The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 679 Fang Xuanling's Exclamation
Li Yan listened to Li Shimin's scolding, knelt down calmly, and explained: "Father, as the saying goes, everyone has his own shortcomings and strengths, and everyone has his own duties. I have been studying in the East Palace since I was a child. I have never joined the army or led soldiers."

"As for this Flying Tiger Army, I know it is the trump card prepared by my father for the Northern Expedition to the Turks."

"How can a young boy like me, who is still wet behind the ears and whose hair hasn't even grown out, train such an iron army that can destroy cities and seize fortresses? If the emperor insists on handing it over to me, and then it makes a mess, wouldn't it be a mistake for the country and the people? In the end, he will blame me. It's better to punish me now."

"you"

When Li Shimin heard the prince belittling him so unscrupulously, as if he was quite self-aware and not at all ashamed of his inability to train a good army, but rather acted justified, he was immediately furious and fumed.

But Li Shimin himself knew that he valued the prince's lack of talent in this area and asked him to train the Flying Tiger Army. He did not expect the prince to train soldiers, which was impossible. He wanted to use the prince to stimulate Hou Junji, and at the same time he had some unspeakable plans.

But he couldn't say this directly, otherwise, wouldn't it be obvious that he, the emperor, was using and framing his son?

The trap is set first, and the accusations and punishments come later. Where can you put your face?
Li Yan's confession and refusal surprised Li Shimin for a moment. After several attempts, he found that the prince was really not greedy for military power. This was true for the Zuotun Guard and the Flying Tiger Army. This seemed to indicate that the prince did not have too strong ambitions.

This made Li Shimin feel relieved, but on the other hand, he was troubled by the next plan.

But Li Shimin was stuck for a moment, but Li Yan did not stop. He was somewhat unhappy with Li Shimin's calculations, so he used directness to break the trick and made innuendos and accusations against Li Shimin.

"Father, as the Son of Heaven, your every word and action affects the well-being of the people of the world. You should be extremely careful when appointing people to official positions. You should consider whether the person has the ability to fulfill the duties. You cannot be partial to him because of his special status. Otherwise, you are entrusting the wrong person."

Li Yan straightened his neck and said with a righteous look on his face: "When a minister accepts the king's appointment, he should also know himself and see if he can shoulder the king's trust. Military and national affairs should not be treated lightly, otherwise it will harm the country and the people, and in the end it will also harm yourself. I feel that I am not qualified for this position, so I will explain it to my father in advance."

"I have already said this before. If Your Majesty insists on appointing me, and if I mess up the job, Your Majesty, please don't blame me for it."

Li Yan's words were upright and contained a hint of accusation and persuasion. Li Shimin was stifled by Li Yan's words and angrily walked around the hall, circling around Li Yan several times, feeling a little unsure of where to start.

Li Shimin also felt a little embarrassed because of the anger and embarrassment of failing to plot against his son.

Fang Xuanling, who was standing aside, squinted his eyes, stroked his beard, and watched the scene with a smile on his face. The prince was young, brave and knowledgeable. He seemed to be apologizing, but in fact he cleverly avoided the danger and faced Li Shimin, the emperor who was feared by the world.

He was not afraid at all and talked freely. As the saying goes, a man is strong when he has no desires. Is the prince so calm because he does not cling to power, or is he not worried that Li Shimin will take away his position as prince, so he has no scruples?
Fang Xuanling sat on a brocade cushion at one side, watching the conversation between the father and son. He could tell that the prince was truly fearless, and his eyes were calm and composed. And with his intervention, the original conversation between the monarch and his subjects quietly turned into a scene of a strict father educating his son.

This was in stark contrast to the previous time when the King of Shu came to express his gratitude in a serious manner.

One is the monarch and his subject, the other is the father and his son. Which is better? Fang Xuanling, the first counselor of the Tang Dynasty, who witnessed both scenes, naturally knows clearly. The prince quietly transformed the serious monarch-subject relationship into a closer father-son relationship. Was it intentional or unintentional?
Fang Xuanling fell into deep thought. As the saying goes, he who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened!

The Crown Prince is not like the King of Shu who always tries to gain the upper hand and is competitive in everything. He also knows clearly what he can and cannot do. He takes the power he should take and refuses the power he should not take. Just based on this point, he is already better than many people.

Fang Xuanling knew that the emperor really wanted to support the prince during the grain transportation incident last time. But this time, the situation was different. Cheng Yaojin, a major military general, sided with the prince. As the general manager of Dingxiang Road, the prince's strength in the army expanded unprecedentedly. If the emperor could still bear it.

After Hou Junji returned to the capital, he was appointed General of the Right Guard. With the support of two generals who held military power, the prince's power became quite strong. Even if King Xiang of Shu was appointed to lead the Left Wuwei Army and the Left Tunwei Army at the same time, he could not compare to the prince.

