The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 227 Military Arrangements
The more afraid they are, the more persistent we must be.

These words fell into Guo Zhengyi's heart. Looking at the prince's back, Guo Zhengyi bowed once again. Without saying anything like "die for the sake of sacrifice", he unconsciously bowed his head and wanted to kowtow to the prince.

The Tang Dynasty was powerful. Gaochang had been conquered by the Tang Dynasty. Wasn’t the Tang Dynasty powerful?
After thinking about all this, Guo Zhengyi waited for the rain to subside and walked proudly on the wet ground.

The Tang Dynasty must be strong and fearless.

When autumn was about to come in Guanzhong, Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian also returned to Chang'an City. They were the third group to return.

As soon as Pei Xingjian returned to Chang'an, he handed in his armor and lance to the army, reported his military achievements, and completed his briefing with the officials of the Ministry of War. Then he ran into a man.

"Why is it you again!" Pei Xingjian looked at Wang Wendu in surprise.

"Brother Pei, I returned to Chang'an before you."

Pei Xingjian could only be rewarded for his military achievements after General Zhang Shigui returned.

Xue Rengui had just handed in his case file to an official from the Ministry of War, and when he saw this, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Wang Wendu bowed and said, "I am about to go to Songzhou to defend it. I wonder if you two brothers can spare me a moment to talk."

"Well, if you dare to lie again, don't blame us for being ruthless."

"This time, a certain company sincerely wants to negotiate with the two of you." Wang Wendu said as he led the two of them along Suzaku Street.

From the bustling Suzaku Street, I walked into a house. I didn’t know whose house this was, but as soon as I walked in, I saw a lot of troops and weapons in the yard.

Xue Rengui looked at the tall soldiers with vigilance in his eyes.

Wang Wendu stood in front of a closed door and said loudly, "General, the person is here."

The yard was still quiet, but suddenly the door opened and I saw a pair of boots that only military generals would wear.

Then when I saw the style of the belt, I realized that this person had a very high position in the army.

Su Dingfang walked lazily outside the house and said, "He killed dozens of Western Turkic cavalrymen, cleared out fifteen locations of horse bandits, and led fifteen men to annihilate a group of three hundred horse bandits. What a powerful skill."

This was the case file that Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui had just sent to the Ministry of War, and the general actually knew about it now.

Pei Xingjian was shocked and felt something was wrong. These military achievements and reports were all drafted by General Zhang Shigui, which means that the general had someone send them there.

Seeing that the two were silent, Wang Wendu explained, "This is General Su Dingfang."

"Greetings, General." Xue Rengui said loudly, "I have heard of your great reputation a long time ago."

Su Dingfang's eyes moved from the tall Xue Rengui to Pei Xingjian, and he said with a smile: "He has courage and strategy. The son of a general from Hedong is indeed extraordinary. What a pity..."

Xue Rengui questioned: "What is the general regretting?"

"It's a pity that you have already become Zhang Shigui's disciple. I wanted to accept both of you." Su Dingfang sat down in front of the door, took off his boots and put on more comfortable straw sandals, and said: "Pei Shouyue? It's a good name. Are you willing to become my disciple?"

When fighting against the Western Turks, Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian did not perform well. Later, when they were clearing out various horse bandits, Zhang Shigui saw the signs.

Brother Xue agreed to this and would let the general follow under General Zhang when he returned to Chang'an.

Pei Xingjian did not agree to General Zhang's kindness. He never expected to come to Chang'an, meet Wang Wendu, and meet General Su here.

At this moment, Pei Xingjian set his sights on Wang Wendu and said, "So it was General Su who arranged this for you."

Su Dingfang said: "General Wang is a brave man. His Majesty arranged for him to be in the Hexi Corridor. You don't have to take it seriously if he used rude words in the past."

Pei Xingjian looked displeased.

Wang Wendu said with a smile: "General, I will take my leave first."

Su Dingfang nodded to indicate that he could leave, and then he looked at the two young men in front of him and explained, "In fact, General Wang has always been a general under my command. Back then, he was with me in Yinshan, and he attacked Jie Li with General Li Jing. When it was icy and snowy, his beard was frozen. Now his beard is still bumpy."

Pei Xingjian now understood everything. How could he guard the 600,000 dan of grain and fodder in the Hexi Corridor without any spies watching over it?

Su Dingfang asked again: "How about it, are you willing to serve under me?"

Seeing him hesitate, Su Dingfang said again: "Don't worry, you can think about it carefully. If you refuse me, I won't blame you."

Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "Shouyue can follow the general's arrangements, but there is one thing I would like the general to decide on."

"What's the matter?" Su Dingfang asked lightly, as if nothing in the world could stump him, and his words showed that he looked down upon everything in the world.

