Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 262: The Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty has a problem, is he going to be killed?! [Please vote for the monthly ticket]

Chang'an Zhuque Avenue is a wide and magnificent avenue connecting the north and the south.

It is the north-south axis of the entire Chang'an City.

The road surface is slightly arched in the middle, with deep ditches on both sides. It is about 150 steps wide from east to west. The road surface is covered with a thick layer of river sand, like a blue-white river, dividing the outer city of Chang'an into Chang'an and Wannian counties.

There are tall and straight locust trees and elm trees on both sides of the road, and there is a pair of stone sculptures at intervals, which are grand and solemn.

This is the emperor's royal road, and common people can only cross it along the nine designated intersections.

You can neither cross the line nor run fast.

A man in black, after setting foot on this road, could only stand in the queue and move forward slowly.

Behind him, there were two men in flying fish suits following him closely.

However, even though the two men in flying fish uniforms were members of the Eastern Palace Embroidered Uniform Guard, they did not dare to act rashly on the imperial road and could only follow obediently in the crowd.

The man in black seemed to know that the other party could not do anything to him, and he kept looking back with a half-smile on his face, which made the two Jinyiwei feel annoyed.

However, the road always ends. The moment the man in front of the man in black was about to cross the intersection, his figure was like a ghost. He instantly passed the man and disappeared from the sight of the two Jinyiwei.

"Oh no! We lost them!"

The two Jinyiwei reacted quickly as well. The moment they lost track of him, they quickly took out the small red flags in their arms and waved them in the air.

Soon, other Jinyiwei hiding in the dark learned the news and immediately took new actions.

At the same time, the man in black who had just escaped from the Jinyiwei quietly entered a red door with carved lintels.

"I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty!"

The man in black came to a room filled with candles and knelt on one knee and said something.

Not long after, a slightly aged male voice was heard in the room.

But then he heard him say, "How's the plan going?"

"Come back to me, sir, you are ready."

"What about the Tang Dynasty prince?"

"Since returning from the military exercise yesterday, I have been staying in the Crown Prince's Mansion and have been under strict surveillance by the Imperial Guards."

"So, these Jinyiwei are still somewhat useful. Have you discovered any flaws in him?"

"According to my subordinates' investigation, Yang Nannan is still alive!"

"Ok?"

A slightly surprised and slightly dissatisfied snort echoed in the room: "Didn't you say she was definitely going to die?"

The man in black quickly explained, "Although I don't know why a dead person would come back to life, I suspect it has something to do with the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the room suddenly became silent, with only the heavy breathing of the man in black and the bright red candlelight filling the room.

After an unknown amount of time, the black-robed man began to sweat at his temples before a weathered voice echoed in the room: "There's definitely something wrong with this Tang Crown Prince. Have the Fire Master issue a mission and summon a physiognomist to 'diagnose his fate'!"

"Yes!"

The man in black accepted the order respectfully, but did not get up and leave.

Until that vicissitudes of life voice sounded again in the room: "You don't have to worry about Yang Nannan's affairs. Letting her stay there may be good for us.

Also, send someone to inform her master about this. I believe her master will be very interested in her current health."

"Yes!"

The man in black respectfully accepted the order again.

Immediately afterwards, the candles in the room strangely lit up green light, and then all went out in the blink of an eye, plunging the entire room into darkness.

At this time, the man in black slowly stood up, bowed to the empty and dark void, and then left the room.

Shortly after he left, the candles in the room lit up again strangely.

However, where the man in black had just stood, there was a white-haired man wearing a ghost mask.

On the other side, the Prince's Mansion.

Li Chengqian was discussing yesterday's exercise with Pei Xuan.

But he smiled and said, "Pei Xuan, yesterday's military exercise was well done. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. These are all my duties, and I dare not ask for any reward." Pei Xuan bowed quickly.

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian snorted, then said solemnly, "I'm sure you're familiar with my principles. They can be summed up in four words: clear rewards and punishments. Since you won't tell me what reward you want, let me decide for you!"

