Chapter 313: Night Banquet at the Qin Palace
Li Er and Li San were both confused after hearing what he said.

Qi is the title of a great country. Among the single-character princes, Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu are the most honorable, followed by Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan and Zhou.

Li Yuan basically arranged the names of his sons in order.

Seeing his second and third brothers so confused, Li Si could only say in silence: "It's just a joke, don't take it seriously."

Then he left the palace with some unhappiness and went straight to his residence in Chang'an, which was Princess Jinyang's Mansion.

Now it is the Prince of Qi's Palace.

Speaking of which, my action of turning Princess Jinyang's Mansion into Prince Qi's Mansion is actually no different from my father's action of turning Dayan into Datang. Both are about changing the property deeds.

When Zhu Yuanhui and his staff saw that Li Yuanhui had returned, they all came forward to congratulate him.

When the new dynasty was first established, all the officials were promoted to higher titles as meritorious ministers, from county marquises to county dukes, but there was no change in their official positions.

"Congratulations, King Qi."

"Congratulations, King Qi."

Zhu and the others were in high spirits, but then they saw that Li Yuanhui's interest was waning, and they were all confused. After entering the hall, the military advisor and chief priest Li Qinglian asked, "Your Highness, is there something on your mind?"

Li Yuanhui sat in the main seat, drank a sip of tea, and then slowly spoke: "I and you all have known each other since we were humble. Now I am an official of the Three Dukes and a prince, but I can't help but feel a little nervous. Seven years ago, Yang Xun rebelled. At that time, I was still an ignorant boy. I was appreciated by Emperor Zhaowu of Dayan and became a general. However, I remember these years clearly. It was the brothers of the Murong family who killed each other and fought against each other. The people were living in misery. This is why we have the Great Tang, which is under the will of heaven and brings peace to the people. Although we have the world, we only have 50% or 60% of it. The four directions are still There are powerful enemies, and rumors are rising within the palace. When my eldest brother was here, he was the eldest son and should have been the crown prince. But now that my eldest brother is gone, some ministers in the court support my second brother, while others look to my third brother. Now the three of us brothers are still united. Just now in the palace, my third brother and I expressed our full support for my second brother to be the crown prince. But I don’t know what my father thinks. If the crown prince position is not decided, there will inevitably be new waves. Our Great Tang is just founded, and our foundation is shallow. We can’t withstand the internal strife like the Former Yan.”

After Li Yuanhui finished saying this, everyone below was stunned. They had never thought so far.

But when these words came from the mouth of Li Yuanhui, who was already a prince, the meaning was somewhat different.

But we still know when he will express his stance.

Zhu Deyu said, "I met His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi in Chang'an when I was still a monk. His Royal Highness treated me with courtesy and kindness, regardless of my humble origins. Without His Royal Highness, I would not be where I am today. If His Royal Highness has any order, I will obey it."

Chang Yanheng also said: "Brother Zhu is right. I was a thief in my early years. Your Highness gave me a chance and appointed me as a general. Only then did I turn back from my wrong path and achieve my achievements today. I will do whatever Your Highness tells me to do and I will kill whoever Your Highness tells me to kill! If not, I will never be able to repay Your Highness's kindness."

Liu Yuanqing and others also expressed their loyalty and stated their attitudes.

Seeing this, Li Yuanhui felt somewhat relieved, and then said: "It is my honor to meet and work with you all. I am not talented and do not have great ambitions, but as long as I am here, the world of the Tang Dynasty will definitely benefit you all."

After these words, the attitude shown by everyone had already met his expectations.

Although he has not explicitly revealed his intention to compete for the throne, everyone has expressed their attitude that they will follow you even if it means going to war or rebel, which is extremely valuable.

With these attitudes, Li Yuanhui felt at ease.

The current situation is obviously not suitable for Li Yuanhui to jump out and compete with his second and third brothers.

Because his influence in Guanzhong was shallow, even his second and third brothers did not have deep roots in Guanzhong.

