A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 649 Crown Prince, are you going to usurp the throne?

"General Erzhu, things have come to this point, you can no longer hide it from us. What exactly happened?"

Why was it that what was originally intended as a shipment of grain to the Governor of Qingzhou turned out to contain three hundred sets of heavy cavalry armor?

Qiao Gongshan asked in a cold voice.

Sweat poured down Erzhu Huan's fat face.

His eyes were filled with panic and fear. "I don't know anything. My only orders were to escort this batch of grain to Qingzhou."

"These provisions were all loaded onto the wagons by you, Commander Qiao. What exactly happened?" Zhu Erhuan jumped up and asked loudly.

Qiao Gongshan sneered, "I was only temporarily transferred here to help. The items belonged to the Crown Prince's Palace. Now that something's happened, General Zhu'er is washing his hands of it all."

However, after the postmaster Du Fengju reported the matter to the imperial court,
Do you really think you can absolve yourself of responsibility? You were the chief officer in charge of this transport, the goods belonged to the Crown Prince, and you were also a general in the Crown Prince's household. How can you say you didn't know anything about what happened?

Do you think the court will believe me?

Hong Yi said, "If we hoard one set of armor, we'll be exiled two thousand miles away; if we hoard three sets, we'll be hanged. These three hundred sets of armor are full sets of heavy cavalry armor. How many times will we die? And what about our wives, children, and elderly parents? Can they even escape?"

Erzhu Huan was already in a state of collapse. He had no idea what was going on and thought it was just a hard job that others had rejected, which was why it had fallen on him.

"What should we do? What should we do?"

Hong Yi sighed, "It seems that you, Erzhu Langjiang, have also been kept in the dark and used as a pawn."

“The three of us are in the same boat now, none of us can escape.” Qiao Gongshan picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, exhaling a breath of alcohol. “If Du Fengju hadn’t found out and hadn’t left, perhaps we could still discuss things slowly.”

"But now, we don't have time. We have to come up with a solution immediately."

Erzhu Huan's face turned deathly pale. "I'll do whatever you say. Tell me what to do. I really don't know anything."

Hong Yi also picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp. "I think this matter is actually quite simple. It's obvious that His Highness the Crown Prince secretly transported three hundred sets of armor to his trusted confidant, Yang Wengan, the governor of Qingzhou."

As you have probably heard, not long ago, the Crown Prince's Right Guard Commander, Ke Dazhi, secretly transferred three hundred elite cavalrymen from the Prince of Yan in Jingzhou to the capital.

And then they got investigated, right?

Erzhu Huan nodded; as a military officer of the Crown Prince's Palace, he naturally knew this as well.

"Three hundred Youzhou cavalry, and there are exactly three hundred sets of heavy cavalry armor here. Don't you think that's a coincidence?"

Erzhu Huan's mind went completely blank, and he was completely unable to think.

"Why are these suits of armor being transported to the Governor of Qingzhou?"

"Naturally, they didn't want the court to discover these armors again, and Yang Wengan was the Crown Prince's confidant,"

Qiao Wengong and Hong Yi exchanged barbs, almost making Erzhu Huan wet his pants on the spot.

"Now, we can only save ourselves. Otherwise, if Du Fengju reports us to the court, the Crown Prince might pin all the blame on us. At that time, not only will our lives be in danger, but we will also implicate our wives, children and elderly parents."

"What do you suggest we do now?"

"Report this to the imperial court immediately, saying that we have unexpectedly discovered three hundred sets of armor hidden among this batch of grain," Hong Yi said.

Qiao Gongshan shook his head.
"If that's all there is to it, we still can't escape blame and must atone for our crimes through meritorious service."

Erzhu Huan looked terrified. "How can I earn merit?"

"I have reported to the Emperor that the Crown Prince has been secretly colluding with Yang Wengan, the Governor of Qingzhou, and has been sending him armor in an attempt to launch a rebellion!" Qiao Gongshan said, enunciating each word clearly.

Erzhu Huan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

A look of fear on his face
suddenly,

He collapsed to the ground with a thud.

She actually fainted from fright.

Qiao Gongshan and Hong Yi exchanged a glance.

