The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 536 Became a Legend
These days, under the guidance of Yu Zhining, Pei Yan wrote the strategy for the future reform of the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War will become different. In the future, the Ministry of War will become the link between the various Zhechoufu in various parts of the country.

In other words, if a war is to be fought, the Ministry of War must take the lead, lead the way for the Zhechoufu, and correct the style and behavior of the Zhechoufu in various places and abandon old habits.

This is also one of the reasons why Yu Zhining valued Liu Rengui. During the Zhenguan period, Liu Rengui killed a Zhechou Duwei and was safe and sound. He also had military merits. It would be a pity not to place such a talent in the Ministry of War.

Besides, both Pei Yan and Liu Rengui had been to the battlefield.

Pei Yan had been writing regulations for several days since he came back on the winter solstice. He remembered clearly that this was the third time he had stood before His Majesty since he took office in the court, and this was the only time he stood so close to him.

Pei Yan handed over the charter he had been writing for several days with both hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have written down my thoughts on the future of the Ministry of War in this memorial."

It is said that one should not say too much. Have you really written everything?

It’s hard to say.

Pei Yan is a young man, at least he is very honest and doesn't seem to have so many little thoughts.

Li Chengqian took the memorial from the eunuch and opened it to read.

Su Tan sat aside, not knowing what to say, and simply pretended to close his eyes and rest.

The hall was very quiet. The eunuchs who entered and left the hall consciously lowered their footsteps. Seeing that His Majesty was concentrating on reading the memorials, the eunuchs even breathed carefully.

Especially, this is the Wude Hall, and I wonder if Your Majesty has any other plans when he comes to the Wude Hall on the first day of the new year.

Li Chengqian read a few pages and asked, "In the future, should the officials of the Ministry of War go to the battlefield and Zhechongfu more often?"

Pei Yan said: "That's right."

Li Chengqian looked at Yu Zhining who was standing beside him again. He had a smile on his face and seemed very satisfied with Pei Yan's strategy.

This memorial was very long, with more than a thousand words. After reading it, Li Chengqian put it on the table and asked, "The Ministry of War corrected the style of the Zhechongfu, so who will supervise the Zhechongfu?"

Pei Yan was asked this question and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Asking questions is much easier than answering them, and the emperor's words made Pei Yan fall into deep thought.

Yu Zhining said: "I think the Ministry of War's correction is naturally the Ministry of War's supervision."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "The power of supervision should be given to the Censorate, and the power of correction should be given to the Ministry of War."

Yu Zhining bowed and said, "Yes."

Looking at Pei Yan in front of him, Li Chengqian said, "Go back and have a good New Year. Next year, you and Liu Rengui will be promoted to assistant ministers of the Ministry of War. I will still rely on you."

Pei Yan bowed and said, "I obey your command."

"Let's go back."

After hearing His Majesty's casual words, Pei Yan bowed and left the Wude Hall, leaving the palace under the guidance of the eunuchs.

In the Wude Hall, Li Chengqian poured tea for Su Tan and Yu Zhining and thought, "What do you think of this person?"

Yu Zhining said: "Your Majesty, it is very useful."

Pei Yan is indeed a very useful young man. The Ministry of War among the Six Ministries is about to start reforming, and Liu Rengui and him must be used.

Yu Zhining is very capable, but he may not be able to handle such a big thing alone, so he needs help.

Li Chengqian added: "Don't worry, Lord Ying will help you."

Yu Zhining nodded.

Su Tan finally opened his eyes and drank the tea given by His Majesty.

Li Chengqian peeled walnuts and said with a relaxed look: "I want more students to be able to enter the army for training."

Seeing that they finally talked about Chongwen Hall, Su Tan breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He said again: "Your Majesty's order, I dare not disobey."

"I still want to discuss this with my father-in-law, and let Minister Yu have a say as well."

In the Wude Hall, the aroma of tea lingered in the air, and the emperor and his ministers talked constantly.

After talking for a while, Li Chengqian asked, "So, father-in-law means that fifteen-year-olds are most suitable for joining the army?"

Su Tan nodded.

Li Chengqian thought about his son's age and said, "I think you said that, father-in-law, because fifteen-year-olds are the most likely to get into trouble."

Su Tan added: "Your Majesty, whether it is physique or energy, children of this age are the easiest to train."

It was clearly the first day of the new year, so if he missed his grandson, he should just say it. Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and asked, "What does the Ministry of War think?"

Yu Zhining thought for a moment and replied, "Fifteen is just right."

Li Chengqian looked at the two and said, "Then this matter will be arranged during the Lantern Festival, and the Ministry of War will cooperate with Chongwenguan."

