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

Chapter 312: The Crown Prince is Ordered to Rule the Government (Part )
Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch, looked at Li Ji, and asked, "Duke Ying, if this battle goes as planned, how many war horses do you think we can bring back?"

"Your Majesty, approximately 20,000 war horses!" Li Ji quickly bowed and said, "This time, we need to mobilize the Huihe, Turkic, Khitan, Xi, Mohe and other ethnic groups, so I originally planned to bring back 20,000 strong war horses to Chang'an, as well as a large number of cattle and sheep."

"Thirty thousand." Li Shimin looked up and said coldly, "The cattle and sheep should also be divided proportionally. Don't make any difference. Don't let people see the Tang Dynasty's intentions."

"Yes!" Li Ji bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh. When it comes to experience and cunning, how many people can surpass his father?

Li Shimin restrained his expression, looked at Li Chengqian, and asked, "Prince, I just asked about how to mobilize the troops, not about how to deal with the aftermath of the war. Tell me, how do you plan to mobilize the troops?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed and said, "I think the general plan is to divide it into three routes. One route will go north from Lanzhou, Liangzhou, and Lingzhou, mobilizing the Huihe, Bayegu, Tongluo, Pugu and other Tiele tribes to attack the Xueyantuo royal court from the west. One route will start from Yunzhong Protectorate and mobilize the Turkic tribes to attack the central part of Mobei from the middle. The last route will start from Youzhou and Yingzhou, mobilizing the Khitan, Xi, Mohe and other tribes to attack the eastern part of Xueyantuo."

"Chang'an will also send out a group of troops, and together with the main force from Dingzhou, they will attack Xueyantuo." Li Shimin looked up and said, "King of Jiangxia!"

Minister of Rites, Jiangxia Prince Li Daozon, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am here."

The emperor said calmly, "I order you to lead the main force of the army, and then mobilize the troops from the nine provinces of Shuo, Bing, Fen, Ji, Lan, Dai, Xin, Wei, and Yun to march to Mobei."

"I obey your order!" Li Daozon bowed solemnly.

"The Right Guard General has lost his mind!"

"I'm here!" Zhishisili stood up and bowed.

"You must return to Chang'an immediately and mobilize General Tian Renhui of the Right Jinwu Guard. Send 10,000 soldiers from Chang'an north from Yanzhou. Transfer troops from Yanzhou, Fuzhou, Fangzhou, Shizhou, and Xizhou north to march to Mobei."

"Here!"

"Right Guard General Xue Wanche, Left Guard General Ashina She'er."

Xue Wanche and Ashina She'er immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is here."

"I order you two to dispatch the troops from the ten states of Liang, Ling, Yuan, Ning, Yan, Qing, Sheng, Xia, Yin, and Sui, and march from the western front to the northern mountain."

"Yes!" Xue Wanche and Ashina She'er bowed and accepted the order.

"Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou, and Xue Gu and Wu Ren, the generals of the Right Thousand Oxen Guard."

Zhang Jian, Xue Gu, and Wu Ren immediately stood up and bowed, "I am here!"

Li Shimin nodded calmly and said, "Lead the troops of Yingzhou and Youzhou to march north from the eastern line and march to Mobei."

"Yes!" Zhang Jian, Xue Gu and Wu Ren bowed and accepted the order.

"Li Ji!" Li Shimin looked at Li Ji and said seriously, "I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the Mobei Road. Command all the troops and annihilate the Xueyantuo."

"I obey your order." Li Ji bowed with a serious expression.

Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "My lords, this time to destroy the Xueyantuo, I want only one word: fast. Use the fastest speed to fight into Mobei, pacify the Xueyantuo, and then bring back a large number of war horses and cattle and sheep to make up for the war losses.

At the same time, it will also help ease the tension of the Goguryeo warriors... defeating the Xueyantuo is much easier than defeating the Goguryeo."

"Haha!" The ministers couldn't help laughing.

Only Li Ji looked solemn. Although the emperor had made many arrangements, there were still many things that were not arranged.

"We suffered too many losses in this battle. Even Lord Cen died of illness." Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh.

Li Chengqian and many of the ministers in the palace pricked up their ears keenly.

Li Chengqian only learned about Cen Wenben's death after arriving in Dingzhou. Regret was one thing, but Cen Wenben's accident meant that the position of prime minister in the court was vacant, which was very critical.

The positions of Zhongshu Shilang and Canjing Zhengshi cannot be left vacant.

"Cen Qing has passed away, but the affairs of the court must continue." Li Shimin looked up and said calmly, "Zhu Suiliang, the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Chu Suiliang immediately stood up and said in a deep voice, "I am here!"

The emperor said calmly, "I appoint you as the Minister of the Central Secretariat and Vice Minister of State Affairs."

"I obey your order." Chu Suiliang bowed, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat was of the upper fourth rank, while the Vice-Chancellor was of the third rank.

Li Shimin raised his hand slightly and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Chu Suiliang then stood up and returned to the train.

"Issue an imperial decree to transfer Ma Zhou, the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary, to be the Minister of the Central Secretariat and Inspector of the Crown Prince's Right Assistant Minister." The emperor looked up at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I obey your command."

As the Minister of the Secretariat and the Inspector of the Prince's Right Assistant, Ma Zhou was bound to follow the path of Chu Suiliang and become the prime minister.

