Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 252 Father Appears

The students who came to study at the Nameless Academy, especially the first and second batches, can be roughly divided into two categories.

Or the father is the kind who doesn't do proper work, like Wang Shouyi, who spends his days drinking and visiting prostitutes and has almost no family education; it would be strange if his son could learn well.

Either the fathers were all military generals, and the family education consisted of beatings, but that only applied after the exams. Before the exams, they didn't care at all; they only cared about the results.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to send his son to Wuming Academy from the very beginning.

Of course, this situation is improving now, and more people are willing to send their unruly children to the Nameless Academy. The main difference is that most people are beginning to believe that Mr. Nameless can discipline these unruly teenagers.

This time, however, the people they want to motivate are not the military generals, but the group that is not doing their job properly.

However, this group also has one thing in common: they are not incapable, but rather, for various reasons, they have chosen to degenerate.

Wang Shouyi and Li Lingwen are prime examples.

They are actually very shrewd; it's just that they are all heroes of the coup, and they exchanged power for wealth and status.

Others, due to various previous reasons, have become disheartened.

Choi Shin-do did not agree with the social hierarchy values, such as marriage based on social class, and believed that such marriages would ultimately harm the Choi family. However, he was unable to oppose them, so he devoted himself to poetry and wine.

In other words, this is not how these people should be.

Li Family Farm.

"Don't just keep drinking. If you can't finish it, you can take it home later. I've called you here today to discuss something."

Li Lingwen looked at Cui Shendao, who seemed to want to soak himself in a wine jar, and said speechlessly.

"That's what you say."

Choi Shin-do held a cup of "Beauty Wine" and stared at it intently, as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.

Li Lingwen was speechless for a moment, but then said, "Since the Xiantian Coup!"

Upon hearing this word, Choi Shin-do's wrist trembled slightly, spilling a few drops of wine, but he quickly wiped it off with his finger and licked it clean.

Li Lingwen rubbed his forehead and continued, "Wang Shouyi and I left the court and were originally serving in the Palace Secretariat, but Wang Shouyi recently went to the Anye Bureau, which is a dangerous place. I've been worried about him these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Cui Shendao blinked and laughed, "I say, Duke Song, your skill in concealing your abilities is truly masterful. You clearly admire him, yet you say you're worried. I, Cui, am impressed."

Li Ling slammed his hand on the table. "You know this, yet you're still pretending to be stupid?"

Cui Shendao smiled slightly and put down his wine cup. "Is it just because of the Duke of Qi?"

Li Ling hesitated for a moment before saying, "That's not entirely true. To be honest, I have no ambition, but I still hope that my sons can achieve something. If I continue to drift aimlessly like this, I'm afraid that my good-for-nothing sons will end up like me."

His situation was special, requiring him to leave the court, but his son could still ascend to the throne.

He didn't care what others thought of him; he could only laugh at others for being too crazy, while he laughed at others for not seeing through him. But he still cared a lot about what his sons thought of him.

Li Tong and Li Xun's words still stung him somewhat. In addition, he knew why Wang Shouyi had suddenly gone to Anye Bureau, which made him feel insecure.

Cui Shendao laughed and said, "I see."

Li Ling asked, "It seems the orphan told you too."

Cui Shendao nodded.

Li Ling asked, "So what do you think?"

Cui Shendao's expression changed, and a sharp light suddenly flashed in his cloudy eyes, making them bright and piercing. "If you really want to achieve something, this is an excellent opportunity."

Li Ling asked in surprise, "Really?"

Cui Shendao nodded and said, "Wang Shouyi's situation is different from yours. He is clearly doing this for Empress Wang, and His Majesty must know this in his heart. The reason he agreed is that the fight at the Imperial Academy last time made His Majesty realize that the ministers all oppose deposing the Empress and have no chance. At present, we are in a critical period of reform, and His Majesty does not want the ministers to be distracted by this. Therefore, he made that arrangement to stabilize the morale of the army. Perhaps there is also the reason for Que'er."

But if you try to do that, it would be very dangerous.

Li Lingwen nodded slightly.

Cui Shendao said, "But this is a good opportunity, provided that you go to the Ministry of Works and get Wang Maozhong's recommendation."

Li Ling asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Cui Shendao said, "As long as you reveal this intention, His Majesty will definitely ask you why you declined several important positions offered to you before, but now you are taking the initiative to become a minor official in the Ministry of Works. How will you answer?"

After much deliberation, Li Lingwen said, "I can say that I, like Wang Maozhong, am very interested in aerodynamics."

"No!"

Cui Shendao said, "I believe Wang Maozhong didn't say he was interested in Qigong. He just wanted to become the Minister of Works, or perhaps he used the position of Minister of Works to become the Minister of War. If you say that, no one will believe you."

Li Ling asked, "Then how should we say it?"

Cui Shendao said, "You want to go with a big fuss and a bunch of people, for only one reason: to prove your son's worth and show that Qigong is feasible."

Li Lingwen looked at Cui Shen in surprise and said, "To prove your son's worth?"

