Chapter 52: Grand-Scale Logging

Besides, Li Jiancheng just had to pick Xue Wanda; even picking that two-faced turncoat Luo Yi would have been better than him.

At this thought, Li Chengche let out a light sigh, "Father is just playing with a false fire stoked by gold. It looks lively, but in reality, it is vulnerable to a single blow."

Qin Gou'er scratched his head, "Your Highness, should we... do something?"

"Do what?" Li Chengche retorted calmly, "The one who should be anxious right now isn't me; it's Second Uncle."

He closed his eyes, as though he could already picture Li Shimian pacing back and forth in deep thought within the Mansion of the Prince of Qin.

Five thousand cavalrymen, five thousand loyal desperadoes—once formed into an army, they would become the Crown Prince's ultimate trump card. And Li Shimin would never sit idly by and watch his rival acquire such power.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of theoriole behind," he murmured, "yet today, the oriole may not necessarily have the last laugh either."

Just then, Cui Yingying hurried in, her expression solemn, "Your Highness, Miss Su has sent an urgent letter."

Li Chengche opened his eyes, took the confidential letter, unfolded it, and furrowed his brow slightly.

The letter read: "The Prince of Yi'an has been frequently mobilizing troops in his fiefdom recently, and there seem to be unusual movements. Uncle-in-law Zhang has already urged to accelerate the handover of horses, fearing complications."

"Is the Prince of Yi'an going to rebel?" Qin Gou'er gasped.

"No, he doesn't have the guts," Li Chengche sneered, "He wants to take the opportunity to drive up the price and force Uncle Zhang to share a larger portion of the profits. But he has forgotten that a snake tries to swallow an elephant out of sheer greed."

He crumpled the letter into a ball, tossed it into a bronze basin, and set it ablaze.

Reflected in the firelight, his gaze grew even more profound.

"This batch of horses was walking a tightrope to begin with. Now that the Eastern Palace has intervened, and the Prince of Qin's mansion is eyeing them like a tiger watching its prey, yet the Prince of Yi'an still wants to bicker over money... To call him as foolish as a butcher is no exaggeration."

Now, Li Chengche finally understood why the Prince of Yi'an was executed by Li Shimin in the future; with this kind of brain, dying came with absolutely no regrets.

[Ding—detected that the host "insightfully observed the situation and awaited developments," judged by the system as Advanced Slacking + Strategic Preview, points +60]

Considering that buying any skill right now would cause all other skills to increase in price by two hundred points, Li Chengche felt utterly unmoved upon hearing the news of the points increase.

"Qin Gou'er."

"Present, Your Highness."

"Go to the southern part of the city and tell Ye Wuji to speed up the construction of the stables. If there's not enough timber, go cut it down in the back mountains of the Eastern Palace, and say it was my command."

"But... that's the Crown Prince's private forest..."

"I am the Imperial Grandson; do I need to ask permission just to cut down a few trees?"

Li Chengche said indifferently, "Besides, cutting down trees is to build stables for Father; he should be overjoyed before he even has time to react. Remember, make sure the matter is handled in a most flamboyant manner, and ensure the Prince of Qin's mansion gets wind of it."

"Understood, your subordinate will see to it at once! But isn't this..."

Qin Gou'er looked at Li Chengche in puzzlement. Frankly, he didn't understand why Li Chengche would make Ye Wuji do this; wasn't this undermining the Crown Prince's own foundation?

Li Chengche smiled slightly, "That's right, this palace intends to undermine Father's plans."

[Ding, detected that the host deliberately sabotaged the grand scheme of his father, the Crown Prince, judged by the system as Intermediate Slacking, points +60]

Soon, the news that Ye Wuji's men were wantonly felling trees to build stables reached the ears of the Prince of Qin's faction.

On that very day, Li Shimin was playing a game of go in the Prince of Qin's mansion with his imperial uncle, Li Daozong.

As they talked, Xu Maogong walked in hurriedly, "Your Highness the Prince of Qin, disaster has struck!"

Li Shimin smiled faintly, "Sir, you are usually steadfast and composed; why are you so flustered today?"

"Your Highness, secret agents report that Ye Wuji of the Eastern Palace, acting on the Imperial Grandson's orders, is wantonly felling trees, even touching the woods in the back mountains of the Eastern Palace."

"What? Sir, why are they building stables?"

