A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Seeing that Wei Zu was about to leave, Li Shimin quickly stopped him.

He bowed sincerely to Wei Zu and said, "Senior Brother, Shimin has a favor to ask of you."

Li Shimin patted Li Chengqian and Li Tai on the head with both hands, "You've seen Qingque's personality, senior brother, too. He's incredibly unruly."

"Chengqian is better, but he's still like a blockhead."

"Your Highness's ability to teach children is indeed not very good. As for Qingque, it's fine as long as he is not given a high position."

"But Chengqian, as my eldest son and the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, will be the sovereign and father of all the people under heaven in the future."

"If Chengqian is not properly instructed, then the millions of people in the future will likely live in dire straits."

"Therefore, Shimin would like to ask his senior brother to accept Chengqian as his disciple and teach him well so that he can become an accomplished ruler in the future."

Li Shimin spoke with extreme sincerity, and what happened today made him increasingly insecure about his educational abilities.

He secretly wished he could give all his children to Wei Zu as disciples.

Wei Zu pursed his lips and glanced at Li Chengqian. "Very well, but as the heir apparent, the Crown Prince can simply call me teacher. Ultimately, he should learn the art of being an emperor, not anything else."

Li Shimin understood Wei Zu's meaning, so he addressed Wei Zu as "teacher," meaning he was a disciple of the inner circle, not a direct disciple, just like he had done before.

Although Li Shimin still had some regrets, it was already a very good result, and he accepted it gladly.

"Chengqian, perform the salutation."

Li Shimin instructed Li Chengqian to pay his respects to Wei Zu, and then instructed him to "purify himself by bathing and fasting for three days, and then go to the Prince of Yan's residence to formally become his disciple."

Wei Zu nodded slightly, then turned and left.

After today's events spread, everyone in the world said that the crown prince's position was secure and the world was at peace.

Three days later, Li Chengqian personally went to the Prince of Yan's residence to become his disciple, and from then on, he stayed at the Prince of Yan's residence, where he was taught by Wei Zuyan and Wei Zuyan.

At the Prince of Yan's residence, Li Chengqian felt an unprecedented sense of freedom and respect. Wei Zu never told him what was right or wrong, much less that the words of a sage were necessarily correct.

They also wouldn't use various etiquette rules to constrain him, making him do this or that.

Wei Zu always allowed Li Chengqian to develop his ideas freely, while also providing guidance and instruction, allowing Li Chengqian to figure things out on his own.

Unity of knowledge and action; investigation of things to acquire knowledge.

The assignment he gave Li Chengqian was not those literary classics, but a matter, such as people's livelihood, agricultural planting, or even his opinion on a certain battle.

He never confined himself to books or various schools of thought. As long as Li Chengqian liked it, he would teach him. In the process of teaching, he subtly guided Li Chengqian's way of thinking and taught him to analyze and view problems from the perspective of an emperor.

This teaching method greatly captivated Li Chengqian, who diligently absorbed knowledge at the Prince of Yan's residence, showing no trace of his former aversion to learning.

Li Shimin often tested Li Chengqian, and was surprised to find that although Li Chengqian had not made much progress in the classics, he had made a qualitative breakthrough in his views and ways of thinking about various things.

Some of his views were quite novel to him, and sometimes even more comprehensive than he had thought.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "When it comes to education, the Prince of Yan is undoubtedly the best!"

Then he thought of his son, who was still copying books, and shook his head in disgust.

After that day's discussion, Li Shimin formulated a national policy of recuperation and development. Under the governance of many virtuous ministers, the entire Tang Dynasty flourished and prospered.

In December of the sixth year of the Zhenguan era, the empire was at peace, with consecutive years of abundant harvests and few lawsuits. The imperial court reviewed the prison files nationwide and found that the Dali Temple in the capital was holding hundreds of death row inmates, all of whom had been sentenced to death and were awaiting execution in the autumn.

