The Great Tang General

"The Ministry of Industry funded the design of the object in the Qujiang Pond in Chang'an City. It is called the Water-powered Astronomical Observatory..."

"If what you said is proven to be of great significance to astronomy and geography, I will reward you greatly."

Li Xuan spoke to Zhuge Xing and encouraged him.

He did not seek to make it the same as the water-powered astronomical clocks of later generations, but as long as it could be built, Li Xuan would direct the completion of the astronomical clock.

"Thank you for the name, Your Majesty. As long as the funds are sufficient, I will definitely create a device that will satisfy Your Majesty..."

Zhuge Xing bowed in surprise.

The Supreme was conferred the title twice, shocking the entire Craftsmen's Department.

He felt that once his great ideal was achieved, he would definitely have a chance.

"The sky is vast and boundless. Like the River Map and the Luoshu, it is difficult to understand and exhaust. From the sun, moon, stars, to the mountains, rivers, and earth, and applicable to the human world. The task is heavy and the road is long!"

Li Xuan said these words to Zhuge Xing again.

The invention of the water-powered astronomical observatory utilized mechanics and physics, which was what Li Xuan wanted to see.

He needs to guide people's basic knowledge and create many things.

"Common people have many inspirations and a desire for perfection. We must keep in mind the true words of the Supreme Being."

Zhuge Xing bowed again.

As a family of artisans, they were lucky to meet such a true dragon emperor.

He felt that the Supreme was a man of saintly wisdom and nothing could escape the eyes of the Supreme.

Zhuge Xing will do his best to show it.

After looking at some more items, Li Xuan gathered the craftsmen together.

"I care about the whole country and hope that all the craftsmen can continue to work hard and strive for excellence. I have inspected the Craftsmen's Department and gained a lot. You are all pillars of society and many of your items have refreshed my eyes."

"I once again promise that no matter what their backgrounds, those who can innovate and invent will be rewarded with silk money, gold, silver and jewelry, official positions and mansions. If the convenient equipment and exquisite craftsmanship can enrich the country and benefit the people, they will be granted titles. I hope that you will use all your talents and wisdom, teach your apprentices, and continuously improve your skills..."

Li Xuan spoke to the craftsmen in a leisurely manner.

At this point, the craftsmen already knew how to obtain the title.

Take Chen Sannian and Xia Quan as examples and use them as the standard.

When it is proven that Li Xuan's edict is not just talk, craftsmen all over the world will work harder.

There are also smart people who regard various skills as their goals.

After some encouragement, Li Xuan left the Craftsmen's Department with satisfaction.

The next day, Li Xuan went to the foot of Niu Shou Mountain for inspection again.

Now Niu Shou Mountain not only has a gunpowder factory, but also a musket factory.

The team was led by Gongshu Qingzi, a famous craftsman from the Tang Dynasty, to research muskets.

Mainly copper-tubed matchlock guns.

Current capabilities are too advanced to manufacture.

As the inventor of the Shenbi crossbow, it was a bit difficult for Gongshu Qingzi to play with gunpowder directly. So Li Xuan told Gongshu Qingzi the idea of ​​the matchlock gun.

The first generation of matchlock guns were not as useful as the crossbow, but they were an inevitable path in the development of firearms.

The crossbow has reached its limit, but firearms are just beginning.

Gongshu Qingzi was very creative and pioneering. When he learned about the wonderful uses of gunpowder, he was immediately attracted by the black powder.

The power of the thunder woke Gongshu Qingzi up.

He secretly vowed to himself that he would live up to the Supreme's trust and create the matchlock gun.

"Boom..."

Outside the artillery factory, a "bronze tube" the size of a bowl fired a "cannonball" that exploded a hundred feet away.

The earth shook, black smoke billowed, and dust flew everywhere.

Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

Finally, the simplest cannon was made.

Skip the bamboo tube and make the cannon barrel directly out of metal.

The bronze cannon barrel has a high melting point, good ablation resistance, strong pressure resistance, and is not easy to explode. It can adapt to the increased chamber pressure due to the improvement of gunpowder performance and the increase of charge amount.

The service life of the artillery is also very long.

