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

Chapter 778 Li Yan's Decision

In the original drama, Li Shimin went north to form an alliance with Tuli. Li Chengqian was reluctant to send troops at first, but the whole court forced him to do so and the trend was inevitable.

In the end, even Fang Xuanling couldn't stand it anymore and avoided it on the pretext of illness.

Even though Li Shimin came back and severely punished Li Chengqian, Li Chengqian's decision to send troops was stupid and bad, but it was somewhat loyal and filial. Li Shimin was angry on the surface, but in fact he was satisfied with the prince's benevolence and filial piety.
If Li Chengqian had kept his troops in place and remained as steady as an old dog from beginning to end, Li Shimin would probably have been even angrier.

how?

The king and father are in danger, their lives hanging by a thread, and you hold the power of regent, but you don't take a single move. Do you have some evil thoughts, wanting me to die outside so that you can succeed to the throne early?

You should try your best.
Watching someone dying without helping, standing by and doing nothing, although objectively speaking it is rational and correct, it implies being heartless and ungrateful, and having ulterior motives. On the surface, Li Shimin would admire the prince for his calmness and composure in the face of danger.

But in reality, they would feel disheartened and disappointed, thinking that Li Chengqian was an ungrateful person who could not be relied upon at critical moments.

Therefore, no matter whether Li Chengqian sent troops or not, the final outcome would not be good.

Faced with the dilemma, Li Chengqian chose to rather let his father think he was incompetent than let his father think he was ruthless.

Can't say I did something wrong
If he was really forced into that situation, even though Li Yan was smart and wise, he had no choice but to send troops to rescue. In this environment, it was like a monkey in a thorn bush. No matter how clever and cunning you were, it would be difficult to do everything well.

As the emperor, Li Shimin was furious in Chengqing Hall when faced with the entire court's petition for conscription. However, in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, he could only find a way out and burned everyone's petitions without pursuing the matter.

So what if he is the boss? He cannot go against the will of the entire class, nor can he offend everyone.

Second sons like Li Ke and Li Tai could not stay out of it either. They just took on some random tasks and ended up in disgrace.

Li Ke offended the powerful people in the court and was despised by everyone because of his work of digging wells to fight drought and collect grain; and Li Tai had to have his legs smashed in order to avoid moving from a narrow village to a wide village, and then hid in the mansion under the pretext of being injured.

Both brothers took a lot of blame for Li Shimin.

When merging officials, Li Shimin initially wanted to appoint Zhangsun Wuji. However, Zhangsun Wuji knew the dangers involved, so he would rather offend his brother-in-law than not make an excuse to decline the offer. He also pushed Hou Junji to take the blame. All those who Hou Junji offended would be blamed on the Crown Prince.

A big part of the reason why Li Shimin chose Li Zhi in the end was that the other princes were more or less hated by the court officials, while Li Zhi, who had not been involved in these affairs from beginning to end, did not offend any forces.

His ascension to the throne is the most 'popular'.

The situations in Li Shimin's later years were very different from those in Kangxi's later years. Kangxi had done a lot of things when he was young, and he had lost that drive. He was old and tired, and he was concerned about his reputation as an "all-perfect man". He didn't want to add another dishonor to his "perfect" imperial career.

But the mess he left behind had to be cleaned up, so he chose the fourth brother who was "strong and unyielding" to take the position, just to take advantage of his intolerant character and go into deep water to take on the tough tasks.

Yinzhen's later death was inexplicable, which was inseparable from the backlash and revenge of the interest groups he had offended.

After twenty years of hard work during the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin had done almost everything he could, offended everyone he could, and reformed all the bad policies that needed to be reformed. The situation was similar to that when Qianlong ascended the throne, and his country was already very stable.

Thanks to the many reforms during the Yongzheng period, the bad policies accumulated during the Kangxi period were reversed and the national treasury was filled.

As long as Xiao returned to the court, Emperor Qianlong could survive for another hundred or eighty years, or several generations, even if things went wrong.

Thinking of this, Li Yan suddenly realized that his succession to Li Shimin was actually equivalent to Hongli taking over Yinzhen's position, rather than Yinzhen taking over Xuanye's position. The court was in different situations, so naturally different strategies had to be adopted.

We cannot apply things mechanically, but must be flexible and practical.

If this is the case, then you must not offend a large number of people. You can only let others do it for you.

Li Shimin was ambitious and eager for success.
Ah! No
Li Shimin has lofty ambitions and is a man of both military and literary talents. He will never be content with what he has. Coupled with the long conversation last night, there will definitely be a huge stir in the court of the Tang Dynasty. The original reforms plus his own feudal system will definitely not calm down in the short term.

If I continue to stay in the position of the Eastern Palace, he will definitely use me as a scapegoat, unless I am absent temporarily?

Yes
Thinking of this, Li Yan became excited. Was he really stupid?

