Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 266 Does Su Dingfang know how to fight this battle? Let me do it!

When Lu Chengqing led the elite troops from the four counties to the city of Fanyang, not only the imperial court and the aristocratic families were watching, but also the people of the world were watching.

Having committed so many mistakes, the Lu family chose to rebel. Could they withstand the attack of the first batch of troops from the imperial court?
Some people speculated that the Lu family could hold on for at least several months with their strong background. With the King of Qi taken hostage, they could even severely slap the royal family in the face!

This statement has undoubtedly been recognized by many people.

But no one expected that just after the elite troops from the four counties arrived at the city of Fanyang, the city was breached in just one night, and Lu Jingqing and others were all captured.

It's like listening to a foreign language!
Those noble families were eager to fly to Fan Yang to see what had happened!
Where are Lu's elite soldiers and the hostage, King Qi?

Why didn't they make good use of it, but instead let Lu Chengqing and his men take them down in one night?

What exactly happened here?
The rebellion was put down so quickly that countless spectators were surprised and incredulous.

too fast.

It feels like a dream!
There is a bit of a joke in it.

But when Lu Chengqing's memorial was sent to the court and read out, people in the court finally realized that all this was part of the prince's plan!

Li Chengqian's face remained smiling, like a wise man who had a plan in mind. He smiled and said, "What do you think should be done to reward Zhao Zhiqian, the Guoyi Commandant of Fanyang?"

This……

Fang Xuanling said softly, "Your Highness, the wife of Zhao Zhiqian is the concubine of Lu family."

Li Chengqian nodded, "Prime Minister Fang, I have known about this for a long time, but it is precisely because of this that I admire him so much."

"Faced with the pillow talk and the conditions offered by the Lu family, Zhao Zhiqian was able to remain unmoved and wait for the opportunity to lie dormant, awaiting the arrival of the royal army."

"I think people like this should be trained as a priority."

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling smiled and nodded, saying, "The Crown Prince is wise."

The rebellion of the second branch of the Lu family was already decided. Although Zhao Zhiqian's wife was the daughter of the Lu family, the loyalty he showed this time was enough to explain the problem.

This small shortcoming is no longer important to Zhao Zhiqian.

The prince took a liking to him.

"Your Highness, I think you should fulfill your promise and promote me twice."

Imperial Envoy Ding Ai came out and said, "Although I don't know how the Crown Prince knew this person, he has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion and deserves this reward."

Li Xiaogong smiled and nodded, "Master Ding is absolutely right."

"Your Highness, I think Zhao Zhiqian should be honored and rewarded, and his wife as well!"

Everyone looked over, and Li Xiaogong continued, "Although Lu was plotting a rebellion, Zhao Zhiqian and his wife were very righteous and should be rewarded handsomely."

Li Chengqian pondered and nodded gently, "Okay, let's do as Lord Li says."

"In addition to Zhao Zhiqian, there are also the captains who lead the troops from the four counties. We should reward them according to their merits and not let the soldiers down."

"His Royal Highness is wise."

Everyone agreed.

As for Cao Yuan and others who were not mentioned, Li Chengqian took the initiative to skip them.

Everyone knew that these people were Li Chengqian's men.

"Now that the reward is over, let's listen to the second letter sent by Lord Lu."

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and turned his head to look at the eunuch beside him. The eunuch understood and opened the letter and read it aloud.

"Your servant Lu Chengqing led the troops from four counties to encircle Fanyang City. That night, the Crown Prince arranged for an insider to successfully rescue the King of Qi. Captain Tian Chong and others left behind a hundred elite soldiers to protect our safety. They took advantage of the situation to seize the city gate."

"But I didn't expect that the King of Qi had been imprisoned for a long time. Now that he was freed, he was very excited. He shot and killed the children of the Lu family with a strong bow. Then, he ignored our earnest advice and ordered us to follow the army into the city. He continued to shoot and kill the children of the Lu family, and then he was targeted..."

"...I sensed something was wrong and rushed forward immediately. Unfortunately, an arrow pierced my shoulder and hit the lung of the Prince of Qi, causing him to fall into a coma..."

Ok?
When they heard that the King of Qi had been shot in the lung and was seriously injured and unconscious, everyone's face changed.

Especially Li Chengqian, with a cold expression on his face, raised his hand and said: "Bring the letter here!"

The eunuch handed it over respectfully. After Li Chengqian carefully examined it, he could not help but scold him angrily: "Asshole! The son of a rich family should not sit in the hall!"

"He has been rescued and is protected by elite soldiers from four counties. How dare he put himself in danger and attack someone from behind?!"

After a round of angry rebuke, Li Chengqian could not help but said in a cold voice: "Pass on my order to immediately dispatch the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau to Fanyang to treat the King of Qi!"

"Follow the order."

