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

Chapter 650 Raising an Army to Serve the King and Rescue the Crown Prince

"Are you planning to take advantage of my trip to the Jincheng Palace in Huayin with the Prince of Qin to escape the summer heat, and then summon Yang Wengan, the governor of Qingzhou, to lead troops into the capital, to seize Chang'an from within and without, and to usurp the throne?"

"Who else conspired with you in this rebellion? Fourth Prince Yuanji? Prince Yan, Li Yi? Among the ministers of the Council of State, who are your accomplices?"

"Besides the two thousand Changlin soldiers and the three hundred Youzhou cavalry who were expelled, how many other troops do you have hidden in Chang'an?"

Inside the enormous Taiji Hall,
Only the father and son of the Heavenly Family remained.

Rainy days,
The hall was dimly lit.

A suffocating smell hung in the air.

Jiancheng knelt in the hall, terrified by his father's repeated rebukes and accusations. His face was ashen, and his body trembled uncontrollably like a leaf.

He opened his mouth,
But no sound came out.
"Speak!" Li Yuan looked at his son's expression, increasingly disappointed and angry, and couldn't help but point at Jiancheng and roar.

"Your subject, your subject dares not, your subject did not."

"With witnesses and physical evidence all presented, how dare you deceive the emperor!"

"Three hundred sets of armor were smuggled to Yang Wengan in Qingzhou, and now that it's been exposed, you say it didn't happen?"

"Tell me where these three hundred sets of armor came from!"

Li Jiancheng arrived unaware that his scheme had been exposed, and now he had no one to consult with regarding countermeasures. Faced with the emperor's questioning,
His mind raced for a few moments.

Denying it outright is clearly not going to work.

They can admit it, but they can't afford the consequences.

Faced with the emperor's fury, Jiancheng finally gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. The Prince of Qin has returned in triumph, and his achievements are so great that they threaten the emperor's authority."

His ambition to seize the throne is common knowledge.

"Out of momentary fear, I heeded the advice of my subordinates and selected three hundred border soldiers from the Prince of Yan in Jingzhou to return to the capital, intending to have them strengthen the guards of the Eastern Palace, just in case."

"This matter was handled improperly by your son. I failed to report it to Your Majesty first. I originally intended to report it to Your Majesty, but then the Prince of Qin was poisoned, and I hesitated for a moment."
Once Your Majesty has exiled those three hundred border soldiers to Lingnan,
Because I fear Your Majesty's punishment, I wanted to secretly transport the armor of these three hundred men away. I dared not transport it back to Jingzhou, so I thought of sending it to Qingzhou first.

"Governor Yang Wengan of Qingzhou was originally a member of my personal guard, and Qingzhou suffered two invasions by the Turks last year, resulting in significant losses of troops and equipment..."

Jiancheng knelt in the hall, tears streaming down his face, and loudly repented.

Very frank.

He confessed to secretly transferring three hundred border troops from Jingzhou to the capital, and also confessed to smuggling three hundred sets of armor to Qingzhou.

Even the two thousand Changlin soldiers were all elites selected from various border towns. They were first transferred to the Six Guards Army of the Eastern Palace, and then sent to the capital to guard the Eastern Palace. They were stationed at the Changlin Gate on the left and right. All of this was truthfully explained.

all of these,
They were all just trying to protect themselves.

This was a self-preservation tactic employed by the King of Qin as his achievements grew and he began to covet the position of crown prince.

"Your Majesty, I am the Crown Prince, how could I possibly plot a rebellion?"

Li Yuan sighed.

The anger subsided considerably.

In fact, Li Yuan was well aware that Jiancheng's recruitment of elite cavalry from all directions to guard the Changlin Gate of the Eastern Palace, as well as the transfer of three hundred Youzhou cavalry from Li Yi to the capital, were not aimed at him.

Jiancheng's head slammed heavily onto the floor.

"Your Majesty, I will not contend anymore."

Your subject is willing to relinquish the position of Crown Prince to the King of Qin, whose merits are too great…”

Li Yuan bent down and helped the crown prince up.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Since ancient times, the eldest son has been chosen as the heir, not the most virtuous. How can the position of crown prince be fought over?"

Besides, although Erlang has made considerable military achievements, you have also made contributions in assisting the government.

You can conquer the world on horseback, but you can't govern it on horseback.