In addition, the barrel wall of the artillery is polished very smoothly, making it very easy to clean after a shell is fired.

The emergence of cannons meant that gunpowder officially entered the stage of history.

Li Xuan's previous bombing of the Uighur cavalry involved some luck.

Imagine if there were dozens of bronze cannons the size of bowls, firing at the enemy together.

Explosions from the sky continued to fall continuously. If the enemy encountered this situation for the first time, chaos would be inevitable.

The Tang Dynasty will keep artillery and gunpowder technology strictly confidential.

In this era, it is difficult for the enemies of the Tang Dynasty to steal secrets.

The only major enemy left for the Tang Dynasty was the Arabs. If nothing unexpected happened, the artillery would also be used against the Arabs.

After returning to Chang'an, Li Xuan immediately signed the military order.

The governor of Taiyuan, Guo Ziyi, was summoned back to the capital and appointed as the military commander of the Tiance Palace. The new governor of Taiyuan was Wang Sili.

The governor of Pinglu was succeeded by the former deputy governor Liu Zhengchen.

Li Guangbi, the governor of Fanyang, was summoned back to the capital and appointed as the envoy to the Tiance Palace to protect the foreign tribes. The new governor of Fanyang was Che Guangqian.

Wang Nandai, the governor of Lingwu, was summoned back to the capital and appointed as the Inspector of Tiance Palace. Hun Yu was the new governor of Lingwu.

Hun Yu and Che Guangqian are now commanding the imperial guards on the grassland. After the imperial guards are withdrawn, they can take the imperial edict directly to take office.

Li Zhushi, the governor of Wuwei, was dismissed from his post and granted the title of Grand Marshal. As he was old, he returned to Chang'an to retire.

Pugu Huai'en was appointed as the new governor of Wuwei.

Tang Chaochen, the former deputy governor of Taiyuan, replaced Hun Yu as governor of Xingyang.

The original governor of Shu County, Lai Zhen, was replaced by Che Guangqian, the governor of Beihai.

The governor of Shu County was Zhang Guangsheng, the commander of the Chishui Army who had made great contributions in the war against the Uighurs.

Except for Anxi Governor Li Siye, Fengxiang Governor Che Shensai, Nanhai Governor Xin Yunjing and Baihai Governor Nan Jiyun, whom Li Xuan trusted very much, other governors have completed their rotation and their military power is evenly distributed.

Nan Jiyun wanted to continue to integrate the Tibetan tribes.

The Fengxiang Army stationed in Guanzhong basically belongs to the central army.

The Anxi troops were ready to go to war against the Arabs at any time.

Xin Yunjing is developing the navy and cooperating with Jiaozhi to build roads, so he is not suitable for mobilization for the time being.

Li Xuan also transferred some of the staff and deputy governors of the Governor's Office to serve as heads of various departments in the Tiance Palace.

At this point, the five courtyards and thirty-four departments of Tiance Mansion have all been established.

A military system was formed with the Five Court Envoys as the main body.

However, the Five Academies had no military power and could only request troops from the governor-general under the emperor's order.

The Emperor, the Tiance Palace, and the Governor's Office.

Three levels up and down.

At the emperor's command, the Tian Ce Mansion formulated a battle plan and the five envoys cooperated with each other.

The power over finance, military pay, mobilization and retirement was in the hands of the Ministry of War under the Secretariat.

Tian Ce Mansion became a purely conquest organization.

From then on, only five prefectures were fixed with military ranks above general.

The Privy Councilor, the head of the Five Envoys, is the pinnacle of military officers.

Early April.

When Li Xuan was handling government affairs in Ganlu Palace, he heard a piece of bad news.

Wang Wei, a great poet and pioneer of landscape painting, died of illness in his villa in Wangchuan.

It had been less than a month since Li Xuan left Wangchuan Villa.

According to officials from the Secretariat stationed in Wangchuan Villa and Wang Wei's servants, Wang Wei's last words were to bury himself in the hills behind the Wangchuan Valley, and that his poems and paintings did not need to be recorded in the tomb, as they would be handled by the Secretariat.

The Secretary General was a first-rank official, which was also the highest official position Wang Wei ever held.

Li Xuan was very sad and took a day off.

