Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 177 Even if his surname is Li, I will still kill him.

Li Shimin wanted to win over the people of Guanzhong, but he didn't want them to gain too much benefit.

Dugu Chen's father, Dugu Zun, is now retired and has no official position or title.

Therefore, Dugu Chen became Li Shimin's first choice. He sent Dugu Chen to be tortured by Wen He in the Hundred Cavalry, not to have him join the Hundred Cavalry.

Rather, it was to give him a prestigious title so that he could be assigned a military post at will in the future, or become a Yellow Gate Attendant or a Thousand Bull Guard.

As for the two Wu brothers, that's even easier to explain.

Wu Shiyue would most likely choose to ally with Li Shimin, and since the former was also considered a Guanzhong person, he would only have to pay a very small price to make the Guanzhong people see him.

The Li family is willing to share its wealth and power with other prominent families.

But that's probably not enough.

Wen He felt that Li Shimin must have other methods, but he just hadn't figured them out yet.

Huang Chun must have figured this out long ago; he had been by Li Shimin's side for so long, there was no way he wouldn't know.

He just kept it to himself.

As for Zhang Wenxiao, he is not yet qualified to access this level, so he truly does not understand it.

"It's troublesome."

Wen He rubbed his head. If he could, he really wanted to stay at home and do nothing.

Unfortunately, Li Er, with his black heart, insisted on making him think about these things at such a young age.

"What a miserable life."

Wen He let out a long sigh.

This left Huang Chun and Zhang Wenxiao, who were standing to the side, completely bewildered.

This young man has only been here a short time, why is he already complaining about his miserable life?

He was, after all, a commander of a hundred cavalry, though he was an inspector, but that was only because he was young.

If it were an ordinary person, and they were lazy like this every day, or even missed several days of attendance, it would be a disaster.

I'm afraid he would have already been reprimanded by His Majesty.

He actually complained.

"Hey, what brings you here today, my dear brother?"

Xu Jingzong, who was in Shangya, happened to be inspecting the drill ground and was quite surprised to see him.

Wen He exchanged pleasantries with him for a while, then pointed to the three people running on the training ground.

"The sage told me to give them a good lesson, saying that he would entrust them with important responsibilities in the future."

Looking at the three unlucky guys running away in a sorry state, Xu Jingzong didn't recognize them at first.

After Zhang Wenxiao explained, he suddenly understood.

"So it was the three of them. Today, the Sage just summoned Dugu Zun and the Lu, Cui, and Wang families, saying it was about the salt and iron matter."

Xu Jingzong suddenly changed the subject.

But Wen He understood that what he seemed to be saying was actually related to these three unlucky guys.

However, this matter was too complicated, and Wen He was too lazy to think about it. She should just focus on what was in front of her.

After all, he is only ten years old.

Xu Jingzong did not stay there long. A scout came to report something to him, and he left in a hurry.

The three unlucky guys, after giving it their all, finally finished the race within the time limit set by Wen He.

The three men, drenched in sweat, were red-faced and panting heavily.

Everyone received a lot of whippings.

The Hundred Riders didn't care about your status when they attacked, so they suffered a lot.

Wen He nodded and walked up to the three of them.

The three men, in a sorry state, could no longer stand; their legs were weak and their bodies were trembling uncontrollably.

"Not bad. I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to rest, and then we'll begin today's training."

"Are you going to kill us?!" Dugu Chen roared, glaring at Wen He.

He felt as if his legs no longer belonged to him.

Wen He actually said, "It hasn't started yet!"
The latter, however, smiled dismissively at him and said, "You can choose to leave, why suffer here?"

Wen He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling kindly.

"you!"

Dugu Chen gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour Wen He alive.

But he dared not make a move; he didn't even dare to leave.

Before he came, his family warned him that if he went back, it would mean that he was giving up his right to inherit the Dugu family in the future.

He was not the only legitimate son, nor was his father.

Those uncles and elders are all back in their hometown of Longyou, eyeing them covetously.

The conflicts within aristocratic families are no less intense than those vying for imperial power.

"Since you don't want to leave, then stay here and obey my orders. However, I don't have much time to spend with you, but I will conduct an assessment of you every three days."

"If you fail the assessment, don't blame me for being ruthless. As for what the assessment will be about, I'll tell you later. Okay, see you in three days."

After saying that, he let out a long yawn.

Then he handed these three纨绔 (playboys) over to Zhang Wenxiao.

The Hundred Riders already had basic systematic training, making him more than capable of supervising these three spoiled brats.

Upon hearing that Wen He was leaving, the Wu brothers and Dugu Chen were secretly delighted.

He couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

However, they didn't realize that whether Wen He was there or not was actually of little significance.

Because the Hundred Riders wouldn't care what they did.

When Wen He led a hundred cavalrymen, he happened to encounter Xu Jingzong.

He only greeted Wen He from afar before hurrying off to the Lizheng Hall.

After becoming emperor, Li Shimin became the true master of Daxing Palace.

After the morning court session, he would meet with officials from the Ministry of Personnel in the Liangyi Hall, and in the afternoon he would go to the Lizheng Hall.

This is not the Lizheng Hall of the Eastern Palace, but the one in the Daxing Palace, which is equivalent to the Imperial Study of the Tang Dynasty.

