Chapter 21

"Low-ranking officials and scholars from humble backgrounds. As long as your Jingzhao Du family and Wugong Su family come forward to invite these people, they will inevitably agree to go."

"Teaching someone to learn to read and write doesn't take much time at all; they are willing to do this little thing in exchange for your friendship."

Speaking of this, Li Chengqian paused and took a letter from his bosom and handed it over:

"Give this to the Duke of Chen; he is the Minister of War. Go to him to find the list of prefecture soldiers; you must select prefecture soldiers for teaching."

"Prefecture soldiers are farmers at home and are only conscripted every November; you have plenty of time."

"Tell the prefecture soldiers that as long as they can learn to write a complete letter, I will take the lead in exempting their families from taxes and labor."

Du He was somewhat puzzled: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, everything else is easy to say, but why must we choose prefecture soldiers?"

"The Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things. I want to reform the system, and military power is the top priority."

"Do as I say, don't act on your own. Don't worry about the struggle between Qingque and Zhinu, and don't worry about what your Big Brother does. Just do your own thing well."

"Alright!"

Du He took the letter and put it away carefully: "My Big Brother has been probing me recently, and just now he asked me if I had heard which temple Your Highness the Crown Prince likes."

"Then what did you say?"

"What could I say? I just made it up! I don't know if he believes it or not!"

"Recently, the Eldest Princess has been coming to find Princess Chengyang, and they don't talk about anything else, just talking about the Former Sui every day, and yesterday they even talked about Yang Fei."

"And that guy Zhangsun Chong, I don't know what's wrong with him recently, he goes to the Duke of Ying's mansion every day."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, not caring at all:

"Own sisters, there is always endless talk; they can talk about anything under the sun."

"As for Cousin Chong, he has always admired Yuwen Shiji and is also on good terms with Yuwen Chongsi, so it's normal for him to go there."

"But..."

As soon as the words were spoken, they were interrupted by Li Chengqian:

"I specifically asked the Crown Princess to go find Yang Fei; their reaction was normal, don't worry too much."

"I can still handle the current situation; if I don't grasp the opportunity in these few years, it might not be certain."

"Your matter is very important; this is a key step to ascending the throne."

Du He nodded solemnly: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, please rest assured; if I cannot complete this matter, I will bring my head to see you."

"There is one more thing I must say; this was heard inadvertently from Yuchi Baolin, saying that someone was asking the Lady of E about the situation of the Wugong Su family."

"You also know that although the Lady of E comes from the Shiping Su family, she can be considered to have the same ancestor as the Wugong Su family."

"..."

Li Chengqian had black lines all over his head: "Do you want to listen to what you are saying? The Shiping Su family changed their surname from a barbarian one; the Wugong Su family is inherited from Su Wu. What do you think the genealogy is used for?"

"Don't let the Crown Princess hear this, or she will beat you until you can't get out of bed for three months."

"Then why ask the Lady of E?"

"Ask a ghost!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes: "If they were really asking, would they let Yuchi Baolin know, and would they let you know?"

"Do you think my father-in-law is a vegetarian? Can just anyone take action against the Wugong Su family?"

"Read more books; having the same surname doesn't mean having the same ancestor. How many barbarians changed their surnames during the Five Barbarians' Chaos."

"So that's it! I understand!"

"If you understand, then go. You almost made my Dao heart unstable. If my thoughts are not clear tonight, I will definitely beat you tomorrow."

After Du He left, Li Chengqian's face sank visibly; he felt that someone was playing with fire.

The Su family was too important to Li Chengqian; not to mention anything else, just a Su Gui alone could not be lost.

'Wenzhen! That is Wenzhen! These bastards dare to affect the growth of my Prime Minister; I can't let them go no matter what.'

'Anyway, Cheng Zhijie can no longer be recruited, so I will take Yuchi Gong. This time I will do it secretly; I can't let Erfeng discover it again.'

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian stood up and walked slowly toward the study, but met a palace eunuch on the way.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Sage invites you to go over; all the ministers are waiting."

