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

Chapter 408 A Scheme Colder Than the Bitter Wind [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"His Royal Highness!"

The Hundred Cavalry Commander had just left the Taiji Hall when Pei Xingjian took him to the Crown Prince's residence.

Li Chengqian looked at him calmly, as if nothing had happened, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Your Highness, this humble general is Wu Yuan."

The Commandant of the Hundred Cavalry replied with trepidation.

In fact, after learning about Li Chengqian's actions in Chang'an, he had a premonition that it wouldn't be so easy for him to leave the city.

And the facts proved his premonition correct; Li Chengqian did indeed find him.

Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm just asking you some questions. Once I'm done, I'll let you go!"

"Would Your Highness really let this humble general leave?" Wu Yuan asked incredulously.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Otherwise what? Did you think I would kill someone to silence them?"

Wu Yuan fell silent instantly, because that was indeed what he thought.

However, Li Chengqian did not intend to waste any more words with him, but instead asked him directly, "How is the war going on my father's side?"

"This"

Wu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, His Majesty's campaign in Liaodong went relatively smoothly in the early stages, but encountered some trouble later on, and his advance stalled at Anshi City."

These were no secrets, and he naturally recounted them in detail.

After hearing his account, Li Chengqian showed an expression of "I knew it," and then asked, "My father sent you back to deliver an imperial edict. Does it involve me?"

"Have!"

Wu Yuan immediately replied, "His Majesty sent me back to deliver the imperial edict mainly because I used to be a messenger, so I'm fast and have decent martial skills, enough to protect myself. The content of His Majesty's edict mainly urges the delivery of provisions, and..."

"And what?"

"And His Majesty has ordered the Crown Prince to return to the army and handed over the affairs of Chang'an to the cabinet ministers. Moreover, His Majesty said that he will soon return to the capital!"

"I see."

Li Chengqian nodded in realization, seemingly unsurprised, and then smiled at Wu Bing, asking, "What did Lord Fang and the others say to you?"

"Your Highness, this humble general knows nothing and heard nothing."

"Didn't I already say? Don't be nervous or afraid. I won't kill you. Even if you spread the news that I killed the King of Shu and the King of Liang to my father, I won't care, because..."

He paused, then his smile faded, and he said in a serious tone, "The innocent remain innocent, and the guilty remain guilty."

"Your Highness, rest assured, this humble general will report the truth and would never dare to speak recklessly!"

Wu Yuan immediately cupped his hands in greeting and added, "I know that His Highness the Crown Prince has been wronged. He was disguised by the guards in an attempt to frame you!"

"Heh!" Li Chengqian smiled noncommittally, then said calmly, "I have already instructed the Ministry of Revenue to arrange the provisions. If you are not in a hurry, you can travel with the grain escort team. If you are in a hurry, you can leave immediately, and the provisions will arrive shortly."

"I cannot disobey the Emperor's command, and this humble general dares not delay," Wu Yuan hurriedly replied.

He's terrified now, how could he dare to stay in Chang'an any longer?

"In that case, you may leave now. Remember, you must report the truth!"

"Yes!"

Wu Yuan bowed again, then seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before taking his leave.

Pei Xingjian, who watched him leave, frowned: "Your Highness, you just let him go like that?"

"Otherwise what?" Li Chengqian said with a smile, "Killing him would be like protesting too much, wouldn't it? Besides, I originally planned to let my father know about what happened in Chang'an!"

"But the cabinet has its own agenda, and they might be working against you!"

"Is that so?" Li Chengqian said jokingly, "That would be best, I'm just waiting for them to do me a disservice!"

"But what about His Majesty?"

"Don't worry, my father is already in dire straits. He will soon be defeated, and then I'll be there to clean up his mess!"

Li Chengqian smiled confidently, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Any news about Li Siyuan and Gao Yanshou?"

Pei Xingjian thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Not yet. But I'm worried about them; what if they betray us?"

"No rush! I always trust the people I employ, and I believe they will give me a satisfactory return!"

"Report——!"

Just as the two were talking, a report came from outside the door: "Your Highness, Hou Junji's army has been stationed in Xianyang and has no intention of attacking Xianyang."

"In addition, their flag has also changed, becoming a flag that reads 'By imperial decree, the remnants of the rebel party are being purged.'"

