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

Chapter 374: The Emperor Educates His Son, Taizong's Art of War (Part )
In the Prince of Jin's Mansion, Li Zhi sat under the wooden pavilion in the backyard, looking at the floating ice on the water in front of him with a thoughtful expression.

Today's events are so strange.

Chu Suiliang did as he said and successfully transferred Zheng Rentai and Xue Wanbei to the Western Regions.

In this way, as long as the prince leaves the city, he will be dead without the protection of the two generals.

Even if he could escape successfully, he would lack sufficient support. As long as Li Zhi took control of the situation, he could hang him.

Even if the prince couldn't fully understand the risks involved, he could at least see some of them.

However, he agreed without any hesitation.

Well, maybe the prince has set his sights on the Western Regions.

Or perhaps he thought Pei Xingjian could replace Zheng Rentai and Xue Wanbei.

Pei Xingjian, son of Pei Renji.

When talking about Pei Renji, we cannot fail to mention Pei Renji's other son, Pei Xingyan.

Pei Xingyan is as famous as Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong.

Pei Xingjian is Pei Xingyan's younger brother.

But so what?
Pei Xingjian was just a posthumous child. When Pei Renji and Pei Xingyan died, Pei Xingjian was not yet born. How could he have the same strength as his father and brother?

Li Zhi clenched his fists tightly.

He actually doesn't care about Pei Xingjian. What he really cares about is Liu Dewei.

The Minister of Justice Liu Dewei and his younger brother Liu Demin, the commander of the navy of Pingrang Road, were both subordinates of Pei Renji.

There are many such people in the army.

For example, Luo Shixin, who died in battle in his early years.

Li Zhi sighed lightly, and the prince exchanged Pei Xingjian for Zheng Rentai and Xue Wanbei.

Even he had to admit that his brother was better at judging people than he was...

But so what.

Li Zhi looked up and sneered lightly. Pei Xingjian was, after all, a civil servant.

That’s right, Pei Xingjian was a Jinshi selected through the Mingjing examination, not a military general.

Just like his position, he was a military officer of the Zuotunwei Cangcao, a civilian position in the army.

Even if he had all kinds of abilities, could he save the prince's life when he was attacked by hundreds of assassins?

It's good enough that he's alive.

In the end, things happened as Li Zhi had expected.

Zheng Rentai and Xue Wanbei left after all.

This is enough.

There was another thing Li Zhi needed to consider.

Fomen.

Xuanzang wanted to compete with the Taoist sect for the land of Taiyi Qinghua Temple.

They are crazy. If they don’t give it to us, we will go to Sanmenxia to build a temple.

Li Zhi looked up.

He felt more and more that this world was absurd.

But why?
……

Ji Jiafu walked quickly across the corridor, came up behind Li Zhi, and said with a bow, "Your Highness has checked everything."

"Speak!" Li Zhi tilted his head slightly.

"That area was surveyed by the Buddhist community as a whole, not just by Master Xuanzang alone, as the birthplace of Buddhism in Chang'an." Ji Jiafu bowed and said, "They had privately discussed that if they could seize the land from the Taoist community, they would rename it Da Ci'en Temple."

"Da Ci'en Temple?" Li Zhi inexplicably felt that the name had a certain special charm. Then he shook his head and said, "Buddhism is still of some standard."

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu bowed and said, "Although this matter was initiated by Master Xuanzang, it is actually the common attitude of the entire Buddhist community in Chang'an."

"If I remember correctly, this place was built by the Crown Prince with the help of the Taoist sect when the Crown Prince and the King of Wei were fighting each other?" Li Zhi tilted his head.

"Yes." Ji Jiafu nodded and said, "The Buddhist sect assisted the King of Wei in building the Longmen Grottoes, and the Taoist sect assisted the Crown Prince in building the Taiyi Qinghua Temple."

"That is to say, Buddhism still wants to compete with Taoism, but now they want to take it away directly!" Li Zhi felt a little funny for a moment.

"Your Highness!" Ji Jiafu bowed and said, "There used to be a Buddhist temple there, but because it was abandoned, the prince used it to build a Taoist temple."

