Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Recruiting so many scholars to the Eastern Palace and spending a large amount of salary every month in vain, Li Chengqian felt that he was losing out if he didn't give them any work to do.

However, these scholars have not been trained for a long time and their talents have not been improved.

When he inherits the throne, he will need to demote these people to various counties to serve as county magistrates, county chancellors and chief clerks, but their talents may not be enough for the job.

"I see!"

Du He nodded in understanding.

Now, all the noble families and scholars in the world have seen that Crown Prince Li Chengqian has a bright future, and they are trying their best to get a job in the Eastern Palace.

As long as they can become a member of the Eastern Palace and find a way to hold an official position, they will be valued after Li Chengqian succeeds to the throne.

Investing in Prince Li Chengqian in advance is more promising than trying hard to take the imperial examination.

Du He pinched his chin and lowered his head to think about how to accommodate these people.

This kind of scholar who is well-read in poetry and books is different from ordinary people. After all, there are not many scholars in the Tang Dynasty, and even fewer capable scholars.

Donggong Chongwenguan has recruited so many people through hard work, and we can’t let them all run away if we don’t settle them for a long time.

Just as Du He and Li Chengqian were frowning in thought, Crown Princess Su Wan walked slowly in from outside the hall, holding a basket in her left hand and holding Li Jue's hand with her right hand.

Li Jue shouted excitedly: "My uncle is also here with the emperor!"

After he finished shouting, he broke free from his mother's hand, ran to Du He and said.

"Uncle, can Juer go with you to the princess's mansion later?"

"I haven't seen my cousin Ping An for a few days. I want to play with him for a while."

Du He saw a long stream of saliva flowing from the corner of his mouth and knew that the boy was thinking about eating the Overlord Ox's Hoof.

So Du He gently pinched his chubby cheeks and then said with a smirk.

"You can go play with Du Ping'an, but there's no Overlord Beef Hoof to eat today!"

Li Jue raised his head with a frustrated look on his face and asked, "Uncle, why don't you have Overlord Ox Hoof? Don't you want to make it for Juer?"

What's the point of him going to the princess's mansion if he doesn't have the Overlord Ox's Hoof to eat.

Besides, my cousin Du Ping'an can't talk or walk, and I get bored of playing with him after a short while.

Du He smiled and said, "It's not that uncle doesn't want to cook for you, but no oxen have died of illness or banged their heads against the wall recently."

"When the day comes that the oxen in my uncle's family no longer want to live, I will invite you to visit the princess's mansion."

As his little wish was not fulfilled, Li Jue's smiling face suddenly turned into a frustrated expression.

Li Chengqian frowned and taught him, "Jue'er, as the crown prince, you should learn the six arts of a gentleman and the art of being an emperor. How can you just think about eating and drinking all day long?"

"Starting tomorrow, after you finish studying with Si Ye, you will study with Dad for half an hour every day!"

When Li Jue heard that he had to study with his father for half an hour every day, his face suddenly fell.

He now has to study with Si Ye for several hours every day, and also has to accept examinations from his mother, and now he has to study with his father for another half an hour.

He spends the whole day studying, how can he have time to play?

Seeing that Li Jue had a bitter face and didn't speak, Princess Su Wan quickly walked to his side, patted his shoulder gently and said.

"Juer, did you hear what Daddy said?"

Thinking that he could have fun without any restrictions in the princess's mansion, while he would have to face endless books in the Eastern Palace, Li Jue immediately turned his head and looked at Du He with tears in his eyes.

He hoped that this very capable uncle could help him persuade his father.

Before Du He could say anything, Li Chengqian said with a straight face.

"It's no use looking at your uncle. He eats and drinks a lot every day and is almost as fat as Li Tai!"

"Starting tomorrow, you need to reduce your daily food intake by 30%!"

Whenever Li Chengqian saw someone with a similar body shape to Li Tai, he would feel displeased.

His eldest son is chubby. If he leaves him alone now, won’t he look like Li Tai in the future?

Then Li Chengqian took out a somewhat old book from the table in front of him, and gently threw it to Li Jue and said.

"First, finish reading the "Learning" and "Governance" chapters of the Analects and comprehend the way of the sage. I will test you tomorrow!"

Li Jue was already very depressed when he heard that he would have to eat less every day. Now, not only did he have to study the Analects, but he also had to be tested by his father. His little face immediately wrinkled.

"Father, I can't even recognize all the characters in the Analects. How about you test me on the Chinese Pinyin Bar?"

He has already mastered the pronunciation of Chinese Pinyin and can now recite it fluently.

Seeing that Li Chengqian, with a stern face, was about to scold Li Jue, Du He's expression changed slightly and he quickly tried to persuade him.

"Your Highness, what Li Jue said is correct. He can't even recognize all the characters now, how can he understand the teachings of the sages?"

"And with what Li Jue said just now, I have found a way to temporarily accommodate those scholars!"

After hearing what Du He said, Crown Princess Su Wan and Li Jue, who were confused, both showed puzzled expressions on their faces.

Li Chengqian, who was still worried about how to accommodate these scholars, suddenly showed joy on his face, and then asked expectantly.

"Du He, what good idea do you have?"

Du He said softly: "Since these scholars did not pass the imperial examinations, they could not be directly arranged to serve as officials in the court, so their placement became a big problem."

Even though there are tens of thousands of unqualified officials in the imperial court, they all need to be screened by the Ministry of Personnel at various levels, and their positions are no different from those of qualified officials.

Li Chengqian nodded in approval.

These scholars could not serve as officials in the court because they failed to pass the imperial examination.

If he used his power to forcibly place these scholars in various departments of the imperial court, it would certainly arouse the suspicion of his father.

Du He continued, "At present, the enlightenment books of our Tang Dynasty do not have pinyin annotations. We can ask some outstanding scholars to annotate the books with pinyin."

"The enlightenment books have been annotated with pinyin. Your Highness can take them to ask for credit from His Majesty, and recommend these scholars to His Majesty to become officials."

"As for other scholars, let them achieve small achievements based on their expertise, and then recommend them to Your Majesty."

"As for those who have not been able to make contributions, we can only wait for Pei Xingjian, the Crown Prince's Chief Justice, to take action and free up some positions."

Pei Xingjian served as the Prince's Chief Justice with an important mission, which was to clear out people from other forces in the Eastern Palace and let in Li Chengqian's own people.

Now Pei Xingjian is also in charge of the secret agents in the Eastern Palace, which will be more helpful to his subsequent actions.

Li Chengqian said happily: "Du He, you have a good brain!"

If these people can make contributions and then be recommended to the emperor, that would be the best way to put their talents to good use.

Although the itinerant officials are not of high rank, they are responsible for specific work.

As long as they gain experience for ten or eight years, their abilities will be greatly improved.