Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 177: Does the Emperor believe me? I can poke a hole in the sky! [Seeking monthly votes]

The sunlight shone through the window onto the desk in the palace. Li Shimin had changed into a loose casual outfit and was concentrating on practicing calligraphy with a brush.

This is the most common way he uses to stay calm when encountering major situations.

He feels that practicing calligraphy can help him calm down and think seriously about any difficulties he faces.

Although he cannot avoid things like successive natural disasters, the solutions are devised by humans. Since ancient times, dynasties have experienced countless natural disasters and still survived, right?
He had never heard of any dynasty or country being destroyed due to natural disasters!

Therefore, he believed that he could find a way to deal with the disaster.

It just takes some time.

At this moment, he had just copied Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and felt very satisfied, and his mood also improved.

However, a good work will lose a lot of fun if no one appreciates it.

After he finished writing it, he looked left and right and felt that such a good piece of calligraphy needed someone to comment on it, so he found the attendant Chu Suiliang.

But he said nonchalantly, "Mr. Chu, I heard you say before that you are quite knowledgeable about calligraphy, right?"

"This"

Chu Suiliang was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I do have some knowledge of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy."

"Then come and take a look at my calligraphy. How much does it resemble Wang Xizhi's?"

"Yes!"

Chu Suiliang responded and immediately stood up and walked to Li Shimin's desk. He carefully examined it and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty's handwriting is graceful and elegant, fluent and free-flowing, with vivid and vigorous strokes. The words are full of the royal elegance and have an inviolable sense of grandeur."

"hehe."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh happily, and his mood became much better.

He did not have many hobbies in his life. He was particularly fond of calligraphy, painting and war horses, especially calligraphy, where he made great achievements.

His calligraphy is best known for its official script, and he once wrote "Book of Jin: Biography of Wang Xizhi" himself.

However, before Li Shimin could be happy for long, Chu Suiliang changed the subject and said, "But this calligraphy doesn't look like Wang Xizhi's either."

"Ok?"

Li Shimin's smile froze, and he said with some displeasure, "Why not? I copied Wang Xizhi's 'On Yue Yi'. Didn't you say that 'On Yue Yi' is the best regular script in the world?"

"Your Majesty, I naturally know that you are copying Wang Xizhi's "Discourse on Yue Yi", but I feel that the handwriting does not look like Wang Xizhi's. I wonder if Your Majesty could show me your copy of "Discourse on Yue Yi"? " Chu Suiliang said sincerely.

A gleam of light flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, and he quickly ordered his attendants to present Wang Xizhi's calligraphy of "On Yue Yi".

Chu Suiliang carefully opened the brocade box and unfolded the scroll gently. His eyes fell on the scroll and he was surprised at first, but after a moment,
His brows furrowed slightly, and after looking carefully for a moment, his eyes became firm, but he also showed hesitation, not knowing how to start.

Li Shimin noticed his strange expression and asked, "Mr. Chu, what's wrong? Do you think there's something wrong with this calligraphy?"

Chu Suiliang knelt on the ground with a thud and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, although I don't want to spoil your Majesty's mood, if I don't tell you, it will be considered as deceiving you. Please understand!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin's heart sank, but he still said calmly: "Just tell me what you have to say, I will forgive you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Chu Suiliang bowed respectfully, then said, as if considering it: "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, based on my research on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, I'm afraid this 'On Yue Yi' is a fake."

"what?!"

Li Shimin was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say that, Mr. Chu? The charm of this character, the rich strokes of lifting, pressing, twisting, and twisting, all match the brushwork of Wang Xizhi. How could it be fake?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Suiliang slowly stood up and pointed at a few characters on the calligraphy scroll. "Your Majesty, please look! While the brushwork of these characters bears some resemblance, there are numerous flaws in the subtle details. Based on my understanding of Wang Xizhi's brushwork, his strokes are smooth and natural, while this character is a bit stiff."

"It appears to have the spirit of Wang Xizhi's brushwork, but the deliberate imitation is evident, and the variations in the shades of ink are somewhat unnatural. It's just a skilled imitation."

"Furthermore, authentic calligraphy has gone through the years, so the ink color should be rich and simple. Moreover, this paper doesn't look like the paper from the Jin Dynasty. It has no traces of time and unique texture!"