"Hmph! That old fox knows something's happened in Chang'an, so he doesn't dare come!"

Pei Xingjian scoffed disdainfully, then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, since Hou Junji dares not attack the city, why not try summoning him into the city? If he dares to enter, it means he truly has no intention of rebellion. If he refuses to enter, we should punish him for treason!"

"Don't worry!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand at Pei Xingjian, then pondered for a moment before saying, "Our people are keeping an eye on Hou Junji at all times, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness, when we learned that Hou Junji was colluding with the Shouzhulang, we sent out dozens of spies in advance!"

"And the person who just came to report was one of them."

"Ah."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then asked the person who reported, "Besides seeing Hou Junji change the flag, what else did you see?"

"this."

The person who reported this thought for a moment and said, "We also saw him send someone over. That person brought a batch of medicinal herbs and was preparing to enter the city!"

"Medicine?"

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, then turned to look at Pei Xingjian, who immediately understood: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will send people to keep an eye on them!"

"Okay, that's good. Since Hou Junji doesn't dare to attack the city, let's deal with the matter in Chang'an first. Has the smallpox vaccination started yet?"

According to Yang Nannan, 1,000 people have been vaccinated so far, and only a few have experienced adverse reactions; the rest are relatively stable!

"Only a thousand people?"

Li Chengqian frowned: "This won't do. We can only stay in Chang'an for another month at most. Because news has already come from Su Dingfang that Songtsen Gampo is preparing to attack us!"

"Commander Su should be able to handle Songtsen Gampo, right?" Pei Xingjian said dismissively.

Li Chengqian glanced at him and said calmly, "There are some things you'd better not know. You may leave now."

"Oh well."

Pei Xingjian was not annoyed and immediately turned and left.

After all, Li Chengqian has countless secrets. If he wants to tell you, he will tell you; if he doesn't want to tell you, there's no use in asking around.

After watching Pei Xingjian leave, Li Chengqian tapped his fingers on the table until Laifu came in from outside the door: "Your Highness, Princess Changle says she wants to see you!"

"Ok?"

Li Chengqian was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Has something happened to Chang Le?"

"No, Princess Chang Le's condition has improved. Physician Sun said that after a few more days of recuperation, she will be fully recovered and then she can receive the smallpox vaccine," Lai Fu replied, bowing.

Li Chengqian asked with some doubt, "Then what does she want with me?"

"Well, I don't know. She said she wanted to tell you herself," Laifu continued.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian frowned deeply, but ultimately agreed: "I'll go to the palace later. There's something I need to do now, since you're here. Go find someone for me."

"Who?"

"Taishi Bureau, Li Chunfeng!"

When Lai Fu heard the name, he paused for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions. He then bowed and left.

At the same time, the Ministry of Personnel was on duty.

Fang Xuanling, Chu Suiliang, Liu Ji, Yu Zhining, Dai Zhou, and others looked worried in the duty room.

Fang Xuanling was the first to sigh, "What do you think we should do now? His Highness the Crown Prince has changed. His Majesty doesn't know what happened in Chang'an yet. If he blames us, none of us will escape!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in shock.

Liu Ji snorted indignantly, "His Highness the Crown Prince is becoming increasingly lawless. He doesn't respect the court at all. I think he's probably plotting a rebellion!" "Shh—!"

Chu Suiliang immediately gestured for Liu Ji to be quiet, then shouted, his face pale, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"What are you afraid of?"

Liu Ji scoffed, “We are His Majesty’s subjects, and it is only right that we serve His Majesty loyally. Even if Li Chengqian dares to kill me, I will be killed by a traitorous minister, and my name will be recorded in history! As for him, he will be infamous for eternity!”

"This"

Liu Ji's words left everyone speechless.

Why not just live a good life? Why do you have to go and court death?
"Cough cough."

Dai Zhou coughed awkwardly, then broke the awkward silence by saying, "I think His Highness the Crown Prince is generally fine. Although I had some misunderstandings with him and was even expelled from the Dali Temple by him, I have no personal grudges against him."

"In fact, I think he did the right thing. I did overlook the Zhang Yung-gu case back then, and almost let His Majesty unjustly kill a loyal minister!"