"but."

Having said that, he changed the subject and continued, "I didn't expect you to be so talented in commanding artillery operations. No wonder you're so happy in Jiangling now!"

"hehe."

Pei Xuan smiled a little embarrassedly, then grinned and said, "Jiangling has Cai Sima in charge anyway, let him be the acting governor. He is very motivated every day, and I won't hinder him from striving for meritorious service!"

"So, you intend to continue commanding the Musketeers?"

"Can I, Your Highness?"

When Pei Xuan heard what Li Chengqian said, he was obviously nervous and even began to stutter.

Logically speaking, he is still the governor of a state in the imperial court. Even if the governor's job is handed over to Sima Cai, it is impossible for him to leave his post for a long time.

However, he also liked this musketeer group very much.

In order to study firearms tactics, he memorized all the information sent by Li Chengqian, and even studied and figured out a lot of firearms tactics on his own.

If he were asked to give up the Musketeers now, it would be difficult for him to accept.

But Li Chengqian smiled and comforted him, "Don't be nervous. I just want to ask you if you still want to continue to lead the Musketeers!"

"miss you!"

Pei Xuan answered without hesitation.

Li Chengqian immediately smiled. "Since you still want to continue commanding the Fire Spear Guards, then you can be the commander of my Eastern Palace Fire Spear Guards instead. Although it's not as high a position as a provincial governor, it shouldn't be a disgrace to you to be able to do what you want!"

"No grievance, no grievance!"

Pei Xuan waved his hands repeatedly, then sighed, "To be honest, I'm not cut out to be a provincial governor. I've been the governor of Jiangling for so many years, but my achievements aren't as good as the Crown Prince's in the six months he's been here. I'm truly ashamed."

"Oh, there's no need to underestimate yourself. You do have some real skills. For example, when you faced the foreign cavalry just now, you were able to remain calm and wait until they were within range before firing. This shows how much hardship you must have endured during your usual training!"

"That's artillery, something more interesting than governing a place. Playing with it is just fun, not painful!"

Pei Xuan became excited when the topic of artillery was mentioned, but as soon as he said it, he felt that there was something wrong with what he said, so he quickly closed his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

But Li Chengqian did not blame him for his inappropriate words. Instead, he took the initiative to change the subject and asked, "You just finished commanding the artillery battle. Did you find any problems with the artillery?"

"what is the problem?"

Pei Xuan asked back in some confusion.

Li Chengqian immediately raised his hand to his forehead, then said helplessly, "Don't you realize that your artillery has a heat dissipation problem?"

In fact, as early as the beginning of artillery manufacturing, Li Chengqian discussed the heat dissipation problem of artillery with Zhang Tie and others.

Especially for the material of the artillery, they chose copper cannon with a softer texture.

Because copper cannons are not easy to break.

However, if the temperature of the gun body is too high, there is still a possibility of explosion.

Therefore, the issue of heat dissipation becomes particularly important.

As for why Zhang Tie and his team did not pay attention to the heat dissipation problem, Li Chengqian guessed that it might be because from the time the artillery was manufactured, the experiments in between, and today's exercises, the artillery had not been fired a few times in total.

This is why Zhang Tie and his team, as well as Pei Xuan, did not notice the problem of the gun barrel overheating.

Seeing Pei Xuan still looking puzzled, Li Chengqian reminded him, "Military exercises are not like battlefields. You can't be facing only a few hundred enemies, so you can't fire just two or three times. Frequent firing will cause the gun barrel to overheat, and the copper structure will also easily soften."

"In this case, affecting the accuracy of the firing is secondary. More importantly, if there is a blockage, it is very likely to cause the entire artillery to explode!"

"Will it explode like a shrapnel?"

Pei Xuan understood, but he understood Li Chengqian's words in his own way.

"Yes! Like the explosion of a shrapnel bomb!"

