180 Chapter 180
◎The prince's plan.◎
Li Chengqian thought he was mentally prepared to be a master who could satisfy the Heavenly Khan, until he saw Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, Cheng Zhijie and Qin Qiong in the East Palace training ground.
Li Chengqian: "..."
Why don’t you just ask Li Jing to be my teacher? I can also tell him the story of Nezha’s Conquering the Dragon King.
It was really a waste of talent to appoint his confidant and right-hand man as a martial arts master for his son. Everyone who knew about it would sigh that the prince was such a kind father with good intentions.
Unfortunately, the person involved, Li Chengqian, just felt annoyed.
In his previous life, Tian Khan had stuffed many people into the Eastern Palace, including many of his important ministers and their sons, as if he favored the prince. But in fact, that was just a balancing strategy he adopted after he favored Li Tai and allowed Li Tai to develop his ambitions.
The reason why he did this now was just to appease Li Chengqian. Did Tian Khan think that by doing this, Li Chengqian would be at ease?
A person's thoughts will never change, Li Chengqian thought. Even if he lived ten more lives, Tian Khan would always have the same temperament.
There is no need to deliberately show favoritism. Tian Khan always acted as if he loved Li Chengqian very much, but that was precisely because he didn't love him that much.
Tian Khan favored Li Tai, so he would not consider the consequences before doing something. It was not until the court officials advised him that he realized that this was inappropriate in the eyes of others. However, even if he knew it, he would never change.
Partiality is an incurable disease.
Li Shimin had no idea what his eldest son was thinking. When he saw him coming, he waved him over. The four generals around him then paid their respects to the King of Zhongshan.
Li Chengqian returned the greeting: "I don't know the names of the generals, please forgive me."
The four of them hurriedly said they didn't dare.
Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good start.
Li Shimin introduced the four men to Li Chengqian and said, "For the time being, let these four take turns to give you an introduction to martial arts."
Li Chengqian had a very dark face. He thought that it was a waste of time to use a sledgehammer to crack a chicken. How could he deserve these famous generals to be his teachers?
Li Chengqian said righteously, "Your Highness, the country has just been established, and the country is of paramount importance. The generals must have heavy responsibilities on their shoulders. I am just a child, and I dare not compete with the world for the first place."
These words made the four people look sideways. They didn't take the gunpowder incident that day seriously, but they couldn't help but hear others talking about it in secret. Later, Kong Yingda was dismissed for no reason. Although the prince tried to cover it up, there were still some bad rumors. Therefore, the reputation of the King of Zhongshan has not been very good recently.
But today, it seems that King Zhongshan is not that unreasonable. On the contrary, he is very sensible and considerate.
The reason why Li Chengqian said this was because these four people had no grudges against him, so there was no need for him to deliberately find fault with them. Moreover, getting involved with him might not necessarily have a good result, like Hou Junji in his previous life.
But if Li Chengqian knew that his words had actually saved some of his precarious reputation, he would have gone crazy on the spot.
Li Shimin also had his own plans in mind. Cheng Qian's bad attitude towards Kong Yingda certainly did not arise out of thin air. Kong Yingda must have done something, otherwise how could Cheng Qian perform well in front of Lu Yuanlang and the four generals today?
Since Cheng Qian could accept all four generals, Li Shimin naturally refused to replace them. Therefore, he said, "Your mother already knows about choosing a martial arts master for you. If she can't decide, and she asks about it, Cheng Qian, how will we, father and son, explain it?"
Li Chengqian said angrily: "You threaten me!"
Wow.
After these words were spoken, the four generals dared not look at the Crown Prince and the King of Zhongshan. Could they even listen to such words? Was this how the father and son of the Eastern Palace got along?
Li Shimin smiled slightly and said, "There are many people talking, Cheng Qian, don't let your mother know."
Li Chengqian widened his eyes and threatened me!
The four generals looked at the sky and the earth. How could the prince treat his son like this? To be honest, it is not surprising that the King of Zhongshan had this attitude.
What kind of father and son are like this?
The confrontation between the Crown Prince and the King of Zhongshan ended with the Crown Prince's victory. However, once the four generals had left, the King of Zhongshan snorted coldly, saying, "The Crown Prince has stooped to threatening me with his mother. How despicable!"
Li Shimin: “…”
Li Shimin patted his chest, swallowed his anger, and said in a gentle voice: "Cheng Qian, Aye has spoken to you kindly, but you didn't listen, so Aye had no choice but to resort to this last resort."
Li Chengqian sarcastically said, "So it's my fault. I'm so sorry. Do I need to kowtow three times and nine times to apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
Li Shimin rubbed his forehead and said, "Cheng Qian, can't we, father and son, talk properly?"
Li Chengqian crossed his arms and sneered, "You were the one who threatened me first, and then you asked me to talk to you nicely. I betrayed your kindness, which is why you resorted to this desperate measure. You really are always right and reasonable."
Li Shimin paused, recalling his previous words and actions, and said, "I was a little too hasty. I wasn't afraid that you wouldn't..."
He stopped talking in time, but it was obviously too late.
"Yeah, that's right. It's all my fault." Li Chengqian started to walk away. "Please leave me alone for a while."
