money!"

Li Chengqian smiled and poured Empress Zhangsun a cup of hot water.

Empress Zhangsun rolled her eyes and glanced at the time.

She had a lot more to say, but now she had to get straight to the point.

"Brilliant! From your father's perspective, even if you asked him to return to Chang'an, he might not go back. Staying in Taiyuan like this isn't good either..."

"Do you want a deputy?"

"If you need a deputy, I will have your father go to the Shougong Hall tomorrow to assist you."

"He's worried about his personal funds, so just give him a little more salary each month..."

"Pfft, cough, cough!"

Beside her, Consort Yang, who was always impeccably poised, had just picked up her water cup and taken a sip.

Upon hearing the Empress's words, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

It sprayed out on the spot.

Li Chengqian looked astonished.

"This... you want the Emperor to work for me, the Crown Prince? And I'll even pay him a salary?"

"Mother, so it turns out that our family's rebellious genes originated from you?"