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

Chapter 267 It Would Be Better If He Died in Fanyang
The Duke's Mansion.

Li Shimin was chatting leisurely with Wei Zheng and discussing when to return to Jiucheng Palace.

After hearing the sound of footsteps, Li Shimin and the other two smiled and looked at Changsun Wuji and the other two who came in.

"See Your Majesty."

"No need to be polite, just come and sit down."

Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand, "This is your residence, Fu Ji, you make it look like my palace."

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it's okay for you to stay as long as you like."

Li Shimin shook his head. "At the court today, the Crown Prince handled the government affairs. How did he handle them?"

Gao Shilian stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Majesty is still worried about the prince!"

Li Shimin: "We've given him a chance, but we have to take some responsibility to prevent any accidents from happening and making it difficult to control the situation."

Chang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Nothing serious has happened. The Lu family in Fanyang has been taken down."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, "So fast?!"

From sending troops from the four counties to capturing Fan Yang, it seemed that except for the time of marching, it did not take them much time to capture the Lu family of Fan Yang.

Fang Xuanling: "The prince had already made preparations long before this, and had laid out a hidden chess piece in Fanyang."

Li Shimin looked surprised. Could it be that Li Chengqian had already anticipated these things after learning that Cui Junsu and the other two had brought those students to Chang'an City?

How can this be?

"With the help of both insiders and outsiders, Fanyang City changed hands overnight."

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Even His Majesty would have found it hard to imagine that the captain trusted by Lu Shi would have surrendered to the Crown Prince long ago, right?"

Li Shimin nodded slowly. If that was the case, then it made sense.

The captain who controls the city gate is Li Chengqian's man. It would be easy for him to take over Fanyang City whenever he wants, right?

but.

"Where is the King of Qi?"

"The King of Qi is in a terrible situation."

Fang Xuanling said with a smile, "Originally, the Prince of Qi was trapped in the Governor's Mansion by Lu Jingqing and his men, but because the Crown Prince left a hidden chess piece, he was rescued."

"Then?"

Li Shimin frowned.

Fang Xuanling: "The King of Qi must have suffered a lot of humiliation while imprisoned, and he was so angry that after he met up with Lu Chengqing and others, he took a strong bow and shot the Lu family members."

Li Shimin's face turned a little ugly.

He had already heard about Li You's actions in Qizhou.

Now that he has been rescued, he is holding a strong bow and hunting the children of the Lu family like a prey, which is somewhat unbecoming of his status.

Wei Zheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Highness the Prince of Qi has gone too far."

Gao Shilian stroked his beard and said, "He really went too far. Not only did he hunt outside the city, but after the elite soldiers from the four counties entered Fanyang City, he also ordered Lu Chengqing to bring his guards to follow him into the city to hunt."

"anything else?"

Li Shimin asked expressionlessly.

Gao Shilian: "Then he was targeted by Lu Jingqing, with dozens of crossbow arrows pointed at him."

Li Shimin's heart tightened, "Is he okay?"

Gao Shilian: "Lu Chengqing said in his memorial that he threw himself at the King of Qi, but an arrow pierced his shoulder and hit the King of Qi's lung."

"After the doctor's diagnosis, it was confirmed that the King of Qi is not in danger of death, but from now on, I'm afraid he will never be able to go hunting again."

Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, but he also felt a little more angry.

He could have clearly avoided this crisis, but he led his men into Fanyang City, giving Lu Jingqing and others an opportunity.

"Who followed the King of Qi to Fanyang this time?"

"Yan Hongxin."

Li Shimin silently remembered his name and asked again: "How is Lu Chengqing's injury?"

Gao Shilian smiled and said, "According to the description of the four county commanders, Lu Chengqing's injuries were serious, but according to his memorial, it was only a puncture wound."

Li Shimin nodded. "When the third and fourth branches of the Lu family took control of Fanyang City, what was Lu Jingcheng from the second branch doing?"

Changsun Wuji: "This man was captured by Lu Jingqing and the other two, and imprisoned with the King of Qi."

Li Shimin frowned. Zhangsun Wuji seemed to have guessed what Li Shimin was thinking and continued, "After His Royal Highness Prince Qi arrived in Fanyang, this man handed over all the children in the second house who had made mistakes."

"As for his son Lu Chengen, his whereabouts are unknown. I wonder if he is among the Lu family rebels captured this time."

Li Shimin said calmly: "Lu Jingcheng is a man who knows how to handle current affairs."

Knowing that Lu Jingqing and the other two were planning a rebellion, he immediately distanced himself from them and was imprisoned by them.

