Chapter 384 The Prince and Division

The first month of the fourth year of Wude.

Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty brought all the ministers of the royal family to pay homage to their ancestors. After the ceremony, several princes of the same generation vaguely raised the issue of the crown prince.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan did not comment and walked away chatting and laughing.

A few days later, Li Yuan officially issued an edict, listing the seventeen people as "meritorious officials who made great contributions to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty."

Among them, the King of Jin ranked first, followed by the King of Qi.

Then came the Shangshu You Pushe, who was also the Minister of the Secretariat Sima Xiuye. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was also the Minister of the Secretariat Pei Ji. The Right Guard General, the Prince of Zhao Li Huaizhen. The Left General of the Guard, the Duke of Shenwu Dou Cong. The Left General of the Guard, the Prince of Linhuai Li Xiaojie. The Right General of the Guard, the Governor of Yanzhou, the Duke of Qiao Chai Rong. The Right General of the Guard, the Duke of Shangdang Liu Zongxun. The Secretary of the Secretariat, the Palace Attendant, the Duke of Ju Tang Jian. The Minister of the Guard, the Duke of Chen Yin Kaishan. The Minister of the Royal Household, the Duke of Ge Liu Yijie. The Water Supervisor, the Duke of Xinxing Zhao Wenke. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Duke of Ying Wu Shigui. The Left General of the Guard, the Duke of Luo Zhang Pinggao. The Right General of the Guard, the Duke of Le'an Li Sixing. The Supervisor of Works, the Duke of Zhending Xu Shijiang.

In addition to the two kings, there were two royal generals and son-in-law Chai Rong. The remaining dozen people were all Li Yuan's confidants.

In addition to commendations, this list of meritorious officials also included an imperial decree to pardon the two great kings and Sima Xiuye.

The remaining fourteen people were all pardoned and given one life.

After seeing the list, Li Yuanhui frowned. Is this old man looking for trouble?
Do you insist on promoting your own confidants? I won't mention that. The problem is that you only promote your own confidants, so the Jianghuai Army under my command has never contributed, right?
How many of you have combat capabilities comparable to Lao Zhu and Chang Yanheng?

He was very dissatisfied, but he had no choice because he had no say. However, the most controversial thing was that the so-called Yuanmou hero did not include the King of Qin.

This signal is a bit strange. No King Qin? How is it possible? Could it be possible?
Afterwards, just when everyone was speculating, Li Yuan suddenly ordered people to announce the decree at the grand court meeting on the eighth day of the first lunar month, appointing the King of Qin as the crown prince and letting him move into the Eastern Palace.

This move can be said to have caused a huge uproar.

Li Er himself was completely bewildered. He paid homage with great ceremony and accepted the imperial edict. He was immersed in mixed emotions.

He really wanted the position of crown prince. But when he suddenly became the crown prince, he was very surprised. Very surprised.

Li Si and Li San were also a little surprised. The two brothers actually had the same idea and both supported their second brother to become the crown prince, but that didn't mean they didn't have their own ideas.

However, both of them are very cunning people and will not reveal their cards easily.

But even though I was mentally prepared, when my second brother really took the throne of Crown Prince, it all seemed a little hard to describe.

However, after the King of Qin accepted the title in the court, all the court officials in the Taiji Grand Hall had to pay homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

In just a few steps, from the place where he had just knelt, to the stairs, Li Er walked with great difficulty, and his expression was extremely serious.

"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince"

"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince"

"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince"

After three calls, the ceremony is over.

After the court session, Li Yuan called the newly appointed Crown Prince to the back hall to talk, while the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Qi left first, side by side.

"Father, could it be that it was because of the words of those uncles from the royal family? When we were in Jinyang, you and I talked so much, but Father didn't give in. Today, he suddenly made my second brother the crown prince. This is too bizarre."

Even the resourceful and decisive Li Sanlang did not understand Li Yuan's intention of suddenly appointing Li Er as the crown prince.

