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

Chapter 326 Li Tai: Li Chengqian! What gives you the right to make decisions for Father Emperor? [Requesting monthly votes]

"Your Majesty, these Goguryeo people are not simple; it seems they came prepared!"

Fang Xuanling, who had accompanied Li Shimin out of the palace, spoke cautiously.

Although they did not go directly to the high platform created by the Goguryeo people, they found a tavern not far from the platform to watch the activities on it.

But Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "I don't care whether they came prepared or not, I must see blood today!"

"hiss--"

Upon hearing this, the ministers couldn't help but gasp.

Almost all the ministers who left the palace with Li Shimin were astonished by his words.

A question inevitably arose in their minds.

Your Majesty, what's going on?
It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen His Majesty like this.

None of them could have imagined that Li Shimin's murderous intent would suddenly become so strong.

Even this resolute determination felt unfamiliar to them.

Those ministers who had just advised Li Shimin were now too frightened to speak.

Only generals like Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong showed expressions of excitement.

Because they were all going to follow Li Shimin to the Liaodong battlefield, if Li Shimin was too lenient with the Goguryeo people, they would likely be constrained in their fighting, and might end up like the Sui Dynasty, which suffered defeats even after three campaigns against Goguryeo.

"Your Majesty, a member of the Yue Literature Institute has gone up!"

Just as all the ministers were shocked by Li Shimin's words, Wu She, who had been serving Li Shimin, cautiously reminded him of something.

Li Shimin frowned and immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

Although Li Tai's Vietnamese Language Institute was established with his consent, he, like the Academy of Sciences, did not place much importance on the talents within it.

Therefore, when he saw the people from the Yuewen Pavilion rushing up again, he instinctively felt that they were just like Liu Yuan from before, another clown trying to attract attention.

But then he said in a deep voice, "Why is the King of Yue becoming more and more ignorant of the rules? Is this something he should be meddling in?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the ministers exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what was wrong with His Majesty today. Why was even the King of Yue complaining?

Has the King of Yue fallen out of favor with His Majesty?

That shouldn't be the case. Just a while ago, His Majesty was planning to change the title of King of Yue to King of Wei. How could he have changed his mind so quickly?
Just as the ministers were all puzzled, the young man who stepped out from behind Li Tai said with a smile, "Miss Huizhen, may I answer your question?"

"who are you?"

Gao Huizhen frowned, clearly not wanting to waste time on such an unknown person, because her target had always been Li Chengqian.

But then the young man introduced himself: "I am Zhang Wenguan. I ranked ninth on the list of successful candidates in this year's imperial examination. I am currently serving as a military advisor in the Yue King's Palace."

"Zhang Wenguan?"

Go Hye-jin paused for a moment, then turned to look at Kim Jae-cheon.

But Jin Zaiquan sneered, "If you're just like the one before, only here to make a scene, I think you should just give up! Not only will you waste my time, but you'll also embarrass the Tang people!"

"Hey! What do you mean? He hasn't even answered yet, how do you know it's wrong?"

"Yes! You said we'd embarrass ourselves, but you're just afraid to let us answer!"

"These mere barbarians dare to run wild in my Great Tang Dynasty! They're courting death!"

As Kim Jae-cheon finished speaking, the surrounding Tang people, especially those from the Yuewen Hall, were filled with righteous indignation.

Even Li Tai's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

But then he said in a deep voice, "I am the King of Yue of the Great Tang Dynasty. Am I not qualified to answer your questions?!"

"His Highness the King of Yue is certainly qualified to answer our questions, but this nobody... well, he'd better not embarrass himself by coming here."

Kim Jae-cheon said with a smile, then turned his gaze to Li Chengqian and said indifferently, "Is Your Highness interested in answering this question?"

"Not interested in."

Li Chengqian said bluntly, "If you were to bet your life on whether I could answer this question correctly, I would be very interested."

"Of course, even if you don't risk your life, you're still doomed when this farce ends!"

Wow!
As soon as these words were spoken, countless Imperial Guards poured out from the rooftops, windows, and streets, surrounding the high platform.

Upon seeing this, Kim Jae-cheon was greatly surprised and immediately turned to look at Go Seung-gu.

But Gao Chengjiu said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, we are envoys representing Goguryeo to the Tang Dynasty. We are just here to have a cultural exchange with you Tang people. Why risk our lives?"

"In your eyes, this may be a cultural exchange, but in my eyes, it is a life-or-death struggle."

Li Chengqian said calmly and indifferently, "Have you forgotten? Our two countries are already at war!"

