My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 86 Li Shimin: Don't bother me with the prince's affairs (asking for monthly tickets)
The next day, Li Shimin simply cancelled the meeting between the emperor and his ministers.

The Jinwu Guards passed on the detailed information, and only then did Li Shimin realize that the prince had gone too far this time.

The victim was not only Wei Zheng, but also Chu Suiliang.

Wei Zheng was so powerful yesterday, and now with the addition of Chu Suiliang, won’t the whole place explode?
"Tell them to stop for three days. I have been feeling unwell for the past few days and need to rest for a few days. Please don't bother me."

"Also, go tell the Crown Prince to stop. He is already this old, and he still wants me to clean up his mess."

"Quickly settle the matter. If this happens again during the next morning court session, I will not protect him."

After giving the order, Li Shimin called the concubines in the harem to go boating and enjoy the beautiful autumn scenery.

Wei Zheng was also planning to say something more about this at today's meeting between the emperor and his ministers.

He even went to see Chu Suiliang in advance to discuss how to deal with the prince.

But he didn't expect that the punch hit nothing and His Majesty ran away.

There is no way out now.

"Your Majesty has asked the Dali Temple to try this case. The Dali Temple's Junior Official Su Tan is the Crown Prince's father-in-law, so he will definitely speak in the Crown Prince's favor. Isn't this tantamount to stealing from the public and the thief crying 'stop thief'?"

"It seems that His Majesty is determined to protect the prince."

Wei Zheng sighed, feeling that the emperor had not been as obedient as before recently.

He somewhat missed his former Majesty, who would listen to any advice.

Chu Suiliang said: "Who says it's not true? I went to check this morning, and the Wannian County government office didn't catch even one bad guy. It's really a joke."

"Lu Yizhong, it seems, has lost his scholarly integrity after being whipped by the crown prince last time. He is so useless and has brought shame to the Fanyang Lu family."

Wei Zheng echoed, "Who says it's not true?"

The two of them complained together and drank silently. With a tacit understanding, no one mentioned going to the East Palace to cause trouble for the prince.

They are ministers of remonstration, not fools.

The prince was like a madman before and almost beat Zhang Xuansu to death.

Recently, the county magistrate Lu Yizhong was also arrested.

These old bones can't withstand a few whippings.

If you fail to gain momentum, you will lose both face and dignity.

But the matter is not over yet. If I can't go myself, I can still encourage others to go.

At noon, Zhang Xuansu and Yu Zhining went to the East Palace to find the prince.

Zhang Xuansu had always been obsessed with compiling "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" while in the Zhan family's mansion.

Yu Zhining was also there.

This is a great opportunity to leave my name in history, and of course I don't want to miss it.

When the events of last night reached the Zhan family's residence, a rumor was heard that it was Zhang Xuansu's inaction in the Eastern Palace that led to the Crown Prince's current lawlessness.

And there is Yu Zhining.

One of them was the Junior Secretary of the Chancellery and the other was the Zuo Shuzi, and they just ate idle meals in the Eastern Palace.

It's terrible to hear such words.

After the two of them discussed it, they decided to do their old job together, which was to give advice and advice.

Li Chengqian saw the two people's angry faces and laughed it off to take the initiative.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Yu, is the news so sensitive?"

"It just came out, you'll know."

"Come and see, this time it's really good stuff."

Before the two of them could say anything, they were pulled by Li Chengqian to look at the wooden board placed on the side of the hall.

Since the prince had said so, the two of them were in no position to speak and could only follow and see.

"Is this paper?"

Zhang Xuansu looked carefully and immediately saw large pieces of paper placed on the wooden board.

It's very white and feels very soft to the touch.

"Could this be bamboo paper? Did Your Highness really make it?"

After hearing what Zhang Xuansu said, Yu Zhining also took over and felt it carefully.

The feel is a little rough and not delicate enough.

I pinched it and found that the shape did not break, which was completely different from the previous bamboo paper.

Yu Zhining couldn't help but touch it, just like a hero seeing a precious sword, and exclaimed: "Is it really bamboo paper? It's incredible that it can be so delicate."

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "How can this be false? Isn't it all in the hands of Lord Yu?"

The two people's attention was immediately shifted to the bamboo paper.

They naturally understood what it meant to be able to make paper from bamboo.

This means that the price of paper on the market will be greatly impacted and will drop sharply, and even ordinary people will be able to afford bamboo paper.

If the price of paper falls, the price of books will also fall accordingly.

As the threshold for reading becomes lower, more and more people will read.

Zhang Xuansu hesitated and asked, "Your Highness, are you going to open a paper shop to sell bamboo paper?"

The profit here is huge. Even if the current market price of paper is reduced by half, there will still be huge profits. Now the market price of paper has never come down.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "No, I plan to put this papermaking method into Tiangong Kaiwu."

