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

Chapter 626: The People of Luoyang Support His Majesty the Emperor (Part )
"Your Majesty, a great victory for the army."

The dusty Qianniu Guard half-knelt in front of Li Chengqian and held up the victory report with an excited look.

Li Yifu stepped forward, took the memorial, and then handed it to the emperor.

Li Chengqian opened the memorial, smiled softly, and said, "During a heavy snowstorm along the Taedong River, Quan Gaisuwen sent two thousand elite troops on a surprise attack at night. They were ambushed and killed by the well-prepared Xue Wanche and Xue Wanbei brothers. The two thousand elite troops were completely strangled, and not a single one escaped."

"Congratulations to your majesty, may your majesty have long victory, may the Tang Dynasty have long victory." Pei Yan, Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong, and Zhang Daxiang all bowed.

"It's just a small victory, but it's a good start." Li Chengqian smiled and handed the memorial to Li Yifu, saying, "I'll report this victory to Chang'an. I'll also exempt Chang'an and Luoyang from the curfew for two days. And you, I'll give you fifty pieces of silk. This is some good news for me before the New Year."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The Qianniu Guards kowtowed heavily with a look of joy on their faces.

Although he was not promoted, the reward of fifty pieces of silk was indeed a considerable amount.

However, he could vaguely feel the emperor's extraordinary demeanor.

Strangling two thousand elite Goguryeo soldiers was just the beginning. What the emperor wanted was the entire Goguryeo!

Li Chengqian turned to look at Xu An standing at the back and said, "Send the thousand jars of fine wine stored in the Shaofu to the front of the army, even if it's later in the New Year. This is a gift for the great victory. Also, reinstate Xue Wanche as the General of the Right Guard."

"Yes!" Xu An immediately bowed.

Li Chengqian nodded and calmly walked towards the Zhenguan Hall, waving his hand and saying, "That's all for today."

"Yes!" Pei Yan, Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong, and Zhang Daxiang all stopped and bowed.

……

In front of the Zhenguan Palace, Li Chengqian paused briefly, looked at Xu An, and said, "Pass the word down. Have Concubine Xue sleep with me in the East Upper Pavilion tonight. The three generals of the Xue family are in the army, and I must express my gratitude."

"Yes!" Xu An immediately bowed and turned away.

Li Chengqian looked at Xu An's back and his expression became slightly solemn.

The content of the victory report just now looks ordinary, but there are some contents in it that others cannot see.

Two thousand elite Goguryeo troops were completely wiped out.

In other words, all 2,000 elite Goguryeo soldiers were killed.

Li Ji had previously reported that he guessed Quan Gaisuwen would fight a battle in winter, so he arranged for Xue Wanche and Xue Wanbei to take action in advance.

Choosing them is to make them kill people.

Kill them all without leaving a single one alive.

There is also Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui has the same temperament. He is crazy about killing on the battlefield and doesn't pay attention to anything else.

This was exactly what Li Chengqian wanted. He had mentioned this to Li Ji in advance. Although it was mentioned very vaguely, Li Ji understood it easily.

Li Chengqian looked gently in the direction of Goguryeo.

The land problem in the Tang Dynasty will become a big problem in the future as the population grows.

In this situation, what they needed least was the population of Goguryeo.

Li Chengqian withdrew his thoughts and walked into the Zhenguan Hall.

Zhang Ananda, standing opposite, had already come forward and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty!"

"Is the matter done?" Li Chengqian was a little surprised.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda turned around and pulled a small box from his sleeve, handing it to Li Chengqian. "Your Majesty, the Shaofu has minted three types of Ruyi coins. According to Your Majesty's order, in addition to the Ruyi coins given to senior officials as in previous years, there are also two smaller Ruyi coins, one for officials below the fifth rank and one for ordinary people."

Happy New Year.

Every New Year, the emperor would give out Ruyi money as a reward to all officials and common people.

