Chapter 30: Really Want to Get Beaten

Li Chengqian wore a suspicious look: "What is wrong with him?"

"He keeps muttering in the Taichang Temple every day, saying things like 'If Heaven had not birthed me, Li Chunfeng, the history books would be as if in an eternal night.'"

"Just because of this sentence, those officials at the Taichang Temple have all reported him to Father."

"The dog thief!"

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth: "That dog thief Li Chunfeng stole my work; I said that first."

"The original sentence was 'If Heaven had not birthed me, Li Chengqian, the Great Tang would be as if in an eternal night.' This treacherous thief is courting death."

Li Zhi sighed: "Big Brother, can we have some shame?"

"Shame? What is that? How much does it cost per shi?"

Li Chengqian waved his hand: "Enough! I still want to go fishing; you go back and read your books properly first."

"Yes!"

Before he had even walked out of the pavilion, Li Zhi was almost moved to tears by his own stupidity; he turned around and stared at Li Chengqian with a resentful face:

"Big Brother, can you stop playing games with me? I was almost fooled into going back by you!"

"Fine... then!"

Li Chengqian poured a bowl of water for him: "Did you come to find me because of the matter regarding Chu Suiliang?"

"He is preparing to go to various places to inspect the granaries. Does Big Brother have a way to make him not have to leave Chang'an, while also not having to pay a price?"

"I do! But I won't tell you!"

A smile appeared on Li Chengqian's face: "Who told this guy to offend me? Otherwise, I could just find anyone; where would the need be for him to get out of Chang'an?"

"Big Brother is truly one to return every slight; what should I do next?"

Hearing this, Li Chengqian looked Li Zhi up and down, wanting to see through whether Li Zhi was truly ignorant or just pretending.

Facing Li Chengqian's scrutiny, Li Zhi's gaze was open and honest, his eyes not dodging in the slightest.

After a long while, Li Chengqian spoke indifferently:

"Zhinu, based on your usual style of conduct, if I scrutinized you like this, you would definitely be looking down."

"You knew, yet you still came to ask me; is it that you want to test Big Brother, or do you lack confidence?"

"Don't lack confidence; it is exactly as you thought: let Chu Suiliang go and win over the Buddhist monks."

Li Zhi gave a bitter laugh: "Why must Big Brother make me come out? Even Uncle might not be Big Brother's match."

"Uncle is not that simple; he just hasn't taken me to heart."

"Don't blame Big Brother for dragging you into this; the things I want to do are too big and need to be arranged slowly. The struggle for the Crown Prince position is just right to serve as cover."

"Father also wants to test your abilities; if your abilities are strong, Father will not choose me."

Li Zhi was dumbfounded; what did he mean by the things he wanted to do were big enough:

"Is the struggle for the heir not big enough?"

"In Big Brother's eyes, it is not!"

Li Chengqian's expression was solemn: "Remember, ascending to the throne is not difficult; what is difficult is how to govern this world, and where to lead the Great Tang?"

"To tell you the truth, in terms of ability and temperament, Third Brother is the most suitable to be the heir of the Great Tang, but he is a son of a concubine and carries the bloodline of two dynasties; he is destined not to be the Crown Prince."

"If you want to be the Crown Prince, you must not only be benevolent and filial, but also have ability. Father letting you participate in this was already done with the intention of testing you."

"Is Big Brother not afraid of playing too hard, and the situation developing beyond your control?"

Li Chengqian chuckled: "I'm not afraid! At worst, I'll be demoted to a commoner; although it would be difficult, it's not like there would be no chance."

Li Zhi slowly stood up, said nothing, bowed respectfully, and then turned and left.

Just as he walked out of the Eastern Palace, Li Zhi's expression instantly turned gloomy:

'Old, cunning, and treacherous! I must remind Uncle; Big Brother is not only smart but also shameless. This kind of person is capable of anything.'

'Compared to Big Brother, Fourth Brother is much easier to deal with; at least Fourth Brother still has shame. A gentleman can be deceived by his own principles.'

Compared to Li Zhi, Li Tai's attitude toward Li Chengqian was much better; he did not treat Li Chengqian as an opponent.

