Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 259 Wuji, Zhinu begins to seek talents and visit elders in Taiyuan (First update)
The warm winter sun and the fluttering flags.

"Gee!" Li Shimin, dressed in red and golden armor, with a long sword on his waist, urged his horse towards the distant palace with a cold expression.

Zhangsun Wuji, Li Daliang, Chu Suiliang, Zhishishili, Qibi Heli, and more guards followed closely behind.

Countless Jinwu soldiers stood on the long roads on both sides, watching the emperor riding in from afar, and then bowed their heads in awe.

The Youzhou Palace was in front of them. Li Shimin dismounted and went straight into the palace.

In the hall, upon hearing that the emperor had returned to the palace, Liu Li, Cen Wenben, Li Daozong and others quickly stepped forward to greet him, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty!"

The emperor simply waved his hand, and everyone stepped back. The eunuchs on both sides stepped forward to help the emperor take off his armor.

After Li Shimin took off his armor, he walked directly to the main couch and sat down.

The officials, civil and military, stood on both sides.

The emperor nodded calmly and said, "The soldiers in the army will take turns to go to the Yingzhou camp to adapt to the weather and environment. The Military Affairs Department will send people to quickly survey the river crossing point. Once I cross the river, I will immediately cut off the connection between Goryeo and Liaonan and Liaobei."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji and Li Ji stood up and bowed together.

Li Shimin raised his head, looked outside the hall, and said, "It's almost the end of the year. On New Year's Eve, the 60,000-man army will be given plenty of wine and meat. The Ministry of Revenue and the Honglu Temple must coordinate well."

"Yes!" Tang Jian and Yuwen Chongsi stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

"My lords, the war will begin next year. After this New Year, make all preparations for the war, and then..." Li Shimin's eyes grew cold, and he said: "I will destroy the entire Goguryeo."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed their hands.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

The eunuch Zhang Ananda walked out of the hall quickly, took the memorial from the door, then quickly returned to the hall and handed the memorial to the emperor.

Li Shimin took the memorial, looked at the ministers, and said with a smile: "The Crown Prince is in Chang'an. He sends me a memorial every five days, detailing the affairs of Chang'an. I am a little annoyed."

The ministers in the hall were all surprised and had some forced smiles on their faces, but they were extremely shocked in their hearts.

The prince sends a memorial every five days. How come I have never heard of this before?

Li Shimin opened the memorial and read it carefully, then looked up and asked, "My Lords, does anyone know of Gu Hao, the magistrate of Ningdu County?"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Xue Yuanjing, the Minister of Personnel, stood up with a thoughtful expression and said, "Your Majesty, I have some impression that Gu Hao should have been a Jinshi in the seventh year of Zhenguan and was sent to Hongzhou as a county lieutenant. From what Your Majesty said, he should have been transferred to Ningdu County in Qianzhou."

The Minister of Personnel is in charge of the appointment of provincial governors throughout the country, the Vice Minister of Personnel is in charge of the appointment of chief secretaries and military officers of prefectures and counties throughout the country, the Doctor of Personnel is in charge of the appointment of county magistrates throughout the country, and the Deputy Director of Personnel is in charge of the appointment of county secretaries and county lieutenants throughout the country.

No one from the Ministry of Personnel is here today.

Xue Yuanjing, the former director of the Imperial College who had just been appointed as the Minister of Personnel for less than a year, was quite competent.

The emperor nodded calmly and said, "The Crown Prince is evaluating officials in Jiangnan and has come across the Ningdu County Magistrate, Gu Hao. He has served as Ningdu County Magistrate for three years. During these three years, the population of Ningdu has increased from 2,500 to 4,000 households, and the annual tax revenue has steadily increased by 10%. The Crown Prince recommends that Gu Hao be transferred to the position of Assistant Military Officer of the Household Department of Qianzhou."

Li Shimin looked at Xue Yuanjing and asked, "Mr. Xue, you are the Minister of Personnel. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Personnel, what should you do?"

"Your Majesty, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Personnel, he should be promoted to the position of military officer of this state, or magistrate of a county in the capital." Xue Yuanjing bowed his hands.

"Let's do as the prince says." Li Shimin nodded.

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed their hands together, with a hint of solemnity in their eyes. The emperor did not deny it, nor did he make any additional improvements. He just agreed to the prince's personnel suggestions as normal.

This shows that these are not special promotions, but the most normal personnel appointments.

This was equivalent to the prince putting one hand into the Ministry of Personnel, and the emperor was happy to see it happen.

"Okay, that's all for today. All of you go and rest. You will continue to accompany me on my tour tomorrow." The emperor looked up, glanced at Zhangsun Wuji, and said, "Wuji, stay."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed slightly.

All the ministers bowed and said, "We will take our leave!"

……

After all the ministers had left, Li Shimin looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji bowed, then knelt down on the left side of the emperor.

