Chapter 6: Black-Hearted Lotus

With Li Tai's side already resolved, the next person Li Chengqian needed to deal with was Li Zhi, or rather, Zhangsun Wuji.

The chief investigator for this matter was Zhangsun Wuji; if Li Shimin himself wanted Li Zhi to be the Crown Prince, his position as Crown Prince would still have to be abolished.

A single sentence might make Li Shimin give up on deposing the Crown Prince, but to make Zhangsun Wuji give up on supporting Li Zhi, more arrangements were needed.

"At this time, Zhangsun Wuji already supports Li Zhi; I wonder if this black-hearted lotus has any desire to seize the throne.

Forget it, regardless of whether he does or not, I'll get him out first and see."

At the thought of Li Zhi, that black-hearted lotus, Li Chengqian couldn't help but reveal a faint smile; he really wanted to see if Li Tai would go and intimidate Li Zhi again.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Consort of the Prince Du He is waiting in the front hall!"

"Understood, tell him to wait at Qingfeng Pavilion, I will be there in a moment."

"Yes!"

Li Chengqian was in no rush to see Du He; he had more important things to do.

Arriving at the backyard, he got straight to the point as soon as he ran into Su Xi:

"You mentioned last time that the Wujun Lu Family came to seek the position of Prefect of Qingzhou?"

"That is the case, why?"

"Have her go to Qixian in Bingzhou to find the Wang Clan, and incidentally tell her that Du Xingmin is one of Uncle's men."

"Qixian in Bingzhou?"

Su Xi always felt this place was very familiar, yet for a moment she couldn't recall where she had heard of it.

"Imperial Concubine of the Prince of Jin!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xi's eyes widened: "My lord, do you mean that the Prince of Jin is also involved?

Impossible, the Taiyuan Wang Clan even sent people over yesterday."

"The Taiyuan Wang Clan has two branches, the Qixian Wang Clan and the Jinyang Wang Clan; these two branches only occasionally have contact, so they might not necessarily consult each other on such a major matter.

Besides, this is just a guess; my goal is to stir up the situation and let the court officials calm down."

"What do you mean? Why don't I understand?"

Li Chengqian walked to the table, poured himself a cup of water, and only spoke slowly after drinking it all in one gulp:

"Right now, the court officials either support me or support Qingque.

My plot to rebel is no secret; Qingque's side won't let this opportunity go, and those who originally supported me will also find a chance to defect.

A public manifesto can only make Qingque give up, it won't make the officials who support him give up.

They are one step away from the merit of following the dragon; even Qingque cannot suppress the officials below.

Under the pressure of public indignation, even if Father is unwilling, he will have to depose me.

Only by making them believe that even if I am deposed, the position of Crown Prince will not fall to Qingque, can they be made to calm down.

Those who defect will also realign their stance due to the appearance of Zhinu.

Compared to Zhinu, who is supported by the Taiyuan Wang Clan and the Guanlong Aristocratic Group, I, a Crown Prince full of flaws, am truly not worth looking at."

"Is the Second Uncle agreeing to help because the Prince of Jin is the Grand Governor of Bingzhou, and he has not only the support of the Wang Clan but also the military power of Li Shiji?"

"Exactly!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly: "All the aristocratic clans are placing bets on both sides; the manpower and resources they have invested are unimaginable.

Once they fail, it means the decline of several generations; whether they can rise again depends on luck, and they do not want to see this situation occur."

"Phew..."

Su Xi let out a long sigh: "I understand! I will invite the Lu Shi over for a visit in a moment."

"Have the Yuwen Hu lineage secretly send someone to Chang'an; I need someone who can mingle in the streets and the world of the common people, who is cautious, and who understands the situation of the major aristocratic clans."

"Done!"

Su Xi agreed without even thinking: "Dalang is already fourteen, shouldn't he be married?

Yesterday, Aunt Nanchang told me she wanted to make the family ties even closer; what do you think?"

"Refuse it!"

"Why?"

Li Chengqian sighed lightly: "Lizhi married Zhangsun Chong; how many children have died prematurely over these years? It was hard enough to finally have a son, and he is still frail.