Su Tan and Yu Zhining bowed together and said, "Yes."

Pei Yan has most likely returned to the Ministry of War, and Yu Zhining still has to continue his work.

Yu Zhining has always been a diligent person. Li Chengqian asked the eunuchs to prepare meals for the Ministry of War and send more New Year gifts to their family.

The father-in-law and son-in-law were the only ones left in the Wude Hall. Li Chengqian suddenly asked, "How is your father-in-law's health lately?"

Su Tan nodded and said, "Very good."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "The school in Wugong County should be closed. From now on, people from Chongwenguan will be in charge of teaching in Wugong County."

Su Tan said, "Yes."

"I also know that some people said that I took the power of teaching and made everyone in the world learn the knowledge of Chongwenguan. Some people also said that I wanted to become the Li Tang family. But I have never thought about it, and how dare I."

"Your Majesty, don't take the gossip of the people to heart."

"Father!" Hearing the voice, he looked up and saw Yu Tu walking towards him. He said, "Mother has prepared lunch."

When he saw his eldest grandson, Su Tan's eyes lit up.

Li Chengqian asked, "Why don't you stay at your grandfather's house for a while?"

Yu Tu said unhappily, "The people in Wugong County are not smart, I don't want to associate with them. Recently I have been learning how to employ and identify people from my uncle."

The prince’s uncle is the current Changsun Wuji.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "This child is just like me, and is close to my uncle."

Su Tan still had a smile on his face, and his expression showed that he was very satisfied to see his eldest grandson.

Li Chengqian added: "You should also go to Chongwenguan and read more of the knowledge there."

"I understand. Teacher Shangguan will take me there."

Su Tan suddenly felt that it was a wise move for His Majesty to appoint Shangguan as the prince's attendant.

The lunch in the palace was still very sumptuous, and what was rare was that my uncle was also there today.

At the banquet, the Emperor and the Empress sat in the seats of honor, while Li Chengqian sat with his brothers and sisters, and everyone told jokes about what happened this year.

Dongyang has never thought about getting married. Now that she is at this age, her father and mother are not in a hurry and seem to be willing to go along with her.

After dinner, Li Chengqian sat by the Taiye Lake and fished. He yawned as he looked at the pleasant scenery.

"Brother?" Hearing the words behind him, Li Chengqian said, "Dongyang."

Dongyang put his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Divine Doctor Sun is back again."

"When did he come back?"

"The night the strange phenomenon occurred in the sky, Dr. Sun was at my sister's hospital. He said that such a strange phenomenon must be caused by someone."

Li Chengqian smiled guiltily, but was seen through by the old immortal.

Some things, once they happen, will become rumors when people follow them, and after a long time, they will become legends. However, if something happens over and over again, not only will it no longer be strange, it may even be seen through by others.

Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Li Chengqian didn't know how long his tricks could last. At worst, he would not use them anymore and just let them be lost. When people discover the secret in the future, it will always be confirmed.

Dongyang focused all her attention on her career. She was in charge of the largest hospital in Guanzhong, which had hundreds of doctors and could also provide support to the army from time to time.

Li Chengqian asked, "How many people did your hospital send to Nanzhao this year?"

"Not many, maybe a dozen or so. Including the doctors called in from all over the country, there should be more than a hundred doctors in Nanzhao."

"Quite a few doctors have been sent." Linchuan happened to appear.

"How is your Beiyuan?"

Hearing his brother's question, Linchuan said, "There are not many people in Beiyuan. It's still the same. Our knowledge may not be learned by ordinary people."

Dongyang said: "Normal children can't learn the basics."

They all came from the Eastern Palace. Dongyang, Linchuan, and even Li Lizhi learned their knowledge from the Eastern Palace.

It can only be said that in terms of some basic knowledge or thinking ability, there are differences between the brothers and sisters of the Eastern Palace and ordinary people.

Li Chengqian didn't know how big the difference was.

The first month of this year was very peaceful, until the eighth day of the first lunar month, when Pei Xingjian, Xue Rengui and Liu Rengui returned to Chang'an City.

Also coming with them was a Sai people king, who brought ten carts of gold to Tian Khan.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, General Liang Jianfang also returned to Chang'an City.

It started snowing again in Guanzhong. Wang Xuance lived in a mansion near the East Market of Zhuque Street. The Queen of India was discussing the makeup of the Tang people with a woman.

Wang Xuance lazily walked out of the house and went to find Jiang Shiren.

Jiang Shiren was serving in the Left Army. When he saw Wang Xuance return safely, he couldn't stop smiling.