Li Shimin handed the memorial to Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Take a look."

"Here!" Changsun Wuji took the memorial and read it carefully, but his brows couldn't help but frown. Finally, he looked at the emperor and said, "The Crown Prince begins reviewing the household and criminal files of the counties in Jiangnan at noon every day, and leaves the Wude Hall at noon. This is too..."

"Too diligent?" Li Shimin chuckled softly, then shook his head and said, "The Crown Prince is not content with just handling simple matters. Since Prime Minister Fang has given him the opportunity to start in Jiangyou, then let him give it a try. After all, it's only south of the Yangtze River."

Zhang Sun Wuji raised his eyebrows and whispered, "The affairs south of the Yangtze River alone are enough to keep the Crown Prince busy for a year or two."

"If he can see through the areas south of the Yangtze River, then I will also hand over Huainan, Shannan and Jiannan to him for review. Things in these areas will be even more complicated." Li Shimin's face became solemn. The affairs of the world cannot be controlled by you sitting in Chang'an, especially the local areas.

Local affairs are complicated and tedious. If the prince can unravel these things, perhaps he will have the ability to truly become a prince.

Changsun Wuji knelt on one side and nodded slightly. The prince always knew best how to carefully test the edge of the emperor's tolerance of power.

Nowadays, the prosperous places in the world are basically all north of the Yangtze River. South of the Yangtze River, there are only Jiujiang and Guangzhou. Many other places are even barren lands.

If the prince likes to make trouble, let him do it. Anyway, he can't threaten the emperor's real rule.

"The Crown Prince also said that at the end of the year, he would gather Du He, Fang Yiai, Prince Cao, and several of his close associates for a banquet in the Eastern Palace. He would have the Crown Princess, along with Gao Yang, Cheng Yang, and the other princesses, join Concubine Wei in the Lizheng Palace to gather the harem for a banquet." The Emperor sighed softly and said, "That's a good idea. The harem won't be so deserted."

"The prince wants to use the princess to get along well with the harem." Changsun Wuji saw through Li Chengqian's plan at a glance.

The emperor said calmly: "As long as he can concentrate on understanding everything about Jiangnan, then other things are not a bad thing."

Li Shimin raised his head and said softly, "Wuji, only you and I know best how difficult it is to deal with the affairs of the world."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji nodded. It was indeed the case.

"Okay, we can put the matter of Chang'an aside for now. There is one more thing." Li Shimin's eyes grew slightly colder, and then he said softly, "Zhi Nu has started to seek out talented people and visit elders in Taiyuan."

"Ah?" Changsun Wuji looked up, then his eyes were filled with confusion.

Seeing Zhangsun Wuji's expression, Li Shimin shook his head slightly and said, "Wei Ting, the Chief Clerk of Prince Jin, Dou Xiaoqian, the Chief Clerk of the Bingzhou Military Governor's Office, and Hu Guang, the Sima of Bingzhou, are all people he can rely on. There's also Hou Zhiyi, the Magistrate of Taiyuan County, and Li Yiyan, the Magistrate of Jinyang County. They're both rare choices at the moment. Even Xu Shuya and Li Yifu are capable people. He can seek out talented people and senior officials for whatever he needs."

The emperor's eyes turned completely cold.

Zhang Sun Wuji watched and sighed softly in his heart. The emperor's legitimate sons all wanted to seize the throne. Li Tai was like this, and so was Li Zhi.

However, among all the sons, the one who looked most like the emperor was Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Jin may just be trying to govern Bingzhou. As for other things, it's best not to do anything unless the Prince of Jin does something out of the ordinary."

The emperor nodded slowly, then calmly waved his hand and said, "Let him be. Send a message to Li Yiyan to keep a close eye on the situation in Taiyuan."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda on the side bowed and saluted.

Changsun Wuji's pupils shrank slightly. Jinyang County Magistrate Li Yiyan was actually the emperor's man.

No wonder Li Ji was so polite to Li Yiyan when he was in Taiyuan.

Li Shimin looked up and said, "The court is still relatively calm. Those people haven't made any moves yet. I don't know what will happen to these two people in the end."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji knew that when the emperor went on the eastern expedition, whether it was Chang'an or Bingzhou, the world had never been out of the emperor's control.

The emperor was also using the crown prince and the Prince of Jin to lure those people hiding in secret.

Similarly, this is also a test from the emperor for the crown prince and the prince of Jin.

"Wuji, report to Chang'an. I approve everything the Crown Prince requested. It's the end of the year now, so please pay more attention to the senior officials in the court." After a brief pause, Li Shimin added, "Although I'm not in Chang'an, the palace rules remain the same as in previous years. The concubines will have their families visit them. Ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make proper arrangements."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly.

……

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, in Zhenguan Hall.