"I remember now." Li Zhi slapped his forehead and said suddenly, "When my royal brother built the temple, he said that this place was once the Jingjue Temple of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Later, Jingjue Temple fell into disrepair, and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty built Wulou Temple on the site. After Yang Guang moved the capital to Luoyang, Wulou Temple also gradually fell into disrepair. My royal brother said that the land was not suitable for a Buddhist temple and built a Taoist temple instead."

"That's why the Taoist sect was so happy at that time." Ji Jiafu bowed lightly and said, "Chang'an is originally dominated by the Taoist sect. The prince didn't do much, but it was very much in line with the Taoist sect's wishes."

"They seized the Buddhist temple and turned it into a Taoist temple. Now the Buddhist sect wants to use Xuanzang's power to take the land back." Li Zhi felt amused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The Buddhist sect thinks it's too easy. Although Xuanzang is now praised by my father, he is far from this level..."

"Oh!" Li Zhi slapped his forehead and realized, "The Buddhist sect also feels that my father can't hold on any longer, and once my brother ascends the throne, they will have even less chance. That's why they want to take action now, but..."

Li Zhi raised his head and looked in the direction of Taiyi Qinghua's view, shook his head slightly and said, "There is a war in the Western Regions right now, and my father's mind is all on the war. It would be strange if the Buddhist sect would agree to it if it were to cause trouble for him.

So they can only go to Sanmenxia on the Yellow River to build the temple on their own, since it is allowed by the emperor anyway."

"Your Highness!" Ji Jiafu bowed carefully and said, "Master Xuanzang has already decided that the temple in Sanmenxia will be built under the supervision of Master Bianji. Once it is completed, after Master Xuanzang passes away, Master Bianji will become the abbot of the temple and inherit Master Xuanzang's Buddhist lineage."

Li Zhi slowly turned his head and stared straight at Ji Jiafu.

Eyes full of disbelief.

Ji Jiafu had to nod again.

Bian Ji was indeed leaving Chang'an. "Damn Xuanzang." Li Zhi couldn't help but curse fiercely, breathing rapidly. With Bian Ji gone, what would his feelings for Gao Yang be?

"No!" Li Zhi suddenly looked up, waved his hand, and said, "The matter between Gao Yang and Bian Ji is not in the past, it is not only in the present, but also in the future. I don't believe Gao Yang can endure it, so it is not a bad thing for Bian Ji to leave Chang'an temporarily."

Turning around, Li Zhi looked at Ji Jiafu and said, "Send a message to Gao Yang and tell her that Bian Ji went to Sanmenxia. It was her luck, but Sanmenxia is not far from Chang'an!"

"Your Highness!" Ji Jiafu looked at Li Zhi with some confusion. At this time, would it be useful to use Bian Ji to provoke Princess Gaoyang?
"Go ahead." Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Gao Yang is just like that. If I really talk to her directly, she won't understand or hear anything clearly. But when I say this, she can see the pros and cons clearly and won't make a fuss."

Ji Jiafu suddenly came to his senses and looked at Li Zhi and said, "Your Highness is wise. I will go there immediately."

"Wait." Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "Tell Luo Binwang that it's time to start."

"Yes!" Ji Jiafu bowed solemnly.

……

In the twelfth month of winter, the city of Chang'an is covered in white snow.

The only exception is Pingkangfang.

Red building and green corridor, wedding lanterns hanging high.

The singing of orioles and the slender waist and hands.

Everywhere is charming and fascinating...

With a "bang", a wooden bench hit his forehead directly, and two sharp wooden spikes penetrated directly into his forehead.

Blood slowly flowed out of the hole, running down his cheek and onto his dark-colored robe.

The people standing nearby couldn't help but scream: "Someone's dead!"

All of a sudden, all the guests in the music house ran downstairs in an instant.

There was only an equally young man in a green robe, standing there trembling, looking at the dead person opposite him.

He was Zuo Mingde, the second son of Zuo Kuangzheng, General of the Left Jinwu Guard. The man who was killed opposite him was Tian Suiji, the youngest son of Tian Renhui, General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

Today, the two families with an old grudge met again. After drinking too much, the servants of the two families started fighting again.

Who would have thought that Tian Suiji, who was well protected, would die just like that.

The second son of the General of the Left Jinwu Guard killed the youngest son of the General of the Right Jinwu Guard.

Dead people.

There are a lot of things to do.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, a huge sand table is placed in the east hall.