After hearing these analyses, Li Shimin's mood, which had finally recovered, was instantly wiped out and became worse and worse.

He looked at the scroll again, his eyes filled with reluctance and doubt.

The hall was dead silent, and no one dared to make a sound.

After a long while, Li Shimin finally sighed and said, "Never mind. Chu Qing's insight is truly well-deserved. I believe you. But it's a pity that these treasures are not genuine."

Chu Suiliang knew Li Shimin's fondness for Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and could not bear to discourage him any further. He quickly comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, do not be discouraged. All the treasures in the world belong to you. If you find Wang Xizhi's calligraphy in the future, I will carefully examine it for you. I hope that the 'Lanting Preface' can also be yours, so that I can feast my eyes on it."

"hehe."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Are you still thinking about the Lanting Preface? I also want to see the unparalleled Lanting Preface. Unfortunately, even I don't know where it is!"

"As the saying goes, hard work pays off. I believe that one day, the 'Preface to the Lanting Poems' will appear in the world and enter the court of our great Tang Dynasty."

"Well, what Chu Qing said makes sense."

Li Shimin nodded, his eyes regaining some determination. "You are right. Hard work pays off. I also believe that everything I have put in will be rewarded!"

As he spoke, he turned to the palace attendant beside him and said, "Hang this calligraphy up to remind me not to be deceived by appearances!"

"promise!"

The palace attendant agreed and quickly hung up the fake calligraphy.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience. He wants to have a man-to-man conversation with Your Majesty!"

"Ah!"

Li Shimin couldn't help laughing when he heard this novel statement: "A nine-year-old scholar is talking nonsense about conversations between men. He really doesn't know what he's talking about!"

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and he put away his smile and waved his hand, saying, "Let him in!"

Not long after, Li Chengqian walked in from outside the hall with a gait that showed he didn't care about his relatives.

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Chu Suiliang standing not far from Li Shimin, and couldn't help frowning.

Although he didn't know Chu Suiliang yet, he had clearly greeted Li Shimin and wanted to have a conversation between men. How could this guy be so ignorant?
Is it possible that your brain is not working well?
Seeing Li Chengqian standing at the door, staring at Chu Suiliang but ignoring him, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, and then couldn't help coughing twice, and said lightly: "Mr. Chu, you go down first!"

"Ah? Oh, yes."

Chu Suiliang reacted for a moment, then bowed and left the hall.

Seeing this, the other palace servants also left, leaving space for the emperor and the prince to talk alone.

However, the prince did not rush to speak, but looked at the emperor calmly.

Until the emperor was a little impatient with his gaze, he took the initiative to ask: "Do you want to talk to me?"

"What is there to talk about with my father?" Li Chengqian responded calmly.

Li Shimin frowned and said coldly: "It seems that you don't want to talk!"

"I've wanted to talk to Father for a long time!"

"Then what do you want to talk about!"

"Father, don't you know what I want to talk about?"

"How do I know what you want to talk about?"

"Didn't you summon me to the palace?"

"This"

Li Shimin reacted for a moment, then snorted coldly: "Let's talk!"

"Let's talk!"

Li Shimin: "."

Li Chengqian: "."

The father and son looked at each other, both silent.

After a while, Li Shimin took the initiative to walk to the cushion next to Li Shimin, sat down casually and asked: "Why did you drive grandpa to Taiyuan?"

"Are you questioning me?" Li Shimin's face darkened.

"No, I just want to know the reason."

"Hmph, you don't need to ask what I do!"

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, then looked up at Li Shimin and said helplessly, "Does our family really have to end up like this?"

"It's all because of you that things got like this!"

Li Shimin was furious when he mentioned this, and immediately said indignantly: "Have you ever thought about my feelings when you did those things? I am the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, where do you put my dignity?!"

"Then, father, what do you think is more important, face or the world?" Li Chengqian asked calmly.

Li Shimin was slightly stunned and couldn't help asking: "What do you mean?"

"May I ask your Majesty, what have I done wrong since I left Chang'an? Is there anything that is not for the good of the Tang Dynasty? Or do you think that I, as the crown prince, am incompetent?" Li Chengqian blinked and asked repeatedly.

"This..." Li Shimin was speechless.

