Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 257 The monarch and his ministers play against each other
East Palace.

The moment Li Chengqian stepped over the threshold, he felt that the atmosphere in the East Palace had become much more depressing.

When the palace maids and eunuchs saw him, they subconsciously wanted to say something, but seemed to have thought of something, so they just looked at him twice more and then lowered their heads and left.

Li Chengqian strode to the main hall.

"Xiang'er, have you missed Grandpa recently?"

"Eat, eat..."

One-year-old Li Xiang is at the age of babbling. Although he can utter some words, ordinary people cannot understand him.

Only when Li Xiang's preference is touched upon can the correct voice pattern be activated.

"Hahaha……"

"Good, good, good grandson."

Li Shimin's hearty laughter came from the main hall, and then, as if he sensed something, he looked up at Li Chengqian who strode in.

"My son, I will meet my father."

Li Chengqian stepped forward calmly and saluted, "I wonder when my father will return, and why there is no news from the Ministry of Rites."

Li Shimin smiled and handed Li Xiang to the Crown Princess, saying casually, "I heard about something and rushed back from Jiucheng Palace."

Crown Princess Su held Li Xiang in her arms and stood up to salute, "Father, Your Highness, I will take my leave first."

Li Shimin nodded. Li Chengqian smiled and rubbed Li Xiang's head. He glanced at the cakes in Li Xiao's hand and said casually, "Order the imperial kitchen to prepare some food. Father came back in a hurry. I think he must be hungry."

Su nodded and left with Li Xiang.

"sit."

Li Chengqian walked straight to the opposite side of Li Shimin and sat down.

Li Shimin stared at Li Chengqian without saying a word, as if he was sizing Li Chengqian up.

Li Chengqian was also calm and fearless, and faced it calmly with a smile.

A smile gradually appeared on Li Shimin's face. "You have become much more mature than before I left."

Li Chengqian remained unmoved.

"The walking tools on the elephant are pretty good."

Li Shimin said casually, "It seems simple, but it is not easy to think of it and spend time to make it."

"I heard from the Crown Princess that Su Chen made it specially for Xiang'er?"

Li Chengqian nodded, "That's right."

"Did you go to see him just now?"

"Father is so well-informed, why do you still ask when you already know the answer?"

Facing Li Chengqian's question, Li Shimin smiled even more. He found that Li Chengqian was becoming more and more confident.

Even when facing him, I felt calm and composed which I had never felt before.

Li Shimin nodded, "I did hear about it. I also heard that you were going to use the Lu Chengsi case to deal with the Lu and Kong family's children."

"Since we are ready to promote the new enlightenment, why bother to take action against the Lu and Confucius family members? We can just sit back and watch them gradually decline."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin with a smile and said nothing.

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows, "Why don't you say anything?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, "For a moment, I don't know how to start."

"Is there anything you can't talk about with me?"

Li Shimin said casually, "Today there is no monarch or minister, no emperor or prince, only father and son, you can speak freely."

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said slowly, "Father, you are old."

Li Shimin's hand, which was about to pick up the teacup, froze in mid-air. He frowned and looked over, with a hint of sharpness in his eyes.

"You said I'm old?"

"My father often said that since I was young, I have traveled all over the world and know the key to using troops. Every time I observe the enemy's formation, I know its strengths and weaknesses. I always use my weakness to defeat their strength and my strength to defeat their weakness. When they take advantage of my weakness, they can only run a few hundred steps. When I take advantage of their weakness, I must get out of their formation and attack them, and they will be defeated!"

Li Chengqian did not answer Li Shimin's question, but said calmly: "I remember that year, my father went to the Wei River alone and faced Jie Li's army of more than 100,000 people alone without any fear."

"It was just a trick to confuse the enemy, and it made Jie Li's army of more than 100,000 people dare not cross the line."

"Now, I am only facing the two great families of Lu and Kong. Why should I be afraid?"

Li Shimin looked at him blankly, as if he was meeting Li Chengqian for the first time, and felt somewhat unfamiliar.

I also feel that these words don't seem to come from his mouth!

Li Chengqian silently held up the teacup for Li Shimin, "Father, why don't you say anything?"

Li Shimin took a look at the tea handed to him by Li Chengqian, took it silently, drank it all in one gulp, and the shock in his heart gradually subsided.

"Do you know that Jie Li is different from the Lu and Kong families?"

"What Father is worried about is nothing more than the relationship between the many noble families."

Li Chengqian had a calm expression, "The Cui and Lu families have a close relationship, and the Lu family has even formed marriage alliances with many aristocratic families."

"In Fanyang, the Lu family is the head of the noble families. The Dong family, the Shao family, the Yuan family, etc. all follow their lead."

"There are powerful outsiders led by Cui Clan. If we want to attack them, we may end up hurting them instead of killing them."

Li Shimin nodded secretly and listened quietly.

Li Chengqian continued, "The Cui family has already shown signs of separation because of Cui Junsu and the other two. Even though they are from the same family, they are still influenced by the new enlightenment. If I promote them in an exceptional way, they will feel resentful."

"Father may think that my action is too immature, but has Father ever thought about the impact of this matter on other families?"

Li Shimin shook his head, "They won't agree." Li Chengqian smiled and filled Li Shimin's cup with tea, "Yes, they will agree."