The two raised their glasses and drank together.

"Can we really stay out of this?" Qiao Gongshan asked.

"Fortune favors the bold," Hong Yi said.

Qiao Gongshan looked at him, still having many questions in his mind.

Chang He was clearly the Crown Prince's man, yet now he was ordering them to accuse the Crown Prince of plotting a rebellion with Yang Wengan. He vaguely knew something was amiss, but he couldn't believe it for a moment.

What he is more worried about now is whether they can get away with accusing the crown prince of treason.
He thought of Du Fengju, the postmaster.
This person must have arranged it all along.

The steps are all interconnected; that's impressive.

As a mere captain of the Imperial Guard, he was nothing more than an insignificant pawn on this chessboard, caught in the middle of the game yet completely unable to see the overall situation.

Qiao Gongshan took another big gulp of wine.
Then he sprayed it fiercely at Erzhu Huan on the ground.

Erzhu Huan woke up,
Distracted and dejected.

He desperately hoped this was just a dream, and that it would end when he woke up.

But reality was so cruel that he had to make a decision immediately.

"Are we really going to accuse the Crown Prince and Yang Wengan of raising an army in rebellion?" he asked, trembling.

"If you want to live, this is the only way," Hong Yi said.

Erzhu Huan did not want to die.

Although he held a low-ranking official position and wasn't particularly capable, he still lived a very comfortable life.

"But,"

"But that's the Crown Prince! If we accuse him of treason, will His Majesty believe us?"

"How about we just say that Yang Wenqing is plotting a rebellion?"

Qiao Gongshan sneered a few times, "If you want to live, don't hesitate."

Erzhu Huan finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind; he didn't want to die.

Want to live.

Right there in the Binzhou post station,
Erzhu Huan, the Left General of the Eastern Palace and Left Guard of the Imperial Guard, wrote a letter of accusation, accusing Crown Prince Jiancheng of smuggling three hundred sets of armor to his confidant, Yang Wengan, the Governor of Qingzhou, with the intention of launching a rebellion.

Write it down.

All three pricked their fingers and pressed their bloody fingerprints onto the paper.

"I will stay here to guard these three hundred sets of armor. Captain Hong will accompany General Erzhu Lang to the capital immediately, preferably before Du Fengju."

"General Erzhu, there's no turning back once the arrow is released. Don't hesitate any longer once you set off. Remember, we're all just trying to save ourselves."

This is our only way out. If we hesitate or waver, we'll be doomed, and our families will be lost too.

Erzhu Huan nodded weakly, his eyes devoid of any spirit.

"Let's go."

Hong Yi and Erzhu Huan each took three horses, turned around, and galloped back towards Chang'an, the city they had come from.

···
The weather was hot and humid.

The Taiji Palace was becoming increasingly humid and hot.

Having encountered so many troubles recently, the emperor plans to leave Chang'an and stay in a cool palace for a while, and also go hunting.

Li Yuan made a special trip to Hongyi Palace to visit his second son.
I plan to take him with me on a vacation to the imperial palace.

Are you feeling any better?

"The doctor said the poison has been mostly cleared, but I still need to rest for a while."

Li Yuan looked at his son's still somewhat pale face and said, "You look very haggard lately. Take good care of yourself and don't overthink things."

“I plan to go to Jincheng Palace in Huayin for a vacation in a couple of days. You can come with me and get away for a while.”

Li Shimin readily agreed.

"Let the Crown Prince remain in Chang'an to oversee the state."

"Take Third Sister along; she hasn't been feeling well lately, so let's go for a walk together to clear her head."

As for the fourth son, Yuanji, he remained in confinement to reflect on his actions.

Li Yuan decided to separate his three sons temporarily to avoid causing any more trouble.

"Bring Changsun Shi and Chengqian along," Li Yuan said.

···
The father and son sat under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, chatting about the past, especially the time when he was the governor of Xingyang County and took Shimin, who was temporarily blind due to an eye disease, to seek medical treatment everywhere.

Dahai Temple in Xingyang
The Zheng family of Xingyang.

A series of past memories, many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"His Majesty,"

Lu Kuan, the palace eunuch, rushed over, interrupting the rare warm and nostalgic moment between father and son.

