Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 276 System Settlement, the Dragon Slayer Becomes the Dragon! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Your Majesty, look at this."

Fang Xuanling opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.

Li Shimin glanced at him indifferently and said calmly, "The current Confucian selection process should indeed be revised. You should discuss this with the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Secretariat, and the Ministry of Personnel. Then, find a time to go to the Crown Prince's Mansion and write a memorial to me. I will take a look at it!"

"Your Majesty! No!"

Kong Yingda recovered from his shock and quickly knelt down and cried to Li Shimin: "The prince is misinterpreting my Confucian classics. You must not indulge him!"

"Alright, Kong Jijiu, this isn't decided yet, right? Let's wait for His Majesty to take a look first!"

Before Li Shimin could speak, Sun Fujia interrupted him with a smile and said, "In fact, the Crown Prince has already asked me to compile the subjects for the new imperial examination. Once the Secretariat and others come to the Crown Prince's Mansion to discuss it, I think we can finalize it!"

"Sun Fujia! You are a top scholar after all. How can you allow the prince to do whatever he wants?"

"What's wrong with being a top scholar? If you don't learn new things, you're like a frog in a well. If you learn new things, it's like a leaf blocking your view of Mount Tai!"

Sun Fujia sneered and said, then sighed, "Actually, I think all the ministers in the court should learn the new knowledge. It will definitely benefit you!"

"Oh?"

Wei Zheng's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "From what Lord Sun said, are there any books related to the new school?"

"Yes, I have!"

Before Sun Fujia could answer Wei Zheng, Cen Wenben stepped forward with a smile and introduced himself to Wei Zheng, "To be honest, Your Excellency, our Information Office is printing a large number of new academic books, and the first batch will be out soon. They include 'Chinese Language', 'Mathematics', 'Chemistry', 'Physics', 'Social Practice and Science', 'Compendium of Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory', 'Basics of Surgery', 'Military Manual', 'Detailed Explanation of Current Policy Theory', 'Governing the Country by Law', and so on, covering all the required subjects for the new imperial examination."

"Okay, okay, these books sound interesting just by the names. Give me a set!"

"And me! Give me a set!"

"I want it too! I want it too!"

As Wei Zheng finished speaking, the other ministers who were interested came forward to ask Cen Wenben for the new books.

Kong Yingda, watching from the side, was stunned and could not help but feel heartbroken: "My fellow colleagues! Confucianism has been passed down for thousands of years. Today, the prince misinterpreted our Confucian classics. Tomorrow, he will misinterpret the classics of military science and legalism. You can't just sit back and watch!"

"What a bunch of crap classics! I, Old Cheng, haven't studied any classics, but I still lead troops into battle, right?" Cheng Yaojin glared at Kong Yingda unhappily. Then, stroking his uniform, he grinned, "If learning new things can lead to the creation of firearms and cotton-padded clothes, I'd think that's pretty impressive."

"Yeah! Put it on for me!"

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong hurried forward to snatch Cheng Yaojin's military uniform.

But Cheng Yaojin refused to let him wear it.

Seeing that the two were about to start a quarrel again, Li Shimin was not annoyed and directly ordered: "Alright, let's disperse the court meeting today. Regarding the prince's reform, let him take full responsibility. I am tired!"

After saying this, he strode out of the Tai Chi Hall without saying another word.

After receiving the quota for the new academic books, the other ministers left one after another without even looking at Kong Yingda.

"No, my Lords."

Kong Yingda felt as if he had been abandoned, as if the Confucian classics that had been popular for hundreds of years had suddenly been overturned.

It was simply hard for him to accept!
But as more and more ministers left Taiji Hall, he became completely desperate.

He couldn't understand why?
It was obvious that Li Chengqian was slandering their Confucian classics, and it was obvious that Li Chengqian's reforms affected the interests of many people, so why did no one stand up to stop Li Chengqian?

Full of doubts, he staggered back two steps, his feet felt weak, his eyes went dark, and he fell to the ground in the Tai Chi Hall with a thud.

"Master Kong! Master Kong!"

"Imperial Physician! Send for the Imperial Physician!"

