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

Chapter 270 Li Shimin: I am the emperor! [Seeking monthly votes]

"The request is invalid, next one!"

In Li Chengqian's impression, Hou Junji should be the kind of person who is unwilling to be inferior to others.

That's why he joined forces with the cripple and eventually started a rebellion.

Before this, Li Chengqian thought that he had a relatively harmonious relationship with Hou Junji. Although he did not cooperate with him in rebellion, they kept to themselves.

But now, Li Chengqian really couldn't understand why he suddenly targeted him.

Following the principle of taking things one step at a time when things are unclear, Li Chengqian glanced at Hou Junji and then casually said, "The request is invalid. Next!"

I rub!

Why is he here again!?
When the ministers heard what Li Chengqian said, their brains went blank instantly.

Li Shimin, who was standing aside, also had a look of surprise on his face.

He originally thought that Li Chengqian would give a strong counterattack to Hou Junji's request, just like he did to Zhang Xuansu, but unexpectedly, Li Chengqian once again resorted to rogue tactics.

This not only surprised Li Shimin, but also made him feel a strange admiration for Li Chengqian.

Because in his previous career as emperor, he had never experienced such a tactic that made his ministers' brains crash.

After all, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he always walked on thin ice when facing his ministers.

That's why there are ministers like Zhang Xuansu who pride themselves on being "loyal, honest and outspoken."

However, this time was obviously different from the previous one.

With the previous example of Zhang Xuansu, the ministers have understood one fact.

That is, if Li Chengqian were in power, it would do him no good but only harm.

Because Li Chengqian was very different from Li Shimin. Even though Li Shimin would occasionally act on his own, he was very tolerant of his subjects.

Li Chengqian is the kind of ruthless character who will take advantage of your illness to kill you.

As the saying goes, no one is perfect. A monarch who hates evil is definitely the end of the world for his subjects.

Therefore, the moment Li Chengqian used his rogue tactics, the ministers who were the first to react immediately became indignant and said, "If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince governs like this, is there any need for this court meeting to continue?"

"That's right! If the Crown Prince vetoes everything we submit, what's the point of this court meeting? Why not just let the Crown Prince make the final decision?"

"Yes, Prince, you can't do this. This is against the rules of the court meeting!"

"Your Majesty, please say something! We can't let the Crown Prince mess around again!"

Hearing the indignant advice from his ministers, Li Shimin sighed helplessly, then looked at Li Chengqian with a stern face and said again: "Prince, I need an explanation!"

"Father."

"Your Majesty, please!"

Li Chengqian: "."

Li Shimin: "."

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

After a moment, Li Chengqian stood up from his chair again, glanced at the ministers, and then said slowly, "Since Your Majesty requires me to give you an explanation, I will give you one. Hou Junji, the Minister of Justice, has received a secret report stating that the Jinyiwei, which I established, has been involved in multiple murders. I request that Your Majesty conduct a thorough investigation of the Jinyiwei."

"Here, I would like to ask Minister Hou, do you provide any evidence for your so-called secret report?"

Hou Junji was slightly taken aback, then said seriously, "Your Highness, although the secret report does not provide any substantial evidence, its content is very consistent with the actions of the Jinyiwei in Chang'an last night. Therefore, I request that Your Majesty conduct a thorough investigation of the Jinyiwei."

"So you still have no evidence, right?"

"Your Highness, I have just..."

"okay!"

Before Hou Junji could finish his words, Li Chengqian interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "I understand very clearly that you said there is no substantial evidence, only hearsay, and that you think it is a bit coincidental, so you are suspicious of the Jinyiwei!"

"This"

Hou Junji was stunned again, and then looked at Li Shimin.

But Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Even if there is suspicion, we should find out the truth and give justice to the deceased."

"Okay! Then check!"

Li Chengqian was also very straightforward and said directly: "I allow the Minister of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation of the Jinyiwei, but there is one condition, Your Majesty must agree to it!"

"What conditions?"

Li Shimin frowned and asked.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly: "If the Minister of Justice can't find evidence, or if the Jinyiwei finds evidence of several murders before the Ministry of Justice, from now on, the Jinyiwei will no longer be the Jinyiwei of the Eastern Palace, but the Jinyiwei of the Tang Dynasty court, with the power to independently investigate cases and supervise all officials!"

"What!?"

When the ministers heard this, they were shocked.

Even Li Shimin couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.

If the Jinyiwei were given the power to monitor all officials, the prince's power would be further strengthened. How could Li Shimin accept this?

