Chapter 43: Provoke Me and I Will Send Money to the Crown Prince

"Heh, I'd like to see how you're going to make us regret this. Do you really think you're invincible just because you won twice?" Li Tai sneered.

"Fine. Then I'll teach you and the aristocratic families a lesson you won't forget. Stone! Stone!" Li Shen said fiercely.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! I'm right here, right here!" Stone came running from afar.

"Go to the Bureau of Palace Attire right now and borrow a carriage. Get the warehouse keys from my aunt and haul money to the Eastern Palace. Fifty thousand strings of cash. If you can't finish hauling it today, keep hauling it tomorrow. Hurry up, and keep hauling until the palace gates close!"

Li Shen waved his hand grandly and shouted loudly to Stone.

"Gasp!" Everyone present drew a sharp breath. Li Shen truly possessed boundless wealth. To strike a blow at Li Tai's faction, he was actually gifting fifty thousand strings of cash to the Crown Prince.

"Tenth Brother is truly generous."

"Why is he giving money to the Crown Prince?"

"You don't even understand that? Naturally, it's to bolster the Crown Prince's strength. Fifty thousand strings of cash! A great many things can be done with that."

A wave of discussion rippled through the crowd. Li Chengqian, standing right there, was completely dumbfounded. Fifty thousand strings of cash! In all his years as Crown Prince, he had never seen so much money. Emperor Taizong was extremely stingy with the Crown Prince.

He practiced thrift even within the inner palace, let alone in the Eastern Palace. Furthermore, the Crown Prince was not allowed to engage in commerce; otherwise, those civil officials and censors would impeach him to death. Therefore, although Li Chengqian's life was not so destitute that he was impoverished, it could hardly be called wealthy or luxurious.

Emperor Taizong was also momentarily stunned, and then he burst out laughing. This Li Shen was truly ruthless. Li Tai had the backing of the aristocratic families, who helped him buy off many officials to support him, but the Crown Prince had no money.

The only people supporting the Crown Prince were those founding veteran ministers, and that was solely because Li Chengqian was the legitimate eldest son, and they feared a repeat of the Xuanwu Gate Incident for the sake of future court stability.

If Li Chengqian utilized this fifty thousand strings of cash given by Li Shen properly, it would solidify his position even further.

As for Li Tai, his face had turned green. All the aristocratic families combined had not given him fifty thousand strings of cash in all this time; most of it came from his own businesses.

Emperor Taizong had bestowed many things upon him in recent years, or else he wouldn't have been able to sustain his expenses. Yet now, Li Shen was casually gifting fifty thousand strings of cash to the Crown Prince! Fifty thousand strings! Just think how many people could be recruited with that.

How many talented individuals could be enlisted! So much could be accomplished. This damned Li Shen simply didn't play by the rules—fifty thousand strings of cash, given away just like that!

"Tenth Brother, there is no need for this. Your elder brother can never accept this," Li Chengqian said, recovering his senses and turning to Li Shen.

"Come now, Big Brother. This matter has nothing to do with you. The money will be hauled to you, so just take it. Do some things that ought to be done. I imagine there are many things you haven't been able to do simply because you lacked funds. Go ahead and do them boldly now."

Li Tai glared viciously at Li Shen, looking as though he wanted to devour him alive. Li Shen met Li Tai's gaze with a provocative look, as if saying: Come on, let's hurt each other!

The people nearby could feel the tense atmosphere in the air and remained silent. Just then, Emperor Taizong spoke up.

"Enough. Stop glaring at each other like that. It is completely natural for a younger brother to send some money upon seeing his elder brother living in straitened circumstances. Gaoming indeed has very little wealth in the Eastern Palace, not even enough for repairs. Since your tenth brother has given you this money now, Gaoming, you must use it for righteous purposes. Repair the Eastern Palace. You are no longer a child; it is time for you to spread branches and scatter leaves for our Li family. Therefore, you must renovate it properly. Do you understand that I cannot let my imperial grandson suffer?"

"Yes, Father. Then your eldest brother thanks Tenth Brother for this sentiment." Seeing that Emperor Taizong permitted him to accept it, Li Chengqian simply took it. He genuinely had no money; the most miserable Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was none other than him.