Li Shimin hurriedly stopped him and said, "Chengqian, my father will never act like this again in the future."
Li Chengqian didn't believe his promise and just said, "I promise you, don't complain to my mother."
Li Shimin could only smile bitterly. What he saw as a joke was, to Cheng Qian, a threat or intimidation.
"Okay." Li Shimin agreed, and Li Chengqian left with peace of mind.
Li Shimin always thought that he was a very good father, but was he so distrusted in the eyes of his eldest son?
Li Shimin couldn't figure out how heartbreaking the things that happened in the future that Cheng Qian saw!
He couldn't just sit there and wait for death, Li Shimin thought, he had to think of a way.
Soon, Li Chunfeng was summoned to the Eastern Palace.
Li Shimin certainly wouldn't directly question the King of Zhongshan about his heresy. Instead, he asked in a roundabout way, "I'm curious about something. I heard that in the previous dynasty, there were people who could tell faces. Does Li Qing know if there are people in this world who can predict the future?"
This question made Li Chunfeng a little confused. He did like and was proficient in calendar, arithmetic, and astrology, but he was doing serious research, not cheating. He was different from those sorcerers who specialized in cheating emperors and dignitaries.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty has never heard of it." Li Chunfeng hesitated, then added, "There have been no unusual celestial phenomena recently."
The most direct trigger of the Xuanwu Gate Incident was the two times Taibai passed through the sky in early June. Li Yuan believed that this was a sign that the King of Qin would take over the world.
Li Shimin was obviously thinking about what happened last month. He coughed lightly and said, "Really?"
Li Chunfeng saw that the prince seemed to have some unspeakable secrets, and fearing that he had been deceived, he tactfully advised: "Your Highness, you must not trust predictions."
"Yeah." Li Shimin nodded absentmindedly. He might as well call a few monks and Taoists to ask. The world is so big that there are all kinds of strange things. Maybe they have heard of such things.
Seeing that the Crown Prince hadn't listened at all, Li Chunfeng continued, "Your Highness, if someone had predicted that I would choke to death tomorrow, I would have refused to eat or drink for a whole day, fearing the prophecy would come true. After midnight that night, I thought I was safe, so I ate and drank lavishly, only to choke to death. Does this count as a fulfillment of the prophecy, or was it because of this prophecy that I lost my life?"
Li Shimin was stunned on the spot. Even if there really was a way to predict the future in the world, when you knew the future, it had actually changed.
Li Shimin tried his best to avoid the ending that his eldest son expected, but the tension between him and his eldest son became even greater. Perhaps it was his current words and deeds that led to the ending that his eldest son expected.
Originally, their family was harmonious with a loving father, filial sons, friendly brothers and respectful younger brothers. However, because of this foreknowledge, Cheng Qian began to change his temper. After knowing it, he was impatient to change the predetermined outcome, but ended up making things worse.
Li Shimin took a deep breath, stepped down, shook Li Chunfeng's hand, and said earnestly: "Mr. Li's words are like a clear spring, which makes my mind clear and my heart refreshed. It is very kind!"
Li Chunfeng breathed a sigh of relief. The prince has always been wise and brave. If he was affected by these external things, the Tang Dynasty would probably not be stable. Fortunately, it happened.
…
That night, when Li Chengqian saw Li Shimin again, he suddenly felt that there was something strange about him that he couldn't explain, but he had no idea what was strange about it.
Li Shimin, as usual, spoke to each of his children. Finally, when he was face to face with his eldest son, he said, "Chengqian, after the enlightenment is completed, you can keep whichever of these teachers you think is best."
Hearing him bring up the matter of the training ground again, Li Chengqian wanted to roll his eyes, but because his mother was present, he could do nothing and could only say aggrievedly, "Hmm."
"There's another teacher for you. I've chosen one, but it'll be a few months before he can start." Li Shimin smiled and rubbed his eldest son's head. "Give you some time to relax."
Previously, Li Shimin always thought about that ending. When it came to matters concerning his eldest son, he was hesitant and eager for quick success. Now he put aside his anxiety and went back to his own pace.
Li Shimin thought, Cheng Qian must be very surprised that his father was the same as before.
However, Li Chengqian still said: "Yeah."
Li Shimin: “…”
He wanted to comfort himself that at least Cheng Qian didn't avoid it, but... it was obviously because his wife was there and it had nothing to do with him.
Li Shimin was not discouraged. This was just the beginning. He first returned to his former state and then subtly influenced Cheng Qian.
When Changsun heard what her husband said, she had something else to say: "Erlang, has the date been set?"
As for what day it was, the couple knew it all.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "I have arranged everything."
Li Tai asked curiously, "Yeah, mother, what are you talking about?"
Li Shimin tapped his forehead and said with a smile, "Children are not allowed to ask about adults' affairs."
Li Tai pouted: "Yeah, I really want to know..."
"You will know after a few days." This is not a joke, and Li Shimin certainly would not tell it just because his fourth son was acting coquettishly.
"Oh." Li Tai knew that he could not ask any more questions, so he had to shut up reluctantly.
Li Chengqian had already understood what they meant. Li Yuan was about to abdicate... Oh, so he said it would take a few months before a new teacher would appear. This was a teacher for the new prince.
Tsk.
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