This is to tell the world that it was Lu Jingqing and his gang who were plotting rebellion, and it had nothing to do with the second house where Lu Jingcheng was.

As for Lu Chengen, he was expelled from the Lu family and was no longer a member of the Lu family.

"How did the prince deal with this matter?"

Changsun Wuji smiled and repeated the prince's way of handling the matter.

Li Shimin nodded, then shook his head, "The imperial physician should have been ordered to treat Lu Chengqing's injury, not the King of Qi!"

Changsun Wuji glanced at Fang Xuanling and the other man, and they were indeed laughing.

Zhang Sun Wuji sighed, "After learning that the King of Qi was injured, the Crown Prince blamed himself very much. After all, it was the Crown Prince who arranged for the King of Qi to go to Fanyang."

"This matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. It is the fault of the King of Qi himself!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and directly defined the matter.

Li Chengqian had already given him two chances to survive, but he insisted on going over to seek death.

He was lucky this time as Lu Chengqing blocked an arrow for him. If it weren't for Lu Chengqing, his chest would have been pierced by the arrow.

Even if Sun Simiao went there in person, he might not be able to save him!

"How's the situation in Songzhou?"

"The 50,000-strong Tibetan army should have already attacked Songzhou, but the crown prince had earlier ordered Su Dingfang to lead 10,000 elite troops to Songzhou."

"Plus, Han Wei has fought against the Tibetan army before and has some combat experience. I believe that if the two of them join forces, they will not be defeated by the Tibetans."

"In addition, the Crown Prince has issued an order for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to work together to deal with the Songzhou incident."

"All the conscripted civilians can receive a wage of 100 coins per day, and their three meals a day will be paid for by the court."

"Moreover, the prince intends to promote this matter and hopes that no matter what kind of war occurs, the families of these civilians can be guaranteed."

Fang Xuanling spoke it again quickly, and Li Shimin felt a headache after listening to it.

When he fought wars, most of the troops were formed spontaneously by the people from all over the place, and they were self-sufficient. Sometimes, they even needed to borrow food from the people.

When it came to Li Chengqian...

Oh hoo.

Good guy.

Any laborer who helped transport food and fodder was paid 100 coins a day, and he provided them with three meals a day.

With such an attitude, it is estimated that once Li Chengqian’s notice is posted, many civilians will come uninvited.

"Three hundred thousand taels of silver for a battle, that's too much."

Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh, "This prodigal son!"

Hear the words.

Gao Shilian and the others all laughed. Fang Xuanling said with a smile, "When they learned that the prince wanted the 300,000 taels of silver to fight this battle, the King of Jiangxia and the King of Hejian were about to fight, and they wished they could go to Songzhou right now to replace Su Dingfang and the others."

Wei Zheng laughed and said, "The prince prepared so much silver. It's not to fight a war, but to use the silver to beat them to death."

Zhang Sun Wuji: "Great minds think alike."

Li Shimin took a sip of tea and said in a deep voice: "It is a good thing that the Crown Prince pays attention to the suffering of the people, but this will put an unimaginable pressure on the national treasury."

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. The Crown Prince said that in just two months, the Ministry of Revenue will be filled with gold and jade, with so much gold, silver and jewelry that it will be impossible to count them."

"Ok?"

Li Shimin looked surprised.

Wei Zheng asked in confusion, "Duke Shen, did the prince really say that?"

Gao Shilian nodded, "Indeed."

Zhang Sun Wuji: "If you were there just now, you would have seen how excitedly Lord Dai waved his arms to support the prince in this battle."

Wei Zheng turned his gaze towards Li Shimin, as if to say, The Ministry of Revenue has never allowed Your Majesty to go to war like this.

Li Shimin rolled his eyes at him and asked, "Prince, have you said how to increase tax revenue and fill the treasury?"

"This is not."

Fang Xuanling shook his head, "But I think it has something to do with Su Chen."

Ok……

Li Shimin nodded, "Very likely!"

In just over half a year, Su Chen has accumulated so much money, which shows how outstanding his business ability is.

Plus Su Chen's relationship with the prince, let him help the Ministry of Revenue to make money...

"The people should not compete with the officials for profit."

Li Shimin said slowly, "They are trying to find ways to raise money for the court to fill the treasury. I am naturally very happy, but if they rely on the favoritism of the prince and their official status to rob others, we cannot let them do it."

"Your Majesty is wise."

……

Prince's residence.

Li Chengqian appeared in front of Su Chen with a smile on his face, which scared Su Chen.

"I'm not saying you're sneaky. You came here without even saying hello?"

Su Chen frowned and looked at Li Chengqian, "You are laughing so happily, but is there any good news from Fan Yang?"

