Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 149 Knowing too much is not a good thing
"really?"

Li Shimin frowned and asked.

"I was indeed in Songzhou and delivered news about Tibet to the general."

Zheng Anshi confessed.

Li Shimin's expression became more and more intriguing. "Tell me, what is the East Factory?"

Zheng Anshi found it difficult to speak, he looked up at the others hesitantly.

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Okay, nothing to do today."

"You all go ahead first."

Who can't see what Zheng Anshi means?

They did not stay and got up to leave.

After leaving, Changsun Wuji approached Wei Zheng and asked, "Does Duke Zheng know about this matter of the crown prince?"

"I do not know either."

Wei Zheng shook his head, even a little annoyed, and asked: "When did the prince do it? Why is it so secretive?"

"Your Majesty seems to be very concerned about this matter."

"Duke Zhao, please inform the Crown Prince of this matter first and let him prepare for it."

"Ok."

……

"nobody."

"Go ahead."

Li Shimin was at his ease and changed into a comfortable posture to listen.

Zheng Anshi said: "Your Majesty, I joined the East Factory at the end of the 14th year of Zhenguan."

"The original name of the East Factory was the Eastern Palace Intelligence Factory. It was used to spy on the enemy's military intelligence and win over the enemy's nobles..."

"I was originally a ranger in Chang'an. Later, I was recruited to join the East Factory. I was first responsible for the Tibetan infiltration incident..."

"Later, the Xueyantuo attacked the Turks, and the station chief of Songzhou Station was beheaded for dereliction of duty, so I was transferred here..."

Li Shimin asked, "Are there any people from the East Factory in the country?"

Zheng Anshi was horrified, crawled on the ground, and exclaimed: "No!"

"The East Factory is only responsible for external affairs, never internal affairs."

"To the outside but not the inside?"

Li Shimin muttered to himself and continued to ask: "How many people are there among you?"

"According to what I have learned, there should be more than 2,000 people."

"In other countries?"

"Yes."

Zheng Anshi replied truthfully: "There are people in Tubo, the Western Regions, Xueyantuo, Goryeo, Baekje, Silla, and the Six Kingdoms and Zhenla in the south."

"hiss!"

Li Shimin took a deep breath, "The East Factory is so involved?"

"Two thousand people are enough?"

Zheng Anshi whispered, "That's all I know. I don't know if two thousand is the correct number."

"Did you help in the connection between Tuyuhun and Tubo?" Li Shimin asked.

"Yes, Angsun is the Tibetan general we won over, and then he influenced Angriqiong of the Qiongbao clan."

Li Shimin twirled his beard and thought.

No wonder things with Tuyuhun went so smoothly.

At first he was wondering how the Tibetan nobles could get in touch with Tuyuhun so quickly.

Now everything is clear.

It turns out that it was the East Factory that was secretly working on this.

"Do other people know of your existence?"

"I don't know. We are all keeping it strictly confidential and are not allowed to reveal our identities."

"Why do you want to expose yourself today?"

"There is an order from above. For any critical matters that cannot be reported in time and are waiting for a decision, you can make a prompt decision and reveal your identity. Everything should be based on the overall situation."

Li Shimin asked, "So, you took the prince's token today to show your identity?"

"Yes." Zheng Anshi said, "Your Majesty was in Xiazhou and suddenly suffered a setback. If I do nothing, I will be blamed for it later."

Li Shimin tapped his fingers on the armrest, not making any comment, "How many people have the prince's token?"

"There is only one!"

"Is there really only one?"

Zheng Anshi said quickly, "Indeed, the superiors had instructed us that Tubo could attack at any time, and Songzhou Station might not have time to report it, so they gave us this token to the prince, which could be used at an important moment."

"At that time, I informed the Songzhou Governor's Office as a businessman and did not use the prince's token."

“Today is the first time I use it.”

Li Shimin nodded, "Who is your boss?"

"Zhang Sizheng, Hegan Chengji."

"They are all from the East Palace."

Hearing His Majesty say this, Zheng Anshi was terrified and didn't dare to move.

After a moment, Li Shimin asked, "You said you were a knight of Chang'an?"

"Yes, back in Chang'an, I was uneducated and became a knight-errant. Later, I was fortunate enough to join the East Factory and serve the country."

"What about the rest?"

"He is also a ranger."

Li Shimin suddenly laughed and said, "No wonder the officials reported that there are fewer knights among the people."

"So they all joined the East Factory and worked for the country."

He thought it was magical.

The number of civilian vagrants has decreased and there is no disruption to public order, which means that people's lives have improved.

Li Shimin still thought it was the credit of his own governance.

Who knew he was recruited to be a spy.

"Get up."

Li Shimin said calmly: "Sit down and tell me about the East Factory."

"Young ones don't dare."

"Just sit down if you're told to. You've done something great this time. I'm very happy."

Zheng Anshi sat down nervously, not daring to overstep the mark.

"Why don't you want to talk about these things in front of others?"

"Your Majesty, there is an order from above that the East Factory has to be exposed to the public. Firstly, it is to protect ourselves, and secondly, it needs to be secretive. After all, the fewer people who know about what we do, the better."

"Did you join the East Factory at the end of the 14th year of Zhenguan?"

"Yes."

At the end of the 14th year of Zhenguan.

He suddenly remembered the time when he had a falling out with his eldest son.

It can be inferred that the East Factory should have appeared at that time.

I just didn't expect that the East Factory would be such an organization.

However, he was curious about where the prince got the money.

There are clear records of where the money paid from the inner treasury to the Eastern Palace went and what it was used for. There is no problem at all.

It was definitely not used in the East Factory.

