Chapter 312: Yuan Tiangang's Farewell

Vice General?

As soon as Li Shimin spoke, Chen Yan and Niu Jinda both froze.

Just now, whether it was Chen Yan or Niu Jinda, they were definitely talking about the chief general, that is, the person who would lead the Flagless Cavalry.

But Li Shimin only mentioned Su Dingfang's name and outright said to let him be the vice general.

Chen Yan paused a moment before realizing Li Shimin's plan.

Li Shimin probably didn't want to meddle too much in the Flagless Cavalry's affairs; earlier Chen Yan said there was no candidate for chief general, which everyone knew was nonsense.

Chen Yan had planned for so long; how could he possibly not have chosen a good leader for the Flagless Cavalry?

And Li Shimin wasn't trying to take the Flagless Cavalry entirely under his command; he just wanted to see Chen Yan's attitude and, as a convenience, assign someone to oversee it.

As long as Chen Yan wasn't deceiving him, Su Dingfang would just be an ordinary vice general with no real importance.

The Flagless Cavalry—Li Shimin clearly didn't want to interfere much, so he handed it over to Chen Yan to manage.

To be honest, this trust is too great.

It was so great that even Chen Yan felt surprised, leaving him speechless for a while.

"Your Majesty, I..."

Chen Yan wanted to speak but stopped himself.

Before this, he actually hadn't considered arranging the chief general's position; he simply wanted to leave it for Li Shimin.

As long as Li Shimin was willing to adopt his suggestion and let the Flagless Cavalry go out to seize resources from the Tang Dynasty, he didn't care at all who commanded the Flagless Cavalry, because from beginning to end he had never thought of opposing Li Shimin.

Yet he never expected Li Shimin to trust him so much; even though he knew Chen Yan wanted to build eight hundred heavy cavalry, Li Shimin still willingly gave him those eight hundred men, assigning only one person to supervise.

Chen Yan instantly felt it was worth it.

It was not in vain that he married Li Shimin's two daughters.

"Go ahead and do it!" Li Shimin said earnestly: "I will support you!"

Chen Yan was deeply moved: "Thank you, Your Majesty; I will certainly strive, hoping to marry even more of your daughters!"

Li Shimin:?

What the hell nonsense is he spouting?

It makes it sound like you're marrying my daughter, or that I'm taking advantage.

"Get lost, you get lost from me!"

"......"

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed, and the wedding date of Chen Yan and Li Lizhi drew near.

Qing'er had already begun preparing the items needed for Chen Yan's wedding.

And that day, Wang Lao Wu came rushing over, excited: 'Sir, the things you had us look for—we've found them all.'

"After nearly a month of mining, because we don't have many workers, we've only extracted over 1,200 tons, all transported by water and now stored in the western suburb warehouse."

"Has it been transported here?" Chen Yan asked in surprise: "It's actually quite fast."

"Let's go take a look."

"Eh, sure." Wang Lao Wu grinned.

Although he didn't know what Chen Yan wanted those poison coals for, it wasn't a problem.

Anyway, as long as he kept Chen Yan satisfied, that was fine.

Before setting out, Chen Yan had Xiao Shunzi inform Du Gou, then he and Wang Lao Wu hurried to the western suburbs.

Upon seeing the warehouse piled full of coal, Chen Yan nodded in satisfaction.

"Padded clothing and such are ultimately only affordable for families with some money; if you want no one to freeze to death in the Tang Dynasty winter, you still have to rely on this."

Hearing this, Wang Lao Wu turned pale with shock: 'Sir, forgive my frankness, but this is all poison coal—it will kill people.'

"Poison, poison, poison—I'm a medical student; don't I know it's toxic?" Chen Yan took out a cloth, pinched a lump of coal, and while examining it said: "This thing is only something you don't know how to process and use; if you apply the right method, it becomes the best heating material for winter."

"This..." Wang Lao Wu gave an embarrassed laugh: "I'm just ignorant and inexperienced."

Chen Yan understood Wang Lao Wu didn't really believe him, but he couldn't be bothered to explain further.

Once he saw the results, Wang Lao Wu would naturally believe.

"Brother Chen!"

At that moment, Du Gou and Xiao Shunzi arrived.

Chen Yan tossed aside the coal, nodded, and said: 'Let's do as we discussed before—speed up and quickly make honeycomb coal; Xiao Shunzi knows the method.'

"I understand!" Du Gou replied solemnly.

More than a month ago, Chen Yan had already told himself what honeycomb coal was and clearly understood how useful it would be if produced.

So they had long begun preparing for this, just waiting for a large amount of mined coal to arrive.

"Alright, let's do that."

Chen Yan then said no more.

Producing and promoting honeycomb coal is destined not to be accomplished overnight; it can only be done gradually, so for now it's not worth his excessive attention.

Once mining output increases, the finished product is made, and everyone realizes its benefits, then there will be no need to promote it—Li Shimin himself will come running over, panting, to ask him about honeycomb coal, after which he won't need to worry about anything else.

Afterward, Chen Yan entrusted the entire matter of making honeycomb coal to Du Gou, then went home.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached his doorstep, he saw an unexpected person.

"Gang....... National Teacher Sir, why do you have time to come see me today?"

Chen Yan laughed as he stepped forward: 'Come on, it's cold outside; let's talk inside.'

Yuan Tiangang shook his head; his complexion had improved greatly compared to a few months ago.

"Mr. Chen, there's no need to go inside; I have calculated that Li Shimin will soon face a great calamity, and I have come this time to bid you farewell."

"I'm leaving!"

Chen Yan's smile slowly faded, and his face darkened.

He never expected that Li Chunfeng and Xue Li had only been gone for a few months when something went wrong.

You should know that he sent Li Chunfeng away precisely because he trusted Li Chunfeng's abilities.

Yet he never imagined they would still encounter danger.

Li Chunfeng and Xue Li are both crucial links in his future plans; they absolutely cannot afford any mistake.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan said seriously: "National Teacher, do you need me to send some men to accompany you?"

"To be frank, I can mobilize part of the forces from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief."

Yuan Tiangang said in surprise: "I haven't even said what kind of danger Li Chunfeng is in, and based solely on my one-sided account, Mr. Chen is actually willing to send government troops to help."

"It seems I still have some ability, able to earn Mr. Chen's trust."

"National Teacher, now is not the time to talk about this." Chen Yan said helplessly.

Yuan Tiangang smiled, clasped his hands behind his back, and said: "No need. First off, marching with troops would be too slow, likely too late; even setting aside that, even if Mr. Chen can mobilize government troops, Tang Dynasty forces entering another country's territory is ultimately inappropriate."

"Furthermore, I have largely recovered; just going to rescue Li Chunfeng and your guards, I still have the confidence to accomplish it."

Chen Yan stroked his chin, his expression odd, and asked: "You're also quite good at fighting?"

Yuan Tiangang startled, never expecting Chen Yan's topic to shift so quickly.

But he still earnestly answered his question.

"Not bad, I'm quite capable in a fight!"

"......"