Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 42 Li Zhi's Purpose
After Fulai left, all matters in Anfu Hall were handed over to Xiaohe to manage, and she was a little uncomfortable with it for a while.
The biggest reason is that Xiaohe is illiterate and cannot handle many things well .
But one good thing is that the palace maids here are relatively harmonious with each other, and Zheng will help her share some of the work.
Recently, Xiao He has also started to read and write with Shangguan Wan'er and Zheng. Li Yuechen is very happy to see this.
The people under me are educated, so at least I don’t have to worry about being cheated when I go out.
Li Yuechen got a hoe from the Ministry of Household Affairs and took care of his garden. The best time to apply fertilizer is after the beginning of autumn, so there is still time and there is no need to rush.
However, there was one thing that Li Yuechen found quite interesting: his second brother Li Xian’s eldest son was born!
He has no wife yet, and this son is born to a concubine.
Li Yuechen took a look and felt that Li Xian's attitude towards his son was very average.
It seems that this is the case in this era, illegitimate sons are like those given away for free when you top up your phone bill.
But no matter what, this can be considered as the expansion of the bloodline, and Li Xian himself is still quite happy.
Li Yuechen seemed to like the child very much. Seeing that his little sister liked the child so much, Li Xian also looked at the child a few more times.
However, Li Yuechen expressed doubts about whether his second brother, who is only seventeen or eighteen years old, can educate the child well.
…
Two days later, Li Yuechen came to Liu Rengui's home.
After checking the recent progress of training, the master and disciple started playing war chess on the sand table to test Li Yuechen's progress in learning the art of war.
Li Yuechen has finished reading all the military books given by Liu Rengui. His comprehension ability is still good. At least now his ability to discuss military matters on paper... on the sand table has greatly improved.
On the sand table, the master and the disciple fought back and forth.
Looking up at the sun, it was almost at the center of the sky. Liu Rengui put down the stick in his hand with a smile and said, "I heard that Your Highness eats three meals a day. You can have lunch at my house today."
Li Yuechen raised his head: "But Master's family just finished eating, can they still eat now?"
"Hahaha... Your Highness, don't worry. Nowadays, it's the same in my family. We have a small meal in the morning, one at noon, and one at dusk." Liu Rengui explained with a smile.
"That's good." Li Yuechen nodded, "Master, have you tried the hot pot?"
"Of course! How about we eat this hot pot today?"
"Just follow Master's arrangements." Li Yuechen said with a smile.
At lunch time, Liu Rengui and Li Yuechen were the only ones at the table, as the rest of the family had been sent to the back hall to eat.
The princess was a princess after all, and Liu Rengui would never allow his family to eat at the same table with the princess.
The two of them ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
However, Liu Rengui took advantage of the good atmosphere and suddenly changed the topic: "Recently, His Majesty seems to want to appoint Ashina Duzhi as the General of the Left Guard and the Governor of Fuyan to gather the Five Dulu. Does Your Highness know about this?"
Li Yuechen, who was about to put a piece of mutton into his mouth, was stunned for a moment, and then his mind began to think quickly.
Why is he telling me this?
Li Yuechen didn't know what was going on for a moment. Is it really okay for you, a high-ranking official in the court, to discuss such things with me, a princess?
Li Yuechen’s reading of books over the years was not in vain, and he knew what the words meant.
The Tang Dynasty generally adopted a policy of winning over the surrounding ethnic minorities, but its management guidelines were extremely loose.
In name, they had to accept the supervision and command of the Protectorate, the highest local administrative body, but in reality they were still a kind of autonomous region, with considerable autonomy in both administration and finance.
Generally, the leaders of these ethnic minorities would serve as provincial governors or military governors, and the positions could be inherited.
These areas were called Jimozhou, and Fuyan was one of them.
The current Western Turkic people have ten tribes, divided into two factions: the left wing and the right wing.
The one on the right was called the Wunushibi tribe, and the one on the left was what Liu Rengui called the Wudulu tribe.
The two sides were not very harmonious. They basically fought each other every day, stealing food, people and territory from each other.
Now Li Zhi seems to want them to stop fighting...but the question is, what's the point of telling me this?
She knew about these things recently when she was listening to the news in the court, but she didn't intend to say anything.
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen showed a silly smile: "Master, why are you telling me this? I don't understand what's going on in the court!"
But Liu Rengui, who was standing opposite him, looked as if he had seen through everything. He raised his hand and gently stroked his beard twice: "Since Your Highness doesn't understand, why do you go to the court every now and then to listen to government affairs?"