Li Chengqian nodded, "The second branch of the Lu family has been taken down. Didn't you receive the news?"

Su Chen shook his head. "After Cao Yuan and his men went to Fanyang, the Lu family rebelled and the news could not be delivered."

"Besides, even if they sent a message over, how could it be better than the expedited mail from the post station?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "That's right, but there was something unexpected this time."

"What accident?"

"The King of Qi was shot in the lung and is bedridden."

"...?"

Looking at Li Chengqian with a smile on his face, Su Chen felt that this must be good news no matter how you look at it.

Li Chengqian sighed, "It would have been better if I had shot him to death at that time."

Su Chen waved his hand and said, "After all, it was you who arranged for him to go to Fanyang. If he died in Fanyang, it would have a significant impact on you."

"good."

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice, "It's just that I didn't expect that Cao Yuan and the others would do so well."

Then, Li Chengqian described in detail what had happened in Fan Yang.

Su Chen smiled and nodded, "Cao Yuan is indeed very surprising this time. As for the King of Qi, it is a bit of his own fault."

"It's a pity for Lu Chengqing. If he had reacted a little slower, this old silver coin might have died."

Li Chengqian said meaningfully: "Cao Yuan and his men have been guarding the King of Qi, and there are also 100 elite soldiers from four counties, but they were still shot in the lung."

Su Chen understood what Li Chengqian meant.

With the skills of Cao Yuan and others, it is somewhat unreasonable that they failed to react to the arrows.

perhaps.

It was Cao Yuan and his men who discovered it, but did not try to stop it. They intended to use Lu Jingqing and his men to kill Li You!
Su Chen smiled and said, “But when the King of Qi was imprisoned, it was Cao Yuan who rescued him!”

Li Chengqian: "So I said, he performed very well this time!"

Cao Yuan was their man, so naturally he had to ensure the safety of King Qi, so Cao Yuan and his men took the lead in rescuing King Qi.

but.

The King of Qi took the initiative to seek death, but was targeted by Lu Jingqing and his men and shot with crossbows. They were unable to react, but there was nothing they could do.

Even if His Majesty asks, they can talk about it.

The responsibility is not theirs!

What's more, the King of Qi was going to Fan Yang with Yan Hongxin and others on this trip. Even if he failed to protect them well, he should still deal with Yan Hongxin and others!
Li Chengqian gloated a little: "The doctor in Fanyang City said that from now on, the King of Qi can't think of going hunting again."

Su Chen: "If his lungs are injured, his strength will definitely be greatly reduced. If he is not treated properly, he may suffer from lung diseases in the future. It will be a question whether he can die of old age. He still wants to go hunting?!"

Li Chengqian: "I think so too."

Su Chen smiled and said, "Actually, if you didn't come today, I would have something to do and I would need your help to solve it."

Li Chengqian: "What's the matter?"

Su Chen took out a file and placed it in front of Li Chengqian. "These are the death lists of some children of noble families after the Lu family's rebellion."

Death list?

Li Chengqian opened his eyes wide and took a look. Wow, they were all children of aristocratic families, and they were all stupid.

"These people have had contact with the Lu family before and are interested in assisting the Lu family in their rebellion."

Su Chen gave an explanation, "In order to prevent the situation from escalating further, I asked Cen Wenzhao and his men to take action. I think those governors must be extremely troubled..."

Li Chengqian nodded, "I'll arrange it."

Su Chen smiled and leaned back, "Tell me, you came to me today, you can't be here to announce the good news, right?"

Li Chengqian gave a thumbs up and said, "It's Brother Su who knows me well."

"Today in the court, I have announced that I have raised 300,000 taels of silver to deal with the 50,000-strong Tibetan army, and proposed that when we recruit civilians, we should give them a fixed daily wage."

"The ministers have no objection to this, but the Ministry of Revenue is short of money, so I made a promise that within two or three months, their Ministry of Revenue will be filled with gold and jade."

Su Chen frowned: "Let me help the Ministry of Revenue to make money?"

Li Chengqian: "Are you helping the Ministry of Revenue? You are helping me!"

Duo duo.

Su Chen knocked on the table and laughed thoughtfully, "What a coincidence."

"I happen to have a good deal in my hands. I wonder if Lord Dai is willing to give it a try."

Li Chengqian was immediately overjoyed, "I knew you had a way!"

"What deal? I'll call Dai Zhou over right now and we'll discuss it."

Su Chen waved his hand, "No need, since it's just a small matter like making money, why should you, the prince, intervene?"

"I will arrange this."

(End of this chapter)