Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 522 The Story of Emperor Taizong of Tang (Special thanks to book friend Jiang Fan for his ten monthly tickets!)

Chai Jiyu was very happy, and immediately started to appreciate these famous paintings with Lu Dosun, and they had a very pleasant conversation.

Seeing that it was getting dark, and Chai Jiyu would be returning home soon, Lu Duosun said:

"Your Highness, I have a few words from the bottom of my heart that I would like to report. Please leave your presence alone."

Chai Jiyu had an idea and immediately waved his hand to let the five personal eunuchs leave the study, leaving only the chief eunuch Qin Han.

After all, I'm alone and I'm still a little worried about my safety.

Chai Jiyu said:

"Master Lu, please feel free to say whatever you want to say. Steward Qin has been serving me since he was young and is my confidant. You don't need to avoid him."

Lu Dosun hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind. He fell to his knees with a plop and kowtowed:
"I am regarded as a teacher by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and he has shown great favor to me. Now that I see that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a difficult future, I have no choice but to risk my life to offer advice!"

Chai Jiyu was shocked and said:
"Master Lu, why do you say that? What exactly is it that will make my future difficult? Tell me quickly."

Ludoson said:

"What do you think of your Majesty's martial arts skills, Your Highness?"

Chai Jiyu said:

"My father is a wise and powerful emperor who plans everything carefully before taking action. Over the past thirty years, he has unified China, expanded the country's territory, and conquered hundreds of countries without ever losing a battle!
Although the achievements of the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor are not as great as those of my father! He can be called the first war god emperor in Chinese history!"

Ludoson said:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is absolutely right!

With Your Majesty's sweeping power over the world, how could you tolerate the Kievan Rus' invading the northern part of our Great Zhou and killing and looting hundreds of thousands of civilians?

If he was a military general, he would be executed according to military law.

Your Majesty has been on an expedition to the Mayan continent for four years and will return victoriously soon.

I am afraid that after your majesty returns to the capital, you will punish the Crown Prince for the Bei Ming incident! I have received great favor from the Crown Prince, how dare I not make plans for him? ! "

Chai Jiyu was furious and said:
"Lu Dosun, how dare you sow discord between my father and me?!
"My father is wise and powerful, how could he punish me for the humiliation of Bei Ming? Aren't you just afraid that the country will not be in chaos?"

Ludoson kowtowed and said:

"Your Highness, I am here to help you. If I can keep you safe, I will be willing to die!

Your Majesty is wise and decisive in his actions. When the emperor’s eldest son behaved disrespectfully during the sacrifice to Emperor Taizong in the past, Your Majesty immediately deposed him and instead conferred him the title of King of Song.

Your Majesty has many princes, many of whom are outstanding. I believe that Your Highness the Crown Prince knows the princes favored by Your Majesty better than I do.

The position of the crown prince is the foundation of the country. Even if there is only a one in ten chance of changing the crown prince, Your Highness must not ignore it!"

Chai Jiyu pondered for a while and said:
"I will just believe that you are thinking about me.

So what's your solution?"

Seeing that Chai Jiyu did not leave in anger, Lu Duoxun was overjoyed and said:
“Your Highness, earlier, the Military Cabinet Chief Huyan suggested that Your Highness expand the army.

This is a God-given opportunity! All His Highness needs to do is expand the army by four Longxiang Army Corps. At present, there are only 70,000 Imperial Guards, 20,000 Wude Division, and 90,000 Longxiang Army Corps in Bianjing. After the expansion, His Highness the Crown Prince can fully control Bianjing!
With the prestige that Your Highness has accumulated over the past four years in charge of government affairs, you can now be crowned emperor, following the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang!

In the "Xuanwu Gate Incident", Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan abdicated and gave way to wise men, and had a good end.

Emperor Taizong of Tang was also a wise ruler in history books.”

