Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 226: The Enemy at the Gates, Li Zhi's Dilemma
There was a hustle and bustle of people, a noisy clamor, and all kinds of conversations echoing in the air.

Ungjin City, an important city of Baekje that was previously destroyed by war, is now full of vitality. Its development speed is astonishing, even surpassing the prosperity before the war.

The aristocratic families' monopoly on resources and power has disappeared, and instead, all kinds of industries have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Whether in commercial trade, handicraft manufacturing, or in the fields of culture, art and education, everyone has equal opportunities to compete.

Although the prosperity of Xiongjin City cannot be compared with that of Chang'an City at present, it has begun to take shape, like a shining pearl rising up.

The city is blessed with a superior geographical location. As an important port town, it controls the main sea transportation routes of Baekje, with frequent merchant ships and huge cargo throughput.

Because of this, this place gradually attracted merchants from all over the world who responded to the new policy, and it became a new center for economic exchange and cultural integration.

Continuing along the street, a magnificent university suddenly stands before our eyes.

This brand new building is solemn and dignified, revealing a hint of academic atmosphere. It is the Baijia Academy which was recently completed.

The Hundred Schools of Thought have a long history and can be traced back to the distant Warring States Period.

At that time, the princes of various countries implemented different political systems, and their thoughts and cultures also showed a situation of flourishing and contending schools of thought, so there is a saying that "each prince has different policies, and each school of thought has different opinions."

The so-called Hundred Schools of Thought is not limited to the specific one hundred academic schools, but a broad general term.

In fact, these theories cover many areas, including profound philosophical thinking, practical agricultural knowledge, sophisticated military strategies, and advanced medical theories.

If further subdivided, it can be summarized into ten major mainstream schools, namely Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Name School, Legalism, Diplomacy School, Eclectic School, Agricultural School, Novelist School and Yin-Yang School.

Each school has its own unique ideas and perspectives, which collided and blended with each other, and jointly promoted the vigorous development of ancient thought and culture.

Generally, due to its particularity, the military strategist is not usually included in this list, and the Hundred Schools of Thought are called the Nine Schools of Thought, which only have nine schools.

All kinds of people came into being because of this.

Therefore, among these hundreds of schools, there are only nine.

Li Chengqian and his entourage filed in.

At this time, students can be vaguely seen in the school.

"Your Highness, the academy is only in its infancy. Currently, we can only offer a few categories. However, as time goes by, hundreds of academic disciplines will bloom again."

Looking at some halls that were deserted, Yan Lide explained with a little embarrassment.

What was popular at that time was Confucianism and medicine. With the vigorous promotion of Li Chengqian, the spread of Mohism was also on the right track.

However, the study of political strategies such as the art of diplomacy is difficult to implement here.

It is extremely difficult to find a representative of the strategists nowadays.

But it doesn't hurt.

Li Chengqian's original intention was only to develop science and better develop social productivity.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning. We should pay more attention to teachers and people with special skills, improve their salaries and teach everyone."

It is not difficult to find that these students are all from the nobility.

"Li Zhen, first try compulsory education in Xiongjin City. All children between the ages of seven and sixteen in the vicinity must be sent to Baijia Academy to study. Moreover, the teaching is free, and the food expenses will be paid by the government."

After plundering the nobles, the treasury is still well-stocked, enough for Li Chengqian to squander like this for a few years.

With the promotion of potatoes and sweet potatoes, everything will be solved.

The tense external situation gave Li Chengqian a relatively good time to develop.

The Baekje Hundred Schools of Thought were completed, and a cultural revolution was about to take place.

Outside the Goguryeo city of Pyongyang, a brand new avenue leads to the sky. It is made entirely of cement, becoming another miracle in the history of architecture.

Under Li Chengqian's rule, the situation in the region was very good.

The Chang'an City, which was extremely prosperous and bustling in the past, was now shrouded in a tense and terrifying atmosphere, as if the end of the world was approaching, and the sound of panic was everywhere.

Looking from the top of Chang'an City, you can see the suffocating crowds.

Under the scorching sun, the armor and weapons emitted bursts of cold light.

Zhang Liang listened to Cheng Gongying's clever plan and first sent out a small group of soldiers, pretending to be people asking for help, and successfully tricked the guards along the way into opening the city gates.

In this way, they had a smooth journey and arrived at the city of Chang'an at an astonishing speed.