Xu Maogong sighed, "This is precisely why I call it a disaster! Your Highness, if they were merely building a small stable, would they need to fell timber on such a scale?"

When Imperial Uncle Li Daozong heard this, he could not help drawing a sharp breath, "Sir, you mean to say?"

"The Crown Prince's mansion may be training cavalry."

"If that is truly the case, it bodes ill for my Prince of Qin's mansion. However, where did Eldest Brother get the horses?"

Li Daozong sighed, "You may not know this, but a few days ago, you heavily defeated the Tujue. They suffered heavy losses, and inevitably they must use fine horses in exchange for the grain and other supplies they need to survive in our Central Plains."

"Presumably, someone covetous of profit has engaged in this horse-trading business..."

"Imperial Uncle, is that really possible? Where would they find such daring?"

"Daring?" Xu Maogong sneered, his fingertips lightly tapping the go board, "Your Highness, have you forgotten the Prince of Yi'an? His fief borders the Tujue, he holds the profits of border trade, and he has always been greedy for wealth and goods. If anyone has the audacity to pull off such a stunt, it is none other than him."

Li Shimin's brows furrowed, the white piece in his hand hovering unplaced, "The Prince of Yi'an... Sir, are you saying he colluded with foreigners?"

"Not collusion, but trade."

Xu Maogong slowly said, "Defeated by us, the Tujue lack grain and cloth, and have only fine horses to spare. Meanwhile, the aristocracy of our dynasty is drowning in extravagance; a single steed of blood-sweat can be worth a thousand gold. This business yields a tenfold profit—who wouldn't be tempted? It's just that others dare not do it openly, yet he dares to handle it in secret."

Li Daozong said gravely, "If that is true, then the source of the horses for those five thousand cavalrymen is explained. But why is Ye Wuji making such a grand display of felling trees and building stables? To be so blatant—isn't that exposing his own plot?"

"That is precisely the crux of the matter," Xu Maogong's gaze burned like a torch, "Whose orders is Ye Wuji following? The Imperial Grandson, Li Chengche! Why would a bedridden man suddenly order the massive construction of stables? And why specifically pick the forest in the back mountains of the Eastern Palace to chop down? Isn't this explicitly telling outsiders that the Eastern Palace is plotting to acquire horses?"

Li Shimin suddenly understood, and the go piece in his hand slowly descended, "Sir, you mean... this was deliberately orchestrated by nephew Chengche?"

"Precisely!" Xu Maogong stroked his beard and stood up, "Though this young man appears bedridden and incapacitated, every step he takes is calculated. He uses the pretext of 'building stables' to achieve the reality of 'leaking secrets'! He wants the entirety of Chang'an to know—the Eastern Palace is training troops, training five thousand elite cavalry! Furthermore, he wants the Prince of Qin's mansion to know that these stables were ordered by none other than the 'Imperial Grandson' himself, and this matter cannot be divorced from Li Chengche!"

Hearing this, Li Daozong could not help drawing another sharp breath, "What a terrifying Imperial Grandson! What on earth is he trying to achieve?"

"The Imperial Grandson is telling this Prince that the Eastern Palace is out of control, that the Crown Prince wishes to expand his military preparations, and that he is powerless to stop it, hence he can only feign illness."

"Sir, you are right; we were all deceived by him."

Xu Maogong nodded, "Your Highness perceives clearly. I have always suspected that Li Chengche's illness was a sham, and now it appears it truly is so."

Li Shimin remained silent for a long time before bursting into laughter, "What a brilliant Li Chengche! I almost truly lowered my guard against him, thinking he was merely a discarded elder brother, a useless wastrel who only dabbled in clever contraptions. Now it seems his intellect is not a whit inferior to Sima Xuanwang's. If our Great Tang were to fall into the hands of such a person, we wouldn't need to worry about any impending annihilation of our clan."

Hearing this, Xu Maogong remained silent, merely hoping that Li Shimin did not truly mean what he said.

"Your Highness, leaving this aside for the moment, regarding the Eastern Palace training troops, what shall we...?"

"Just report it to Father. No doubt Eldest Brother's troop training will be accompanied by some stirring rhetoric about serving the country and the people; Eldest Brother has always been like that, otherwise he wouldn't have earned a reputation for chivalry. We simply need to report it to Father, and even if Eldest Brother successfully trains this elite force, it will have nothing to do with him."