He also wrote a touching poem in memory of the deceased.

On the next day, Wang Wei was posthumously awarded the title of Minister of Rites and Prince Taifu.

He also wrote the epitaph for Wang Wei himself and asked Yan Zhenqing to write the epitaph for Wang Wei, recording his life story.

Historically, only about 400 of Wang Wei's poems have been passed down.

This was too little for Wang Wei, who wrote "I know my brothers are climbing the mountain, but there is one less person wearing the dogwood branches" at the age of seventeen.

Too many of his poems were lost in later generations.

Li Xuan immediately ordered the scholars of the Secretariat to record all of Wang Wei's poems according to Wang Wei's life.

He also ordered craftsmen to carve woodblocks and publish them in the name of the Tang Dynasty Library.

As a great literary talent, his poetry collection is bound to be a best-seller.

As long as there are tens of thousands of copies circulating across the country, they will not be lost even if major changes occur.

Similarly, the Secretariat, the Palace of Wisdom, the Jixian Hall, and the Ministry of Culture began to revise the "Complete Tang Poems".

Records all poems by poets from the early Tang Dynasty to the present.

For example, Zhang Ruoxu was known for his "single poem surpassing all the Tang poems", but as one of the "Four Masters of Wu", it is impossible that he wrote only two works in his life, "Spring River Moonlight Night" and "Reply to the Dream of the Boudoir".

There is also Wang Zhihuan, of whom only six poems survived. But his "If you want to see a thousand miles, climb to a higher floor" and "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows, the spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass" are well known to everyone, and many people even think that they can compete with the seven-character and five-character quatrains.

There are many poems by such poets left in the world.

Now we need to find all their poems, record them, and pass them on as cultural treasures.

In addition, there are many scriptures, poems, songs, and historical materials before the Tang Dynasty, which should not only be stored in the Tang Library, but also sorted out, copied, and stored separately in major cities.

It is not uncommon in history for a fire to destroy countless pieces of knowledge.

Therefore, in the next ten years, the compilation of culture in the Tang Dynasty reached its peak.

Batches of "scholars" and "verifiers" were born.

Books were transported from the two capitals in huge quantities, and the roads were constantly filled with them, regardless of rain or shine.

Printing houses and libraries sprang up like mushrooms in every province and county.

It indirectly promotes the rapid development of schools at all levels.

People in later generations called Li Xuan's initiative the "Book and Literature Movement."

It is because Li Xuan spared no effort to preserve books and because of the establishment of the Palace of Wisdom that Chinese culture can trace its roots and have a long history.

Avoid a lot of unnecessary arguments.

Moreover, starting from Li Xuan, the historical materials are so detailed that one can speculate what happened in the Tang Dynasty every month.

In addition, archives are established in every province and county.

Every county must have its own county annals, which must be revised every five years to support historical materials.

Not to mention that every issue of "Tang Monthly" is circulated in tens of thousands of places.

In August of the fifth year, Liu Shan reported to Li Xuan that the construction of Tai Mausoleum was completed according to the standards set by Li Xuan.

Li Xuan announced that Li Longji would be given a state funeral on August 5.

This day happened to be Li Longji’s birthday.

The coffin was carried out of Yuelong Hall, and Li Longji's children followed the coffin to Jinsuluan first.

The huge procession passed through Suzaku Street.

The prefect of Chang'an organized the people to see him off along the way.

The next day, Li Xuan and Pei Lingxi, along with their children, civil and military officials, arrived at Jinsu Mountain to pay homage.

At this point, Li Longji was officially buried according to etiquette.

The tomb was sealed.

The Li Longji era will come to an end.

No minister would be nostalgic for an emperor who has already been buried.

Li Xuan could also leave Chang'an with peace of mind and go on a southern tour.

Starting from September, Li Xuan planned to travel light to the south to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland and see what the local people are like.

Even with the Jinyiwei as his spies, Li Xuan was still worried.

Li Xuan summoned five prime ministers to Ganlu Palace and told them that he was going to tour the east and the south.

Five prime ministers jointly handled state affairs, assisted by civil and military officials.

"Return to the Supreme Lord, how long will you be gone?"