"I will not open a paper shop anymore. If anyone is interested in learning how to make bamboo paper, I, the paper craftsman at Donggong, will teach them. There is no need to hide it."

"It is a good thing to enable people all over the world to read and learn to write. Why should I care about those petty gains?"

After hearing this, the two of them stood in awe.

Zhang Xuansu and Yu Zhining were both descendants of famous aristocratic families, but they had great ambitions and lofty aspirations, and they also understood the difficulties that poor students faced in studying.

On this point alone, the prince's behavior is worthy of admiration.

At this point, the two looked at each other, not knowing how to start.

After all, they came here today to cause trouble for the prince, and now they have encountered this incident, so how can they say it out loud?

Zhang Xuansu wanted Yu Zhining to speak, and Yu Zhining also wanted Zhang Xuansu to speak.

After exchanging glances for several times, the two of them finally turned their heads away and said nothing.

Zhang Xuansu suggested that he wanted to visit the paper mill, so Li Chengqian asked the eunuch to lead them there.

"Your Highness, this move is really amazing."

"Mr. Zhang and Mr. Yu were speechless and left obediently."

The eunuch Wen Zhong was flattering the emperor, saying so and thinking so in his heart.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "I just don't want to argue with them. They are all stubborn. After all, they are officials in the Eastern Palace. If they really make trouble, they will be laughed at by others."

"Your Highness is absolutely right."

During lunch, Princess Su Yuer prepared a lot of delicious food, and also expressed her concern about the prince's reputation.

"Those scholars love to use clever rhetoric and are good at making arguments. They can turn black into white and white into black."

"Your Highness, you are letting out some anger by punishing them like this, but they will definitely tarnish your reputation."

Li Chengqian didn't care. As for reputation, did he have a good reputation?

After Your Majesty beheaded his son's wife, thanks to the publicity of King Wei, everyone knew that the prince had poor personal ethics.

Those romantic writers who have nothing to do all day long might gossip about him.

I don’t know how wildly some of the rumors circulating in the market have spread.

However, no one dared to say it openly, as anyone who made irresponsible remarks about the prince would be punished.

"It's okay. I don't count on them."

"No matter how bad your reputation is, do you dare to let it reach my ears?"

"I can't hear it, so I just pretend it doesn't exist."

"If I hear whoever said that, I will take him to the Dali Temple and let my father-in-law punish him."

"It will also let them know whose Tang Dynasty this is."

Li Chengqian is very domineering, and he is the most qualified to say such words. The Five Surnames and Seven Families are very strong, but it depends on who they are.

The strength of a family does not come from one person, but from the unity of the whole.

No matter who they are, they cannot represent the entire family to go against Li Chengqian.

Just like Cui Guangrui, he is now living a very comfortable life in the East Palace.

The Cui family of Qinghe was filled with hatred. They didn't expect that there would be such a traitor in their clan, but they had no way to deal with him.

If the Qinghe Cui family dared to break the law in Chang'an City, Li Chengqian would lead thousands of troops from the Eastern Palace and arrest them all that day.

That's it, no one dared to say no.

Li Shimin compromised with the Five Surnames and Seven Families, not because he was afraid of anyone.

If even the emperor has to compromise with someone, can he still be the emperor?

If he really goes crazy and starts killing people, no one can stop him.

This is just like the fact that the ministers of remonstration are in power in the Tang Dynasty now. That is because Li Shimin listened to the advice. If he had not listened to the advice,

Hey, what else can the ministers of remonstration do?

Is he really going to bang his head against the pillar of the Taiji Hall to express his determination?

Just like now, after Li Shimin fled, Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang could only watch helplessly.

After Zhang Xuansu returned to the Zhan Mansion from the paper mill, he still felt a little unsatisfied.

When he saw the skilled craftsmanship, he knew that bamboo paper was truly made.

"In fact, the prince is a very virtuous person. He may have made some mistakes in the past, but those mistakes are not a big deal if you think about it."

"As for the matter of the Bad People, maybe it's just a misunderstanding. Now that the Dali Temple hasn't closed the case, it's a bit premature to blame the prince."

Zhang Xuansu said with a smile, he was the Junior Secretary of the Eastern Palace.

When the story of the Eastern Palace bamboo paper spreads, scholars all over the world will applaud it, and the prince's reputation will be greatly improved.

Most importantly, his fame will be greater.

After all, it was under his instruction that the prince invented bamboo paper, so he must have made a share of the credit.

Yu Zhining also agreed that no literati could ignore his own reputation.

"Brother Xuansu is free tonight, why don't we go to Pingkangfang and have a drink to celebrate."

"good idea."

The two hit it off immediately.

"Master Zhang, Master Yu."

A figure came over and bowed to greet him.

Zhang Xuansu looked up and found that it was Wang Xuance whom he had recommended.

"Hey, why are you still here? Has the envoy to India not set out yet after such a long time?"

Zhang Xuansu was very surprised. He had been busy compiling Tiangong Kaiwu during this period and had not paid attention to many things in the Eastern Palace.