Li Chengqian thought the analogy was apt, so he continued, "I don't need to elaborate on the destructive power of shrapnel shells. The most important issue is that the soldiers operating the artillery will be in danger. And you know how expensive artillery is. If it's destroyed, the loss will be huge!"

"As the saying goes, you lose both the wife and the army!"

Hearing this, Pei Xuan nodded in sudden realization, as if he also realized the seriousness of the problem.

But he said with a worried look on his face, "To be honest, Your Highness, I have noticed that every time the cannon is fired, the barrel becomes extremely hot, and several times it has burned the soldiers operating the cannon."

"So, you have to pay attention to the heat dissipation problem!"

Li Chengqian continued, "As long as the heat dissipation is properly managed, the risk of barrel explosion can be reduced. This will not only protect the soldiers' lives, but also ensure the use of the artillery, and improve combat efficiency. It's truly a perfect combination of three!"

"Haha, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still wise!"

Pei Xuan smiled and responded to Li Chengqian, then curiously asked, "Then may I ask, Your Highness, how do you solve the heat dissipation problem?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but look hesitant.

In fact, he also didn't understand how to dissipate the heat.

After all, military knowledge is very professional.

Even if he flipped through the encyclopedia, it was still obscure professional knowledge. If he explained it to Pei Xuan word for word, Pei Xuan probably wouldn't understand.

However, judging by his memories of watching anti-Japanese television in his previous life, the Japanese would pour water on their machine guns after repeated use before continuing, suggesting this was a relatively simple method of cooling the guns. With this in mind, Li Chengqian explained to Pei Xuan, "The simplest method of cooling the guns is to pour water on the barrels. Of course, this is only a temporary solution. The real issue that needs to be addressed is the barrel material!"

Hearing this, Pei Xuan seemed to understand Li Chengqian's meaning and nodded immediately. "Then in future artillery training, I will place a bucket of cold water near the artillery and have the soldiers use the water temperature to dissipate the heat from the artillery. As for the issue of the barrel material, I will also promptly report it to Zhang Tie and the others so that they can conduct a thorough investigation!"

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction, then discussed with Pei Xuan the confidentiality of the firearms and let him leave.

Shortly after watching Pei Xuan leave, Li Chengqian called Su Dingfang over again.

"His Royal Highness!"

"Yes, Dingfang. I came to you to ask you about the matter of Guarding Zhuolang. Have you, the Jinyiwei, made any progress?"

"In reply to Your Highness the Crown Prince, through the clues provided by Yang Nannan, we have captured the assassin who delivered the message. We are currently torturing him to force him to reveal the Shouzhuolang fire point in Chang'an City!" Su Dingfang answered truthfully.

Li Chengqian frowned: "What is a fire point?"

"Your Highness, the Fire Point is the special contact point for the Guardians, and it refers to the contact point for issuing missions. The person in charge at the Fire Point is called the Fire Master. He is also the one who issues missions to Yang Nannan and the others."

"Since Yang Nannan once took on the task of Fire Master, why doesn't she know the location of the fire?"

"Your Highness, the location of the fire point is not fixed. After each mission is issued, the fire master will quietly leave. However, according to the messenger, the fire master who received the mission seems to be someone in the court."

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian stood up from his seat and asked in disbelief, "Have they even infiltrated the imperial court?!"

"Yes! When I heard the news, I was also shocked. However, the messenger who delivered the message did not reveal who it was from the court. I could only continue to torture him to extract a confession!"

"Well, you did a good job!"

Li Chengqian nodded solemnly, then slowly sat back in his seat and said thoughtfully, "We must also keep a close eye on the envoys from various countries, especially Tuyuhun, Tubo, and Goguryeo!"

"Yes!"

Su Dingfang responded and was about to leave when Li Chengqian seemed to recall something and asked, "How is the Pei Xingjian you mentioned earlier doing in the Jinyiwei?"

Su Dingfang couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "To be honest, Your Highness, Pei Xingjian deserves the most credit for capturing the messenger. I'd like to ask for your praise for him after this mission is over!"