In the past, only a very small number of Kaiyuan Tong Bao coins given by court officials were made of pure gold, most were made of gold-wrapped silver, and there was also a batch of Kaiyuan Tong Bao coins made of gold-wrapped copper.

This year, Li Chengqian made some minor reforms.

The coins given to important officials remained the same, but the gold-covered and silver-wrapped Kaiyuan Tongbao were made smaller, but the patterns were more exquisite, which was impossible in the past. It was because Li Chengqian improved the forging methods over the years that it was able to be made smoothly.

The same is true for the gold-plated copper Kaiyuan Tongbao.

Li Chengqian picked up a gold-plated Kaiyuan Tongbao coin and took a look at it. Then he looked at Zhang Ananda and asked, "What did the imperial guards say?"

"Everyone prefers the new Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, after all, they are exquisite." After a brief pause, Zhang Ananda said, "Of course, some people also say that it would be great if we could make Kaiyuan Tongbao coins of the same size and exquisiteness as in previous years."

"Oh! Wishful thinking." Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh and curse, then shook his head and said, "Although I have been forced to do everything I can to save money in the past two years due to the war in the army, I will not return to my original state after the war is over. I will even produce small quantities of this pure gold Kaiyuan Tongbao in the future."

Zhang Ananda bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian calmed down and said, "Go make a few carefully crafted pure gold Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, and send someone to the West Market in Chang'an to see if there are any foreign merchants willing to trade their goods for these pure gold Kaiyuan Tongbao coins."

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Ananda couldn't help but look up.

"Try it carefully. Whether it's pure gold or engraved gold, try it a little." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I know the value of gold, and I have no intention of letting it flow out. However, I want to make the Kaiyuan Tongbao coins more refined in the future, making it more difficult for ordinary people to imitate them, so that the copper from the people can return to the hands of the court in disguise."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed his head, his expression still a little worried.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. I will discuss this matter with the officials of the court thoroughly before implementing it. I won't do it casually now."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Queen's letter should have arrived today. Go and take a look." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed solemnly.

The emperor and the empress exchanged letters every day.

This matter is known to everyone in the government and the country.

At times, they even felt that Chang'an and Luoyang seemed to be closely connected.

News from Chang'an could be transmitted to the emperor every day, and the emperor could grasp everything in Chang'an every day, which made people's hearts more stable.

……

Li Chengqian handed the letter to Zhang Ananda and said, "Send it out."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda bowed and retreated.

Everything in Chang'an remained calm, and even throughout the winter, the price of grain in Chang'an did not fluctuate much.

Ashina Helu of Western Turkic Khaganate was actively contacting various ethnic groups in Western Turkic Khaganate. It was obvious that this guy had begun to become restless.

However, with Li Jing around, he didn't dare to move.

Although Li Jing was in poor health, the terrain of Western Tuyuhun was similar to that of Lanzhou, and the southeast was rich in water and grass, making it the most suitable place for Li Jing to recuperate.

If he lives a few more years, the Tang Dynasty will enjoy a few more years of peace.

Collecting his thoughts, Li Chengqian stood up and headed towards Dongshang Pavilion.

Just stepped into the East Pavilion.

Li Chengqian saw a beautiful woman wearing a red and green wedding dress and gold jewelry on her head. She had a solemn expression and was sitting on the bed, holding a fan in her hand.

Li Chengqian slapped his forehead, walked to the bed and sat down, looked at Xue Landi and said, "I'm sorry, my beloved concubine. I was busy dealing with government affairs just now and almost forgot about you."

Xue Landi pursed her lips, lowered her head with a somewhat nervous look, and said, "Your Majesty should be busy with government affairs."

Li Chengqian smiled and looked at Xue Landi and said, "I am sorry for you. I have deliberately ignored you because of Gao Yang's incident over the past two years. It is my fault."

Xue Landi's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and tears almost fell.

At that time, the daughters of the six families of Wei, Pei, Xue, Liu, Yang and Du entered the palace at the same time. Later, because the previous emperor passed away, the emperor did not visit any of these women for a whole year.

