"...Mr. Guanyin, are you saying that you dreamed that Qingque was captured by the Turks?"
In the West Garden of the Imperial Palace, Queen Changsun's bedroom. Queen Changsun, who had just woken up from a nightmare, briefly told Li Er what she had dreamed about. Li Er frowned and said thoughtfully.
Empress Changsun was still frightened at this time. It was obvious that she had not recovered from the previous dream. She held Li Er's hand tightly and said in a trembling voice: "Erlang, I always feel that this is not a dream. This dream It’s so real, and counting the days, Qingque and the others should be arriving in Taiyuan, do you think anything will happen to Qingque?”
It is said that the mother is worried when her son travels thousands of miles, not to mention that since Li Tai was born, he has never left the palace as far as this time. Moreover, the relationship between Tang Dynasty and the Turks is now at a tense moment. How can Queen Changsun not worry?
Hearing this, Li Er couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart. He was already a little worried about Li Tai's safety, otherwise he wouldn't have sent so many imperial troops to the north with Li Tai this time. At this time, he listened to Empress Changsun telling such a story. A real nightmare, Li Er would inevitably have some ominous premonitions in his heart!
Even so, Li Er's expression remained as usual. He gently patted Empress Changsun on the back and said comfortingly:
"This is just a dream. Maid Guanyin, don't think too much. Qingque is protected by a thousand forbidden troops, and the two brothers of the Dugu family are also top masters. Nothing will happen easily, let alone in Taiyuan. ! There are 70,000 soldiers in Taiyuan Prefecture, and there are several barriers between Taiyuan and the Turks. What you saw in your dream will never come true! Relax and don't think too much!"
These words were spoken by Li Er not only to Queen Changsun, but also to himself. In his opinion, with the defensive power around Li Tai being so sufficient, it was really impossible for the situation that Queen Changsun saw in her dream to happen!
"But... I still feel uneasy. Erlang, has there been any news from Qingque recently?"
Empress Changsun patted her chest gently, took a few breaths, and looked at Li Erdao.
She already had gas problems, and although she had gradually improved after more than half a year of treatment, she suddenly felt a little short of breath again when she was excited.
Li Er also clearly felt the strangeness of Queen Changsun. He held Queen Changsun's hand and said:
"Qingque hasn't sent the message back yet, but the best news is that he hasn't sent back the message. He brought a telegraph machine with him on this trip. If something happens, he will definitely send the telegram back as soon as possible. Guanyin, if you are still worried , I will have someone send him a telegram early tomorrow morning to ask him about the situation there. Now don’t worry too much, relax, take it easy, and continue to rest, it’s still early before dawn!”
Li Er's affirmative tone made Empress Changsun feel a little relieved. She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Okay! Then Erlang, please remember to have someone send a telegram to Qingque tomorrow, and as soon as Qingque comes back with news, send someone to inform him. My concubine calls out!"
Instructing the emperor to do things was somewhat over the line for the empress, but Li Er and Empress Changsun, a young couple, had a deep relationship, so naturally he would not care about it. He smiled and comforted: "Guanyin, please feel at ease. , as soon as there is news tomorrow, I will have someone come and inform you, it’s better to go to sleep now!”
"Well! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Empress Changsun smiled with relief, and the two lay down again. After a while, steady and regular breathing sounded in the palace.
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"...Your Majesty, the notice to recruit soldiers has been dispatched to all states and counties from 800 miles away. The Ministry of War has formulated recruitment plans for various places. Zhechong Prefectures in all places are actively selecting elites. It is expected that in a few days, there will be soldiers from all states and counties. The elite soldiers of the government have entered the capital one after another! By then, 150,000 troops will be stationed on a plain under Niushou Mountain south of Chang'an City, backed by abundant water, and built towards the east!"
(Fengshui, one of the "Eight Rivers of Chang'an", is located in Hu County, south of Chang'an City, and about 20 miles due east of Niushou Mountain)
In the morning meeting, Li Jing, the Minister of War, reported to Li Er the progress of the court's recent preparations for war. Among them, he inevitably mentioned the recruitment of government soldiers to Beijing that Li Er had previously requested.
Although Chang'an City is the largest city in the world today, it has a population of one million (don't underestimate this population of one million. Cities in this era are not full of high-rise buildings like modern times, and the floor area ratio of residential buildings is very low, and The residences of many nobles and dignitaries cover dozens or even hundreds of acres. Under such circumstances, it is really not easy for a million people to live in Chang'an City). It is already the limit to fit into the camp of the Twelve Guards in the capital. , there is really no ready place to build another camp for 150,000 troops!
Therefore, the 150,000 elite soldiers recruited from various places can only be stationed outside the city, and the location of this military camp must be close to a water source!
Hearing this, Li Er nodded with satisfaction and said: "A total of 150,000 troops are stationed in a camp. The location of the camp is very important. The bank of Fengshui in the south of Chang'an City is a good place. Li Jing listened to the order and promoted the military department immediately. Set up a camp on the bank of Fengshui in the south of the city. All necessary materials will be allocated by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Once the 150,000 elite soldiers arrive, intensive training will begin immediately!"
Li Jing clasped his fists and accepted the order: "Old minister, I accept the order~!"
Li Er nodded, then looked at Xiao Yu among the civil servants, and said in a deep voice: "Xiao Aiqing!"
"The old minister is here!"
Xiao Yu stepped forward and cupped his hands.
Li Er said: "Today there will be a sum of military funds that will be charged to the Ministry of Household Affairs. This military funds will be mainly used to supply the 150,000 elite soldiers who are about to enter the capital. Xiao Aiqing, you must make overall arrangements and not short-circuit the soldiers." Soldiers, armor, food and drink cannot affect the training progress of the soldiers!"
