Chapter 665: The Vital Point of the Royal Family

“I pay my respects to Prince Zhao!”
Li Yi bowed respectfully to Li Qing’an, his face covered in flattery. If not for the huge difference in status, he would have knelt down.
“There’s no need for formalities, Prince Ji Jiang. Please sit!”
Li Qing’an spoke politely, but he truly despised this so-called senior member of the royal family. Not only did he dislike him, but many officials had also subtly told him that this third-rank official in the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau was not fit for the role. Later, Li Qing’an learned more about Li Yi, which only added to his headaches.
The Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau was originally a low-impact department, and with many members of the royal family fleeing south, it became the least busy department in the court. If Prince Ji Jiang had just idled away his time, no one would have complained.
But the problem was that he kept causing trouble for himself. At the end of last year, he claimed that the gates of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were rotten and needed repair, requesting to replace them. Of course, the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau wasn’t involved in the repairs. After completion, the craftsmen discovered that the removed gates had vanished, along with some scrap metal stored in the temple. After a long investigation, they learned from the palace guards that Li Yi had taken those items away—no one knew where. This incident shocked everyone in the court. How could a high-ranking third-rank official end up as a scrap collector?
In February this year, Li Yi came up with another way to make money. He spread word in Chang’an that some descendants of the royal family might be living among the common people, and the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau needed to re-register them. In other words, he was selling positions in the royal family.
For example, if a tea seller became wealthy but felt ashamed of his low social status as a merchant, he could pay this official 1,000 guan, and then he could officially become the illegitimate son of a royal prince, living among the people, with a record in the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau.
Fortunately, someone reported this in time, and the Censorate warned Li Yi, forcing him to stop. Yet this incident had a very negative impact on the officials in the court, causing them to despise him deeply.
Li Qing’an had also heard about these matters, but he had to endure them. Right now, he still needed this senior member of the royal family to do some things for him.
Seeing that Li Yi refused to sit, he smiled again and said, “There’s no need to be so nervous. You’re a senior member of the royal family. How could I ask you to stand while we talk? Please sit!”
“I’m just a prince of succession, while Your Highness is a prince by birth. How dare I sit casually?”
As he spoke, Li Yi sat down on the edge of the cushion, forcing a laugh. “I wonder what task Your Highness has for me to assist with.”

“Has the situation of the imperial family in Chang’an been counted?” Li Qing’an asked nonchalantly.
“There are records in the Imperial Clan Registry. I’m not sure which aspects Your Highness wishes to know about.”
“I want to know many things—the current status of the imperial family in Chang’an and Luoyang, how many are left, what their wealth situation is. Also, those who fled to the south—what’s their wealth situation in Chang’an? How many houses do they have in Chang’an? I want to know all of this. I’ve prepared a list; please prepare it for me and give it to me early tomorrow morning.”
With that, Li Qing’an handed a list he had prepared in advance to Li Yi. Li Yi carefully took it and stood up, smiling, “Your Highness, then I’ll go back now.”
“Go ahead.”
Just as Li Yi was about to leave, Li Qing’an called him back, “Prince Sijiang, wait!”
Li Yi quickly stopped and bowed, smiling, “Your Highness, is there anything else?”
Li Qing’an seemed lost in thought and didn’t reply for a while. After a long pause, he asked indifferently, “Generally speaking, what do the imperial princes fear the most? I mean, other than losing their lives.”
Li Yi grinned. He understood this question best and was the most qualified to answer it. “Your Highness, many say the imperial family fears losing their titles as princes, and some say they fear rebellion. But none of these hit the mark. What the imperial family fears most is the word ‘poverty.’ Most of them are lazy and incapable of even handling a chicken, and they’re all accustomed to a life of indulgence. If they were reduced to poverty, I’m sure they’d all end up begging on the streets.”
Although Li Yi was uneducated and greedy, he was very cunning. He had spent a long time figuring out Li Qing’an’s intentions and had already grasped some clues. Li Qing’an wasn’t a descendant of Li Shimin, and it was likely that most of these imperial princes wouldn’t support him in ascending to the throne. Not only would they not support him, but they would also try to undermine him. So if Li Qing’an wanted to ascend to the throne, he first had to bring these imperial princes under control.
That’s why when Li Qing’an asked what the imperial family feared, he immediately guessed that Li Qing’an intended to take action against them. Li Yi also resented these younger imperial princes. Back then, he had endured scorn and humiliation as he begged from one place to another. If he could get rid of these imperial princes, it would be a way to vent his anger.

He knew these princes well—these guys feared poverty the most. Once they became poor and had no money to support their families, their wives would have to be given away, and their sons would have to beg for food. By then, none of the rules of the royal family or ancestral ties would matter at all; they would all kneel and beg Li Qingan for mercy.

Evil people need those even worse than them to deal with, and little devils need others to fight them. This was precisely Li Yi’s role—he knew how to deal with those conceited princes most effectively.

Thinking of this, his heart darkened, and he added, “Your Highness, those Tang princes of the Southern Tang believe you wouldn’t dare touch their wealth. Your Highness might as well confiscate everything—houses, money, property, and their lands across the country. The local governments actually keep records of all this. Just take it all as state property and turn those guys into paupers. Then they’ll kneel and beg Your Highness for mercy.”

“Hmm! That’s a good idea.”

Li Qingan was satisfied with his suggestion and nodded. “Go ahead! Prepare the documents quickly.”

