My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 18 The fastest way to kill the Wei Wang party
"I wonder how much ice your Highness can provide."

Su Tan knew very well that Sushan's business was absolutely profitable.

If you think about it a little, you can understand the prospects of this.

The only limitation is how much ice the prince can produce.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "It is inexhaustible and can be used endlessly."

I'm not exaggerating.

Saltpeter can be recycled to make ice. The only material is water.

Isn't it inexhaustible?

"Your Highness, this is serious."

Su Tan's heart trembled, and he confirmed again.

To his ears, it was really too exaggerated.

"It's more real than real gold." Li Chengqian replied, and added: "If I want to do it freely, the entire Chang'an City with a million people can eat Sushan."

"Of course, if that's the case, we won't make any money. Scarcity makes things valuable, so we can't just open up the supply like this."

"My father-in-law's family is not enough, we need to find more people to work together."

"As I said before, it's 40% to 60% and I'll provide the ice."

"It would be best if there was a cellar in the ice shop to store ice, so that it doesn't have to be transported too frequently."

Hearing the prince's words, Su Tan swallowed subconsciously.

If there really were so much ice, the business of this ice cream would surely become popular in Chang'an.

The money you get will be beyond your imagination.

"In that case, I still have more than ten shops under my control, and I will convert them all into Sushanbingsi."

"It will be the beginning of winter in a few days, so it's better to prepare for the icy weather sooner rather than later."

Su Tan made up his mind immediately.

Li Chengqian was not in a hurry. Sushan ice cream had been a best-seller since its birth until two thousand years ago.

It sells well in summer and it can also sell in winter.

He had already made plans. Except for his father-in-law who could join for free, everyone else who wanted to join would have to pay a franchise fee of 10,000 yuan per store.

You don’t have to wait for Sushan to become a hot seller, you can easily earn hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The specifications, styles and pricing of the crispy noodles sold in Bingsi must be based on unified standards.

This is also to avoid vicious bidding.

"My father-in-law has been in the position of secretary for several years."

After the matter of Sushan was discussed, Li Chengqian turned and asked.

Su Tan knew very well that the prince was going to promote him.

“It’s been more than eight years.”

Su Tan's tone was somewhat lamentable.

In the ninth year of Zhenguan, when his daughter married the crown prince and became the crown princess, he was already the secretary.

It is now the 16th year of Zhenguan, and he is still the Secretary-General.

"My father-in-law, what do you think of the position of Junior Official of the Dali Temple?"

Li Chengqian said bluntly.

"I will follow your Highness's arrangements."

The surprise came too quickly and Su Tan almost couldn't grasp it.

The official ranks of the Tang Dynasty were divided into nine grades and thirty levels based on the sequence of Zheng, Cong, Shang and Xia.

The Secretary General is of the fifth rank, and the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple is of the fourth rank.

This is equivalent to skipping four levels.

The most important thing is that it changed from an official position that managed books to an official position with real power.

The Shaoqing of Dali Temple is equivalent to the vice president of the Supreme Court in later generations.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Tan said, "But I'm afraid His Majesty won't agree." Li Chengqian said, "No problem, I'll talk to my uncle and Minister Hou, and you can just wait for good news."

The uncle is naturally Changsun Wuji, a die-hard member of the prince's party and the brother of Empress Changsun, who has always had a good relationship with Li Chengqian.

Historically, it was only after Li Chengqian's rebellion failed that Changsun Wuji turned to support Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

Li Chengqian wanted to promote his father-in-law, so Changsun Wuji naturally supported him.

Hou Junji was the Minister of Personnel, in charge of the promotion of officials. He was also Li Chengqian's man and would not stop him.

Since Changsun Wuji and Hou Junji had agreed to this, Li Shimin naturally would not make things too difficult for the prince.

When Su Tan heard that the prince asked Zhangsun Wuji and Hou Junji for help, he was immediately relieved.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."
-
After the banquet, everything that needed to be discussed was settled.

Li Chengqian returned to the palace and brought his brother-in-law Su Chen with him.

The power of the Prince of Wei's party was indeed very strong, so Li Chengqian was not in a hurry.

He is the crown prince and has the advantage of legitimacy, so he only needs to be slowly disintegrated.

The first target was the extended forces of King Wei’s Yongzhou Prefecture.

Li Chengqian thought about asking Li Shimin for the title of Governor of Yongzhou, but he felt that there was a high probability that Li Shimin would not give it to him.

There are three forces guarding the city of Chang'an. In addition to Chang'an Wannian County under Yongzhou Prefecture, there are also the Jinwu Guards and the Censorate.

There is no need to talk about the Censorate. Li Chengqian's reputation among the Censors has long been ruined.

The Jinwu Guard belongs to Li Shimin, and interfering in it would easily cause taboos.

Apart from this, the only one that could interfere in Chang'an was the Dali Temple.

So Li Chengqian wanted to push his father-in-law to be the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

It is a bit difficult to be the Chief Justice of Dali Temple. The current Chief Justice of Dali Temple is Sun Fujia, the first number one scholar in the imperial examination system. He is deeply trusted by Li Shimin, so it is very difficult to get rid of him.

For now, the position of Shaoqing of Dali Temple is enough.

Since the Wei Wang Party was so powerful, why didn't it cause the Xuanwu Gate Incident after Jin Wang Li Zhi came to power?

Ultimately, it all has to do with Li Chengqian.

The Wei Wang Party’s success and failure were both due to Li Chengqian.

After his conspiracy was exposed and he was deposed, Li Tai should have been made the crown prince, and Li Shimin had even promised him that in person.

However, Li Tai lost his mind and said to kill his son and pass on his younger brother.

Under the persuasion of Chu Suiliang, Li Shimin believed that if Li Tai came to power, he would definitely kill Li Chengqian, so he replaced him with Li Zhi and came up with a strategy of isolation.

That was to change Li Tai's title to King of Shunyang and move him to Yunxiang County in Junzhou.

Without the King of Wei, the Wei Party naturally fell apart.

No one is in Chang'an, so there is no chance to activate the Xuanwu Gate Succession Law.

Therefore, the quickest way to get rid of the Prince of Wei's party was for Li Chengqian to abolish his position as crown prince.

But this road is too simple, not difficult at all, and too boring.

After returning to the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian directly arranged the positions of Prince's Left Guard and General of the Prince's Palace for his brother-in-law Su Chen.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace in the early Tang Dynasty actually had military power in his hands. According to the rules set by Li Yuan at that time, he was the hidden Crown Prince Li Jiancheng.

It was not until the Wu Zhou Dynasty that the Ten Commanderies of the Eastern Palace became a mere decoration and no longer obeyed the orders of the crown prince.

The Ten Commanderies of the Eastern Palace were equivalent to Li Chengqian’s private army.

The most important thing is that, unlike the Prince's Secretariat, Li Chengqian has the direct power to appoint and dismiss the military generals in the Ten Commanderies Office.

The ten generals of the Eastern Palace were all in charge of the palace troops, with the chief of the army being the General of Cavalry and the deputy general being the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

The ten soldiers in the palace were all responsible for their respective duties, including personal guards, patrolling the palace, guarding the gates, and accompanying ceremonial guards.

The Eastern Palace has fifty military commanders commanding fifty thousand soldiers, but most of the soldiers are at home farming and training, so they are recruited in groups of five to twelve people on a rotating basis.

Excluding the government troops, the total number of soldiers in Shilue Prefecture was about two thousand.

However, given the current situation, it is unknown whether these soldiers and generals in the East Palace are truly loyal.

Li Chengqian’s next move was to reintegrate the Ten Commanderies of the Eastern Palace.

(End of this chapter)