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

Li Chengqian certainly didn't decide to implement reforms in the court on a whim.

Just as he announced these resolutions in Chang'an.

In Chengdu Prefecture, Emperor Zhenguan, Li Shimin, had long been aware of these matters. Recently, golden eagles had been continuously delivering supplementary details to Li Chengqian. Li Shimin was also leading his officials to study whether there were any potential drawbacks in these reforms.

"It is time to change. The territory of our Great Tang Dynasty is now far greater than that of any other dynasty in China. What we have done is unprecedented in history. We must be ready to change at any time!"

Li Shimin spoke.

Under his command, Lu Shiming, the Prefect of Chengdu, was carefully reviewing these detailed rules regarding the division of powers among various departments of the imperial court.

His main focus was on local reform plans.

"Each circuit is established with three offices: the Provincial Administration Commissioner is the administrative head, in charge of civil affairs and the economy; the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner is the chief judicial officer, directly under the Censorate; and the Regional Military Commissioner is the military commander, without the power to deploy troops, only responsible for local stability."

According to the detailed reform rules outlined above, once everything is finalized, the reform will be officially implemented.

Does the Emperor before us also hold the official position of "Provincial Governor of Jiannan Circuit" from the Crown Prince?

Hmm... that's weird.

But what's so strange about this happening to the imperial family during the Zhenguan era?

Lu Shiming was quite open-minded. He was very satisfied with his life. If His Majesty were to go on a western expedition in the future, whether he followed him or was transferred to Chang'an and entered the imperial court, he would be remembered in history.

Right now, what he, and the emperor before him, really need to care about is still one issue.

When will the Crown Prince ascend the throne?

He carefully raised his head and saw that His Majesty was also holding a reform document, but he was lost in thought and looked worried.

Clearly, His Majesty was thinking about the same problem as him.

"Sigh... Everything has been decided, I even had the imperial robe prepared for him, how long is this Crown Prince going to wait?!"

"It's been eight years since the Zhenguan era! How can there be a crown prince who has been in power for eight years?!"

Li Shimin muttered curses under his breath, saying that the last person to be crown prince did not live past the ninth year.

If Gao Ming does not succeed to the throne, wouldn't that be an ominous sign?

In an instant, Li Shimin seemed to have thought of another compelling reason. His eyes lit up, and he asked the eunuch He Ding, who was serving him, to bring him pen and ink, so that he could write a letter to his son and the empress.

Lu Shiming: "..."

Forget it, get used to it.

After Li Chengqian made his decision regarding the reforms in Chang'an, the emperor did not object, and the court was even less likely to object.

As June arrived, Li Jing, the Duke of Yingguo, having settled matters with the retired emperor, finally returned to Chang'an. After Li Chengqian explained the purpose and function of the Grand Council to him...

Li Jing initially declined, after all, a Grand Councilor was on par with the Grand Secretary, and besides, he now possessed both military merit and a noble title...

He was worried.

But Li Chengqian glanced at him sideways and said, "The Duke of Yingguo is already quite old, why does he still need to worry about these things? Instead of worrying about me being suspicious of you, you should worry about whether you will suddenly die at your desk one day."

Li Jing was speechless.

Thus, Li Jing accepted the order to help Li Chengqian establish the Grand Council.

This was a considerable workload, so he asked Li Chengqian for Qin Qiong, the Duke of Yi, who was in charge of the Royal Military Academy.

After officially receiving the order, Li Jing no longer hesitated or worried as before, and began to command and select and appoint personnel as if on a battlefield.

The Grand Council oversees the "Prince's Guard" and the "Imperial Guard." The Prince's Guard is relatively straightforward, but Li Jing consulted with Li Chengqian, who requested a count and determination of the number of personal guards under the princes.

Before Li Chengqian could express his opinion, Empress Zhangsun, along with a group of concubines and princes who had heard the news, all agreed and were willing to assist.

In fact, as soon as Li Chengqian proposed this reform, all the vassal kings received admonitions and orders from their mothers.

Make them reduce the power they hold.

At present, the princes of the Tang Dynasty, apart from Prince Li Zhi of Jin and Prince Li Zhen of Yue, who were responsible for assisting Li Chengqian in handling government affairs every day, could be said to be the only ones.

Each of them would have been a major threat to emperors in other dynasties.

Li Ke, the third prince and Prince of Han, was in charge of the first royal fleet of the Tang Dynasty and a large number of Japanese colonial ports.

The fourth prince, Prince Wei, Li Tai, was in charge of the Heavenly Works Bureau and the Divine Machine Battalion.

Prince Li You, the fifth prince of Chu, was in charge of the Southern Agricultural University of the Great Tang Dynasty and the Chu Prince's Navy, and had a large colony in Linyi.

Prince Yang, Yi Eun, was the sixth prince who ruled over the entire Silla kingdom, commanded the Silla-Tang allied forces, and was also building the royal second fleet.

Prince Yan, Li Yun, the seventh prince, was in charge of the railway bureau and the railway protection army.

When Fang Xuanling and his colleagues heard that the Crown Prince's trust in the court officials had collapsed, they were so frightened that they could hardly sleep, fearing that the prince might have lost his mind and go crazy by ordering the princes to enter the capital.

Summer began in the eighth year of the Zhenguan era.

The Xueyantuo sent tribute several more times from the northern grasslands, but Li Chengqian was too lazy to pay attention. The cabinet, which was in a hurry to find people, also couldn't care less about these grassland barbarians.

"Your Highness, the Xueyantuo leader, Yinan, wished to come to the capital to pay homage, but was stopped by someone sent by Duke Du, Ashina Quli, who also sent a memorial impeaching Duke Du..."

Li Chengqian was fishing in the sea pond, using the same fishing rod as his teacher, Li Gang.

Upon hearing Wang De's report, he raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze still fixed on the distant buoy.

"He wants to see me? What is it about?"

Wang De pondered: "This... Princess Gaoyang sent troops to cut off the Xueyantuo's salt route and sold salt to the Xueyantuo at a high price."

Li Chengqian frowned in confusion. Could Gao Yang really pull off such an obvious forced sale?

Sure enough, Wang De quickly added the following.

"Princess Gaoyang did not say that she was selling salt directly to Xueyantuo. Instead, she gave them a batch of salt under the guise of aid. However, she subsequently raised the price of salt in Baikal County and the northern desert market. The Tiele tribe members who joined the Northern Desert Common Prosperity and Development Committee were able to receive salt at internal prices."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"My sister is truly kind on the outside but ruthless on the inside... So, that Xueyantuo barbarian came to question me? What did the Duke of Du say?"

Wang De lowered his head: "The Duke of Du wrote a letter saying that because Xueyantuo Yinan had not prepared a wedding gift for His Highness the Prince of Chu, he dared to seize the cattle and sheep that had accidentally gone missing from several ranches in Zhenbei Road, intending to use them as a wedding gift for His Highness the Prince of Chu. He was caught but denied it to the death."

Li Chengqian: "......."

What kind of people are around me?

Just as Li Chengqian waved his hand to dismiss Wang De, the eunuch Sun Yi approached, holding a letter from Chengdu Prefecture.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has sent a message via a golden eagle."

Li Chengqian sighed deeply. Here we go again?

Upon opening the letter, I indeed saw the first line of text again.

"Brilliant! It's time for you to ascend the throne. If you delay any longer, it will be the ninth year of the Zhenguan era. Think of your uncle; a crown prince for nine years is an ominous sign!"

Li Chengqian: "......"

This old bastard, in order to make me ascend the throne, he even resorted to this tactic of cursing his own son with his elder brother?