In the deserted and silent Tai Chi Hall, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out, breaking the original silence. The sound echoed in the empty hall, appearing particularly loud and harsh.

Fang Xuanling hurriedly walked up to the high steps where the emperor was, holding a tightly sealed secret letter in both hands respectfully, and came in front of Li Zhi. He bowed slightly and said:
"Your Highness, this is a letter sent by the traitor Zhang Liang. Please take a look."

However, Li Zhi only glanced at the secret letter and waved his hand:

"No need to look too closely. There is no room for negotiation between this prince and that traitor! My dear ministers, the situation is critical now. Do you have any good ideas to defeat this rebel army?"

There was no sign of panic on his slightly childish face, but instead he showed a calmness beyond his age.

For a moment, many ministers in the court looked at each other in bewilderment. No one could guess what the young prince was really thinking from his calm expression.

Even those ministers who were usually best at understanding people's minds and observing their words and expressions were confused and totally at a loss when faced with Li Zhi who was so calm and composed.

In just a few months, Li Zhi was able to perfectly perform this position.

A faint imperial pressure emanated from him, making everyone dare not look directly at it.

A tiger father has no dog sons.

The strength shown by Li Zhi now is very different from the weakness recorded in history books.

If it was really weak, how could it have created the era of the largest territory of the Tang Dynasty?
That was just because he had not been in power before, so he acted softly.

Now he can take over power smoothly. Li Shimin is still alive and he holds the power. He is full of confidence. How could he be afraid of Zhang Liang's rebellion?

You can say that he is like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger, or you can say that he is full of vigor and vitality.

"Your Highness, Zhang Liang has assembled an army of 100,000 men, and the city's garrison only has a few thousand men. They should not be underestimated. In my opinion, we can only defend the city and wait for reinforcements from all over the country to come to the king."

Wei Ting bowed and stepped out of the line, appearing very calm, in stark contrast to the panic outside.

It's more like they already had a way to deal with it.

"I'm afraid the rebels won't give us enough time. Doctor Wei also knows that the rebels are coming with great force and numbers. Can we really hold the city?"

"As the saying goes, if you defend too long, you will lose. It will take at least half a month for the news of the siege of Chang'an to spread and for the troops from all over the country to arrive. Can we stop the rebels' siege in such a long time?"

Fang Xuanling looked at Wei Ting, and then looked at Li Zhi who was in power.

These words were more of a reminder to Li Zhi.

He was a minister of state, and it was certainly not easy for him to be reinstated.

However, Fang Xuanling remained as dedicated and responsible as ever to the Li Tang dynasty.

How could he not have strategic vision if he could become one of the founders of the Li Tang dynasty?

"In my humble opinion, while the rebels are still not firmly established, we should send a cavalry to attack them, use offense as defense, and dampen their spirit first, so that we can hold out until reinforcements arrive."

Fang Xuanling offered sacrifice and said that after the restart, he also needed to prove his worth with actions to influence the speeches in the court.

"This is a very good plan. I wonder which general would dare to lead the army to defeat the enemy?"

Li Zhi glanced at his ministers and, originally still full of hope, felt his heart sink to the bottom as time went by.

None of the civil and military officials in the court dared to accept the order in times of crisis.

There is an element of fear of death among them, but more importantly, these people know their own weight.

There is no certainty of breaking out of the encirclement.

No matter how good a strategy is, it still needs someone to implement it.

This is another major difference between a commander-in-chief and a general. "Your Highness, I am willing to go!"

At the back of the hall, a young man suddenly walked out. He was about the same age as Li Zhi, but his childishness had long since faded.

Its upright posture gives people a heroic feeling.

Li Zhi also looked up, with mixed emotions in his eyes, including relief and bitterness.

"General Wang has a sincere heart to serve the country, and this prince is very pleased, but the success or failure of this march is related to the fate of the country, so this prince still needs to consider it."

Li Zhi waved his hand and let Wang Fangyi in.

If this attack fails, it will put them in an even more dangerous situation.

And Wang Fangyi had no experience in battle formations, so this was tantamount to committing suicide.

Li Zhi just regarded this as a way for Wang Fangyi to give him a way out.

Didn't think much about it.

Wang Fangyi was from the Wang family of Taiyuan. He was of the same clan as Li Zhi's Queen Wang and was Queen Wang's cousin.

To the extent that, she was treated as a special person when Wu Zetian was in power.

