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

Chapter 16: The Emperor's Fear of the Tyranny of the Eastern Palace Team

The eastern sky was filled with a pale glow.

Li Chengqian stood in the Lizheng Hall, letting the maids on either side help him take care of his dragon robe. At the same time, he looked at Li Anyan and asked, "He hasn't been active these days, has he?"

"No, guard Zhang Sizheng has been arranged to take turns these days, and there are always people from our side watching him every time." Li Anyan looked at the maid beside Li Chengqian with vigilance.

In Lizheng Palace, apart from him and the prince, there were only these two people left.

"Don't worry, they were brought from the Su family by the Crown Princess. You can trust them." Li Chengqian nodded slightly, looking relaxed.

"Yes!" Li Anyan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The lineage of the Crown Princess Su is firmly bound to the Crown Prince, and they prosper and suffer together.

Unlike the Crown Princess's uncle, the Royal Guard Su Xu, who actually served as the Sima of the Prince of Wei's Palace and even presided over the revision of the "Guo Di Zhi", he stabbed the Crown Prince in the back during the Crown Prince's illness.

Li Anyan subconsciously looked up and saw Li Chengqian's half-smile. Li Anyan smiled awkwardly.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Anyan deeply. Li Chengqian had his own plans regarding the matter of the imperial concubine Su Xu, and had even begun to lay out the plan. However, it was still early, so there was no rush.

"Has the matter with Hegan Chengji been handled properly?" Li Chengqian asked lightly.

Li Anyan's expression grew solemn, and he saluted, saying, "It's all been dealt with. It just depends on who will get involved."

Hegan Chengji had actually been frozen to death several days ago, but Li Chengqian had already pretended that he was not dead yet, just to see who would put force on Hegan Chengji. If the time came, Li Chengqian would fight back and that person would be the one to die.

"Today the Eastern Palace is in session and all officials are gathered. This is a rare opportunity to pass on information. Your attention and mine will be diverted from him. This is the best time for him to contact the outside world." Li Chengqian's eyes grew cold.

Zhang Sizheng is a guard of the Eastern Palace. He cannot leave the Eastern Palace unless he is on leave.

Li Chengqian's appearance in Taiji Hall three days ago surprised the court.

People outside are most eager to know the true situation of Li Chengqian, so Zhang Sizheng must send out the most authentic news in the shortest time possible.

In this way, it would be a good opportunity for Li Chengqian to see who is hiding behind Zhang Sizheng.

"He has been in the Eastern Palace for several years and has always been loyal to me. If no special person said something, he would never betray me. Moreover, he is not the only one like him in the Eastern Palace. That person is the one who is truly responsible for transmitting messages." Li Chengqian looked up at Li Anyan.

Li Anyan bowed solemnly and said, "Yes!"

"When the shift is almost over, I will give everyone a lot of silk. After that, you will send your trusted people to deliver it to everyone's home, and then send people to ambush at the gate of Pingkangfang. I want to see who among the officials of the Eastern Palace will go to Pingkangfang to meet guests today and keep a close eye on their guests. I want to know who those people are." Li Chengqian's face was grim.

Li Anyan bowed slightly. He pondered and wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say it.

The prince's plan seemed quite ridiculous.

How did the prince know those people? He would definitely go to Pingkangfang to meet them tonight.

Why is the prince so sure that they will trade information in Pingkangfang tonight?

However, Li Anyan didn't have many other ideas, he just wanted to find out the shortcomings and fill them in.

Li Chengqian raised his head, listened to the sounds coming from the outer courtyard, and said softly, "Okay, they are all here."

……

In the Chongde Hall, dozens of officials in red and purple stood solemnly, bowing their heads respectfully.

Li Chengqian walked slowly in from the side hall, then calmly walked to the main couch in the center and sat down.

As the ministers lowered their heads, the corners of their eyes involuntarily fell on Li Chengqian's legs.

Although Li Chengqian's steps were slow, even slower than when he was in Taiji Hall, it was obvious that he was not lame.

In the past few days, there has been a lot of speculation in Chang'an City about the prince's physical condition.

There is even a rumor that the prince uses mechanical tricks to appear normal while walking.

Originally this rumor was widely spread, but then a word came out from Wei Zheng's mansion: if there really was such a mechanism, it would be a good thing for the people of the world, but who could make it?

All the officials were stunned, but then they looked for people to make it, but no one could make it.

Even Princess Wei's uncle, the Junior Architect Yan Liben, failed after trying.

The ministers looked at Li Chengqian's legs. Although the rumor had died down because no one could create that kind of mechanism, many of the drawbacks of the rumor had been noted. It would have been extremely inconvenient for the Crown Prince to sit or lie down...

Li Chengqian calmly sat down. Under his robe, the prince's black leather Liuhe boots could be clearly seen...

Sit or lie down naturally, with a solemn expression.

There is no trace of any mechanism.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is here to pay his respects." Yu Zhining, Li Huaiyan and others had already bowed in front. The others immediately came to their senses and followed suit to salute Li Chengqian.

"Everyone, please stand up." Li Chengqian's face was extremely cold. His hands hung on both sides of the main couch, and his eyes swept over every East Palace official present.