Emperor Taizong of Tang personally inspected the Dali Temple, reviewed the case files of death row inmates, and visited them in prison. He saw that although these death row inmates had committed serious crimes, they all looked sorrowful, their hearts filled with thoughts of their elderly parents, wives, children, and elderly relatives. Many of them had only one wish before their execution: to go home to see their loved ones one last time, to make arrangements for their affairs, and to fulfill their filial duties one last time.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, felt compassion and issued an extraordinary decree:

These hundreds of death row inmates were allowed to be released from prison and return to their hometowns to visit their families and take care of their household affairs. A deadline was agreed upon, during which they were required to return to the Dali Temple in the capital to report for duty. Upon their return, their crimes and punishments would be discussed and decided.

The court officials were all shocked and advised one after another: death row inmates are inherently dangerous and desperate criminals. Once released back into the countryside, they will surely scatter and never return. They will also cause trouble and disturb the people. They must not be allowed to go unpunished.

Despite strong opposition, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, insisted on treating people with benevolence and integrity, and issued an edict to release them without sending troops to escort them or guard them, relying entirely on the condemned prisoners' own integrity and commitment.

Hundreds of death row inmates were released and returned home, receiving this tremendous blessing, and they were all moved to tears of gratitude.

Some people rushed back to their hometowns to kowtow to their elderly parents, show filial piety, and serve them medicine.

Some people reunite with their wives and children, instructing them on how to make a living, settling their families, and making arrangements for their passing.

Some people sweep their ancestral graves to fulfill their lifelong wishes;

Everyone cherished these precious few days of family time, behaved themselves, and no one took the opportunity to do anything wrong or flee.

When the pre-agreed deadline arrived, a miracle occurred:

The hundreds of death row inmates all returned to the Dali Temple on time to surrender themselves, without missing a single one.

Not a single person fled or went into hiding; they all kept their promise to Emperor Taizong of Tang and returned to face their punishment.

The court officials were all dumbfounded and greatly shocked.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was delighted to see that these death row inmates were so trustworthy and kept their promises. He was moved by their remaining conscience and gratitude.

He then issued another decree: In gratitude for the people's adherence to the agreement and their ability to win hearts, he granted a pardon to all these hundreds of death row inmates. However, while they were spared the death penalty, they could not escape punishment. They were allowed to atone for their crimes through meritorious service and were permitted to return home after serving their sentences.

This event was recorded in historical books and named the "Release of Prisoners in the Zhenguan Era," signifying that the cultural achievements of the entire Tang Dynasty had reached a new stage.

After several years of governance, the wounds of war had been healed, and the people were extremely prosperous. The granaries built during the Sui Dynasty, which had been depleted by the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty, were replenished to full again.

The imperial court then established more than twenty large granaries in Guanzhong and Liangzhou, which were filled again in less than a year.

The court officials all knew that Li Shimin was doing this to prepare for the western expedition. Although some civil officials felt it was unnecessary and that it would be better to continue developing rather than expend countless national resources on the western expedition.

The Great Xia is too far away. Even if we conquer it, how will we govern it?

If the imperial court cannot govern, what is the point of spending so much money, grain, and manpower to conquer it?

But they couldn't go against Li Shimin's wishes, especially since Li Shimin had the support of many military generals and old officials led by Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

Even Wei Zheng did not oppose Li Shimin's western expedition. He only opposed Li Shimin's western expedition when the country was not yet stable, and he was even more opposed to Li Shimin personally leading the expedition.

But in Li Shimin's view, this battle was inevitable!

It has been nearly 20 years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

In reality, since the Sui Dynasty, the prestige of the Divine Land Empire has faded, and all nations are eyeing it covetously, intending to overthrow the Divine Land and seize the rightful name of the Divine Land Empire as the legitimate successor of the Yellow Emperor.

You must strike hard enough to avoid being hit a hundred times!

Da Xia was just the chicken he used to scare the monkeys!