"Oh? Really? It seems you have a good eye! How about this, you go to the Neizhijian and ask Laifu to give him a thousand taels of silver as his reward. We'll calculate it later after he's done a good job!"

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Su Dingfang looked overjoyed and bowed to Li Chengqian immediately.

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, then watched him leave.

At the same time, in the Honglu Temple, the Tuyuhun envoy's guest room.

The envoys from Tuyuhun, Tubo and Goguryeo, who did not see the artillery, gathered together in fear and anger.

In particular, Tuyuhun Prince Murong Shun's face was still pale at this time. When he thought of the scene of artillery killing people, he couldn't help but curl up in the corner of the bed and tremble.

"Ugh!"

Looking at Murong Shun with a mixture of helplessness and sympathy, the Tuyuhun envoy Batuwu sighed, then turned his gaze towards Lu Dongzan, Li Siyuan, and Gao Yanshou, saying gravely, "Everyone, the current situation is very bad for us! Do you have any plans to deal with it?"

"This"

The three of them exchanged glances, and Lu Dongzan was the first to speak: "Given the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Tubo to ask the Tang Dynasty to marry its princess."

"Uh,"

Batouwu couldn't help but twitch his lips when he heard this. He thought to himself, what the hell, it's already this late, and you're still thinking about the princess?! We can't even protect ourselves!
Although Batou wanted to yell at Lu Dongzan, they were now on the same page, so he couldn't help but suppress his temper. He fixed his eyes on Li Siyuan and Gao Yanshou and asked calmly, "Goguryeo envoys, do you have anything to say?"

"This"

Li Siyuan and Gao Yanshou glanced at each other after hearing this, and Gao Yanshou spoke first: "To be honest, Goguryeo's military deployment this time has little to do with us two. Perhaps something has happened within Goguryeo that we are unaware of."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Siyuan again, his face showing worry, "We are even speculating that our plan may have been exposed. This is an action launched by my king himself!"

"You mean, King Rongliu quelled the civil unrest in your country and destroyed your plan to usurp the throne?" Batou couldn't help but ask.

Li Siyuan snorted coldly, "Even if he ruins our plan, he won't have a good ending. Does he think that by using Gai Yuansuwen, he can secure his throne? That's wishful thinking. He's just chasing away a tiger and welcoming a hungry wolf!"

"Having said that, we are now dealing with the Tang Dynasty. Aren't you afraid that the Tang Dynasty will kill you?" Batuo reminded helplessly.

"This"

Gao Yanshou hesitated for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "How about we first notify the country and tell them about the threat of Tang Dynasty firearms, and ask them to withdraw their troops? As long as they agree to withdraw, Tang Dynasty should show us mercy. Even if they can't let us go, they won't kill us!"

"That's a good idea, but how can we convince them of the threat posed by Tang Dynasty firearms? After all, words are not enough!"

"or."

Hearing Bato Wu's words, Lu Dongzan couldn't help but said with a dry mouth: "Shall we secretly get some firearms back?"

"What!?"

Batou and others were shocked when they heard Lu Dongzan's words.

But Li Siyuan said in disbelief, "Are you crazy? If the Tang Dynasty finds out, we'll be dead without a burial place!"

"Yes! This idea is crazy! Even crazier than marrying a Tang Dynasty princess!"

"Tubo Dalun, you are not trying to harm us, are you?"

"No, no, don't misunderstand!"

Seeing how excited they were, Lu Dongza quickly smiled and waved his hands, "I was just talking casually, I wouldn't really steal anything."

"Hmph! You'd better just say it casually and don't implicate us!"

Li Siyuan snorted coldly, and then ignored Lu Dongzan. He then said to Batu Wu, "At present, only our two countries have sent troops. Those Western Region countries are simply unreliable. If we want to survive, it is best to notify the country to withdraw the troops first!"

"As for those in China who don't believe it, let them investigate it themselves!"

