My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

"Amitabha Buddha, how has Your Majesty been? This humble monk pays his respects."

Just as Li Shimin was lost in thought, a familiar voice came from behind him.

He turned around and saw a tall monk standing opposite him, with a kind face and an extraordinary demeanor.

This monk was none other than the great master Xuanzang.

When Li Shimin saw Xuanzang arrive, he smiled and said, "Master, please have a seat."

"Your Majesty, how could this humble monk dare to sit before you?"

"Hey, there are no outsiders here, just the two of us brothers. Let's sit down and talk."

So Xuanzang sat down in the chair at the table.

He sat, but only on the front third of the chair, with his back straight.

It must be said that Master Xuanzang's meditation skills were quite remarkable.

Li Shimin personally poured him a bowl of tea, and then poured one for himself.

Li Shimin sat in front of the desk: "Today, seeing that the master is in good health, I am very pleased."

"Amitabha, thanks to Your Majesty's blessing! This humble monk is still in good health."

"Your Majesty is radiant with health and your eyes are bright and alert; this humble monk is also very pleased."

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Shimin changed the subject: "Recently, many things have happened in Chang'an, which I'm sure you've all heard about, Master."

"This humble monk knows a little about it."

"There is something I have some doubts about, so I have invited the master here to find out the situation."

"Your Majesty, please speak!"

Xuanzang was surprised, knowing that Li Shimin's summons must be for no good reason, but he remained outwardly calm.

"That's right, on the night of the Lantern Festival..."

Yin Hongzhi dared to ambush and assassinate me by the roadside. Later, Yin Hongzhi was captured, and I imprisoned him in the Dali Temple jail.

"Amitabha, Your Majesty, you've overlooked an important detail in what you're saying."

"What details?"

"Who saved you?"

"Uh—," Li Shimin didn't expect Xuanzang to ask him this question. He hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, "It was Su Wan. However, I didn't expect that some audacious people would dare to sneak into the Dali Temple prison and rescue Yin Hongzhi."

According to my subordinates, there were four monks among them. I would like to ask you, do you know who those four monks are?

Xuanzang was startled upon hearing this. Although Li Shimin spoke politely, it was tantamount to questioning him.

He steadied himself and said, "Your Majesty suffered such a great calamity, yet you are unharmed. It is truly the Buddha's blessing."

I have also heard about this matter, but I do not know who those four monks are.

If this humble monk knew, he would certainly have captured them and handed them over to His Majesty for punishment.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, because he knew that Master Xuanzang never lied; if he knew something, he knew it, and if he didn't know something, he didn't know it.

Li Shimin picked up the teacup and gently blew on the tea leaves floating on it: "Master, you are a highly accomplished monk in the Buddhist community of our Great Tang Dynasty."

I heard that every time the master gives a public lecture on Buddhism, thousands of monks from all over the country come to listen.

It's truly remarkable that a master like him has such influence.

"Amitabha, Your Majesty, you have exaggerated somewhat."

In the Tang Dynasty, I was just an ordinary monk, nothing special.

This humble monk has only studied Buddhist scriptures for many years and has gained some slight insights.

For example, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and the Heart Sutra.

I'm sharing this with everyone.

Those Buddhist monks from all over the country did not come specifically for this poor monk; some wanted to admire His Majesty's demeanor, while others wanted to see the bustling city of Chang'an.

Your Majesty initiated the prosperous reign of Zhenguan, and was a wise and benevolent ruler. Now, the world is at peace, and the people live in contentment. Such great achievements are beyond the reach of ordinary emperors.

Actually, Xuanzang meant something else when he said that.

He intentionally downplayed his influence among the monks.

He was worried that Li Shimin would become suspicious of him.

Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the Three Kingdoms period and a follower of the Taiping Dao, wielded considerable influence, which attracted the attention of the imperial court.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin thought to himself, "What a charismatic Xuanzang! He's truly eloquent. Oh, so those monks didn't come to hear him preach the Buddhist scriptures; they came to admire my charisma."

But who can resist such praise?

Li Shimin smiled slightly: "No matter what, your achievements in Buddhism are remarkable. Looking at the entire Tang Dynasty, there is no monk who can compare with you."

"Amitabha, Your Majesty, this humble monk has a different opinion on this matter."

I, a humble monk, entered the Buddhist order solely to seek the true scriptures and to save all sentient beings. I have absolutely no intention of comparing myself to anyone.