Chai Jiyu was furious. His father treated his ministers well, gave clear rewards and punishments, loved the people with benevolence and justice, and never did anything foolish. He unified the world and created such a powerful Zhou Dynasty. Now there were ministers who wanted to instigate him, the crown prince, to usurp the throne. At this moment, Chai Jiyu deeply understood the words of his father's daily teachings:

“Human nature is evil, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.

Even if a person or a dynasty has fought hard and made great contributions to the survival and development of the nation, there will still be despicable people who only care about their own selfish interests. For the sake of power and status, they always want to stir up internal strife and start a civil war to seek personal gain and ignore the future of the nation-state.

Only strict constraints on the power system can enable it to benefit the vast majority of the people.

The person or group in power must be a person who has the good intention of seeking the welfare of the vast majority of the people. If the power falls into the hands of conspirators and bandits, it will be a disaster for the entire nation! "

I thought of what my father said before he left for the war:
"I'm afraid there are still many stubborn and conservative forces hidden deep in society. When Yu'er is supervising the country, he must be cautious and must not be bewitched by them!"

Chai Jiyu's heart moved, and he said:
"Master Lu, this is a serious matter. Please allow me some time to consider it.

But even if I expand the Dragon Army to four regiments to control the capital, how many officials in the court will swear allegiance to me until death? "

Ludoson said excitedly:

"As long as Your Highness is willing to stand up for the country, many great scholars and celebrities in the world are willing to die for Your Highness!

Over the years, Zhongshu Ling Zhao Bai has contacted many people with lofty ideals. "

Chai Jiyu nodded and said:
"Master Lu is willing to take a great risk to give me advice, but what are you asking for?"

Ludoson cried:
"Your Highness, all we, your subjects, want is to correct the original source, restore the Confucian orthodoxy, distinguish between scholars and common people, maintain the dignity of officials, and benefit scholars through the system of favoritism and recommendation!"

Chai Jiyu sighed:
"Okay! This matter must not be leaked at all. I will go back and think about it for a few days.

Master Lu can pass on messages to me at any time through Chief Steward Qin."

Lu Dosun was overjoyed, and the prince immediately agreed to consider it, so there was great hope for this matter.

He immediately packed up the famous paintings and handed them to Qin Han, and then respectfully saw Chai Jiyu off.

After Chai Jiyu returned to the Prince's Mansion, he pondered for a long time.

Chai Jiyu pondered and said:

"General Manager Qin, do you think that when my father returns to the capital, he will punish me for the "humiliation of the Northern Ocean"?"

Qin Han, who was standing beside Chai Jiyu, said hurriedly:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince must not be instigated by villains!
Given your Majesty's benevolence, righteousness and wisdom, and your long-standing favor towards the Empress Shengyi and the Crown Prince, how could you punish them for such an unintentional mistake?
Even if you are punished, your position as the Crown Prince will never be shaken.

Moreover, this Lu Dosun has ulterior motives now. If Your Highness can catch him all in one fell swoop, His Majesty will be happy. Even if the "Humiliation of Bei Ming" makes His Majesty somewhat unhappy with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it will be able to make up for it!"

Chai Jiyu nodded repeatedly and immediately sent someone to summon the chief eunuch Tang Qi to come to his house late at night to discuss the matter.

After the greetings, Chai Jiyu told Tang Qihou in detail what happened in Lu's house today, and said angrily:

“My father overcame all difficulties and created such a glorious and prosperous era. However, Lu Duosun and his people are ministers of the country with prominent positions and a comfortable life, yet they are so vicious that they even want to persuade me to expand the army and seize the throne, bringing chaos to our Great Zhou!

It is true that human nature is evil, and too many people do bad things only for their own benefit!
"Master Tang, what should I do now? Does the emperor have any instructions?"

Tang Qi was relieved that compared with many princes in history, Chai Jiyu was much more prudent and wise, and he resisted the temptation of imperial power.

For example, Li Chengqian, the crown prince of Emperor Taizong of Tang, due to his desire for power and instigation by his flatterers such as Li Yuanchang and Hou Junji, actually rebelled while Emperor Taizong was in power.

(End of this chapter)