The emperor's tour has been a custom since ancient times, and his ministers cannot stop him. The prime minister only wants to know where the emperor is going and how long it will take for him to return.

"We will leave in September and can return as early as next September."

Li Xuan plans to tour for a year.

Historically, Qin Shi Huang toured the country five times and was emperor for only eleven years, five of which he was away from home.

He had been to the north of Hebei, to the Qiantang, Hubei, and Hunan regions in the south, and to the coastal areas of Qi and Lu in the east. He left stone carvings in Zouyi Mountain, Taishan Mountain, Zhifu Mountain, Langya, Kuaiji, Jieshi and other places to commemorate his merits.

But Li Xuan's inspection was to understand the people's sentiments.

If you want to visit more places, it will take at least a year.

"Is it too long? Your Majesty might be tired."

Liu Yan persuaded Li Xuan that the main reason was that since modern times, there had been no emperor making a long-distance inspection.

They were also worried that once summer came, the Jiangnan region would become too hot and humid, and the emperor would not be able to adapt.

"The east is the core of the Tang Dynasty. I live in the deep palace and I don't know whether my ministers are wise."

"The Jiangnan region is remote, and some officials feel that the emperor is far away, so they deceive their superiors and subordinates and do whatever they want. Wherever I go, I will ask the people and understand their sentiments. I will also make local officials more sympathetic to the people."

He had considered the decision of the southern tour for a long time. He needed to see the real results of the reform and find the contradictions in the region.

"The Supreme has made up his mind. We, the ministers, will obey the Supreme's will and work diligently for state affairs."

Li Xian bowed to Li Xuan.

He knew that with Li Xuan's sharp eyes, he would be able to find the problem somewhere.

Moreover, Li Xian also believed that it was difficult for Chang'an to control the Jiangnan and Lingnan regions.

The province had just been established, and the emperor's first inspection was of vital importance.

"Just like when I went to fight the Huihe, you guys will discuss and handle minor matters, and major matters will be conveyed to the headquarters through the post station."

Li Xuan instructed the prime ministers: "Improving the administration of officials is a policy that will be implemented throughout the years. We cannot relax at all."

"I will obey your orders!"

Prime Ministers Li Xian, Liu Yan and others received the order.

The next day, after the court meeting ended, Li Xuan ordered the Secretariat to prepare the carriages and horses for departure.

The accompanying officials included the Minister of Punishments Zhang Xun, the Vice Minister of Revenue Wang Yu, the Junior Secretary Yan Zhuang, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Liao Zhengrong, as well as some officials from the Secretariat and the emperor's entourage.

Li Xuan brought his four wives with him on this trip. They took a carriage so that they would not delay the trip.

The two youngest daughters were also brought along.

Just think of it as a trip.

Li Xuan once plagiarized "Thousands of miles of orioles singing, green and red, water villages and mountain towns with wine flags fluttering in the wind" and "The flowers on the river are redder than fire at sunrise, and the river water is green as blue in spring", which made many people yearn for the south of the Yangtze River.

Including his wives.

Pei Lingxi also often yearned for the Jiangnan region in his poems.

Through this southern tour, Li Xuan can fulfill his responsibilities as a husband.

Li Yi, Li Song and Li Zhenzhen, the three children who were about to grow up, were first taught and taken care of by Li Shizhi.

In addition to his confidants Xue Cuo and Luo Xing who led the imperial guards to guard Chang'an, Pei Ying led two thousand Tiance Guards to escort the emperor on his southern tour.

The south is full of military governors' offices and imperial guards, so there is no need to make a big fuss and waste resources.

There is also the most mysterious inner guard of the Jinyiwei, who will wear casual clothes and follow Li Xuan's footsteps south.

After receiving Li Xuan's imperial edict, Luoyang Prefecture began to prepare ships.

After resting in Luoyang, Li Xuan would go down the Grand Canal to Linhuai County and then enter Huainan.

The area near Luoyang Prefecture is where imperial power lies.

It was also the place of reshuffle after An Lushan's Rebellion, and most of the officials were capable and did not dare to slack off.

Li Xuan doesn't want to inspect Henan for the time being.

His goal was clear: follow the Grand Canal and head straight to Jiangnan...

(End of this chapter)