Although there were many differences and conflicts between him and his son, it is undeniable that Li Chengqian was indeed an excellent son. Everything he did was beneficial to the Tang Dynasty.

Although Jiangling's small commodity economy seems to be in a mess, Jiangling has the highest tax revenue, especially commercial tax.

He had never thought before that commercial taxes would be so high.

Even the Ministry of Revenue, which had always attached great importance to agricultural taxes and treated commercial taxes as nothing, submitted a petition to him, hoping to implement commercial taxes nationwide.

This shows the influence of Jiangling on the Tang Dynasty.

Jiangling’s current situation cannot be entirely attributed to Li Chengqian, but it is definitely related to him.

Therefore, Li Chengqian, the crown prince, must be competent.

If the contributions of Shuofang are counted, Li Chengqian can be said to be a model prince in all dynasties.

However, it was precisely because his son was so outstanding that Li Shimin felt more and more pressured, and even hoped that his son would not be so outstanding.

But, can he express such a hope?
It is said that fathers hope their sons will become successful. How can a father hope that his son will not be outstanding?
Then, the entire hall fell into silence again.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Shimin finally sighed deeply and, for the first time, spoke softly, speaking in a tone other than that of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, "Cheng Qian, I know you are intelligent and capable, but you should learn from the wise emperors of ancient times, not from me. I have made many mistakes, so don't assume that just because I succeed, I am right."

"Sometimes, success and failure can't explain everything, do you understand?"

"I"

Li Chengqian's heart trembled slightly, and he looked at Li Shimin in surprise, because he had never seen Li Shimin speak to him in such a 'sincere' tone.

In the past, Li Shimin had always been very majestic towards his eldest son.

After a moment of silence, Li Chengqian curled his lips and said seriously, "Of course I understand, but I don't want to learn from my father. The path I want to take is different from my father's."

"Furthermore, what Father can do, I may not be able to do. What I can do, Father cannot do either. We have two different personalities. Therefore, I hope Father will not interfere with what I want to do. At the same time, I will also try my best to cooperate with what Father wants to do. In this way, we, father and son, will not interfere with each other and rule the world together, which will surely lead the Tang Dynasty to prosperity."

"."

When Li Shimin heard this, his face turned green with anger.

At such a young age, he has huge ambitions. He even wants to rule the world with me?!
What do you mean by "what I can do, you may not be able to do, what I can't do, you can do"? Just because I praise you a few times, you get so cocky! You can't tell the difference between a king and a queen, right?!

"call"

Taking a deep breath, Li Shimin suppressed his anger and said solemnly, "You said you could cooperate with me and do what I want. How confident are you about praying for rain during the drought?"

"This"

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment, then rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Didn't I ask Father why he sent Grandpa to Taiyuan?"

"Who said I sent him to Taiyuan?"

Li Shimin said this unhappily, then frowned and explained, "Next month is your grandmother's memorial day. I plan to have the royal family return to Taiyuan to pay homage to their ancestors. Your grandfather hasn't been back to Taiyuan for many years. When we started the rebellion in Taiyuan, we went to the Jin Temple to pay homage to Tang Shuyu. This time when we go back, we might as well go and see it as a way to fulfill our wish!"

"what?"

Li Chengqian was stunned. He couldn't expect this to be the reason, and his face was full of embarrassment.

He also thought that Emperor Li II really wanted to drive Li Yuan back to his hometown and separate him from him forever.

However, he was also a little curious, so he couldn't help but ask, "I remember that in the past we didn't have to go back to Taiyuan to worship our ancestors. Wasn't it enough to worship them in the Taimiao?"

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. I have my own arrangements for this matter. You don't need to ask too much. Now let's talk about praying for rain!" Li Shimin said without any doubt.

Li Chengqian glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and then said calmly, "There's nothing much to say about praying for rain. I'll definitely do what I promised."

"This"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was speechless again.

Although he had long realized that his son probably had some shocking tricks up his sleeve, praying for rain was a matter of great importance and could not afford any mistakes. Even though Li Chengqian had promised him in person, he was still a little worried.

What's more, the Tang Dynasty is now facing not only drought, but also locust plagues.