Li Yuechen suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked subconsciously: "How did Master know?"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Liu Rengui suddenly laughed: "I didn't know it at first, but I saw His Majesty occasionally looking behind the screen when he was in court, so I was curious. I asked just now, and it turned out to be His Highness!"
Damn it! I got scammed!
Li Yuechen was shocked, but then felt helpless. You are so brave that you even dare to cheat me. I'm afraid you don't want to live anymore.
Although I think so, as a disciple, I have no intention of going to the emperor to report my master.
He continued to stuff the mutton in his hand into his mouth, raised his head and said: "Master is smart! But I am just bored on weekdays, so I went to the court to listen casually to kill time."
Liu Rengui, however, pretended not to hear anything and asked, "What do you think of this matter, Your Highness?"
I'll sit and watch!
The principle Li Yuechen set for himself was to listen more, watch more and talk less, and to avoid getting involved in court affairs if possible.
However, thinking that Liu Rengui and others might also influence the emperor's orders to a certain extent, he still said: "My disciple thinks that due to the severe drought in recent years, it is not suitable to send troops!"
After all, the battle of Dayechuan was a thorn in Li Zhi's side.
If he gets angry and insists on sending troops, who knows how much of a blow it will cause to the country.
Li Yuechen said this just to express his own thoughts.
War concerns not only the lives of soldiers, but also a series of subsequent impacts on the economy and people's livelihood.
Now is definitely not a good time to send troops.
Liu Rengui, who was sitting opposite him, nodded and picked up the health ball given by Li Yuechen and put it on his plate: "I think the same thing too. I think Your Majesty will know it."
Shit! What's your purpose in deceiving me today?
Unfortunately, Li Yuechen didn’t figure out Liu Rengui’s purpose in the end, and left after lunch.
On the way back in the carriage, Li Yuechen leaned against the door frame, thinking carefully about the reasons why Liu Rengui did this.
Logically speaking, as an official, he should not say anything even if he found out that he was eavesdropping in the court.
It would be fine if he were a man, maybe he was thinking about taking sides.
After all, with the blessing of the master-disciple relationship, if you can succeed in following the dragon, you can live a stable and worry-free life in the second half of your life.
But the problem is that she is a woman! His mother, Wu Zetian, has not yet come to power. He doesn't think that he can inherit the throne as a princess, right?
No matter how Li Yuechen thought about it, he felt that today's events were full of weirdness. Liu Rengui was considered a veteran in officialdom, and his style should have been very cautious. What on earth made him do such a thing?
Wait! Li Yuechen suddenly felt that he had found a blind spot. Could it be that I was overthinking things?
There is a prerequisite for this matter, that is, Liu Rengui is very clear about his own character, and he is very clear that his apprentice will not report him to the emperor!
So is this just a simple teaching event?
Although there is no record of women becoming emperors in current history, there are records of women becoming generals!
The most recent one was Princess Pingyang Zhao during the founding period, who was buried with military honors and escorted by the army.
If you think in this direction...
Li Yuechen bit her lower lip lightly. Could it be that he intended to send me to the battlefield?
This is indeed possible, because people of this era attach great importance to inheritance. He once complained that neither his son nor his grandson were talented enough to be cultivated.
So he intends for me to inherit his legacy?
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen nodded slightly. I am really smart!
…
Back at Anfu Palace, Shangguan Wan'er trotted over and said, "Your Highness, please teach me how to fly a kite."
"It's not windy today, so it's hard to fly shuttlecocks." Li Yuechen looked up and said, "How about I call the two sisters to play shuttlecock together?"
"Okay, okay!" Shangguan Wan'er nodded happily, "This one is also fine!"
"Then go call the two sisters. I'll go outside first." Li Yuechen touched her head and said with a smile.
"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er agreed and ran to call Princess Xuancheng and Princess Yiyang.
Li Yuechen came outside the palace and looked around, wondering when he could build a parkour training ground in the palace for fun.
Don’t expect to be able to travel between dozens of stories high buildings in this era, but it should be no problem to just use it as a training ground.
But I feel a little helpless when I think about this, and I don’t know how the world over there will report the cause of my death.
《Shocking! A parkour expert slipped on soapy water while cleaning windows at home and fell from the 14th floor!》
Thinking of such a title, Li Yuechen felt that it was good to travel through time. At least in this era, it was impossible to fall from the fourteenth floor.
After a while, Shangguan Wan'er came out with her two sisters and shuttlecocks, and Li Yuechen led a few people to start playing.