"Therefore, I believe His Highness the Crown Prince is innocent. He could not possibly have sent someone to kill His Highness the Prince of Yan. As for whether the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang were murdered by him, I believe the people have discerning eyes. With so many people watching, it's impossible for them to be wrong."

At this point, he glanced at Liu Ji, whose face was gradually turning ashen, and continued, "Of course, everything I have said is only my side of the story, and there is no evidence. Whether to believe me or not, we need to investigate carefully and await His Majesty's decision."

"Yes, I support Vice Minister Dai's opinion!"

Chu Suiliang immediately chimed in, "That night, His Highness the Crown Prince was in the Three Departments prison. The trouble caused by the Prince of Shu and his men had nothing to do with him. Because I was right next to him, listening to him play the pipa."

Speaking of the pipa music that night, Chu Suiliang couldn't help but shudder, and continued, "Moreover, I sent people to investigate some of the events of that night. Some city garrison soldiers saw His Highness the Crown Prince wielding a sword and killing someone, and that Crown Prince was no different from the Crown Prince we saw."

"Therefore, the claim of disguise is not without evidence. His Highness the Crown Prince is innocent."

"Hmph!" Liu Ji finally couldn't help but sneer, "In the end, you're still trying to exonerate His Highness the Crown Prince. Anyway, I still believe in my judgment. His Highness the Crown Prince cannot be innocent. We just have to wait for His Majesty's decision!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling frowned slightly, then dropped a bombshell: "The entanglements of the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Liang are beyond my imagination. If the Crown Prince were to make trouble, none of us here would be able to escape."

"What!?"

Everyone was shocked.

But Yu Zhining couldn't help but say, "What do you mean by that, Lord Fang? We haven't colluded with the Prince of Shu!"

"Yes, Master Fang, how could you say that?"

"That's right! How dare the Crown Prince treat us like this? We are His Majesty's subjects!"

Hearing their disbelief, Fang Xuanling remained calm: "But when the King of Shu and his followers were causing trouble, we did not stop them in time, and we even aided and abetted their evil deeds!"

"what?!"

"Fang Xuanling! What nonsense are you spouting?! Are we aiding and abetting evil? It was the Empress, the Empress's decree, that ordered us to assist the King of Shu!" Liu Ji angrily corrected Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling looked at him indifferently: "Logically speaking, the Empress has no right to interfere in important matters of the court, but His Majesty has entrusted important matters of the court to our cabinet."

"Therefore, cooperating with the divine physician of the Shu Prince's Palace on the epidemic prevention regulations has always been a decision made by our cabinet."

"This"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji's eyes widened instantly, and he was speechless.

At this moment, Chu Suiliang spoke up again: "I think everyone doesn't need to worry. If the Crown Prince really wanted to hold someone accountable, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? So, everyone, don't worry. The most urgent task is to restore order to Chang'an!"

"in addition."

After saying this, he turned to Fang Xuanling and continued, "We should summon Hou Junji into the city in the name of the cabinet. If he does not enter the city, it means that he has rebellious intentions. We can then request His Highness the Crown Prince to mobilize a large army to quell the rebellion."

"If he enters the city, we can have him assist His Highness the Crown Prince in wiping out the remaining forces of the Garrison Commander. What do you think?"

"This"

The group exchanged glances, each understanding the situation perfectly.

This is an attempt to appease both sides without offending either.

Fang Xuanling nodded in satisfaction and said, "The words of the Grand Counselor are very much to my liking. However, there is one more thing. Should we inform the Duke of Qiao, Chai Shao, as well as the Prince of Rencheng, the Duke of E, the Duke of Lu, and the Duke of Hu about the Crown Prince's killing of Chai Zhewei?"

"Of course we must notify them! The Crown Prince killing Chai Zhewei is a fact, the evidence is conclusive, and it's an abuse of power! We must notify the Duke of Qiao and His Majesty! As for the others, they must be notified as well! Plotting rebellion is a serious crime of implicating others, how can they deceive the Emperor?!" Liu Ji seemed to have grasped something important and clung to it tightly.

Fang Xuanling frowned and glanced at him, then said, "But if we do that, wouldn't we offend the Crown Prince again?"

"So what if he offends me! I refuse to believe he dares to kill me!"