Therefore, no matter how extraordinary the abilities Li Chengqian had demonstrated before, Li Shimin could not place all his hopes on him. After all, in his opinion, no matter how capable Li Chengqian was, he could not control the arrangements of heaven.

But whether it will rain or not is not up to humans to decide.

If man could really control God's will, then he would not be human.

Of course, it was impossible for Li Shimin to stop Li Chengqian from praying for rain, because the news of the prince praying for rain had spread throughout the world.

Unless he wanted Li Tang to lose the trust of the world, he could not stop Li Chengqian from praying for rain.

Thinking about it this way, Li Shimin felt that since he could not stop Li Chengqian from praying for rain, he would give him the greatest help.

Regardless of whether he can pray for rain successfully, he must save his life first.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin gave Li Chengqian a deep look, then turned and walked to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote a handwritten edict, handed it to Li Chengqian, and said: "I have ordered the Taichang Temple to fully assist you in praying for rain. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, you must return alive!"

"Uh,"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched. He took the imperial edict with a strange look on his face and said, "Father, are you worried that I, Qiyu, will die?"

"Humph!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly, then said seriously: "Don't say you don't know the dangers of praying for rain!"

"Yes! I know! Father entrusted me with such a dangerous task. Isn't that a bit too much?"

"What's too much? You promised to pray for rain yourself!"

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian laughed: "Why did I agree to pray for rain? Doesn't your Majesty have any idea?"

"you!"

Li Shimin blushed with anger, but he didn't argue with his son. After all, he was indeed in the wrong in this matter. However, he did not feel guilty about it. Instead, he smiled teasingly and said, "Is this what you call a conversation between men?"

"Oh, I haven't spoken about this yet."

Li Chengqian nodded as if suddenly realizing something, then rambled on, "Father, my officials in the Eastern Palace haven't been registered with the Ministry of Personnel yet, and don't have official robes or fish tokens. On the way back, I asked my uncle, and he said the current Minister of Personnel is my great-uncle. But I don't know him well, so please inform him for me and ask him to make arrangements quickly. Also, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, and the others made significant contributions in this great victory in Shuofang. They must be awarded a decent title to bring honor to their family!"

"."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes gradually narrowed and he frowned as he stared at Li Chengqian.

Although he had long since deprived the Crown Prince of the right to select officials for the Eastern Palace, this matter had not yet been made public, which means that Li Chengqian did not know about it yet.

If he rejected Li Chengqian now, it would mean that he had exposed the matter.

He only showed a smile on his face that Li Chengqian couldn't understand, and then said one word lightly: "Okay!"

Li Chengqian didn't expect Li Shimin to agree so easily. He was a little surprised, but he couldn't help but pat his chest and assure Li Shimin: "Father, please believe me! This rain bag! I can poke a hole in the sky!"

Li Shimin smiled and said nothing.

Soon, Li Chengqian left with satisfaction.

Not long after Li Chengqian left, the smile on Li Shimin's face slowly faded, replaced by an inscrutable smile.

"For a man to talk to another man, you must first have the strength. Do you have it?"

The smile on Li Shimin's face seemed to indicate that he had the upper hand.

Because in his opinion, his strength was obviously not equal to Li Chengqian's.

How can the weak demand fairness from the strong?

At this moment, Wushe saw Li Chengqian coming out of the hall, and walked in at the right time, reporting in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Duke Huo has a secret report for you to submit!"

"What secret music?"

Li Shimin was just despising his son for not knowing his own worth and thinking that he could talk to him about ruling the world together just because he had two powerful guards. When he heard Wushe's report, he was slightly stunned.

Wushe said cautiously, "I don't know the contents of the secret report either. Your Majesty, please check it yourself."

As he spoke, he respectfully handed over Chai Shao's secret memorial.

Seeing this, Li Shimin frowned, but without saying any more nonsense, he directly opened the secret memorial and began to read it.

I saw that the beginning of the article was a striking sentence.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace has a troop of 5,000 elite Turkic cavalry, known as the Wolf Fang Guards!"

"What!?"

Li Shimin was shocked and looked quite stunned. Even his hand holding the secret memorial couldn't help but tremble.

This, how is this possible? !
How could that rebellious son possibly have an elite Turkic cavalry of 5,000 men?!

Where did he get it?!
　[Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket, please give me more when the number reaches 1000]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)