The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 208: Tang Dynasty Flying Tigers

Li Shimin nodded and said, "You can rebuild the Right Leader of the Eastern Palace."

Let’s not talk about how the Donggong Youlu should be established. According to my own ideas, how should the so-called Donggong Youlu command the army?
And this kind of left-leading, right-leading... by practicing it over and over again, maybe they will become a... Tang Dynasty Flying Tigers?

One inexplicable thought after another appeared in Li Chengqian's mind.

Seeing the walnuts handed to him by his sister, Li Chengqian took two, peeled the walnuts and ate them while not answering his father immediately.

The martial arts performance was very lively. As the drumbeats on the side became louder and louder, the voices of people talking could no longer be heard. The army practiced from attacking to dispersing and then to closing up, in sequence.

This was a standard military performance, which basically showed how to use war horses to defeat a large army.

The army needs to break the enemy's siege.

The martial arts performance ended in the evening. After the emperor expressed his praise for Yuchi Gong, the brother and sister left with their father.

After returning to the East Palace, Li Chengqian quickly forgot about the Flying Tigers of the Tang Dynasty and continued to be busy with the things at hand.

The next day, until the morning court ended, Li Chengqian had forgotten about this incident.

I returned to the East Palace and sat in front of my grandfather's Chongwen Hall, shaving my beard in front of the bronze mirror. The weather was very good today, with clear skies.

Li Zhi and Ning'er were washing clothes and bedding in the Eastern Palace and hanging them on wooden poles to dry. For a moment, the whole Eastern Palace was filled with the scent of soap.

A eunuch came and disturbed the fun. After Li Chengqian shaved his beard, he wiped his chin with a wet cloth.

Li Yuan said with a smile: "When you are thirty years old, you will keep these beards."

Li Chengqian glanced at the eunuch standing beside him and said in a deep voice, "Did the emperor give any instructions?"

The eunuch said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty has ordered that the Crown Prince, who is over 18 years old, must not be without personal guards for a single day. Currently, the Right Commander of the East Palace is leading a thousand troops to Qujiang Pond, and Your Highness is invited to come and inspect them in person."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian almost spit out the tea he had just drunk. His father really did what he wanted. Was this his uncle's advice?

No matter how you look at it, it seems like it was my father who asked my uncle to arrange it in advance.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace now has troops, and my father has sent him a troop of one thousand men.

Li Yuan also smiled and said, "You can go and have a look. You are the crown prince and the heir apparent. You should have your own troops. When you ascend the throne, all the troops in the world will obey your orders."

After washing his face, Li Chengqian took the eunuch's order and said, "I have been very busy lately."

The eunuch replied, "The soldiers are all waiting for the Crown Prince's orders at Qujiang Pond. If Your Highness is busy with government affairs, the soldiers will also stay at Qujiang Pond and wait for Your Highness' orders."

After saying this, the eunuch left. Since it was an order, he could not refuse it.

After noon, the prince was still busy in the Secretariat.

Until dusk, the troops at Qujiang Lake were still waiting for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

I waited from morning till dusk.

After Li Chengqian finished his current political affairs, he prepared to go and see the Donggong Youlue of Qujiangchi.

Xue Wanbei led the prince from Chunming Gate in the east of Chang'an City all the way to Qujiang Lake, where the troops were still standing.

The person leading the troops was none other than Li Xiaogong.

This uncle seldom wears armor. I have to say that the first time I saw him in armor, his whole temperament was different. The murderous aura he had cultivated in the army could not be hidden.

Li Chengqian walked into the Qujiang Lake, walked to the side of the emperor's uncle, looked at the soldiers, and said slowly: "Is this my Tang Flying Tigers?"

"The Flying Tigers of the Tang Dynasty?" Li Xiaogong exclaimed: "What a good name! From now on, the prince's right-hand man will be called the Flying Tigers."

Li Chengqian said, "I'm sorry for what I said. I hope you forget what I just said."

"Your Highness, please feel free to do as you please."

Li Chengqian took the list handed over by his uncle. On the list were the names of generals and soldiers. The emperor said that there were one thousand soldiers, but in fact there were only three hundred soldiers at most, and there was no logistics. There were only ten cavalrymen among them.

Is this the toy the emperor gave to the prince?
This Donggong Youlu looks so shabby.

Li Chengqian walked forward with the roster in his hand.

The soldiers saluted in unison and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The voice was very loud, echoing in Qujiang Lake.

Li Chengqian looked at the smiling uncle next to him, then at the troops in the army, and asked suspiciously, "Chu Mo, what are you doing here?"

Cheng Chumo bowed and said, "Your Highness, I will be your deputy commander!"