A eunuch ran out in a hurry.

Li Chengqian then put down the letter in his hand and said helplessly: "I was careless this time."

Ding Ai said calmly: "Prince, the reason why the King of Qi was injured has already been stated in the letter by Lord Lu. Why impose it on me?"

"As a prince, you were imprisoned. After being rescued, you used a strong bow to injure others, thus putting yourself and the people around you in danger. As a result, Lord Lu's shoulder was pierced by a sharp arrow, and you injured your lung. It was really your own fault."

"How do you talk, Lord Ding?"

"The King of Qi has been trapped for a long time, so naturally he has some resentment in his heart. Now that he is free, what's wrong with wanting to fight back?"

"In my opinion, it was Lu Chengqing and the others who failed to protect me!"

Fang Xuanling and the other two looked at each other. They were just wondering why there was no mention of King Qi in Lu Chengqing's memorial.

Now I understand that it was a separate memorial to the emperor, explaining the matter of the King of Qi.

However, the King of Qi's actions can be said to be his own fault and he is asking for trouble.

"Bullshit! It's obviously the King of Qi's own fault. No one else can be blamed!"

"The people arranged by the Crown Prince have already rescued the King of Qi, but he actually took the initiative to fight back, making such a joke. If this gets out, isn't he afraid of being laughed at by others?"

"That's it."

While everyone was arguing, Li Tai secretly glanced at Li Chengqian out of the corner of his eye.

It was hard for him not to suspect that Li Chengqian's men had done it on purpose, wanting to use Lu Jingdao and others to kill the King of Qi.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel that this matter is too strange.

If Li Chengqian really wanted to kill the King of Qi, why did he go to so much trouble to arrange people to rescue the King of Qi from Lu Jingdao and others?

Regardless of whether it was Li Chengqian who did it, this was good news for him.

"Okay, okay, stop arguing."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, interrupting the argument. "I will have someone send the details of this matter to Jiucheng Palace, and Your Majesty will make the final decision."

"The prince is wise."

Li Chengqian had already said that the matter would be reported to Jiucheng Palace, so there was naturally no need for everyone to continue arguing.

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice: "During this period, because of Lu's affairs, I neglected the enlightenment of new learning."

"Master Duan, how is the construction of the school in Chang'an City going?"

Duan Lun bowed and said, "Your Highness, three enlightenment schools have been built, and the remaining schools are still under construction. They will be ready for use in two months at the latest."

Li Chengqian nodded and turned his gaze towards the Imperial College, "My dear scholars, please pay more attention to this matter."

"I understand."

"Do you have anything else to deal with, my Lords?"

"Your Highness, I have something important to report!"

Hou Junji came out, took out a memorial and said, "Your Highness, there is news from Songzhou that the 50,000-strong Tibetan army has prepared siege equipment and may attack at any time."

"Perhaps, while the news was on its way, the 50,000-strong Tibetan army had already attacked Songzhou."

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

Hou Junji: "I saw that the Crown Prince and the other gentlemen were all concerned about the Fanyang incident, so I stepped back a little."

"However, Songzhou has Governor Han in charge, and General Su is assisting, so I don't think anything will go wrong."

Li Chengqian nodded.

After all, Han Wei had fought against the Tubo army before and defeated it.

Now Su Dingfang also went to Songzhou with 10,000 elite soldiers to provide assistance. If the two sides join forces, it will not be an easy task for the 50,000-strong Tubo army to capture Songzhou.

"General Su went to Songzhou?" Many ministers were surprised when they heard this.

Li Tai frowned and looked at Li Chengqian. When did he arrange this matter? Why was there no news at all?
Li Chengqian said calmly: "When I learned that Tubo had assembled an army of 50,000 and was approaching Songzhou, I arranged this matter."

"Because of Lu's case, only a few people knew about this. Now that Lu has been taken down, I won't hide it anymore."

hiss!
It’s really well hidden!

Everyone's eyes swept over Li Chengqian and Fang Xuanling and the others. After seeing that Fang Xuanling's expressions didn't change much, they couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

It turned out that they had already made preparations, but just kept it secret from them.

perhaps.

If it weren't for Lu, Li Chengqian would have already taken action against the 50,000-strong Tubo army?

"Prince, have you thought about how to deal with the Tibetan army?"

"No."

Li Chengqian said calmly, "If an enemy comes, we will fight him; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth."

"If the Tang Dynasty can defeat them once, we can defeat them twice!"

Li Tai pondered and said, "Prince, the Ministry of Revenue is empty and cannot provide the money to support this war..."

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, "You don't have to worry about the money."

"It's true."

"In order to deal with the 50,000-strong Tibetan army, I have already raised 300,000 taels of military pay!"

Three hundred thousand taels of military pay?

