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

Chapter 335: The Prince's Murderous Nature Is No Less Than Myself (Part )
Watching Xuanzang's departing figure, Li Shimin pondered for a long time before finally looking at Li Chengqian and saying, "Prince, I remember you said that when we send envoys to India, you wanted to send more soldiers to escort them?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed slightly and said, "Father, your Majesty, what I am thinking is that the Western Turks are still quite obedient. Without them taking the lead, the other countries in the Western Regions would not dare to disrespect the Tang envoys. So, we should take this opportunity to show the might of the Tang army. We should send 3,000 cavalry to escort them, then stop at the Tianzhu border, wait for the envoys to leave, and then return."

"You want to intimidate the Indians!" Li Shimin saw through Li Chengqian's thoughts at a glance. He then shook his head and said, "Three thousand cavalrymen are too many. The food and fodder consumed is not a small amount, especially for the Anxi Protectorate."

"However, we can take the southern route of the Silk Road, through Western Tuyuhun, from Shanshan to Khotan, and then to Shule and the Pamirs." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Ever since Tubo annexed Yangtong and its troops infiltrated Western Tuyuhun, the southern trade route of the Silk Road has been affected."

The southern line of the Silk Road has never been the main route for Tang Dynasty merchants to travel to the Western Regions.

Logically speaking, if the Western Tuyuhun section of the southern Silk Road was completely blocked, then more merchants and travelers from the Western Regions would take the northern route.

The Tang Dynasty's income along the way was much greater.

However, although this is what is said, things are not really that way.

Kunlun Mountain is located in Western Tuyuhun. Every year, a large number of merchants transport jade, cattle, sheep, horses, and a large amount of Qiang salt from Western Tuyuhun to the Tang Dynasty. It is also the place where a large amount of goods are sold in the Tang Dynasty.

It may be more convenient for some merchants to enter the Tang Dynasty from Western Tuyuhun. If you ask them to take the northern route, they may not come to the Tang Dynasty.

If you calculate carefully, the Tang Dynasty is actually at a loss.

Once Tubo completely controls Western Tuyuhun, it will not only pose a threat to Eastern Tuyuhun, but will also be detrimental to the interests of the entire Tang Dynasty.

"A thousand cavalrymen," Li Shimin said, looking at Li Chengqian, "have Xi Jun buy the title of Inspector General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, and have him accompany them on this trip."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian's expression suddenly became excited.

Xi Junmai is the prince's attendant, the acting chief officer of Lanzhou, and now the acting lieutenant general of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard. His influence on the entire Western Regions will greatly increase.

This means that Li Chengqian's influence on the Western Regions will greatly increase.

"Before they leave, have the people trained by the Honglu Temple meet with Master Xuanzang to see if he has any additional instructions for them." Li Shimin looked up and said, "Next year, on the 16th day of the first lunar month, let them depart."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed solemnly.

The emperor made such arrangements so that these people could at least celebrate the New Year, then rush to Tuyuhun in February, and then take advantage of the spring to rush to the Western Regions.

……

The imperial carriage swayed slightly, and the emperor sat on it and headed towards Ganlu Gate.

Turning sideways, he looked at Zhangsun Wuji who was following him and whispered, "Wuji, why do I feel that the prince's murderous nature is not much less than mine."

Changsun Wuji smiled, then nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I feel the same way, but this is not a bad thing. If the Crown Prince does not have a murderous nature, how can he subdue those arrogant and fierce generals in the army?"

"Hahaha..." The emperor nodded and said, "That's right, that's the truth."

"Furthermore, the Crown Prince is His Majesty's eldest legitimate son. His Majesty's achievements in civil and military affairs are unparalleled, so it's only natural that the Crown Prince inherits some of his power." After flattering the Emperor a bit, Changsun Wuji said with emotion, "Your Majesty conquered Eastern Tuyuhun, Tuyuhun, Gaochang, and in the future, there will be Goguryeo. In the end, there won't be much left for the Crown Prince, only Tubo and Tianzhu. It's a good thing that the Crown Prince is now focusing on the West."

Over the years, the emperor has sent all the staff of the Eastern Palace outside Chang'an to the western front.

Although they have all developed, they are rarely transferred back to Chang'an.

Let’s not talk about others, just talk about Xi Junmai.

Xi Junmai, the prince's attendant, is now about to be promoted to General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, but he has not yet returned to Chang'an.

The emperor's tricks could be hidden from others, but not from Changsun Wuji.

"Tianzhu is easy to talk about, but it's still early. The key is Tubo." The emperor smiled gently, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and said, "I heard that after the Tubo envoy arrived in Chang'an, he was vaguely searching for Prince Yang Tong. I think the prince is venting his anger on behalf of his princess Yang Tong."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji nodded with a smile. In fact, he knew Li Chengqian very well. The so-called Princess Yang Tong was just a chess piece that Li Chengqian would use to fight back against Tubo in the future. There was no emotion at all.

"The current situation in the west is what it is." The emperor raised his hand at Ganlu Gate, and the imperial chariot immediately stopped. "The Western Turks are well-behaved, and the Western Regions are relatively obedient. Although Tibet has some rebellious intentions, it dares not make any major moves. Let Xi Jun buy and manage the Eastern and Western Tuyuhun. As for the Dangxiang territories, transfer Wang Renyou to serve as the governor of Songzhou in the middle of next year."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji's expression changed, and then he bowed solemnly.

Wang Renyou, the Sima of Yongzhou, is the father of Wang Youlan, the concubine of the Crown Prince.