You go and investigate further; among all those who intermarry within three generations, which family hasn't produced a few simple-minded children, and which family hasn't had children die prematurely?

I know you will say this is a coincidence, but once you send people to investigate all over the Great Tang, as long as you investigate enough, you will naturally understand."

"Is that so?"

Su Xi was full of suspicion: "If this is truly the case, one can just investigate in Chang'an; why send people all over the Great Tang?

My lord, are you trying to make use of this matter?"

"Nonsense!"

Li Chengqian did not explain; he threw out this sentence and got up to leave.

The hook had already been cast; when it would take effect was not something Li Chengqian could decide.

Everything that needed to be done had been done; next, he needed to use this matter to win some bargaining chips for himself.

Passing through a bamboo grove, Li Chengqian arrived at Qingfeng Pavilion. Before he had even walked into the pavilion, Du He spoke hurriedly:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, just now Lord Fang came to find me for questioning; Hegan Chengji really said everything."

"Let him say what he wants!"

Li Chengqian was completely indifferent: "As long as I haven't put it into action, if I refuse to admit it, no matter how much is said, it is all just framing the Crown Prince.

You don't need to worry about this matter; no one can depose me as Crown Prince, not even Father.

In a few days, Qingque will use a public manifesto to win over the hearts of the people, but a public manifesto can at most reach the county level.

You go find people to copy the Thousand Character Classic and the Qieyun onto the public manifestos, then send them to every village, and you must also leave someone in the village to teach."

"Ah..."

Du He let out a strange cry: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you know how many villages there are in the entire Great Tang?

Not to mention whether there are enough scholars to teach them, the food, clothing, and expenses for these people alone would be an astronomical figure, and that is not even considering their safety.

Besides, those villagers cannot even fill their own stomachs; how would they go to study?"

"Slap!"

Li Chengqian slapped Du He on the head: "Are you stupid? Are you stupid?

Go find merchants! They have money but no one to teach them; wouldn't it work to have them provide funding and protection?

Is the Jingzhao Du Family left with only you and your brother? What are you keeping all those clansmen for? What are you keeping those in-laws of the Du Family for?

Remember, do it secretly. Do not let people discover that you are the one leading it; push everything onto your eldest brother."

Du He rubbed his head, feeling somewhat bewildered: "Why? My eldest brother stands on the side of the Prince of Wei; why would we give such a good thing to the Prince of Wei?"

"If Qingque wants the reputation, give it to him; I only want the profit."

"What profit?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Du He looked at the corners of Li Chengqian's mouth, which were slightly upturned, and shook his head repeatedly:

"No! I don't want to know! I will start preparing as soon as I return.

However, I am still a bit worried about Helan Chushi and the Duke of Chen. What if they speak up too?

I could ignore others, but the Duke of Chen is already dissatisfied with the Emperor, and he even participated in the Xuanwu Gate incident."

"So what? If they speak, it is framing the Crown Prince, and the whole world will rise up to attack them."

Li Chengqian shook his head and took a letter from his bosom:

"The regulations for going to the villages to teach the Thousand Character Classic are here, and what you can gain from doing this is also written inside.

Still the same words: no one can take away my position as Crown Prince; you must have this confidence."

"Yes!"

Seeing Li Chengqian so confident, Du He also breathed a slight sigh of relief:

"Yin Fei said that as long as the Prince of Qi can be saved, the troops of Liangzhou will follow the lead of the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Qi will arrive in Chang'an the day after tomorrow."

"What about Yin Hongzhi?"

"He is at the Crown Prince's disposal!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly: "Fine! Go do your work; these two days I also have to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a roar resounded throughout the entire Eastern Palace:

"Li Chengqian! Get out here!"

"Li Chengqian, you shameless villain..."

Du He swallowed his saliva: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, is this the voice of the Prince of Wei?"

"It is! Listen for a while longer; this is the first time I have seen Qingque curse someone."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, what did you do?"

Li Chengqian picked his ear with his little finger: "Nothing! I asked him to protect my position as Crown Prince.

You also know I don't have much ability, so I could only ask Qingque to take action; fortunately, Qingque's ability is great enough."