But if you want to infiltrate and plant spies in various countries, it takes a lot. "Keep going...!"

……

"Your Highness!"

Fang Xuanling cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty must be dissuaded."

"Your Majesty wants to personally lead the army and ride on horseback to kill the enemy."

"How can this be possible? If something goes wrong, how can we face the country?"

News came back from the North.

Faced with a sudden attack, Li Shimin had to take action himself.

The court was blown up in an instant.

I know your Majesty is capable. It was you who conquered the Tang Dynasty.

But you still think that you are the former general of Tiance.

How could someone be so disregarding of the country and treat things like this?

Li Xiaogong cursed loudly, "What on earth do Li Jing, Li Ji, Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Jingde and others do for a living?"

"Does Your Majesty need to intervene in such a trivial matter?"

"Bastard thing."

"Your Highness, I will rush to the Northland immediately and ask these bastards whether they are old or not."

"I'm really getting old and bloodless, so I'm going to fight."

Even though Li Xiaogong is younger than some people, he can really point at those generals in the north and curse them.

Li Jing was his deputy general back then, and was often dissed by him.

In other words, when Li Xiaogong was the commander-in-chief, Li Jing was not yet able to stand on his own, and it was he who protected Li Jing and helped him achieve military merits.

No matter how powerful Li Jing is or how old he is, he still has to call Li Xiaogong his superior.

Ma Zhou said: "Your Highness, things have come to this point. His Majesty has already made the decision. Now we need to mobilize food, fodder and equipment to prepare for any emergency."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Prince of Hejian, what the Imperial Censor said is the real matter."

Ma Zhou’s meaning was very simple. Wei Zheng, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Jing and Cheng Zhijie could not be persuaded.

This shows how determined your majesty is.

It is useless to say these things. It is better to consider how to ensure the supply to the north so that Your Majesty can fight the war comfortably, comprehensively and without worries.

This is the duty of a subject.

Is there any chance of redemption for your yelling and cursing?
It's out of reach, okay.

"Left and right servants."

"The minister is here."

Li Chengqian immediately said, "Just do as the Imperial Censor said."

"Immediately allocate sufficient food, fodder and equipment and send them to the north."

"also……."

He looked at Li Xiaogong and said, "The imperial guards must also be prepared to be mobilized at any time. We should not be afraid of ten thousand, but be prepared for the worst."

"As long as the situation in the north changes, we will march out immediately upon receiving your Majesty's military order."

There shouldn't be any major incidents in the North.

There are so many generals, including Li Shimin, the General of Heavenly Strategy.

Not to mention the large number of troops, just the presence of Li Shimin, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, must have been enough to encourage the soldiers to be highly motivated.

Li Chengqian would not mobilize the imperial guards.

But we should be prepared and wait for Li Shimin's order.

"I understand."

After the meeting, Li Chengqian returned to the back hall.

Zhang Sizheng and Hegan Chengji were both there.

"Zheng Anshi has exposed his identity in front of Your Majesty by holding my Prince's token."

Li Chengqian said: "You should go to the north immediately and answer whatever His Majesty asks you. Don't hide anything."

He had already prepared himself mentally for the East Factory to be exposed.

The purpose is to gather intelligence for the country, but sometimes, due to the limitations of confidentiality, important matters are delayed.

Since it was revealed in front of Li Shimin.

He didn't care, instead he felt relieved.

Li Shimin knew the existence of the East Factory, which was beneficial to the East Factory's work. As long as everyone knew that there was such a mysterious organization, it would be much easier for them to show their name in the future.

After all, being endorsed by the crown prince and being endorsed by Li Shimin are two completely different concepts.

He was not too worried that Li Shimin would abolish the East Factory.

After knowing the inside story of the East Factory, I'm afraid Li Shimin will focus more on using it.

I have been operating for so long that intelligence systems have been established in various countries.

If Li Shimin didn't use it, then he would have a problem with his brain.

After the two of them left quickly, Li Chengqian stroked the hair of the black and white general and chuckled from time to time.

Only then did Chang Sun Chong know about the existence of the East Factory.

No wonder I always avoided him before.

"I'm not hiding this from you. I'm protecting you."

“Sometimes, knowing more is not a good thing.”

Li Chengqian said calmly.

If Chang Sun Chong knew, he would not report it.

What do you think Li Shimin would think?
What does he think of Changsun Wuji?
Your son knows it all, but you don’t?
He must be hiding it from me on purpose.

That would be a huge disaster.

Northland.

Li Shimin received accurate information that the defeated army was entering the trap he had set.

"According to their marching route, they will arrive tomorrow. Xue Wanjun has already led 5,000 elite cavalry to go around and they will probably arrive tomorrow morning."

"Troops from Dai, Shuo, Liang and other places are also rushing here."

Li Ji said: "We can't escape this sudden defeat even if we have wings."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Then prepare for the battle tomorrow. Don't wait for him to make a move. Let's take the initiative to attack."

"I received a letter from Chang'an saying that the Imperial Guards are ready. Do I need the Imperial Guards to fight a war?"

"The Imperial Guards don't move."

"Yes!"

Just then, the eunuch came to report that Zhang Sizheng and Hegan Chengji wanted to see him.

Li Shimin couldn't help but smile.

"Make them wait."

"Yes."

After some discussion, Li Shimin let everyone leave and then summoned Zhang Sizheng and the other man.

"See Your Majesty!"

"I didn't expect you to be the commander of the East Factory."

Li Shimin's light words frightened the two men so much that they lay prostrate and trembled.

"The prince asked you to come?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about the whole story of the East Factory."

(End of this chapter)