From time to time, he heard shouts in his ears, but Kong Yingda only felt dizzy and his consciousness was blurred. He muttered to himself: "Grand Ancestor, I am an unworthy descendant and I am sorry for you."

On the other side, ten miles outside Chang'an City, there was a musket guard warehouse.

A fierce battle just ended.

The surroundings were filled with smoke and chaos.

Pei Xuan panted and smiled at Pei Xingjian beside him, "Not bad, kid! You're quite capable! How did you think they would take over my firearms warehouse?"

"Judging from what happened last night, they made such a big scene, definitely not just to frame me, the Jinyiwei. So, when I learned that they were colluding with the Tibetan leader, I suspected they had other motives!"

Pei Xingjian pondered for a moment before saying, "The result is exactly as I expected. Their ultimate goal is firearms!"

"Have you informed the prince about this? Does he know about it?"

"The situation was quite urgent at the time. I only informed the Crown Prince that they were colluding with the Tibetan leader, and then I led my men out of the city!"

"Wait!"

Pei Xuan suddenly felt suspicious when he heard this. "You said they framed the Jinyiwei in order to eliminate the Crown Prince's spies. Then how did they know the rotation schedule for my Firearms Guards? Only a few people know the rotation schedule for the firearms depot!"

"I'm not sure about that. Perhaps there's a traitor among your Musketeers?"

"Well, it's possible!"

Pei Xuan nodded, then narrowed his eyes and said, "The Fire Spear Guards were selected from the yamen runners of Jiangling Prefecture. Unlike you, the Jinyi Guards, who need to pass layers of political review, it is indeed easy for people to take advantage of loopholes!"

"Do you want me, the Jinyiwei, to help you screen them?" Pei Xingjian asked.

Pei Xuan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let's forget about it for now. Let's first count the losses and report them to the Crown Prince!"

"Yes, we must report it to him as soon as possible!"

As the two were talking, Xue Rengui came over with his personal guards and called out, "Old Pei, how's the situation? Aren't we late?"

"Hey, Xiao Xue! You're finally here! I thought you couldn't see the flare!"

"How is that possible? We're only ten miles away. We'd see anything very quickly if anything happened!"

After saying that, he looked around at the corpses and frowned, "Where did these people come from? How did they appear without anyone noticing?"

"You're right. These people are the hidden guards!" Pei Xuan said with a wry smile.

Xue Rengui snorted coldly, then clenched his fist and said, "Sooner or later, I will eradicate the lair of these thieves!"

"Commander Xue, are you trying to steal our Jinyiwei's jobs?" Pei Xingjian couldn't help but interrupt.

Xue Rengui reacted for a moment, then looked in the direction of the voice and laughed out loud: "Hahaha, Xiao Pei is here too! I've heard Commander Su praise you all the time!"

After laughing, he suddenly remembered something and tilted his head and said, "Oh, by the way, where is Commander Su?"

"This"

Pei Xuan and Pei Xingjian looked at each other and their expressions suddenly changed.

"Oops!"

"Commander Su is still in jail!"

at the same time.

A guest who seldom came to Empress Changsun's palace came.

A princess of the Sui Dynasty, an imperial consort of the Tang Dynasty, and his eldest son, the King of Han.

Empress Changsun knew very well that her success was largely due to Li Shimin's rise to power.

She often wondered in her heart whether she would have ended up like this if it was this princess of the Sui Dynasty who had married Li Shimin first instead of herself.

Deep down, Empress Changsun had no hostility towards the Sui princess, after all, she too had a hard life. But she also knew that the Sui princess probably still had some grievances towards her.

After all, in terms of family background, he was not as good as her. But in terms of gaining Li Shimin's favor, he was much better than her.

This love is not only reflected in the relationship between husband and wife, but also in their respective sons.

Although the son of this Sui Dynasty princess seemed 'more like' Li Shimin.

But it was just a resemblance, he had no chance of defeating his son.

"Sister is here, please go to the hall and rest."

Empress Changsun had a gentle smile on her face and her words were full of intimacy.

"I pay my respects to the Queen."

Even though Empress Changsun was very affectionate, Concubine Yang still politely bowed to her.

