In the East Palace of the Prince, King Yuanji of Qi said to the Prince: "Brother Prince, the traitor Liu Heimin has been able to achieve such a climate in just half a year, according to my intelligence, Liu Heimin is behind the support of the Shandong Hao family, one of the three major political forces in the world. Without the support of the wealthy family in Shandong, it would be easy to pacify the traitor Liu Heimin. ”

When Prince Jiancheng heard the news, he suddenly realized: "I see, I see." How can we ignore such a big political force as the wealthy people in Shandong? Careless, careless. ”

The crown prince Xian Ma Wei Zheng said: "Your Highness, we are indeed careless. However, who would have thought that the wealthy families in Shandong, now that the heads of each family are in Chang'an, they would dare to risk the beheading of the heads of each family and support the traitor Liu Heimin. ”

The prince Jiancheng said angrily: "Shandong Hao clan is so big, they secretly went against my Datang and didn't teach them a lesson, how would they know the price of going against my Datang?" ”

Wei Zheng hurriedly dissuaded: "Your Highness, now is not a good time to punish the wealthy clan in Shandong." Pacifying the traitor Liu Heimin and completely suppressing the King of Qin is the most important thing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should do. Shandong wealthy clans, they have strength, but also have their own political needs. Their political needs have not been met, so they are angry and support the traitor Liu Heimin, as long as their political needs are met, they will turn to support my Datang counterinsurgency; If they are severely punished at this time, they will be completely forced to the traitor Liu Heimin, in this way, without hundreds of thousands of troops and several years of hard work, the traitor Liu Heimin will not be able to calm down no matter what. ”

The crown prince Jiancheng said angrily: "But they have gone too far, taking my Datang's Yulu, they actually went against my Datang in private, killing my Datang officials, slaughtering my Datang army, and occupying my Datang land, how can I Datang not be severely punished for such behavior?" ”

Wei Zheng said: "Your Highness, their actions should indeed be severely punished. But now is really not the time, the Shandong wealthy family is still supporting the traitor Liu Heimin. The traitor Liu Heimin is now aggressive, and he has the potential to occupy Hebei and Henan. Only by exterminating the traitor Liu Heimin can he severely punish the wealthy family of Shandong. The wealthy family of Shandong has always surrendered to my Datang, and the heads of all the families are in Chang'an, and it is very easy to find an opportunity to beat them, and they are not in a hurry. The dough is in your own hands, don't you knead it whenever you want? After pacifying the traitor Liu Heimin, and then beating them, even if they are not convinced in their hearts, they will have to admit it at that time. ”

Prince Jiancheng said helplessly: "Okay, let's beat them later." ”

Wei Zheng suggested again: "Since the King of Qi has received information, he knows about the support of the Shandong Hao clan for the traitor Liu Heimin. As long as the Shandong Hao clan no longer supports the traitor Liu Heimin, it will be easy for Hebei to be pacified. At such an opportunity, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should ask His Majesty to lead the army himself and exterminate Liu Heimin. The number of people is not too many, 20,000 is enough. As long as His Royal Highness pacifies the 400,000 army of the traitor Liu Heimin with an army of 20,000, he can completely suppress the King of Qin militarily. He, the King of Qin, suggested that Liu Heimin be pacified with 200,000 Tang troops, and it would take several months. If His Royal Highness can pacify the 400,000 army of the traitor Liu Heimin in one month with an army of 20,000, then His Highness's prestige in the army and the court will increase rapidly, completely suppressing the King of Qin. Let the entire Tang Dynasty and the opposition understand that although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been staying in Chang'an to assist His Majesty in handling government affairs and has not participated in the wars in various places, His Royal Highness the Prince's military ability is not under his King Qin, the 200,000 army of the King of Qin, the traitor who can be pacified in three months, and the 20,000 army of His Royal Highness can be pacified in one month. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's military ability is far above that of his King Qin. ”

Wei Zheng's words made the prince very excited.

The crown prince Jiancheng asked: "Wei Qing, can Gu really lead an army of 20,000 and exterminate the traitor Liu Heimin in a month?" Liu Heimin occupies the entire Hebei and has an army of 400,000? ”

Wei Zheng replied affirmatively: "As long as the wealthy clan in Shandong no longer supports the traitor Liu Heimin, Liu Heimin will face the crisis of cutting off food, grass, equipment, and supply, and the 400,000 army, without food and weapons, will immediately collapse." The 20,000 troops of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, capturing and killing the disheartened traitor Liu Heimin, isn't it just a matter of being captured? ”

The crown prince Jiancheng said excitedly: "What Wei Qing said is extremely true. It's just how can the Shandong Hao family stop supporting the traitor Liu Heimin? The traitor Liu Heimin's momentum is not small now? ”

Wei Zheng replied: "The traitor Liu Heimin is cunning and brave, although his momentum is not small, but compared to the carefully selected and fully supported by the wealthy families in Shandong, Li Mi of Wagangshan, Wang Shichong of Luoyang, and Dou Jiande of Hebei are still far away. Now that Datang dominates the world, it has become the consensus of the people of the world. Shandong Hao clan is also helpless to support the traitor Liu Heimin, they will not think that the traitor Liu Heimin can replace the Tang Dynasty, so that the Shandong Hao family will give up supporting the traitor Liu Heimin There is a great possibility. The Shandong Hao clan supported the traitor Liu Heimin so much to make trouble, just because they could not get the right to match their strength in the Tang Dynasty, and they were unwilling, hoping that by supporting the rebel Liu Heimin to rebel, they would attract the attention of the Tang Dynasty and give them enough power to meet their political needs. As long as Datang can meet their political needs, they will turn to support Datang. Of course, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can meet their political needs, they will also fully support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. ”

The crown prince Jiancheng said in surprise: "Wei Qing means that as long as the political needs of the Shandong Hao clan are met, the Shandong Hao clan can be used by orphans?" ”

Wei Zheng nodded and said, "Is there a candidate with more potential than His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the entire Tang Dynasty now?" As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meets the political needs of the Shandong Hao family, the Shandong Hao family will definitely fully support the crown prince's ascendancy. ”

The crown prince was overjoyed and said, "That's great." Militarily, an army of 20,000 pacified the 400,000 army of the traitor Liu Heimin in one month, and completely suppressed the king of Qin; Politically, it has the full support of the wealthy family in Shandong. In this way, Lone ascends to the throne, and that is an ironclad thing. ”

After that, he said to Qi Wang Yuanji and Prince Xian Ma Wei Zheng: "When Gu takes the throne, Gu will definitely keep his promise." Yuan Ji, you are the lonely imperial brother, doing the affairs of the Taiwei and being in charge of the Tang army; Wei Qing, you are the lonely Shang Shuling, in charge of the administration of the Tang Dynasty. With two assistants, Lone can sit back and relax, and hang the arch to rule. ”

Wei Zheng was happy, and he was very satisfied with the prince's promise. While Qi Wang Yuanji was happy on the surface, he felt a little unhappy in his heart.