The emperor raised his hand slightly, and Changsun Wuji bowed seriously. Then he watched the emperor enter the harem, and then he went home.

……

When Changsun Wuji returned home, he found out that the prince had sent a large number of gifts to Princess Changle.

Changsun Wuji's eyes turned slightly, and he understood what Li Chengqian meant. He couldn't help but laugh and scolded: "Stinky boy."

Princess Changle is the emperor's eldest daughter and has an excellent relationship with the crown prince.

When Prince Li Tai of Wei was deposed, Princess Changle was depressed for a while. It was the Crown Prince who asked the Crown Princess to bring the princess into the palace and recuperate for a while before returning home.

Although Princess Changle was a princess, she did not move into her own princess residence after getting married. Instead, she and her husband Changsun Chong continued to live in Changsun Wuji's Duke of Zhao Mansion.

Honor your parents-in-law every day without any neglect.

She can be said to be a model of a good daughter-in-law in the world.

Li Chengqian sent gifts to Zhangsun Wuji, in fact, he understood the current situation in the court and the country.

The emperor deliberately created a conflict between the Eastern Palace and the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. The two people most directly involved were Li Yifu and Chu Suiliang.

Although Chu Suiliang was not implicated in the Liu Li incident, everyone saw that he had come forward to report Liu Li.

This eventually led to the deaths of Yuwen Jie and Liu Li!
Although the court officials would not say much, they would distance themselves from Chu Suiliang intentionally or unintentionally. In the impeachment, it was Li Yifu who implicated Chu Suiliang.

Yes, that day in the court, the people Li Yifu should have impeached were Liu Li and Yuwen Jie, and Chu Suiliang should not have been on his impeachment list.

But he had it.

Although the emperor and the crown prince easily overlooked this point, all the officials in the court took note of it.

Li Yifu saw that he had a better relationship with the crown prince, but at the same time he was not on good terms with Chu Suiliang, which led to a rift between Li Chengqian and Zhangsun Wuji.

As long as there is a gap, it will be extremely difficult to work together without any grudges.

This is what the emperor wants.

In fact, whether it was Zhangsun Wuji, Li Chengqian, or even Li Yifu and Chu Suiliang, they all understood the emperor's thoughts.

But even though they understood it, the emperor had this in mind, and even if they had no ill feelings towards each other, they had to move in this direction.

This is the authority of the emperor.

As time goes by, the final result will inevitably be what the emperor wishes.

Li Chengqian's generous gift to Princess Changle today was a disguised way of telling Zhangsun Wuji that public affairs are public affairs and private affairs are private affairs.

He is still his uncle.

He is still his nephew.

The prince didn't say a word, but he made his meaning clear.

"It's a pity that Liu Li is dead." Changsun Wuji sighed lightly, then walked towards the study.

……

In Ganlu Hall, as soon as Li Shimin entered the hall, he saw Xu Hui sitting on a small couch in the inner hall with a flushed face, and the maid in front of her was tidying up the wine jugs and wine bottles on the table.

The emperor took a look and then asked curiously, "Has anyone been here?"

"Yes!" Xu Hui stood up unsteadily, bowed to the emperor, raised her head and said in a cute and charming way, "Your Majesty, it was Mei Niang who came. She was very happy to see her family today. She had a few drinks with me and went back not long ago."

"It's that little girl Mei Niang!" Li Shimin smiled, then walked into the hall and said to the maid beside him, "Go and bring some sobering soup."

"Yes!" The maid bowed immediately and then retreated with the wine jug and wine bottle.

A moment later, after drinking a bowl of hangover soup and feeling much more sober, Xu Hui suddenly started and quickly bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I was rude just now."

"No problem!" The emperor sat on the bed, smiled and waved his hand, then looked to the side and said, "You all can go down."

All the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall bowed and retreated.

At this time, Xu Hui had already wiped her face and washed her hands. Then she came to the bed, half-knelt, and carefully helped the emperor take off his dragon robe.

Until finally, all the emperor's clothes were taken off, and pus began to flow out of the abscess on his back. Xu Hui couldn't help but said distressedly: "Your Majesty!"

"It's okay, I just touched it accidentally today. Please clean it and change the medicine." Li Shimin did not look back.

Xu Hui then took the liquor and used clean silk to clean the emperor's back bit by bit. After doing all this, she carefully helped the emperor apply medicine...

After putting on his coat again, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief and leaned gently in Xu Hui's arms.

"Today I met Master Xuanzang, and he's quite a good person." The emperor looked up at Xu Hui and asked, "Is there anything said about Master Xuanzang in the palace?"

Xu Hui thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there are, but they both have good reputations. Wei Zhaorong and Concubine Xiao have always been friendly to Buddhism, so their families donated a lot of money to Hongfu Temple. The Crown Prince also issued an order prohibiting officials from donating land to Buddhism, otherwise there would probably be a lot of land donated to Hongfu Temple."

Li Shimin nodded. He had heard about this matter from Li Chengqian.

Land is related to taxes. If Buddhists obtain land, they will not pay taxes, which will affect the taxes of the imperial court.

So the prince quite hated this.

Li Shimin naturally didn't like it either.

But he knew that such things would happen again in the future.

Especially since Xuanzang was a high monk who returned from India. He did not look pretentious, but was resolute and wise. Even he was somewhat impressed by him when he saw him.

Once Xuanzang starts preaching on a large scale in the future, I am afraid all kinds of things will be inevitable.

Li Shimin turned slightly to the side, looked into Xu Hui's eyes, and asked, "Regarding the Crown Prince, what do the concubines in the harem think of him during my two years away?"

"His Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)