Upon seeing this, Empress Zhangsun quickly stepped forward and held Concubine Yang's shoulders. Her hand was very natural and intimately held with Concubine Yang's hand. "Sister, what are you doing? In private, we are still the same as we were in the Prince of Qin's Mansion. We are one and the same."

"Haha, Queen, you're joking. Things are no longer the same as they were back in the Prince of Qin's Palace. As the Queen of a country, I must treat you with courtesy!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun did not argue, but simply said something that deeply moved Concubine Yang: "You and I are where we are today, thanks to the mutual support we gave each other back in the Prince of Qin's Palace. That allowed Your Majesty to pursue his career without any worries!"

"The Queen still remembers it."

Concubine Yang couldn't help but sigh, and the two women began their subtle exchange of interests and emotions in an atmosphere of mutual courtesy.

Although the weather gets colder as autumn approaches, the heater in Lizheng Hall is very effective, bringing bursts of warmth to this spacious hall from time to time.

As soon as Concubine Yang entered the hall, she smelled the intoxicating fragrance of flowers. She looked up and saw a pot of blooming orchids in a corner of the hall, which was a pleasing sight.

Since she moved to the palace, Li Shimin had Concubine Yang, and he came to her bedroom less and less every month. Now he hasn't been there for almost half a year.

When she had nothing to do, she started growing flowers and plants in the palace.

However, after half a year of cultivation and nurturing, there has been no effect.

But the orchid in Lizheng Hall today was obviously carefully cultivated by its owner.

"Am I really inferior to her in every way except my background?"

Concubine Yang thought with some melancholy in her heart.

Empress Zhangsun, who was standing by, seemed to see through her thoughts and chuckled softly, "If you like this orchid, you can take it away later."

"No."

Concubine Yang decisively refused: "This flower has been cultivated so well by the Queen, it must be her favorite. How can I take away someone else's love?"

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to Li Ke, who was standing beside him: "Ke'er, come in and pay your respects to the Queen!"

"Yes!"

Li Ke, who had been waiting outside the door, responded and walked in respectfully, carrying a box: "Li Ke greets the Queen!"

Empress Changsun hurriedly pulled Li Ke up, treating him as if he were her own son and saying, "It's cold outside, why are you so quiet? Come in and warm yourself up!"

"Thank you Queen!"

Li Ke bowed respectfully again and followed Empress Changsun into the inner hall.

At this time, Xiangling came over with hot milk tea and fruits.

Empress Changsun then laughed and said, "I don't have anything good to treat you and Ke'er. When I have some free time, I'll make some snacks for you and Ke'er. Qingque and Chengqian would really like them."

After she finished speaking, she personally took a cup of milk tea and handed it to Li Ke. Li Ke hurriedly said, "Thank you, Queen!"

Empress Zhangsun smiled. "Our Ke'er is becoming more and more eloquent. No wonder His Majesty often says that Ke'er is most like his younger self!" "Queen, please be careful with your words. You can't say that again. Li Ke is just one of His Majesty's ordinary princes. He's not as smart as Qingque, nor as wise as the Crown Prince. And Qingque, is he still in the Zongzheng Temple?"

"hehe."

Empress Zhangsun smiled awkwardly, as if she didn't want to talk more about this topic. She turned her attention to the box in Li Ke's hand and asked, "What is that in Ke'er's hand?"

"Oh, this is a gift my aunt sent to the Queen."

When Li Ke heard Empress Changsun's question, he hurriedly explained as if he had just remembered it.

"Your aunt?"

Empress Changsun blinked her beautiful eyes, as if she didn't quite understand.

But Concubine Yang smiled and explained: "Does the Queen still remember Princess Guanghua? She is my sister who married into the Tubo Kingdom. She is now the Khatun of Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun."

"Ah? She's not married to..."

"Alas! In a barbarian country, there are no such things as etiquette. In their country, women are simply inherited by the younger brother after the brother's death!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Empress Changsun couldn't help but frown slightly. She didn't know whether Concubine Yang had done it intentionally or not, so she could only suppress her displeasure and change the subject calmly, "I wonder what Princess Guanghua sent for me?"

