My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 25: The Supporters Behind the King of Wei
Zhang Xuansu left, and when he left, I felt like I was floating.

What writers seek, of course, is to leave their names in history.

It was his duty to advise the prince, but compared with compiling The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, that was nothing.

Li Chengqian has promised him that he will be allowed to participate in the compilation as Shao Zhanshi. His name will be included in the compilers, and he can mobilize scholars from Chongxian Hall.

Compiling books naturally requires huge expenses, and Li Chengqian promised him that the money from the sale of Sushan would be used to compile classics.

Zhang Xuansu probably won't come to give advice every day.

Compiling "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" is not an easy task, and it takes several years to get started.

Li Chengqian recalled the feeling of riding a horse before, so he asked the eunuch Wen Zhong to make a pair of riding boots.

Riding boots should be able to be buckled onto the saddle and should be below the knee.

In this way, when riding a horse, the thighs can transfer the force to the stirrups, making the ride more stable.

The buckle is designed in such a way that you can pull your leg out just by lifting your foot, so it doesn't become a burden.

In fact, Li Chengqian still felt a little ashamed inside.

After all, these long boots are mainly worn by women in later generations.

Of course, in this era, such long riding boots were the first of their kind. As long as Li Chengqian himself was not embarrassed, no one else would be embarrassed.

When it was almost time for dinner, my father-in-law Su Tan came to visit the East Palace and brought many gifts.

This was to thank the Crown Prince for promoting him to the position of Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

"Where in the world does a father-in-law come to his son-in-law's house and give him gifts?"

"Please take it back, father-in-law."

Li Chengqian's attitude was very clear; this gift must not be accepted.

Su Tan didn't insist. After all, the main purpose of giving a gift is to express the thought.

I wish the prince could feel his kindness.

"To be honest, I haven't had much contact with criminal justice. Even though I am now serving as the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, I still have no idea what to do."

"I came to the East Palace this time because I wanted to have some conversation with His Highness."

Su Tan spoke politely, but actually he just wanted to ask Prince, why did you ask me to go to the Dali Temple? Is there anything you want me to do for you? Just tell me directly.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and asked, "My father-in-law is familiar with the Wannian County Magistrate and the Chang'an County Magistrate."

Su Tan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, are you planning to start with the county magistrate?"

Li Tai was the governor of Yongzhou, so the magistrate of Chang'an Wannian County was naturally his people.

Li Chengqian said bluntly, "Sushan's business is in Chang'an City, so it's best to start from there."

"If the magistrate of Chang'an Wannian County was not of the fifth rank, his promotion and transfer must be appointed by your majesty himself, and this exam would be enough to start."

Given Li Shimin's preference for Li Tai, Li Chengqian knew that Li Shimin would probably not agree if he wanted to transfer the two county magistrates directly.

Su Tan introduced: "Lu Yizhong, the magistrate of Wannian County, is from the Fanyang Lu family. He is good at calligraphy and has an arrogant temperament."

"Zheng Wenrui, the magistrate of Chang'an County, is from the Zheng family of Xingyang and is fond of painting."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly: "Both of them are from the Five Surnames and Seven Famous Clan, so the support behind the King of Wei is from them?"

Su Tan said: "Yes, these people were once supporters of Prince Yin, but now they have switched to the King of Wei."

Li Chengqian knew that this involved family struggles.

The supporters behind Li Shimin at the beginning were the Guanlong clans, while Li Jiancheng's supporters were mainly the Shandong clans, that is, the main body of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

When Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, it was natural that the Guanlong clans won the final victory.

Li Shimin had many famous ministers and brave generals under his command. The reason why Changsun Wuji could be regarded as the first meritorious minister was not only because his sister was Empress Changsun, but also because of his status as a member of the Changsun family.

The Changsun family was a noble family of the Northern Wei Dynasty and also a famous aristocratic family in Guanlong.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the Changsun family, to which Changsun Wuji belonged, became the representative of the Guanlong clan.

The Shandong clans were naturally unwilling to accept defeat, so there was the Weishui Alliance.

Li Shimin ascended the throne on August 9. It took the Eastern Turks only more than 20 days for Jie Li Khan to lead the Turkish cavalry to the banks of the Wei River. The Turks went south this time and almost penetrated the entire defense line of the Tang Dynasty. They basically did not encounter any decent resistance in Yanmen, Taiyuan, Hedong, and even Chang'an.

The military commanders of various major defense zones, at the instigation of the Shandong clans, turned a blind eye to the Turks, or pretended to be defeated and allowed the Eastern Turks to invade Chang'an.

In the end, Li Shimin emptied the national treasury before he formed the Weishui Alliance.

Later, Li Shimin continued to suppress the Shandong clans, but the early Tang Dynasty was dominated by the clans, and even the equal-field system could not distribute the land to the clans.

If you force it too much, accidents are more likely to happen.

The aristocratic families monopolize knowledge and control the selection of officials.

In today's imperial court, 90% of officials come from prominent and powerful families.

Of course, having said that, Li Tang Li Tang.

The Li family of the Tang Dynasty is the largest family.

Li Chengqian was not afraid of them. The prominent and powerful families were only powerful in their own areas and their power could not reach Chang'an.

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment and said, "My father-in-law has gone to the Dali Temple. I will pay more attention to the two county magistrates in the future."

As he came from a prominent family, Li Chengqian could not act recklessly. He had to at least follow the superficial rules.

This is also the reason why Su Tan was sent to the Dali Temple, so that he could act secretly.

As long as they break the law, such as corruption or bribery, the problem can be easily solved.

Li Chengqian didn't believe that they were so law-abiding and didn't make any money at all.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. It's just that I'm new to the Dali Temple, so it may take some time."

Su Tan also needs time to cultivate his own confidants.

Li Chengqian nodded. He didn't think of wiping out all of Prince Wei's party in just a few days. That was not realistic.

"Father-in-law, please recommend some talents to me. They should be capable of doing things, preferably from a noble family or a humble family."

Li Chengqian has no trustworthy people under his command. Most of the people in Chongxian Hall are small-time flatterers who are not capable of taking on important tasks.

Get rid of the people from Prince Wei’s party, and we need someone to take over here.

Otherwise, if we kill this member of the King of Wei's party, another one will come along, and what's the point?

"I will look for talented people for Your Highness."

Su Tan agreed immediately, as he also had many colleagues and friends there.

After thinking for a while, he suggested: "Your Highness, do you know what a bad person is?"

Li Chengqian said, "I've heard that the bad guys in Chang'an City followed the King of Wei, didn't they?"

Su Tan shook his head slightly: "How can the bad guys be loyal? As long as they are paid enough, they dare to do anything."

"The bad guys are mixed up in the lower classes of Chang'an, and they are the quickest to get information. Some of them have some real skills, and Your Highness may be able to use them in some aspects."

Li Chengqian understood immediately.

Su Tan was already the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, so naturally he had to pay attention to his image and not get involved with the bad guys.

But these people are really good at finding secret information or framing someone.

Su Tan did not stay in the East Palace for dinner as he had a lot to do since he had just taken office.

After chatting for a while, we left.

After seeing Su Tan off, Li Chengqian called Su Chen over.

It is natural and reasonable for the father to suggest it and for the son to help.

"You are familiar with the bad guys in Chang'an City."

Su Chen said a little embarrassedly: "My father told Your Highness, please rest assured, I will never hang out with them again in the future."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "No, I just want to know more about them."

"Just tell me about the situation of the bad people in Chang'an."

(End of this chapter)