Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 118: The Crown Prince is the Best Person to Stop the Emperor's Eastern Expedition (Part )
Chang'an, Taiji Hall, Zhaode Palace.

Li Anyan placed the letter in front of Li Chengqian, then suppressed his excitement and said, "Your Highness, this is a reply from Prime Minister Fang."

"I guess it's just some quiet letters of thanks at most." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "But this letter from Prime Minister Fang is saying that he is neutral between me and Qingque."

"Yes!" Li Anyan kept nodding seriously.

Now that Fang Xuanling is no longer standing against them, the pressure on the Eastern Palace is suddenly much less.

"But it's just neutrality. Once necessary, the Fang family will still stand firmly on Qingque's side." Li Chengqian smiled lightly. Not long ago, he had investigated Bian Ji's whereabouts intentionally or unintentionally.

Gao Yang, Bian Ji.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but shake his head. If it weren't for Bian Ji, Fang Yiai might really be worth winning over.

But with Gao Yang, the Fang family would be in internal turmoil, and if things go wrong, they might even be coerced into standing against Li Chengqian.

The most crucial thing is the relationship between Li Tai and Fang Yiai, or rather, the relationship between Li Tai and Fang Xuanling, which is not so easy to be severed.

"It's hard to say. The current Prime Minister Fang wants to paralyze me, and then suddenly take action at the critical moment." Li Chengqian couldn't help but sneer. Li Chengqian knew best what kind of person Fang Xuanling was.

Now it is only because the relationship between Li Chengqian and the emperor has eased that he remains neutral.

If the emperor's expedition to Liaodong fails in the future, returning to the court will inevitably weaken Li Chengqian's power.

The conflict between the two will arise again.

At that time, the emperor would support another person to fight against Li Chengqian. This person could be Li Tai or someone else.

Therefore, before that, Li Tai must be eliminated first, and then Fang Yiai must be connected through Li Tai. In this way, regardless of whether Fang Xuanling can be implicated or not, Fang Xuanling's status in the emperor's heart will be greatly reduced.

After the Goguryeo War, no matter how the emperor tried to balance things, Fang Xuanling's role would be greatly reduced.

That's enough.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. What happened to that Qianniuwei guy?" Li Chengqian said as he stood up and walked out of the hall.

……

Outside the hall, the setting sun was shining on Luoyang, its afterglow filling the ground.

"I don't know. There is no news sent by Qianniu Guard." Li Anyan followed Li Chengqian and shook his head slightly.

"I understand." Li Chengqian nodded slightly. He already understood that it was not that there was no news from Qianniu Guards, but that everything was in active progress.

Li Chengqian and the emperor will be informed only when there is a result.

"Then what should we do?" Li Anyan looked at Li Chengqian seriously.

Li Chengqian paused for a moment and said, "Tell the Dali Temple that all those arrested during this period will be dealt with severely and swiftly. Those who deserve beheading will be beheaded, and those who deserve exile will be exiled to the Western Regions. Now that autumn has arrived, it's time to stir up some blood and let them fight each other."

Those people are nothing more than an alliance between different forces. Once their interests are touched, they will fight against each other.

Standing on the steps of Zhaode Hall, Li Chengqian looked towards the direction of Menxia Province.

Those who oppose the emperor's eastern expedition are the emperor's biggest enemies at the moment. It is because of their existence that the emperor has softened his attitude towards Li Chengqian.

Speaking of which, Li Chengqian was really grateful to them.

How to maximize the utilization value of such a group of people is what Li Chengqian really needs to handle with caution.

Thinking of this, a calculating sneer inexplicably appeared on Li Chengqian's lips, but it disappeared completely in an instant.

"Alright." Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Anyan, waved his hand and said, "Let's end our duty early today. I also want to go back and see the Crown Princess. She is already eight months pregnant and will give birth in two months."

"Yes!" Li Anyan looked serious.

If the Crown Princess can give birth to another grandson, the Eastern Palace will be more stable.

……

To the west of Luoyang City, on the north side of Luoshen Island, a black-sailed boat was slowly moving upstream on the Luo River as the boatman rowed vigorously.

The boatman stood at the stern, rowing the boat silently while looking vigilantly downstream.

Now that autumn had arrived and northwest winds were common, fewer boats were heading upstream on the Luo River. If any boat had been following them, it would have been immediately discovered. Inside the cabin, two figures sat opposite each other. On the middle table lay a pot of wine, two wine glasses, and a few dishes of snacks.

A noble young man in a purple robe had his back to the boatman and his face could not be seen clearly.

The man opposite was sitting in the shadows, but the red-tasseled sword on his left hand completely exposed his identity.

The black-sailed boat turned slightly, and in an instant, Qi Zhixuan's face was completely exposed from the shadows.

In a blink of an eye, he returned to the darkness again, but this time, even in the darkness, his face was still clear.