Li Yuan frowned in displeasure.

Lu Kuan approached the emperor and said, “Your Majesty, Qian Jiulong has an urgent matter to report.”

"What's the matter?"

"A matter of utmost confidentiality."

Hearing Lu Kuan use the word "ten thousand percent," Li Yuan was somewhat surprised. He stood up and said, "Second Brother, I'll go take a look first."

Li Yuan followed Lu Kuan outside.

After passing through a door,

"What urgent matter is it that cannot be discussed in front of Erlang?"

"Du Fengju, the postmaster of Binzhou and a native of Ningzhou, rode swiftly to the capital to report the Crown Prince's plot to rebel."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan stopped and turned to look at Lu Kuan very seriously.

Lu Kuan continued, "Erzhu Huan, the Left General of the Eastern Palace, and Qiao Gongshan, the Colonel of the Garrison, have just arrived in the capital to expose the Crown Prince's secret delivery of three hundred suits of armor to Yang Wengan, the Governor of Qingzhou, with the intention of launching a rebellion."

Li Yuan's expression changed.

Lu Kuan quickly continued to explain that the situation was not very complicated.

Li Yuan summoned Qian Jiulong and questioned him in detail again.

What has been confirmed is that the Crown Prince sent Erzhu Huan, a general of the Eastern Palace, to escort a batch of grain to Qingzhou, but three hundred sets of armor were secretly hidden in this batch of grain.

These suits of armor were discovered by chance when they were being transported to Binzhou. Du Fengju, the postmaster of Binzhou, immediately came to the capital to expose them after the discovery.

Meanwhile, Erzhu Huan and Qiao Gongshan, who were in charge of the transport, also rushed to Chang'an to expose the Crown Prince's secret collusion with Yang Wengan in a rebellion.

Li Yuan could hardly believe his ears.

But he quickly remembered the three hundred Youzhou cavalrymen that Kedazhi had secretly transferred to the capital last time; now there were exactly three hundred sets of cavalry armor.

The last time border troops were secretly transferred to Beijing,

This time, they smuggled armor to Gyeongju again.

Even if the crown prince didn't really intend to start a rebellion,
But this is already a series of crossings.

What does the Crown Prince want to do?
"Guizhang,"

"Your subject is here!" Qian Jiulong replied.

Li Yuan, his face grim, issued an edict: "Go to the Eastern Palace immediately and invite the Crown Prince to the Taiji Hall."

“No,” he said, then shook his head.

“Brother Sengnu, go to the East Palace and invite the Crown Prince to the Taiji Hall to see me. Tell him that I will be taking Erlang to Huayin to escape the summer heat in a few days, and ask him to come and arrange the affairs of the regency.”

"Guizhang, after the Crown Prince leaves the Eastern Palace, immediately lead the Imperial Guards to disarm the soldiers of the Eastern Palace's Changlin Guard and send them all to the military camp outside Chang'an for guard."

"Two thousand Changlin soldiers, not a single one shall be missed."

"I hereby issue another decree to Yuwen Ying, the Minister of Agriculture, instructing him to immediately go to Binzhou to first seize that batch of armor, and then go to Qingzhou to summon Yang Wengan back to the capital to see me."

After thinking about it,
Li Yuan then ordered Du Fengju, Erzhu Huan, and others to be brought to the Secretariat and sent troops to guard them.

"They cannot afford any mistakes before the matter is fully investigated!"

"Have the left and right garrison camps each transfer one thousand imperial guards to immediately take over the duties of guarding the Eastern Palace."

Li Yuan immediately returned to Taiji Palace.

Not long after, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng came to meet the emperor by imperial decree.

The crown prince was unaware of what had happened.

But as soon as you step into the main hall...

When Li Jiancheng saw the emperor, whose face was ashen, glaring at him, his heart skipped a beat.

"First, they secretly transferred border troops into the capital and hid them in the city's neighborhoods. Now they're colluding with border generals to smuggle armor."
Prince,

Are you plotting a rebellion and usurping the throne?

Li Jiancheng's mind went blank, his knees buckled, and he knelt down with a thud.

(End of this chapter)