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

Chapter 325 In war between two nations, the envoy must be executed! [Seeking monthly votes]

Upon returning to Chang'an, Xiangli Xuanjiang immediately reported to Li Shimin on Goguryeo's attitude towards the Tang Dynasty.

In particular, Yeon Gaesomun's attitude infuriated Li Shimin, further strengthening his resolve to personally lead the expedition against Goguryeo.

Subsequently, Li Shimin made another decision that greatly surprised the entire court.

He not only wanted to subdue Goguryeo, but also all countries that were disloyal to the Tang Dynasty.

The moment he made this decision, Fang Xuanling was the first to stand up and advise him: "Your Majesty, Goguryeo has disrespected our superior nation and should be punished, but other countries have not initiated war with our Great Tang. Given the current strength of our Great Tang, it is probably not advisable to fight on multiple fronts."

"I have considered the concerns of the Left Minister, but this is also the Crown Prince's decision!"

Before Fang Xuanling could finish speaking, Li Shimin interrupted him, saying, "Moreover, the Crown Prince has already submitted a plan to pacify the north. He doesn't need much from the court; he has his own way of handling it."

"Moreover, the Xueyantuo are already assembling a large army. It's hard to guarantee that they won't invade the south while our Great Tang is campaigning against Goguryeo!"

"this."

Upon hearing this, the ministers exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Although they had always had a concept of the Crown Prince's power, they never imagined that with such power, the Crown Prince would be able to destroy a country.

How powerful is this?
No wonder His Majesty entrusted the matter of Xueyantuo to the Crown Prince; it turns out His Majesty already had a good understanding of the Crown Prince's capabilities.

But, knowing that the Crown Prince has such a strong foundation, doesn't His Majesty have any reservations at all?

Could it be that His Majesty is doing this in order to weaken the Crown Prince's foundation?

It wasn't that the officials wanted to speculate maliciously about the father and son, but rather that their relationship gave them the feeling that the Xuanwu Gate Incident could happen at any moment.

So much so that they would occasionally fantasize about what they would do if Li Chengqian were to repeat the Xuanwu Gate Incident one day.

After all, Li Chengqian's strategy of granting fiefdoms overseas was indeed quite tempting.

Just as the officials were lost in thought, Sun Fujia, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, suddenly stepped forward, holding his tablet, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

"What's the matter?"

Li Shimin calmly and indifferently fixed his gaze on Sun Fujia.

Sun Fujia reported: "Your Majesty, the Goguryeo envoy Gao Chengjiu and others held an exchange activity in Chang'an, which has caused quite a stir. I am worried that they have ulterior motives, so I am reporting this to Your Majesty and asking for your decision."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's gaze slowly swept over the assembled officials in the hall, finally settling on Tang Jian, the Minister of Ceremonies, and he asked in a deep voice, "Minister of Ceremonies, are you aware of this matter?"

"this."

Tang Jian hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I am aware of this matter, but according to Gao Chengjiu, they say they admire our Han culture and want the most intelligent sage of our Great Tang to help them solve a few problems."

"It's that simple?"

"Yes, it's that simple!"

"Then why did it cause such a stir in the city?"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of doubt flashing through the gaps.

Tang Jian answered truthfully, "Normally, answering a few questions wouldn't have attracted much attention, but Gao Chengjiu's daughter, Gao Huizhen, suddenly announced that she would be seeking a husband through literature. In addition, this girl is very beautiful, which has attracted many talented young men."

"Unfortunately, these talented young people were stumped by the questions posed by Gao Huizhen, which is why the whole city was in an uproar."

"Oh?"

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued: "What question could possibly stump the young talents of my Great Tang Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, Gao Huizhen's questions sound very simple. I remember one of them was: after combing your hair, why does a comb have a magnetic ability to attract small, light objects?"

When Li Shimin heard this question, he was slightly taken aback and turned to look at his ministers.

But then Yu Shinan, a scholar of the Hongwen Academy, said thoughtfully, “Your Majesty, as far as I know, Zhang Hua of the Jin Dynasty mentioned in his ‘Record of Diverse Things’ that: ‘When people comb their hair or take off their clothes, some hair shines as they comb or untangle their knots, and some even make a sound.’ Their question may be related to this!”

