Chapter 106: The Tang Dynasty Princess Marries into the World

  Li Shimin was making final preparations with his confidants, while Yage followed the Empress Changsun to comfort the three thousand officers. In history, only Empress Changsun had done this before, but now she had a companion, and in some sense, he was the main character of this visit.

  After all, as Li Shimin's acknowledged successors, these people would also be his future subordinates.

  The Xuanwu Gate Incident was just a record in the history books for Ye Ge. When he actually went through all this, he found that the sparse records were cruel in reality. The generals and soldiers fought each other, and the emperor's throne could only be reached by treading on blood. Whether it was Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's suspicion and suppression of Li Shimin, or Li Shimin's unwillingness to yield, all burst out at this time.

  The Crown Prince and the King of Qi were ultimately one move short on the chessboard, never expecting that among Li Yuan's and their subordinates there would be people bought by Li Shimin. Their plans had all been made known to Li Shimin. Li Shimin directly led the generals of the Heavenly Strategy Prefecture into the Xuanwu Gate, leaving them unprepared.

  Li Yuanji shot three arrows at Li Shimin, but due to tension and anxiety, the bow was not fully drawn, and the arrow did not hit its mark. However, Li Shimin drew his bow and directly shot and killed Li Jiancheng. Wei Zheng led seventy cavalrymen who arrived one after another, and one of them shot an arrow that hit Li Yuanji, causing him to fall off his horse.

  At this time, Li Shimin's horse was frightened and rushed into the forest beside the Xuanwu Gate, causing him to get stuck in the branches and fall off the horse. He couldn't move for a while. Li Yuanji quickly arrived, snatched the bow and wanted to strangle Li Shimin with the bowstring, but was rescued by Yuchi Gong who galloped over on his horse.

  Li Yuanji knew he was no match for Yuwen Gong, so he released Li Shimin and ran towards the Wude Hall where Li Yuan was. However, his legs were no faster than a horse, and he ended up dying under Yuwen Gong's arrows.

  Yahua, under the heavy protection of the elite troops in the Tian Ce Fu, saw from a distance the scenes of the death of the Crown Prince and Qi Wang. Suddenly, she lost the solemn feeling of witnessing history. Whether it was Li Shimin and his generals at the Tian Ce Fu, or the military commanders under Li Yuan's name, their martial arts were not even worth looking at in Yahua's eyes.

  The battlefield and the Jianghu are different, but some things are the same. The martial arts of the Wulin people are suitable for solo battles, while the battlefield is a chaotic melee. However, if one's martial arts skills are high enough, it doesn't matter where they are. With Ya Ge's current cultivation in this body, if not for his concerns about karma and the system, he could easily wipe out everyone here with just a bit of effort.

  Of course, this is because he has a cheating device. Qionghua Xinjing paired with Tian Chang Di Jiu Bu Lao Chang Chun Gong is really good stuff, plus the system-provided relatively inexpensive Xī Mó Dān and Péi Yuán Dān exchange gift package, Yage's cultivation growth rate is like riding a rocket.

  In the task world, Ya Ge chose to cultivate as his trump card from the beginning. This was the first time he had chosen to use a gift package in this world. The previous worlds were relatively safe for him, but in this world, without cultivation as his shield, he felt insecure. Even later when he knew that Li Shimin would become more and more tyrannical after the appearance of Huansha Girl and Zhao Yang Princess, before these two women appeared, he was indeed a ruthless emperor.

  Cheng Wang defeated the bandits, but Ya Ge didn't think Li Shimin did anything wrong. However, he was extra cautious around him because he didn't want to not only fail his mission but also be ruined by an emperor. After all, it was just that Ya Ge didn't have a strong sense of security in this world.

  The opponent is too strong. Although it can't be solved purely by force, having the power to guarantee makes Yage feel more at ease.

  After Li Yuanji's death, although Feng Li, the commander of the Left Forest Guard and the General of the Carriage Guards under Li Jiancheng, brought two thousand followers to hurry over, he was shut out by Zhang Gongjin at the Xuanwu Gate and blocked outside the palace. When they saw Yu Chigong displaying the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji on the city wall, these people finally scattered and fled.

  Things have developed to this point, and Li Yuan had to compromise, appointing Li Shimin as the Crown Prince. Later, all those who contributed to the coup were rewarded, and those who remained loyal to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji until the end also received Li Shimin's pardon, among whom Wei Zheng was a famous minister of advice in later generations.

  In the ninth year of Wude, on August 8th, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan issued an edict to abdicate. On August 9th, Crown Prince Li Shimin ascended the throne in Xingde Hall of the East Palace, becoming Emperor Taizong of Tang and granting a general amnesty to all under heaven. On the same day, Li Shimin decreed that his eldest son Li Chengqian be appointed as crown prince, meeting with universal acclaim.

  Historically, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, Li Yuan did not move out of Taiji Palace but instead stayed there until the third year of Zhenguan when he moved to Da'an Palace and yielded Taiji Palace to Li Shimin. During these three years, Li Shimin's family lived in the East Palace, free from the oppression they had experienced in the Qinwang Mansion, and he was much more affectionate towards his sons. It was also during this period that Li Chengqian enjoyed a strong sense of family bonding.

  Three years later, his parents left and his underage younger brothers and sisters also followed, leaving only the eleven-year-old Crown Prince Li Chengqian and a large group of servants and officials in the East Palace. Even if he was precocious, he was still just a little boy who had experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident three years ago and was "abandoned" by his parents and family members in this vast palace three years later.

  From then on, Li Chengqian formally became the crown prince. To see his parents, he had to make an appointment; to see his brothers and sisters, unless there was a family feast or banquet in the palace, he would have to risk being accused of improperly summoning them by sending someone to "summon" them to the Eastern Palace.