“Your Highness, don’t worry. Everything is ready. I can deliver it by night.”

With that, he left the room.

As soon as he left, Li Qingan stood up and ordered his guards, “Prepare a carriage. I’m going to the Siqi Prince’s Mansion. Have Qin Haiyang from the Imperial Guard and Hu Peiyun from the Intelligence Bureau come with me as well.”

…

The Siqi Prince’s Mansion Li Qingan was going to was not the original one. The original Qi Prince’s Mansion was located in Yongfu Fang, the residence of the seven princes. After Li Longji ascended the throne, he ordered his brothers to live there to keep an eye on them. Later, he had his own sons live there, turning it into the Residence of the Ten Princes. Then his grandsons were moved in, and the Hundred Grandsons Courtyard was built. In short, the purpose was one word: “easy surveillance.”

In the later years of the Tianbao era, as Li Longji’s brothers gradually passed away, their descendants began buying land and building their own homes, no longer confined to Yongfu Fang. They were spread throughout Chang’an.

The Siqi Prince’s Mansion Li Qingan was going to was located in Pingkang Fang, adjacent to the former residence of Li Linfu. The carriage slowly passed by Li Linfu’s mansion gate. Not long after Li Linfu’s death, his home was seized. His children died or scattered, and none remained in Chang’an. The mansion was taken over by the imperial court and has remained empty ever since. The area in front of the gate was overgrown with weeds half as tall as a person. The paint on the gates had peeled off, revealing large patches of grayish-white. The proud plaque reading “Chancellor’s Residence” had been removed. Two tattered, lifeless lanterns hung from the eaves, their original colors long gone.

Li Qingan couldn’t help but recall the time ten years ago when he first came to Li Linfu’s place. They wore tattered military uniforms and stood under a wall not far away. It seemed to be raining at the time, yet carriages kept coming and going, using Li Linfu’s residence as a starting or ending point—truly a bustling place. But now, the decay before his eyes filled him with sorrow. It was exactly like the saying, “The swallows that once nested in the halls of noble families now fly into ordinary people’s homes.”

The carriage quickly passed by Li Linfu’s former residence and stopped in front of the Prince of Siqi’s mansion. The imperial guards acted swiftly—thousand soldiers had already surrounded the mansion. In front of the main gate, Qin Haiyang and Hu Peiyun had just arrived. Seeing Li Qingan get off the carriage, they stepped forward together and saluted, “Saluting the General!”

Li Qingan waved his hand. “No need for formalities. Come with me inside.”

The group entered the Prince of Siqi’s mansion. The prince’s name was Li Zhen. After Li Yu seized his lands and properties as part of his crackdown on the royal family, he fled to Chengdu with his entire family. Now, he served as the head of the imperial clan registry in Southern Tang and lived a relatively comfortable life there, with land and a house of his own.

But because he fled in a hurry, he couldn’t take much of his wealth with him. So he sealed it away, planning to retrieve it when he returned. To prevent thieves from breaking in, he assigned a dozen trusted servants to guard the old house. Yet it was these so-called trusted servants who turned out to be thieves. At first, they were honest, but a year ago, one of them accidentally discovered a treasure chest filled with money. Tempted by the wealth, the servants began stealing items from the mansion. Not only was the 20,000 strings of coins in the chest stolen, but many valuable items from the inner chambers were also taken. The leopard skin that Li Qingan found today was one of those stolen items.

Fortunately, these servants were timid and had families to support, so they didn’t dare go too far. Aside from the emptied treasure chest, the overall damage wasn’t severe, as most of the buildings remained sealed.

After taking control of Chang’an, Li Qingan had also seized some property of the royal family, mainly in Yongfu and Chongren districts. He hadn’t yet had time to inspect the numerous royal residences in other districts.

He planned to set off for Jianghuai the day after tomorrow. This accidental discovery today reminded him of this important matter. It was indeed a major issue that needed to be resolved before Southern Tang fell.

As soon as Li Qingan entered the mansion, a colonel rushed over to report, “General, your men found a secret passage in the fish pond of the back garden. It seems there’s an underground chamber, sealed with large bluestone slabs. General, should we dig it out?”

Li Qing’an was taken aback; he hadn’t expected this. He had only intended to inspect the Prince Siqi’s residence but didn’t anticipate such a surprising discovery. He immediately ordered, “Dig right away!”
Li Qing’an also hurried toward the back garden. He wanted to see what the son of the once-prosperous Prince Siqi had hidden in the basement.
The back garden was vast, covering over ten acres, with pavilions, pagodas, artificial hills, ponds, fish, and a variety of exotic flowers and plants, all arranged in great luxury.
In the center of the garden was an artificial lake covering about five acres, connected to the river outside the mansion. The ordinary servants in the mansion could never have imagined there was something special in the lake, but the imperial guards were highly experienced. When they entered the mansion, they blocked the river’s inflow, causing the water level to drop rapidly and revealing an entrance to a basement beneath the artificial hills, sealed with large bluestone slabs. Even if the servants discovered it, it would be difficult to open.
The entrance to the basement was slightly elevated, and once half the water in the lake had drained, there was no water around it. Over a hundred soldiers had already jumped in and were using crowbars and ropes to break open the bluestone door.
In just a moment, with a loud crash, the bluestone collapsed, revealing a dark, gaping hole…