"Does Scholar Yu know the reason?" Li Shimin asked curiously.

Yu Shinan shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old minister is of limited knowledge and still does not understand its profound meaning."

"Even you don't know the reason?"

Li Shimin frowned deeply, quickly realizing the seriousness of the problem.

This is hardly a literary contest to find a husband; it's clearly an attempt to embarrass the Tang Dynasty by presenting a difficult problem.

Moreover, this occurred when the Tang Dynasty was about to launch a war against Goguryeo.

This is no longer a personal matter; it is a matter of national importance.

Because this involves the dignity of both countries, if the problem is solved, all will be well, but if it is not solved, then their face will be humiliated.

Li Shimin's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he finally fixed his gaze on Yang Shidao, the Minister of Rites, and said, "Since it is a difficult problem, let's find more people to solve it. Minister Yang, let the people of the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy study it!"

"Whoever can solve their problem will be promoted and rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!"

"this."

Yang Shidao hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "To be honest, Your Majesty, the people from the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy have already gone to try to solve the problem, but so far no one has been able to answer it."

"waste!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was immediately enraged: "Is this the wise and resourceful minister of mine?"

"When it comes to actually using you guys, you're all utterly useless!"

"Now Goguryeo is using the name of culture to pursue the path of justice. What virtue or right do I have to issue an edict to the world to punish Goguryeo?"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent. Even the usually resourceful Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji lowered their heads.

Actually, they were also very upset.

Because they had always regarded Goguryeo as a barbarian state, and now Goguryeo was riding on their necks and defecating on them, how could they not feel ashamed?

Just as all the ministers fell silent, the remonstrating official Chu Suiliang suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think these questions can be answered by His Highness the Crown Prince. Perhaps there will be unexpected gains!"

"Prince?"

Li Shimin's eyes flickered, and he let out a long sigh of relief before nodding and saying, "Yes, the Crown Prince is indeed resourceful!"

"But Your Majesty, Gao Huizhen has declared that she will choose a husband through a literary contest. If His Highness the Crown Prince answers correctly, this marriage will be..."

"Hahaha--!"

Before Yang Shidao could finish speaking, Cheng Yaojin suddenly burst into laughter, mocking, "A mere barbarian dares to dream of becoming the Crown Princess of my Great Tang? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

"Yes! She's the daughter of an envoy. What makes her worthy of my Great Tang Crown Prince marrying her?"

Yuchi Gong also smiled and echoed.

Clearly, none of them took this literary contest for marriage seriously.

I just feel that a great nation should not be stumped by the problems of a small country.

But Li Shimin said nonchalantly, "Since none of you can answer it, let the Crown Prince try. I trust him."

"Your Majesty! The questions posed by the Goguryeo envoy have been answered by the Academy of Sciences!"

Just as Li Shimin ordered Li Chengqian to solve the Goguryeo problem, a report suddenly came from outside the door.

Li Shimin and his ministers were slightly surprised, and couldn't help but sigh.

Clearly, they seemed to have forgotten about this newly established academy of sciences, and also forgotten that the talents within it were the result of Li Chengqian's years of painstaking cultivation.

But Li Shimin chuckled and said, "Since the problem has been solved, there's no need to trouble the Crown Prince!"

After saying this, Li Shimin prepared to adjourn the court session.

However, before he could even announce the end of the court session, another report came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince wants to kill the Goguryeo envoy!"

"What!?"

Li Shimin and his ministers were greatly surprised when they heard this report.

But then Changsun Wuji hurriedly asked, "How could this be? Why did the Crown Prince kill the Goguryeo envoy?"

"Reporting to Duke Zhao, the reason is that the people from the Academy of Sciences answered Goguryeo's question, asking the Goguryeo envoy to marry his daughter to them, but the Goguryeo envoy refused to agree."

"So, the people from the Academy of Sciences went to the Crown Prince's residence to seek justice from him, but the Goguryeo envoy spoke rudely, angering the Crown Prince."

"this."

Changsun Wuji was speechless, unsure how to comment on the matter.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, then asked in a deep voice, "How could the Goguryeo envoy speak so rudely?"

