My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 19: Zhang Sun Wuji, that's my uncle
East Palace, side hall.

"Commander Chen, can I trust you?"

Li Chengqian sat on a Hu seat, stared at Commander Chen standing in front of him and asked in a deep voice.

Chen Yunchao, Yingchuan Chen family, was a prominent family in the late Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

"Chen Yunchao, I swear to be loyal to Your Highness until death."

Upon hearing this question, Chen Yunchao immediately knelt on one knee and bowed with his fists clasped.

Although there were positions such as the Prince's Grand Tutor, the Prince's Junior Tutor, and the Prince's Junior Instructor in the Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty, most of these positions were in name only and they were not real officials of the Eastern Palace.

The officials who actually served in the Eastern Palace were divided into two categories: civil and military. The highest official rank for a military officer was Crown Prince's Left Internal Rate, while the highest official rank for a civil official was Crown Prince's Left Secretary.

The former is responsible for guarding the safety of the Eastern Palace and the prince, while the latter is equivalent to the Eastern Palace's political steward and is also the prince's teacher.

The Prince's Left Nei-Lie was the highest military commander in the Eastern Palace, so Li Chengqian had no choice but to be cautious.

Another prince's right-hand man was Helan Chushi.

Chen Yunchao's bravery is undoubtedly necessary to be able to hold this position, and it is also largely related to his background.

In my memory, Chen Yunchao was a man of few words, upright character, and a bit of pride from a noble family.

"The East Palace Ten Rates Mansion is my Ten Rates Mansion, but recently I feel that many people have secretly defected to others."

"This is something I cannot tolerate."

"Yun Chao, you have been with me for four years now."

"Four years ago, I personally promoted you to the position of Commander of the Left Guard."

Chen Yunchao said in a deep voice: "Your Highness's grace in promoting me will be unforgettable to me."

"Very good." Li Chengqian nodded: "Now, I have an important matter that I need you to do."

Chen Yunchao seemed to have guessed something and had a look of ready death.

"Please give me your instructions, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian looked at Chen Yunchao's expression carefully, and suddenly laughed after a moment.

He knew what Chen Yunchao was thinking. Although he was a little hesitant, his expression was firm, which meant he had passed the test.

"I want you to conduct a thorough investigation of the Shilue Mansion. All those who are disloyal, commit crimes, and embezzle money will be expelled from the Shilue Mansion."

"These vacant positions will be kept for now and will be filled later."

"Also, call the soldiers from the government to dig out a cellar behind the parade ground. It will be of great use to me."

Chen Yunchao was a little surprised. He thought they were going to take action against King Wei, but he didn't expect it was just these things.

Li Chengqian added: "You can take your time with the internal investigation, but you must hurry up with the cellar. I'll give you five days, and you must complete the cellar within five days."

Internal investigation is an offensive matter. If Chen Yunchao does it, it will inevitably create a gap between him and other commanders, but this is what Li Chengqian wants.

Only if he became a lone minister would Li Chengqian feel at ease to use him.

"Follow the prince's orders."
-
At sunset, Li Chengqian held a grand banquet.

In addition to the table full of delicacies, there were also more than a dozen fist-sized crispy noodles.

Li Chengqian had already asked his servants to call Zhangsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji's residence was located in the southeast corner of Chongrenfang in Chang'an, very close to the Eastern Palace.

Pass through Yeonxi Gate and enter through Jiafu Gate to reach the Eastern Palace.

Upon hearing that it was a banquet hosted by the Crown Prince, Changsun Wuji naturally did not delay and came straight over following the servants who had notified him.

"The prince asked me to come here because of these crispy mountains."

"Your Majesty is very generous to you, even giving you so much in private."

Li Chengqian is the eldest son that Empress Zhangsun loves the most, and Zhangsun Wuji naturally follows his sister's wishes and has always been the most supportive of Li Chengqian.

In the past, he often went to the East Palace without any restrictions.

Zhang Sun Wuji loves gourmet food, and the crispy mountains prepared by the prince are obviously new styles. Some are sprinkled with raisins, some are filled with grape pulp, and some are filled with cherries, milk, and so on.

Changsun Wuji picked up a portion and started tasting it.

"It tastes really good."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "My uncle likes it. I will send it to the mansion every day from now on."

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "Forget it. Your Majesty, there are only a few large pieces of ice in the ice well. It is very important on weekdays. In the previous hot summer, it took a long time to ask him for a piece."

At this point, Changsun Wuji changed his tone and said, "The prince has changed a lot. It seems that your majesty's whip is still effective."

"Prince, please don't blame His Majesty too much. As a father, he must be too heartbroken to see his son act like this."

"You have rewarded so many Sushan this time, which shows that Your Majesty has always valued the Crown Prince."

Changsun Wuji advised that he naturally did not want the conflict between the Crown Prince and His Majesty to become too intense.

"If you do something wrong, you will be punished."

"My father was angry at the time, and I said some irrational things."

"I no longer have any hatred towards my father, but there is one thing that my uncle guessed wrong. These mountains of pastry were not given by my father."

Chang Sun Wuji asked curiously, "Where did the prince get these crispy mountains from?"

Li Chengqian then repeated the story of how the Taoist Qin Ying was killed and how his disciple, in order to save his life, offered the art of melting ice with water.

Zhang Sun Wuji was a little surprised and asked, "Then what are the limitations of this ice melting technique?"

Li Chengqian said: "It's not a real spell, there are no restrictions."

Chang Sun Wuji was shocked: "In this way, can we make a lot of ice?"

Li Chengqian did not give a direct answer, but said, "I have asked people to dig a large cellar in the East Palace and arrange for soldiers to guard it."

"At noon today, I went to my father-in-law's house and discussed the Sushan business."

"My father-in-law's family can open more than ten shops, open a Sushan Ice Shop, and have the East Palace supply ice cubes."

"I will not be involved in the business. Donggong is only responsible for delivering the ice. The profits will be divided into 40% and 60%, with Donggong taking 60%."

Zhang Sun Wuji didn't care about being reserved and said directly: "Prince, I am your uncle. I miss your mother back then."

Li Chengqian interrupted directly, "So I specially invited my uncle to come over for dinner because of this matter."

"It's agreed in advance that my uncle and father-in-law can only have twelve ice shops for now. If others want to join, they must pay a contract fee of 10,000 coins per shop."

Chang'an is neither big nor small.

The reason why Li Chengqian added this restriction was that he was afraid that his father-in-law and uncle would simply take all the benefits.

Even if my father-in-law didn't say it, Changsun Wuji really has this ability.

This would not be conducive for Li Chengqian to unite others.

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji immediately understood what the prince meant.

"Okay, let's do as the prince says."

"If the prince has as much ice as he does, why not send some to the palace?"

Changsun Wuji reminded.

Li Chengqian nodded: "Thank you for your teachings, uncle."

"There is one more thing I would like to ask for your help."

"My father-in-law has been working as a secretary for eight years and has made great contributions."

"Uncle, can you give me a hand?"

At this point, Li Chengqian no longer needed to beat around the bush and spoke directly.

Zhang Sun Wuji was also very direct: "No problem."

(End of this chapter)