178 Chapter 178
◎Plan. ◎
Li Chengqian didn't expect him to ask this, so he was stunned for a while, but Li Shimin thought it was a confirmation.
"Sure enough, that's why you said those things, and why you've been so lukewarm towards Qingque lately..."
"Usually, only the emperor can depose the crown prince," Li Chengqian interrupted. "Not everyone has the ability to stage a Xuanwu Gate Incident."
"At least, neither I nor your Qingque have this ability. You think too highly of him."
From rescuing the emperor at Yanmen Pass when he was a teenager, to raising an army in Jinyang and conquering all directions, to the turbulent situation in Chang'an, although Li Shimin was young, he believed that there was nothing in this world that he had not experienced.
But it turns out that after the fight between his brothers, he will also experience the fight between his sons.
Is this retribution?
Li Shimin, who never wavered, actually began to doubt himself.
Li Chengqian didn't know what he was thinking, but he could tell from his expression that the young Khan was very upset at the moment.
He didn't feel very happy. Li Chengqian looked up at the roof and felt very bored.
"If you go back like this, my mother will notice something is wrong." Li Chengqian reminded him.
Li Shimin wiped his face and suddenly asked again, "Cheng Qian, since you have already seen through the secrets of heaven, why are you still so reckless?"
According to normal human logic, if I knew that misfortune would happen to me in the future, I should try my best to avoid it.
But Li Chengqian obviously didn't mean that.
He had no intention of currying favor with his father, mending his relationship with his brothers, or making a good impression on his teachers and courtiers.
Li Shimin had fought for power and the throne before, and he knew what a person would do when he had such intentions. However, Li Chengqian was doing the exact opposite.
"Why did you hand over the gunpowder and these things?" Li Shimin asked in confusion, "Cheng Qian, I don't understand what you are going to do."
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "You will know."
Li Shimin was silent for a moment, there was still confusion on his face, but his eyes had slowly changed.
Li Chengqian knew that he had recovered from the blow just now and he had become the Heavenly Khan again.
Li Shimin said: "Cheng Qian, no matter what you want to do, there is one thing that will not change."
"What?" Li Chengqian looked up at him.
Li Shimin said: "You are my son, my eldest son."
"It doesn't matter if you refuse to tell me what the secret you discovered is." Li Shimin said firmly, "But my persistence remains unchanged. I will not repeat the same mistakes."
"The ending between Cheng Qian and me, and between Cheng Qian and Qing Que, will definitely not be what you expected."
…
The next day, the determined future Crown Prince, who was now the Khan, began to research bamboo paper and printing.
Apart from teaching Kong Yingda, Li Chengqian would exercise with his mother, sisters and Li Tai, who insisted on following.
The effects of practicing health-preserving exercises and Ba Duan Jin were immediate. In just half a month, Chang Sun and the children looked better than before, slept more soundly, and even their appetites increased a lot.
Li Tai's change was the most obvious. Even when they met every day, Li Shimin found that he had lost some weight.
This made the old father very distressed. Worried about the precarious brotherhood between Cheng Qian and Qing Que, Li Shimin secretly called the imperial physician to ask, but was told that it would be better for Prince Wei to lose weight.
Li Shimin was immediately displeased. Children are cute only when they are white and chubby. Of course, it doesn’t mean that they are not good-looking if they are thin. Cheng Qian is good if he is thin, but Qingque is also good if he is white and chubby.
The imperial physician was helpless and could only prescribe two doses of appetite-stimulating medicine for Prince Wei, asking him to eat more so that he could gain weight. Otherwise, with his current amount of exercise, it would not be easy for him to maintain a chubby body.
The reason why Li Tai exercised so much was that Li Chengqian added jogging to his routine. Of course, Changsun Shi didn't need to do it because she had poor lungs and running was not suitable for her, but the other three people couldn't escape it.
Li Shimin was reluctantly satisfied, but soon he could no longer take care of the children's little matter, because the successful production of bamboo paper and the printing technology were almost developed at the same time, and he had to devote his time to the previous dynasty.
Li Chengqian immediately put his plan into action. During class that day, he said to Kong Yingda, "Mr. Kong, do you still remember the gentleman's agreement between us?"
Kong Yingda had already seen the art of woodblock printing from the prince. Cheaper paper and more conveniently distributed books would initially seem like a bad sign for the aristocratic families who had long monopolized the right to read.
But if you think about it carefully, you will feel that there is no need to be paranoid.
Can reading be achieved by simply printing out a book and handing it to people?
Reading has never been so easy.
It takes a lot of effort to study to the level of being able to become an official. Ordinary people cannot afford the financial and material resources. In the end, only they are qualified to study and become officials.
The leaders of the aristocratic families who had just experienced a chaotic era thought they were still clear-headed. They felt that the crown prince was doing this just to show off his achievements, after all, he had come to power in such an unclean way.
Therefore, the so-called printing technology caused a lot of discussion in the court, but the aristocratic families did not take it seriously, and Kong Yingda also thought it was no big deal.