…
On the other side, inside the Renshou Hall, Liu Rengui was sitting at the desk, reporting to Li Zhi and Wu Zetian about his meeting with Li Yuechen today.
There were only three of them in the hall today, even the attendant was not there, which meant that today's conversation would not be recorded in history.
After listening to Liu Rengui's report, Li Zhi, who was lying on the rocking chair, turned the health ball in his hand with a smile on his face: "Mr. Liu, do you think that with Chen'er's talent, he can take on important tasks in the army?"
Liu Rengui bowed and said , "From what I can see, Your Highness has a quick mind and a long-term vision. When conducting sand table simulations with me, he has a great sense of the overall situation. It's just that his attitude..."
Having said this, he stopped talking and seemed to be thinking about how to organize his words.
"It's okay. There are no outsiders here today, so you can speak freely, Mr. Liu!" said Li Zhi.
Liu Rengui then said, "When I look at His Highness, I always feel that he has a playful attitude towards life. Although he is indeed very smart, he seems to be afraid of trouble!"
Li Zhi suddenly smiled and nodded: "That's right!"
After chatting for a while, Liu Rengui saw that the time was almost up, so he stood up and left.
Only Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were left in the Renshou Hall.
After a moment of silence, Wu Zetian suddenly put down her pen, raised her head and asked, "Why did Zhinu let Liu Zhengze test Chen'er?"
Li Zhi, who was sitting on a rocking chair with a health ball in his hand, turned his head and said with a smile: "I thought Mei Niang could resist asking!"
Wu Zetian was somewhat helpless: "Don't be ridiculous, why is this happening?"
"well……"
Li Zhi sighed slightly: "Although Hong'er is kind and filial, his character is a bit pedantic. If he were an official, he might be able to keep the people safe. But if he wants to be an emperor, his character will eventually become softer."
"The purpose of testing Chen'er is..."
"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded. "Chen'er is tough and self-disciplined, has a sense of the overall situation, a long-term vision, and has the talent of an emperor! It's a pity that she is a girl... But with such great talent, she can be a general! The most important thing is to have a harmonious relationship with her brothers! If she can assist Hong'er in the future, she can ensure the stability of the country!"
Wu Zetian seemed a little puzzled: "Chen'er is still young, how can Zhinu know that she is not pedantic?"
Li Zhi suddenly stopped the health ball in his hand: "If Chen'er was pedantic, he would have taken the initiative to plead for Helan Minzhi!"
As soon as these words came out, Wu Zetian was shocked and her eyes widened instantly: "How did Your Majesty know..."
She closed her mouth before she finished speaking.
"Humph!" Li Zhi turned his head and smiled, revealing two rows of neat teeth: "In this world, what can be hidden from me?"
Wu Zetian was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled: "Then I guess I know why you hid it from Your Majesty?"
"You..." Li Zhi glanced at her and then shook his head. "I know you and your daughter kept it a secret for my sake, but you must never keep it a secret again in the future!"
Wu Zetian smiled slightly: "I obey your command!"
Li Zhi continued to roll up the health ball: "Take the drought in recent years as an example. Chen'er thought of increasing grain production. If it were Hong'er , he would probably open the warehouse and release grain directly... In short, if Chen'er can cooperate well with Hong'er in the future, he will definitely be like Mei Niang and Empress Dugu, and become another emperor behind the Tang Dynasty!"
After hearing these words, Wu Zetian completely understood what he meant.
She understood her husband. She knew that Li Zhi was still under the influence of Zhangsun Wuji. He trusted the people around him more than all the civil and military officials in the court.
For example, yourself!
Perhaps it is because of this reason that I can govern the country together with him like Empress Dugu.
And now, he wanted to find such an assistant for the prince, but unfortunately he couldn't find one outside, so he set his sights on his little daughter!
But there was some worry on her face: "But Chen'er will get married sooner or later..."
"Get married?"
Li Zhi suddenly turned his head back, his eyes wide open, full of disbelief, as if he had not considered this at all.
Wu Zetian seemed a little confused as to why he reacted so strongly: "Why are you suddenly like this?"
Li Zhi suddenly lowered his eyes, and the health ball in his hand spun rapidly: "I... can't bear to part with it!"
Seeing that he seemed a little reserved, Wu Zetian felt that he was a little cute, and asked with a smile: "Are you reluctant to let Chen'er get married?"
"In this world, only someone better than me is worthy of Chen'er!" Li Zhi suddenly said.