Currently, all the people in the court are Li Yuan's people. If he wants to compete for the position of crown prince, he must gain the support of these people.

This was undoubtedly a very difficult situation for Li Yuanhui.

Because his base is thousands of miles away in Jianghuai.

This means that the Guanzhong nobles will not support him, and the Shandong gentry will be even less likely to do so.

Apart from the hundreds of thousands of troops in Jianghuai, his capital was pitifully small.

Unfortunately, these hundreds of thousands of troops could not help him seize the throne unless he rebelled. But rebellion was something he really couldn't do.

He is already a prince, a legitimate son, and has made great contributions in the wars. Who would believe that he has no ideas at all?

But ideas are just ideas. If you really want to participate in the fight for the throne, you will be in a life-and-death situation.

The second and third brothers are not pushovers. The second brother now has the support of some of the Guanzhong and Shandong gentry, and most of the generals in the central army have worked with him before.

The third brother came from Shuzhong with my father. My father's followers all hope to see the third brother take the throne.

There is another person who is easily overlooked, the eldest nephew Li Chengan.

My eldest brother has left many legacy. As the eldest son, he has maintained good relations with the eldest sons of all the families, whether they are from Shandong gentry or Guanzhong wealthy families.

When Li Cheng'an gets older, there's no guarantee that these people won't have some ideas about him.

Dad's health is very good, and I'm afraid he will show some signs of improvement in a few years.

With this in mind, Li Si himself didn't want to participate in the fight for the throne.

Unless he is the chief director of Xuanwu Gate.

But if you want to accomplish this, in addition to careful planning and good interpersonal relationships, you may even need incredible luck to succeed.

It's a do-or-die battle, and the risk factor is quite high.

Li Si would not take this path unless he was forced into a corner. Since he cannot win in a head-on competition, he can only wait for an opportunity.

If there is really no chance, then I will conquer Jiangdong and become the King of Jiangnan.
Or I can go to Youzhou and become a vassal, and the King of Qi will become the King of Yan. Anyway, I am the fourth child, so I can live longer and wait for my nephew to become the emperor, and then I can do it.
It's impossible that what you, Zhu Lao Si, can accomplish, our Li Lao Si can't do, right? When the time comes, train your second brother's fighting ability well, and when you go to war, tell him that your eldest brother is in poor health, so you have to work harder.
After letting Lao Zhu have more children, he focused on training his fourth child as a striker.
With this calculation, the future is bright.

The next day, Li Si entered the palace, resigned from Li Yuan, and returned to Jianghuai.

Li Yuan didn't try to keep him, but just sighed for a long time, and then gave him a lot of instructions.

"Father and son spend less time together, and we don't know when we will meet again. You are grown up now, so you should take care of your health. Don't be like your second brother, who always rushes to the front in battles. You used to be a good person and acted steadily."

Li Yuan kept muttering to himself as he walked him out of the hall, then patted him on the shoulder.

During the entire process, not a single word of official business was mentioned.

Li Si was also quite moved at the end. "Father is busy with official duties, so I will bid you farewell. I hope you will be healthy and live a long life."

After leaving the palace, Li Si did not return home, but went to the Prince of Qin's Mansion.

The second brother knew that he was leaving, so he held a farewell banquet for him. The third brother and his sister-in-law Xue brought their eldest son Li Chengxun, his sister and brother-in-law brought their son Chai Zhewei, and his fifth brother Li Zhiji all attended.

The family dinner was very lively and the atmosphere was harmonious. Halfway through the banquet, Li Yuan from the palace heard about it and came over temporarily, bringing his eldest grandson Li Cheng'an with him. This brought the banquet to its climax.

After drinking a lot, the second brother started dancing and the third brother started playing the drums.

Li Yuan also specially brought a painter and ordered him to paint "Night Banquet at the Qin Prince's Palace".

To show the harmony between father, sons and brothers, and the family.

(End of this chapter)