At that time, Jiang Shiren, as the deputy envoy, went to India with Wang Xuance. He was captured by the Indians, but he escaped from prison, led an army and captured Alonashun alive. That was a big event that he could brag about for the rest of his life in Chang'an City.

Jiang Shiren had long heard about the great victory at Congling, and also heard about Wang Xiaojie's expedition to Daqin. He hesitated and said, "That boy is still young, why is he going on an expedition?"

"He said that he had come so far with great difficulty, and he would be too ashamed to return to Chang'an if he didn't kill enough people. He wanted to capture a few more cities before coming back."

Wang Xuance poured wine into each other's bowls and said, "If he wants to come back, he can come back anytime."

As he was speaking, he saw a pair of big hands snatching the wine bowl. Wang Xuance looked up with an unhappy expression and saw Xue Rengui. He immediately put on a smile and said, "General Xue."

Xue Rengui drank the wine in his bowl and asked, "Is that old Tibetan man dead?"

Wang Xuance nodded and said, "I buried him personally."

Xue Rengui sat on a bench and clapped his hands on his knees. "I met Lu Dongzan when I passed through Shazhou. I heard this news from him. I didn't expect..."

Pei Xingjian walked over quickly and said, "Brother Xue, have you heard? The Ministry of War is going to do something big."

"Hmm? What big thing are they going to do?"

Pei Xingjian lowered his voice and said, "I also heard from Di Renjie. He said that the Ministry of War will be in charge of our army and will recruit a group of young students to join the army. This time there should be more than 3,000 people."

Jiang Shiren said: "In previous years, many students from Chongwenguan went to the army."

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "This time is different."

Di Renjie has the most information about the Bad Guys. He is close to them, so his information must be correct.

The officials of the Ministry of War and Chongwenguan did not have any rest during the New Year. Instead, they were busy all the time after the first day of the New Year.

Many more students were called up.

At first, no one paid attention to this matter because many official residences did not have holidays in previous years and they were busy all New Year long.

But now, too many people have been mobilized.

In the twelfth year of Qianqing, just after the Lantern Festival, Yu Zhining, Pei Yan and Liu Rengui finally arranged everything.

The Ministry of War first invited all the generals to the Chunming Gate.

A high platform was built in front of Chunming Gate, the city gate of Chang'an.

A group of young men stood on a high platform, the cold wind blowing on their clothes, making them rustle.

Today is the first day for this group of young men to join the army. They have to serve in the army for two years first. As long as they have served in the army for two years, they can serve as officials in the court. Even if they are just a small clerk, the court will directly assign them an official position.

Li Shimin, who already had a head full of white hair, stood on the city wall and looked at his son, asking, "Can your court accommodate so many people?"

Li Chengqian said: "The local system is incomplete and there is still a shortage of manpower. Last autumn, all localities submitted documents, and there was still a shortage of 30,000 officials in the system of prefectures, counties and districts."

Li Shimin was not worried about his son at all, and was not worried at all about whether his son could support so many people.

"You have been governing the country for more than ten years. Are you still short of so many people?"

"My son, I am ashamed."

"If you need any help from me, just tell me."

"I can still handle it."

The Ministry of Rites naturally had to be involved in the matter of students joining the army. In Chu Suiliang's opinion, the Ministry of Rites was able to get involved in this matter probably because Xu Jingzong had found connections or even flattered Shangguan Yi and the prince.

Yu Tu followed Lu Zhaolin up to the platform.

Li Shimin asked, "What is my grandson going to do?"

Li Chengqian said: "He is determined to go on stage, and I cannot stop him, so let him go."

Li Shimin sighed, "I knew that you could govern a country, but you couldn't raise a child... Fortunately! I am here, and I can take good care of this grandson. Don't let him show up in front of so many people in the future."

"My son, please remember this."

Lu Zhaolin looked at the hundreds of students behind him, holding a scroll in his hand, and read aloud: "You are all the children of thousands of villagers. No matter what position you hold in the court or the army in the future, don't forget where you came from. Inherit the legacy and shoulder the heavy responsibility. Don't forget the hardships of your fathers. Swear to defend your country, for the peace of the border, and for thousands of people!"

Yu Tu was the first to speak loudly: "I swear!"

More than a hundred people behind him shouted: "I swear! To defend our country and to maintain peace on the border..."

Looking at the children facing the sun, Li Chengqian smiled at this moment, a sincere smile on his face and tears flowing from the corners of his eyes.

Then batch after batch of students went up to the platform. Each of them spoke with a firm voice in the cold wind. Under the watchful eyes and witness of the residents of Chang'an City, the children swore loudly.

(End of this chapter)