It was not until a year later, when the emperor was completely relieved of his mourning period, that he began to visit the women of each family one by one.

And Xue Landi gradually fell to the last place.

Every time they saw women from other families being favored by the emperor, Xue Landi and the maids who followed her into the palace couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Some even speculated that the emperor's decision not to visit Xue Landi was because Xue Yuanchao had joined Li Zhi in a rebellion, and the Xue family had been implicated. At that time, Xue Wanche had been demoted from General of the Right Guard to General of the Left Guard, and rumors began to spread in the palace.

Fortunately, the Queen was very strict, and the eunuchs also did not allow rumors to spread in the palace.

For this matter, they severely punished several people.

However, who would have thought that it was just a play.

The emperor easily eliminated Princess Gaoyang, Prince Jing, and the entire lineage of the Hongnong Yang family.

The whole government was filled with joy.

Only Xue Landi was the one who was most seriously injured in the whole process.

Even Xue Wanche knew the details, only Xue Landi knew nothing about it.

"I'll drink a cup as a punishment myself." Li Chengqian waved his hand to the side.

A maid came forward with a red tray. Li Chengqian picked up the wine jug and poured himself a glass. Then he raised the glass, nodded slightly to Xue Landi, and drank the whole glass in one gulp.

Xue Landi had already put down his fan by this time, knelt down to the side, and said in a panic, "Your Majesty!"

"Get up." Li Chengqian reached out and pulled Xue Landi up, then looked at her and said, "I originally wanted to call you over after the New Year's Eve banquet. By that time, it would have been the first day of the first lunar month, the beginning of a new year, and everything would be auspicious. It's only now that we have won a great victory in the army and my uncle and his brothers have made great contributions that I called you over."

Xue Landi could tell that the emperor was still very attentive to her.

Generally, after the New Year's Eve banquet on New Year's Eve, the empress would accompany the emperor. This year, the emperor was in Luoyang and the empress was in Chang'an, so it was naturally the imperial concubine's turn.

Xue Landi had never thought that the emperor was thinking of her. She was so moved that she bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian smiled gently, looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh.

Although the Hedong Xue family suffered a great impact due to the Xue Yuanchao case, the Hedong Xue family still has a huge influence in the entire court.

Xue Wanche, Xue Wanbei, and Xue Rengui were all great generals who fought in the front lines of the army and could easily achieve great military merits.

Not to mention the emperor's absolute confidant, Xue Renfang, the Minister of Revenue.

Li Chengqian valued Xue Renfang even more than Zhang Daxiang.

In the future, he will not only be the Minister of Revenue, but also have a chance to be the Prime Minister.

You must know that once Xue Renfang becomes the Minister of Revenue, he will become the Prime Minister in the future, that is, the Prime Minister of the three ministries, namely, the Shizhong, the Zhongshu Ling, and the Shangshu Zuo Pushe.

Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly, and the maid beside him had already poured two glasses of wedding wine.

Li Chengqian handed one of the cups to Xue Landi.

Although Xue Landi was a little shy, she still obediently exchanged arms with Li Chengqian and drank the wedding wine.

Their eyes met, and Xue Landi's eyes were full of shyness.

After drinking the wedding wine, her head couldn't help but feel a little dizzy.

The next moment, she felt a chill on her body, and her wedding dress had been easily taken off by the emperor.

The candlelight flickers, a night of spring.

……

By the end of the year, the entire Luoyang city became more and more lively.

This was the first time that the people of Luoyang felt the changes brought about by the emperor's New Year celebrations in Luoyang.

The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, Luozhou Prefecture, and the Ministry of Agriculture were not only concerned about the public security and grain prices in Luoyang City at the end of the year, but even the price of firewood was of concern to the court.

Throughout the winter, the spending of ordinary Luoyang residents was much lower than in previous years.

Of course, when the new year came, they found that they had not actually spent less money.

When the emperor was in Luoyang, it seemed that all the merchants and travelers from the world came to Luoyang.

Luoyang suddenly became much more prosperous.

