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

Chapter 315: The Crown Prince’s Selection of Candidates is Qualified (Part )
In the inner hall, Li Shimin was lying on the bed.

Li Chengqian took the silver needle from Zhang Baozang's hand, carefully pricked the abscess, and then squeezed it carefully with a hot towel.

After a moment, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief. Li Chengqian then took off the hot towel and replaced it with a clean one. After wiping it carefully, he applied the ointment.

"How is it?" Li Shimin turned sideways and looked at Li Chengqian and Zhang Baozang with a smile.

Zhang Baozang bowed and said, "Your Majesty's condition hasn't worsened, but it hasn't improved much either. Perhaps it has something to do with the weather in the north. Once you return to Chang'an and adapt to the environment, you'll gradually get better."

"You're not telling the truth." Li Shimin turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, what do you say?"

"It's still a matter of location." Li Chengqian pondered and said, "Perhaps changing to a warmer and drier place will make it easier to heal."

"That's right." Zhang Baozang nodded in agreement, then said, "The north is too cold, which is not good for wound healing."

"It seems that I have to go back to Chang'an early." Li Shimin waved his hand with a smile.

Li Chengqian and Zhang Baozang shared the same opinion, which made Li Shimin feel much more at ease.

"Your Majesty, I'll take my leave." Seeing that there was nothing else for him to do, Zhang Baozang bowed slightly to the emperor, then slowly left the hall.

……

Li Chengqian helped Li Shimin take off his clothes, and the emperor then sat up slightly.

Looking at Li Chengqian, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, then asked casually, "How's your plan going?"

"I'm still writing, but I have a general idea. I can't just roll it out blindly. I want to rely on the palace soldiers, but I'm also worried that if the impact is too great, there might be big problems." Li Chengqian's expression became serious.

The government soldiers are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. If there is a problem with the government soldiers, it will shake the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

Seeing Li Chengqian like this, Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh. He nodded and said, "No one is omnipotent, and no one can see through everything. Whether it's you or me, we are the same. If there is a problem, then we will find the problem and solve it."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded seriously.

All along, deep in his anxious heart, he had a sense of superiority overlooking history, but when he calmed down, he saw too much darkness and fog in front of him that he could not see.

So recently, he has become much more cautious.

Even though he still has vision and ability that far surpass others, he has already calmed down.

They also act more steadily.

"You're right. If there's a problem with the palace soldiers, it will be a big problem." Li Shimin nodded, then said, "So, why not just not deploy it across Guanzhong and Longyou? Just pick a place, like Lanzhou. Isn't Xi Junmai in Lanzhou? Let him try it out there."

Xi Junmai is now the Prince's attendant and the Acting Chief Clerk of Lanzhou. He is Li Chengqian's real man.

Lanzhou is located at the foot of the plateau. Under the current circumstances, neither Tuyuhun nor Tubo dare to leave the plateau, so even if something goes wrong in Lanzhou, it can be contained.

"Okay!" Li Chengqian nodded seriously. If Lanzhou could really be accomplished, it would be of great benefit to his Tuyuhun plan.

Li Chengqian knew in his heart that the emperor chose Lanzhou because he was probably targeting Tuyuhun just like him.

"By the way, yesterday I asked you to think of filling the vacancy for an official in the Eastern Palace. Do you have any ideas?" Li Shimin changed the subject.

Li Chengqian's face suddenly became embarrassed.

One is the Prince's Junior Secretary, one is the Prince's Second Secretary, one is the Prince's Groom, and the three are the Prince's Secretaries, all of whom are extremely important figures in the Eastern Palace.

The current vacancies are fatal to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian bowed cautiously and said, "I've thought about it. First, I want to transfer Gao Zhenxing, the Prince's attendant, to be the Prince's attendant. As for the remaining attendant, I want to transfer Liu Rengui, the magistrate of Xin'an County!"

"No, I have other uses for Liu Rengui and cannot give him to you." Li Shimin directly rejected Liu Rengui. Such a talent should not be kept in the Eastern Palace to waste time.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Prince Xima, I would like to transfer Li Yanshou, the Crown Prince's Steward."

"That's fine." Li Shimin nodded. Li Yanshou had made some achievements in book editing, so there was no problem for him to be appointed as the prince's groom.

"As for the Crown Prince's Secretary!" Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin and said, "I want to transfer Li Yiyan, the magistrate of Jinyang County."

Li Yiyan was appointed as the magistrate of Jinyang County. He was originally a talent prepared by the emperor for Li Zhi, but unfortunately, Li Yiyan was not interested in Li Zhi.

"Change it!" The emperor raised his head and looked upward.

Li Chengqian felt a little bit of a toothache for a moment. The emperor asked him to choose the person, but he refused to give it to him.

After a slight hesitation, Li Chengqian said, "How about the Imperial Court Doctor Wei Hongji?"

"I want to transfer him to be the Palace Attendant." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise. How did the prince select these talents?

"Xiao Siye, the Secretary of the Honglu Temple!" Li Chengqian proposed another name.

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said, "I originally thought that you would transfer officials from more places!"