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Xiao Yu, Yuchi Jingde, Zheng Rentai, Li Huaiyan and others stood on both sides of the civil and military officials respectively.

When the emperor's message came back, Li Chengqian read out the reply to the memorial one by one.

All the ministers bowed and said, "We obey your command. May Your Majesty be blessed with good health!"

Li Chengqian sat down again, then looked at the ministers and said, "My lords, the Guanglu Temple has prepared the annual gifts. All the palace officials should go and receive them. However, there are some old ministers in the court who I need to visit in person, or I need you to do it on my behalf. I will trouble you, Minister Fang, to arrange it."

"Yes!" Fang Xuanling bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian looked at Cui Dunli, the Minister of War, and said, "Mr. Cui, the Military Affairs Department should continue to monitor the movements of the Xueyantuo and Western Turks. This year, it's simply because my father's expedition was so sudden, and it's winter, making it difficult to mobilize troops. That's why they're unusually quiet, but this quietness itself means they're preparing."

"Yes!" Cui Dunli immediately stood up and bowed.

Li Chengqian nodded and looked at the Minister of Justice, Liu Dewei. "The Ministry of Justice has sent a message to all border checkpoints, urging them to seize prohibited items. I do not wish to see Tang Dynasty bows and crossbows appear among the enemy's array in a real war in the future."

"Yes!" Liu Dewei bowed seriously.

"Alright, that's it for now." Li Chengqian smiled easily and said, "Although my father is on an expedition to the east and the court seems a little weak, the powerful ministers of the Tang Dynasty are more aware than I am. If they dare to come, then it will be your time to make great achievements."

"We are willing to die for the Tang Dynasty!" All the ministers bowed their hands, and a hint of excitement flashed in their eyes.

"Okay, I wish you all a happy new year. I will not be in the Wude Hall for the next few days. After you are done with your work, you can celebrate the new year." Li Chengqian nodded slightly to the ministers.

The ministers all bowed and said at the same time: "Your Highness, Happy New Year!"

……

In the Lizheng Hall, Su Shu and Concubine Wei were arranging the eunuchs to clean up the hall. Jinyang, Xincheng, and Wang Youlan were playing together.

Among Li Chengqian's concubines in the Eastern Palace, although Wang Youlan was the prince's concubine, she got along best with Jinyang and Xincheng.

When everything was almost arranged, Su Shu looked at Concubine Wei and said, "Concubine, will Prince Ji not be able to come back this year?"

Concubine Wei shook her head and said, "Balang is now the governor of Xiangzhou. It's too far for him to come back, and His Majesty has not issued an edict allowing him to return."

"King Zhao saw..."

"Prince Zhao is the governor of Qinzhou, so he's close by." Concubine Wei glanced at Su Shu and said, "It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who summoned him back. His Royal Highness loves and cares for all the princes, and it's a blessing for them all."

"The Crown Prince is the eldest brother, and it should be like this." Su Shu smiled. She knew that the reason why Li Chengqian treated the kings in this way was to make the kings more inclined towards him.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Emperor Gaozu and his sons lived in fear, fearing that they would be killed by the emperor again if they were not careful.

Li Chengqian is now the crown prince, but he treats the other kings very kindly. He even managed to protect the King of Wei and the King of Qi who had once plotted rebellion.

Li Chengqian once said, don't underestimate any prince, they are watching a word or a stance at a critical moment, which may even have the final say.

Su Shu then said, "It's the end of the year, and the Wei family's people haven't come to the palace to pay their respects to the imperial concubine yet?"

"It was agreed to be tomorrow." Concubine Wei couldn't help but laugh.

Her son was Prince Ji, and her maternal family was the Jingzhao Wei family. Her son was the governor of Xiangzhou, and it was unknown how many of the Wei family's children entered the royal palace.

As a result, she is also respected in the family.

……

Xingren Gate, Internal Guest Department.

Wu Shun, along with his brother Wu Yuanqing, entered a small courtyard east of the palace.

A bamboo curtain separated the two sides of the door, and two eunuchs stood on both sides of the door.

Wu Shun and Wu Yuanqing simultaneously bowed to the figure behind the beaded curtain and said, "Greetings, talented person."

"Sister and brother, you don't have to be polite. We are all family!" A plump figure in a green skirt appeared behind the bamboo curtain. Her voice was lazy and a hint of resentment could be heard. This person was Wu Yuanqing and Wu Shun's sister, the emperor's concubine, Wu Meiniang.

"Yes!" Wu Shun and Wu Yuanqing then stood up.

Wu Yuanshuang stepped forward, placed the New Year gifts he brought on the steps on the side, and then took a step back.

The two eunuchs carefully opened it and checked it, then bowed slightly to Wu Meiniang, and then walked out of the courtyard.

According to the rules, when the concubines in the palace meet with outsiders, they must be watched by the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at all times, but...

This is Wu Meiniang.

(End of this chapter)