But when the King of Zhongshan mentioned the gentleman's agreement, Kong Yingda's face changed. He suddenly thought of a possibility.
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Mr. Kong, if you've forgotten, I can remind you that you once promised to let everyone in the world see your collection of books."
Kong Yingda said with a stiff face, "I... did... say so."
"Well, Mr. Kong is indeed a gentleman!" Li Chengqian clapped his hands and said, "The opportunity has just come. Mr. Kong, what are you going to do?"
Kong Yingda paused and said, "King Zhongshan, what opportunity do you mean? I don't understand."
Li Chengqian sneered, "Mr. Kong, you've already said that if you break your promise, you'll be ashamed of your ancestors."
Kong Yingda bowed his head and said, "I will not break my promise! From this day forward, I will order my family to open the doors of the mansion so that everyone can come and study at the Kong residence."
The original agreement was not very strict, and Kong Yingda had many loopholes to exploit, but this was also within Li Chengqian's calculations.
Li Chengqian then said, "Since everyone in the world has access to your books, you must ensure that everyone can read them. Mr. Kong, can you guarantee that?"
Kong Yingda still lowered his head: "At the beginning, the King of Zhongshan did not ask me to guarantee this matter."
"Very good!" Li Chengqian stood up and said, "Since neither you nor I can convince the other, let's go to the Crown Prince for justice."
"Mr. Kong, aren't you the one who loves to complain to the prince?"
Kong Yingda suddenly raised his head and said, "King Zhongshan, I am not complaining. Your words and actions are rude. As your teacher, I must fulfill my duty of teaching. When I am unable to discipline you, I should report to the Crown Prince!"
"Okay, Mr. Kong, since you think you are right, do you dare to confront me in front of the prince?" Li Chengqian said.
Kong Yingda certainly wouldn't fall for such a low-level provocation. He immediately restrained his attitude, bowed properly, and said, "King Zhongshan, I have already proposed a method of acceptance, but you are unwilling to do so."
Printing the family's collection of books and distributing them widely may sound simple, but it is actually a matter that will offend all the aristocratic families. Even with the reputation of Confucius, I am afraid the Kong family will not be able to get away with it.
The Kong family consists of more than just Kong Yingda, and he cannot ignore the entire family.
Therefore, even though there was suspicion of sophistry, Kong Yingda still insisted on his statement.
What's more, Kong Yingda thought that he had not misinterpreted it, as the King of Zhongshan had indeed not agreed with him on how to respond.
"Oh, so it's my fault?" Li Chengqian sat back and seemed to have given up on going to the prince for justice.
Kong Yingda was still worried. He looked at the King of Zhongshan and said cautiously, "The original agreement was not detailed. The King of Zhongshan and I each had our own explanations. There was no detailed explanation afterwards. It's not anyone's fault."
Li Chengqian nodded and smiled, "Mr. Kong is very good at speaking, worthy of being a descendant of Confucius."
Kong Yingda was still struggling with his thoughts. Upon hearing this, he immediately reacted fiercely, "Why would the King of Zhongshan insult my ancestors?"
Li Chengqian was surprised and said, "Mr. Kong, how have I insulted your ancestors? Please point it out to me, and I will sincerely apologize to you and Master Kong."
Kong Yingda paused. The words of King Zhongshan sounded uncomfortable, but if one looked carefully, one could find that he could indeed distort praise and criticism at will.
This made people feel uncomfortable from the bottom of their hearts. Kong Yingda had been angered by Li Chengqian many times, but he had never felt so upset as today.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Li Chengqian said again: "Mr. Kong, why don't we go back and talk about the book?"
Just when Kong Yingda was at a loss, the door to the study was suddenly pushed open. The Crown Prince stepped in and, seeing them like this, asked curiously, "Cheng Qian, Mr. Kong, what's going on?"
Kong Yingda hurriedly saluted, but Li Chengqian was very unhurried: "I asked Your Highness to come here to ask for your opinion on the matter."
Kong Yingda's whole body froze. No wonder the King of Zhongshan was neither anxious nor slow. It turned out that he had secretly sent someone to invite the prince a long time ago!
If this matter is brought to the attention of the Crown Prince, it will become a big deal, and everyone will know about it and comment on it, which is something Kong Yingda does not want to see.
Li Chengqian recounted the entire story, and Kong Yingda, the person involved, found nothing to criticize.
The King of Zhongshan did not conceal every word he said, and naturally, he would not distort the meaning of every sentence Kong Yingda said.
This was bound to be a matter of each side having its own reasons. Kong Yingda didn't understand why the King of Zhongshan had to bring this to the Crown Prince's attention. Kong Yingda certainly didn't benefit from it, but did the King of Zhongshan also stand to gain from it?
He couldn't understand it because in this matter, Li Chengqian had no intention of playing a righteous role. He just wanted to make it known to everyone, to make everyone say that the King of Zhongshan was unreasonable, and to make everyone in the court dislike the King of Zhongshan from the bottom of their hearts.
At least in the next one or two years, whenever the Heavenly Khan wanted to make the King of Zhongshan the crown prince, a group of people would risk their lives to advise him against it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