The emperor stood before the sand table, holding a thin bamboo stick, pointing to the location of the Western Turks in the Western Regions. He said to Li Chengqian beside him, "In large-scale military operations, there is always only one key element: to use numbers against numbers, to use the strong to bully the weak, and to use the strong to oppress the scattered..."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly. This is not a problem. If you are stronger than your opponent, then you have the greatest chance of winning.

"Do you understand the theory of the five elements?" The emperor suddenly turned his head.

Li Chengqian said subconsciously: "Wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, and metal overcomes wood."

"To conquer is to punish for righteousness, using strength to overcome weakness." Li Shimin looked back at the sand table and continued, "The reason the Five Elements harm each other is because of the nature of heaven and earth: the many overcome the few, so water overcomes fire; the essence overcomes the hard, so fire overcomes metal; the hard overcomes the soft, so metal overcomes wood; the concentrated overcomes the scattered, so wood overcomes earth; the solid overcomes the empty, so earth overcomes water."

"So, defeating the many with the few is a powerful strategy." Li Chengqian suddenly realized and nodded, "So, in the end, it's still the many against the few, the strong bullying the weak."

"Indeed, this has always been the case with the few defeating the many." The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head and said, "That being said, in many cases, the strong don't have the immediate opportunity to defeat the weak. Therefore, we must wait. The right time, right place, and right people—all advantages can be created in the process of waiting."

"It's just like how my father defeated Xue Rengao back then." Li Chengqian suddenly understood.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "After the battle, someone asked me how I could have broken through the city, with only cavalry and no means of attack. I replied that I had already defeated most of the enemy. If I had not pursued them quickly, and the enemy had retreated to the city, and Xue Rengao had gathered and pacified them, then victory would have been impossible. So, I attacked at top speed, and the enemy surrendered out of fear. This is how the strong defeated the weak with morale."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly. He knew the details of the battle that year. The core of the emperor's tactics of defeating the enemy with fewer troops was the same, enough to compile a book of Taizong's Art of War.

"The situation is the same now." Li Shimin pointed to the sand table: "Western Turks..."

A burst of hurried and heavy footsteps came from outside the hall. The emperor frowned and looked back to see Changsun Wuji standing outside the hall with a serious expression.

The emperor waved his hand, and Zhangsun Wuji quickly entered the hall. He then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, something has happened. The second son of Zuo Kuangzheng, General of the Left Jinwu Guard, killed the youngest son of Tian Renhui, General of the Right Jinwu Guard, in Pingkangfang last night. The two generals are already facing off in the Dali Temple, and there are also signs of unrest within the Left and Right Jinwu Guards in the city."

Li Shimin's expression suddenly grew serious. He looked at Zhangsun Wuji and asked, "What is the Dali Temple's opinion?"

"According to the law, Zuo Mingde, son of Zuo Kuangzheng, was exiled to the Western Regions." After a brief pause, Changsun Wuji said, "It was Zuo Mingde's men who killed someone yesterday. Although he was the one who gave the order, he was not the one who did the killing. He was the instigator, so he does not deserve the death penalty."

"Prince, what do you think?" The emperor looked at Li Chengqian.

"Since the law stipulates this, it is like this and cannot be changed." Li Chengqian shook his head. After all, Zuo Mingde did not kill the man personally, so the death penalty would not fall on him.

When the children of the powerful and wealthy fight, they rarely rush forward on their own. Their purpose is to prevent themselves from killing others with their own hands.

The law has been established and cannot be changed.

If it is changed, it will cause dissatisfaction among all the powerful people.

"But the fact is, Tian Renhui's son is dead after all." The emperor shook his head and said, "We have to appease him in the end. Prince, you go and handle it."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed.

……

Outside the Taiji Hall, Li Chengqian walked towards the Eastern Palace while looking at Changsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, in this matter, the attitudes of Tian Renhui and Zuo Kuangzheng are actually the least important. What is important is all the Jinwu Guards in Chang'an City. They must settle down."

Now, because of these two people, a violent conflict may be triggered between the left and right Jinwu Guards in Chang'an City. This is the most dangerous thing.

"Your Highness wants to suspend both of them from their posts?" Changsun Wuji understood what Li Chengqian meant.

"One is not a good parent, the other is having to hold a funeral after losing his son." Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said thoughtfully, "Uncle, what do you think of this..."

(End of this chapter)