Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 250 The Third Prince Inquires about Military Affairs

At noon, there was a bustle in Chongwenguan.

On a table, two young men, about fifteen or sixteen years old, were arm wrestling.

The little kids next to them cheered for both sides and didn't even have time to eat lunch.

One of them was Li Hong's playmate, Li Chong, the son of Li Zhen. He was fifteen years old and had reached the age of tying up his hair when he was canonized as the Duke of Langya County.

Logically speaking, he should have gone to his fiefdom long ago, but because of his status as the prince's companion, he could stay in Chang'an for five more years and only go to his fiefdom after he was crowned.

The other person was Li Yuanjia's son, Li Zhuan, Duke of Huang.

At the beginning of the year, Li Zhi suddenly issued an edict. Because Li Yuanjia had a good reputation among the people, he specially granted his third son Li Zhuan to study in Chongwenguan.

Li Zhuan was different from Xue Na who had just entered Chongwenguan. Relying on his status as a duke, he was quite arrogant and did not respect Crown Prince Li Hong very much.

Li Hong has a gentle personality and doesn't care.

Li Chong couldn't stand it and had a few arguments with him. Today the argument escalated and he rolled up his arms.

Among the group of children watching, the third prince Li Yong was the most excited.

He was a martial artist by nature and loved watching others fight. He would shout, "Break him! Break him! Use force!" It was unclear who he was cheering for.

Suddenly, he felt someone patting his shoulder from behind. When he turned around, he saw that it was his personal eunuch.

"What are you doing? Can't you see I'm busy? Let's eat later." He said impatiently.

The eunuch whispered, "Your Highness, there's military intelligence coming from the front!"

Li Yong's eyes lit up, and he and the eunuch left the Wentang hall and came to the corridor outside the hall. He asked anxiously, "How is the situation? Did General Xue win another victory?"

The young eunuch said, "Your Highness, I haven't heard any news about General Xue, only about the Arabs."

"What news?" Li Yong asked.

"They seem to have defeated the Tibetans and captured the city of Lhasa."

Li Yong jumped up and said angrily, "How is this possible? Did you hear it wrong?"

The young eunuch also looked unsure and whispered, "Then go and ask around?"

Li Yong waved his hand and said, "Go quickly! We must find out the news of General Xue's victory!"

After the young eunuch left, Li Yong returned to the hall and saw Li Chong and the other man still arguing with each other. He suddenly lost interest and felt that they were too childish.

He shook his head, left the literary hall, and went to the dining hall to eat. As he was busy eating, a crisp sound came from the side.

"Third Prince, why aren't you in the Wentang watching them arm wrestle?"

Li Yong turned around and saw a pretty little boy next to him, holding a bowl of rice. He was about eight or nine years old and looked familiar. He should be a student of Chongwenguan.

"It's just two kids fighting. It's so boring. I only care about the war on the front line." Li Yong spoke in a little adult tone.

The pretty boy's eyes lit up and he asked, "Can I sit next to you?"

Li Yong said: "Of course you can, but I don't know who you are yet."

The handsome boy made a standard bow and said, "My younger brother, Wang Bo, is a descendant of the Wang family of Taiyuan. I entered the Chongwen Academy last year."

Li Yong said, "I've heard of the Wang family of Taiyuan. Please sit down."

As they ate and talked, Li Yong discovered that Wang Bo was quite knowledgeable, and seemed to be better than Li Xiao.

The most important thing is that he does not rely on his knowledge to pretend to be great, which is very much in line with Li Yong's temperament.

The two of them quickly skipped over literary matters and focused on discussing military affairs, especially the war on the front line.

The two little kids, with a combined experience of no more than twenty years, were actually discussing the topic with great interest.

Li Yong finally found a like-minded playmate and generously shared the news he had just heard with Wang Bo.

Wang Bo was startled and asked, "The city of Lhasa was taken by the Arabs?"

Li Yong hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I believe General Xue will be able to fight back soon."

Wang Bo nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, General Xue can do it!"

The two children smiled at each other, as if they had met a close friend.

After school in the afternoon, Li Yong's eunuch finally got some information.

"What did you say? General Xue almost lost the battle? If you dare to talk nonsense, believe it or not, I will stuff the ball into your mouth!" Li Yong said angrily while standing in the corridor.

The young eunuch said aggrievedly: "But this is what I heard."

Li Yong asked, "Did General Xue finally turn defeat into victory?"

The young eunuch said, "That's all I've learned. I don't know anything else."

Li Yongqi waved his fists and said, "Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?"

The young eunuch whispered, "Military intelligence only reached Chang'an early in the morning, so not much information has been circulated."

"How dare you talk back!"

At this time, Wang Bo came over from a distance and said to Li Yong, "Third Prince, why are you so angry?"

Li Yong hummed and said, "I, your servant, have heard another piece of news. It says that General Xue was almost defeated. I don't know if it's true."

Wang Bo was stunned: "Almost? Does that mean he won?"

Li Yong stamped his foot and said, "The most infuriating thing is that he doesn't know what the outcome will be!"

Wang Bo frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, do you know when the news reached Chang'an?"

"I heard it was early in the morning."

Wang Bo smiled and said, "No wonder. It may take two days to get all the information. Your Highness, there is no need to worry."

Li Yong said anxiously, "How can I not be anxious? If I don't find out the truth, I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

Wang Bo said, "If that's the case, why don't you go and find out for yourself?"

Li Yong was stunned: "Myself?"