Everyone was stunned and looked at Li Chengqian in disbelief.

Li Tai was dumbfounded, "Where did the prince raise so much money?"

Li Chengqian ignored him and said calmly: "Lord Hou, please pay close attention to the movements of the Tibetan army outside Songzhou, and mobilize 30,000 troops and 50,000 civilians to transport food and grass to Songzhou in case of emergency."

"Post a notice that all civilians willing to help will receive 100 coins per day, and their food and drink expenses will be paid by the court."

"This this……"

The ministers were stunned.

Do the laborers get paid?

They fought in so many wars, and most of the laborers worked for free. When times were tense, they even had to prepare their own food rations.

But now, Li Chengqian not only pays the laborers wages, but also prepares food for them?

They had never experienced such a rich battle in their lives.

"This is inappropriate, Your Majesty."

Dai Zhou hurried out and said in a deep voice: "Three hundred thousand taels of silver should be sent to the national treasury..."

Li Chengqian raised his hand to interrupt: "Master Dai, please don't misunderstand. These three hundred thousand taels of silver are for me to use against Tubo, not for the tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty. There is no need to send them to the national treasury and let the Ministry of Revenue take care of them."

Dai Zhou: "..."

Li Dao Zong grinned and said, "Prince, Lord Dai is poor, his eyes light up when he sees silver."

Dai Zhou glared at him fiercely, "Does it take so much money to fight against Tubo?"

"It's such a waste to spend it all. Li Dao Zong, pat your chest and tell me when you have fought such a rich battle."

Li Dao Zong shrugged, "It's your Ministry of Revenue that has no money, it's your Majesty that has no money, not the Crown Prince."

"Now the prince has said that he wants to use these three hundred thousand taels of silver to beat the Tubo Zaidu into a panic and flee. Why not?"

Dai Zhou: "We can recruit civilians."

Li Chengqian: "The kind that doesn't cost money, right?"

Dai Zhou hesitated and said, "Your Highness, it has always been like this."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said slowly: "Everyone, before this, whenever the Tang Dynasty went to war, we would mobilize tens of thousands of civilians, and at most we would only provide them with a mouthful of food."

“Have you ever thought that they are the breadwinners of their families, and behind them stand families who are desperate for food?”

"It's the autumn harvest time, and they are willing to transport food and fodder. It's a blessing in disguise. How dare I ask them to do both labor and money?"

"I've thought about this for a long time, and I think this approach needs to be changed!"

"From today on, whenever the Tang Dynasty faces war, all the conscripted civilians will be paid different wages according to the season, and at least every civilian will be guaranteed three meals a day!"

As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, the military generals applauded and some civil officials even cheered.

"The prince is wise!"

"If this can be accomplished, it will be a blessing for the people of our dynasty!"

"With the prince's words, whoever dares to provoke us in the future, will we worry about not being able to kill them?!"

Just as everyone was cheering, Dai Zhou ran out, "That's not right, Prince!"

"Your Highness, if this is the case, the Ministry of Revenue..."

Li Chengqian interrupted Dai Zhou with a smile and said in a deep voice: "Master Dai, take a long-term view. This is just the beginning."

"I can assure you that within two months at the latest, the Ministry of Revenue will be filled with gold and jade."

Ah this...

Dai Zhou: “Really?”

Li Chengqian: “Absolutely true!”

Dai Zhou thought for a moment and suddenly raised his fist, "Let's do it. Defeat the 50,000-strong Tibetan army. I will do my best to assist you in this matter!"

Everyone laughed.

Li Dao Zong teased, "It's rare to see Lord Dai so supportive of the war."

Dai Zhou: "You can't blame me for not having money before. Besides, who among you military commanders has ever fought a battle like this?"

Li Dao Zong sighed, "I've never fought such a rich battle before!"

"Your Highness, Su Dingfang is still a little young. Does he know how to fight this battle? I think I should take over!"

Li Xiaogong: "You are already the Minister of Justice, and you still want to lead the army? If anyone wants to go, it should be me!"

"Your Highness, I will go..."

"Your Highness, I can also..."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, it's already been decided."

Looking at the generals who requested to fight, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue take care of this matter. Don't let me down!"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

"I will do my best!"

"Dismiss the dynasty!"

"I'm waiting to retire."

The ministers bowed with a smile, and then left the Taiji Hall in twos and threes.

Fang Xuanling and the other two gathered together again, looked at each other, and then got on Changsun Wuji's carriage.

Gao Shilian stroked his beard and said with a smile: "If His Majesty knew about the King of Qi, what expression do you think he would have?"

Fang Xuanling: "It will definitely be very exciting!"

"Driver, hurry up, Master Changsun is bored!"

"...?"

Changsun Wuji was speechless, fearing that Fang Xuanling wanted to go to the theater!

(End of this chapter)