Yun Ye had practically fled Chang’an, which left Li Chengqian feeling deeply wounded. At the very moment when he needed help the most, his closest friend had chosen to leave. No matter how scorching the summer heat of Chang’an might be, he couldn’t feel even a trace of warmth.
His uncle Zhangsun Wuji had made a valid point—the Crown Prince must hold power in his hands, must possess the power to protect himself. This principle had held true since ancient times. Crown Princes without power never met good ends. This wasn’t his uncle exaggerating to frighten him, but cold, bloody reality. To say nothing else, if his eldest uncle’s forces had been just a bit stronger, Father would never have succeeded.
As one grows older, thoughts multiply, and the people and matters one seeks to protect increase as well. There would inevitably be some things that would clash with Father Emperor. Now was when Father Emperor and his ministers were in their most intense conflicts—perhaps he could recruit some soldiers and purchase some horses?
Li Chengqian stood in the pavilion gazing into the distance. He could see nothing but the distant mountains, yet he knew that beyond those great mountains, Yun Ye was perhaps sailing upon the vast ocean.
Being a bandit wasn’t just Yun Ye’s dream alone—it was also Li Chengqian’s, and even more so Qing Que’s. Back then they had agreed that if the opportunity arose, all three of them would go experience that feeling together. Now, only Yun Ye was stubbornly pursuing his own dream.
Li Chengqian wanted to go to the grasslands to become the most vicious horse bandit. Qing Que wanted to be a great thief in the city, robbing the rich to help the poor. As for Yun Ye, he wanted to go out on the great ocean and contend with the waves.
These were fantasies they had shared in their youth. Li Chengqian had thought that as they aged, the wild dreams of boyhood would gradually be devoured by time. But it seemed that in the end, there were still those who pursued them. Only, for you to take your entire family on this naked display of a pleasure trip to show your lack of support for my actions—wasn’t that being too heartless?
His uncle supported him. His father-in-law supported him. The meritorious nobles hadn’t expressed opposition either. Though Qing Que had confined himself to the Wude Hall, he hadn’t said anything against it. So why did you alone act so heartlessly?
“Your Highness, the Ministry of Finance has produced their plan for regulating the money houses. Lord Zhangsun hopes to hear Your Highness’s opinion,” Xima Zhao Jie came to stand behind Li Chengqian and reported in a low voice.
“I understand. I’ll go at once. Inform Du He and Li Anyan that the money house plan needs to be redefined. The Ministry of Finance actually wants to disperse the copper minting locations—this won’t do. Copper coins can only be handled by the Minting Bureau. We absolutely cannot casually distribute this authority. Over time, it will inevitably breed disaster. This is the foundation of the empire and cannot tolerate the slightest error.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll see to it at once. However, the format, size, weight, and quality of copper coins were already fixed by Marquis Yun in the past, and he established all this data in legal form. If Your Highness wishes to increase the supply of copper coins, there may be problems. The copper materials from various regions differ in quality. If they’re brought to Chang’an for re-smelting, the losses would be enormous. Please consider this carefully, Your Highness.”
The green-robed Zhao Jie answered neither humbly nor arrogantly. This time, due to the shortage of copper coins, the Ministry of Finance planned to delegate the authority to mint copper coins to three minting bureaus. Among them, the Jiannan Minting Bureau was the most renowned and also where Li Chengqian’s traditional power base lay. If that place gained the authority to mint copper coins, it would be extremely advantageous for His Highness the Crown Prince.
“Zhao Jie, say no more. I understand very well what you’re all thinking. The authority to mint coins must be unified—it absolutely cannot be dispersed. This is the root of disaster. Tell them to redefine it. I would rather increase the minting of silver coins than allow copper coins to be issued recklessly.”