So, after just a moment of surprise, Li Shimin decisively refused: "No!"

"why?"

"No reason. The Imperial Court has the Censorate to monitor all officials, which is enough!"

"But the Censorate won't investigate the case, right?"

"The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice are there to investigate cases, there's no need for the Jinyiwei!"

“But their ability to investigate cases.”

"enough!"

Before Li Chengqian could finish his words, Li Shimin interrupted him with a roar: "I am the emperor!"

Wow!
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent.

Even Li Chengqian couldn't help but shut his mouth.

It was obvious that he had touched Li Er's bottom line.

Even though Li Er had been compromising with him before, he had already made his attitude clear on this matter and would not compromise again.

Because Li Er's Hundred Cavalry Division was similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he knew the influence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in monitoring all officials.

Therefore, it would probably be impossible for Li Chengqian to use the Jinyiwei to intimidate all officials in the short term.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Fang Xuanling suddenly seemed to recall something and spoke out, "Isn't the Crown Prince going to sign a military alliance treaty with the foreign nations today? Why not sign the treaty first and leave the investigation to the Vice Minister of Justice?"

"Yes, yes, let's sign the military alliance treaty first. Those foreign envoys are still waiting outside!" Changsun Wuji also echoed.

Upon hearing this, the other ministers looked at each other without saying much, and then returned to their original queues.

But then Li Shimin said in a gentle tone: "Since the foreign countries are willing to form an offensive and defensive alliance with the Tang Dynasty, let them come in and sign the contract!"

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Jian, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, quickly agreed and left.

Soon, he walked in from outside the hall with envoys from 29 countries including Gaochang, Yutian, Shule, and Kangguo.

"We pay our respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Messengers, stand up!"

Li Shimin smiled faintly and raised his hand to signal, then turned to look at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian said directly, "Director Cen, please show the prepared treaty to the envoys. If there are no objections, then sign it!"

"As ordered!"

Cen Wenben responded and immediately ordered the prepared alliance treaty to be sent to the envoys of the twenty-nine countries one by one.

Although the envoys of the twenty-nine countries had already discussed and agreed to the conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty, some envoys still raised objections when the treaty was about to be signed.

The Gaochang envoy spoke first, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, I have one question. One of your conditions is that we use Tang currency. However, I understand that Tang doesn't have many copper coins. If we were to use all Tang copper coins, would they have enough?"

"Yes, Prince of the Tang Dynasty, although our country is small, it has a population of more than 100,000 households. Have you considered it carefully?" The envoy of the Kingdom of Khotan also echoed.

Li Chengqian smiled silently, as if he had been prepared for it.

But he smiled and said, "You envoys have misunderstood. The currency of the Tang Dynasty is not limited to copper coins. We also have a new currency called silver notes. These silver notes are not only easy to circulate, but can also be exchanged for an equivalent amount of copper coins, or gold and silver."

"This"

Upon hearing this, the envoys from various countries looked at each other in bewilderment.

"May I ask the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty what style this silver note is? Can we take a look at it first?" The envoy of Gaochang Kingdom spoke again.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly: "Why not?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gestured to Ma Zhou, "Minister of Revenue, go and get the latest banknotes issued by the Tang Dynasty for the envoys to see."

"promise!"

Ma Zhou agreed and immediately had someone present a number of beautifully crafted and uniquely patterned silver bills in front of the envoys from various countries.

"Oh my God, this is so beautiful!" An envoy exclaimed when he saw the banknotes.

The other envoys also showed surprised expressions.

It was the first time they had seen such coins, and they were immediately attracted by the style and pattern of the coins.

But the Kangguo envoy asked in surprise, "May I ask the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty what material this 'silver note' is made of? Why have we never seen it before?"

"The production process of the silver note is the highest secret of our Great Tang, so I naturally cannot share it with you easily. Also, look at the pattern on the silver note. There are multiple light and dark anti-counterfeiting marks, which are specially used to distinguish the authenticity." "Of course, the method of distinguishing the authenticity will be disclosed to you after you sign the alliance treaty. It can be said that no country other than our Great Tang can produce silver notes like this, so you can use them with confidence."

Li Chengqian explained patiently.

The envoys from various countries nodded as if they understood, then picked up the silver bills one by one, felt them carefully, appreciated them, and were finally deeply attracted by them.

After a long while, the Shule envoy said thoughtfully, "May I ask the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, what do the symbols on this banknote mean?"

"Symbol? What symbol?"