"However, the Tang Dynasty won't give them much time. If they don't withdraw, they'll be courting death. They can't blame us!"

"Yeah, that makes sense. There's a saying in the Central Plains: 'Do your best and leave the rest to fate!' This is all we can do!"

Batou nodded, and immediately exchanged seals with Li Siyuan, Gao Yanshou, and Lu Dongzan. They stamped the seals together to confirm the matter of the Tang Dynasty firearms, and then sent it back to the country.

As for the envoys from Japan and Western Turks, although they did not participate in this discussion, they also made the same decision, which was to report the matter of the Tang Dynasty's firearms back to their countries and express their determination to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

However, it is worth mentioning that after leaving the Tuyuhun envoy's guest room, the Tubo envoy Lu Dongzan did not choose to return to his own guest room, but went directly to a Huji wine shop in the west market of Chang'an.

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace, Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin couldn't sleep that night after he and Empress Changsun returned to the palace, so he quickly summoned Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng early in the morning to discuss what happened yesterday.

Although Li Shimin agreed to Li Chengqian's conditions outside the city, he also witnessed Li Chengqian's strength.

But in his heart, he still didn't want to be led by Li Chengqian.

Even though he is now unable to stop Li Chengqian's rise, he still wants to assert his own power.

He then spoke calmly to Changsun Wuji and the other three, "The firearms the Crown Prince possesses are a double-edged sword for the Tang Dynasty. If used well, the barbarians will submit. If used poorly, he will become a target of public criticism. Do you have any opinions on this?"

"This"

Hearing this, the four of them looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although Li Shimin was asking about firearms, any discerning person could tell that he was afraid of Li Chengqian.

After all, judging from Li Chengqian's current actions, he seems to be superior to Li Shimin.

Especially after this military exercise, Li Shimin's voice was obviously weakened.

Du Ruhui was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I believe that, judging from the current situation, the firearms owned by the Crown Prince will bring more benefits than disadvantages to the Tang Dynasty."

"Oh?"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, then waved his hand calmly and said, "Minister of War, tell me in detail!"

"Yes!"

Du Ruhui bowed in response and was about to speak when he suddenly felt the air in his lungs rising and he couldn't help coughing.

"cough cough"

"Ruhui, you."

"Ahem, it's okay."

Du Ruhui coughed and waved his hands, then took a few breaths and analyzed thoughtfully:
"Logically speaking, the Eastern Palace's power is too great, which is detrimental to the stability of the country. Even if the Eastern Palace has no other intentions, those with ulterior motives will still suspect it of having other intentions. This is not a good situation for either Your Majesty or the court. Ahem."

"Ruhui!"

Seeing Du Ruhui coughing and staggering, Fang Xuanling's heart was in his throat. He couldn't help but hurried forward to support him, but Du Ruhui still stubbornly refused him.

After forcing himself to steady himself, he continued, "However, the Crown Prince has already promised the Ministry of War that he can send people to learn the craft of firearms. Although the conditions are somewhat harsh, they also illustrate one fact: at least on the surface, the Crown Prince wants the Tang Dynasty to be stable, rather than letting the court be plunged into the vortex of power struggles."

"Therefore, I believe that as long as Your Majesty and the Crown Prince maintain this fact, it will not be difficult for them to get along."

"As for your Majesty's concern that the Tang Dynasty will become a target of public criticism because of firearms, I don't think so. The strategy the Crown Prince is currently adopting is exactly the same strategy that Qin used to conquer the six kingdoms, making friends with distant nations and attacking nearby ones. Your Majesty, please consider which countries the Crown Prince is currently targeting..."

"Cough cough cough cough."

"Bam—!"

Before Du Ruhui could finish his words, he fell to the ground with a thud.

“Ruhui!!”

Li Shimin was shocked when he saw this.

Fang Xuanling rushed over quickly.

"Imperial Physician! Call the Imperial Physician!"

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but shout loudly.

Wei Zheng left Ganlu Hall without thinking.

(End of this chapter)