In his view, Li Shimin had already wanted to depose him, and with his recent actions, no matter how capable Li Chengqian was, he could not change Li Shimin's mind.

Therefore, when Su Xu advised Li Tai to pay attention to the Eastern Palace, Li Tai casually agreed but did not take it to heart, instead bringing up other matters.

"Su Guzhang, what do you think of Big Brother writing books? Should we help him?"

"It's thankless work. Unless you can let everyone in the world know that it was compiled by the Literature Pavilion, otherwise don't bother."

"In my view, the matter of the Zushu is the big one. The Crown Prince even brought up the Zushu, which shows he has no benevolence, righteousness, or morality."

"Whatever he wants to do, he will surely use every possible means and will not stop until he achieves his goal."

"Then let's snatch it! This kind of opportunity to leave a name for eternity and win the hearts of the scholars of the world cannot be let go of easily."

Su Xu shook his head: "We can't snatch it, unless the Crown Prince gives it up voluntarily."

Li Tai touched his forehead: "How about I let Big Brother beat me up again, and then make him compensate me?"

"..."

Su Xu at this moment wished he could slap Li Tai awake:

"Your subject will pretend he didn't hear that; Your Highness, please don't say it again."

"I'm just joking! I'm not a masochist; why would I go looking for a beating?"

"If Chu Suiliang is smart, he will leave Chang'an in these few days. Should we start the next step of the plan?"

"The Vice Minister of the Secretariat, Ma Zhou, was also specifically supported by Father. He comes from a farming background and has no connection to the major clans and noble families; he can be won over."

Su Xu looked surprised: "Your subject thought Your Highness would take action against Ma Zhou; I didn't expect it to be to win him over."

Li Tai waved his hand: "I'm not a fool. Father promoting Chu Suiliang and the others is just because he doesn't want the noble families to occupy the entire imperial court."

"Chu Suiliang, the leader, is already gone; the remaining ones should be won over if possible, and those who cannot be won over should be driven out of Chang'an by other means."

"That is indeed the case. Your subject will plan it out after returning. Ma Zhou is loyal to the Emperor and cannot be won over easily."

Li Tai's eyes showed hesitation: "Su Guzhang, why don't we learn from the Crown Prince? It is all about compiling books; as long as we are faster than the Crown Prince, his book will be completely useless."

"No money, no people!"

Su Xu advised with a dark face: "That is not just the *Geography Records*, it contains countless *Geography Records* within it."

"The manpower and material resources involved are incalculable; not to mention anything else, the paper used alone is not something we can afford."

"Paper is one aspect, books are another, and the noble clans may not necessarily bring out their collections."

"If we had the Emperor's support, it might be possible to complete it, but without the Emperor's support, even if the Crown Prince exhausted the entire strength of the Eastern Palace, he could not complete it."

"That's true!"

Li Tai nodded in agreement: "Hearing you say this, unless I snatch it from the Crown Prince, it is impossible for me to complete it."

"The Crown Prince would never hand it over willingly, it really makes one uncomfortable."

"Why couldn't I think of compiling such a monumental classic?"

Li Tai did not yet know that in order for him to obtain the authority to compile the classic, Li Chengqian had racked his brains to the point where he had even turned a few hairs white.

Upon learning that Chu Suiliang had accepted the task of investigating the granaries and would be leaving Chang'an the next day, Li Chengqian immediately sent Wang Qi to invite Hou Junji over.

Li Chengqian believed that Chu Suiliang would definitely go to find a master of Buddhism, and he also needed to find someone: the Medicine King Sun Simiao.

Li Chengqian was not sick; he wanted to use this person, Sun Simiao, and his status to do some things.

Sun Simiao had been traveling all over the Great Tang, so it would take some effort to find him.

An hour later, Hou Junji arrived late:

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Has any news come from Youzhou?"

Hou Junji shook his head: "Not yet, but the Emperor will launch a campaign against Goguryeo by next year at the latest."

"Is the Ministry of War busy lately?"

"Busy!"

Hou Junji nodded earnestly: "Summoning garrison troops, weapons, warm supplies for the bitter cold of the north, and the issue of horses."

"Fighting a war is simple; just lead the Great Tang soldiers to charge and kill once."