Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Inside the Liangyi Hall.

Li Chengqian sat high on the imperial platform.

Du He, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Li Jing, Gao Shilian, Ma Zhou and others sat on the cushions on the left and right sides.

At this moment, everyone was lowering their heads, looking thoughtful.

After a long time.

Li Chengqian asked loudly, "My dear ministers, although marrying the princess to Yibishekui Khan is just a way to appease the ruler and ministers of Western Turkic Khaganate, we must also choose a princess who is unmarried."

"After thinking about it for so long, do you have a suitable candidate?"

When everyone heard Li Chengqian's question, they all frowned and thought.

At present, all the daughters of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan are married.

The only unmarried daughters of Your Majesty are Princess Changshan and Princess Hengshan.

But they are both still young, so it is obviously not suitable.

At this moment, Fang Xuanling stood up and said.

"Your Highness, Princess Suian's husband, Dou Kui, has been ill and passed away for a long time. Why not let Princess Suian marry into the royal family?"

"Anyway, it's just a formality. I believe Princess Suian and the Dou family will understand."

"Besides, Princess Suian is beautiful and graceful. The ruler and ministers of Western Turkic will definitely not object."

After hearing Fang Xuanling's suggestion, the ministers nodded slightly.

Soon, Zhangsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Li Jing, Gao Shilian and others all spoke up in agreement, saying that Princess Suian was the most suitable candidate.

Li Chengqian nodded: "Then let's choose Princess Suian!"

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian then asked, "When would be the most appropriate time for the marriage?"

Everyone thought about it for a long time.

Du He smiled and said, "Your Highness, I think we can set the date as August of next year. This time is not too long, and the people of Western Turkestan have the patience to wait."

"More than a year is enough for us to defeat the Eastern Turks and Xueyantuo and digest the spoils."

The princess's marriage requires a series of complicated procedures.

In the 638th year of the Zhenguan reign (641), the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo went to Chang'an to ask for marriage. It was not until the th year of the Zhenguan reign () that the Tang Dynasty married Princess Wencheng to him.

So a year of preparation time is considered relatively fast.

The reason why Du He set the time in August was to deceive Yibi Shekui Khan and make him believe it.

By then, the Western Turks will cooperate in attacking the Eastern Turks and Xueyantuo, and will definitely fight even harder.

More than ten breaths passed.

Except for Changsun Wuji who remained silent, everyone else agreed with Du He's suggestion.

Li Chengqian ignored Changsun Wuji and made the decision directly.

"Ok, deal!"

When Changsun Wuji saw that Li Chengqian made the decision directly without asking for his opinion, his pupils shrank slightly.

If His Majesty were presiding over the meeting, he would definitely ask him one more question at the end.

His hands, hidden in his wide sleeves, were clenched into fists, and his hatred for Li Chengqian increased even more.

Li Chengqian did not take Changsun Wuji's little tricks seriously.

He looked at Du He and asked him.

"Du He, which department is responsible for alcohol production now?"

Du He stood up and said, "Your Highness, the production of alcohol is directly managed by the Shangshu You Province, and the people in charge of distillation will be responsible for it."

The allocation of important strategic materials like this is basically arranged by the Secretariat.

Anyway, Du He has already taken the credit, and the subsequent production arrangements are rather complicated, so Du He is too lazy to manage them.

"Ah."

When Li Chengqian heard that it was the Shangshu You Province that was in charge, he nodded with relief.

Shangshu You Pushe Hou Junji is from the Eastern Palace, he will definitely not do anything wrong.

Li Chengqian's eyes swept over the court officials, and then he gave an order in a loud voice.

"The Ministry of Chancellery is solely responsible for dispatching envoys."

"Also, while the army is on the march, the Secretariat must also ensure logistical support and provide the soldiers on the front lines with all the necessary supplies."

"If anyone neglects the opportunity to fight, I will punish him severely!"

The generals who went to fight against Xueyantuo were all the core members of the Eastern Palace, so Li Chengqian had to pay attention to them.

If someone tries to trip him up, he will definitely not let them off easily.

Changsun Wuji and Hou Junji stood up together and bowed with serious expressions.

"Sir, obey the order!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

He then explained some major and minor matters, and then waved his hand for everyone to leave.

...

For the next period of time, all the departments of the court were busy preparing for the war, and the struggle between the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

The staff of the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion all knew that if they failed to deliver during a war, the consequences would be very serious.

The lighter punishment is dismissal from office, while the more serious punishment may lead to imprisonment.

Time flies, and it’s July in a blink of an eye.

In the afternoon.

Ministry of Industry.

Du He sat in the office, frowning and thinking about what to do next.

The development of gunpowder could play the greatest role in the Tang Dynasty's subsequent conquests of the Western Regions and Indian countries.

With the truth in hand, no matter how many barbarians there are, they are no problem.

But now there are only one or two years left before the war, and gunpowder may not be produced so quickly.

Thinking about it for a long time.

Du He muttered, "Forget it, let's develop gunpowder while tempering fine steel!"

Now the smelting technology in the Tang Dynasty is very advanced, and it will be easier to forge fine steel with better toughness.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the room, and Xiao Kai's voice was heard.

"Minister Du, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has summoned you to the Eastern Palace."

"it is good."

Du He responded, then stood up and walked out of the office.

After a cup of tea.

Du He arrived at Mingde Hall unhindered, and then bowed to Li Chengqian.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince."

When Li Chengqian saw Du He coming, his face suddenly became strange.

He stood up and walked to Du He, looking him up and down for a while, which made Du He feel creepy.

"Your Highness, if you have anything to say, please tell me directly."

"You're staring at me like that, I'm a little panicked!"

Any man would probably feel a little panicked if he were stared at by a grown man.

Li Chengqian walked up to Du He and said with a raised eyebrow.

"Du He, have you said anything to Father recently?"

"The Emperor has ordered me to reduce the number of government affairs I have assigned to you. Do you still want me to stay at Cuiwei Palace for a while tomorrow?"

While other departments were busy as hell, Du He was bored to death.

Sometimes he was jealous of Du He's leisure time and would bring him to the Eastern Palace to help him review the mountains of memorials.

Du He was stunned. "Your Majesty summoned me to Cuiwei Palace?"

He had not been to Cuiwei Palace during this period and thought that Li Shimin had forgotten him.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin, who had some free time, was still thinking about him.

Du He said helplessly: "Your Highness, I have told His Majesty that there are high-yield seeds on the other side of the ocean that can produce a thousand kilograms per mu, and there are hundreds of countries behind the Western Regions."

"I didn't expect that His Majesty would still be obsessed with this."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

He did not ask Du He how he knew about the high-yield seeds, nor did he ask about the many countries behind the Western Regions. Instead, he talked about another thing.

"Du He, King Jiangxia brought back a sorcerer from Tianzhu. This person claims to be 200 years old and can refine elixirs that can prolong life."

"When you arrive at Cuiwei Palace, you must pay close attention."