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

Chapter 143: The smell of Xuanwu Gate is getting stronger (Part )
Under the night sky, the palace is quiet.

The emperor sat on the imperial sedan chair and slowly headed towards Chengtian Gate.

Li Chengqian followed on the left, looking pensive.

Li Tai followed behind Li Chengqian with a serious expression.

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling followed on the other side. Changsun Wuji, who was in the lead, had an uncontrollable excitement in his eyes.

The air was cool, but Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel heavy in his heart.

How many people are behind Qi Zhixuan?

The only person Li Chengqian could infer now was Chai Lingwu.

As for Fang Xuanling, perhaps he had a certain relationship with Qi Zhixuan, but he was definitely not in the same group as them.

This can be seen from the incident with Lu Hu. Fang Xuanling threw those Korean maids out as scapegoats, which shows that he was not worried that those people would be linked to him.

Fang Xuanling may know something, but he is not the core figure of that circle.

The emperor might even know about Fang Xuanling's contacts with those people.

……

Before they knew it, the group had arrived at Chengtian Gate.

Outside the palace, in the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month of the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, the crackling sound of firecrackers continued.

The emperor suddenly raised his hand and the imperial carriage stopped immediately.

The emperor pressed his hands slightly, and the imperial sedan chair quickly landed.

Li Shimin turned his head, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and asked, "Wuji, what do you think is behind this?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid many people are unaware of this." Changsun Wuji bowed and said, "Over the years, the aristocratic families of Hebei have traded with Goguryeo through Yingzhou, reaping rich rewards. However, beyond this existing trade, there are also large populations, tea, porcelain, and even salt and iron trades, which are even more lucrative."

"The Tang Dynasty prohibits the trade of salt and iron." The emperor's eyes turned cold.

He wanted to conquer Liaodong and Goguryeo, so how could he allow his employees to secretly sell salt and iron to Goguryeo?

"Since the Qi family is in trouble this time, we can take advantage of the situation to completely cut off this road." Changsun Wuji's face was full of ferocity.

"It can't be cut off." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "I will send people to strictly check the main roads that are normally used. They can only take the small roads. There are many such small roads. If one is cut off, there are still other ones. They can always trade with Goryeo. And the more such things happen, the higher the price will be."

A sneer appeared on the emperor's face. He knew these things better than anyone else.

"So, I'm thinking about replacing the Qi family with another aristocratic family." Li Shimin suddenly turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, which family do you think would be better to replace the Qi family?"

Li Chengqian's pupils widened instantly, but he quickly reacted and thought for a moment, "Father, what about the Gao family? The Bohai Gao family is originally from Hebei, so it would be much easier for them to get involved in this matter."

The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, then turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Wuji, what do you think?"

"I think so." Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "The Gao family has actually been involved in this kind of thing before, but they've only ever been involved in minor incidents. Now it's just right to have them replace the Qi family. By doing so, we can also find out who these people are and explore the Liaodong region to prepare for the future."

Later, what later? It is naturally when the emperor attacks Liaodong in the future.

The Gao family can do a lot of things by replacing the Qi family.

Fang Xuanling stood behind Changsun Wuji and glanced lightly at Li Chengqian.

He knew that the emperor actually wanted to see whether the prince would choose the Su and Zheng families to replace the Qi family.

The Su family and the Zheng family both have sufficient roots in Hebei, so they can do these things.

But the prince recommended the Gao family.

The Gao family is not only a prominent family in Hebei, but even Gao Shilian, the Duke of Shen, is the current Shangshu You Pushe, the uncle of the emperor and Zhangsun Wuji.

The prince is now doing a big favor.

Although Gao Shilian is not here, the prince's words will definitely reach Gao Shilian's ears.

Fang Xuanling confirmed this.

Prince, Prince, he is becoming more and more like the prince that the emperor imagined.

Fang Xuanling glanced at Li Tai and couldn't help but feel relieved.

Fortunately, fortunately, the relationship between the Fang family and King Wei has been severed for a long time.

……

"So be it." The emperor concluded directly, then said, "This matter is not that easy. Everything behind this must be uncovered. Wuji, you will be responsible."

"I obey your order!" Changsun Wuji bowed slightly.

At this time, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Fang Xuanling and others all looked at Changsun Wuji.

They all knew that with Changsun Wuji's character, once he caught something, he would definitely tear off a piece of flesh.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, turned around, and looked at Li Tai: "Qingque!"

"Father!" Li Tai suddenly came back to his senses and bowed.

The emperor's gaze swept from Li Tai to Chang'an City at Chengtian Gate. He said calmly, "Qingque, do you know you are wrong?"

"I know I was wrong." Li Tai's cheek twitched slightly, and then he knelt down and said with his head lowered, "I was wrong."

"Hmm!" The emperor looked up and said, "The fact that an assassination attempt could have occurred shows that you have been too ostentatious in your daily behavior. After you return today, until you accompany me from the capital to Luoyang in March, you should stay in your residence and reflect calmly. Don't let me down further."

"Yes!" Li Tai kowtowed in front of everyone.

"Get up." The emperor glanced at Li Tai, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Prince, what do you think about what happened today?"

"Just the tip of the iceberg." Li Chengqian cupped his hands and said seriously, "People from Hebei should treat Chang'an like their own family, but they treat it too much like their own family."

"Yes!" Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, both Dou Jiande and Li Jiancheng had very deep ties with Hebei.

It was precisely because of this that the emperor had been suppressing Hebei since he ascended the throne, especially in terms of taxes. Hebei and Jiangnan had always been the most heavily taxed areas in the entire Tang Dynasty.