But it’s definitely not a change of heart.

However, Li Si seemed to have figured something out. "Father may be retreating to advance." Li Sanlang thought about it carefully, and then said, "It really makes sense. Now the whole court supports my second brother, and there are strong enemies outside. Father is not young anymore. It is the right time to establish a crown prince to rectify the country. If I let my second brother become the crown prince and transfer all the officials in the Qin Palace away, wouldn't my second brother be alone?"

Li Silang smiled and said, "Maybe it's more than that."

"what do you mean?"

Li Si stopped, turned his head and looked at Li San and said, "After my second brother becomes the crown prince, I'm afraid he will help my father to reduce my fiefdom."

Li San also stopped and looked at Li Si, then his face darkened. The two looked at each other, then they both looked away and continued walking.

"What are your plans? Right now, we are facing a powerful enemy. Aye can allow you to stay in Luoyang and control half of the land and troops of the Tang Dynasty, but what about the future? Have you thought about it? There will always be some trade-offs."

Li San's question left Li Si speechless for a moment. What are your plans for the future?
My plan is to become an emperor. If that doesn't happen, my next best option is to become a vassal king in Jiangdong.

Can you say this? Definitely not. No one can say this.

But it’s not impossible to do something. Some things can be strived for.

"Let's take it one step at a time." This was all Li Yuanhui could say in the end to deal with it.

Li San smiled and said, "You are also starting to hide things, Silang."

Li Yuanhui also smiled when he heard this, "Third brother, what you just said, is it the King of Jin asking the King of Qi? Or is it the elder brother asking the younger brother?"

“Hahahaha.” Li Xuanqing laughed loudly, and after a long while he sighed and said, “Forget it, I shouldn’t ask about these things. Go and deal with Second Brother Aye on your own.”

The two men walked to the palace gate and left.

The two brothers both understood that with Li Er becoming the crown prince, everything would be different. The King of Qin and the crown prince were the same person, but they were not the same person.

Just like their father, after becoming emperor, he was no longer just a father.

On the other side, inside the palace.

The father and son sat opposite each other, happily playing the game of Go.

"How long has it been since you and I, father and son, sat together like this, talking and playing chess?" Li Yuan said with some emotion.

Li Er held Heizi in his hand, looked up at his father who was so familiar to him, and said awkwardly, "Aye is right, it has been a long time."

Li Yuan continued, "In fact, you and I both know that the position of Crown Prince will be yours sooner or later. After all, your eldest brother is gone. Although I like Cheng'an, he is far inferior to you in terms of talent and temperament. In the future, you should take care of the boys in your eldest brother's family."

After hearing this, Li Er replied solemnly: "Don't worry, I will treat Cheng'an, Chengze and the others as my own children."

Li Yuan nodded, and then continued: "Now you are the crown prince, what do you think the next step for the Tang Dynasty should be?"

After thinking it over, Li Er said carefully, "I think what Silang and Minister Wen said about being mature and prudent in planning for the country has a lot of merits. But Liu Xuanji of Hebei is a great man of the time and will definitely not sit still and wait for death. If our Tang Dynasty shows a defensive posture, then Northern Yan will definitely attack from all sides. Moreover, although our Tang Dynasty soldiers are a little tired due to years of fighting, it is precisely because they have been through many battles that they have the courage to fight a hundred battles. If we stop fighting, our morale will be weakened."

Li Yuan gave a very appreciative look and nodded. "Silang is prudent and has many wise plans, but he lacks your sharpness."

The father and son played a game of chess and had a heart-to-heart talk about many issues, including the strategy of unifying the country, the ideas of governing the people, and the appointment of civil and military officials. Finally, when Li Er was about to say goodbye and leave, Li Yuan asked him a question.

"Si Lang is now in Luoyang, commanding 100,000 soldiers. How should we deal with them?"

(End of this chapter)