If I let you stay in Lingnan, how could you become the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty?

Chapter 2: Tian Khan's Troubles

Just as Li Yin was swaying along with the music, enjoying the beautiful woman's graceful dance...

A caravan was moving slowly on the official road from Chang'an to Lingnan and Qianzhong.

The small caravan was like a slow-moving snail on the official road, and from time to time it would stop for a long time because a car was stuck in the mud.

In the middle of the caravan, a middle-aged man on horseback had a calm expression on his face.

One hand habitually twirled his beard, but his free hand did not hold the reins, indicating that he was an expert rider.

Looking at the scenery in the distance, although there was no expression change on his face, his eyes were shining with a domineering and majestic look.

Next to him, a man with a rather strong and majestic build was riding with him, but he subconsciously lagged behind by two steps, as if he did not dare to ride side by side with him.

The road in the distance splits into two, one leading to Lingnan and the other leading to Qianzhong.

The man thought for a moment and said to the middle-aged man;

"Your Majesty, the road ahead forks. Should we go to Lingnan or Qianzhong?"

The middle-aged man who is respectfully called "Your Majesty" by the Han people is none other than the current Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Heavenly Khan Li Shimin!

This mighty and majestic man was none other than Li Shimin's close and favored minister, who had fought for half his life for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the world. He also helped him capture the Xuanwu Gate and take the throne of the Tang Dynasty, General Yuchi Gong!

When Li Shimin heard Yuchi Gong's question, he glanced at the fork in the road ahead and suddenly sighed softly.

There was an imperceptible hint of worry and annoyance on his face.

He is feeling upset!
In the eyes of the world, he is the almighty Khan, the supreme emperor of the Tang Dynasty!
But every family has its own problems, and the emperor’s family is no exception!
He seized the throne through the Xuanwu Gate Incident, removed Jiancheng and Yuanji, two competitors who had always wanted to kill him, and honored his father Li Yuan as the emperor emeritus, stripping him of his power and allowing him to enjoy his old age in the palace.

But his father was a troublesome person. Although he no longer had power, he was still disgusted with Li Shimin.

He spent every day in the Taiji Hall enjoying himself with beauties. He said he didn't care about state affairs, but over the years he gave birth to several brothers for Li Shimin. He was simply a baby-making machine.

Li Shimin couldn't kill these "brothers" who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but it was disgusting to keep them, so he could only endure it.

But at this time, Empress Changsun, who had always been with Li Shimin, was seriously ill!

Although Li Shimin first granted amnesty for her and ordered the reconstruction of more than 390 temples to pray for her, he still could not keep this Guanyin maid who had accompanied him for most of his life!

After Empress Changsun's death, Crown Prince Chengqian, who had always been highly regarded by Li Shimin, seemed to suddenly let himself go and became rebellious.

He first indulged in pleasure, kept male lovers, and lost respect for his teachers, beating and killing them at every turn.

Moreover, he suspected that Prince Li Tai wanted to seize his position as crown prince, so he secretly sent someone to assassinate Li Tai.

Although this plan failed, he was afraid of being discovered by his father, Li Shimin, so he decided to follow his father's example and stage a Xuanwu Gate Incident, rising up in rebellion and seizing power directly!

Li Shimin finally couldn't stand seeing such a rebellious son jumping around in front of him anymore, so he demoted him to a commoner and exiled him to Qianzhong!
After the crown prince was deposed, the position of heir to the throne of the Tang Dynasty could not remain vacant.

Among the princes, Li Zhi was a good person, but he seemed too cowardly and indecisive, which made Li Shimin not very satisfied.

Thinking of his life,
He fought in the youth, seized the throne in the youth, lost his wife in the middle age,

He is nearly fifty years old now, and although his power is stable, he still worries every day about the establishment of a crown prince for the continuation of the dynasty.

Annoying!

Therefore, the two of them went out incognito as a merchant caravan today, firstly to relax, and secondly to take the opportunity to go out incognito to see whether the Tang Dynasty is as stable as it seems.