Li Chengqian's expression froze, and he looked at the roster again, and it turned out to be the deputy commander.

Looking again, he noticed Li Jingheng standing beside him, also wearing leather armor. Li Chengqian turned his head and looked at his uncle again, "This..."

Li Xiaogong smiled and said, "Originally, I wanted to arrange Chongyi to come in, but Chengfan got there first. He cried in front of Your Majesty so that his son could be included in the Right Army."

At this point, the uncle looked unwilling and said, "I can't cry, otherwise I wouldn't have let him succeed."

Li Chengqian asked back: "Then the emperor's uncle is..."

"I have asked your Majesty for a position to train the troops."

"That place is the right rate..."

Cheng Chumo cleared his throat and said, "My father also cried when he was drinking with Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, and he sat down dejectedly beside the Qujiang Lake, scratching his head in distress. Three hundred people? Actually, it's not a small number.

He waved his hand and called the deputy commander Cheng Chumo over.

In fact, Chu Mo is quite tall, but looks a little wild, with a big beard, exactly like his father.

"Chu Mo, Jing Heng is serving in the army, right?"

Cheng Chumo said in a clear voice: "That's right."

After a little thought, Li Chengqian ordered: "Go to Du He's house and ask him to get some money and food to distribute to the soldiers."

"Your Highness, we are all stationed at Master Du He's residence?"

"Don't you have a place to station troops?"

"No...no."

At dusk, the temperature began to drop. Li Chengqian felt the wind around him was very cold. Being an emperor really gave his son a hard time.

Li Chengqian looked into the distance. The area where the martial arts performance was held that day had not yet been cleared. He asked, "Is anyone using that area now?"

"Your Highness, no one is using it."

"Then you can spend the night in the martial arts tent. Hasn't Qujiangli been repaired yet? You can arrange for the soldiers to repair Qujiangli, and you can live in Qujiangli from now on."

In the past, Cheng Chumo did not even have a formal official position in the army, and his situation was even worse than that of Li Zhen, the city gate guard.

The reason is that my father is the famous Cheng Yaojin, and no Wei Mansion is willing to take him in.

Cheng Chumo had been hanging around in Chang'an until he was twenty years old, and he didn't even have a formal military position.

I finally waited for His Majesty to appoint me as the right commander of the Eastern Palace. It's only a troop of 300 people, so I'm at least a deputy commander.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Repair Qujiangli and you can live here first."

"Here."

"I will make plans for what happens next."

"Here!"

Li Chengqian said to the emperor's uncle: "I'll trouble you with the future military training."

Li Xiaogong said with a smile: "Don't worry, Your Highness." Just as the prince was about to leave Qujiang Lake, he heard Li Xiaogong shouting: "All Flying Tigers, listen to my orders..."

……

Li Chengqian left here in distress and went back to the East Palace, thinking that he could do whatever he wanted.

But on second thought, the prince would be laughed at by his uncle if he couldn't even cure Youlu.

At night, Li Lizhi saw her brother's solemn expression again, and she told her brothers and sisters not to disturb her brother.

Sitting at the table, Li Chengqian was thinking about how to arrange the right rate. He hesitated for a moment before putting pen to paper. Then he began to write according to the military training method of later generations. He thought there would be no mistakes.

It was not until the next day, when General Li Ji talked about this matter, that I learned that my father had discussed it with the generals before building the East Palace Right Army.

Li Xiaogong wanted to fight for his son, but failed, so he asked for the right commander of the Eastern Palace to exercise military power.

Thus, there came into being all kinds of people serving as the Prince's Right Commander.

While Li Chengqian was eating noodles, he saw Xiao Wu and Xu Hui coming to the East Palace. They were already Li Zhi's disciples and came to class again today.

Retracting his gaze, and looking at Lord Ying again, Li Chengqian asked, "Does the Crown Prince lead the government?"

Li Ji nodded and said, "Since he is the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace, he should build a Commander's Mansion."

"What about the former rate government?"

Li Ji swallowed the noodles in his mouth and said, "Tear it down and the queen will use it to grow flowers."

Li Chengqian understood clearly and said, "So the wasteland in the West Pond Courtyard used to be the residence of the Eastern Palace? Now it has become the Queen Mother's garden."

……

"If we want to rebuild the government office, will that cost money again?"

Li Ji said: "It costs money to build a guard house."

Li Chengqian nodded and learned about the Tang Dynasty's Weifu from General Li Ji. In fact, he knew from his experience in managing the court's expenses over the years that there were still 800,000 troops in the Weifu armies in the Central Plains.

Among them, there were 500,000 in Guanzhong, and the remaining 100,000 were deployed in Jiannan Road, Hebei Road, Huainan Road, and Hedong Road.

