Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

"Cheng Qian... As the crown prince, your answer to this matter... makes me very disappointed." His Majesty Li II was really disappointed at this time: "But it doesn't matter... My son doesn't understand, and as a father, I should teach him well."

"Please help me solve my doubts." Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian put down the chess piece in his hand and bowed slightly to Li Er.

"The emperor's way of employing people and his wisdom in judging people actually have their own hidden rules." While talking, His Majesty Li II moved his horse to the other side. He clearly wanted to eat the black pawn: "Take Han Xin as an example - when Xiao He recommended Han Xin to Liu Bang and proposed that Han Xin be the general, didn't Liu Bang question it?

He proposed.

But did he object in the end?

not at all.

Why do you think this is happening?" When His Majesty Li II said this, he saw his son silently holding his horse to block his attack, so he could only helplessly say, "Are you clearly going to fight me?"

"When playing chess with my father, I will naturally try my best." Li Chengqian smiled slightly when he heard this. It was obvious that he had already adapted to the oppressive feeling brought to him by his father.

"In fact, the so-called true way of employing people is not to 'not employ people if you are suspicious', nor is it to 'employ people without doubt' - the true way of employing people should be like what Liu Bang did - although he had doubts about Han Xin, he still wanted to employ him because he believed in Xiao He's talent and vision; but later, the more he employed Han Xin, the more he doubted and guarded against Han Xin - this seemingly awkward approach was the reason why he was able to become a founding emperor.

Cheng Qian, you have to understand that when an emperor judges whether a person is worthy of his trust, he does not look at his character, his reputation, or even his talent - the emperor has only one criterion to judge whether a person is trustworthy.

That is to see whether the other party will pose a threat to you now or in the future.

If the other party can threaten you, then even if this person has a thousand advantages, he is not trustworthy. On the contrary, this person is trustworthy. "At the end of his words, His Majesty Li Er looked at the stalemate in front of him, thought about it, gave up the idea of ​​strangling Li Chengqian's pawn, and began to prepare for the general.

"The principles that Your Majesty taught me today... indeed left me somewhat... shocked..." Li Chengqian was not lying. These principles... could be found in the scriptures of the sages, but they were rarely seen after all.

"Because what my father told you is not glorious," His Majesty Li II did not find it strange to hear this, but began to use his other chess pieces to try to cross the boundary river: "Although it is not glorious, it is very useful. Take Cao Cao as an example - he is a smart man, and he valued Sima Yi just like Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang valued Han Xin, but unfortunately... after his death, Cao Pi and Cao Rui both died early, especially Cao Rui, who was not cruel enough and was reluctant to take Sima Yi away - so Sima Yi, who had been walking on thin ice for most of his life, survived..." His Majesty Li II said this, and suddenly laughed at himself: "It is said that people today always think that ancient people are three points stupid when looking at them. I didn't expect that I would make such a mistake... Anyway... The Five Barbarians' Invasion of China... was ultimately an inevitable catastrophe... It cannot be stopped by killing Sima Yi..."

"Father, the truth you said is too profound. I only heard the general idea and didn't understand it all..." Li Chengqian silently pushed the black soldier forward and said, "Father, it's your turn."

"No, you actually know everything." His Majesty Li II glanced at the chessboard after hearing this, and then moved his horse forward: "I didn't expect that you would dare to plot against your uncle and me - let him take the blame, and then wipe out the Su family for you. In this way, even if I know that he was plotted by you, I can no longer trust him wholeheartedly like before - because he is ultimately standing on the opposite side of me out of consideration for his own interests..."

"Father, if the Su family had done nothing wrong - my brother-in-law was a well-behaved young man, I would not have had the opportunity to overthrow the Su family." Li Chengqian remained unmoved upon hearing this and continued to raise his hand to make his move.

"But now that I have seen through your scheme, shouldn't you say something useful to me?" Seeing that his son was still concentrating on the chess game, Emperor Li II could not help but laugh in anger: "Or do you think that I went too far before, so you did such a treasonous act?!"

"Is my son guilty of treason?" Li Chengqian looked up at his father and said, "How has my son committed treason? Uncle Wuji did tell me to beware of Brother Kuandi, but father, when you used Hebei Road to plot against Brother Kuandi's backstage Dou family, was it because of Brother Kuandi's treason? Oh... let me think about it... By the way, father, you haven't been to Hongyi Palace for a long time, right?

What's wrong? Do you think your grandfather's present is your future? But is Brother Kuan such a person? Right now, everyone thinks that I am using my fall from power to retreat and advance, in order to keep my position as the crown prince, and you have seen that I intend to stand between you and Brother Kuan to prevent you from continuing to clash with him, but... my son has only one thought in his mind from beginning to end." When Li Chengqian said this, he saw that his father's face was as gloomy as water, but he still said calmly: "Just as I said when the three teachers reminded me to be careful of Brother Kuan - the one who can decide the position of the crown prince is you, father, and what I can decide is that I will always be Brother Kuan's elder brother!

But now, I will change my words a little bit - whether I can be a good crown prince is up to you, father, but whether I can be a good elder brother is up to me." - After Li Chengqian said this, he saw that his father was in shock and could not make a move, so he kindly reminded him: "Father, it's time for you to go."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's eyes revealed determination at this moment: Father, I have grown up now, and I am capable of making decisions on some matters!

"..." At this time, Emperor Li II had already understood what his son wanted to say from his eyes.

So, there was another strange silence.

Until His Majesty Li II raised his hand again and placed a piece on the chessboard.

"Snapped!"

"Don't you regret it?" As the candlelight flickered and the figure swayed, the voice of Emperor Li II seemed to fall into some kind of illusion.

"I chose the path myself." Having been afraid of him for more than a decade, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince faced the furious Emperor Li II for the first time without any emotion. "If something goes wrong in the future, I won't blame anyone."

After Li Chengqian finished speaking, he suddenly pushed the black soldier forward again: "General!"

Pawn crossing the river, general!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li II looked down and found something that really made him laugh and cry: Li Chengqian did a good job of using a pawn that crossed the river to capture the general, but because of his lack of follow-up strength, he only needed to move his general one step horizontally to capture the black pawn.

"You are such a lousy chess player... you really haven't made any progress at all..." His Majesty Li II suddenly laughed, but then he stretched out his hand and threw the chess pieces in disorder: "Forget it... I will consider this game... a draw for the sake of your unreliable second brother!"

In fact, Emperor Li Er knew very well that Li Chengqian's chess skills were not good enough for him to make such a reckless and bad move, but he also knew that Li Chengqian did this to show his determination to fight to the death and to make a final plea: if the father and son really became alienated, then Li Er would be destined to lose his two most outstanding sons.

Perhaps he was moved by his son's determination to protect his brother, or perhaps he was concerned about the future of the country. The King of Chu could ensure the stability of the Tang Dynasty's borders for the next fifty years, and the Crown Prince had the potential to be a crown prince. Even His Majesty Li II felt that he could not afford this loss...

"Your Highness, I… bow to you and thank you!" Seeing that his father was willing to play chess, Li Chengqian immediately understood what his father meant, so he quickly stood up and bowed to the ground: "Your Highness, I swear that I will never let you down!"

"I hope so..." Upon hearing this, His Majesty Li Er bent down and helped his son up from the ground, then said, "Go, go to Ganlu Palace and have a heart-to-heart talk with your mother. By the way, ask her how long I have to sleep in Taiji Palace before she is willing to let me go back..."

(PS: Tang Dynasty chess did not have "cannons", but had "specials". In addition, the division of river boundaries was not introduced until the Northern Song Dynasty.)