Now that the world is unified and the Turks have been defeated, the country is poised for great prosperity, and what is needed is to cease military campaigns and focus on civil administration…”

Li Yuan straightened his son's clothes and looked at the Crown Prince, saying, "You are the Crown Prince. You must act with integrity. How can you secretly mobilize troops and send armor? Besides, you have been reported."

Even if I believe you don't intend to rebel, you'll still be criticized for misjudging people, using them poorly, and being incompetent in managing your subordinates.

The Crown Prince's position is sensitive. He has been making friends with border generals without permission and has also been smuggling a considerable amount of armor. This is a serious transgression. Even if Li Yuan believes that the Crown Prince is not planning a rebellion, this matter is still very serious.

However, because of Li Shimin's presence, Li Yuan was not in a hurry to severely punish the crown prince.

Jiancheng's actions, though seemingly treasonous, were exposed as such.

Li Yuan also believed that he was doing all this to guard against the King of Qin, and that it was his eldest and second sons vying for the throne.

One of the key reasons that changed Li Yuan's attitude was that Jiancheng was able to take the initiative to confess.

His confession, admission of wrongdoing, and even his voluntary resignation as crown prince all led Li Yuan to stop holding the crown prince accountable.

The Crown Prince was right earlier; the King of Qin's triumphant return has already made him too powerful to challenge the ruler.

Li Yuan had already felt threatened by the King of Qin.

The crown prince is the last shield of imperial power.

Li Yuan was also facing a dilemma. He had a slight thought about making the Prince of Qin the crown prince, believing that the Prince of Qin was more capable.

However, he could never get over his own conscience, always feeling that deposing and establishing a young heir was a path to chaos, especially given the precedent of Yang Guang's usurpation of the throne in the Sui Dynasty. Li Yuan dared not easily depose or establish a new heir.

“You are the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and your position as crown prince was bestowed upon you by me. No one can take it away from you.”

"You don't need to worry about Erlang. In two months, I will grant Erlang a fiefdom and send officials and craftsmen to his fiefdom to build a royal city and palace. Next year, he will leave the capital and go to his fiefdom."

First scold, then soothe.

Finally, Li Yuan summoned Chen Fu, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, and asked him to take the Crown Prince to Chengqian Palace for temporary lodging.

"You should stay in Chengqian Hall and read books for the next few days. Don't go back to the East Palace for now. I need to reorganize the East Palace for you."

Send the crown prince away.

Li Yuan stood alone in the hall for a long time.

She felt deeply disappointed in the Crown Prince.

The Secretariat, the rear courtyard of the main hall.

Zhu Erhuan kept pacing and circling, like a dog that had been penned for too long.

Hong Yi, however, sat there calmly reading a book.

"Captain Hong, aren't you worried at all?" "General Erzhu, calm down."

Erzhu Huan was far from calm. He rushed back to the capital, covering hundreds of miles, to report that the Crown Prince and Yang Wenqing were plotting a rebellion.

He happened to be a palace guard and the elder brother of the crown prince's concubine.

Hong Yi quietly read her book.
Upon receiving the task from Chang He, he had already disregarded life and death. Chang He gave him a settlement allowance, hired a famous doctor to treat his mother's illness, moved him to a spacious house, and even acquired 100 acres of land in the suburbs.

That's enough to buy his life.

Moreover,

It doesn't necessarily mean you'll die.

Give it a shot; you might just achieve some success.

Wealth can be found in danger.

Hong Yi had already figured it out; regardless of success or failure, he had no worries about the future.

So much time has passed without any results, perhaps that's a good thing.

···
After receiving the imperial decree, Minister of Agriculture Yuwen Ying locked himself in his study for a long time.

“Ah Bao,”

Yuwen Bao, the guard of the Prince of Qi's mansion, was his son.

But now, his son has been exiled by the emperor. He had just left Chang'an and passed only a few post stations when he was strangled by a postman.

It was my own fault that I harmed my son.

He had a good relationship with the King of Qi, which is why he arranged for his son, Abao, to enter the King's palace and eventually rise to the rank of guard. However, in the end, because the King of Qi plotted against the King of Qin, he met a tragic end by being hanged on his way to exile.

"I, Yuwen Ying, am childless."

Yuwen Ying gritted his teeth. His Yuwen family was a famous family in Guanzhong. It was his uncle, Yuwen Kai, who built the two capitals of Sui Dynasty, Daxing and Luoyang.

His father was Yuwen Shan, the Duke of Xu during the Sui Dynasty. He entered officialdom through family connections and rose to the position of Vice Minister of Agriculture during the Daye era.

