NABC Chapter 2656 Chess Pieces
Chapter 2656 Chess Pieces
Li Shen knew he couldn't hide the matter of the First Car Dealership from his father. He only said this to tell his father that these people were not his men.
After all, the First Auto Shop has several thousand employees.
"But in any case, they came from your guard camp. Even if they really have nothing to do with you, to outsiders they are your people."
If you had let them go home to farm, that would have been fine, but instead you organized them up.
Do you think no one in the court has mentioned this matter?
Upon hearing Li Shen's explanation, Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "Many things can't be simply denied as you say they aren't."
"It's true that I didn't think it through, but they also farm, and they all go back to cultivate the land during the busy farming season."
"I just wanted to find them some work to do..." Li Shen explained.
"But they number in the thousands! They are all veterans who have fought on the battlefield and followed you in your campaigns."
They could don their armor and return to the battlefield, but you've gathered them outside Chang'an.
Li Shimin interrupted Li Shen, his face somewhat gloomy. He had seized the throne with only eight hundred men, while this rebellious son had gathered thousands of people outside the city.
This doesn't even include the current number of guards in Prince Ji's mansion; if you include them all, the number is nearly ten thousand.
If they all rushed into Chang'an City, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Thump!" Li Shen immediately knelt down.
"I know I was wrong, please punish me, Father."
Li Shen was frightened. This wasn't a fantasy novel; he genuinely felt the powerful aura emanating from his father.
Completely different from his usual father who was always outwitting him, this was the true General of Heavenly Strategy, the true Khan of Heaven.
That one look sent chills down Li Shen's spine.
"I have already suppressed this matter for you. I know you have no intention of disloyalty right now, otherwise do you think I would be so lenient with you?"
Looking at Li Shen kneeling before him, Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
"No, no, I don't have it now, nor will I have it in the future. I am very satisfied with my current wealth and honor, and I have no unreasonable desires."
"I beg Your Majesty's judgment." Li Shen kowtowed, expressing his loyalty.
He knew that if he hadn't been so loyal and honest, he wouldn't have such a good life today.
You can either go to your fiefdom and live a life of mediocrity, but still enjoy plenty of food and drink, or you can develop your career in secret, only to be discovered by your father and die amidst his suspicions.
Want to rebel? That's basically suicide.
Putting aside his own lack of ability, he couldn't even beat them in a fight.
He had only managed to produce a little gunpowder, which was utterly useless against a massive army.
The Northern Army's 60,000 Imperial Guards were well-equipped with weapons, and there were also 3,000 Xuanjia soldiers whom Li Shen had never met.
Li Shen's 18,000 men could only swagger around the city; they couldn't even get into the harem.
Moreover, his father already had what he had, so he was no match for him.
"Get up," Li Shimin said after a long while.
"I am aware of this matter."
"Um... Father, that's not what I meant." Li Shen didn't get up, but said cautiously.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Li Shimin was taken aback. Could there be something even bigger than this?
“Your Majesty, if it is only the first carriage company, I have no worries with your protection.”
However, I want to say that things have changed somewhat.
When Er went to Xizhou, some villains sneaked into Er's workshop and were caught on the spot. According to their confession, someone paid them to sneak into the workshop and steal the formula.
Upon learning this, the son worried that the enemy would attack again, so he entrusted the people of the First Carriage Company to serve as guards for the workshop, with a number of about a thousand people.
"I fear this matter will be used against me by those in court, so I have come to report this to you, Father."
"Someone broke into your workshop to steal?" Li Shimin frowned upon hearing Li Shen's words.
Li Shen's workshop's recipes are a money-making machine, and currently only he possesses them, serving as the royal family's trump card for a future comeback.
If someone else steals it, what's the point of having a trump card? Wouldn't everyone in the world know about it?
“Yes, they are all local thugs from other villages.” Li Shen nodded.
"Do you know who is behind this?" Li Shimin asked.
Li Shen shook his head and replied:
"I don't know. The Erpai interrogated them, but they said they had never seen the person behind it. The person who contacted them only came once, and they couldn't see the person's face clearly."
The son later sent them to Marble, but when he returned recently, he heard that they were dead.
After hearing this, Li Shimin glanced at Li Shen with raised eyelids and said disdainfully:
"You deliberately sent them to their deaths, didn't you? Hmph, as expected, what the outside world said was true; you, this unfilial son, are truly ruthless."
But they're dead, that's all. The other party was meticulous in their actions, so naturally you couldn't smell anything.
It's not hard to guess who they are. There are only a few families who have a grudge against you and want the formula.
"Yes, that's what my son thinks too."
Li Shen nodded. Of course he knew who it was; it was the aristocratic families and gentry.
My father is so wise, he must be able to guess it.
"Your situation is indeed somewhat troublesome. There has always been considerable criticism in the court regarding your military power."
The car dealership could have been explained as being self-established, but the presence of over a thousand guards this time is harder to explain.
You already have over three thousand soldiers. If you add another thousand, it would violate ancestral rules, and even I would find it difficult to protect you.
And...it also depends on what your older brother thinks."
Li Shimin stood up and went to the tea table. Li Shen quickly crawled over and diligently poured tea for his father.
"Father, what I care about most is my elder brother's opinion. How about I withdraw the guards?"
As soon as Li Shen finished speaking, Li Shimin immediately shook his head in rejection:
"No, although your workshop belongs to your Prince Ji's mansion, it is also the property of my royal family."
This involves more than just money; it also includes the influence of the royal family among the common people.
Why did I tacitly approve your establishment of shops and newspapers in more than two thousand prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty?
That's because you can make people all over the Tang Dynasty know about my Li family dynasty. You are a signboard for my Li family outside.
"It's no longer a time when ordinary people only know the county magistrate and not the emperor, so your workshop is very important."
"what?"
Li Shen was dumbfounded. It turned out that the business empire he had been so proud of all these years was nothing more than a pawn in his father's game.
They had already predetermined their roles.
They're so oblivious to their own ignorance, always feeling good about themselves.
Suddenly, Li Shen felt a sense of loss. It turned out that he was not a chess player, much less someone who played chess.
The reason I've had such a smooth life all these years isn't because I'm particularly smart, but because I have people helping me behind the scenes.
"What? You're not willing to be the face of the Li family to the outside world?"