“Even in the midst of war, one should not kill the enemy’s envoy. Otherwise, how will we communicate in the future? Has Your Highness forgotten that our country also has envoys from your Great Tang?” Gao Chengjiu argued forcefully.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yes, you are right. The two countries do need to communicate!"

"Indeed, our Great Tang Dynasty has envoys in your Goguryeo, and not only envoys from our Great Tang Dynasty, but also many Han Chinese left behind in your Goguryeo from the previous dynasty!"

"but."

Then, he changed the subject and continued, "Our Great Tang will never tolerate any provocation! If you dare to harm our Great Tang envoys or those Han people, our Great Tang will retaliate tenfold, a hundredfold. At that time, a bloodbath will be carried out for thousands of miles, leaving no one alive—that would be considered lenient!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Gao Chengjiu was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

The other Goguryeo envoys, including Kim Jae-cheon and Go Hye-jin, turned pale and trembled all over.

The Tang people present were all so excited that their cheeks turned red, and they shouted with excitement.

"Long live Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is mighty!"

Hearing these cheers, Li Tai couldn't help but curl his lip, thinking to himself, "Why is it always this guy who gets to steal the spotlight?"

However, just as Li Tai was pondering how to make himself the center of attention, the man named Zhang Wenguan walked directly up to the two Goguryeo envoys, randomly pointed at one of them, and asked, "Do you think he can tell if this gold seal is real or fake?"

"Ok?"

The Goguryeo envoy who was pointed at was stunned for a moment, then knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness is truly talented!"

Beep——!
As the Goguryeo envoy knelt down with a thud, the entire place fell into complete silence, as if autumn leaves had been swept away by the wind.

Almost everyone, including Li Chengqian and Li Tai, had their eyes on the man named Zhang Wenguan.

They all seemed surprised that Zhang Wenguan answered the question so easily.

Even Liu Yuan, who had answered the same question, was somewhat bewildered and asked Pei Qian beside him, "Brother Pei, what did Brother Zhang say?"

Pei Qian narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "How would I know? But it seems you got it right."

Liu Yuan was stunned: "How is this possible? How could he answer so easily?!"

Although they were all from the Vietnamese Language Institute, their treatment was much worse than that of Zhang Wenguan, a talent that Li Tai had hired at great expense.

For example, Zhang Wenguan, upon entering the Yue King's Palace, was appointed as a military advisor, a proper fifth-rank official, which was far more prestigious than their mere status as scholars of the Yue Literature Academy.

Therefore, they have never gotten along well with talents like Zhang Wenguan, whom Li Taihua hired at great expense.

However, Li Tai felt that the high price was well spent.

Because Zhang Wenguan really made him look good.

Suddenly, he burst into loud laughter: "Excellent! Excellent! Wen Guan answered well! He truly deserves to be called a top talent of the Yue Prince's Mansion!"

Although his laughter was hearty, he didn't really understand what was so good about Zhang Wenguan's answer.

On the contrary, Zhang Tie, who had been by Li Chengqian's side the whole time, asked Li Chengqian curiously, "Your Highness, why did he answer correctly?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian calmly explained, "Regardless of how those two people answer, as long as they give the opposite answer, the authenticity of the gold seal can be determined."

"this."

Zhang Tie scratched his head, still somewhat puzzled.

Other researchers from the Academy of Sciences also looked bewildered, seemingly feeling that their intelligence was somewhat lacking.

Actually, this should be considered a logic problem. Regardless of whether Zhang Wenguan asked the Goguryeo envoy who was telling the truth or the Goguryeo envoy who was lying, as long as he gave the other party's answer, the result would definitely be the opposite.

For example, this gold seal is genuine.

If Zhang Wenguan had asked the Goguryeo envoy who was telling the truth, he would have said that the other Goguryeo envoy's answer was that the golden seal was fake, because the other Goguryeo envoy could only tell a lie.

Therefore, the gold seal is genuine.

If Zhang Wenguan had asked the Goguryeo envoy who was lying, he would have said that another Goguryeo envoy who was telling the truth said the golden seal was fake, because he himself could only lie.

Therefore, no matter how the person being asked answers, the gold seal can distinguish between genuine and fake.

After Li Chengqian calmly explained his logic, the room fell into complete silence.

"Great!"

"Wonderful!"

"He's truly a genius!"

"We never imagined that the Vietnamese Language School possessed such great talent! We have truly underestimated the Vietnamese Language School!"

