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

Chapter 388 Li Yuan: Erlang has indeed set a good example for his son! [Requesting monthly votes]

"By order of Chancellor Fang and General Li, I hereby take over the city's defenses and quell the riot!"

As Li Yin announced this in a loud voice, the guards of Li Yin's palace immediately brandished their gleaming swords and spears.

At the same time, a large number of city defense troops also entered the scene.

The chaotic scene was forcibly suppressed in no time.

Ordinary people have a natural awe of the imperial court's military power. In addition, Li Yin's status as a representative of the imperial court caused the fanatical mob to gradually stop smashing and looting, and look at this newly appointed king with a sense of bewilderment and more expectation.

Li Yin held the military tally, exuding confidence and charisma, like a general who held the power of life and death.

There was a time when he never imagined he would be where he is today.

Now, all of this is thanks to his elder brother. How could he not be excited? How could he not admire his elder brother?
What Crown Prince? I, Li Yin, only have one elder brother, and that is Prince Li Ke of Shu!
No, maybe he'll become the crown prince someday!

Thinking of this, Li Yin, mounted on his horse, looked down at the messy medical school and Sun Simiao and the others who were being protected by the guards of the Prince's Mansion, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Fellow elders of Chang'an!"

Li Yin's voice was loud and clear, drowning out the sporadic cries and groans: "The riot has been quelled! The imperial court will never sit idly by while you suffer from the plague, nor will it tolerate quack doctors who harm the country and stand by while the people are in dire straits!"

After saying this, he suddenly pointed at Sun Simiao and the others who were separated by the guards, and said sternly:

"It is these so-called miracle doctors who, with their illusory and unorthodox smallpox treatments, have wasted the imperial court's money and resources, delayed the opportunity for treatment, which has led to the boiling resentment of the people and caused today's disaster. Their crimes deserve to be punished!"

"Long live His Highness the King of Shu! Long live His Highness the King of Liang!"

A fervent response immediately erupted from the crowd.

They only saw the cure brought by the King of Shu, and the helplessness of the medical school.

Li Yin's words perfectly aligned with their incited beliefs.

"No! That's not the case!"

A young medical student broke free of the guards' obstruction and rushed to the front. His face was bruised from being hit by stones, and his eyes burned with grief and indignation: "The smallpox vaccination method is a world-saving remedy that His Highness the Crown Prince has painstakingly found!"

"It's the only hope for preventing smallpox! You've not destroyed evil magic, you've destroyed the guarantee that millions of people will be spared from the suffering of smallpox in the future! You've been used!"

"Spreading heresy and misleading the public!" Li Yin roared, "Take him down!"

The guards of the Prince's mansion pounced on the student like wolves and tigers, roughly pinning him to the ground.

This further fueled the crowd's anger.

"Kill this liar!"

"You still want to harm people!"

Burn those man-eating cows!

Incited by those with ulterior motives, the anger that had just subsided was reignited.

This time, the goal is even clearer—to completely destroy everything related to smallpox.

"Yes! Burn those plague-ridden cattle!"

"Destroy those harmful things!"

"Let His Highness the King of Shu's divine physician come and save us!"

Public outrage was unstoppable.

Li Yin feigned to stop it a few times, then reluctantly ordered, "Enough! The will of the people cannot be defied! Since the people believe this is an evil thing, keeping it will likely cause endless harm!"

"To prevent future troubles, and to completely eradicate the idea that quack doctors are harming the country..."

"Guards! Destroy all the oxen, equipment, and records used for smallpox experiments within the medical school!"

"Bury them in one place to reassure the public!"

This command was like a death knell.

"Do not--!!!"

Sun Simiao let out a heart-wrenching cry, his aged body trembling violently.

He would have fainted if the students next to him hadn't helped him.

It is the culmination of countless doctors' tireless research day and night, and the flame of hope that can truly end the scourge of smallpox.

At this moment, however, it is to be branded as an 'evil thing' and burned to ashes amidst ignorant cheers.

The students were horrified, tears streaming down their faces, and tried to rush forward to stop them, but were ruthlessly blocked by the cold blades and guns.