"Got it!"

Li Chengqian walked toward the Taiji Palace with doubt; he hadn't read the memorials recently, so he really didn't know what had happened in the court.

Before even getting close to the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian heard a fierce argument:

"Fight! Why not fight? The Great Tang is not the Former Sui; as long as the Emperor gives an order, I can cut off Su Wen's dog head single-handedly."

"Duke of Chen, do you think going on an expedition is that easy? Doesn't grain and grass need time to collect?"

"Besides, what reason is there to fight? Now that Silla hasn't sent anyone to ask for help, how can we fight?"

"What reason do you need to fight people? Whoever has the bigger fist is right; destroying him is looking up to him."

"Truly unreasonable!"

"..."

The moment Li Chengqian walked into the hall, all the ministers bowed:

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"No need for formalities!"

After Li Chengqian finished bowing to Li Shimin, he smiled and spoke:

"Father, it's truly lively today; I don't know what happened?"

"Baekje has occupied more than twenty cities of Silla and is currently actively talking with Goguryeo, wanting to join forces to completely destroy Silla."

"Baekje and Goguryeo have always been hostile to the Great Tang; if they really destroy Silla, they will deal with the Great Tang next."

Li Chengqian put on a look of not understanding:

"Is this something to argue about? Shouldn't we be collecting grain and grass, summoning soldiers, and preparing to send troops at any time?"

Zhangsun Wuji sighed:

"The name is not right and the words are not smooth; if the Great Tang sends troops at will, it will inevitably lead to anxiety among surrounding countries and may even lead to instability at the border."

"I understand!"

Li Chengqian nodded as if he suddenly realized: "Yesterday, an Eastern Palace guard got lost in Goguryeo; Great Tang soldiers should go to Goguryeo to find the lost soldiers."

"If Goguryeo doesn't believe it, the Eastern Palace can provide evidence, guaranteeing that all evidence is complete."

"Cough cough cough..."

A series of coughs rang out in the hall; Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian with a complex face:

"Gaoming, wouldn't this be too shameless?"

Li Chengqian raised his voice, his tone full of firmness, and his whole person radiated a sacred light:

"As citizens of the Great Tang, the Great Tang army is their backing. No matter where they are, no matter who the opponent is, Great Tang soldiers have the right and responsibility to protect the citizens of the Great Tang."

"Father, this world is not our Li family's; the Li family manages this world on behalf of all the people in the world; all citizens represent the Great Tang."

Speaking of this, Li Chengqian returned to his smile:

"Father, what do you think would happen if this sentence spread throughout the world? Would it be the hearts of all people returning?"

"If there are really commoners trapped in enemy countries, would the Great Tang really send troops?"

Before Li Chengqian could speak, those military generals spoke first:

"If they dare to move, destroy them! The soldiers have been bored lately; damn it, daring to hijack Great Tang citizens is a naked provocation to the Great Tang. How can we not destroy the country!"

"That's right! Really think Lao Cheng's axe is a vegetarian."

"..."

Not only the military generals, but even the civil officials stood out:

"Emperor, don't consider it anymore; if you think the Crown Prince's reason is too shameless, then let me be an envoy to Goguryeo; I guarantee they will kill me, so there will be a reason."

"Old scoundrel, daring to snatch my opportunity to leave a name in history, Emperor, let me be the envoy!"

"I'll come..."

Li Shimin had a bit of a headache; he never expected that not only military generals were warlike, but even civil officials were warlike; clearly, it wasn't like this before.

He also wanted to destroy Goguryeo, but he couldn't; he wasn't sure of winning in one battle, and this year's grain hadn't arrived yet, and the prefecture soldiers were also working in the fields. Going on an expedition now meant giving up this year's grain.

Zhangsun Wuji saw Li Shimin's dilemma and hurriedly spoke to stop it:

"The timing is not right; the grain and grass in the court are not enough to support a great war, and natural disasters occur frequently in various places, requiring grain and grass for relief; it is really not suitable to start a war."