Xiao Yu frowned, raised his hands and asked, "I dare to ask, does the military fund your Majesty mentioned come from the fund-raising meeting to be held in Lantian County this afternoon?"
After hearing this, the other ministers in the Taiji Hall also cheered up and listened.
Li Er did not hide it this time, but admitted openly: "That's right! It's the fund-raising meeting that I want to report this afternoon!"
This was the first time that Li Er admitted in front of the civil and military officials that the military resources of the 150,000-strong army came mainly from the fund-raising meeting held by the Yanhuang Chamber of Commerce. The officials had only guessed before, but now that they heard Li Er confirm it personally, they couldn't help but feel a little confused. At a loss, some of them had a smile on their lips, such as Changsun Wuji!
Xiao Yu said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, do you really think that these private merchants alone can raise enough military supplies to supply an army of 150,000 for several months?"
The other ministers also started to murmur at this time. Obviously, in their view, it was impossible to raise so much money with the help of private merchants. After all, the concept of profit-seeking by merchants has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it is also the hearts of scholars like them!
Li Er smiled calmly and said: "Can you, we will find out before dusk today. If the money raised is not enough, I will think of another way. In any case, before the army sets off, we will definitely raise enough money and food!" Xiao Aiqing only needs to wait until the fund-raising meeting is over, lead the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs to take over the military supplies, and make overall arrangements!"
"Old minister accepts the order!"
For this reason, Xiao Yu couldn't say anything else. Although it has been a rule since ancient times that a court should not compete with the people for profit, but now that the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is about to begin, no one cares about this at this critical moment.
Li Er nodded with satisfaction and said: "The situation in the north is becoming increasingly tense, and the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is becoming more and more urgent. I hope that all the beloved ministers can work together and make preparations before the war to ensure that the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty It’s foolproof!”
All the officials cupped their hands and said, "I obey the order!"
Li Er saw that the matters to be discussed had almost been discussed, so he said: "If you have something to report, please withdraw from the court if there is nothing to do!"
After waiting for a while, no one came forward. The chamberlain standing on the side of the hall shouted in a high voice: "Retreat from the court~!"
"Congratulations to Your Majesty~!"
Amidst the respectful farewells from all the officials, Li Er stood up and left the Tai Chi Hall, heading towards the Ganlu Hall.
"Zhao Song, go make arrangements and have someone go to Qintian Prison to use a telegraph machine to send a telegram to Qingque and ask him about the situation there!"
After returning to Ganlu Hall, before changing into regular clothes, Li Er gave instructions to Zhao Song beside him.
There is a telegraph machine in the palace, which is placed on the Qin Tiantai and is temporarily kept by the Qin Tianjian.
The function of Qin Tianjian is to observe celestial phenomena, calculate solar terms, and formulate calendars. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Southern Dynasties, Taichang was under the command of Tai Shi Ling, who was in charge of the celestial calendar. In the Sui Dynasty, Taishi Cao was subordinate to the Secretary Province, and Emperor Yang changed Cao to be the prisoner. In the Tang Dynasty, the Taishi Supervisor was renamed the Taishi Bureau. Later, it was renamed several times as the Secretariat Pavilion, the Huntian Supervisory Yuan, the Hunyi Supervisor, or the Secretariat Province.
At this time, the Qin Tian Jian was equivalent to the ancient version of the National Observatory, responsible for observing celestial phenomena and promulgating calendars. Qin Tianjianzheng is equivalent to the director of the National Observatory. Since the calendar is related to the agricultural season, and the ancients believed that changes in celestial phenomena directly corresponded to changes in personnel, the status of Qin Tianjianzheng was very important.
The reason why the telegraph machine is kept in Qintian Prison is mainly because the Qintian Tower in Qintian Prison is located at a higher position, which allows electromagnetic wave signals to be transmitted farther when sending telegrams. This is what Li Zexuan told Li Er before!
When Guancheng was suppressing the rebellion, Li Yu took a telegraph machine to the pagoda of Songyue Temple, hundreds of miles away, and sent a message about the situation in Guancheng to the academy. This was the principle! Before the telegraph relay station was built, the communication distance of the telegraph machine could only be improved in this way. Although the improvement was limited, it was still enough to transmit the message from Chang'an to Taiyuan!
In addition to the telegraph machine, before this, Li Er had selected several people from the palace servants and sent them to Yanhuang Academy to learn how to use the telegraph machine, so now even if Li Tai is not in the palace, there are still people in the palace who can use the telegraph machine. !
"Here~!"
Zhao Song bowed and accepted the order, turned around and left.
"Go and call Li Junxian to come see me!"
After Zhao Song left, Li Er gave instructions to a servant in the palace.
"Here~!"
The chamberlain bowed in agreement and turned to leave.
"The general has met your Majesty!"
After a while, Li Junxian, dressed in military uniform, walked quickly into the hall, bowed and saluted.
"No gift!"
Seeing Li Junxian coming, Li Er put down the memorial in his hand, stood up and walked to Li Junxian from above, and said straight to the point: "I called you here today because I have something for you to do!"
Li Junxian cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, please give me your orders!"
Li Er nodded and said in a deep voice: "I order you to select a team of elite hundred cavalry. The number does not need to be large, more than ten people are enough. You ask them to leave for Taiyuan City immediately, and then check whether there are any There is a Turkic spy! After checking Taiyuan City, check Yunzhong County again! If there is any abnormality, immediately cooperate with the local Zhechong Prefecture to eliminate it!"
Li Junxian was a little confused after hearing this, but he still bowed and accepted the order: "General, I will obey the order!"
"Yeah! Go ahead!"
Li Er waved his hand and said.
"Here! I will retire at the end!"
Li Junxian hugged his fists, turned and left.
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