"Something happened again?" Wen He asked in confusion upon seeing this, and then quickened his pace towards the palace gate.

Every day, Li Er just knows how to exploit him.

Don't let Xu Jingzong report the matter and then ask him to go with Old Xu to do something else.

……

"Excellent, excellent! I've only been on the throne for two months, and they've already given me such a grand gift!"

Inside the Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin exuded a chill as he crumpled the document in his hand into a ball.

Although his voice was calm, everyone in the hall could feel a sense of awe.

Xu Jingzong, who stood before him with his hands at his sides, was incredibly excited.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

The Hundred Cavalry has been established for quite some time, yet it has achieved nothing so far.

He was also eager to prove himself.

"Investigate! Don't let a single one escape. I want to see just how bold these parasites really are!"

"Also, don't tell Wen He about this. If that brat finds out, he'll definitely go there himself again."

Li Shimin threw the letter onto the table.

The crumpled letter slowly unfolded, revealing several lines of text.

"Seventy percent of the soap and glass delivered to Huancheng were lost. Two days ago, fifty bars of soap appeared in the East Market, priced at fifty guan, and sixty glass products were priced at one hundred guan."

Li Shimin was furious when he saw this.

He even bargained with Wen He and bought the glass and soap for only ten strings of cash. Yet this official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs dared to line his own pocket and sell them at such a high price.

Why aren't you going yet!

He looked up and saw that Xu Jingzong was still inside the hall.

Upon hearing this, the latter reported, "Your Majesty, the hundred cavalry have determined that one of the officials involved is surnamed Cui."

Li Shimin's eyes widened instantly, and he pointed at Xu Jingzong, shouting, "Even if his surname is Li, I will kill him!"

"promise!"

With Li Shimin's words, Xu Jingzong immediately understood what to do.

He then bowed and withdrew.

After he left, Li Shimin summoned Gao Yue.

"Go tell Huang Chun to keep an eye on that brat and not let him cause any trouble."

He was genuinely worried that Wen He would cause a huge scene at the Ministry of Civil Affairs if she found out about this.

So he pondered for a moment and then asked, "How long until Pharmacist Li and the others return to Chang'an?"

"We should arrive in the Lantian area by tomorrow or the day after," Gao Yue replied.

"Let that brat take Gao Ming to greet him. Also, tell him that I can give him some time to renew his contract regarding the papermaking matter. Well then, I won't give him any time. Consider it compensation."

Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh.

Gao Yue bowed and then went to Wen He's house in person.

"Playing chess? No, no, I'll tell the Emperor Emeritus that I'm very busy lately."

Wen He had just returned home when she was stopped by eunuchs from Chang'an Palace.

When Li Yuan learned that he had returned to Chang'an, he said he would avenge him and sent someone to his home to fetch him.

The eunuch, with a bitter face, hurriedly said, "Please understand us, Magistrate Wen. You know the Emperor Emeritus's temper."

“I’m really busy. The Emperor has arranged a lot of things for me. Why don’t you go back and tell the Emperor Emeritus to go find the Emperor?”

Wen He really didn't want to play against Li Yuan, that terrible chess player.

Last time, I had no choice; Li Shimin forced me to go.

This time, he wasn't fooled.

The eunuch was worried and was about to speak when Gao Yue appeared.

"Prince Wen." Gao Yue greeted Wen He with a smile, then, seeing the eunuch, she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What are you doing here? Are you the Emperor Emeritus...?"

He was speaking when he suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Li Yuan had someone complain to Li Shimin about him sending Wen He on a military expedition.

Now no one plays chess with him anymore.

Therefore, Li Shimin had to make time for himself and wanted to spend time with him, but Li Yuan kicked him out.

"Ahem, His Majesty has important business to attend to in the county; he will be leaving Chang'an soon," Gao Yue said with a light cough.

"You want me to leave again? I just got back."

Wen He was surprised; he might as well go to Da'an Palace to accompany Li Yuan.

"It is because Lord Li of County is returning to the capital. His Majesty has ordered you and the Prince of Zhongshan to go to Lantian to welcome him. The trip will only last one day."

Gao Yue guessed Wen He's thoughts and knew he definitely wanted to slack off, so she gently advised him.

"Really?"

But Wen He felt something was strange.

He shouldn't have been the one to do this.

Logically, the Ministry of War should have sent someone.

However, Li Chengqian, as the future crown prince, does indeed have this obligation.

Could it be that Emperor Li Er was worried that Li Chengqian would not be able to remain calm in the face of a major event, so he sent him?

"Very well, then this humble subject will obey the decree."

Wen He reluctantly cupped his hands in response.

"But what about the Emperor Emeritus?" The eunuch of Da'an Palace was extremely flustered.

If he were to return like this, wouldn't he incur the wrath of the Emperor Emeritus?

"I'll go with you."

Gao Yue was also troubled, but he couldn't let Wen He stay in Chang'an no matter what.

If word of the Ministry of Civil Affairs reaches his ears, he will surely be punished by His Majesty.

Not long after, Li Chengqian arrived dressed in fine clothes and accompanied by officials from the Ministry of War.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a beautiful beard, wearing a scarlet round-necked robe, and exuding an extraordinary air.

(End of this chapter)