"We are brothers, so expressing thanks makes us seem like strangers. Father is right; getting you to produce a nephew for me quickly is the only serious business. Everything else is secondary," Li Shen joked.

After that, the atmosphere became exceptionally joyous—except for Li Tai. This was the most distressing New Year's Day Li Tai had ever spent since birth. He hastily finished the evening banquet and departed. Meanwhile, all the other imperial princes came over to curry favor with Li Shen, each hoping to get a share of the spoils. They were all living in poverty as well; having Emperor Taizong as a father, it would be a wonder if his sons had any money. By the middle and late Tang Dynasty, an imperial prince's annual stipend was only ten thousand strings of cash.

After the banquet dispersed came the tradition of staying up to welcome the New Year. Just like last year, Li Shen found a corner and sat down. Li Chengqian was not staying in the palace for the night.

Emperor Taizong gave special approval for Wang De to gather the palace's carriages and head to the Daji Hall to haul the money to the Eastern Palace. The Imperial Guard at the Eastern Palace gates doubled their deployment: firstly, to prevent accidents, and secondly, to assist in transporting the money. Li Chengqian and the Crown Princess both went back to oversee it.

"Li Shen, what are you doing just sitting here? Come, talk with me." With Li Chengqian gone and Li Tai having left, no one else dared to speak to him. Everyone was timid and deferential, even Li Zhi included.

"Alright, Father. What would you like to talk about? I'll keep you company."

"Why did you give Gaoming so much money today?" Emperor Taizong asked.

Li Shen recounted the whole affair of Li Tai wanting to buy into his business, stating it exactly as it happened without any exaggeration. "Fourth Brother thinks that because the aristocratic families support him, he has a chance. It seems to me he's getting a bit carried away."

"Carried away... Oh, that's a good description. He is indeed getting a bit carried away. The aristocratic families truly infiltrate every nook and cranny. They are like this: if you were ordinary commoners, unless you handed over your methods, your family would have been ruined long ago."

"Father, you've always wanted to deal with the aristocratic families, and Big Brother is well aware that if the aristocratic families aren't eradicated, they will be trouble for him in the future. But why doesn't Fourth Brother understand? Even if the aristocratic families support him, Father cannot pass the throne to him," Li Shen said, puzzled.

"Heh. You—you are clever, but you are still young and naturally don't understand court politics. The operation of the imperial court relies mainly on court officials. Right now, the minor officials below are mostly scions of aristocratic families.

The court is also dominated to a large extent by aristocratic offspring. If aristocratic officials disagree with many policies, even if you issue decrees, they cannot be implemented. The aristocratic families support Li Tai because, if they can win over a sufficient number of people, their power is formidable. Although the veteran ministers in the court support the Crown Prince, it is only nominal support; they will not enter the arena to gamble.

Because they are dukes of the state, whoever becomes emperor will have to rely on them.

Therefore, they will remain neutral and help neither side. When the time comes, if the aristocratic families seize upon some fault of Gaoming's and spread it among the common people, after a long time, the Crown Prince's reputation among the populace will be ruined.

Then they will propose deposing the Crown Prince, and by that time, the veteran ministers will not strongly object either. Even I would be helpless," Emperor Taizong said with a sigh.

"So you're saying we still have to eliminate the aristocratic families first," Li Shen concluded.

"Easier said than done. A thousand-year aristocratic family, a hundred-year dynasty—that saying isn't tossed around casually. Their heritage spans a millennium, and their influence permeates the court and the countryside. They are not easy to deal with."

Emperor Taizong was also troubled. In history, it was only Wu Zetian who ruthlessly drove the aristocratic families to a river of blood. Emperor Taizong himself had not managed to do so during his reign.

"Well, their influence lies mainly in politics and commerce. We should figure out a way to get more people to study," Li Shen said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Easy to say, hard to do. Nowadays I've already established official schools across the country, but the results are still negligible. There are very few truly talented individuals."

Emperor Taizong was deeply worried. If things continued this way, when on earth would they ever deal with the aristocratic families? There was no way to discuss such matters with Zhangsun Wuji and the others either; even if there were a solution, they wouldn't tell Emperor Taizong. In truth, they themselves belonged to minor aristocratic families, more or less entangled with those clans.