"Wouldn't the Queen know if she opened it and took a look?"

Concubine Yang's eyes flickered as she continued Empress Changsun's words.

Upon hearing this, Empress Changsun glanced at her, then at Li Ke, nodded, and said, "That's right." Then she waved her hand toward Xiangling and said, "Open it and take a look."

"promise!"

Xiangling nodded in agreement, immediately took the box from Li Ke's hand and opened it to check.

Inside was an object wrapped in red cloth.

At this time, Xiangling turned her gaze to Empress Changsun.

But then Empress Changsun said again, "Open them all together!"

Upon hearing this, Xiangling immediately reached out and opened the package.

Inside was a beautifully shaped cup that looked like iron but not iron, like porcelain but not porcelain, and looked very strange.

"This is."

"To be honest, Your Majesty, my aunt told me that this is the holy cup from the sacred mountain of Tuyuhun. Drinking water from this holy cup can prolong life. My aunt sent it to you because she hopes Your Majesty will take good care of her health and be blessed with good health."

"Oh, your aunt is very thoughtful."

Empress Zhangsun nodded in understanding, expressing neither like nor dislike. She simply said to Xiangling, "Take it!"

"Yes!"

Xiangling responded and accepted it on behalf of Empress Changsun without saying a word.

When Concubine Yang and Li Ke saw Empress Changsun accept the cup, they looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

However, before they could exchange a few more pleasantries with Empress Changsun and bid farewell, they heard a voice from outside the door: "Your Majesty, Lai Fu requests an audience. He says His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a gift for Concubine Yang!"

"Ok?"

Empress Zhangsun was slightly taken aback, then said with a hint of amusement, "My son and I are truly in tune with each other. I was just wondering how to return the gift!"

Upon hearing this, Concubine Yang and Li Ke twitched their lips at the same time, then looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

But then Empress Changsun called out hastily, "Let Laifu in!"

"Yes!"

The palace attendant outside the door responded and led Lai Fu in.

"This servant pays homage to the Queen!"

"Laifu, no need to be so polite!"

Empress Changsun smiled and gestured for Lai Fu to stand up. Then, curiously, she asked him, "I heard Cheng Qian has a gift for Concubine Yang?"

"Replying to the Queen, I was originally going to Zhaohua Palace, but when I heard that Concubine Yang had arrived at Lizheng Palace, I hurried over!"

Lai Fu then presented the box in his hand: "This is the gift that the Crown Prince asked me to give to Concubine Yang!"

"Oh? What's the gift?"

Empress Zhangsun asked subconsciously, then suddenly realized something was wrong. She smiled apologetically at Concubine Yang and said, "Don't blame me, sister. It's mainly because Cheng Qian is such a naughty kid. I'm afraid he might be disrespectful."

"You are too polite, Queen. I am truly honored to receive a gift from the Crown Prince. How could I mind?"

As she spoke, Concubine Yang looked at Li Ke with a smile and said, "Since the Queen has just shown us the gifts, let's also let her see the gift from the Crown Prince."

"Yes! Mother!"

Li Ke was already curious about why Li Chengqian gave his mother a gift. Now, after hearing what Concubine Yang said, he naturally did not hesitate at all. He directly took the box from Lai Fu's hand and opened it in front of everyone.

There was only a sketch without any color inside.

The content of this sketch is also very simple. It is a picture of a prisoner with shackles on his hands and feet, being exiled to Lingnan.

Although he couldn't see the face and only saw the back, Li Ke always felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity when looking at the back, and couldn't help but frown.

"What's wrong, Ke'er? What gift did the prince send?" Seeing Li Ke standing there in a daze, Concubine Yang looked at him curiously.

And Empress Changsun also looked at him.

He calmed his mind and emotions, then closed the box and said solemnly to Concubine Yang, "Mother, I just thought of an urgent matter and need to go back to the palace. How about we not disturb the Queen for now?"

"This"

Concubine Yang hesitated for a moment, as if she realized something was wrong, and then looked at Empress Changsun calmly.

Empress Zhangsun was very clever. When she heard Li Ke say this, she knew something was amiss, so she smiled and said, "Since Ke'er has urgent matters, I will not keep you and your son here. Xiangling, please see Concubine Yang and the King of Han off for me!"