Liu Ji stood up angrily and said, "Even if he wants to implicate my entire clan, I am not afraid. His Majesty will uphold justice for me!"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances once again.

In the end, they reluctantly agreed with Liu Ji's point of view; they indeed could not deceive the emperor.

Moreover, because of Liu Ji, each of them wrote a letter of apology to Li Shimin.

On the other side, at the Xianyang camp.

When Hou Junji lifted the tent flap with the tip of his boot, the cold wind from beyond the pass, carrying sand particles, rushed in and pelted the Chang'an model on the sand table, scattering a layer of dust.

He stared at the location of the Crown Prince's residence in the model, the calluses on his fingertips scraping against the wooden sand table with a rustling sound.

"General, a secret letter from the garrison commander."

The guards handed over the wax-sealed bamboo tube, the wax seal bearing the image of a crow holding a dagger.

That was the death warrant of the garrison commander.

Hou Junji opened the bamboo tube, and the handwriting on the parchment was crooked and messy, as if it had been written by a soldier who had been temporarily captured: The bodies of Li Ke and Li Yin have been sent to Chang'an.

"hehe."

He suddenly chuckled softly, the sound hitting the tent wall and startling the candlelight, causing it to flicker.

"The garrison commander made this move even faster than I expected."

The guard asked, somewhat puzzled, "General, didn't they send the bodies of the two princes to Chang'an to solidify the Crown Prince's crime of killing his brothers? But so many people in Chang'an saw the guard's disguise and saw two princes. How can they solidify the charge?"

"Moreover, most of the corpses they sent were fake."

"So what if it's fake? Does Li Chengqian dare to bring out the real thing to confront me?"

Hou Junji interrupted him, flicking the ashes with his fingertips: "Do you think His Majesty is some kind of benevolent man or woman? He dares to kill even his own brothers, let alone his son who murdered his brothers and committed the heinous crime of fratricide!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked to the armory, stroking the long spear that had accompanied him in battle for twenty years, and said, "I, Hou Junji, come from humble origins. If it weren't for His Majesty's support, how could I be where I am today?"

"What the garrison commander wanted was for everyone in the world to believe that Li Chengqian had murdered his brothers."

Hou Junji gripped the report tightly, his knuckles turning white: "When the time comes, I will raise an army under the pretext of 'purging the emperor's inner circle'."

"After this is done, what does the general intend to do with the Crown Prince?"

"Dispose of him?" Hou Junji laughed, a laugh like a wolf poised to pounce. "The garrison commander handed me the knife, so of course I'll accept it. But they want to use me to kill the Crown Prince? Dream on!"

He suddenly raised his voice: "Pass on my order: tomorrow morning, the entire army will break camp and advance thirty li towards Chang'an. Change the banners to 'Protect the Emperor'—say that you have heard of the turmoil in Chang'an and have come to protect the Eastern Palace."

The guard exclaimed in surprise, "General! Isn't this openly telling the Crown Prince that we..."

"I just want him to know."

Hou Junji interrupted him, his eyes sharp as guns: "Let the people of Chang'an see that the Crown Prince killed his brother, and I will still collude with him."

After saying that, he casually tossed the report over: "Tell the garrison commander that I need one more thing: the deployment map of the Capital Garrison. Otherwise, I will sell all their spies to Li Chengqian."

"Is the general planning to negotiate with them?"

"No, it's a reminder."

Hou Junji picked up his spear, pointing the tip straight ahead, and said indifferently, "I am a general of the Great Tang Dynasty, not a puppet of the garrison commander. If they want to use my name to quell the rebellion, they must show sincerity."

"Okay, I'll go and tell the contact person right away."

After the guards left, Hou Junji stood his spear upright in the tent, the tip of which was half an inch into the ground. He muttered to himself, "Li Chengqian wants to learn the Xuanwu Gate, so I'll put on an even more convincing show for him—except this time, the arrow must be aimed at the right place."

The wind outside the tent picked up, and sand grains pelted the tent flap like countless hands knocking on the door.

Hou Junji gazed in the direction of Chang'an, where a scheme was hidden, colder than the wind outside.

"Tomorrow, have the cooks make more flatbreads."

He suddenly spoke up: "The rain in Chang'an is about to get heavy."

(End of this chapter)