"I have some people in my heart, but it's not appropriate to directly appoint them as the Prince's Secretary." Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

"you say!"

"Dou Dexuan, the magistrate of Chengdu." Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at Li Shimin and said, "He is the younger brother of Dou Deming, the governor of Aizhou."

"My cousin!" Li Shimin immediately understood that the great-grandfather of Dou Deming, the governor of Aizhou, was the emperor's maternal grandfather.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin asked, "How come he is the magistrate of Chengdu?" Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "My elder brother has received too much favor, so it is natural that my younger brother has a much lower status."

Li Chengqian didn't say anything.

In fact, in his early years, Dou Dexuan was a thousand-bull guard of his grandfather, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan. You have to know that it was only a few years ago.

The Ministry of Personnel naturally had to consider this when taking office.

But the emperor doesn't care.

Nodding, the emperor said, "Okay, let's choose him. He holds a local position and is from the Dou family. Besides, the Dou family needs to be mentioned in the past two years."

Looking at the emperor's thoughtful expression, Li Chengqian had a feeling that the emperor was making plans for the future.

……

Li Shimin sat back on the bed, raised his head and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this. Let's talk about your Crown Prince's Junior Secretary. What do you think?"

"I've considered appointing Lai Heng, the Crown Prince's Chief of Staff, as the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I've considered many people, but based purely on ability, Lai Heng is the most suitable."

"Lai Heng is the elder brother of Lai Ji, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat." Li Shimin nodded slowly.

"Lai Heng is not as smart as Lai Ji, but he is a steady person. I think he is the most suitable person for the Eastern Palace now." Li Chengqian added.

"Okay." Li Shimin nodded, then said, "Then the position of Crown Prince's Guard Commander will be vacant again. Who do you want to appoint?"

"Secretary, how about Gao Zhizhou, the scholar of the Hongwen Academy?" Li Chengqian looked up.

"Are there any other candidates?" The emperor remained silent.

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and said, "Yuwen Zhongfang, the Junior Supervisor of Water Resources!"

"Huh?" The emperor was stunned. After a moment's thought, he said, "The son of Right Guard General Yuwen Xin?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded, then said, "I have been paying close attention to the Dushui issue for a while. Yuwen Zhongfang is quite capable, and the weather has been good over the past two years, so I will transfer him to the Eastern Palace for a while."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said with a smile: "Tell me the truth, what's the point of using him?"

The emperor is a very good person. Yuwen Zhongfang is obviously one of the most important people that Li Chengqian has his eyes on, but he kept it for last.

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Father, I've always been worried about the population of Chang'an."

Li Shimin immediately understood what he was going to say.

"Chang'an's population hasn't been large these days, so it can still hold up." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin and said, "Even so, Father still has to visit Luoyang frequently to alleviate the pressure on Chang'an. However, this approach is mostly a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution."

The emperor shook his head and sighed, "Sanmenxia is a dangerous place. What can we do with our troops?"

"But we have to find a way." Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin and said seriously, "So I want to come and see if there is anything that can be improved. They haven't made many improvements, but if they can transport a little more food and grass every year, more people will survive in the future."

"You continue!" Li Shimin nodded.

"And then there's Xuanzang." Li Chengqian looked towards Chang'an and said seriously, "Xuanzang is in Chang'an right now, but he'll have to preach sooner or later. So, I think if we can place him near Sanmenxia, ​​Buddhists all over the world will visit him and preach there. Perhaps, without the help of the court, we can improve Sanmenxia."

"Oh!" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise. There was indeed something to Li Chengqian's idea.

Use the power of Buddhism to accomplish your own things.

The Longmen Grottoes have proved that the power of Buddhism cannot be underestimated.

"The idea is good, but it depends on the details." Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Send the lists you just mentioned to the Ministry of Personnel. After they have reviewed them, they will approve them if they are feasible."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded seriously, and then added: "There are still two positions for the Crown Prince's attendants. I want to use Cen Changqian and Zhang Da'an."

"Cen Wenben's nephew and Zhang Daxiang's younger brother?" The emperor immediately understood. These two people were officials who passed the imperial examination. Given their status and background, it was appropriate for them to enter the Eastern Palace.

Especially since Cen Wenben and Zhang Gongjin have both passed away, it is appropriate to consider them as safe and meritorious.

"Okay, that's it. You go and do it." Li Shimin waved his hand slightly.

Li Chengqian immediately bowed and said, "Your son will take his leave."

……

Looking at Li Chengqian's back as he left, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently.

The candidates selected by Li Chengqian all have some talents, or at least are usable, which shows that the prince's vision is qualified.

Of course, there are some people here who need to be considered.

For example, Yuwen Zhongfang was about to kill Yuwen Jie, so letting a member of the Yuwen family enter the Eastern Palace was considered a way of appeasing him.

At this moment, His Highness's voice rang out: "Greetings, Brother Emperor!"

"Zhi Nu is here!" Li Chengqian's voice sounded gently.

Prince Li Zhi of Jin asked about the emperor's well-being.

(End of this chapter)