The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 251 Clouds of War
The next day, groups of soldiers arrived in Chang'an, bringing news from Mobei and the Western Regions.

These military reports were submitted to the emperor who was still recuperating. Without paying attention to his current illness, Li Shimin coughed and summoned Fang Xuanling, Yuchi Gong, Zhangsun Wuji, and Li Xiaogong to the Xingqing Hall to discuss matters.

Li Chengqian was also summoned and sat in the palace as the crown prince.

Then my father handed the general report to several people, saying that Tubo had assembled 200,000 troops north of Qinghai, and there seemed to be some unusual movements.

News about Yugushe was also delivered. The man who fled westward in the 11th year of Zhenguan finally had news. He reorganized his troops and confronted Dilish Khan on the north bank of the Ili River, with the east and the west facing each other. The two sides had a brief period of peace and each of them maintained troops.

This war determined who would be the master of the Western Regions. After reading the military report, Li Chengqian handed it to his uncle.

The Tang Dynasty did not care who would become the master of the Ili River between Yugushe and Dilish Khan.

The Tang Dynasty intended to conquer the Western Regions and the Tianshan Mountains, so neither of the two Western Turkic overlords could become the future masters.

I just hope that fewer people will die in the battle between the two Khans in the north and the south, so that there will be enough population left for future development.

Li Chengqian took the memorial handed to him by his uncle.

Li Xiaogong said: "This Mobei has become a disaster after all."

There was a tribe called Xueyantuo in Mobei, where there was a Khan named Zhenzhu. After Jie Li was defeated, Mobei began to annex Jie Li's territory.

This is also something that Ashina She'er has always been thinking about. Around the tenth year of Zhenguan, Ashina She'er led his people to attack Mobei several times, but was defeated every time. Now he is still thinking about this matter, hoping that he can fight back one day.

According to the military report, Zhenzhu Khan built a camp in Jie Li's hometown and had 200,000 soldiers and horses. He also had two sons, who commanded the north and south of the grassland respectively.

Fang Xuanling read the report and said: "It is not worth discussing the north and south of the Ili River. We can first divide the northern part of the desert. Now Tubo is eyeing them covetously and has a strong desire to advance."

Yuchi Gong silently handed a list to His Majesty.

The twelfth year of Zhenguan had just begun when it was shrouded in the shadow of war.

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "Your Majesty, Tubo claimed that there were 200,000 people, but according to Feng Dexia's report, there are only 100,000 people."

Li Xiaogong said: "One hundred thousand is a lot, fifty or sixty thousand is enough. Now that Niu Jinda is stationed in Songzhou, they may not dare to attack Songzhou."

Li Chengqian stood quietly aside, took the eunuch's kettle, and personally poured a bowl of hot water for his father.

As the hot water poured into the tea bowl, he noticed the roster on the table. There were two words written on the roster: Baiqi.

The word "bad people" was written on every column of names, and they were selected to join the army.

Li Chengqian poured the tea and continued to stand aside with his hands in his pockets. His father finally built a hundred cavalrymen, selected a hundred good archers, and made them the second shift to serve as the chief of the north gate, saying: "A hundred cavalrymen."

It was one of the imperial guards of the Tang Dynasty and was directly under the emperor.

The Hundred Cavalry has been an indispensable imperial army in the history of the Tang Dynasty since its establishment.

Listening to my father continuing to discuss with them, they finally came to the conclusion that the two sons of Feng Zhenzhu Khan should be appointed as the Little Khans of Mobei respectively, so that problems would arise within the country first.

He ordered Yuchi Gong to send people into Mobei to investigate the situation. If necessary, he would let Zhenzhu Khan's two sons fight first.

Li Shimin wrote an edict to reprimand Zhenzhu Khan for setting up a camp in Jie Li's former territory.

As for the matters on both sides of the Ili River, let's put them aside for the time being. Zhang Shigui's army went deep into the Western Regions in order to establish the Anxi Protectorate. Before that, he would not interfere in the feud between Yuguse and Dilishi.

Several imperial edicts were sent out of Xingqing Hall one after another. Seeing that his father was coughing again, Li Chengqian reached out and patted his father on the back, saying, "Please take care of your rest, father."

"What?" Li Shimin said after his cough subsided, "You can also arrange these things."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Father, you are a man of great talent and strategy. I have tried my best to learn from you. Is the envoy named Feng Dexia still in Tubo?"

Li Shimin said: "Yes."

