Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The efficiency of the people in Lengyi Village, Jingle County is really high.

Just two days after Changsun Wuji, with 50,000 sets of fine iron armor and weapons, and under the protection of a large army, hurriedly embarked on his journey back to Chang'an.

Li Chengqian is inspecting the planting of winter wheat and the distribution and popularization of iron farm tools in several surrounding counties.

Then someone brought news from here.

"Your Highness, the hydraulic forging hammer on the Fen River in Jingle County has been successfully installed and is performing well in trial use!"

Hear the words.

Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the ground chatting with the old farmers in the fields and imagining the future, suddenly had a look of joy in his eyes.

"Let's go! Let's set off immediately and come with me to see what's going on!"

talking.

Amidst the admiring gazes of the surrounding villagers and farmers, he hurried toward the carriage.

Behind them, Li Tai and Li Ke hurriedly brushed the dust off their backsides and quickly followed.

Just before getting into the car, Li Chengqian suddenly paused.

He waved to the farmers behind him who were looking this way.

"Old Zhao, you must all live well. I still have many things to do. The good days of the Great Tang Dynasty are yet to come!"

"Those former imperial families may have thought that the common people were none of their business, but in this Tang Dynasty, I, Li Chengqian, guarantee it in the name of the imperial family!"

"The people of our Great Tang Dynasty are born with the right to be well-fed and clothed, and the right to be literate!"

"This is a power bestowed upon you by Heaven!"

"It is also a test bestowed upon the Li Tang royal family by Heaven!"

"Live well, enjoy your children and grandchildren, and the days of being surrounded by your children and grandchildren will come soon!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lao, the village head of Jiaoniu Village in Hehe County, was deeply moved.

Tears welled up in his aged, yellowish eyes as he leaned on his cane and waved in Li Chengqian's direction.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I'm alive. I will certainly live well. You must also take care of your health and avoid overexertion..."

Li Tai and Li Ke waved goodbye and got into the car.

When Zhao Lao and other elders from Jiaoniu Village saw this scene, they thought about the Bingzhou Road during this period and the changes that had taken place in their Jiaoniu Village.

Tears streamed down their faces.

"A true dragon has appeared! Our Great Tang Dynasty has truly produced a true dragon..."

In the carriage.

Li Tai and Li Ke watched as their elder brother, who had been all smiles, suddenly turned gloomy after getting into the carriage.

Looking at each other.

"Um, Your Majesty, is there something wrong?"

Li Chengqian pursed his lips, remained silent for a long while, and then suddenly let out a long sigh.

"The people of our Great Tang are skilled at farming. As long as the county officials popularize the growth habits of winter wheat according to the information I have provided, there will be no problem."

Li Chengqian shook his head.

"However, the promotion of education still has a long way to go!"

Immediately, Li Tai and Li Ke fell silent. Just moments before, they had been smugly pleased with themselves for having the support of the people, believing they could definitely achieve something that would leave their father, the emperor, speechless.

however.

It seems that his elder brother has never thought about achieving anything to show off in front of their father.

He genuinely wanted to make the lives of the people of the Tang Dynasty more prosperous.

Li Tai couldn't help but offer words of comfort.

"Brother, don't worry. Hehe County is already the westernmost part of Bingzhou. Right now, the Tang Dynasty schools have already started operating in several counties near Taiyuan Prefecture, and Master Kong and his team have never stopped working."

Li Chengqian nodded.

However, looking at the village receding into the distance behind him, he suddenly murmured something.

"Third brother, fourth brother, what do you think... if I let those palace maids who teach fairy tales and literacy become teachers to teach the local people and children to read, would that be feasible?"

As soon as these words came out.

Inside the carriage, the brothers Li Tai and Li Ke stared wide-eyed in shock.

"A woman, a woman as a teacher? This... isn't this a bit too absurd?"

Li Chengqian's eyes widened immediately.

"Why can't a woman be a teacher? Qingque, did something go wrong when Mother was teaching us brothers to read and write at the Prince of Qin's mansion?"

"On the contrary, many of the teachers' explanations are incomprehensible to us, while what Mother says is quite easy to understand. Does Mother not also count as a good teacher?"

Both Li Tai and Li Ke shook their heads.

Li Er's concubines, not to mention the current Empress Zhangsun, even Consort Yang and Consort Yin, were all well-educated ladies from noble families, beautiful and intelligent.