Those empty titles are meaningless to this humble monk.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin felt a sense of realization, thinking to himself that Master Xuanzang's enlightenment was truly superior; his heart was filled with the concerns of all living beings, not just himself.

It seems that I am far from reaching their level in this respect.

Li Shimin looked at Xuanzang and gently tapped the document with the middle finger of his left hand: "There is one more thing I would like to ask you."

Xuanzang was startled when he saw Li Shimin's eyes sharpen.

"Some people say that Li Chengan appeared at your temple. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanzang thought to himself, "As expected, secrets don't stay hidden forever."

This matter quickly reached Li Shimin's ears.

Xuanzang steadied himself and said, "Amitabha, Your Majesty, since you have asked about this matter, I have no choice but to tell you the truth. Indeed, Li Chengqian did visit our temple."

"Are you aware that I have already issued an order to hunt him down?"

"I have heard about it as well."

"So, you let him go?"

"Amitabha, that's good! This humble monk let him out through the back door of the Buddha hall."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin slammed his fist on the table in anger: "How dare you defy the imperial edict and release the criminal Li Chenggan without authorization! Who gave you such power?"

"Amitabha Buddha. As the Buddhist saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Moreover, Li Chengqian's status is special; he is both the Crown Prince and His Majesty's eldest son."

Furthermore, in my humble opinion, his contributions are unparalleled.

To prevent His Majesty from regretting this in the future, this humble monk has released him.

"What?"

Li Shimin thought to himself, "Oh, so you were thinking of me all along, afraid that I would regret it."

Li Shimin stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall: "Xuanzang, aren't you afraid of dying by doing this?"

What joy is there in life, and what fear is there in death?

If my life can prevent you father and son from killing each other and spare all living beings from the suffering of war, I am willing to give up my life for righteousness.

Even if I were to die, it would be worthwhile.

"you!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he pointed at Xuanzang with his right index finger.

His hand trembled uncontrollably from excessive anger.

"Amitabha!" Xuanzang closed his eyes, pretending not to see.

Li Shimin tried his best to control his emotions: "You think I am cruel, and blame me for being too harsh on Li Chengqian, is that it?"

Do you think I want to do this?

I was forced into this situation.

I have devoted so much effort to cultivating Li Chengqian, and I have hired so many teachers for him.

However, he didn't study properly and often talked back to his teachers.

"Amitabha, Your Majesty, since you have brought up this issue, this humble monk would also like to have something to say to you."

"Alright, tell me, where did I go wrong?"

"Educating the Crown Prince is of paramount importance, and I believe you have recognized this as well."

Therefore, you invited Li Gang, Kong Yingda, Lu Deming, Yu Zhining, and Zhang Xuansu, among others, to him.

Undeniably, these people are all remarkable.

They were all renowned scholars and masters of classical studies, highly respected, famous, and extremely learned.

But how did they teach the prince?

Confucius said that teaching should be tailored to individual students, while Taoism teaches that one should follow the natural way.

Li Chenggan is exceptionally intelligent; if properly instructed, he will surely achieve great things in the future.

For example, although Kong Yingda was a descendant of Confucius, he was old, senile, and extremely dogmatic.

I heard that Zhang Xuansu is very strict. If the Crown Prince does anything slightly out of line, he will be severely reprimanded.

Your Majesty, please consider this: things will turn around when they reach their extremes. If they discipline the Crown Prince so strictly, how can he possibly learn well?

The prince's childlike innocence has been completely extinguished.

He lives in unhappiness all day long; how can he possibly concentrate on studying?

Li Shimin had not heard of Xuanzang's remarks before.

In Li Shimin's mind, all he needed to do was find Li Chengqian a virtuous and learned Confucian scholar or master of classical studies.

As for how they taught the crown prince, and what methods they used to teach him, Li Shimin did not pay much attention to it.

Because Li Shimin trusted their character, and everything they did was for the good of the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin calmed down and seemed to think that Xuanzang's words made some sense, and that the teaching methods were also very important.

Xuanzang continued, "Playing is a child's nature. Can you expect a ten-year-old to spend all day studying in a rigid, unstructured way, with no joy in their life?"

Li Shimin remained silent.

"If a son is not taught properly, it is the father's fault. If Li Chenggan turns out to be a failure in the future, you will also bear an inescapable responsibility."

However, in this humble monk's opinion, Li Chengqian is already quite outstanding.

Having such a son, and the Tang Dynasty having such a crown prince, is a blessing bestowed upon you by Heaven.

"Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot"—this is not me speaking on behalf of Li Chenggan; I have dealt with Li Chenggan more than once.