So, by taking advantage of this incident, on the one hand, he wanted to provoke Hou Junji to take up the task of training the Flying Tiger Army, and on the other hand, he wanted the Crown Prince to make some mistakes, and then he would severely criticize and suppress him afterwards, so as to reduce the reputation and influence of the Crown Prince and achieve a balance of power among the princes. I don't know if the Crown Prince saw this link, but in short, the Crown Prince did not hesitate to expose his shortcomings and pointed out that he could not complete the task. If the Emperor insisted on appointing him under such circumstances, it would be a bit shameless to punish him in the end.

But he could not take off this task at this time. No matter who took over the Flying Tiger Army, it would not achieve the effect of motivating Hou Junji to come out of retirement.

Every time the prince did things, he managed to cleverly avoid hidden dangers and gained great benefits. This made Fang Xuanling, who had been observing carefully, unsure: was the prince just lucky, or was he just wise?

After the last incident with Cheng Yao and Huai Liang, he was still worried that the prince would be in danger. Out of caution, Fang Xuanling asked Empress Changsun to protect the prince without leaving any trace, but it was also a test.

Later, Fang Sheng, who was watching at the gate of the East Palace, told him that the prince had no intention of going to Yongtong Canal that day, and did not even send anyone to inquire about the news or take any action to deal with the aftermath.

The Empress also mentioned that the Prince rushed to Qiyun Palace as soon as he learned that the Empress was ill, and offered to serve his mother in the palace. He stayed there for a few days, but no servants from the Eastern Palace contacted him. In the end, he was driven out of Qiyun Palace by the Emperor. All this shows that the Prince had nothing to do with Cheng Huailiang's death.

What impressed Fang Xuanling the most was that the prince actually used this opportunity to turn his enemy into a friend and won over Cheng Yaojin, a very important figure among the old generals of the Prince of Qin's Palace.

Fang Xuanling knew that in Li Shimin's mind, Cheng Yaojin was more important than Yuchi Gong in some sense.

Cheng Yaojin was a rare all-rounder among all the generals who was well versed in military and political tactics, wise but appearing foolish, and well versed in the art of concealment. He was outstanding among all the generals, but he was slightly lacking in courage. However, in peacetime, this was not a shortcoming but a strength.

A general who is too decisive may make people feel that he is lawless, cruel and difficult to control. Just like Yuchi Gong, who is brave but has no brains, is not good at politics, has poor social skills, offends people everywhere and has limited influence.

But Cheng Yaojin was different. He was rough on the outside but talented on the inside, meticulous and good at building good relationships with the generals. He could form a small circle no matter where he was and was very powerful.

Li Shimin sent Cheng Yaojin to the border and kept Yuchi Gong by his side. It was obvious that he was more wary of Cheng Yaojin.

And the prince actually captured such a powerful and low-key person in Fang Xuanling's eyes with his first move. Is this a coincidence?
Would the prince have such vision?
Why, with so many generals in the court, did the prince go to great lengths to recruit a man who was almost willing to side with the King of Shu? It was as difficult to deal with this person with an opposing stance as it was to win over several other generals, and their positions in the court were higher than Cheng Yaojin's, and their titles were more prominent and important.

In the competition for the position of the chief military commander of Dingxiang Road a few days ago, Fang Xuanling knew that Li Shimin's initial preference was Yuchi Jingde, but in the end the emperor, without consulting him, directly appointed Cheng Yaojin, a general who had not been considered before and was obviously alienated and suppressed.

I heard that Cheng Yaojin had been to the East Palace beforehand, and later the prince went to meet the emperor, and then the emperor decided on it without hesitation and changed the candidate?
The emperor did not consult with me, which showed that he was very sure of his decision and had sufficient reasons.

Afterwards, Cheng Yaojin went to the Eastern Palace again and sent his young son to the Eastern Palace as a tutor. Fang Xuanling naturally knew very well what this meant.

What he was curious about was that a man with a strong opinion like Li Shimin was actually persuaded by the prince. The reason behind this had not been told to him yet. How did the prince do it?
This move was considered very brilliant by Fang Xuanling, the first strategist of the Tang Dynasty. Cheng Yaojin's defection to King Li Ke of Shu had always been a hidden worry in Fang Xuanling's heart. He was still worrying about how to reverse this situation, but who knew that the prince would take action.

And it was done very beautifully, making the King of Shu lose an important force, and increasing their own strength. With one move, they solved two problems. As one strengthened, the other weakened, and their strength increased greatly. They were no longer suppressed by the King of Shu. There were no sequelae, and even the old problem of Wude nine years was solved. It was really beautiful. This series of measures made Fang Xuanling secretly applaud and marvel.

This reminded Fang Xuanling of the truth behind Cheng Huailiang's death again. Everything started from here. Was it just a coincidence, and the prince took advantage of the situation, or was it the prince's plan from the beginning to the end?
If it is the latter, it will be a huge surprise to Fang Xuanling. Even if it is the former, it is a blessing for the Tang Dynasty that the prince has such wisdom.

Because of this, the curiosity of the first prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was aroused even more. The more he couldn't see through it, the more interested he was. It was even more rare that the prince could do it so flawlessly and hide it from the eyes of himself and the emperor.

(End of this chapter)