My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 183: Countdown to the Eastern Expedition, Disasters Striking
On the second day of June, there was a grand court meeting.

Hearing government affairs.

There are a lot of things going on during today's hearing.

The weather in June turned hot.

For the Tang Dynasty, many areas will also be tested.

The first is drought.

This is nothing new. We experience it every year. Compared with the severe drought and famine in the second year of Zhenguan, this year's drought is relatively minor.

But we cannot just ignore it, as people in several states have already been affected.

In previous years, the imperial court usually provided relief, opened warehouses to release grain, and helped people get through.

However, this year Li Chengqian has a different opinion.

"Recently, Jinzhou has been opening mines frequently, and there is a shortage of workers. Hedong Road is adjacent to Guannei Road, and the victims from Guannei can be relocated to Hedong to mine. The money earned can also keep many people alive."

Li Shimin nodded.

Ten mines require 100,000 people, or even hundreds of thousands of people, and the gap itself is huge.

It is a good thing to provide disaster victims with more jobs to survive.

Soon after, another official reported the incident.

There have been continuous heavy rains in the south, causing fears of floods. The government requested the conscription of corvée labor to build river embankments to prevent floods.

There is drought in the north and flood in the south.

Li Shimin nodded and agreed to the conscription of corvée labor.

"Your Majesty, now the people in the south are heading north to seek jobs due to the Crown Prince's affairs. Please consider the people's livelihood and suspend this matter."

The person who spoke was the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

This is an allusion to the prince snatching someone away.

Because the salary offered by the prince was high, many young people thought that working for the prince and earning a salary would earn them more money than farming.

So after seeing the notice, a large number of young people from the south went north to seek work.

However, corvée labor is the obligation and responsibility of the people. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, the people are obliged to participate in corvée labor.

But this group of people have now run to the prince's side. Is this corvee labor or not?

You have to give an explanation.

If everyone does this, then the people will have a way to escape corvee labor.

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

The opinion was given quickly.

Even the workers at the Prince Mine had to perform corvee labor.

The north and south are too far apart. It would take several months to travel from south to north and then from north to south. There would definitely not be enough time.

Then the only option is to pay the money and serve in the army.
The so-called system of paying money in lieu of military service already existed in the Tang Dynasty, and this was a loophole opened for the aristocratic families.

If some people do not want to perform labor service in person, they can pay a certain amount of money and the government will hire someone to serve in their place.

The second is the plague.

Last year, the year before last, or in recent years, plagues broke out frequently in the Tang Dynasty.

Summer is the peak season for plague.

This year, there has been an outbreak of plague in the Jiangnan region.

Upon hearing that there was a plague, Li Shimin became a little nervous and immediately issued an imperial edict, requiring officials from all regions to strictly prevent the plague. At the same time, he sent medical officers to provide treatment, prepare medicines for the plague, and set up isolation facilities.

The bodies of those who died from epidemics should be buried immediately.

The reason why he acted so quickly was that the Tang Dynasty had been ravaged by epidemics several times before, leaving some trauma in Li Shimin's heart.

A more distant example is the nationwide epidemic in the tenth year of Zhenguan seven years ago.

A large area of ​​plague broke out in Guannei Road and Hedong Road. The spread of this plague covered more than 20% of the land and population in the ten regions of the Tang Dynasty, so much so that the city gates of Chang'an were closed.

Then there was last year and the year before.

The year before last, there was a plague in Zezhou. Because it was close to Chang'an, if we were not careful, the plague might have spread to Chang'an.

Later, Chang'an was still involved, but the architectural layout of Chang'an was very helpful in preventing the plague.

Once a plague was discovered in a neighborhood, the gates would be immediately closed and people would be prohibited from moving around.

This will largely curb the spread of the plague.

Last year, plague broke out almost simultaneously in Guzhou, Jingzhou, Xuzhou, Daizhou, and Guozhou, leaving corpses everywhere.

So when he heard about the signs of plague this year, Li Shimin immediately ordered a series of countermeasures.

After several epidemics, most officials have gained experience in dealing with them.

Li Chengqian issued an order to the crown prince to deliver enough honeycomb coal to the counties where the epidemic was.

In fact, the method of boiling water to prevent epidemics has been around in ancient times.

That is, boil the patient's clothes in boiling water and then hang them out to dry.

Including the drinking water for the people, which is also boiled and cooled before drinking.

Using hot water to treat illnesses was also very popular in the Tang Dynasty.

People also know that they should drink more hot water after being infected with the plague.

But boiling water is not a simple matter. A large amount of hot water requires a lot of firewood, which is a considerable expense.

