Chapter 2: Deadlock

Great Tang

The 17th year of Zhenguan

"Governing by virtue is like the North Star; it stays in its place while all the stars revolve around it!"

In the center of the emerald lake, a figure sat in a pavilion reading a book, occasionally reciting aloud.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Rapid footsteps sounded in his ears. Li Chengqian raised his eyes to look, only to see Du He and Helan Chushi walking over quickly with anxious faces.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Hegan Chengji has been captured!"

"I know!"

Li Chengqian rolled up the book on the tabletop, then pointed to the stone stools in front of him to signal them to sit down:

"He is implicated in the matter of the Fifth Brother's rebellion."

"Will he..."

Before the words were finished, Li Chengqian raised his hand to interrupt: "I know what you mean. To save his own life, he will certainly reveal our plan."

Hearing this, Du He's expression changed drastically, and killing intent filled his eyes:

"I will go find someone immediately!"

"No need!"

Li Chengqian's eyes were dark and inscrutable: "The Prince of Qi's Imperial Concubine, Lady Wei, comes from the Xiaoyao Duke branch of the Jingzhao Du Clan and is the daughter of Taichang Temple Minister Wei Ting. As for whose person Wei Ting is, you know better than I do."

"Does Your Highness mean that the Prince of Qi's rebellion was plotted by the Prince of Wei behind the scenes, just to implicate the Eastern Palace?

Then we must eliminate Hegan Chengji even more; if he doesn't die, we are the ones who will."

If it weren't for the fact that he had only transmigrated here for a short month, Li Chengqian would never have plotted a second Xuanwu Gate.

There was fundamentally no difference between what the original body did and what he was doing; to survive, he could only try his best to break the deadlock.

And the key to breaking the deadlock lay in Li Shimin's thoughts—he had to know whether he truly wanted to depose the Crown Prince and what the real reason for deposing the Crown Prince was.

Hegan Chengji, this personal guard of the Crown Prince, was Li Chengqian's pathfinder; this was also the reason why Li Chengqian, knowing Hegan Chengji would defect, had not dealt with him all along.

"If Father has the intention to depose the Crown Prince, it doesn't matter whether Hegan Chengji speaks or not; there is no need to pay attention to it."

Speaking of this, Li Chengqian paused, then took a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Du He:

"Take this to Chengyang after you go back, and have her enter the palace to see Yin Fei. Tell Yin Fei that if she wants to save the Fifth Brother, she must harden her heart."

Du He opened the paper and glanced at it, his face full of shock:

"Liangzhou? The Yin Family still has troops in Longyou?"

"A lean camel is bigger than a horse. The Fifth Brother is a playboy whose greatest ambition is to go hunting every day.

If there were no benefits, the Fourth Brother would never have made a move against the Fifth Brother."

Helan Chushi scratched the back of his head: "Your Highness, didn't you say it might not necessarily be the Prince of Wei's handiwork?"

"Even if it isn't, it is!"

Li Chengqian slowly stood up: "Go back and tell the Duke of Chen that he doesn't need to do anything; just wait in peace.

The same goes for you all. The Dali Temple will certainly come knocking; you just need to keep your mouths shut."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is rebellion! We must strike first to gain the advantage."

Li Chengqian glanced at Du He and spoke in a flat tone:

"You have already been targeted. If you make a move, you will die. The struggle for the Crown Prince has always been a life-or-death war; one slight mistake and you will perish.

The reason Wei Zheng and the others can stay alive, besides Father's own magnanimity, is that the current situation does not allow him to purge the court.

Today is different from the past; if we fail, not only will I die, but you will not survive either."

Ever since receiving the original owner's memories, Li Chengqian knew that this world was not only the Li family's world, but also the world of the aristocratic clans.

Both he and Li Tai had aristocratic clans standing behind them. The Crown Princess came from the Wugong Su Clan, and her ancestor was the Western Han diplomat Su Wu.

Du He came from the Jingzhao Du Clan, which could be traced back to the Western Han Doctor Du Zhou.

In the entire Great Tang, there was not a single official who did not come from an aristocratic clan; even if this person had been hungry and cold since childhood, there would certainly be a world-renowned ancestor in their Zushu.

The struggle for the Crown Prince was not only a war between Li Chengqian and Li Tai, but also a war between the aristocratic clans, and perhaps even a war between Li Shimin and the aristocratic clans.