Wang Bo said, "Your Highness, you can ask the eunuchs in Ganlu Palace. Perhaps they will know."

Li Yong waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, if my father caught us, he would definitely test my homework. Absolutely not." Wang Bo thought for a moment and said, "Then you can find out which palace His Majesty stayed last night, and then go there to ask."

Li Yong was delighted and said, "That's a good idea. As long as it's not the Lizheng Palace, I can go and ask around."

In the harem, he was only afraid of Empress Wu, and was not afraid of any other concubines.

Wang Bo smiled and said, "Go ahead, and tell me the results tomorrow."

Li Yong put his arm around Wang Bo's shoulder and said with a smile, "You are a really nice person and you are smart." He walked quickly towards the harem.

Fortunately, after some inquiries, he found out that the emperor stayed in Penglai Palace last night. The concubine Xu Chongrong in the main palace had a gentle personality and Li Yong was not afraid of her at all.

He immediately took quick steps and came to Penglai Palace, but Xu Jin was not in the palace. Only Princess Yi Yang was writing something in the inner hall.

Li Yong didn't consider himself an outsider. He walked over to the couch and sat down. He grabbed a pear and took a bite. He said, "Sister, where is Aunt Xu?"

Princess Yi Yang raised her head and replied, "She went to the Ziyun Pavilion to take a bath." Despite her young age, she already had a gentle and elegant temperament.

Li Yong asked, "How long have you been gone? When will you be back?"

Princess Yiyang said, "If you go there at 3 p.m., you should be back at 4 p.m.."

Li Yong muttered, "Why does it take so long to take a bath? Sister, do you know about the war on the front lines?"

Princess Yi Yang shook her head.

Li Yong said, "Forget it, I'll wait for Aunt Xu for a while." He lay on the couch, crossed his legs, and ate a pear comfortably.

Seeing that he stopped asking, Princess Yi Yang lowered her head and continued to write quietly.

After Li Yong finished eating a pear, he was bored and turned his head to look at Princess Yi Yang.

"Sister, what are you writing?"

Princess Yiyang said, "I am doing the homework that my aunt left for me."

Li Yong sat up immediately: "You are a woman, and you also need to do homework?"

Princess Yiyang said softly, "Why can't women write? Your knowledge is no less than that of the scholars in the Chongwen Academy."

Li Yong chuckled and said, "Have you been studying too?"

Princess Yi Yang nodded her chin.

Li Yong asked, "Which book did you read?"

Princess Yiyang said, "I just read the Book of Songs and the Book of Rites."

Li Yong was immediately very proud and said with a smile: "I've only read up to this point. Hehe, I've already finished reading the Five Classics."

Princess Yiyang whispered, "I naturally don't dare to compare myself with my brother."

Li Yong was even more proud. With a "Hey whoosh", he jumped off the couch, walked over and said, "I'm free now, let me give you some pointers."

Princess Yiyang smiled and said, "Thank you very much. I just don't have the answers to a few questions."

Li Yong laughed heartily and said, "What's the problem with your answer? Show me now."

Princess Yiyang pointed a few times on the paper and said, "Here...here...and here..."

After reading it, Li Yong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly slapped the back of his head.

"Oh, no!"

Princess Yiyang hurriedly asked, "Third brother, what's wrong?"

Li Yong said, "I suddenly remembered that the Crown Prince asked me to go to the East Palace to find him after school today."

Princess Yiyang said hurriedly, "Then go quickly."

Li Yong smiled and said, "Then I'll go. These places are actually not difficult. Think about it carefully. If you can't figure it out, I will teach you another day."

After saying that, he ran away in a flash.

……

Ziyun Pavilion and Penglai Hall are both located to the west of Taiji Palace. The fastest route from Penglai Hall to Ziyun Pavilion is through the Donghai Pool.

Li Yong squatted behind a rockery near the Donghai Pond, and from time to time he looked at the stone bridge over the Donghai Pond to see if Xu Jin had returned.

Donghai Pool was a place his father Li Zhi often visited. He didn't dare to stand on the stone bridge and wait, so he could only hide behind the rockery.

After waiting for more than half an hour, the sun was about to set, and he finally saw a group of palace servants coming.

The leader was Xu Jin.

Li Yong walked over quickly, came to Xu Jin, bowed, and said, "My son greets Aunt Xu."

Xu Jin smiled and said, "It's Sanlang, is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Li Yong said, "Yes, there is something, Auntie, let's talk while we walk."

Xu Jin nodded, and the two walked towards Penglai Palace together. Li Yong took the opportunity to ask about the war on the front line.

Xu Jin was surprised: "Why do you suddenly ask this?"

Li Yong said, "I have been interested in military affairs since I was young, as you know."

Xu Jin nodded and said, "Your Majesty did mention something to me yesterday. It seems that the Arabs captured the city of Lhasa."

Li Yong said repeatedly: "Yes, yes!"

Xu Jin said, "General Xue Rengui almost lost the battle!"

Li Yong asked anxiously, "What happened next?"

Xu Jin said, "Your Majesty said it was General Su Dingfang who saved Xue Rengui and defeated the main Tibetan army."

Li Yong was stunned and said, "Was General Xue rescued? Can't he turn the defeat into victory by himself?" He had an expression as if his faith had collapsed.

Xu Jin said, "I don't know the details, you can ask His Majesty."

Li Yong gritted his teeth and thought that it didn't matter if he got scolded, he had to get to the bottom of this matter.

He bowed to Xu Jin and said goodbye, then headed towards Ganlu Palace.

(End of this chapter)