My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 64 Li Shimin: The Crown Prince is like me
"Three hundred Tiqi!"

"What does the King of Wei want to do? Why does he keep so many Tiqi?!"

"If I remember correctly, the Eastern Palace doesn't even have 200 war horses."

"Where did the King of Wei get so many war horses?"

"I trust him so much."

Li Shimin was very angry and called him King of Wei.

Helan Chushi's murder was nothing, especially since the people he killed were from the Lu family of Fanyang.

These people from the Five Surnames and Seven Families love to stir up trouble and go against him the most.

As for Helan Chushi, Hou Junji's son-in-law, he should be punished.

The prince asked someone to bring back Helan Chushi, and Li Shimin didn't think it was a big deal.

After all, he is the prince's confidant, so he has to take responsibility.

Even if it is a cover-up, that will be a matter for later.

But the three hundred imperial guardsmen led by the King of Wei made Li Shimin extremely furious.

When he was the King of Qin, he fought wars in the east and west, in the south and the north for the Tang Dynasty and made great contributions, but there were only more than a hundred war horses in the Qin Palace.

Prices in the Tang Dynasty were low, but war horses were not cheap.

If the quality is poor, the price will start from three thousand coins, and if it is slightly better, it will be four to five thousand coins.

For example, the famous horses from the Western Regions are never less than ten thousand coins.

That night-lighting jade lion might not be bought even with tens of thousands of coins.

In addition, raising horses is also a huge expense. War horses do not only eat grass, but also concentrated feed. The daily needs of a horse are higher than the cost of an ordinary family of several people.

Zhang Ananda replied hesitantly: "The war horses of the King of Wei should be mostly gifts from Your Majesty."

Li Shimin's eyes widened when he heard this: "Nonsense! When have I ever rewarded the King of Wei with so many war horses?"

Zhang Ananda replied, “When the King of Wei opened his palace, there were thirty war horses in the palace.”

Li Shimin nodded. He knew about this. According to the rules he set, every prince would be rewarded with thirty war horses when he established his own government.

"That was only thirty horses, but now there are three hundred."

Zhang Ananda continued, "In the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, Your Majesty went hunting in autumn. The King of Wei shot a deer, and Your Majesty gave him twenty horses as a reward."

"In August of the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, General Hou pacified Gaochang and obtained 4,300 horses. The King of Wei wrote a poem to celebrate the victory. Your Majesty was very pleased and gave him 50 horses."

"December, the 14th year of Zhenguan"

"Birthday of King Wei in the 15th year of Zhenguan"

"Winter Hunting in the 15th Year of Zhenguan"

"In February of this year, the King of Wei presented the Land of the Kingdom of Kuo to Your Majesty, who gave him 20 horses as a reward."

Fortunately, Zhang Ananda had a good memory, so he told them all.

Although it is not all, it basically explains the current situation.

Li Shimin was a little dazed when he heard this, and subconsciously said, "Qingque's three hundred war horses were actually a reward from me."

Zhang Ananda smiled bitterly and said, "Everyone said that Your Majesty favored the King of Wei, so the ministers advised him against it and the Prince became suspicious."

How can the word "preference" be so simple?

The overstepping of authority is not limited to these three hundred war horses.

"I have wrongly blamed Qingque."

Zhang Ananda was about to say something but stopped himself. When the Jinwu Guard reported, he also reported what the prince had said to the King of Wei at that time.

Regarding the old events of Xuanwu Gate, Zhang Ananda was now worried that His Majesty would be too angry and hurt the dragon's body, so he thought about it and decided not to say anything.

After Li Shimin understood the situation, his anger towards King Wei dissipated a lot, and he also changed his address from King Wei to Qingque.

"Qingque is too rude. The Crown Prince is his brother. What is his intention in bringing three hundred Ti cavalrymen with him?"

"Won't this hurt the brotherhood?" "Call Qingque to the palace, I want to give him a good scolding."

Li Shimin did this to dispel the prince's doubts. His relationship with the prince had just improved recently, and he did not want to create conflicts and confrontations again.

After all, in terms of personal feelings, Li Shimin still prefers Qingque more.

Zhang Ananda had no choice but to say, "It is not convenient for the King of Wei to come now."

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Why?"

Zhang Anan said: "The King of Wei vomited blood and fell off his horse. He should be treated in the palace now."

Li Shimin was startled and asked quickly, "Did the prince hit Qingque?"

Zhang Ananda shook his head and said, "It's not about action, it's about words."

"The Crown Prince said that the King of Wei has three hundred cavalrymen, intending to imitate your Majesty's incident at Xuanwu Gate. However, the King of Jin is not in Chang'an, so the King of Wei cannot succeed."

"When the King of Wei heard this, he was so angry that he vomited blood and fell off his horse."

When Li Shimin heard this, he was shocked and angry, but he still cared about King Wei first.

"Has the imperial physician gone yet?"

"There is a doctor in the Prince of Wei's palace, so it should be fine."

Li Shimin ordered: "Come here, immediately order the imperial physician on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau to go to the Prince of Wei's palace to treat him."

"According to the order."

After making the arrangements, Li Shimin became conflicted again.

Zhang Ananda had said before that the King of Wei was performing a military exercise, so he brought three hundred Ti cavalrymen with him.

This reason was far-fetched, so Li Shimin naturally didn't believe it. However, Li Shimin thought that Qingque was probably angry about the tragic death of his friend, so he raised an army and wanted to seek justice for his friend.

In Li Shimin's mind, this is more in line with Qingque's personality.

"Ananda, do you think the prince will misunderstand Qingque too much because of this incident?"

Li Shimin did not take the prince's words too seriously, but he was secretly a little angry.

The Xuanwu Gate Incident is a taboo, but the prince has brought it up again and again, showing no regard for my face at all.

Zhang Ananda didn't know how to answer.

How could this be a misunderstanding?

But since His Majesty has made the final decision on the matter, it is difficult for him to refute it.

He considered and said, "The prince must be suspicious of the king of Wei. Your Majesty, why don't you take back some of the war horses awarded to the king of Wei and give them to the prince instead?"

"This will not only show your majesty's respect for the prince, but also reduce the prince's misunderstanding and suspicion."

Zhang Ananda's proposal was obviously fair.

In terms of status, the crown prince is the monarch and the King of Wei is the minister. How could a minister have more war horses than the crown prince?

Li Shimin hesitated and said, "Qingque is now ill in bed, how can I give his horse to the prince?"

Zhang Ananda was a eunuch, not a minister of remonstration, so he would naturally not speak against Your Majesty.

He thought of another idea and said, "Your Majesty can reward the Crown Prince with a hundred war horses. Then the war horses of the Eastern Palace will be almost the same as those of the King of Wei. In this way, the Crown Prince will not blame Your Majesty in his heart."

Li Shimin hesitated a little, but he couldn't think of any other good ideas, so he could only agree: "Let's do this. Give the prince a hundred war horses to comfort him."

If there was no other solution, Li Shimin actually didn't want the Eastern Palace to have too many war horses.

The prince is particularly good at riding and shooting. A few hundred cavalrymen under the leadership of the prince may be as powerful as several thousand soldiers.

Li Shimin himself was a general who led troops into battle back then, so he certainly understood the pros and cons involved.

The prince said that the King of Wei intended to follow his example and do the Xuanwu Gate incident again. However, Li Shimin felt that it was more likely that the prince would follow his example.

Qingque is not as brave as the prince, and he associates with scholars and literati, so there is no possibility that he would rebel.

On the other hand, the prince frequently displayed his martial arts, made friends with military generals, and stretched out his hands for military power.

This is so similar to myself back then!
(End of this chapter)