Li Chengqian did not know Li Shimin's thoughts clearly; for now, he could only make the worst-case preparations.

'It's time to send the gift out! I hope the Fourth Brother will like it!'

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian slowly walked out of the pavilion; at this moment, he needed to make use of the Crown Princess.

Walking limpingly on the blue-gray floor tiles, Li Chengqian frowned slightly; he still hadn't been able to adapt to these legs.

From the original owner's memories, this leg hadn't become like this just from falling off a horse.

'This is also a trouble. I must find an opportunity to show myself, so that everyone knows the Crown Prince's nature hasn't become insane because of these legs.'

"Presumptuous!"

"Bang!"

Just as he walked into the backyard, Li Chengqian heard the sharp reprimand of the Crown Princess, Su Xi:

"Wang Shi, this is the Eastern Palace, not your Wang family. If you dare to speak nonsense again, don't blame me for not giving the Taiyuan Wang Clan face."

"This concubine spoke without thinking; I hope the Crown Princess will forgive me!"

"The Prince of Qi's rebellion is already a certainty. I will speak to the Crown Prince about what you have requested."

"Many thanks, Crown Princess!"

After Wang Shi left, Li Chengqian walked into the living room with a look of confusion.

"What does the Taiyuan Wang Clan want to do?"

"They are seeking the position of Prefect of Qingzhou!"

Su Xi looked calm: "Not only the Taiyuan Wang Clan, but people from the Wujun Lu Family and other Jiangnan Aristocratic Families have also come."

"Just find some excuse to dismiss them; Qingzhou and the other places are not for us to decide."

Li Chengqian did not care at all: "Go to the Nanchang aunt's residence this afternoon and hand the Imperial Examination System and the public proclamation documents to Second Uncle."

"Do you really want to do this?"

Su Xi's expression was grave: "The Imperial Examination System combined with the public proclamation is enough to make all the noble clans unite. The Prince of Wei is no fool; he might not necessarily submit it to the throne."

"My Lord, why not contact the Yuwen Family? Grandmother was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Jin of the Northern Wei; although the line of the Duke of Jin has already declined, sending a few people to carry out an assassination is still doable."

"I still have great use for the line of Yuwen Hu; do not let them appear at this time."

Li Chengqian spoke softly: "Second Uncle is the husband of the Nanchang aunt and helped Qingque complete the 'Geography Records', so he has Qingque's deep trust; it is better to start with him."

"What has always influenced the entry of the poor and commoners into officialdom is not just the imperfections of the Imperial Examination System and the books, but also the 'Three Rites'. As long as the imperial court continues to test the 'Three Rites', it will be impossible for the poor and commoners to pass."

"It is impossible to implement a new Imperial Examination System in the Great Tang at this time, but with this thing in place, the rulers of later generations will be able to lay out their plans slowly and thoroughly break the situation where there are no talented people from humble families in the upper ranks."

Su Xi lowered her head in thought, and only after a moment did she slowly look up, her eyes full of suspicion:

"Does my Lord mean that the Emperor does not want the imperial court to be filled with noble clans?"

Without waiting for Li Chengqian to speak, Su Xi continued on her own:

"The Prince of Wei's Literature Pavilion does not just recruit noble clans; it has also recruited a group of children from humble families, which is why the Emperor is becoming increasingly conflicted."

"Not necessarily!"

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "Test it! See what Father's true thoughts are."

"Very well! I will have Second Uncle help!"

"Thank you for your hard work! I will go to the Literature Pavilion to find Qingque tomorrow morning and create an opportunity for him."

"Tell him that it is Uncle Zhangsun and Li Shiji who are interrogating Hegan Chengji."

Su Xi looked puzzled: "What is the meaning of this?"

"Just tell him, he will know what to do."

Li Chengqian was not afraid that Su Xu would not help at all; the Wugong Su Family was hedging their bets on both sides, and if both sides failed, the Su Family would decline as well.

In his view, the greatest opponent in wanting to seize the throne was not Li Tai, but that black lotus, Li Zhi.

Li Zhi was the Bing Prefecture Governor, and Li Shiji was the Chief Clerk of the Bingzhou Dadu-fu; they were naturally Li Zhi's people.

With military power in hand, if the representative of the civil officials of the Guanlong Aristocratic Group, Zhangsun Wuji, and the representative of the emerging civil official group, Chu Suiliang, both stood by Li Zhi's side, even the Emperor would not dare to forcefully push for Li Tai to ascend the throne.