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. Could it be that Li Chengqian still held the lifelines of Cui Junsu and the other man in his hands, forcing them to obey Li Chengqian's wishes?
"The Xue family in Hedong, the Liu family in Shannan, etc., may not be involved in this matter, and may become a great help to me."

"Perhaps Father will say that being too eager for quick success and instant benefits will most likely force them to do something desperate."

Li Chengqian smiled, poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip, "But father, do you know that I secretly ordered General Su to lead an army of 10,000 to rush to Songzhou for assistance half a month ago?"

"With the arrival of 10,000 troops, Songzhou will surely be as secure as a rock. Su Dingfang and the other two may have the opportunity to take the initiative to attack."

Li Shimin said slowly: "During the last Songzhou battle, there were many fence-sitters who attached themselves to Tubo."

Facing Li Shimin's reminder, Li Chengqian smiled and said confidently, "Are you talking about the Dangxiang and Bailang Qiang people over there?"

Seeing that Li Shimin was drinking tea without saying anything, Li Chengqian continued, "Among the Tanguts and Bailang Qiang, some of them are fence-sitters, always being ambivalent about our Great Tang."

"After the last lesson, they should understand who is more powerful, Tubo or Tang!"

"If they are sensible, I can leave them alone, but if they are not, I will kill them all."

Li Shimin laughed in silence, "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, you are so arrogant!"

When Li Shimin swept across Tuyuhun, he had not yet subdued all the Dangxiang and Bailang Qiang people. Does Li Chengqian have the ability to do so?
Li Shimin didn't believe it.

Moreover, there is not much silver in the national treasury to support such a war.

Li Chengqian: "What my father can't do, I may be able to do!"

Li Shimin frowned and pondered for a moment, "How much gold and silver did Su Chen give you?"

Li Chengqian smiled, "No one knows a son better than his father. Father is right. When I went to see Su Chen just now, he had already prepared 300,000 taels of military pay for me."

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, "Three hundred thousand taels of military pay?"

Li Chengqian: "Father, do you think this battle is a sure thing?"

Li Shimin's mouth twitched. He had been fighting in wars for most of his life. When had he ever seen so much military pay?
If he were to fight...

Shouldn't they just wipe out Tubo? ?

Li Shimin took another sip of tea. He now realized that Li Chengqian's power was even stronger than he had imagined!
"But have you ever thought about what you would do if the major families really joined forces to break the jar and throw it all away?"

"At worst, we can rebuild the country!"

Li Chengqian waved his sleeves and said, "Father can sweep across the four directions, why can't I?"

Li Shimin pounded his forehead with a headache, "If this happens, the Tang Dynasty will be shattered."

Li Chengqian: "If they have the guts to rebel, I will certainly have the guts to fight them!"

Looking at Li Chengqian who was full of fighting spirit, Li Shimin sighed: "Yes, it can be seen that you are fully confident about this action, but in my opinion, you should win by playing it safe."

"The Tang Dynasty finally prospered, but it was still far behind the Sui Dynasty."

"Yang Guang wasted the people's money and resources, which led to the fall of the Sui Dynasty and the rise of the princes."

"You have only been regent for a short time, yet you are so eager to fight. You must know that those who love war will perish."

Li Chengqian laughed and stood up, "Pedant! How pedantic!"

"My father once said that it is better to have no books than to believe in them completely. He also said to Lord Wei that history is a mirror that can help us understand the rise and fall of nations."

"Warlords will perish, is it because of war? It's because of the harsh taxes. The people have no land to farm, no rice to eat, but they are taxed by hundreds of taxes. They have no way to survive, so they can only rebel! If the people in the country had rice for three meals a day and meat on the beams, why would they rebel?"

"Isn't it the same reason why Emperor Yang of Sui wasted money and manpower by traveling every year and building large palaces?"

"Now the Tang Dynasty is prosperous, the people live and work in peace and contentment, there is rice in the jar, why can't I fight in all directions?"

"If Father wants to say something, the suffering of the people is unnecessary!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand, interrupting Li Shimin who was about to speak, making Li Shimin angry and furious, and he glared at him fiercely.

Li Chengqian continued: "If this is a major war, I will definitely not treat any civilian or soldier unfairly!"

"My father can let them transport food and fodder for free, and even use money from our family to support them, but I am different!"

"I have plenty of money!"

"If anyone is willing to deliver money and food, I will give them three meals a day and a hundred coins a day, which is much more than what they would earn from working!"

“Will they rebel?”

"..."

Li Shimin's eyelids twitched, but he was silenced by Li Chengqian.

If Li Chengqian could really do this, then as long as the war broke out in Songzhou, countless civilians would spontaneously go there to transport food and fodder, and there would be no need to raise any funds at all!

"Su Chen often told me that troubles that can be solved with money are not troubles."

Li Chengqian sighed, "Before, I didn't quite understand what he meant, nor did I understand why he didn't want to work in the East Palace, but today, I understand."

"If Tubo wants to go to war with the Tang Dynasty, I can just use money to beat them to death!"

Bang!
Li Shimin slammed the table and stood up, "It sounds good, but why do you want to touch my treasury money?!"

Li Shimin's jumping thinking and direct question confused Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian: "Ah?"

Li Shimin: "Since you are so rich, why do you use my money to build a school?"

Li Chengqian: "Father, how can that be your money? It's clearly my money!"

"This country has not yet been handed over to you!"

"It will be mine sooner or later!"

(End of this chapter)