Seeing that the Crown Prince was stubborn in his views, Zhao Jie could only sigh and go out to discuss countermeasures with Du He and Li Anyan. Because the Great Tang’s copper coins were minted so exquisitely, they had already flowed into neighboring countries and become the only recognized currency across this continent. Various merchants sometimes preferred to bring back cartloads of copper coins rather than goods, because the profit was greatest this way. This directly led to an extreme shortage of small denomination currency in the Great Tang.
Ever since Li Chengqian’s statement that he should bear more responsibility spread, many people had come to display their talents, hoping to become advisors to the Crown Prince. Yun Ye had been right—he himself was a magnet. As long as he showed a desire to attract others, countless pieces of iron would be drawn to him. However, most of them were useless iron filings.
Li Chengqian didn’t remember ever saying such words, but his uncle and father-in-law had both mentioned this phrase in letters to others. Now he couldn’t refute it. Even if he hadn’t said it, he had to admit he had. Right and wrong sometimes weren’t determined by oneself.
He really wanted to know what Qing Que was thinking. Li Chengqian unconsciously made his way to Wude Hall. After announcing himself, the reply he received was that Prince Wei wasn’t there—His Highness hadn’t been seen for three days.
With a heavy punch against a pillar, Li Chengqian’s hand began to bleed. He couldn’t feel the pain in his hand, only felt a wrenching discomfort in his heart. He had only just expressed a desire for power, and Qing Que had immediately vanished without a trace. What was everyone trying to do? This was already his third visit to Wude Hall. He believed that at this moment, Qing Que should be beneath this great hall.
“Your Highness, Prince Wei truly isn’t here. Three days ago, he disappeared. This isn’t an excuse—Prince Wei’s mansion is also searching for him,” Cheng Chumo said expressionlessly to Li Chengqian.
“What? Where did Qing Que go? Chumo, could he be in danger?” Li Chengqian gripped Cheng Chumo’s shoulders and asked urgently. Cheng Chumo wouldn’t deceive him—of this he was certain. But where had Qing Que gone?
“I don’t know. I only know that Prince Wei’s guard captain and four guards also disappeared with him. All of Chang’an has been searched with no trace of Prince Wei. News from his fiefdom hasn’t arrived yet, but I estimate he wouldn’t go there.”
After bowing, Cheng Chumo departed. As a friend, he couldn’t bear to see Chengqian’s anxiety, but as a subject, it was best to meddle little in imperial family affairs. The Old Cheng family never did foolish things. Their object of loyalty would only ever be one person—the current Emperor. They would be loyal to whoever was Emperor. They wouldn’t break this principle just because he and the Crown Prince were good friends.
Once political positions were taken, they couldn’t easily be changed. After hearing the news of Qing Que’s departure, Li Chengqian felt somewhat anxious, but for the most part, his heart actually felt much lighter. He knew this state of mind wasn’t right, yet that feeling of complete relaxation also captivated him.
“Where has Qing Que run off to? How could he just leave a scrap of paper saying he’s gone off to play and then vanish without a trace? Is there no sense of propriety at all? Your Majesty, why aren’t you worried in the slightest?”
Empress Zhangsun paced anxiously back and forth in Wanmin Palace. She had already sent many people to search, but after three days there was still no news.
“Empress, Qing Que was born from you—don’t you understand him? He seems muddled, but when it comes to grasping the larger situation, he’s quite shrewd. Don’t worry about it. Sons grow up and mothers lose control. Even if you spoke now, he wouldn’t necessarily listen to you. They all have their own thoughts. Yun Ye extracted himself cleanly and ran off to sea to be a pirate—that boy has completely wasted his marquis title. Qing Que has been irritable lately and reportedly has left as well. The Luoyang garrison commander reported that Qing Que took a fast boat and went down to Jiangnan with just five guards—utterly reckless. Fortunately, the one guarding Luoyang is Daozong, who forcibly assigned five hundred personal guards before letting him leave. He’s fine, so set your mind at ease. Perhaps he was just tired of staying beneath Wude Hall and wanted to go out and have some fun. Let him go.”