However, the two had never heard of a woman stepping onto the stage to serve as a teacher or mentor.

Li Ke hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"Brother, those palace maids don't actually have much education..."

Li Chengqian glared at him: "I have no intention of having them teach me any Confucian essence. At most, they will teach me some poetry and songs, mainly to help me learn to read and write. You three and four brothers have witnessed how attentive they were when they were teaching those newsboys."

“My ‘Great Tang New Gazette’ has been published in Bingzhou for over a month now. Have you heard of any problems that have arisen?”

Both of them shook their heads; they had both figured it out.

This matter was not something that his elder brother, the emperor, had thought of on a whim; rather, he had long planned to do so.

Perhaps out of consideration for the thoughts of Confucius and his ilk, he has been hesitant to reveal his thoughts.

Now, seeing that the Great Tang Academy has been unable to be established in the remote prefectures and counties of Bingzhou, it is clear that the project is still incomplete.

Clearly, they had lost patience.

Li Chengqian looked out the window.

He began to ponder how to quickly implement his plan to have a woman as his teacher.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came quickly from the other side of the official road.

"Your Highness, is that His Highness's carriage?!"

Outside the carriage, Qian Yingying, dressed in armor and holding a long spear, gestured to the guards to let the man come over.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian, the man, who was panting heavily, immediately showed a look of joy.

He hurriedly presented the bamboo tube in front of him to Qian Yingying with both hands.

"Your Highness, I am a servant of Governor Wang, and I have come to deliver a message on the orders of my master!"

Li Chengqian looked at the other party's travel-worn appearance with a strange expression.

When did you leave?

"I set off two days after the Crown Prince left Taiyuan, chasing after him and inquiring along the way..."

Immediately, Li Tai, inside the carriage, couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how sturdy they were. They had followed their elder brother, the Emperor, through countless counties and villages along the way, often changing course to inspect other places.

Li Ke, inside the carriage, looked through the curtain at the figure kneeling outside the carriage.

His eyes flickered slightly.

I don’t know what I’m thinking.

“Yingying, tell someone to give him two strings of cash as a reward. He must have had a hard time chasing after us.”

"This humble servant thanks Your Highness for the reward!"

In the carriage.

Li Chengqian opened the letter.

When he saw the two letters written to Wang Ming by the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Lu family of Fanyang respectively, he immediately smiled.

He shook his head slightly.

"This Wang Ming has really learned his lesson."

Seeing that his elder brother had finished reading, Li Tai picked up the letter from the side and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"The Zheng family of Xingyang and the Lu family of Fanyang want to pledge their allegiance to you, Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian shook his head: "To say it's surrender is a bit of an exaggeration. It's just the old trick that powerful families use when they face great changes. They send some of their family members to serve them and show some sincerity."

"It's just betting on both sides."

Li Chengqian casually handed another letter to Li Ke, who was standing next to him.

"Currently, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's capabilities are still insufficient. Otherwise, if we had our own spies within the spheres of the Lu family of Fanyang and the Zheng family of Xingyang, we would surely have discovered that these two families are definitely not behaving honestly."

Li Ke nodded, having already made his decision.

"So, Your Majesty, do you intend to employ these people?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, just about to say that he would definitely not.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, a smile appeared on his lips.

He beckoned to his younger brother to prepare the brush and ink, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.

"These Zheng family of Xingyang and Lu family of Fanyang, didn't they claim to be loyal to the emperor and the country, and that their previous mistakes were just momentary lapses in judgment? Are they willing to make amends?"

Li Tai and Li Ke, look over here.

Li Chengqian smiled slightly.

"The fighting among the Turks is intensifying, and those Turkic people who are loyal to our Great Tang Dynasty desperately need some brave and loyal men from the Tang to lead them out of their misery..."

The Great Tang Dynasty, Yanmen Pass.

It was once again in the same large tent where they had negotiated with Tuli Khan Ashina Shibobi.

However, the other side has now become the representative of Ashina Dili, the "Eternal Wolf King," and Ashina Nishu, who also holds a prominent position in the Western Turks.

"Duke of Lu, on behalf of our Great Khan, I can agree to all these conditions, but... if we are willing to give you more cattle, sheep, and gold, I wonder if you would be willing to stop selling weapons to Tuli and his people?"

As he spoke, Ashina Nishu suddenly took out a brocade box from behind his back.

Place it in front of Hou Junji and open it.

Amidst the golden light, rows of neatly stacked gold bars came into view.

however.