"Yes!"

Xiangling responded and was about to send Concubine Yang and Li Ke away when a voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, Concubine Yin and Prince Yan request an audience!"

"Ok?"

Empress Changsun, Concubine Yang, and Li Ke were all stunned, wondering why the mother and son were here.

But after only a moment of hesitation, Li Ke coughed lightly to remind Concubine Yang to leave quickly.

At the same time, in the Prince's Mansion.

Li Chengqian, who had just returned from the Taiji Hall, was now sitting cross-legged on the bed in his bedroom, calling the system.

"system?"

[Here! ]

The familiar mechanical sound rang out again, followed by another voice of congratulations.

[Congratulations host, you have successfully completed the side quest. Will you calculate the reward? ]

"Hahaha, have you finally completed your mission? So, I'm now the Crown Prince with the power of Regent?"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard the system's congratulations.

Then the system continued, "Yes, host. You are one step closer to completing the final stage of the main quest. As soon as Li Shimin returns from Liaodong, he won't have much time left to live. At that time, you will be able to take charge of state affairs and replace him!"

"Uh,"

Just when he was happy for a while, Li Chengqian felt numb when he heard the voice of the system.

Damn it!
Why does it feel like this system wants to get rid of Li Er even more than I do?
Could it be that this was the cripple who died unjustly?

Suppressing those strange thoughts in his mind, Li Chengqian changed the subject and said, "I heard from Yang Nannan that the Gu worm in my body is not dead yet, but just dormant. Is the oral liquid for curing the virus that the system rewarded effective against the Gu worm?"

[Replying to the host, a Gu worm is a type of poisonous insect that is left after multiple poisonous insects devour each other. Theoretically, it is still a poisonous insect. A virus, on the other hand, is a microorganism and a pathogen in biology. Therefore, oral solutions for treating viruses are only effective against the virus carried by the Gu worm, not the Gu worm itself.]

"No, if it's invalid, why would you give it to me?"

When Li Chengqian heard the system's answer, he became a little restless.

[Reply to the host, since you have already corrected the relevant issues before, the system has also processed it for you and issued compensation rewards.

Therefore, you only have two choices for the reward of this mission: either settle the reward or give up the reward. The system will not provide any further explanation.

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian laughed in anger at this, but he didn't intend to give up the reward, so he muttered, "I earned the reward through my own ability, why should I refuse it? Give me the reward!"

[Okay host, the rewards have been settled. You have gained immunity to all viruses. Also, a box of oral solution that cures all viruses, and a box of antiviral granules that prevent all viruses.]

[Also, I would like to remind the host that after you settle your rewards, you can continue to accept side quests. Do you need the system to issue new side quests?]

"This"

Li Chengqian hesitated when he heard the system's voice, then touched his chin and said, "Can the reward for the new side quest remove the poisonous insect from my body?"

[Yes, host. Do you need to publish a new side quest? ]

"The tasks issued by the system are always very strenuous. It's not worth it to just deal with one Gu insect."

[Does the host need to release new side quests? ]

"Are there any side quests with very generous rewards?"

[Host, do you need to publish a side quest? ]

It seems like this guy is unwilling to reveal any mission information!
Li Chengqian pondered for a moment, then carefully considered the history of the cripple. If the system followed the cripple's historical trajectory, what kind of tasks would it issue?

The system previously said that Li Shimin would go to Liaodong, so that should be the task of the Crown Prince to govern the country.

The hidden task is to drive Li Tai and Li Zhi to their fiefdoms and seal them. It is impossible for it to release the same side task.
Thinking of this, Li Chengqian instantly had an idea and said, "I want the system to reward me!"

【.】

"What? Didn't they say there were generous rewards? This little bit of reward doesn't even match up? What a rubbish system!"

[Okay host, would you like to release a new side quest? ]

"Hey!"

Li Chengqian smiled excitedly and immediately stood up from the bed.

What does it mean that the dragon slayer becomes the dragon?

This is it!
"Give it to me, publish it!"

(End of this chapter)