They could only watch helplessly as one after another, healthy oxen, carefully selected, quarantined and ready to receive safe vaccines, were roughly dragged out and driven into open spaces amidst their terrified mooing.

Those microscopes, petri dishes, special extraction tools, and volumes containing detailed data and observation logs—all the fruits of countless hours of hard work—were thrown into the mountain of firewood by the guards and the mob like trash.

Even the precious smallpox vaccine stock solution that had been extracted and carefully preserved in specially made glass bottles was ruthlessly smashed on the ground or thrown directly into the fire.

Fire shot into the sky.

Thick smoke billowed, carrying the smells of burning paper, wood, and herbs, and even more so, the acrid smell of despair as hope was utterly destroyed.

The mob surrounded the huge bonfire as if performing an evil sacrificial ritual, their faces bearing morbid fanaticism and liberated smiles, shouting mad words such as "Long live His Highness the King of Shu" and "Your Highness the King of Liang burned it well."

Illuminated by the blazing firelight, Li Yin sat on his horse, his face displaying undisguised smugness and ruthlessness.

On the other side, the Prince's Mansion.

While the riots at the medical school were making headlines, the Crown Prince's residence seemed to turn a deaf ear.

Even the gates of the Crown Prince's residence were tightly closed.

This left Li Ke's informant, who had been keeping watch outside the Crown Prince's residence, looking utterly puzzled.

Because they devised several strategies to target the Crown Prince's residence, including cooperating with the guards to assassinate him, surrounding and intercepting him, and setting fires in the chaos. It can be said that Li Ke seemed to value the Crown Prince's residence more than the medical school.

However, the current situation is that they punched cotton.

Almost all of the strategies have failed.

"Mr. Wu, what should we do now?" One of Li Ke's confidants turned to Wu Bing and asked in a deep voice.

Wu Bing frowned slightly, then narrowed his eyes and said, "Such a big thing happened at the medical school, it's impossible that Li Chengqian's Crown Prince's residence wouldn't have made a sound at all!"

As he spoke, he stepped on the ground and said, "Could there be a secret passage underground?"

"Mr. Wu means that there is an underground passage in the Crown Prince's residence leading to the medical school?"

"That's possible, but it needs to be verified! However, the most urgent task right now is to control those people at the medical school! Only when they stop extracting vaccines can we control the entire population of Chang'an!"

"Alright! I'll go and inform His Highness Prince Liang right away!"

After saying this, Li Ke's confidant turned to leave.

But Wu Bing stopped him a moment later: "Wait a minute! Have someone get me another map of Chang'an, especially a map of the buildings around the Crown Prince's residence, the more detailed the better!"

"No problem, I'll contact the Ministry of Works right away and get it done for you!"

"Go!"

Wu Bing raised his hand in a gesture, then said to the guards beside him, "Go and investigate whether there are any tunnels in this area?"

"promise!"

The guards immediately agreed and withdrew.

At the same time, in the Prince’s Mansion.

Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben, Yang Nannan, Liu Rengui, Sun Fujia and other core members of the Crown Prince's Palace all gathered together.

Although they never stopped Li Ke and Li Yin, it doesn't mean they were unaware of what was happening outside.

But Ma Zhou spoke first: "The King of Shu has just returned to Chang'an and has already made such a commotion. It seems he has even bigger plans in store!"

"Isn't this blatantly targeting our Crown Prince? Who gave him the audacity?" Liu Rengui frowned.

"Who else could it be?"

Sun Fujia sneered, "Naturally, it's those cowardly guards hiding their heads and tails!"

"The key question is, are we really just going to sit idly by and do nothing about them?" Cen Wenben asked hesitantly.

Yang Nannan said expressionlessly, "His Highness the Crown Prince sent word that he is currently being assassinated by the guards of the Imperial Guard. He warned us not to make any rash moves until he returns!"

“But what about the smallpox vaccines at the medical school? They’ll definitely find a way to destroy them!” Cen Wenben couldn’t help but ask again.

Yang Nannan glanced at him but didn't say anything. Instead, she took out Li Chengqian's secret letter.