There are many ministers in the Eastern Palace, but those who come to the Eastern Palace for consultation are basically officials whose main duties are in the Eastern Palace, such as Fang Xuanling, the Prince's Junior Tutor, and Gao Shilian, the Prince's Junior Preceptor. Except for coming once a month to give a few symbolic words of advice, they will basically leave. They will not stay in the Eastern Palace for long, so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Standing to the upper left of the other ministers was Yu Zhining, the head of the Eastern Palace's officials and the Crown Prince's Secretary, who was in charge of all matters inside and outside the Eastern Palace. Due to Li Chengqian's broken leg, the Eastern Palace had been closed for over six months. Once it was opened, a large number of guards were brought in, causing Yu Zhining to become anxious.

Because he and the prince share the same fate.

Behind Yu Zhining were Zhang Xuansu, the Junior Secretary of the Crown Prince and the Acting Left Assistant of the Crown Prince, Kong Yingda, the Director of the Imperial Academy and the Middle Assistant of the Crown Prince, and Li Baiyao, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan and the Right Assistant of the Crown Prince.

Zhang Xuansu was Yu Zhining's deputy, while others like Kong Yingda and Li Baiyao were mainly responsible for teaching and giving advice in the Eastern Palace.

These people are external officials, while the three internal officials of the Eastern Palace are Li Huaiyan, the Prince's Household Manager, and Changsun Xiang, the Prince's Chief Guardian and former Prince's servant.

Those on the left are officials of the fourth rank and above in the Eastern Palace, but those who do the work are mostly officials of the fifth rank and below standing at the back of the queue on the right.

……

Standing at the top right are Ouyang Xun, a scholar of the Hongwen Academy and former Prince's Chief of Staff, and Yan Shigu, a scholar of the Hongwen Academy and also a scholar of the Prince's Chongwen Academy.

These two people were responsible for teaching Li Chengqian's studies.

Especially Ouyang Xun, who had just been transferred from the Prince's Chief Guard Officer to the position of Academician of the Hongwen Academy, and was later promoted from the Prince's Chief Servant Sun Xiang to the position of Prince's Chief Guard Officer.

Behind them were Xiao Jun, the Prince's Secretary and Scholar of the Prince's Chongwen Academy, and Linghu Defen, the Prince's Groom.

The two of them are the backbone of the Eastern Palace administration, and all communications are their responsibility.

Xiao Jun was the son of Xiao Xun, Duke of Liang, and the nephew of Xiao Yu, former prime minister, former Prince's tutor, Governor of Qizhou, and Duke of Song.

Linghu Defen was once the secretary and military officer of Huai'an King Li Shentong.

Others include Prince's attendant Pei Xuanji, Prince's attendant Zhang Daxiang, Prince's attendant Zhao Hongzhi, Prince's attendant Yu Chang, Prince's attendant Gao Zhenxing, and Prince's attendant Feng Yandao.

The Prince's Thousand Oxen Guard Commander Helan Chushi, the Prince's Thousand Oxen Guard Qin Huaidao, the Prince's Left Guard Commander Liu Renshi, the Prince's Right Guard Commander Dai Zhide.

If you look at it from the surface, everyone has an extraordinary background.

Pei Xuanji was the son of former Prime Minister Pei Ju.

Zhang Daxiang was the eldest son of former Prime Minister Zhang Gongjin.

Zhao Hongzhi was the son of Zhao Xuangui, the former governor of Shaanxi Province.

Yu Chang was the son of former Secretary General Yu Shinan.

Gao Zhenxing was the fourth son of Prime Minister Gao Shilian.

Feng Yandao was the son of former prime minister Feng Deyi.

Helan Chushi was Hou Junji's son-in-law.

Qin Huaidao was the son of the late Duke of Hu, Qin Qiong.

Liu Renshi was the son of retired Prime Minister Liu Hongji.

Dai Zhide was the son of former prime minister Dai Zhou.

……

It seems that Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace is full of talented people, but if you look closely, you can find that most of these people's fathers and grandfathers have retired due to death, and they themselves are still young and their abilities are not obvious.

Even compared to their loyalty to Li Chengqian, they were more loyal to his father, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin.

Therefore, when Li Chengqian rebelled in his previous life, he abandoned them and used Helan Chushi, who could contact Hou Junji.

But he is also a spineless person.

If you do this, how can you not fail?

However, looking at it now, Li Chengqian was really wrong, very wrong. These people were the real talents prepared for him by his father.

Not to mention others, Feng Yandao served as the governor and commander-in-chief of more than a dozen places in the Tang Dynasty and never resigned, which shows his governance ability.

There is also Dai Zhide. After being demoted due to being implicated in Li Chengqian's rebellion, he was able to climb up step by step decades later and became the Shangshu You Pushe trusted by Li Zhi. He even had his image painted in the Lingyan Pavilion. His ability is extraordinary.

In addition to their outstanding abilities, the true influence of these people was something that Li Chengqian, who had a narrow vision in his previous life, could not see.

Although many people's fathers and grandfathers have passed away, their personal connections still exist, from the three central ministries, six departments, nine temples and five prisons to local governors, military officers and county magistrates. They can help Li Chengqian extend his tentacles to every corner of the Tang Dynasty.

As long as Li Chengqian does not rebel, they will think that Li Chengqian is qualified as the crown prince, and the officials in the world they come into contact with will also think that Li Chengqian is qualified as the crown prince.

With such a huge influence, how could his father, the emperor, who was a very proud person, depose him as the crown prince for no reason?

Therefore, it is correct, and this is what Li Chengqian has to guard now.

But will Li Tai let him go?

(End of this chapter)