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

Chapter 92: The Crown Prince is Just a Tool to Help the Emperor Rule the World (Part )
Before dawn, it is dark and quiet.

"Dong, Dong, Dong!" The morning bell suddenly rang throughout Chang'an.

In Cheng'en Hall of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian slowly opened his eyes.

The heavy breathing and bloodshot eyes indicated that Li Chengqian had a deep nightmare last night.

He couldn't remember the specific reason, he only remembered that his father was holding a sword and kept swinging at him. The sword was covered in blood, and he didn't know whose blood it was.

Li Chengqian suddenly laughed. Whose blood could it be? It must be his own.

This dream clearly told him from the depths of his consciousness that the world still belonged to the emperor, and he, the prince, was just a tool to help the emperor govern the world.

Therefore, as long as he plays his role as the crown prince well and helps the emperor govern the world without selfish motives when the emperor is in control, he can get the greatest security.

Of course, as for Li Tai, he needs to continue to weaken, force, and push him into the trap.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and looked at Su Shu, who was lying in his arms. She was wearing a green short jacket, a white silk shawl, and her black hair was scattered.

Seeing her smiling sweetly even in her sleep, Li Chengqian's heart completely calmed down.

……

As soon as Li Chengqian sat down after entering Chongde Hall, Li Anyan walked in quickly from the outer room and whispered, "Your Highness, when I first entered the palace, I happened to see the King of Wei leaving."

Li Chengqian was stunned and whispered in surprise, "So soon? I originally thought Qingque would stay in the palace for at least fifteen days. It's not a good thing to leave the palace in such a hurry."

"Your Highness." Li Anyan bowed and said carefully, "Now that the Prince of Wei has returned home, the compilation of the Comprehensive Geography has resumed."

"The matter of the Comprehensive Geography has nothing to do with Qingque. It's actually all done by my uncle. Whether Qingque is there or not, they can't slow down." Li Chengqian looked up at Li Anyan and said, "Don't do anything with the Comprehensive Geography. Those things are what my father wants. If they are delayed, I won't be blamed."

"Yes!" Li Anyan looked at Li Chengqian in surprise and said nothing more.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but smile. He knew that many things could not be hidden from Li Anyan.

Li Chengqian took action against Su Xu, but he could not do it directly, so he could only influence him indirectly by knocking on the corners.

"At the Prince of Wei's mansion, don't worry about what those high-ranking officials are doing. Keep an eye on the servants. After this incident, Qingque will probably be much more cautious." Li Chengqian pondered for a moment and said, "It would be best if we arrange for someone from Luoyang to stay there for a few months, then move to Longmen Temple or live near the Longmen Grottoes."

"Yes!" Although Li Anyan didn't know what Li Chengqian was planning, he knew that it must be related to King Wei.

The King of Wei had said that he would build a Buddhist shrine at the Longmen Grottoes to pray for the afterlife of Empress Changsun.

"We must deal with all of them in Chang'an." Li Chengqian said quickly, then looked outside the hall.

Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Kong Yingda, Li Baiyao, Changsun Xiang, Dugu Dabao, Linghu Defen, Xiao Jun, Pei Xuanji and other officials of the Eastern Palace have arrived in front of the hall.

In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, the first morning meeting of the Eastern Palace began.

……

The sound of continuous knocking came from the direction of Chongwenguan, and Li Chengqian stretched slightly.

There weren't many things to discuss early in the morning, but they were complicated, mostly related to the restart of things in the East Palace in the new year.

For example, in the "Kaogong Zhi", many craftsmen have already started working. For them, if even one of the things they have researched can be recorded in the "Kaogong Zhi", the profits it brings will be enough for them to enjoy for a lifetime, or even pass it on to their descendants.

Li Chengqian took a sip of the very light tea and began to think about the future.

In "Kaogongzhi", Li Chengqian had more or less handed over matters related to swords, spears, swords and armor to the Chief of Works and the Ministry of War.

Many things inside have only undergone the most preliminary modifications, and Li Chengqian did not bring out the technologies that can really make great strides forward.

But even so, the swords made by the Eastern Palace were given by the emperor to many military generals at the end of the year, and all the generals admired them very much.

What Li Chengqian really cares about is the boat.

Shipbuilding requires manpower, a large amount of manpower, which is not something that can be done by just the manpower of the East Palace.

Many of the supervisor's manpower will have to be mobilized.

Even the entire Chang'an city's craftsmen needed to be mobilized. Li Chengqian didn't need to show up himself, as Yang Wulian and a group of servants from the Eastern Palace were enough to keep an eye on it.