"Who says otherwise? I've heard that His Highness the Prince of Yue is quite remarkable, having begun writing books at such a young age!" "Is that so? They say a strong general has no weak soldiers under his command, and His Highness the Prince of Yue certainly lives up to that reputation!"

Hearing everyone praising him and the Yuewen Hall, Li Tai was so happy he felt like he could fly, and he felt a great sense of pride.

Li Chengqian, however, kept his gaze fixed on Zhang Wenguan, and only after a moment did he remember this person.

It turns out he was a famous judge under Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi.

It is said that when he served as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he handled more than 400 cases in ten days without a single wrongful conviction. Later, he was appointed as Attendant-in-Ordinary and gained the deep trust of Emperor Gaozong. Emperor Gaozong once said: "Have you discussed this with Wen Guan?" This shows that Emperor Gaozong would consult Zhang Wen Guan on all major decisions.

"Unexpectedly, such a talented person was won over by the King of Yue."

Li Chengqian suddenly sighed, then looked at Pei Xingjian.

Pei Xingjian trembled and quickly bowed, saying, "It was my oversight, Your Highness, that I am punished!"

"It's alright. Talented people in the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river. It's my fortune to have them, and my fate to lose them."

Li Chengqian waved his hand dismissively and said this, seemingly unconcerned.

At this moment, Li Tai said smugly, "Miss Gao, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Our Great Tang Dynasty is full of talented people. We are not afraid of any questions you may ask. The only thing we are afraid of is that you will not be able to ask any questions!"

"Hahaha! Our Vietnamese Language Museum is full of talented people, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!"

"That's right! We can answer the questions their Academy of Sciences can't, and we dare to answer the questions their Academy of Sciences wouldn't dare to. In short, our Yuewen Academy welcomes talented people from all over the world to join us!"

Hearing these smug words, everyone at the Academy of Sciences turned ashen-faced.

Although their primary job was research, being humiliated like this in front of Li Chengqian was truly unpleasant.

But Zhang Tie said with a stern face, "Your Highness, let me answer the next question!"

"What are you doing here? Do you want to marry a Korean woman?"

Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Tiedao with amusement.

Zhang Tie paused for a moment, then asked with a puzzled look, "What is a Korean girl?"

"Look at the daughter of that Goguryeo envoy. She's wearing baggy trousers and has a flat figure. Even though she's not bad-looking, from a distance she looks like a stick."

"Uh, this."

Zhang Tie's lips twitched, but he couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound.

It would have been better if I hadn't looked at it, because the more I looked, the more I realized how vivid Li Chengqian's description was, and then I burst out laughing.

His smile immediately attracted the attention of all the Goguryeo people, including Go Hye-jin.

But Gao Huizhen coldly replied, "Tell me, if there is a forest, and the top and bottom are cut off, how should I distinguish the roots from the tops?"

"this."

Zhang Tie was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian calmly picked up his teacup, blew on the tea leaves, took a small sip, and said indifferently, "Zhang Tie, you go answer the question!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Tie smiled excitedly and immediately stepped forward to answer, "It's very simple! Just put the wood in water and use buoyancy to distinguish them. The ones above the water are the treetops, and the ones below are the roots, because the roots are denser than the treetops and sink more easily!"

"Not bad!"

Gao Huizhen nodded and said, "Although I don't understand what you mean by buoyancy, you are right!"

I go!

As Zhang Tie answered Gao Huizhen's question correctly, everyone present looked at the Academy of Sciences with new respect.

Especially those people from the Yuewen Academy who had just belittled the Academy of Sciences, they all wished they could bury their heads in their crotches.

Some who were not convinced even immediately found some trees and submerged them in water to conduct an experiment.

Just as Zhang Tie had predicted, the roots of the tree in the water began to slowly sink, while the treetops slowly rose.

Upon seeing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, Jin Zaiquan hurriedly walked up to Gao Huizhen and lowered his voice, saying, "Miss Huizhen, do you have any more questions? We can't let the Crown Prince of Tang answer so easily! He's the one who wants our lives."

"Kim Jae-cheon, you're the one who caused this trouble! How dare you make such a racket here? Get out of here now!"

Before Gao Huizhen could answer Jin Zaiquan, Gao Chengjiu, who was standing to the side, sternly told Jin Zaiquan to leave.

But Gao Huizhen said nonchalantly, "I've heard that the Tang people are also good at raising horses. I wonder how they would pair up a group of foals and their mothers if they were all mixed up?"

"Simply starve the mare and foal for a few days, then release predators, such as wolves, to catch the foal. In the heat of the moment, the foal will run to its mother."