This has been the case over the years, from Cen Wenben to Chu Suiliang, and Ma Zhou is certainly no exception.

"Issue an order to transfer the Crown Prince's groom Linghu Defen to the position of Junior Secretary."

As soon as the emperor's voice sounded, Li Chengqian was stunned. He had just been transferred to the position of Prince's Junior Secretary, and now he was transferred to the position of Prince's Groom. What did this mean?
Don't forget, his position as Prince's Secretary is still vacant.

"Yes! I accept your order." Li Chengqian could only accept the order on his behalf.

The emperor chuckled softly and continued, "Issue an imperial decree: transfer the Crown Prince's attendant Zhang Daxiang to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, transfer the Crown Prince's attendant Pei Xuanji to the position of Junior Secretary of the Supreme Court, and transfer the Crown Prince's attendant Zhao Hongzhi to the position of Secretary of the Secretariat."

"Your son obeys the order!" Li Chengqian was truly shocked this time. On the surface, these seemed to be transfers to empty his Eastern Palace team, but in reality, all these people were transferred to important positions at all levels.

To be frank, this gave Li Chengqian a deeper grasp of state affairs.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I am not feeling well right now, so the Crown Prince will stay in front of me to govern the country. You have been regent for two years now, and I have come to personally see your ability to handle government affairs."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian immediately bowed solemnly.

To rule the country in front of the emperor means that he can handle state affairs on behalf of the emperor in front of the emperor.

Although the emperor was watching behind him, this was undoubtedly a sign of great importance to him personally.

"The Minister of Revenue Tang Jian is the commander-in-chief of the rear army of Mobei Road, assisting the prince in transporting sufficient food and grass for the army." Li Shimin waved his hand slightly.

"I obey your order." Tang Jian immediately stood up and bowed with a solemn expression.

Li Ji lowered his head slightly, and everything was just as he expected.

"Alright, let's dismiss the court." Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand. The ministers immediately bowed and said, "We will take our leave."

……

In the main hall, a low table has been placed behind the threshold in front of the hall.

Li Chengqian sat behind a low table, with more than a dozen memorials placed on the table in front of him.

Li Shimin stood behind Li Chengqian and said with a smile, "I heard that the Crown Prince once boasted that he had the ability of the six ministers. Now I don't need your ability to be a minister of the six ministries. You just need to show me the ability of the left and right chancellors. Let me see how you handle government affairs."

The Shangshu Zuo Cheng and Zuo Cheng assisted the Shangshu Zuo Pushe in handling the affairs of the Shangshu Province, and their official rank was the highest among all the fourth-rank officials.

A person's character can best be seen from his approach to handling government affairs.

If Li Shimin wanted to use Li Chengqian to inherit the throne, he had to know Li Chengqian's ability to handle state affairs alone.

Many things can be seen from the details.

A person with evil intentions will also show his bias when handling political affairs.

If the problem is not serious, then correct it if you can; if it cannot be corrected, then depose the crown prince and re-appoint him.

Li Chengqian has no other officials around him now, only him, and everything can best reflect his own thoughts.

"Your son obeys the order." Li Chengqian bowed slightly, then began to open the memorial and deal with it.

Every time he handled an official document, Zhang Ananda would read the content of the document to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin listened calmly to how the prince handled each official document and carefully observed Li Chengqian's personality tendencies.

All the affairs of the world, royal families, aristocratic families, poor families, common people, civil officials and military generals, official transfers, food and grass preparations, criminal lawsuits, bridge construction, etiquette and rewards can be reflected in these things.

Finally, Li Shimin came to a conclusion in his mind.

Li Chengqian's actions were mainly aimed at stabilizing the royal family, while at the same time attaching importance to officials from aristocratic families. However, he was ruthless towards officials from aristocratic families who made mistakes and were incompetent, and then promoted a large number of officials from humble backgrounds.

Then, even for officials from poor families, he did not give them special care. Instead, he sent them to local areas, especially cold and harsh places, to serve as local officials and gain experience.

It can be seen that Li Chengqian has a yardstick in his heart.

Of course, it was enough for him as a crown prince, but as an emperor, there were still many things he had not noticed.

For some reason, Li Shimin felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

After Li Chengqian finished dealing with the documents in front of him, he called Li Chengqian over and began to seriously explain the details to him.

……

"That's generally the case." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, shook his head, and said, "Chengqian, you have a problem. You're too impatient. Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Changes cannot be made easily."

"Yes, your son thanks you for your teachings." Li Chengqian looked solemn. He had been cautious and meticulous in everything he did, but even with the emperor's guidance, there were still many problems he had not noticed.

In other words, he thought he was slow enough, but in fact he was still too hasty.

"Okay, take your time. Give yourself three to five years to truly understand the world." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Then I can hand over the world to you and enjoy my life."

"Your Highness dare not." Li Chengqian quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness still has much to learn from your father."

"Take your time." Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Okay, that's it. Go back and have a good rest."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian immediately bowed.

"Oh, right!" The emperor called to Li Chengqian, who had just reached the palace gate, and said, "The Eastern Palace has transferred too many people this time. Go back and think about who you want to transfer to fill these vacancies."

"Your son?" Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin in surprise.

The emperor nodded calmly and said, "Yes!"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed solemnly, his eyes solemn.

Is this such a decentralized approach?

(End of this chapter)