"Is there any news about my people in Qianniu Prison?" Qi Zhixuan stared at the purple-clothed young man opposite him, with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"No." The purple-robed young man raised his wine glass and said, "The Zuotun Guard sent a general who had made a mistake to the Qianniu Prison. He was only questioned briefly when he was spotted by the Qianniu Guards and then thoroughly investigated."

"I hope it didn't implicate you." Qi Zhixuan's expression suddenly became serious.

"No." The purple-robed young man shook his head and said, "It was just normal official business. There's nothing special going on, and no one knows I'm behind it."

"That's good." Qi Zhixuan breathed a long sigh of relief. The old friend in front of him was their biggest partner in Chang'an City. If something happened to him, that would be the biggest loss.

After a moment of hesitation, Qi Zhixuan raised his head and said, "If that's the case, then it means my people are either still silent or are very likely dead."

"Dead?" The young man in purple looked up in surprise.

"He's a death warrior. His parents, wife, children, and brothers all serve under my command. He won't speak unless I kill him." Qi Zhixuan nodded firmly and said, "A death warrior? If he finds an opportunity, he'll commit suicide. Do you think the Qianniu Guards can get anything out of him?"

The young man in purple looked surprised, then nodded in appreciation.

"So, although they looted a lot in Chang'an this time, only one or two of our families were actually affected." Qi Zhixuan looked up at the young man in purple with worry in his eyes.

"Don't worry, there are many families involved. Although we are among them, no one dares to investigate casually." The young man in purple spoke calmly, but confidently.

"That's good." Qi Zhixuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"By the way, what happened to you in Chang'an this time? Why did you cause such a big disturbance?" the young man in purple couldn't help asking.

"You underestimated the prince." Qi Zhixuan smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "This time in Chang'an, I finally met Lu Hu's widow, and it just so happened that the prince also ran into her. Moreover, Lu Hu's widow Zheng and Prince Liangti are cousins.

So, a few days later, Lu Hu's widow entered the palace, and soon after, there were rumors that the Crown Prince wanted to collect Lu Hu's belongings. I was worried that the secret of Lu Hu's belongings would be discovered by the Crown Prince, so I took the initiative to burn them. Who would have thought that it was all a trap set by the Crown Prince.

Looking at Qi Zhixuan, who was full of regret, the purple-robed young man frowned and asked, "Are there any secrets in those things?"

"There should be." Qi Zhixuan's words surprised the purple-robed youth. He immediately asked, "Didn't they say that those relics have been searched more than once? Even the Crown Prince himself looked at them and found nothing. How could there be any secrets?"

"Of course there are some, but Lu Hu hid it very deep, and ordinary people have no idea where he hid it. So to prevent people from finding it, I wanted to burn it." Qi Zhixuan shook his head and said, "Perhaps I should just ignore it and let it be gradually forgotten."

"The Crown Prince wouldn't have forgotten. Otherwise, he wouldn't have devised a plan after meeting Lu Hu's widow, trying to scare the crap out of you. Who would have thought he'd actually reveal you?" The purple-robed youth shook his head and asked, "Do you know what the secret is?"

Qi Zhixuan sighed and said, "Lu Hu was born into the Fanyang Lu family. He was very bold and cautious, so he discovered some things very early. That Korean maid was actually sent by us in disguise to silence him. Similarly, we also hope to bring him aboard our ship in the future."

"Prince, you have targeted the prince." The purple-clothed young man's words directly revealed Qi Zhixuan's true thoughts.

Qi Zhixuan forced a smile.

If you want to stop the emperor from marching east, the prince is the best candidate.

This was also the reason why he appeared at Zheng Mansion that day and met the prince, but unfortunately, in the blink of an eye, the two sides became enemies.

"What are you going to do?" the young man in purple asked directly.

"We're afraid we won't be able to do anything about Lu Hu's widow for now, but judging by the current situation, the Crown Prince will probably support the Emperor's Eastern Expedition." Qi Zhixuan said coldly, "If that's the case, then let the Tang Dynasty replace its Crown Prince."

The young man in purple looked at Qi Zhixuan as if he were a fool. Although the battle for the crown prince seemed fierce, it was actually under the control of the emperor. If they really got involved, they might not even know how they died.

"Don't worry, we have our own way, you don't have to worry." Qi Zhixuan pulled out a box from behind him and opened it directly. Inside was countless copper coins.

"One thousand strings of cash is not much. Please ask Brother Chai to pass it to King Wei and say that it is a gift from Qi Zhixuan, a scholar from Dingzhou, Hebei. He heard that he was compiling the Book of the Later Han, so he specially sent it to help." Qi Zhixuan stared at the opposite side closely.

The purple-robed youth, Chai Lingwu, a military officer in the Prince of Wei's palace, looked deeply at Qi Zhixuan and nodded, "Okay."

(End of this chapter)