Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

Li Shimin, who was still feeling sad, suddenly turned grim and glared at Li Shen, scolding him:

"You worthless wretch, do you even know what a Grand General who protects the nation is? All you do is spout nonsense."

How about I bestow upon you the title of Grand General of Heavenly Strategy?

"Okay, okay, I...I...I don't seem to know anything about military strategy, so let's just forget it, hehe, forget it."

Li Shen chuckled awkwardly, secretly relieved. Good grief, what was he just saying?

The position of General of Heavenly Strategy was held by his father before he became emperor. It was the same as the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and it remained vacant after his father became emperor.

This resulted in the highest-ranking official in the Tang Dynasty having real power being only the third rank.

I got a little too excited just now. I even dared to covet the position of General of the Heavenly Strategy Army. Wasn't that just handing my ass over to my father for a beating?

"Hahaha, Your Highness Prince Ji, although the position of Grand General Who Protects the Nation is a nominal one, no one has been qualified to obtain it since the founding of the nation."

If I remember correctly, only the Imperial Son-in-Law and Duke of Qiao, Chai Shao, was appointed as the General of the Garrison, holding the rank of second grade.

To become a Grand General who protects the nation, one must have performed extraordinary feats.

Tang Jian chuckled and teased from the side, finding it amusing that Prince Ji dared to spout such nonsense, clearly unaware of the importance of the Grand General of the Nation.

Even a meritorious official like Li Jing didn't get the title of Assistant General of the State, let alone General of the State.

In fact, Li Jing didn't really know how important the General Who Protects the Nation was. He just remembered that the position existed and that it sounded very prestigious.

That's why I said it casually, I didn't expect it to provoke such a big reaction from my father.

"Haha, what Lord Tang says is absolutely right. I was indeed ignorant and ill-informed. I will punish myself with three cups."

When someone offered him a way out, Li Shen immediately took the opportunity to back down.

"Don't think I don't know your little schemes. Daowu is now the Right Valiant Guard General. If you want to be promoted, you need real military achievements."

"It's not like you can do whatever you want." Li Shimin glared at Li Shen, his words already quite blunt.

He's a fourth-rank official now, and also a supervisor, and a descendant of a meritorious official, so it's fine to give him that.

But above them are the real figures of power in the military, who cannot be bought off.

"Father, this time Daowu led his soldiers to annihilate tens of thousands of rebels, killing countless enemies and seizing so much supplies. Isn't this a great achievement?"

Li Shen suddenly regretted that he should have taken Zhou Daowu with him when he went to Yanqi. If he had led the Imperial Guard to relieve the siege of the capital of Kucha, wouldn't that have been another great achievement?

At least we can remove the word "inspection" by then.

"Father, Daowu has indeed rendered meritorious service in suppressing the rebels this time and should be rewarded. I intend to appoint Daowu as the governor of Shangzhou. I wonder what your opinion is?"

At this moment, Li Chengqian spoke up.

"Your Highness, I will follow your instructions." Zhou Daowu rose and bowed.

"The Prefect of Shangzhou?" Li Shen looked bewildered, his eyes vacant. He had no idea where Shangzhou was.

He had heard of it, but no one had ever told him the location of the stronghold.

"Um...where is Shangzhou? Is it far away?" Li Shen asked, confused.

“In Shannan Road, your Prince Ji’s estate has businesses all over the Tang Dynasty, yet you still don’t know where Shangzhou is?”

Li Shimin said something in an annoyed tone.

"Father, you don't need to know where Shangzhou is to do business. I don't need to go there," Li Shen argued, since the two things didn't conflict.

"Tenth brother, Shangzhou has seven counties under its jurisdiction, making it a medium-to-high-level prefecture. I plan to send the Daowu (a high-ranking official) to a local area for a period of training before transferring him back to Chang'an to be given important responsibilities."

Li Chengqian spoke to Li Shen.

"Seven counties? Forget about that. Daowu is from a military family and shouldn't abandon his family's skills. He should just serve in the army."

This time, the credit should definitely go without mentioning the word "inspection."

Upon hearing that there were only seven counties, Li Shen immediately shook his head and refused on behalf of Zhou Daowu, as a medium-sized prefecture's annual tax revenue would only amount to tens of thousands of strings of cash at most.

What's the point of gaining experience? It's better to gain experience in the military, where you don't have to go out.

If he were to work his way up for another ten or twenty years, with Zhou Daowu's status and qualifications, he would definitely be able to rise to the rank of Grand General of the Imperial Guard.

More importantly, Zhou Daowu has just returned. If he leaves again, my sister will be left alone in her room once more.

But if her older sister goes with her, how will she take care of her?

"Alright, we'll discuss this later." Seeing that Li Chengqian still wanted to say something, Li Shimin waved his hand.

Then everyone toasted and drank, and Li Shen went around to each table to offer a toast, enjoying himself immensely.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the playboys began to leave one after another.

As Li Shen's drunkenness took hold, he pulled Cheng Chusi's hand, placed six receipts in it, and said to Cheng Chusi earnestly:

"Brother, your father is no good man. You must guard this money and not let him take it away again."

"Before the city gates close, immediately transport the money to the bank and withdraw it. As long as you hold back from the beating, your father won't be able to withdraw the money from the bank without your consent."

"Thank you for your help, Your Highness. You have taken pity on us. If Your Highness ever needs anything, just say the word, and we will go through fire and water for you."

The Cheng brothers, their eyes filled with tears, were deeply grateful to Li Shen and overjoyed at having their lost treasures returned.

“Baoqi, this belongs to you three brothers. You should deposit it in the bank when you get back. Your fathers aren’t very reliable.”

Look at my father, he has never asked me for any money. You all should think twice before acting like this.”

Li Shen was indeed quite drunk; he was standing there swaying.

"We are grateful for His Highness Prince Ji's kindness." After receiving the three receipts, the Yuchi brothers also bowed to Li Shen in gratitude.

"Hehe, just as I expected." Li Shimin stood in the distance watching all of this.

He had just guessed that Li Shen asked Cheng Yaojin and his group for money because of Cheng Chusi and the others.

However, to be fair, Li Shen is indeed quite loyal.

“Father, my tenth brother is indeed quite capable in some things, and he is very loyal.”

Li Chengqian exclaimed in admiration.

"Perhaps that's why some of these children of officials are willing to make money with him."

"Your Highness is right. These people are just making money by following Prince Ji."

Tang Jian chimed in from the side.

After giving his instructions, Li Shen staggered over.

"Lord Tang, the money is outside. We should hurry up and move it into the national treasury, otherwise we may not be able to finish before dark."

"Yes, Your Majesty, then I shall take my leave." Tang Jian nodded immediately upon hearing this.

After Tang Jian left, Li Shen looked at Li Mengjiang again:

“Sister, I have already spoken with Wang Hongfu and started transporting money to the Princess’s residence. Please go and open the treasury to count the amount.”