But the people of Luoyang were still happy because they saw the Kaiyuan Ruyi coins that were rarely seen before.

Although the emperor would have people scatter Ruyi coins at the Duanmen Gate of the Ziwei Palace in the past, there were only a few of them and they were all snatched away by the powerful and wealthy.

But this year, the emperor was in Luoyang, and the people of Luoyang saw even more exquisite Ruyi coins.

Although some people said that this year's Ruyi coins were much smaller than in previous years, the people of Luoyang didn't care about that. In previous years, they couldn't even see a single Ruyi coin. This year, many people grabbed a lot of them at the Duanmen Gate on New Year's Eve.

Many people hid it as a treasure.

Even if someone offered dozens of strings of cash to buy it, no one would sell it.

Ruyi money carries the emperor's blessing, so even if you ask them to sell it, they won't.

After New Year’s Eve, it is the first day of the first lunar month.

The first day of the first lunar month in the fifth year of Yongwei.

The New Year's ceremony, which was rarely seen by the people of Luoyang, began.

A horse galloped quickly along the long street, bringing news from the palace.

Yan Lide, the Minister of Revenue and Duke of Da'an County, was a third-rank official in the Secretariat and became the prime minister.

Minister of Rites Du Xingben was granted the title of Guanglu Dafu and allowed to retire.

Chu Suiliang, the governor of Chenzhou, was promoted to Minister of Rites and appointed Governor of Chenzhou...

……

As spring warmed up in March, the floating ice on the Taedong River gradually became less.

Li Ji, dressed in black and armor, stood on horseback by the Taedong River, surrounded by dozens of soldiers. He glanced at Liu Rengui standing beside him and said, "Although the court lists the Taedong River as part of Andong Province, and people often put Andong and Liaodong on the same level, in reality, Andong's winter is shorter than Liaodong's, and spring arrives earlier."

Liu Rengui nodded slightly and said, "I know it's the Changbai Mountains that are blocking the cold wind from the north."

"That's one reason." Li Ji nodded, looking at the densely packed forts and military camps behind him. He said softly, "There's another reason. Spring arrived earlier this year than in previous years because there are 100,000 troops here. As a result, the Taedong River melted earlier."

"Yes!" All the soldiers bowed their hands. They had heard such remarks before. These were the words of the emperor.

Li Ji crossed the Taedong River and looked across at Pyeongrang City. He shook his head slightly and said, "Quan Gaisuwen might be scratching his head over this. The Taedong River melted early, which means summer arrived early and winter came late this year. This means we have nearly half a month more time to attack Pyeongrang City than in previous years."

"Yes!" The soldiers then keenly realized the huge benefits of this.

It’s not that we can’t attack Pyongyang in winter, but if we attack Pyongyang in winter, the army’s weapons cannot be delivered to Pyongyang on a large scale.

Even the use of most crossbows is greatly restricted in winter.

In the summer, once the Taedong River thaws, the Tang Dynasty navy can attack the city of Pyeongrang from the sea.

Not only did the transportation of personnel and weapons become greatly facilitated, but even the catapults and crossbows on the ship could be put to use.

Li Ji looked up at the top of Pingrang City. Throughout the winter, not many soldiers came down from the top of Pingrang City.

The trap set by Quan Gaisuwen outside Pingrang City had long been filled by Li Ji.

There is only a short period of time between now and the arrival of the navy, so Quan Gaisuwen has time to make some adjustments.

This is not a bad thing. Li Ji can take this opportunity to see what the morale of the army in Pingrang City is like.

The only pity was that Li Ji did not see Quan Gaisuwen appear under the city wall throughout the entire winter.

I don't know what this guy is thinking.

"Let's go back to camp, beat the drums and gather the troops." Li Ji turned his horse and headed towards the camp, saying, "We have a whole year to capture Pingrang City this year, so it's time to discuss the plan."

"Yes!" The generals followed quickly on horseback. To be honest, too many people were suffocating this winter.

It's time to kill.

(End of this chapter)