Chapter 508: Temperament Leads to a Fight—Nothing Surprising

From Chen Yan's earlier remarks, Li Shimin has the same view as Empress Changsun.

He predicts that Chen Yan may be more inclined toward the Secretariat Director; otherwise he wouldn't have spoken so readily about swapping a person and unhesitatingly choosing the Minister of Revenue.

However, Li Shimin doesn't mind; both posts have been thoroughly considered, and whichever Chen Yan selects will not impede his future use of Chen Yan.

In short, both the Secretariat Director and the Minister of Revenue are within Li Shimin's acceptable range.

The only regret is that he feels having Chen Yan oversee the Ministry of Revenue would be somewhat more appropriate.

"If there's a historian, I choose the historian; if there's no historian, I choose the Ministry of Revenue. If His Majesty lets me choose, I would naturally favor the Ministry of Revenue," Chen Yan sighed, as if lamenting that he still hadn't fulfilled his wish to become a historian.

"Hmm?" Li Shimin asked in surprise, "You choose the Ministry of Revenue?"

"Yes!" Chen Yan replied calmly, "After all, even a fool knows how to choose. If I chose the Secretariat Director, would I be worse than a fool?"

Li Shimin twitched the corner of his eye, truly not expecting that Chen Yan's reason for choosing the Ministry of Revenue was this.

That's so Chen Yan.

Empress Changsun, however, had a different view; she thought it was merely a joke from Chen Yan.

The main issue is that he is no longer alone; his subordinates include Du Gou, Fang Yizhi and others, so he cannot consider matters solely for himself.

That is what led him to choose the Ministry of Revenue.

"If you want to go to the Ministry of Revenue, then you may have to wait a bit longer; this year you can only become an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Dai Zhou, I plan to make the transfer after New Year's Day," Li Shimin mused.

"However, after you and Guan Yan go over and assume office, it'll be around the end of October; the year will be almost over, so it's not really a problem."

"That would be a good chance to let you get familiar with the Ministry of Revenue during that period, and have Dai Zhou hand over some things to you."

"Moreover, doing it this way would encounter far less resistance!"

"Promoting a sixth‑rank official to a proper third‑rank Minister of Revenue, and promoting a proper fourth‑rank Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to Minister of Revenue, the resistance is like a heavenly trench."

"I understand; His Majesty can arrange as you see fit, even if it means waiting a few years, that's fine," Chen Yan said, taking this matter lightly.

He never intended to become a high‑ranking official, but Li Shimin had already arranged it; after several fruitless hints, he found it hard to refuse and could only accept.

If possible, Chen Yan even wanted Dai Zhou to stay a bit longer.

Having a higher position above would be much more comfortable.

If I were the boss, there would be far too many issues to consider.

"Since that's the case, let's settle it that way."

Li Shimin picked up his chopsticks again, "But I must remind you, after assuming office you must gauge the limits properly; when it's time to scold, scold with force. I will cover for you; if you scold when you shouldn't, don't blame me for not helping you, ha."

Chen Yan blinked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, what constitutes an appropriate moment?"

Li Shimin cleared his throat, "As for that, figure it out yourself."

"Then I understand," Chen Yan said, enlightened, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, when it's time to scold, I consider myself to have some skill with words."

"If you don't scold, the scolder might cough up blood three times; greeting someone's ancestors up to the eighteenth generation is probably no problem."

"......"

"Just keep your own sense of it in mind."

Facing the strange look from Empress Changsun, Li Shimin truly felt a bit embarrassed, wondering if his hint had been too obvious.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that, eat the vegetables, eat the vegetables!"

He hurriedly invited a few people to pick up dishes, also slipped a piece of beef to his daughter, then turned to the gluttonous Li Tai and raised a topic.

"Qingque, how's your research on that cannon going?"

"This year is almost over; next year, I plan to mobilize troops against Tuyuhun. If you have any results, bring them out quickly so the soldiers suffer fewer casualties."

"Father Emperor, it's not that fast," Li Tai said with a grimace, "A cannon isn't a hot air balloon; as long as you understand the principle and are willing to spend money you can build one. Cannons are too difficult; I, your son, am still working hard."

"But if you plan to launch the campaign in winter next year, that's still doable; if you intend to go in early spring, it might be too late, and you'd have to prepare more explosives."

"You hurry," Li Shimin mused, "Mobilizing troops is no small matter; it must be at the optimal time. Winter is the best choice. Work hard and quickly build the divine cannon you speak of, so I can see it."

What could Li Tai say?

He could only agree.

But before next winter, he felt he still had a decent chance.

"Your Majesty, are you really certain about launching the troops?"

Chen Yan suddenly asked.

Li Shimin said firmly, "We must mobilize next year; I want, within my lifetime, to eliminate all the Tang Dynasty's hidden threats. Delaying a year reduces a chance, not to mention adds another problem—the Kingdom of Wa that must be dealt with!"

"Then let's fight!" Chen Yan instantly had no objection.

If the situation truly didn't permit, with the Tang borders being harassed, he would definitely have urged Li Shimin to strike the Wa kingdom first.

He believed Li Shimin himself also wanted to fight.

"By the way!" Li Shimin recalled something, his face darkening, "Lately Cheng Laohei and his group have been leaping around all day; is that because of some bad idea you kid came up with?"

Mentioning this, Empress Changsun gave a speechless expression.

Chen Yan felt a sudden chill in his heart, sensing trouble.

"What's wrong with Cheng Bo Bo and the others?"

"What's wrong?" Li Shimin lightly snorted, "These few black-market fellows have eaten their fill and can't find anything to do, causing trouble for me all day. Last month, Cui Minggan and Cheng Yaojin fought over a minor dispute in front of the entire court; now Cui Minggan is still lying at home. What do you think is wrong?"

"We can let Yuchi Jingde be, but Cheng Yaojin, such a meticulous person, also did this. To say no one behind the scenes gave a bad idea, I absolutely don't believe it."

While saying this, Li Shimin stared intently at Chen Yan, as if trying to read something on his face.

Chen Yan's lips moved slightly, two black lines appeared on his forehead, stammering, "Well... that man, his temperament caused him to fight; it's not surprising... I hope Your Majesty can understand, since Cheng Bo Bo and the others haven't been on a battlefield for a long time, they might be a bit itchy."

"You see, Guanyin Maid, just watch!" Li Shimin turned his head, irritated, "I told you it was definitely this kid's idea; now he's still finding cover for those two black-market fellows."

"Not only that!" Empress Changsun lightly wiped her mouth, "He also hinted to you that Cheng Yaojin and the others haven't been on a battlefield for a long time."

"I, the consort, have understood; he's trying to have Cheng Yaojin and the others atone and earn merit. Tsk tsk, such an unconventional method could only be thought up by this kid."

"What else do you have to say?" Li Shimin asked, staring at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan scratched his head and sighed.

I let you look for a crime, but you made it a bit too obvious, didn't you?

This damn thing even counts as looking for trouble.

「....... 」