Most places simply do not have the conditions to do so and have to boil water day and night.

The role of honeycomb coal is reflected at this moment.

It can efficiently and continuously provide high-temperature boiling water, so its effectiveness is naturally better than firewood.

Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.

Nominally speaking, all the current coal mines are under the name of the prince, and the honeycomb coal produced is now in short supply.

Every piece of honeycomb coal is money.

The crown prince is the heir to the throne, not a businessman. It is the right thing to do for him to remain unmoved by interests and care about people's livelihood.
-
The eighth day of June.

Graduation ceremony for the first batch of students at the Military Academy.

The current Tang Dynasty Military Academy has actually become the Prince's Military Academy.

Li Shimin had actually guessed the prince's thoughts a long time ago, but he did not try too hard to stop him.

Firstly, these students held low official positions, and were only brigade commanders.

Secondly, the students were illiterate and it was too difficult for them to understand the art of war.

In Li Shimin's view, the prince wanted to train these students as his personal soldiers, so let him do it.

What kind of waves can three hundred people cause? Li Shimin would not be afraid of the prince because of these three hundred people.

Li Shimin did not come to the graduation ceremony.

The court had too many government affairs to deal with, and a trip by the saint would have a great impact.

As the vice-president, Li Jing naturally came over.

There were also some lecturers, including Su Dingfang, Cheng Yaojin, Xue Wanche, and Li Daozon. The others were not present because they were arranging matters for the eastern expedition to Goryeo.

Li Chengqian, dressed in gorgeous clothes, stood on the high platform of the Military Academy with great dignity. Below the platform, three hundred graduates stood tall, their eyes full of respect and expectation.

Li Chengqian cleared his throat and said loudly: "Today is the graduation ceremony for the first batch of students of our Tang Dynasty Military Academy. You have gone through hardships and have learned a lot. From today on, you will shoulder the responsibility of defending the Tang Dynasty and sharing the worries of the emperor."

The students shouted in unison: "We are willing to serve the Tang Dynasty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Jing's mouth twitched. Now the hearts of these students have all turned to the prince.

In fact, Li Jing still feels warm towards this group of students.

In the beginning, there really was nothing to teach.

After all, none of them can read.

Later, the prince introduced simplified Chinese characters, which accelerated the process of students learning to read.

Then, we did some war game simulation.

Wargame sandbox is a powerful tool for improving tactical understanding.

The application of some military tactics can be expressed very clearly and intuitively on the sand table, which greatly speeds up Li Jing's progress in teaching military tactics.

Facts have proved that it is easy to produce outstanding generals when conditions are sufficient.

Li Jing saw that there were many outstanding talents. Unfortunately, the relationship between teacher and student was too low, and it was not considered a master-disciple relationship.

Now that the prince is watching him closely, he can't even think of accepting a disciple.

But once the next batch of students arrives, I think there won’t be any problems.

The Military Academy is now recruiting the second batch of students.

After the graduation ceremony.

Li Chengqian planned to keep thirty students as assistant teachers at the Military Academy in the future.

It is also necessary to pass on the previous training methods and learning methods from generation to generation.

The others followed him to Goryeo for the eastern expedition.

As for who stays and who leaves, it is up to their own will.

Su Dingfang reluctantly reported: "Your Highness, all the students want to follow us to Goryeo."

Obviously, Li Chengqian never relaxed when it came to ideological education.

The physical and mental training enabled the seniors at the Military Academy to far surpass the level of the Tang Dynasty generals in all aspects.

After all, this is systematic training.

"Then let's draw lots."

Li Chengqian issued instructions.

Three hundred students drew lots for thirty names.

Whoever draws it gets to stay.

When the results of the lottery came out, the students who were drawn to stay were dejected.

Among them, the squad leader of the class that left for battle was also chosen to stay.

There are five classes in the Military Academy. Each class has a class monitor and two deputy class monitors. The competition elimination system is adopted.

There is an assessment every ten days. Those who get excellent grades in all aspects can run for class monitor, and then the students vote.

Being able to serve as a class monitor not only means excellent academic performance, but also the support of others.

What these students want in their minds is, of course, to achieve success in their careers.

Cai Yu is the squad leader of the Lizhan squad.

He was definitely unwilling to be the one to stay, so he wanted to ask Su Dingfang to plead for him.

Su Dingfang considered Cai Yu's ability and reported the matter to the prince.

Li Chengqian summoned Cai Yu to the Eastern Palace.

"Your Highness, I am Cai Yu, a student of the Tang Dynasty Military Academy, and I am here to greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian asked: "Why don't you want to stay?"