In addition, there were few Hebei soldiers who could take Hebei, which greatly compressed the upward channels for Hebei people...

Amidst all these factors, the backlash from people in Hebei was the most severe.

"Let's do this." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Let Chang He keep you informed about this matter. If you find out anything, please inform Chang He as well. These people must be completely rooted out and destroyed."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed seriously.

These people are the emperor's enemies and also his enemies.

Especially those people who come up with some kind of descendant of Jiancheng from time to time, which is really infuriating.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight. We have a grand court tomorrow, so go back and get some rest." The emperor raised his hand, and everyone immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

The air is cool under the night sky.

The smell of firecrackers permeated every corner of Chang'an Avenue.

Even though the curfew in Chang'an was lifted during the first month of the lunar year, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets of Chang'an after midnight.

Li Tai rode his horse slowly back to the gate of Prince Wei's mansion.

The Jinwu Guards escorting from all sides immediately stood on both sides of the mansion gate and did not leave.

Li Tai sat on his horse, looking at these people with an indifferent expression. He raised his eyes and looked towards the direction of the imperial palace. The anger in his heart was almost impossible to suppress.

"Gee!" Li Tai urged his horse slightly, and the next moment, he had entered the Prince of Wei's mansion.

After dismounting, Li Tai instructed his steward, "Prepare some hot soup and dry biscuits for the brothers outside."

"Yes!" The butler accepted the order and quickly turned around and left.

Li Tai walked towards the central hall, and Yan Wan and Chai Lingwu rushed out immediately.

"Why did the prince come back so late?" Yan Wan walked quickly to Li Tai, grabbed his arm, and looked him up and down, fearing that there was something wrong with Li Tai.

"I'm fine." Li Tai shook his head slightly and said to Yan Wan with a gentle expression: "Princess, please go back to the backyard and rest first. I'll come over after I talk to my cousin."

"Yes!" Yan Wan breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, Li Tai finally returned home.

After Yan Wan left, Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu, who immediately stepped forward and bowed, "Your Highness!"

Li Tai stood in the yard, looking around, but there was no one in his sight.

"Cousin, I'm under house arrest." Li Tai finally looked at Chai Lingwu, his eyes deep and dark as he said, "From today until my father's eastern tour, I'm not allowed to leave the palace."

"Your Highness..."

"I saw that man again today, in Qianniu Prison." After a brief pause, Li Tai leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Cousin, he said he knew you!"

"Your Highness, I am not familiar with him. I only accepted one thousand strings of cash from him because he is the son of the governor of Guangzhou. I have nothing else." Chai Lingwu looked extremely determined.

"I hope he never speaks." Li Tai sneered and said, "Even though my father has sent people to Guangzhou and Dingzhou to confiscate his three clans, he still refuses to speak. Cousin, your methods are very good. I am really curious, who on earth are you?"

"Your Highness has misunderstood. I really have nothing to do with him." Chai Lingwu smiled bitterly, then bowed and said, "I lost my mother when I was young and my father when I was a teenager. I have lived in Chang'an for many years. I only visited Luoyang occasionally. I have never been to other places. Those people may have something behind the scenes, but it has nothing to do with me."

"Now they have it. Father has labeled them as traitors who are trying to instigate internal strife within the royal family and disrupt the world. Cousin, if anything they do involves you or me... you must be prepared." Li Tai's expression turned cold.

"Your Highness, they have nothing to do with me." Chai Lingwu bowed and said calmly, "Even if there is anything, what Your Majesty said is just a fabrication to stir up internal strife within the royal family."

The emperor has said that this matter was the fault of outsiders and has nothing to do with the royal family. So even if there is any evidence later, it is all false.

"Cousin, you still don't understand. I've been confined for three months." Li Tai shook his head and said, "You know what I'm talking about."

The house arrest showed that the emperor had saved Li Tai, but at the same time, he was completely disappointed in him.

"So, cousin, what should I do?" Li Tai clenched his fists tightly.

Chai Lingwu fell silent for a long time before he slowly said, "Wait, Your Highness, now you have no choice but to wait."

Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu and didn't finish his words.

"The Crown Prince currently holds the upper hand in everything. It won't be easy to bring him down. So, why don't we switch gears and praise him?" Chai Lingwu's eyes grew fierce, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke, "The tactic of praising and killing is the most blatant conspiracy, and even the Crown Prince can't avoid it. We just need to praise the Crown Prince until he's inflated, and then have him argue with Your Majesty. This will make Your Majesty dislike him again, and then Your Highness's chance will come again."

Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu, his breathing gradually calmed down, and he nodded and said, "Cousin, you still have a solution."

"Your Highness, thank you for the compliment." Chai Lingwu breathed a sigh of relief.

"How's the Comprehensive Geography?" Li Tai suddenly asked in another direction.

"The imperial examination will be completed around February." Chai Lingwu bowed.

"Let's wait until the imperial examination is over in March." Li Tai shook his head calmly.

"Yes!"

……

In the night wind, Chai Lingwu slowly walked towards Princess Baling's mansion.

Sitting on the horse, Chai Lingwu couldn't help but recall Li Tai's previous words. He could feel that Li Tai no longer trusted him as much.

But Chai Lingwu had no choice, he had to continue helping Li Tai.

Because Li Tai knew too much.

He had a feeling that Li Tai was gradually losing control.

Chai Lingwu felt very familiar with that smell.

He had to find a way to get off the boat, but at the same time, he needed to push Li Tai forward hard.

Fall into the abyss.

(End of this chapter)