The imagined look of Hou Junji being moved did not materialize; instead, a mocking and disdainful expression appeared on his face.

"Ashina Nishu, you once represented the Western Turks on a mission to our Great Tang during the reign of the Retired Emperor. In your eyes, is my Duke of Tang so insignificant?!"

Ashina Nishu: "......"

He stared in astonishment at Hou Junji, who was completely different from the image in his memory and who inexplicably became so righteous in the face of gold. His mind was somewhat unable to keep up.

Hou Junji snorted coldly.

But his heart was filled with disdain.

A mere chest of gold is enough to bribe the Crown Prince?!

Which duke couldn't withstand such a test?

He had heard that His Highness the Crown Prince had discovered a huge gold mine in Bingzhou, given His Highness's extravagant spending.

As long as we do the things His Highness the Crown Prince has assigned us perfectly.

He carried out the tasks assigned by His Highness the Crown Prince in a very orderly manner.

It's just a piece of gold.

There will be plenty in the future!

He snorted again and casually slammed the brocade box shut in front of him.

Push it back in front of the other person.

"Ashina Nishu, you can go back and tell the person behind you that our Crown Prince said that business is business. Our Great Tang can accept your request for a deal, but we cannot accept your conditions."

Ashina Nishu gritted his teeth: "The Tang Dynasty wants to reap the benefits while our Turkic people are in turmoil!"

Hou Junji sneered and raised an eyebrow: "Your Mandarin is quite good, but so what? We allow you Turks to repeatedly invade my Great Tang and take advantage of our misfortune, but we don't allow my Great Tang to also take advantage of you?"

"you!"

Looking at Ashina Nishu, who suddenly stood up from his seat with a whoosh.

Hou Junji's expression remained unchanged as he took a sip of tea.

"If you don't want to make a deal, you can leave directly. I'm not afraid to tell you that the people of Jieli will also be coming to my Yanmen Pass today to discuss the sale of military equipment."

"Anyway, this is a matter for the Eastern Turks. Your son, the Tongyabgu Khan of the Western Turks, might as well obediently retreat to the Western Turks. By the way..."

Hou Junji seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face.

"I've heard that the reason your grasslands are divided into four factions is because a divine treasure descended from the Eternal Heaven has appeared? How about this, you go back and tell Ashina Dili to send his divine treasure to our Great Tang."

"Our Great Tang can give him a batch of military equipment for free, so even if he returns to the Western Turks, his position will still be secure, right?"

Hou Junji had barely finished speaking when he was met with a scathing rebuke from the enraged Ashina Nishu.

"That's impossible! That's a treasure bestowed upon us grassland warriors by the Eternal Heaven, a true divine artifact. Would your Central Plains emperor trade the Imperial Seal for it?"

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

"We need to add another 50,000 arrows to the existing force."

Hou Junji nodded: "Then how will we trade for the extra portion?"

"Cattle and sheep? Gold and silver? You seem to have taken almost all of that..."

Ashina Nishu suddenly focused his gaze on Hou Junji in front of him: "Slaves, do you want them?"

......

Taiyuan Prefecture.

Even after Wang Ming ordered them to leave, Zheng Wuyang and Lu Wenhu still persisted and visited several more times.

However, each time, unsurprisingly, they were met with a rebuff.

Sima Yamen of Taiyuan Prefecture, Bingzhou Circuit.

"Brother, you must help us! If things aren't handled well here, it's a small matter if I can't explain myself when I go back, but my entire Zheng family of Xingyang will truly face a terrible disaster!"

Zheng Wuyang anxiously circled around Wang Qingyun's desk.

Watching Wang Qingyun's brush, dipped in red ink, draw glaring red crosses on each of the name lists in their hands.

He felt that his own family, the Zheng clan of Xingyang, was not far from being treated the same way by His Majesty.

suddenly.

He knelt down with a thud in front of the silent Wang Qingyun.

"Brother! The three of us are sworn brothers, please show your brother a way to survive!"

His voice was trembling with emotion, causing Wang Qingyun to involuntarily tremble as he reviewed the documents.

Taking a deep breath, I finally slowly put down the calligraphy brush in my hand.

"A way out? Do you even consider myself alive now?"

"Look at my head, is it really still on my shoulder?"

Wang Qingyun's expression was uncertain. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and was about to say something.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the study door.

"Young Master, it's terrible! The Embroidered Uniform Guards are here!"