I have always been thinking about those who are stuck in the political vortex, but no matter how smart I am, it is difficult to defeat the people of the day, right?
Why not jump out of the vortex and leave Chang'an City temporarily?
The ancients said that Chong'er was safe outside, but Shen Sheng died inside. Li Shimin still had more than ten years to rule. Only three or four years had passed since the Zhenguan period, and Li Yan was getting impatient, not to mention that there was still so much time. Let Li Ke, Li Tai, Li You and others fight inside first, and intrigue with those court officials, and be used by Li Shimin, taking the blame for Li Shimin, and indirectly working for him to sort out all the internal affairs.

And I can let myself go and be free and at ease in the periphery.

Those tasks also take time. Little Ankang is still at the age of eating candied haws, and it will take several years for her to get married. Although the migration of the Hu people is imminent, there are only one or two years left. But after all, these famous officials of the Tang Dynasty are not unaware of the disadvantages of migrating the Hu people.

But there was no other way at that time.

Can I use this matter to create a conflict with Li Shimin over future crises?
Li Yan still hasn't thought of a way to stop the Hu people from migrating inland, but if he goes to the grassland, it will be different. With his own talents and the famous ministers and generals of the era he has recruited, he is not afraid of not being able to carve out a kingdom on the grassland.

By then, I can remove the firewood from under the cauldron and trap the Hu people on the grassland. There will be no need for them to migrate inland, and the task will be accomplished by myself.

It is said that it is easy to conquer a country but difficult to govern it. In fact, conquering a country is not easy, but it is easier than governing it.

After all, to conquer a country, one only needs to kill people, wreak havoc, and capture cities, but governing a country is a delicate job that is difficult to carry out when dealing with one's own people.

Those aristocratic families and powerful groups are not entirely a scourge. They are both necessary forces to help the rulers maintain the country and a real threat to the long-term continuation of the regime.

Not to mention Li Shimin, even for Li Yan, it would be difficult to make drastic changes.

Although the system placed himself in the early Zhenguan period, he could choose to jump out of this comfortable environment and go to the turbulent area in the north to create a peaceful internal governance environment for Li Shimin and calmly deal with internal hidden dangers.

And with his own abilities, he could have messed up the north and even the northwest region before Li Shimin passed on the throne.

Li Yan knew that even in the industrialized era 1,500 years later, the western and northern regions were governed by their own regions. In the final analysis, it was not because the regions were too far apart, but because the cultures were not unified.

Especially in the Western Regions, there are many small countries, each with its own ideology, culture and management methods.

As the saying goes, there is no construction without destruction. As long as it can be maintained, people will not think about changing.

Unless there is a powerful force that breaks all the old patterns and models, it will be possible to pave the way for the subsequent feudal system and sinicization.

The agricultural culture of the Tang Dynasty determined that he would never be able to play this role.

In this case, we have to look for strength from outside, and the Turkic people in the northern desert, who are very aggressive but declining, are the most suitable to take the blame. By then, it will be the Turkic people who stir up trouble and harm the world, and it will be the Tang Dynasty that cleans up the situation and rebuilds the world.

Li Shimin managed the internal affairs well, while he created conditions outside to bring these wild lands under the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

The father and son worked hand in hand to replace the future feasible direct jurisdiction plus autonomy model with the direct jurisdiction plus feudal model, controlling the outside with the inside, with one master at a time and the central government governing the local areas, which would form the situation of Begonia in later generations.

As soon as the pattern was opened, Li Yan suddenly felt a fire burning in his chest.

My previous life was so frustrating. I was clearly a dragon, but I was squeezed into a small loach. I had to fight for a moment's gain and loss in this small space with these natives who lived 1,500 years ago. It was so unbecoming of a time traveler.

I need to make up for the lesson of building an empire and experience the vastness and boundlessness of the prairie.

Draw your sword and mount your horse, gallop across the world!
Let Li Shimin and the other officials in the court see that they are not at the mercy of others, waiting for ready-made food, or being a quiet gatekeeper. Their destiny is in their own hands, and they can still be a founding monarch who expands territory and commands local chiefs.

Under everyone's concerned gaze, Li Yan finally made up his mind, took a deep breath, suppressed his restless heart, resolutely raised his hand, and said solemnly: "Father, the flowers in the greenhouse are bright, but they can't stand the wind and rain."

"I am the crown prince, and I will have to be like my father, protecting the people of the Tang Dynasty from the wind and rain. If I can't even withstand the storm, how can I support the country?"

"Baojianfeng comes from the sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold!"

"Since I have taken over the position of crown prince, I must be able to shoulder the responsibility. This time, going to the alliance is not only a matter of state, but also a rare opportunity for me to gain experience and growth. I hope that father will approve it!"

As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng's eyes lit up with admiration and praise. This kind of prince is what the crown prince of a great country should be like.

(End of this chapter)