  Li Chengqian was friendless, and his world became simple and clearly demarcated. Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and the Longsun clan were his "rulers", the objects of his verbal obedience, while others were his "subjects", who had to kowtow to him.

  The officials and tutors belonging to the Eastern Palace were all elderly men carefully selected by Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun for Li Chengqian, who sat upright every day with their mouths full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality. In comparison, those eunuchs serving as attendants were much more interesting and fun. It was obvious what kind of choice an eleven-year-old boy would make.

  Yahua only had Li Chengqian's horse armor, but his heart was that of a man who had experienced many things. These temptations that were irresistible to young people meant nothing to him. What was the point of all those pleasures? It was better to learn something and give himself more chips to survive.

  Who knows when the system will go crazy and send him to those high-risk worlds, the more knowledge he masters, the better he can make himself.

  Learning is boundless, but it ends here.

  In Li Shimin's view, his crown prince was a good one. Not only did he respect the scholars he sent to study and couldn't find any fault with him, but also resisted the temptation from Li Yuanchang and those servants. What were Li Yuanchang and others up to? Li Shimin naturally understood that they wanted to corrupt his crown prince and make father and son estranged.

  Looking at the crown prince smiling with ease, his eyes full of admiration and reverence for him, Li Shimin felt extremely comforted. What does an emperor care about? Of course, it's having a successor. His lifespan is limited after all, but he hopes that the prosperous era he has established can be prolonged indefinitely, even though he knows this is impossible!

  No matter what happens in the future, at least the next generation of Li Tang's Jiangshan will not have any problems. It is precisely because of this reason that Li Shimin would turn a blind eye to Ya Ge and Li Tai's frequent private contacts. Ya Ge was very measured, always only having private contact with the brothers and sisters born to Empress Zhangsun, let alone him just being concerned about them as an older brother.

  Although his own brothers did not get along well, Li Shimin hoped that his sons would be able to get along harmoniously. The Crown Prince was capable and had a good temperament, and would not engage in fratricide after he passed away, which made Li Shimin very satisfied.

  Yajiao also changed some of his actions after realizing the differences between Li Shimin and Kangxi. Li Shimin was greedy for power, but unlike Kangxi, he could let go. This is due to the personalities of the two men as well as their experiences.

  Kangxi was young when he ascended to the throne and was under great pressure from the regent ministers until his wedding, after which he regained some of his powers. As a result, he attached great importance to imperial power, even becoming wary of his own son, Yinreng, whom he had personally groomed as crown prince once he came of age.

  Li Shimin was not like that, perhaps because he was ruthless to his own father and brother, so he had a kind heart for his children. Without mentioning why Li Chengqian rebelled in history and was eventually demoted, Li Shimin treated him as his son, otherwise he would have been beheaded directly instead of being demoted to a commoner.

  The Li family of the Great Tang did not have a rule with the Aixinjueluo family that they would kill their sons if they were not prosperous.

  Yah Song also figured out later, but anyway, even if Li Shimin wanted to spare his son's life, a former prince who became a commoner still blocked the way for some people. Plus, he couldn't figure it out himself, so he was gone in just one year.

  Yahiko is unlikely to stage a coup without absolute certainty, after all Li Shimin rose to power through coups and is quite sensitive about such matters. Before this, he just needs to be a crown prince that satisfies everyone, as for private forces...

  The system says that it is not allowed to use the method of hypnotic sleep on the main task object, but there is no ban on using it on others. In the Qing Dynasty, he had done something similar to build his own power, and this time Yage chose to do so again, but he was much more careful than in the Qing Dynasty.

  The eldest son succeeded to the throne as expected, and this eldest son was young and talented in both literature and martial arts, with his own views on politics, some of which even made officials sigh. Faced with such a Li Chengqian, Li Shimin's other sons, even if they had that idea, temporarily suppressed it, among them the most prominent being Li Ke, the third son of Li Shimin and Emperor Yang of Sui's daughter.

  Li Ke, who was the same age as Ya Ge, initially harbored jealousy towards him simply because of their different statuses due to their mothers' positions. However, as time passed and Ya Ge gradually revealed his talents, everyone from officials to palace staff couldn't help but sing his praises. Even Emperor Taizong would smile uncontrollably whenever he mentioned the Crown Prince, making Li Ke's feelings even more complicated and knotted.

  While he was still envying the treatment of Ya Ge, Ya Ge had already thrown him far behind his mind. The 12-year-old Ya Ge had been approved by Li Shimin to attend the imperial court and listen to politics, and even Li Shimin had decided to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for him when Ya Ge turned 13.

  The capping ceremony symbolizes a man's coming of age, he can get married and from then on act as an adult member of the clan, participating in all activities.

  This was Li Shimin's acknowledgment that Li Chengqian could truly begin learning about governance and possess the privileges of a crown prince.

  The author has something to say: I'm very sorry for not updating the past two days, one reason is that I stayed up too late that night, and another reason is that Tuber (the illustrator) has been quite busy recently.

  Potatoes On July 2nd, I will follow my husband back to Fujian. My grandmother at home is celebrating her 90th birthday, so I have been busy with some handover work in the company to ask for annual leave.

  And it's been a long time since my husband went back to his hometown, this time he might stay for a while, so there are indeed many things for Tuber to arrange.

  Potatoes will try to maintain daily updates, and the drafts on the train will also work hard to be coded first.

  Thinking of taking a nearly 40-hour train ride, even though my husband bought soft sleeper tickets, I'm still getting goosebumps... QAQ

  It's because my husband's hometown is a small county town that doesn't have an airport! And the nearest airport to their place still has about eight hours of driving distance... TUT