"It's this symbol that looks like the Chinese character '口'. I see it on every banknote, and more than one. Some even have several."

"Oh, those are zeros you're talking about. They're numbers that the Tang Dynasty designed specifically for silver notes. A hundred taels of silver note has two zeros after one, a thousand taels has three zeros, and so on."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "Look at that tray. There should be a special introduction to the numbers from zero to ten."

"Wow! It really exists! This is amazing! The Tang Dynasty is worthy of its name, it can actually design such simple numbers!" A foreign envoy was the first to discover the introduction on the tray and exclaimed in surprise.

Seeing this scene, all the Tang Dynasty officials around stretched their necks, their faces full of curiosity.

Although they had heard that Li Chengqian had invented silver notes a long time ago, only a few people owned them.

Therefore, most of them, like these envoys, were seeing the silver bills for the first time.

But then the Shule envoy spoke again: "According to the Tang Crown Prince, these one hundred taels of silver notes can be exchanged for one hundred taels of Tang copper coins, or gold and silver?"

"That's right!"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Anyone who brings a silver note can exchange it for an equivalent amount of currency!"

"Is this true?"

"You have no joke!"

"Okay! We in Shule Kingdom want all these banknotes!" The envoy of Shule Kingdom said decisively.

The other envoys reacted for a moment and then followed suit.

"I want Gaochang Kingdom too!"

"And me, Kangguo!"

"Prince of the Tang Dynasty, we..."

Seeing the envoys scrambling to ask for the banknotes, the surrounding Tang officials could not help but look at each other in confusion again.

Although these silver notes do seem to be good things, is it really a good thing to give them to foreign countries for free?

The Tang Dynasty is not rich now!
However, just as Fang Xuanling was about to step forward to stop Li Chengqian, he heard Li Chengqian say with a smile: "My envoys, please don't be anxious. Let me finish what I have to say!"

"Could it be that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty has changed his mind?" asked the envoy of Gaochang Kingdom with blinking eyes.

He originally thought that this was a trap set by the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect that it would bring such great benefits.

If these silver notes could really be exchanged for Tang Dynasty currency, or gold and silver, then after signing the alliance, he would immediately exchange the silver notes issued by the Tang Dynasty for gold and silver, and then secretly transport them back to the country.

After all, no banknotes can compare to real gold and silver.

As for the Tang Dynasty's requirement that his country must use silver notes, he also had many ways to deal with the Tang Dynasty. The first thing was to fleece the Tang Dynasty as much as possible.

Unfortunately, his wishful thinking will ultimately come to nothing.

Li Chengqian then continued, "I never do anything I regret. The Tang Dynasty has always honored its promises. The reason I told you not to rush to ask for the banknotes is to remind you to read the contents of the alliance first to avoid any misunderstandings!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the foreign envoys looked at each other, then hurriedly picked up the treaty on the tray and examined it carefully.

It was not until they had read all the contents of the treaty that the foreign envoys suddenly understood.

This banknote is not given for free!

They have to exchange it for real money!

"If you are not the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, you want us to exchange these papers for an equal amount of gold and silver?" The envoy of Gaochang Kingdom immediately showed an unhappy expression and questioned Li Chengqian.

The envoys from other countries also seemed to react and showed dissatisfied expressions.

"Yes, Prince of the Tang Dynasty! Although these silver notes are exquisite, the material they are made of is almost the same as paper. You ask us to exchange them for gold and silver. Isn't this asking too much?"

"Prince of the Tang Dynasty, if this is the alliance treaty, we will not sign it!"

"Yes! We won't sign it!"

"hehe."

Facing the indignation of the envoys from various countries, Li Chengqian smiled calmly, then glanced at them and said, "You don't have to sign, and the Tang Dynasty will not force you to sign. But I have to remind you that the Tang Dynasty's artillery shells are blind!"

"If it ever lands in your country, it's purely a misunderstanding. I hope you won't make a fuss. Accidents happen all the time!"

"Prince of the Tang Dynasty! Are you threatening us?" the envoy of Gaochang Kingdom said angrily.

Li Chengqian glanced at him calmly, then shook his head and said, "It's not a threat, it's a friendly reminder."

"Oh, right."

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something and added, "There's one more thing I must remind you of. From now on, you must use silver notes to purchase any goods from our Tang Dynasty. Anyone who violates this rule, whether the seller or the buyer, will be sentenced to death!"

"Of course, you can choose not to use our Tang Dynasty products. After all, our exquisite porcelain, gorgeous silk, delicious tea, high-end jewelry, advanced agricultural tools, and even gunpowder weapons are all in great demand."