The influence of the Eastern Palace was also infiltrated, and finally Li Anyan quietly recruited people to imitate the Hundred Cavalry Division...

Li Anyan appeared in front of the Chongjiao Hall, then bowed and said, "Your Highness, the envoy of the Tubo Kingdom, the King of Jiangxia, the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs, the Minister of Rites, and the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, request an audience."

Li Chengqian looked up in surprise: "Are they arriving today?"

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed and said, "The Tubo envoy said that everything needs your highness to set the general principles before we can continue the discussion. I don't know why the King of Jiangxia also agreed."

Li Chengqian frowned instantly.

In fact, the people of Chang'an did not care about the origins of Princess Wencheng.

In addition to the emperor's legitimate daughters, there was a group of other daughters whose mothers either died early or were unknown, but they were raised under the name of Empress Zhangsun and were only given titles when they were about to get married.

The fact that a princess from the royal family married off in place of the emperor's daughter is still a secret in the world today.

Therefore, neither the people of Chang'an nor the Tibetans knew that Princess Wencheng was not the emperor's biological daughter.

But this kind of thing can be hidden from others, but not from Li Daozon.

Because Princess Wencheng was his biological daughter.

Li Chengqian sighed softly. Which father could bear to see his own daughter marrying off as someone else's daughter?

That would be fine, but the key is the etiquette here. Li Daozon is likely to stand with the Tibetans, which would be troublesome.

"Let them all in." Li Chengqian pondered for a moment, already having a plan in mind.

……

"Your Highness, your Highness, is here to pay his respects to the Crown Prince. May your Highness be healthy and live a long and prosperous new year." Lu Dongzan, the Tibetan envoy, Li Daozon, the Minister of Rites, Dou Dan, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, Yu Jian, the Minister of Taichang Temple, and Yuwen Chongsi, the Junior Minister of Honglu Temple, all bowed in unison.

On the side, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Li Baiyao, Kong Yingda, Changsun Xiang, Linghu Defen, Xiao Jun and others stood on the left.

"Stand up, everyone, please take a seat." Li Chengqian nodded gently.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Everyone bowed.

Afterwards, Li Daozon sat down at the upper left seat without any hesitation, and Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Li Daozon was Li Chengqian's cousin, Princess Wencheng's biological father, and the Minister of Rites. If it weren't for Li Chengqian, he would have had the most say in this matter. In fact, it was because of him in his previous life that the dowry given by the Tang Dynasty to Tubo was so generous.

The officials of the Eastern Palace soon sat behind Li Daozon.

Lu Dongzan sat at the upper right of Li Chengqian, and the others sat behind Lu Dongzan.

Li Chengqian's expression gradually calmed down. He then looked at Lu Dongzan and asked, "Envoy, the Emperor has issued an edict that the Emperor's sister Wencheng will depart from Chang'an on the 16th day of the first lunar month. Can the Tibetan Zamp depart from Lhasa on the same day?"

Lhasa, the capital of Tubo, Li Chengqian said this name easily, and Lu Dongzan's heart sank slightly.

"Yes, on the first day of the first lunar month, the foreign ministers have already sent a letter back to Lhasa. No matter what, the Zamp must set out from Lhasa on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month." Lu Dongzan nodded solemnly.

Starting from Lhasa, as long as you leave the city of Lhasa, it basically counts.

Even if the Tibetans just wrote in a document that Songtsen Gampo left Lhasa on the 16th day of the first lunar month, no one would say anything more.

Li Chengqian nodded, then said, "On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the imperial sister will depart from Chang'an, and the Zamp will depart from Lhasa. So where exactly can the Zamp meet the imperial sister?"

Lu Dongzan pondered, "How about the north bank of Tongtian River?"

Li Chengqian shook his head indifferently: "No, it's too far."

"Subi was a vassal state of Tubo, so the Zamp could only reach the south bank of the Tongtian River at most. However, the Tongtian River is wide and steep, so it would be extremely difficult for the Zamp to reach the north bank." Having said this, Lu Dongzan looked at Li Chengqian helplessly and said, "What's more, Your Highness, the Dangxiang territories to the south are prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty."

"Then how about the Tang Dynasty establish a prefecture on the north bank of the Tongtian River to send princesses to marry into Tubo?" Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Daozong and said, "How about naming it Changzhou? Chang means bright and beautiful, Chang means prosperous, and Chang means many descendants. What do you think, uncle?"

(End of this chapter)