"I have received great favor from the Emperor, and I shall repay his kindness with my death. I regret that I am limited in ability and cannot shoulder such a great responsibility!"

Wang Fangyi lowered his head in shame.

How could he not understand the meaning of Li Zhi's words, but now there were no generals to be sent in the court.

Those famous generals were either taken away by Li Chengqian or followed Li Shimin in the Northern Expedition.

He can also plead for the mission with his passion, but the outcome is still a dilemma.

We can neither fight nor defend.

This made Li Zhi, who was eager to prove himself, very troubled.

Li Zhi once again swept his eyes over the few old antiques left in the court.

These people can now be considered veterans of three dynasties.

"Your Highness, how about we ask for something from that traitor Zhang Liang so that we can find the right remedy for him?"

"The best strategy is to negotiate with them first and delay the time until reinforcements arrive."

Tang Jian looked up and met Li Zhi's gaze.

In such a situation, it might be impossible to defeat Zhang Liang, but Tang Jian was confident that he could stabilize Zhang Liang.

Because he is good at negotiation.

"In this case, we have no choice but to stabilize Zhang Liang first."

Seeing that he had no other choice, Li Zhi had no choice but to open the letter.

Zhang Liang's reason was absurd, it was in the name of clearing the court of corrupt officials.

He demanded that Li Zhi hand over treacherous ministers such as Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Sui.

The reason was to speak up for the former crown prince Li Chengqian and to ask Li Zhi to resign from the position of crown prince.

"Could it be that the former crown prince Li Chengqian was behind Zhang Liang's rebellion? Or could it be that this was Li Chengqian's work?"

Cui Yi said coldly that this was not impossible.

But no matter what, he did not miss the opportunity to attack Li Chengqian.

After all, the competition between the two is already as fierce as fire and water.

No one knows how many members of the Cui family were killed by Li Chengqian in the army.

Half of the credit for Li Chengqian's dethronement was due to the Cui family.

"Minister Cui, I'm afraid you're worrying too much. Li Chengqian is far away in Goguryeo now. How can he command Zhang Liang to come to Mobei? Besides, the commander of the previous northern expedition was Zhangsun Wuji, the Minister of State. There are many doubts here. Zhang Liang's words cannot be trusted."

Xu Jingzong was so perceptive that he immediately smelled the danger.

This seemed to be directed at Li Chengqian, but in fact the gun was aimed at himself.

"That's not impossible, is it?"

Cui Yi did not give up, but pressed on.

"Stop arguing. I, the prince, want to know how to defeat the enemy, not to listen to your random speculations."

Li Zhi said in a stern voice. Seeing the court like this, he finally realized how difficult it was to lead court officials with different thoughts.

The fire has already reached my eyebrows.

They are still thinking about party struggles.

"I know the crime!"

Cui Yi had no choice but to give up, but his goal had been achieved.

This planted the seeds of doubt in Li Zhi's heart.

"Do you have any other plans? If not, we can only send the Duke of Ju to the rebel camp."

Li Zhi spoke up, wanting to hear a better strategy.

But in the end, he was still disappointed.

There was dead silence in the Taiji Hall, and no one spoke.

"Xu Jingzong, Fang Xuanling, and Chu Suiliang stay, and the rest of you can leave."

Li Zhi's majestic voice spread throughout the hall.

A tense court meeting ended abruptly.

It seemed that except for a few people who felt nervous, the rest of the officials seemed to be indifferent.

This is so out of the ordinary.

"Your Highness, according to the report from the Bad People, Zhang Liang has sent people to infiltrate Chang'an City in the past few days and has already established contact with some of the big families."

Just as all the ministers had left the gate and Fang Xuanling and his companions had not yet come to their senses.

Yuan Tiangang appeared in front of the imperial desk like a ghost, bowed and reported this suffocating news to Li Zhi.

Zhang Liang was not as reckless as people imagined, but instead acted cautiously at every step.

The situation is beyond Li Zhi's control.

No wonder.

Why are so many officials still so fearless when the rebels are at the gates of the city?

It turns out that a fallback plan has already been prepared.

As long as the official position and resources remain unchanged, it doesn't matter who becomes emperor.

Just make sure the treatment they enjoy remains unchanged.

There is no need to fight for a dynasty.

It is not the first time for these aristocratic families to watch the change of dynasties.

(End of this chapter)