There are two paragraphs above. The first one is longer and describes what Yang Nannan mentioned, while the second one is only eight characters long: "If you want to take, you must first give."

Anyone with even a basic understanding of political maneuvering would understand the meaning of these eight characters.

The core members of the Crown Prince's residence present at the scene naturally understood at a glance.

The reason Li Chengqian instructed them to ignore Li Ke and his group was to allow them to grow increasingly arrogant so that he could wipe them out in one fell swoop upon their return.

To avoid future trouble.

"But the problem is, what about the people of Chang'an? Without a vaccine, are we just going to sit by and watch them die from smallpox?"

Despite having read Li Chengqian's secret letter and understanding his thoughts, Cen Wenben still asked with some confusion, "Hey, Old Cen! Is this your first day following His Highness the Crown Prince? Do you think His Highness wouldn't consider the people of Chang'an?"

Sun Fujia said somewhat impatiently, "Have you forgotten the secret passage under our Crown Prince's residence? Commander Yang sent people yesterday to transfer important documents and some mature vaccines!"

"Only the immature and useless ones stayed in medical school!"

"Ah? There's such a thing?"

Cen Wenben asked in surprise, "How come I didn't know anything about this?"

"Ha, don't tell me you don't know, even Doctor Sun and the others don't know!"

Ma Zhou said with a smile, "That's the brilliance of His Highness the Crown Prince. To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own people!"

"That, that Commander Yang."

"Don't ask. It's best not to ask a single question about things you shouldn't know!"

Before Cen Wenben could finish speaking, Yang Nannan interrupted him without any room for argument. She then looked up at the door and said coldly, "There are spies from the Prince of Shu's mansion and assassins from the Shouzhulang outside. If there is any disturbance in our Crown Prince's mansion, His Highness's plan will be exposed!"

"so."

She paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince's residence must be on high alert during this period. The Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot take care of every aspect of your affairs, because we have more important things to do!"

"What about the military academy? Do you need our cooperation?" Liu Rengui interjected.

"Need not!"

Yang Nannan stood up and said, "Military Academy, Medical Academy, Academy of Sciences, Embroidered Uniform Guard, Crown Prince's Residence, except for the core secrets of the Academy of Sciences, will all be abandoned until His Highness the Crown Prince returns."

"Huh? Doesn't this mean we're going to hand over Chang'an to the King of Shu?" Cen Wenben asked, somewhat surprised.

Yang Nannan calmly replied, "If you were the King of Shu, would you allow someone to cause trouble for you in the areas you control? Or rather, if someone were to cause trouble for you, would you feel comfortable letting them continue to exist?"

"this."

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben was speechless.

But Ma Zhou said with a smile, "This is the essence of 'to take, one must first give.' Didn't you see? Even Prime Minister Fang and General Li know what to do!"

"Then we..."

"Report——!"

Just as Cen Wenben was about to continue speaking, a report suddenly came from outside the door: "Left Vice Minister, Right Vice Minister, someone is digging up the street outside!"

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben and the others were taken aback and immediately stood up.

Yang Nannan rushed out the door without saying a word, then leaped onto a platform and reached the roof in a few breaths.

The streets were filled with homeless beggars, laughing and waving hoes.

"There's gold here! I just dug up gold right here!"

"Really?! I never imagined there was gold around the Crown Prince's residence! No wonder people say the Crown Prince's residence is richer than a country!"

"Quickly! While no one's out of the Crown Prince's residence, let's dig up some gold and have some fun!"

Laughing and joking, the beggars picked up hoes and began digging wildly in the street.

In the past, the Martial Marquis would have already come to deal with them by now.

However, due to the riots at the medical school and the rampant epidemic in Chang'an, even the Marquis of Wu dared not move around on the streets easily.

"Yang Qianhu"

Just as Cen Wenben was about to open his mouth and call out to Yang Nannan to ask her what was going on, an arrow flew in and landed not far from his feet.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Nannan, who was standing on the roof, was also attacked by several cold arrows. After dodging and weaving, she finally retreated from the roof in a sorry state.

"Commander Yang! Are you alright!?"

As Cen Wenben and the others retreated back into the house, they inquired about Yang Nannan with concern.