Later, he followed Li Mi to the Tang Dynasty, starting from a small farm supervisor. He rose through the ranks by befriending the Prince of Qi, and is now the Minister of Agriculture and Duke of Huazheng.

But his son, Abao, died.

After the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, his sons all died, leaving only Abao, and now Abao is gone too.

The white-haired man sends the black-haired man.

She grieved for her son for a long time.
Yuwen Ying packed her bags and left Chang'an with her servants.

Xiwei Bridge
Someone blocked Yuwen Ying and her party's path.

"Lord Huazheng, my son invites you to have a cup of tea."

"Who is your master?"

"Lord Lei Ze".

Upon hearing the name Lei Ze Gong Chang He, Yuwen Ying was somewhat surprised, but still dismounted and went to a teahouse by the roadside.

Chang He is off duty today, dressed in ordinary clothes.

"Lord Huazheng, are we heading to Qingzhou?"

How did Master Chang know?

Chang He poured him tea. "In the third year of Wude, I and Lord Huazheng also led troops to pacify Xia County. We got along quite well."

Yuwen Ying looked at Chang He.

“Now I serve the Crown Prince, and the Duke of Huazheng is on good terms with the King of Qi, so we can be considered to be on the same path,” Chang He said.

"General Chang, please speak frankly."

“Alright,” Chang He beckoned to his attendants, instructing them to keep watch outside.

He lowered his voice slightly, "Does Lord Huazheng know why His Majesty sent you to summon Yang Wenqing to the capital for an audience with the Emperor?"

Yuwen Ying remained silent.

Chang He continued, "Does Lord Huazheng know that the Prince of Qi is currently imprisoned in the backyard of Wude Hall, while the Crown Prince was suddenly summoned to the palace by His Majesty today and then placed under house arrest in Chengqian Hall?"
Someone accused the Crown Prince of smuggling armor to Yang Wengan, the governor of Qingzhou, with the intention of launching a rebellion.

Yang Wengan was summoned to the capital; his death was certain.

"Once Yang Wengan enters the capital, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi will also be in danger."

Now, the only option is to fight to the death. Once Lord Huazheng arrives in Qingzhou, please truthfully inform him of the situation in the court, so that Yang Wengan can immediately raise an army in Qingzhou, march south, and rescue the Crown Prince.

Yu Wenying's eyes were shocked.

"Qingzhou is hundreds of miles from the capital, what use would it be for him to raise an army?"

Chang He whispered, "Since it's a desperate gamble, why is Yang Wengan the only one leading troops?"

"His Majesty has issued an edict, sending messengers to Jingzhou to summon Prince Yan, Li Yi, back to the capital, and to appoint him as the Left General of the Imperial Guard. Also summoned are Li Xiaochang, the Governor of Lizhou, and Li Youliang, the Governor of Liangzhou, among others."

"And they are all the Crown Prince's men; His Majesty is going to completely purge the Crown Prince's faction."

“Lord Huazheng, once they fall, it will be our turn.”

"We can only save ourselves. We must raise troops from all sides at the same time, march into the capital together, and then directly support the crown prince to ascend the throne. We will all be credited for supporting him."

Chang He stared at Yuwen Ying.
"Should we sit and wait for death, or take a gamble?"

Yuwen Ying thought of her son, Abao, who had been hanged at a post station on his way to exile, and she couldn't even bring his body back for burial.

Li Yuan ensured that he would have no descendants.

Chang He is right; perhaps he too will be purged and executed.

"Lord Huazheng, please, for your own sake and for everyone's sake, tell him the truth when you arrive in Qingzhou, and beg him not to return to the capital."
"Immediately raise an army and march south. The Prince of Yan, the Prince of Changle, the Prince of Yi'an, and others will also send troops to the capital. I will act as an inside agent for everyone at Xuanwu Gate..."

"Saving the Crown Prince is also saving us."

"Nothing is more meritorious than supporting the new emperor. After this is accomplished, we will not only escape this calamity, but we will also become meritorious officials who supported the new emperor. At that time, what need will we have for fame and fortune?"

Yuwen Ying finally nodded emphatically, "I am willing to work with Lei Zegong on this important matter!"

"Please, Lord Huazheng, hurry to Qingzhou and persuade Yang Wengan to raise an army. More troops mean more strength."
"Success or failure hinges on this!"

(End of this chapter)