Cui Shendao nodded and said, "Currently, Qigong has proven that it is helpful for the construction of the imperial court, but why doesn't the court recognize it? The reason is simple: those officials don't recognize it, even though it's the result of our sons' hard work. And they are being denied it, not because they are wrong, but because they are being suppressed and despised. How can we, as fathers, swallow this insult?"

"If that's the case, then it means you have no ambition whatsoever, and you'll leave after this job. Most importantly, His Majesty is pleased to see this; he clearly wants to use this to promote Daoist thought, but unfortunately, no one in the court supports him. You've gone to support him, and you're only asking for a minor official position in the Ministry of Works. His Majesty has no reason to object or doubt you."

Li Lingwen nodded slightly, then suddenly asked, "So what are your own plans?"

Choi Sin-do sighed, "I hadn't paid him any attention, but if you all take action and I remain indifferent, I'm afraid the orphan will suffer!"

Li Ling asked, "Then let's go and have a fight."

Cui Shendao was still somewhat hesitant.

He was different from Li Lingwen. Li Lingwen willingly fell into depravity in order to save his life. If that could be guaranteed, he would have no worries.

However, Choi Shin-do has some contradictions in his values. He strongly disagrees with some of the family's rules. He travels around, drinks wine, and writes poetry, and he doesn't have much contact with his family.

Even relatives are materialistic and disdainful of the poor.

However, if he were to serve as an official in the imperial court, he would have more interactions with his family.

Li Lingwen, who had a good relationship with him, said, "Shendao, don't you think that Mr. Wuming's thoughts actually coincide with your own?"

Cui Shendao opened his eyes wide and suddenly raised his cup, saying, "Brother Li understands me best."

Li Lingwen raised his cup, but then said helplessly, "When it comes to finding excuses to drink, no one in the world can match you."

Wang Xi and his team's incentive strategy was actually to cast a wide net and catch whatever they could. After all, it was just the Ministry of Works, which didn't require too many people, but the result was unexpectedly good.

Even Choi Sin-do, whom they had the lowest opinion of, decided to give it a try.

Meanwhile, they had already persuaded Wang Maozhong.

Wang Maozhong has been making selections recently. He is a man of action, so he won't accept just anyone. He will choose some shrewd and capable people from among them.

Fortunately, he was already very familiar with the parents of the nameless academy, especially Li Lingwen and his former comrades-in-arms.

He was still thinking about how to persuade these people he thought were feasible to join, but to his surprise, they came to him on their own initiative, expressing their willingness to support him.

This delighted Wang Maozhong, who jumped for joy and ran to Li Longji to offer his plan to eliminate the threat from the root of the problem.

Since you are so negative, then it's simple. I'll replace the people with a group of supportive officials.

Li Longji was certainly willing, but the question was, who in the court would support him?
This piqued his curiosity.

Upon looking at the list, I was immediately surprised.

None of them were what he expected.

Just as Choi Shin-do had said, Li Longji immediately summoned Li Lingwen to the palace.

"I have a question for you," Li Longji asked curiously. "I offered you five hundred households before, but you refused to accept them. Why do you suddenly want to go to the Ministry of Works this time?"

Li Lingwen said angrily, "What else could it be but to prove my son right?"

Li Longji asked, "What do you mean?"

Li Ling asked, "Sanlang, you may not know this, but my two youngest sons were studying qi mechanics day and night the other day. They were very happy to learn that they could help the court improve ships."

Little did I know that Xu Jin's son would mock them, saying that the court did not approve of it, and I knew that it was Xu Jin who was behind it.

His son even said, "If you're so capable, I should come out and help you." My two sons came to me crying, and I couldn't let them gang up on my sons.

Li Longji said, both amused and annoyed, "You, Li Lingwen, are you only concerned with matters of state for the sake of avenging your son?"

Li Lingwen was immediately filled with shame and said awkwardly, "Sanlang, it's rare to see those two brats working so hard, and I really wanted to support them this time, to let them do their best and achieve something."

Li Longji was silent for a moment, then said, "To tell you the truth, my Yao'er also wants to study at the Nameless Academy. I share the same thought as you. Seeing how much she desires this knowledge, I secretly asked Que'er for help."

But I am, after all, the emperor, and I am responsible to the people. I can let you go, but I must also say the same thing: I can support you, but you must also do a good job and achieve something."

Li Lingwen immediately replied, "Don't worry, Sanlang. I'm determined to get my revenge. If I don't produce results, then you can take away my title as a senior."

"That's not the case."

Li Longji smiled and said, "Also, you must not spread what you said to me today."

Li Ling asked, "They can guess even if I don't tell them."

Li Longji said, "It's one thing to guess, but it's another to tell others. After all, this is a matter of national importance."

Li Lingwen nodded and said, "I understand."

Li Longji then said, "It's been a rare treat to see you lately. Have a few drinks with me."

Li Ling asked, "I won't drink it for now; I need to put in some effort."

Li Longji smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, alright."

(End of this chapter)