Cai Yu said: "I am willing to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the Eastern Expedition."

Li Chengqian said, "If I stay at the Military Academy, wouldn't that mean I'm not serving you?"

Cai Yu didn't know how to answer.

Li Chengqian said, "In my opinion, the Military Academy is more important than the Eastern Expedition."

"The Tang Dynasty is not the only threat from Goryeo. The surrounding countries seem to be submissive, but in fact they have evil intentions. If they have the chance, they will provoke the Tang Dynasty."

"The reason why they are so obedient now is because the Tang Dynasty is strong enough."

"You have also read the court report. There is still the threat from the Arab Empire."

"Therefore, the purpose of the Tang Dynasty Military Academy is to continuously train outstanding generals."

"You can gain merit by conquering Goryeo, and you can also gain merit by staying at the Military Academy."

Cai Yu bowed his head and said, "I am ashamed."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of. Contributing to one's career is a man's nature."

"I was originally thinking about who would lead the remaining students and better train the next batch of students."

"You just happened to show up. It's God's will."

"From now on, the teaching assistants in the Military Academy will be in your charge. I believe you will not let me down."

"Get ready."

Cai Yu bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

On June 12, the prince left the Eastern Palace.

Go to the outskirts of Chang'an to train the cavalry.

All 270 students were incorporated into the 5,000-strong government troops.

And these 5,000 palace soldiers will become 5,000 elite cavalry.

In the past, the focus was on formation training, but now it is natural to carry out cavalry training.

Cavalry training first and foremost involves equestrian training.

There are three items: riding skills, horse control, and horse balance.

Maintain balance on horseback, control the horse's speed and direction, adapt to riding on different terrains, etc.

It takes a long time to get along with the horse, become familiar with its habits, and improve your riding skills through constant practice.

Learn to use reins, whips and other tools to control horses. Be able to accurately convey instructions to make horses move forward, stop, turn, speed up, slow down, etc.

At the same time, horses must be trained to respond to various sound and hand gestures so that they can quickly execute commands in battle.

Cavalrymen need to maintain a stable balance on horseback in order to conduct combat operations.

The training methods include standing, squatting, turning and other movements on horseback, as well as performing simulated combat movements such as archery and sword swinging while riding to improve stability and coordination on horseback.

Fortunately, there were many horses in the Tang Dynasty, and the soldiers were of relatively high quality. Most of them had ridden horses before and were not unfamiliar with riding.

In addition to equestrian training, there is also weapons training.

The first is the bow and crossbow.

Bows and crossbows are the main long-range weapons of cavalry.

Cavalrymen need to undergo long-term archery training to improve their shooting accuracy and speed.

The training includes static shooting and dynamic shooting. Static shooting is shooting at targets in a fixed position, while dynamic shooting is shooting at moving targets while riding.

The horse lance was an important long weapon of the Tang Dynasty cavalry.

The spear is usually made of extremely tough wood and processed through special techniques. It can be two to four meters in length.

The spear tip is sharp and has strong penetrating power, and can cause huge damage to the enemy during a high-speed charge.

The production process of the horse lance is complicated and time-consuming, so it is expensive and only elite cavalry can be equipped with it.

Naturally, all of Li Chengqian's 5,000-plus cavalrymen used horse lances.

In addition to the horse lance, the cavalry also needed to be equipped with a horizontal sword, which was the main sword of the cavalry in the Tang Dynasty.

The blade is straight, with a length of between 60 and 80 centimeters, a thick back and a sharp blade. The craftsmanship of the horizontal sword is exquisite, and it is made of high-quality steel with high hardness and toughness.

The horizontal sword is easy to carry and suitable for use on horseback. It is a powerful weapon for cavalry in close combat.

In terms of armor, everyone wears Ming Guang armor.

After all, they are the prince's personal army, so the Ministry of War will naturally give priority to allocating military equipment to the prince.

Li Chengqian knew very well that when the Eastern Expedition began, these 5,000 cavalrymen would be his absolute confidants.

His own safety depends on the protection of these five thousand elite cavalry.

There is no need to worry about loyalty, as their families are all in Chang'an.

But if it can be controlled as if by an arm, it can unleash even more powerful combat power.

So after some consideration, Li Chengqian decided to live in the military camp for a while.

It can be considered as adapting to military life in advance.

Li Chengqian planned to bring Li Xiang along on this eastern expedition.

So Li Xiang was also brought to the military camp.

Crown Princess Su Yuer had no objection to this matter.

Although she cared about Li Xiang, he was not her biological son after all.

(End of this chapter)