"It seems that the Tibetan plateau is not insurmountable." Looking at everyone leaving Xingqing Hall, Li Chengqian said, "I will take my leave now."

Li Shimin drank the tea to moisten his mouth and nodded.

After leaving Xingqing Hall, Li Chengqian noticed his uncle standing outside the hall and said, "Tuoyuhun has been conquered by the Tang Dynasty, but Songtsen Gampo still dared to invade. I have to say that he is a very courageous man."

Chang Sun Wuji said: "The border has been fully prepared, please rest assured, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Of course I feel relieved."

He presided over the government these days, and after the morning court session, he went to the Secretariat to handle government affairs. He wrote a scroll of letters and handed it to Yu Zhining beside him, instructing him: "Give this scroll of letters to Li Zhen."

"Yes." After receiving the letter, Yu Zhining left in a hurry.

My father took a hundred young bad boys and built a hundred cavalrymen, and the Tang Dynasty had one more imperial guard.

These days, the Emperor often went to see this Hundred Cavalry Imperial Guard, and even General Yuchi Gong was training with them.

After finishing the morning court session, Li Chengqian came to the north side of the imperial palace. This was originally the place where his grandfather was going to build a summer palace, but now it was used by his father to train the Hundred Cavalry.

Soldiers in armor rode their war horses across the sand. If they made any mistake or slacked off, their generals would whip the young men.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

With his father's permission, Li Chengqian walked to the side and looked down at the young bad guys who were training hard.

"These people are different from the noble children in the army."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I understand that they have this hard-earned opportunity, and they will cherish it. The harder it is for someone to live, the more they should not be underestimated."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Why? Is your Right Commander stricter or is my Hundred Riders stricter?"

"Father is clear in his mind. From the establishment of the Crown Prince's Right Army, it is not something I can control. Even the selection of personnel was arranged by Father."

Li Shimin continued: "Why didn't you ask me for the right to select the right leader?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and looked a little serious.

Li Shimin put his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Why? Do you regret it now?"

Li Chengqian shook his head again and said, "Father, you are joking. There are some powers that I can fight for. Even if you don't give them to me now, one day in the future, you will take the initiative to give them to me."

"One day?" Li Shimin grinned and said, "I also hope that one day, my prince will be able to say these words to me so happily."

Li Chengqian handed over a memorial and said, "The Chongwen Academy in Luoyang has been built. There are now 500 students, 100 of whom were transferred from the Chongwen Academy in Chang'an. I came here specifically to inform the emperor."

Li Shimin took the memorial but still did not read it, with his hands behind his back.

"My son, please retire."

"Ah."

Li Shimin looked at the training ground with his back to his son, who seemed to be walking further and further away. He did not look back but asked, "Is he far away?"

The old eunuch at the side replied: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has walked down the tower."

Li Shimin sighed deeply.

After the hundred cavalrymen below lined up again, Yuchi Gong went up to the tower and reported: "Your Majesty, today's training is over."

Li Shimin raised his head slightly, looking at the open blue sky with scattered clouds floating in it. "Cheng Qian said that one day he would not have to ask me for power, and I would grant him some power." It was difficult to comment on the emperor's father-son relationship. Yuchi Gong saluted and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is just a young man with a bit of youthful spirit."

Li Shimin patted his middle-aged belly, turned around and said, "Let these children rest for half a day."

"Here."

"I am getting older, but I am not as determined as these children."

"Your Majesty, you are still in your prime, why are you saying such senile words?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Jingde, you have asked me to resign several times, so don't tell me about your old age."

Yuchi Gong lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "I am ashamed."

After walking two steps, Li Shimin felt annoyed again and asked Yuchi Gong who was following him, "Why is Cheng Qian so paranoid?"

As they continued walking, Yuchi Gong thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince once said something."

"What?"

"Your Highness said that being an official and serving the country is for the people, and that we should be biased about some things. This is not nitpicking, but a requirement that should be met. That's why there are rumors that county officials are living in fear."

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head and said, "Jingde, you are confused too."

Yuchi Gong stroked his black and white beard and said, "I am stupid, I don't know where I went wrong."

When asked east, he said west, and Jingde did not dare to comment on the prince.

Li Shimin smiled, coughed twice, and said nothing more.

The emperor's cold has improved. He only coughs occasionally, but he is no longer in serious condition.

In fact, His Royal Highness Prince Ji of the Eastern Palace recovered faster. Even though he also caught a cold, it only took His Royal Highness Prince Ji five days to recover.

Princess Dongyang said that His Royal Highness Prince Ji was still growing and would naturally recover quickly from a minor illness.

