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

Chapter 735: Palace Order
Uh, how come you still remember this? Such important military intelligence, such a heavy atmosphere, why are you bringing this up?

Li Yan immediately said passionately: "I did something very important yesterday. If it goes well, it may be possible to pull Tuli to the side of our Tang Dynasty. In order to facilitate the alliance of the three grassland tribes, I made a huge sacrifice."

Li Shimin's forehead was covered with black lines, and he turned his head and looked at Li Yan: "Oh, such a meaningful thing, tell me about it?"

"Father, I have always been cautious in doing things. I don't like to brag before I succeed. Please allow me to keep it a secret for a while. When the matter is completed, I will take credit for it."

Li Yan looked at Li Shimin with a frank expression, as if the wind was whistling and the Yi River was cold, and the hero would never come back.

After staring at Li Yan for a long time, Li Shimin slowly shook his head. This kid was really shameless. He went out to drink and got drunk. He didn't wake up until this morning. Now he is so shameless that he says he is loyal to the country for his dissolute behavior.

Anyway, this shameless look is not annoying.

However, the prince's performance has always satisfied me. He is sensible and knows when to advance and retreat. He has a good reputation both in the court and among the people. Sometimes he even gives me surprises, such as the matter of the Jinyiwei and this intelligence.

I couldn't tell whether it was true or false, but at least there was some progress. I didn't expect Jinyiwei to achieve anything, and I agreed to let the prince set up this department for the purpose of training and exercising.

It doesn’t matter if there is no effect, it’s even better if there is.

Moreover, the prince has always been obedient and filial, and has never made any major mistakes. He has always followed the rules, so it is nothing if he indulges himself occasionally.

Just yesterday, Ma Xuanliang reported that there seemed to be some conflict between the Crown Prince and Li Ke at the gate of Huichang Temple. The Crown Prince even slapped Li Ke. Later, an assassination occurred. Li Shimin was a little worried, but the assassination incident had been clarified and it was definitely not the Crown Prince's doing.

If he had slapped someone, he wouldn't have attempted a stabbing. If he had wanted to stab someone, he wouldn't have started a conflict on the surface.

The crown prince is the eldest brother and the heir to the throne, so teaching Li Ke a lesson is not a big deal. What Li Shimin is worried about is fratricide.

He was only worried about such a heinous incident as assassination. As long as it was not done by the prince, Li Shimin would accept it no matter who it was and would get to the bottom of it. It was just a matter of time.

After ruling this out, Li Shimin was very curious about what Li Ke had done to force the usually good-tempered prince to take action. Li Shimin also saw the redness and fingerprints on Li Ke's face in the Prince of Shu's mansion yesterday, which was obviously not done by an assassin.

Those assassins were armed with scimitars and bows and arrows, so they certainly weren't in the mood to slap someone. Strangely, Li Ke never mentioned a word about it. Didn't he go to the palace yesterday to complain to him about this matter? Then why did he go to the palace?
Also, was the body that was chopped beyond recognition in the carriage really just an ordinary guard? I've never heard of Li Ke using a stand-in when traveling before?

Besides, who in the capital doesn't know him? He rode on his horse with such a swagger. Did the assassin really recognize the wrong person? Did he mistake the person in the carriage for the King of Shu? I heard that those Hu people had been in the capital for several years. How could they recognize the wrong person on the day of the assassination?
If it wasn't a mistake, then who was the person in the carriage? Was their target the person in the carriage from the very beginning?

Li Ke did not say anything about either the assassination or the slap in the face by the prince. It was obvious that there was something dirty or something in someone's hands that made him feel guilty, so he did not dare to complain.

In short, Li Shimin felt very strange about the series of events that happened yesterday.

Li Shimin has already asked Ma Xuanliang to start investigating, but it may take time for the inside story to be revealed.

Li Shimin wanted to ask in front of the crown prince, but before he figured out the details, Li Shimin didn't want to be confused and make random comments. This was related to the relationship between the two princes, and if he acted rashly, it would affect the authority of himself as the father and emperor.

After thinking it over, Li Shimin still did not speak. He wanted to wait until he had figured out the whole situation before deciding how to deal with it.

He walked to the imperial desk, picked up a jade ruyi that he often played with in his hand, thought for a moment, turned around and handed it to Li Yan, saying: "Since you have done a good job in reporting the enemy situation this time, I will give you this ruyi as a reward."

"Thank you, Father. I will continue to work hard and live up to your expectations!"

Li Yan took the Ruyi with a smile on his face. It was soft and smooth to the touch, as tender as a baby's skin. He sighed in his heart that there was no artificial synthesis in this era. A Ruyi carved from such a large piece of mutton-fat white jade must be priceless!

Especially since this is something Li Shimin often plays with, many princes and ministers know it, and holding it in your hand is like being there in person.
When Li Shimin saw Li Yan's childlike smile, he also felt a little happy in his heart. His eyes were deep and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

Rewards are given for merit and punishments are given for faults. This is the authority of the emperor and the way to rule the world. Rewards are favors and punishments are authority. Rewards can inspire the enterprising spirit of the ministers and punishments can make the ministers feel awe. We must never try to offset merits and faults.