In my opinion, Li Chengqian was the most outstanding crown prince in history.

For example, Fusu was too weak and unable to distinguish right from wrong.

He was blindly loyal and filial to Qin Shi Huang.

Logically speaking, someone as intelligent as him should have been able to see through Zhao Gao and Li Si's forged edict.

People tell him to die, and he doesn't even bother to tell if it's true or not, he just takes it as a real death. Is there any meaning to that kind of death?

It's a small matter that Fusu died, but you ruined the entire Qin Dynasty. How can you face your ancestors?

Crown Prince Liu Ying was weak-willed by nature and lacked military command ability.

How did Emperor Gaozu of Han die?

If Liu Ying had been able to lead the army to meet Ying Bu's rebellion independently, Liu Bang would not have been struck by a stray arrow.

He wouldn't have died so young.

Now, whether it's subduing the Dangxiang and Tuyuhun, or fighting against Yanqi, Li Chenggan is handling everything on your own.

You sit in Chang'an and command, while he fights bloody battles on the front lines. This saves you so much trouble!

Why can't you think of Li Chengqian's advantages?

When Liu Qi was the crown prince, he had a very violent temper.

He was playing chess with Liu Xian, the crown prince of King Wu, when the two unexpectedly got into an argument. Enraged, Liu Qi picked up the chessboard and smashed it down on Liu Xian, killing him instantly.

How much trouble and disaster did this bring to Emperor Wen of Han?

This was the spark that ignited the Rebellion of the Seven States. If Liu Qi hadn't killed Liu Xian...

Liu Bi probably didn't have that much anger.

Let's look at Li Chenggan; he has a very good relationship with his other brothers, they are all kind and respectful to each other, isn't that wonderful?

Li Shimin listened quietly with his hands behind his back, without saying a word.

Because Xuanzang's words were reasonable and well-founded.

"Let's talk about Liu Rong again. Liu Rong was also the eldest son of the emperor and the crown prince."

However, Liu Rong accomplished nothing, which may have been one of the reasons why Emperor Jing of Han wanted to depose him.

Even after Liu Rong was deposed, he continued to undertake large-scale construction projects, encroaching on the land of the ancestral temple, which put Emperor Jing of Han in a dilemma.

If we don't punish him, how can we convince the public?

The imperial court's regulations clearly stated that no matter who it was, even a descendant of the royal family, who encroached on the ancestral temple's land, they would have to pay with their life.

But how could Emperor Jing of Han bear to punish him?

Even though you crippled Li Chengqian, he didn't undertake any major construction projects, did he? He didn't cause you any trouble, did he?

No, not at all.

"You know more about the history between Emperor Wu of Han and his son Liu Ju than I do."

Liu Ju had no military power, yet he gathered numerous household servants and slaves to fight against the imperial court's regular army.

The two sides fought fiercely in Chang'an, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, with blood flowing like a river.

"Then, may I ask, do you think Li Chengqian has the ability to mobilize troops now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin snorted and said, "Of course he has them. The armies of those five kingdoms all obey his command. I can no longer command those armies."

"It's rare that you still have self-awareness. Li Chenggan clearly had the ability to mobilize troops, but he didn't."

Instead, they chose to run away. Why?

Does that mean he's really afraid of you?

Of course, it cannot be denied that you were a wise ruler, capable of conquering the world on horseback and governing it on foot.

Back then, the speed at which you conquered the world was unmatched.

Liu Bang's conquest of the empire was relatively quick; he destroyed the Qin dynasty in three years, conquered the Chu dynasty in four years, and established the Han dynasty in seven years.

And you conquered the world in just six years.

We acknowledge that you were a very capable military leader, but here's the problem: those were the days, and now is the present.

If you were to lead troops into battle now, would you definitely be able to defeat Li Chenggan?

Li Chengan was invincible in his campaigns in the Western Regions.

That time, he lifted the siege of Chang'an and routed the armies of Li Yuanli and Zhang Zhongjian.

On another occasion, he helped Li Daozong defend Luoyang and repel an army of over 100,000 Turks.

Furthermore, they persuaded the Turkic army to surrender; such a feat is probably unprecedented in history.

Li Shimin remained silent.

Xuanzang fiddled with his prayer beads: "Now, Li Chenggan's conditions are several times, even dozens of times, better than Liu Ju's were back then."

He was fully capable of confronting the imperial court.

However, he didn't do that; it was out of filial piety, out of consideration for the people of the Tang Dynasty.