Zhang Wenguan was the first to speak.

Li Tai and the others excitedly echoed, "Great!"

It is clear that the people from the Vietnamese Language Institute and the Academy of Sciences have begun to compete.

Gao Huizhen said to Zhang Wenguan with some admiration, "You Tang people are indeed remarkable. I thought about these questions for many days before I came up with the answers. How come you didn't even need to think about them?"

"It's not that you don't need to think about it, but rather that the more you read, the more naturally the problems will be solved."

Zhang Wenguan said casually.

Gao Huizhen nodded as if she understood, seemingly ready to surrender.

Kim Jae-cheon, however, was not having it. He glared at Go Hye-jin with exasperation and hurriedly said, "I also have a question! If you can answer it, I'll bet my life on it. But if you can't, your Tang army will immediately withdraw and hand over Silla to our country. Are you willing to take the bet?!"

Boom!

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

"Jin Zaiquan!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Chengjiu was startled and quickly tried to stop Jin Zaiquan.

But then Kim Jae-cheon said, as if he were insane, "Go Seung-gu, I know your purpose, but you can't succeed. Lord Yeon is invincible!!"

"you"

Gao Chengjiu looked surprised and turned to look at Gao Huizhen.

Gao Huizhen frowned and remained silent.

At this moment, Jin Zaiquan turned his gaze to Li Chengqian and sneered, "Well, Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, do you dare to gamble with me? Didn't you say you wanted to gamble with your life? I'll gamble with you, do you dare?"

"presumptuous!"

Pei Xingjian roared angrily and was about to draw his sword and step forward.

But Li Chengqian raised his hand to stop him the next moment.

Li Chengqian calmly asked, "What is your true purpose in coming to the Tang Dynasty?"

"Hmph! I am here on behalf of Lord Yuan to mediate between Silla and the Tang Dynasty. They are here on behalf of the King to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty to eliminate Lord Yuan!"

Jin Zaiquan sneered, "However, don't waste your time. Lord Yuan knows everything. If you dare to touch Lord Yuan, he will make you pay a heavy price!"

"Ah! I see."

Li Chengqian smiled.

Jin Zaiquan then said solemnly, "Lord Yeon has no intention of being an enemy of the Tang Dynasty. He only wants to reclaim the five hundred li of lost territory occupied by Silla. As for the previous attack on the Tang Dynasty, it was purely a misunderstanding. If the Tang Dynasty wants to make up for its losses, Lord Yeon can order our army to retreat twenty li, open border trade, and pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty for ten years without engaging in warfare!"

"in addition."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "If the Tang Dynasty agrees to these conditions and releases me, I can also, on behalf of Lord Yuan, dismantle the mounds of corpses erected by all the former Sui soldiers and release the captured Han Chinese from the former Sui!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was shocked.

Almost everyone stared intently at Kim Jae-cheon.

This includes Ko Seung-gu and his daughter Ko Hye-jin.

They all seemed to have been surprised that Yeon Gaesomun had such a purpose.

What does this mean? Does it mean that for the sake of a small kingdom like Silla, they've directly submitted to the Tang Dynasty?
"Can you really represent Yeon Gaesomun?" Lee Tae couldn't help but ask.

Jin Zaiquan glanced at Li Tai, and without saying a word, took out a gold seal and a handwritten letter, saying, "This is Lord Yuan's Grand Gold Seal and his own handwritten letter. Your Highness Prince Yue can present it to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang for verification!"

Judging from his behavior just now, he already knew that Li Tai and Li Chengqian were at odds, so he immediately handed over the credit to Li Tai.

He hoped to use Li Tai to achieve his own goals.

Li Tai's face lit up with joy, and he immediately reached for the gold seal and letter from Jin Zaiquan.

However, Li Chengqian interrupted them at this moment: "There's no need to present this to my father, the Emperor. I can answer you on behalf of the Tang Dynasty: the Tang Dynasty will not accept any of your conditions!"

"What!?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Everyone stared blankly, utterly shocked.

Because everyone felt that the conditions offered by Kim Jae-cheon seemed very reasonable.

The Tang Dynasty could reap rich benefits without fighting.

"Li Chengqian! What gives you the right to make decisions for the Emperor?!"

Just as everyone was still in shock, Li Tai suddenly stood up, furious.

Normally, he probably wouldn't have had the courage, but since Li Chengqian refused such obvious benefits, he had no reason not to stand up and confront Li Chengqian.

Because he firmly believed that even if Li Er were standing here, he would support him.

(End of this chapter)