Even if he is a prince, he will be rewarded if he has made contributions.

Of course, if there was a fault, Li Shimin would not hesitate to punish, and with rewards, he could justify the punishment and make the other party convinced. The Jinyiwei, which the prince was in charge of, was able to find out such important military information and carry out such a difficult task of dividing and disintegrating the enemy thousands of miles away. Even in the army, it was a great achievement and must be rewarded. The emperor holds the power of life and death, reward and punishment in the world. If he does not reward, how can he show his grace and power?
Appropriate rewards can motivate people to work harder and achieve more.

Of course, if there were only rewards, it would not reflect the emperor's wisdom. Li Shimin's rewards also implied the majesty of heaven hanging high above his head.

The things you reported cannot be verified at present because there is no circumstantial evidence. They can only be endorsed by your personal credit.

I can only believe it!
But military and national affairs should not be treated lightly. These rewards represent the court's recognition and verify the authenticity of the intelligence. If one day it is discovered that you are talking nonsense, then these rewards will become ironclad evidence of deceiving the king, and you will have to bear the brunt of the consequences.

But Li Shimin did give some thought to what to reward.

The prince is different from ordinary ministers. He is destined to rule the world in the future. Some titles and official positions of ordinary ministers are not suitable for him, which lowers the status of the prince. Moreover, these positions and titles will not be usable in the future.

The crown prince is a very important link in the core of court power. He plays an important role in stabilizing the people's hearts and is the second institutional guarantee for stability in the world. The emperor must both cultivate him and restrict him. It will not do either if he does not do enough or if he does too much.

Meritorious service should be rewarded, but if the prince's power is increased arbitrarily, it will easily arouse people's greed, stimulate people's ambitions, make the prince feel unstable, and disrupt the steps of training the prince and controlling the world.

The problem with Emperor Retired Emperor Li Yuan was not that he restricted the Crown Prince, but that after restricting the Crown Prince, he was unable to curb the growth of the power of his second son, which threatened the Crown Prince's safety, made the Crown Prince hate him, and caused confrontation between the two sons.

The contradictions escalated violently, leading to extreme incidents.

Therefore, Li Shimin had to control the growth of the power of the crown prince and other princes, and reward them with materials that would not arouse people's greed.

To be honest, fiefs, fields, houses, gold, silver, and silk, which are generally used for material rewards, are meaningful to other princes and ministers, but have little meaning to those who want to own the world.

Li Shimin thought about it and decided to use some of his own imperial items as rewards to encourage the prince and show his affection, without any negative effects. Others were naturally not qualified to enjoy things that the emperor had used, and it was not easy to give them to other princes and princes, as it might cause the ministers to have wild thoughts.

But it doesn’t matter to the prince, as it reflects the dual intentions of the emperor and his father, which is very appropriate.

The ministers would not think too much about it. His unique identity was incomparable and would not arouse the jealousy of others.

These profound and subtle considerations are things that can only be felt by someone in Li Shimin's position. Li Shimin is using these actions to teach his prince by example, subtly teaching him how to be a superior, how to be an emperor who rules the world and rules over all.

How much he can understand depends on the prince's understanding and effort.
But Li Shimin also knew that it was unrealistic to ask the teenage prince to have such vision and experience.

Looking at his son in front of him with a childish smile on his face, holding the jade ruyi in his hands and unable to let it go, Li Shimin felt a flash of affection for his son. His heart softened and he shook his head secretly. He didn't know how much this kid could understand and when he would realize his father's good intentions and grow up soon.

"Li Ke was injured yesterday. As the crown prince and brother, you should go over to see him and show your concern. You don't need to attend the court meeting today. Just go once you leave the palace! You are the crown prince, and the people of the world are watching. You should set an example for the world."

"Yes, Father, I will go to Qiyun Palace after leaving Chengqing Palace."

Hearing Li Shimin mention Li Ke's injury, Li Yan quickly put away the smile on his face and said apologetically, "Mother wanted to visit my third brother yesterday, but it was delayed because of me. I will go to my third brother's house with you later."

"Ok!"

Li Shimin thought about it, then walked to the shelf next to him and found a box.

He took out a palm-sized token, one side of which was carved with a golden five-clawed dragon, and the other side was carved with the shape of a door, and handed it to Li Yan: "This is a token for entering and leaving the palace. In addition to entering the Taiji Palace."

"After the city gates are closed, a maximum of ten people will be allowed to enter and exit, and they can move freely in Chang'an City after curfew."

"I give it to you. If the Jinyiwei has urgent military information next time, you can have someone take this token and go directly into the Forbidden City to report to me. But you must use it with caution. Every time this token is used, it will be strictly registered and reported to me the next day. Do you understand what I mean?"

Li Yan was stunned. This is a good thing?
Once the palace gates and the city gates were closed at night, even the crown prince himself could not enter or leave at will. The few times he entered the palace in the middle of the night were when Empress Changsun was ill, and Li Shimin issued an imperial decree to send Ma Xuanliang to fetch him in.

(End of this chapter)