The amount of money and grain that needs to be spent on the Wei Palace every year is enough to show how huge the expenditure is.

Having served in the Secretariat for many years, Li Chengqian was well aware of these arrangements.

After finishing the meal, Li Ji bowed and said, "I have important matters to attend to in the army."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "General, please go."

The emperor performed martial arts exercises in preparation for war, but as a prince, I have limited access to information. Where is my father going to send troops?

"You can go see Chai Shao and ask him if you have any questions."

"Thanks for the advice, Grandpa."

"I see that you are too busy on weekdays. Erlang Jiang has also established the Right Army of the Eastern Palace. If you do not manage the army strictly and properly, you will be criticized again."

This uncle is a very low-key person and seldom appears in public.

After returning to the court last year, he never came to court again.

Li Chengqian did not go directly to Chai Shao's house, but first came to his uncle's mansion, Duke Zhao.

The doorman who came to greet him hurriedly said with a smile, "Your Highness, please come in quickly."

Duke Zhao's mansion is bigger than his uncle's and teacher's houses.

Led by the servant, Li Chengqian walked through the front yard, passed the waterside pavilion on a pier across a pond, and saw his uncle Changsun Wuji standing by the pond.

There was also a young man in his early twenties, wearing a white gown, sitting nearby.

Among the children of the powerful and wealthy in Chang'an, the most mysterious and rarest one is my uncle's son Changsun Chong.

"Chong, meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The other party saluted first.

Li Chengqian also returned the greeting slightly and bowed to his uncle again.

"Your Highness, are you concerned about the matter of the Right Leader of the Eastern Palace?"

Li Chengqian did not sit down immediately, but looked at the pond and whispered, "This was Father's idea, right? Uncle's admonition to Father was also arranged by Father."

"The Crown Prince saw through me." Zhang Sun Wuji smiled with shame, and explained, "The Crown Prince was still young before, but now it's different. The Crown Prince has grown up now."

Li Chengqian asked again: "Uncle, where does the emperor plan to send troops?"

Facing the prince, Changsun Chong was just an ordinary young man, no longer the leader among the young talents in Chang'an City. Moreover, the aura displayed by this prince was definitely not that of an ordinary young man.

Chang Sun Chong looked at the prince's back. It would be more accurate to say that he was looking at a role model rather than admiring him.

In the past, there were both good and bad rumors about the prince, but now there are fewer gossips about him and more people are praising his wisdom.

Because many policies were implemented under the auspices of the crown prince, Guanzhong was indeed richer than before.

"Chong'er, you step back first."

Upon hearing this, Chang Sun Chong bowed and left.

After his son walked away, Changsun Wuji slowly spoke, "Yugu set up his own Khan at the Yili River."

"Is that the person who has always wanted to rebel against Tang?"

"It's him. This is the news I sent you half a month ago. The Gaochang king and his son are two-faced. After Yugushe proclaimed himself Yibi Duolu Khan, the Gaochang king sent him a lot of treasures and wanted to make peace with him. Yugushe also has Ashina Helu working for him."

Li Chengqian thought about it, what was supposed to happen had still happened, Yu Gushe became the Khan, and all this had still happened.

The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions and Gaochang is about to come.

Changsun Wuji continued, "Not only that, Yu Gushe is also building his royal court in the west of Mount Dianhe, has sent troops to Tokharistan, and has occupied Yanqi in the east. He is an ambitious man."

Li Chengqian hesitated and asked, "Father, are you going to send more troops to the Hexi Corridor?"

Chang Sun Wuji shook his head and said, "Sending troops is not a matter of a few words. We need to train the soldiers and prepare the baggage for the expedition. We won't send troops without a year or two."

"Is there no one in the Ili River area who resists Yugushe?"

"Yes, but Dilishi fled south." Changsun Wuji continued: "When the news came, we didn't know what the pro-Tang tribes were doing now. I heard that they sent envoys to Tang."

"Your Majesty has not directly stated whether he will send troops. Before Your Majesty agrees, all generals must not move rashly."

"Thank you for telling me, uncle."

"Your Highness, there is no need to thank me. Even if I did not say this, the Prime Minister would have informed Your Highness. However, this matter has been kept secret for now, and only a few people know about it."

Li Chengqian asked suspiciously, "What does this have to do with Donggong Youlu?"

Chang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Of course it doesn't matter."

It is wrong to make groundless associations. The establishment of the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace is just a reason for my father to find a reason to criticize the Eastern Palace.

A crown prince needs to develop comprehensively, and commanding the army is one of the professional skills of a crown prince.

Chang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Your Highness, do you still have any doubts?"

"No, I plan to go see my uncle."

"Your Highness should indeed go and see him."

(End of this chapter)