"I'm fine! Don't come any closer!"

Yang Nannan hid in a doorway, her face ashen as she warned them, then walked back to her room step by step through the doorway.

"Commander Yang, what's the situation outside?" Ma Zhou hurriedly asked.

Yang Nannan glanced at him, then said in a deep voice, "If I'm not mistaken, they've discovered the secret of the tunnel. I need to leave here quickly! You all need to be careful too!"

"Although they won't openly attack the Crown Prince's residence for the time being, it's still best to be cautious!"

"Damn it! This King of Shu is getting more and more audacious!"

Sun Fujia clenched his fists in resentment.

Ma Zhou and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although Li Ke's actions were indeed somewhat excessive, he had already gone this far, so it was not surprising that he went any further.

"Alright! I have to go! Just one more thing, don't believe anyone else's words unless I contact you myself!"

After saying that, Yang Nannan turned and left without saying another word.

She reminded Ma Zhou and the others because she knew that Shouzhulang had a group of people who knew the art of disguise.

At this critical moment, it's hard to guarantee they won't use these people to cause trouble.

"Did you all hear that clearly? Besides our token, you also need to remember our secret code!"

"Listen clearly!"

As soon as Ma Zhou finished speaking, everyone immediately spoke in unison.

On the other side, the Imperial Palace, Da'an Palace.

Thanks to Empress Zhangsun's special arrangements and the security system that Li Chengqian had already built for Li Yuan, the Da'an Palace, where Li Yuan resided, was hardly affected by the smallpox plague.

Even news of the smallpox plague rarely reached Da'an Palace.

Of course, this refers to everyone else except Li Yuan, who were almost unaware of the smallpox epidemic in Chang'an and lived carefree lives like canaries.

Li Yuan himself kept a close eye on the situation both inside and outside the palace.

This is much freer for him than when Li Er was in Chang'an.

"Overlord"

Just as Li Yuan was drinking wine, listening to music, watching dance, and enjoying his idyllic retirement, Du Caigan, the General in charge of the gates of Da'an Palace, strode in.

"Oh, there's a new development now?"

When Li Yuan saw Du Caigan enter, he immediately beamed with joy, losing all interest in watching the dance and listening to the music, and waved them away.

"Yes, Your Majesty, there have been quite a few major events in Chang'an lately!"

Du Caigan sat down and immediately reported to Li Yuan: "The Prince of Shu, Li Ke, and the Prince of Liang, Li Yin, have now taken control of Chang'an! Even the Crown Prince's residence, the Academy of Sciences, the Medical Academy, the Military Academy, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters have all fallen into their hands!"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's eyes narrowed immediately: "What is Brother Li Ke planning to do?"

"Ostensibly it's for epidemic prevention and disaster relief, but secretly..." Du Caigan said, letting out a disdainful sneer, "Ha, they're definitely plotting something!"

"So, they want to seize the throne?"

"Even if it's not a coup, it's not far from it!"

"interesting!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's lips curled up, and he said jokingly, "It seems that Erlang has indeed set a good example for his sons!"

"What does the Emperor Emeritus mean?" Du Caigan couldn't help but ask.

Li Yuan looked at him with amusement and asked, "What do you think I should do? Stop them?"

"No, it's just that I don't understand the Crown Prince's side. Why aren't his men putting up any resistance?"

"What's the point of resistance? To fight each other and turn Chang'an into a river of blood? Or to incite an even bigger riot in Chang'an and destroy it?"

"Uh, this."

Du Caigan was speechless for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Your Majesty, you know that I only know how to win people over with virtue. It's not my forte to engage in any schemes or tricks."

"Who said this is a conspiracy?"

Li Yuan rolled his eyes at Du Caigan, then picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and said leisurely, "When you possess absolute power, all schemes and tricks are nonsense, because all you need is a reason!"

"reason?"

"Yes! A legitimate reason to kill!"

"You mean, His Highness the Crown Prince..."

"How could the story of the Heavenly Khan be complete without tales of fratricide?"

Li Yuan gave a cold laugh, then picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

(End of this chapter)