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Goguryeo envoy seemed to be insulting our Great Tang for overestimating its strength, saying that they couldn't even win four campaigns against the Sui Dynasty, yet they dared to dream of going to war with us. They also said that the skeletons of the Sui Dynasty soldiers had been turned into a Jingguan (a mound of corpses), and if the Tang Dynasty soldiers dared to attack them, they would also turn them into a Jingguan."

Boom!

As soon as this statement came out, the whole audience was shocked.

When the ministers finally realized what was happening, they were furious.

"Damn it! I'm going to kill them!" A former official of the Sui Dynasty suddenly stood up from his seat and cursed loudly.

Cheng Yaojin's eyes blazed with fury: "Damn it, nobody stop me! I'll chop these sons of bitches to pieces with one axe!"

"Get out of my way! Even if it costs me my life, I'll kill them all!" Yuchi Gong stood up angrily, making a move to rush out of the hall.

The remaining ministers were all filled with righteous indignation, and chaos erupted at the scene. "Guards!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he gritted his teeth and couldn't help but want to start a massacre.

However, some ministers realized what was happening and hurriedly advised Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! In times of war, envoys are not to be killed! I beg Your Majesty to summon the Crown Prince and not allow him to tarnish the reputation of our Great Tang!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Please don't fall into their trap! I find this matter quite suspicious! I urge Your Majesty to consider the bigger picture!"

"Your Majesty, I believe..."

"Snapped!"

Before the ministers could finish speaking, Li Shimin grabbed something and threw it away.

"What about the dignity of the Tang Dynasty? You dare to talk about the dignity of the Tang Dynasty?!"

"They're already riding roughshod over us, what's the point of talking about saving face?!"

"What I despise most are you useless people who always talk about the big picture but never do anything practical!"

After saying this, Li Er immediately ordered, "Guards! Prepare the carriage! I am leaving the palace!"

"Your Majesty! Wait for us!"

As Li Er finished speaking, the rest of his confidants rushed out of the main hall.

Meanwhile, in Chang'an East Market.

A group of Goguryeo people were surrounded by dozens of Tang people, and some of them were beaten black and blue.

Meanwhile, Gao Chengjiu and Gao Huizhen, who were furious, turned pale and trembled.

According to their original plan, they would have succeeded as long as they could lure Li Chengqian over.

As a result, Yeon Gaesomun's confidant, Kim Jae-cheon, actually made outrageous remarks in front of Lee Seung-gyeon, which immediately ignited Lee Seung-gyeon's anger.

But Jin Zaiquan, still fearless, stared directly at Li Chengqian and said, "In times of war, envoys are not to be killed. Is the Crown Prince of Tang going to break the rules?"

"Who says that when two countries are at war, envoys are not to be killed?"

Li Chengqian chuckled and retorted, "There's no such rule here!"

"you!"

Upon hearing this, Kim Jae-cheon was speechless.

Although he came to the Tang Dynasty with the determination to die, he had not yet completed the task assigned to him by Yeon Gaesomun.

Therefore, faced with Li Chengqian's murderous intent, he instinctively began to back down: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I had no intention of offending you. It was your people who cheated, so I spoke up to them. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian laughed: "To accuse someone of cheating, you need to provide evidence. What evidence do you have to prove that my people cheated?"

"this."

Kim Jae-cheon hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but glance at Go Hye-jin and said, "The difficult question Miss Hye-jin posed is one that even your great scholars can't answer. How could a student from an academy he's never even heard of answer it?"

"Is that why?"

Li Chengqian sneered, "It seems that you keep saying you admire my Han culture, but you haven't even learned the basics. You don't know the principle that the student can surpass the teacher!"

"Exactly! Even a junior student at my Academy of Sciences could answer such a simple question!"

"It's just static electricity generated by friction! When people comb their hair, the comb rubs against the hair, causing the hair to carry a different type of charge. This charge discharges, generating static electricity, which allows it to attract small, light objects like a magnet!"

"Yeah, right! Do we really need someone to help us answer this? It's utterly ridiculous!"

As Li Chengqian finished speaking, a group of students from the Academy of Sciences chimed in with their agreement.