Therefore, he didn't know Wang Xuance's situation. In his impression, Wang Xuance should have left long ago, so how could he appear in front of him again?

The purpose of the envoys going to India was to treat the prince's leg disease, so the sooner the better.

Wang Xuance smiled bitterly and said, "Master Zhang, I don't know. Since the last time I met with His Highness, there has been no news."

"I have asked several times, but there is no news. It seems that the prince has suddenly forgotten about this matter."

"The Honglu Temple said that His Majesty has handed the matter over to the Crown Prince for full responsibility, and we have to wait for the Crown Prince's arrangements."

"Those envoys from India were nostalgic for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and did not want to leave at all."

"It's been hot in India, but the weather has been getting cooler these days, which is perfect for a trip. I have no other choice, so I came to ask Master Zhang."

Wang Xuance felt very aggrieved. After being transferred here, he lost his post as the magistrate of Rongshui County and was not welcomed by the Eastern Palace, so he almost became a idler.

But he is an ambitious man, how could he be willing to do this?

Only then did they find Zhang Xuansu.

Zhang Xuansu frowned and asked, "What happened when you met the prince before?"

Wang Xuance said, "The prince seemed to dislike Buddhism. He asked me some questions about Buddhism and then let me go."

Zhang Xuansu nodded: "That should be the case. I have never heard that the prince dislikes Buddhism before. This is my fault. I will explain it to you before anything happens."

"I will find a day in the next few days to discuss this matter with the prince, and let you know when I have news."

Wang Xuance bowed earnestly and said, "Thank you, Master Zhang."

Now he finally had hope. If he continued like this, he was worried that the prince would replace him.

If he cannot serve as the leader of the delegation, can he still go back to being a county magistrate?

Zhang Xuansu pondered and said, "The Li family respects Laozi as their ancestor and Taoism is the state religion."

"Since the prince doesn't like Buddhism, you must be prepared. You must not offend the prince, otherwise I can't help you."

Wang Xuance said, "I have been reflecting on my mistakes behind closed doors these days, and I have figured it out."

"Buddhism is a foreign religion, while Taoism is the native religion of the Central Plains. It is also the state religion of the Tang Dynasty, so Taoism should naturally be the main religion."

In the face of power, faith is not worth mentioning. Besides, Wang Xuance is not a Buddhist believer now.

Even though he supported Buddhism in history, it was only to gain a better political position for himself.

Unfortunately, Buddhism is both the cause of our success and our failure.

Li Chengqian deliberately ignored him in order to train him and make him understand that Buddhism was not his political capital.

Li Chengqian himself did not want Buddhism to flourish in the Tang Dynasty.

Buddhism is conducive to governance, but at the same time, if a country is mainly Buddhist, it will lose its original fighting power.

The Tang Dynasty already had a pitifully small population, and even instituted Buddhism to forbid childbirth, which was tantamount to destroying one's own Great Wall.

At this moment, outside Chang'an.

The group looked exhausted.

It was Zhang Sizheng who brought Prince of Qi Li You back.

In fact, King Qi Li You didn't really want to go back to Chang'an. Wouldn't it be comfortable to live a good life in Qizhou?

In Qizhou he was the King of Qi, but when he arrived in Chang'an, he was not even a commoner's son.

How can one be as happy as in Qizhou?

However, facing the prince's trusted guard Zhang Sizheng, Li You did not dare to refuse.

Although his uncle said he wanted to rebel, Li You himself did not have such lofty ambitions. He felt that it was unlikely that his uncle Yin Hongzhi would succeed.

Besides, even if it was a treason, it didn't need to be exposed now.

Now that his father is still alive, he does not have the courage to refuse the prince.

If you anger the prince, you will suffer the consequences.

Therefore, after some hesitation, Li You had no choice but to choose to go back to Chang'an with Zhang Sizheng.

"This place is only thirty miles away from Chang'an, but night is approaching and Chang'an will also be under curfew."

"We can only ask the King of Qi to rest for one night and return to Chang'an tomorrow."

Zhang Sizheng breathed a sigh of relief, he was finally coming back.

The journey was quite smooth, and this time we were able to complete the task assigned by the prince.

I think the days ahead will be better.

"I'm sorry to bother you, General Zhang, along the way."

Li You didn't dare to act like the Prince of Qi in front of Zhang Sizheng, as he was the crown prince's confidant.

In fact, he had some connection with another confidant of the prince. It was a pity that it was Zhang Sizheng who came this time, otherwise he would have known why the prince suddenly asked him to return to Chang'an.

Now they are almost reaching Chang'an City, but Li You is still completely in the dark and has no idea what is going on.

Zhang Sizheng nodded, and then asked a Ti cavalryman to go back to Chang'an to report the news.

ps: The fifth update will be 20,000 words. I ask my brothers to give me some support by giving me monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)