Pei Xingjian said, "Brother Xue has been secretly dating a woman from the Liu family in Hedong for many years. If the general can help Brother Xue, I will obey his orders."

"Haha, you are still very loyal." Su Dingfang looked at Xue Rengui and said, "Are you attracted to another girl?"

Xue Rengui scratched his head, smiled awkwardly, and said, "When I get a reward for my military merits, I will ask for your hand in marriage."

Pei Xingjian explained: "The Liu family of Hedong is proud of their status as a noble family and is unwilling to marry their daughter to Brother Xue, who has no merit and whose family has fallen on hard times."

The Hedong Liu family was indeed a noble family back then, such as Liu Yuanjing.

However, after the Daye period, the Liu family was no longer as powerful as it used to be. In addition, Taiyuan and Boling had continued to marry despite obstructions and against the emperor's wishes over the years.

The Liu family still prided themselves on their family background and wanted to find a more powerful family. Naturally, they would not consider Xue Rengui, whose family had already fallen into poverty.

Pei Xingjian said, "That Liu girl has been waiting for Brother Xue. Even though Brother Xue is unknown and has no merits, and only makes a living by farming, Liu will not marry anyone but Brother Xue. This matter has spread across Hedong, and everyone in the village knows about it."

"If the general can agree to this and preside over the wedding, it will surely be a story worthy of praise."

Although Pei Xingjian is young, he is after all a scholar and has served as a county magistrate.

The way he spoke was different from that of ordinary soldiers. He first said that Xue Rengui and the girl had already fallen in love with each other and would not marry anyone else but Xue Rengui.

Even though Xue Rengui just made a living by farming, he still said this was a beautiful story.

It only takes a little effort to make a good story happen, so why not do it?

Su Dingfang became more and more satisfied with Pei Xingjian, not only because of his bravery in killing enemies, but also because of his wisdom.

What a general needs is quick wit. Most of the time, when faced with situations on the battlefield, they need to respond in a timely manner rather than being rigid.

Whether it is his military exploits in the Western Regions or looking at it now, the characteristics displayed by this Hedong boy all meet the requirements of a general.

Su Dingfang smiled and said, "The Liu family in Hedong... is a bit difficult to deal with. I still have some connections. After pacifying Yinshan, the Hedong nobles owed me a favor."

Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "Thank you, General."

Su Dingfang looked at the two brothers in front of him and said, "Keep the promise, what about you?"

He replied: "I am still young."

"Why did you want to take the imperial examination to become an official?" Su Dingfang shook his head with emotion and asked, "Are you really not a disciple of the crown prince?"

"Replying to the general, Shouyue has only met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once." Su Dingfang said without a doubt: "Even if he has only met him once, it doesn't mean that he is not a disciple of the Crown Prince. How many times has Di Zhixun met the Crown Prince?"

"This..." Pei Xingjian hesitated for a moment and said, "I have already resigned from the post of Weinan County Magistrate."

"I know that the current magistrate of Weinan County is Zhang Da'an."

Su Dingfang smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you are a disciple of the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince cannot ascend the throne in the future, I will die with you."

Pei Xingjian wanted to cry but had no tears. He said, "I am really not a disciple of the Crown Prince."

"Come to Zuo Wuwei to look for me every day at dawn. Your military merits are enough for you to serve as a lieutenant by my side."

Pei Xingjian was about to express his gratitude when he saw that the general had already left.

When the two brothers left, Pei Xingjian thought to himself, "Brother Xue, do you think the general thought I was a disciple of the crown prince, so he said these words?"

Xue Rengui shook his head and said in a deep voice: "No."

"Why?"

After half a year in the Western Regions, Xue Rengui's dark face became even darker and his beard even thicker. He said, "If you are really a disciple of the Crown Prince, General Su Dingfang will not be the only one who wants to win you over."

Brother Xue used to be a farmer, but his words were honest and pertinent.

This remark woke Pei Xingjian up. He nodded secretly. Just like what Brother Xue said, if he was really regarded as a disciple of the prince, there would definitely be many people in the army who wanted to win him over.

There had been no further movement in the three hours since he returned to Chang'an, so Pei Xingjian finally felt relieved.

Seeing the two brothers coming back, Pei Mingli smiled and invited them to have a drink at his home.

Pei Mingli spoke frankly at the dinner table. When Pei Xingjian asked about Mingli's brothers and sisters after drinking, he realized that Pei Mingli did not get much from the honey.

The money earned was not much, and they could not catch up with the expansion of Guanzhong merchants, let alone develop in Luoyang and Tongguan.