Jin Zaiquan and the others were stunned and couldn't help but turn their gazes to Gao Huizhen again.

Gao Huizhen's brows furrowed and relaxed intermittently, her expression constantly changing, until finally her chest heaved and her breathing became rapid.

Many things that I couldn't understand before have now become clear, like being struck by lightning.

But it was precisely because the people from the Academy of Sciences answered her question so easily that she couldn't help but say, "Since the people from your Academy of Sciences are so capable, I have another question. I have a golden seal here, the authenticity of which is hard to tell. Only the two envoys beside me know about it."

"However, one of these two envoys only speaks the truth, while the other only speaks lies."

"Gentlemen, how can you determine the authenticity of this gold seal by asking just one question to any one of them?"

"This"

As soon as she finished asking her question, everyone present fell silent.

At first glance, this matter seems quite simple.

But upon closer examination, everyone couldn't help but frown.

Choose one person, and you can only ask one question.
"This is way too easy!"

Just when everyone was puzzled, a loud voice suddenly came from the crowd.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice.

A chubby young man, leading a group of talented young men, slowly walked out from the crowd.

"It is His Highness the King of Yue!"

Someone quickly recognized the chubby boy and bowed to him.

But the chubby boy didn't even glance at him, instead walking towards Li Chengqian and saying with a faint smile, "Crown Prince, how have you been?"

"Ah, Qingque, what brings you here?"

Li Chengqian smiled and gave Li Tai a teasing look.

Although the chubby boy had kept a very low profile since the imperial examination, the information relayed to Li Chengqian by the Embroidered Uniform Guard told him that the chubby boy was quite capable.

He secretly recruited many scholars who had passed the imperial examinations and made his literary academy thrive.

But then Li Tai said with a faint smile, "I, Qingque, have heard that there are people competing in literature here, so I wanted to come and see who is so arrogant as to dare to run wild in my Great Tang!"

After saying this, he turned to look at the person who had spoken earlier and calmly asked, "Liu Yuan, can you answer their questions?"

"What's so difficult about this?"

Liu Yuan puffed out his chest with great confidence, then walked up to the two Goguryeo envoys beside Gao Huizhen and asked directly, "Is this golden seal real or fake?"

The slightly overweight Goguryeo envoy glanced at him and replied, "Really!"

"Haha, see, didn't he say that?"

As soon as he laughed, everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot.

If it were really that simple, people wouldn't have racked their brains and been too afraid to answer.

It's obvious that Liu Yuan is just here to make a fool of himself.

Li Tai was too ashamed to even look at him.

This is so embarrassing.

Gao Huizhen smiled and asked Liu Yuan, "Young master, how do you know whether he's telling the truth or lying?"

"Uh, this."

Liu Yuan's lips twitched, feeling slightly embarrassed. He quickly composed himself and chuckled, "I was just trying to lighten the mood. You didn't take it seriously, did you? You didn't actually take it seriously, did you?"

After saying this, he casually retreated behind Li Tai.

Seeing this, the people from the Academy of Sciences dared not answer rashly.

As Gao Huizhen said, even if they got the answer from a messenger, they could not tell whether it was true or false.

If I can ask a couple of questions, that's no problem.

We just need to identify which of the two messengers is lying.

But the problem is that you can only ask one question, which makes it difficult.

After thinking for a long time, everyone was still clueless.

At this moment, Li Tai couldn't help but turn to look at Li Chengqian, only to find that Li Chengqian was calm and composed, neither appearing to know the answer nor not knowing it, which was quite pretentious.

Meanwhile, Kim Jae-cheon quietly slipped up to Go Hye-jin and whispered, "Miss Hye-jin, is there an answer to this question?"

"Of course!"

Gao Huizhen gave a concise answer and then fell silent.

But Kim Jae-cheon, as if injected with adrenaline, scanned the crowd with a half-smile and asked, "Everyone, do you have any clues?"

"If you can't answer right away, that's alright. You can think about it slowly, even for a few more days. But it's a pity, our Miss Hye-jin has several more questions, and it seems we won't have the chance to ask them again!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt a surge of anger.

If they are allowed to continue like this, the Tang Dynasty will lose all face.

(End of this chapter)