Your Majesty is now middle-aged, so you cannot recover as quickly as young people.

The court has been very busy recently, and so have several counties along the Wei River.

A simple silt dam stands in the river channel, spanning both sides of the Wei River, forming water flows of different heights on the east and west sides.

The first silt dam was finally built. Xu Jingzong wiped the sweat from his forehead with his muddy hands. Now there was a lot of silt hanging on his forehead.

Everyone was happy to see the water flowing out from the dam.

Li Tai sat aside and wrote down his notes. He said, "Now is the season when the water level in Guanzhong is low. It is still in time to build two more silt dams before June."

Xu Jingzong learned from previous experience, but not because there were mistakes when the dam was built, but because the water level was high at that time.

However, this silt dam is very thick and is still built according to the highest water level requirements.

Li Keshi was ordered to guard the King of Wei. He came hurriedly and said, "Your Highness, the King of Wu is here."

Li Tai put down his pen, blew away the ink on the paper, left it aside, pressed it with a piece of jade, stood up and said, "Let him come over."

"Here."

Now the paper in Guanzhong is getting cheaper and cheaper. Paper at ten cents a foot has become the most sought-after item in Guanzhong.

Although the new paper made by Du He is expensive, it does not sell as well as the old paper produced in Weinan.

Li Tai calculated carefully and found that the profit was still not as high as Du He's new paper, even though more people were buying this old paper now.

Since recycling old paper also costs money, the profit is relatively thin. But new paper is different. You don’t have to spend extra money to recycle it.

In this regard, Du He looked down upon the business of buying and selling old paper.

Just as I was thinking about it, I saw Du He leading a group of people. These people came with shoulder poles and distributed food to the militiamen who were building the dam.

He has always been keen on helping people in Jingzhao Prefecture.

When the King of Wu came closer, Du He also came with a food box.

"I heard that the first silt dam was completed, so I came to take a look."

Li Ke walked forward with a smile.

Du He placed the food box on the table and said, "Your Highness, the King of Wu, have come just in time. Let's prepare some food and eat together."

Li Tai said, "Sit down."

After the King of Wu and the King of Wei were seated, Du He stood by and arranged the food. They were all younger brothers of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so they should be taken care of.

This is to prevent His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from thinking that the King of Wei and the King of Wu are not having a good time while they are away.

Li Tai said: "Du He, please sit down and have dinner with us."

Du He bowed and said, "I have finished my meal."

Li Ke first picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of braised pork to eat. While chewing, he said, "Have you heard about the military report sent from the border recently?"

Li Tai ate his meal slowly and shook his head.

"I heard that Zhenzhu Khan of Mobei is acting more and more outrageously, and even built a tent in the old site of Jie Li's Khanate."

Li Tai ate without stopping his chopsticks, and said calmly: "Father and brother will take care of these things, so we don't need to worry about them."

Li Ke was about to eat but put down his chopsticks again and said, "It seems that my brother thinks that I am too arrogant and asked me to run around the counties. Maybe he already knew about these things and sent me away in advance."

"My brother, you are worrying too much. How could my brother know these things in advance? He has no such intention. Changes at the border are unpredictable. Father only received the military report a few days ago. Even if my brother has great power, he cannot predict the future."

Li Ke asked, "Why did my brother arrange 600,000 shi of grain and fodder in the Hexi Corridor in advance?"

Li Tai was eating, and he raised his hand slightly and gestured to Du He with his chin, meaning, "Ask Du He."

Noticing the look from His Royal Highness the King of Wu, Du He bowed and said, "Your Highness the King of Wei, what do you want from Your Royal Highness the King of Wu?"

"Were you also involved in the construction of the Hexi Corridor?"

Hearing the question from His Royal Highness Prince Wu, Du He bowed and then said, "I am also here to sell soap and cooperate with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's arrangement. That's all. I just gave away some soap."

Li Tai gave Li Ke a look, signaling him to be more polite.

Even though Du He does not hold an office in the court, he is the person the emperor trusts the most.

The meals in front of him were all prepared by Du He, not to mention that this was most likely arranged by his royal brother.

Li Ke withdrew his gaze and ate his food with a suspicious look.

Seeing that the two princes stopped asking questions, Du He left the place to check on the distribution of the buns and millet porridge.

Each militiaman has two buns, one stuffed with mutton and green onions, the other stuffed with wild vegetables. Their meal consists of one meat dish, one vegetable dish and a bowl of porridge.

(End of this chapter)