Pei Mingli did not say these words. He never talked about his own difficulties, even though Pei Xingjian knew that he was willing to spend all his family wealth to justify his loyalty to him and Brother Xue.

Upon hearing that General Su Dingfang was willing to help settle Brother Xue's marriage, Pei Mingli happily drank two more glasses and fell asleep drunk.

"When our military achievements are rewarded, we will find a county in Guanzhong to settle down in."

Pei Xingjian said, "He lives in Weinan County. I will go and ask Magistrate Zhang."

Xue Rengui nodded in agreement.

When autumn was approaching, Luoyang was building river embankments again. Ma Zhou felt that the current river embankments in Luoyang were still not strong enough. This was his conclusion based on the county annals of various counties in Luoyang.

According to records of various counties in previous years, when the water level in Luoyang was at its highest, the entire city of Luoyang and even the highest Luoyang Palace were flooded.

After Quan Wanji returned to Chang'an, he informed the court of this matter.

After Li Tai went to meet his father that day, he hurried to meet a man, who was the current Prince of Qi, Li You.

Last year, my father conferred titles on many dukes, and also changed Li You's title to King of Qi.

He is the son of Concubine Yin and also the most mischievous among the princes.

Because many imperial censors saw Prince of Qi Li You hunting in the suburbs in the past two days, and he did not look sick at all.

Therefore, the censors impeached King Qi Li You for feigning illness and staying in Chang'an.

Li Shimin was angry about this and asked Li Tai to go and scold him.

Li Tai walked into the Prince of Qi's mansion alone, and scolded Li You, who was pretending to be sick, in front of the Prince of Qi's uncle Yin Hongzhi and dozens of servants in the Prince of Qi's mansion.

In Ganlu Palace, Li Shimin, who had just finished his rest, was playing chess with the crown prince.

Quan Wanji stood aside and explained matters related to Luoyang.

After listening to this, Li Shimin nodded with appreciation and said, "I feel much more relieved these days because you are in charge of the flood in Luoyang."

Quan Wanji said: "It is our duty as an official."

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea and said nothing. Instead, he sat aside and read the memorial on water control in Luoyang, waiting for his father to move the chess piece.

Half an hour has passed and the situation on the chessboard is very clear. My father has already been defeated, but he is reluctant to make the next move and has no intention of admitting defeat.

Just as my grandfather said, my father is a proud man. Even when playing chess, he would be defeated time and time again, but he would never admit defeat.

Quan Wanji added: "As the Crown Prince said in his decree to Luoyang, flood control is like governing people. It is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It requires years, or even decades of perseverance."

Li Shimin placed his hands on his knees and said in a deep voice: "I know that You'er has been naughty since he was young, and Xue Dading has failed to discipline him. I hope you can discipline You'er. You are Ke'er's chief historian, and I have seen Ke'er's growth in the past two years..."

"Father." Li Chengqian was still reading the memorial in his hand, and interrupted the conversation while sitting on the chair. "I think Li You has been naughty since he was young. It is useless to just teach him. He needs to be taught a lesson. I heard that when Qingque reprimanded him, he even refuted that Qingque was the legitimate son and that was why he was favored by your father."

Li Shimin's face darkened.

Li Chengqian added: "General Niu Jinda will be going to Songzhou in a few days. Let him go with you. Don't give him any special treatment, and don't let anyone accompany him. Let him guard Songzhou and resist the Tibetans."

Quan Wanji stood there with his head bowed, remaining silent.

Li Chengqian said: "Father has taken good care of him. He has always been like this."

Li Shimin said, "You have been unhappy with that boy for a long time."

"Does Father think he is cool?"

The emperor always had the crown prince with him when he handled state affairs. This was the case when Quan Wanji returned from Luoyang to report, and the same was true when Niu Jinda was summoned into the palace.

Nowadays, the emperor often keeps the crown prince by his side when he listens to court affairs.

Li You was assigned by the emperor to guard Songzhou. He was not accompanied by any servants and was the youngest soldier in the army.

If Li You violates military regulations, Niu Jinda can punish him by military law.

This time, they had to leave Chang'an and garrison Songzhou for several years, and the emperor gave Niu Jinda the power to beat and scold the prince in the army.

During this trip, not many people in the army knew that the young man wearing exquisite leather armor was Prince of Qi Li You.

Originally, my father wanted to arrange Quan Wanji to teach the King of Qi, but now Quan Wanji is still kept in the King of Wu's Palace.

The army set out for Songzhou. At this moment, the Crown Prince, the King of Wei, and the King of Wu were standing together by the Taiye Lake, with their figures reflected on the water.

"I don't want our family affairs to be too complicated." Li Chengqian said to Li Ke.

(End of this chapter)