Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

What?

Li Chengqian wants to collect beauties from all the countries under heaven.

When Du He heard Li Chengqian's goal, he was stunned.

He had previously noticed that Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace had a large number of vacant concubines and thought that Li Chengqian was not interested in beauties. It turned out that he had a big plan in mind.

However, this idea is good, and it is entirely in line with Li Chengqian's identity as a unified monarch.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely help you achieve this small goal and fill your harem with beauties from all over the world."

"However, some beauties in certain places are a bit dark-skinned, which Your Majesty may not necessarily like."

A bit dark?

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow and asked, "Du He, you said the beauty is a bit dark-skinned, how dark-skinned is she?"

"Are they as dark-skinned as the Kunlun slaves?"

The Kunlun slaves he mentioned mainly came from the southern border countries, with a small number coming from West Asia. Their skin color was mainly black or dark brown.

Du He chuckled and said, "They're even darker than Kunlun slaves, but you can still find some beauties who fit the Tang Dynasty's aesthetic standards."

Upon hearing Du He's words, Li Chengqian immediately became interested.

Is there anyone in this world even more wicked than the Kunlun slave?

Wouldn't that be the same as charcoal?

Not bad!

I want to see for myself!

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian stroked his short beard and said expectantly, "It doesn't matter, as long as she's a beauty, it doesn't matter if the candle is extinguished or not."

Well...

Du He's expression paused slightly.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengqian is quite playful and not picky about food at all. I don't know if he was just saying it casually or if he really thought so.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's benevolence is truly admirable!"

After discussing the selection of a concubine.

Li Chengqian said softly, "Du He, I have been looking at many sites for arsenals recently, and finally decided to renovate the residences of those disgraced officials."

"Turn Changsun Wuji's residence into an armor factory, Chu Suiliang's residence into a bow and arrow factory, Gao Lixing's residence into a spear and sword factory, and Yu Zhining and Zhang Xuansu's residences into horse harness factories."

"As for the vacant mansions of other criminals, they were used as workshops to make horseshoes, saddles and clothing."

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian said with a solemn expression, "You need to arrange for people to set up the arsenal later, and then take the captured weapons and equipment to modify them after a while."

"Since we've taken their money, we can't give them inferior equipment."

"At the very least, the symbols of the arsenal should be engraved on the armor and bows."

puff~

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's last two sentences, Du He almost spat out the tea in her mouth.

He thought Li Chengqian had a change of heart and was preparing to sell some good stuff to the powerful families and princes, but he didn't expect it to be just adding a symbol.

However, Li Chengqian's idea is good; it's good to make the armor look more professional.

Du He stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will organize manpower now to quickly set up the arsenal."

"By the end of this year, we will definitely have the weapons, armor, bows, and arrows ready."

He has a lot to be involved in for the next period of time, but he won't be able to manage such specific matters.

Moreover, his roles as Grand Minister of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Heavenly Pivot only required him to make the highest decisions and assist Li Chengqian in formulating laws.

As for the execution of specific tasks, the Ministry of Personnel was responsible for that.

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, saying, "Du He, I have designated Ganlu Hall as my office, and you will also move there to work from now on."

"Once you've settled the affairs of the arsenal, you must join me in compiling a list of the forty-nine meritorious officials for the Lingyan Pavilion!"

The core benefit of hanging portraits of meritorious officials in the Lingyan Pavilion was that it represented the pinnacle of honor for civil and military officials, as well as political privileges and family protection.

In addition, the Lingyan Pavilion is also the best place to inspire officials.

Du He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Privy Council is located between the Secretariat and the Chancellery. It is most appropriate for me to stay in the Privy Council to handle government affairs."

"Otherwise, if the chief officials of the Three Departments, Six Ministries, Nine Temples and Five Directorates wanted to see me, they would have to go through layers of approval before they could meet me in the Ganlu Hall."

"There is a lot to do during this period, and I am worried that it may affect the operation of government affairs."

Hearing Du He say this, Li Chengqian had no choice but to agree.

This year, several major national policies need to be implemented, and all of them require Du He, as the head of all officials, to oversee them.

The two discussed for another quarter of an hour. As the sky outside the main hall gradually darkened, Du He got up to take his leave and departed from the Liangyi Hall.

After returning to the princess's residence.

Du He discovered that the hall was piled high with gifts. After looking around, he realized that these gifts were all from the vassal kings and civil and military officials.

Good guy!

These people really weren't going to fall behind, so they also sent generous gifts.

Du He shook his head, then ordered Du Wu, "Send half of the gifts to His Majesty, saying that they are from the princes and officials to celebrate his opening of the arsenal."

"promise."

After receiving the order, Du Wu immediately arranged for people to move the gifts.

Back to the backyard.

After Du He finished his meal with his wife and children, they chatted in their bedroom.

These days, Du He is so busy he's completely out of his mind, and he has no time to spend with his wives and concubines.

Li Yi asked softly, "My lord, His Majesty has granted you twenty-five prefectures in the Central Plains as your territory. When do you plan to establish an official bureaucracy here?"

"The taxes and corvée labor of the fiefdom need to be managed by someone."

The vassal kings established by the Tang Dynasty did not have as much power as the vassal kings of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and could not form a miniature version of the imperial court's officials.

The official system of the feudal lords was similar to that of the current royal court, mainly divided into royal officials, court officials, officials of the personal affairs office and the inner court, as well as officials of the princely kingdom.

These four officials each performed their respective duties.

Royal officials were a group of people who accompanied the princes. Their role was that of advisors and eunuchs, and they mainly included tutors, military advisors, readers, and libationers of the East and West Pavilions.

The officials in the prefecture were similar to the Ministry of Personnel in the imperial court, and were responsible for the implementation and management of specific government affairs in the fiefdom. They mainly consisted of the chief clerk, the military advisor, the registrar, and the seven military advisors.

Officials of the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Household Department were in charge of the military forces in their fiefdoms, and mainly included military commanders, deputy military commanders, captains, and brigade commanders.

Officials in the Princely Kingdom performed miscellaneous tasks, such as managing food, teaching women and livestock, and were mainly composed of officials such as Ling, Da Nong, Wei, and Cheng.

After thinking about it for a while.

Du He said softly, "Yi'er, you will be in charge of setting up the Han Prince's Mansion and selecting its officials. Now we only need to select a few key figures."

"Once the Tang Dynasty unifies the world, I will readjust and improve the officials of the Prince's Palace."

Now, the officials in his fiefdom don't really need to be from the royal palace; instead, they are all under the unified supervision of the imperial court.

It's just that the taxes that should have been handed over to the imperial court ended up in his private pocket.

Li Yi nodded and said, "Then I will first select someone from the Princess's residence to be in charge of the tax revenue of the fiefdom. As for the administration, you can give the orders."

"it is good."

Du He smiled and replied.

His four wives and concubines were all capable women, and there were no problems at all in entrusting them with the affairs of his fiefdom.

...

The next day.

After the court assembly of officials.

Du He summoned all the officials of the Privy Council to his office.

Chat for a while.

Du He smiled and said, "Gentlemen, His Majesty has entrusted me with the full responsibility of preparing the arsenal, but unfortunately, I am too busy with government affairs to oversee its operation."

"After much thought, we can only choose one person from your side to be in charge of the arsenal."