"This, this, this"

When the envoys from various countries heard what Li Chengqian said, they were so shocked that they were speechless.

This is too poisonous!

It's simply cutting off their source of income!
You know, although they were envoys from various countries, every time they came to the Tang Dynasty, they would purchase a large amount of Tang Dynasty goods and ship them back to their country to make a profit from the difference.

If the Tang Dynasty stipulated that they must use silver notes to purchase Tang Dynasty goods, then they would have to use gold and silver to exchange for Tang Dynasty's silver notes.

Unless they really do as Li Chengqian said and don't use Tang Dynasty products.

But is this possible?
With the vigorous development of Jiangling, batches of novel commodities emerged in the Tang Dynasty. As long as they shipped these commodities back to the country, they could earn dozens or even hundreds of times the profit. How could they give up?

Therefore, what Li Chengqian is using now is actually an open conspiracy.

As long as countries cannot give up the huge temptation of interests, they will be driven by interests to compromise.

Sure enough, after a fierce ideological struggle, the Kangguo envoy seemed to have made up his mind and was the first to speak: "May I ask, Prince of the Tang Dynasty, is what you just said about purchasing firearms true?"

"Of course it's true. As long as you sign an alliance treaty and gain the trust of the Tang Dynasty, we will consider selling firearms to you!"

Li Chengqian said with a smile, thinking to himself, I said I would consider it, but I didn’t really agree.

If you want the Tang Dynasty to sell firearms to you, it is impossible unless the Tang Dynasty produces more advanced weapons.

"Of course, even if you want to buy firearms, you must use silver notes! Otherwise it is impossible!" Li Chengqian added.

The Kangguo envoy was stunned for a moment, and then involuntarily recalled the scene of watching the military exercises outside the city that day.

That sense of déjà vu of the destruction of the world still makes him shudder even when he thinks about it now.

If the Tang Dynasty used artillery against their country, it goes without saying that their country's army would not be able to withstand it.

So, after just a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and agreed: "Okay! I, Kangguo, am willing to sign the treaty!"

"Malhan, what's wrong with you?"

The envoys from Gaochang seemed surprised that the envoys from Kangguo agreed to sign the alliance.

But the Kangguo envoy raised his hand to interrupt him, saying seriously, "Before I came to the Tang Dynasty, our king instructed us to coexist peacefully with the Tang Dynasty. I don't want a war between Kangguo and the Tang Dynasty, and I hope to get Tang's help!"

After saying this, he no longer paid any attention to the envoy from Gaochang State, and resolutely picked up the brush in the tray, signed the alliance treaty, and stamped it with the seal of Kang State.

"it is good!"

When Li Chengqian saw that Kangguo was the first to sign the alliance, he immediately applauded.

Although the envoys from other countries were still somewhat reluctant, with Kangguo as an example, their reluctance did not last long.

Except for the envoys from Gaochang, Yutian and Shule who were still hesitant, the envoys from other countries also signed the alliance one after another.

Just when everyone thought that Li Chengqian would wait for the envoys from Gaochang, Yutian, and Shule to sign the treaty, Li Chengqian suddenly gave the order:
"Okay, it's time to sign the treaty. Except for the allies from various countries that have already signed the treaty, the remaining envoys who have not signed the treaty can leave!"

"what?!"

The envoys from Gaochang, Yutian and Shule were shocked when they heard this.

But the Gaochang envoy hurriedly said: "Prince of the Tang Dynasty, what do you mean? We haven't thought it through yet."

"Don't think about it if you haven't thought it through!"

Li Chengqian glanced at them coldly, then said in a deep voice, "The Tang Dynasty is not begging you to sign. Also, let me tell you one more thing: there's no waiting after the time is up!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Come here! Drive them out of the court!"

"No, no, no, we've thought it over. We want to sign! We want to sign!"

Seeing the Jinwu Guards outside the palace entering one after another, the envoys from Gaochang, Yutian and Shule suddenly panicked.

You know, the countries that have signed the alliance now are almost all around their country. Once these countries launch military operations against the Tang Dynasty.

That would be an absolute disaster for their country.

After all, their country often goes to war with these countries.

However, no matter how much they regretted, Li Chengqian ignored them and just watched them being dragged out of the hall by the Jinwu Guards.

Only after they disappeared at the palace gate did Li Chengqian look around at the envoys from various countries who had signed the treaty with a smile: "First of all, congratulations on joining ASEAN!"

(End of this chapter)