Li Er’s words left Empress Zhangsun with tears streaming down her face. She was a heroine among women—how could she not understand the meaning behind her husband’s words? Wasn’t it just that he wanted to see what exactly his children intended to do? Chengqian’s meaningless phrase had now spread throughout the court and countryside, forcibly binding him to a war chariot that was charging forward without knowing whether it would lead to good or bad. What was this all for?
“Why cry? Our children have finally grown up. Wanting them to obediently accept arrangements—that’s impossible. Look at the Li family—are there any who settle down peacefully? But fortunately, Yun Ye delayed this process by a full five years. It was bound to erupt sooner or later—isn’t it better that it erupts now?” Li Er said to Empress Zhangsun with a smile.
“You’re not worried? Father and son competing for power—is that really a scene you’re pleased to see?”
“That’s right, it is indeed so. We are an imperial family. Previously I was worried that Chengqian’s desire for power wasn’t strong enough. Now I’m not worried. As long as he doesn’t do anything utterly unconscionable, there’s nothing I cannot tolerate.” Li Er picked up the teapot and took a slurp of tea before continuing, “A sword that wants to be sharp needs constant honing. If the material isn’t good, it needs to be reforged. If it’s worthless material, it needs to be discarded. Chengqian has at least brought his words out into the open—that’s very good. An upright army displaying its forces clearly wants to show me his strength—excellent! I’ll watch his strength carefully and see whether he truly has the ability to inherit the great succession.”
Empress Zhangsun collapsed powerlessly to the ground. After shedding tears for a while, she returned to her Liangyi Hall and issued an order: except for His Majesty, she would close her doors and see no one.
In the seventh month of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Left Guard General Hou Junji pacified and destroyed the eleven nations of the Nine Zhaowu Clans. He was elevated from Duke of Lu to Duke of Chen, granted three sons official positions, and transferred to Minister of Personnel.
In the eighth month, Crown Prince Li Chengqian’s regulation of the money houses proved effective. He was specially granted Chengqian Hall, permitted to build Chengqian Palace in the Eastern Palace, establish his own bureau and office, and take charge of the Ministry of Finance. Fang Xuanling and Xiao Yu assumed the posts of Junior Tutors to the Crown Prince. His son Li Xiang was made Prince of Changshan.
In the ninth month, Crown Princess Su Shi was deposed for lack of discernment. The secondary consort, a daughter of the Hou family, whose family inherited noble caps and robes and transmitted righteous conduct, who displayed a gentle and compliant nature and possessed a leisurely disposition, whose education was evident in history and classics and whose reputation spread throughout the nation, was installed in the position of Crown Princess according to imperial ceremony and made Empress to the Crown Prince.
All those in the Crown Prince’s retinue—Qigan Chengji, Du He, Zhao Jie, and Li Anyan—received rewards. For a time, all had their names inscribed on the Golden Terrace. The reputation of His Highness the Crown Prince’s benevolence spread throughout the Great Tang.
When Empress Zhangsun, who had been ceaselessly weeping in Liangyi Hall all day long, heard this news, she was shocked and alarmed. She implored His Majesty to rescind the edict deposing the Crown Princess, saying: “The great wife of the imperial house need only be benevolent—why must her family be noble and illustrious? This is the path to inviting disaster.”
The Emperor said: “How can the present time compare to the past?” The Empress had no words with which to respond and withdrew to her palace gardens in tears.
The Crown Princess hosted a banquet. At that time, Yun Baobao and Yun Shou relieved themselves in the courtyard and were scolded by attendants. Greatly enraged, they set fire to horse tails in the stables and ruined the wine feast in the front courtyard. Guests fled in panic from behind, and the number of injured was beyond count. The Crown Princess was furious and ordered them seized for questioning. Unexpectedly, Yun Shou escaped into Liangyi Hall and conversed happily with the Empress for three days before finally leaving the palace. The Empress declared: “Anyone who dares lay hands on this child, this old woman will spit upon them.”