The reason why he walked south to the official road between Qianzhong and Lingnan was because although Li Shimin had deposed Crown Prince Chengqian, he still couldn't let go!
After all, he was the prince who Li Shimin had high hopes for, and the heir apparent of the Tang Dynasty!
Cheng Qian,

Inherit the universe!
This rebellious son is as useless as a piece of mud!

Thinking of this, Li Shimin became angry, his eyebrows almost twisted together, and he simply waved his hand:

"Go to Lingnan!"

After hearing this, Yuchi Gong immediately nodded and said:
"That's right. The Sixth Prince has been guarding Lingnan for three years. It is indeed time for Your Majesty to go and see him." Li Shimin was stunned when he heard Yuchi Gong's words.

He really didn't think about Li Yin's situation.

Although Li Yin was the sixth prince and one year older than Li Zhi, he was born to Emperor Yang's daughter, Concubine Yang. The mother and son were not favored in the palace at the beginning.

Li Shimin was usually busy with government affairs and rarely saw the Sixth Prince.

It was not until Li Yin from later generations traveled back in time and asked Li Shimin for permission to go to Lingnan that the father and son hardly met each other.

The reason why he readily agreed to Li Yin's request to garrison Lingnan was because in Li Shimin's eyes, Lingnan was a barren land with poor mountains, bad waters and that had just been developed.

Since the Sixth Prince, who was not born to Guanyin, wants to guard Lingnan, it is a good thing. It is better than staying in Chang'an and getting involved in internal conflicts with several other princes.

Although Li Yin would write home every month after arriving in Lingnan, Li Shimin actually could not remember what his son looked like.

The reason why he wanted to go to Lingnan was that he just thought of the various illegal acts committed by Crown Prince Chengqian and became angry.

This really has little to do with Li Yin himself.

When Li Shimin heard Yuchi Gong mention that the sixth prince Li Yin had been in charge of Lingnan for three years, he remembered that he had a son in Lingnan.

After being stunned for a while, he nodded gently:

"Yes, An'er is having a very hard time in Lingnan. He often describes his hardship in his letters home. It is time for me to go see him. If it is not possible, I will let him return to Chang'an with me."

After getting his definite answer, Yuchi Gong waved his hand and ordered the guards disguised as caravans to head to Lingnan from the other side of the fork in the road.

After walking forward for another half a day, they arrived at the border of Lingnan.

Li Shimin rode slowly along the way, still thinking about government affairs and the crown prince, and did not care about the scenery around him.

But I heard Yuchi Gong beside me suddenly exclaim:
"Your Majesty, look!"

This exclamation startled Li Shimin, who was thinking about something with his head down, and he couldn't help but scold:
"After all, you are a veteran who has fought many battles. Don't you know that a true man should remain calm even when faced with a huge obstacle?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Shimin's expression suddenly froze, and his eyes gradually widened...

But in front of me, I saw a black road with no end in sight stretching out in the distance!
This road is nearly ten feet wide, enough to accommodate eight carriages running side by side!

The road surface was as smooth as a mirror, and it looked as if it was made of a mixture of gravel and some kind of grease!

At the beginning of the avenue, a huge stone monument three meters high stood tall.

The above is written in vigorous handwriting:

"Welcome to Lingnan Road!"

"This...this is..."

Li Shimin could hardly believe his eyes.

The rugged roads and poor mountains and bad waters along the way made him think that the situation would only get worse when he arrived in the barren land of Lingnan.

But I didn’t expect that as soon as I entered Lingnan, such a smooth road suddenly appeared!
Yuchi Gong also had a shocked and surprised expression on his face, scratching his head in surprise:
“I didn’t expect that the Sixth Prince would actually build such an official road in Lingnan!”

Li Shimin looked at the black road in front of him, and his eyebrows frowned again:

"I wonder how much money this official road would cost! No wonder this guy writes letters of complaint every month, asking me not to collect taxes from Lingnan. It turns out that he spent all his money here!"

“This rebellious son…”

At this point, Li Shimin became angry again, clamped his legs against the horse's belly, and said angrily:
"Let's go to Lingnan! I want to see what this rebellious son is doing!"

(End of this chapter)