The prince went to prepare for the banquet, and Li Shimin stood on the bank of Taiye Pond. Now there are craftsmen building the river embankment, and stones and wood are constantly being transported here.
The original stagnant water in the river bed has dried up, and the depth of the river bed has been excavated several times.
Those ingenious things in Lishan cannot be built, but Yan Liben's construction skills are still top-notch.
Upon learning that His Majesty was coming, Yan Liben hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Your Majesty."
Li Shimin smiled and said: "Now we are not in the palace, and there are no outsiders. Qingque is also married, so you and I don't need to be polite."
Seeing His Majesty turn around and continue walking, Yan Liben straightened up, followed half a step behind, and told about the current situation of Taiye Pond.
"Your Majesty, the excavation of Taiye Pond has reached the third phase. Once the river bed is excavated and the waterside pavilion is restored, water can be released."
Li Shimin nodded and said: "There is no need to waste manpower and money. Just keep what you should have, and there is no need to buy more."
"Here."
After thinking about the reasons why Lishan would lose money, he knew that Zhang Yang had spent a lot of money recently on purchasing coal, stone and iron materials.
With the lessons learned from the past, Li Shimin felt that the cost of the Taiye Pool could be reduced.
Seeing that some of the wood in front of him were all fine purple wood, Li Shimin warned: "Use this kind of fine wood as little as possible."
"I understand."
Yan Liben thought of sending craftsmen to help Lishan build the academy, which was not really an academy.
I felt somewhat guilty when facing His Majesty. I wanted to tell the truth about Lishan Academy, but I didn't know how to speak.
Just when Yan Liben was still hesitating whether to report the matter truthfully, he looked back and saw that His Majesty had already left.
Stopping where he was, Yan Liben felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart. This sadness came from his long years of loyalty and responsibility, and now he felt an extra debt.
His Majesty's banquet was very sudden this time, and the guests invited were all military generals.
Chang'an City has been very busy recently. Cheng Yaojin was sitting in the Xingqing Hall. His Majesty had not yet arrived, and everyone was talking in low voices in the hall.
Everyone is a military commander, civil servants are not present, and there is no need to be secretive when speaking.
Cheng Yaojin kept pouring wine into his mouth.
Li Daliang glanced at the old man first and said, "Why does the old killer smell so bad?"
"Hmph, I always go to Lishan to fire cannons these days. The sound of explosions is the weapon a man should use."
Speaking of firearms, everyone whispered again. Qin Qiong said suspiciously: "I don't know which guard house those ten big iron barrels were given to before. Do you have any news?"
Everyone was silent, indicating that none of the guards in the army had ever received artillery.
Where did all the artillery go? Just the ones at the entrance of Lishan Village?
The generals looked at each other and came to the conclusion that this firearm was not distributed to the army at all.
Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Yuchi Gong.
"Everyone, don't look at me. His Majesty has never mentioned this matter."
Niu Jinda sat upright and hesitated: "I heard that Your Majesty will continue to send more troops to the west. What do Jingde think?"
The one who is closer to His Majesty now is Yuchi Gong, and now everyone is interested when asking about this matter.
Only Li Daoyan and Su Dingfang remained calm and speechless.
Cheng Yaojin said with a smile: "The Niu family's baby has never even been out of Guanzhong, let alone go to the Western Expedition."
Niu Jinda slapped the table and said angrily: "Old man Cheng, don't be so arrogant. My sons are more promising than yours."
Hearing this, Cheng Yaojin also had an angry look on his face.
Qin Qiong quickly advised: "Okay, your Majesty now intends to help the younger generation like Liang Jianfang, why should we and the old guys argue anymore."
The two of them sat down separately.
Not long after, His Majesty came. This was not a holiday, and it was very strange to have a sudden banquet.
Now that His Majesty has hosted a banquet, people have to think about his intentions.
At this banquet, His Majesty did not talk about firearms, nor did he talk about the Western Expedition.
When the banquet was over, everyone left in twos and threes.
Cheng Yaojin put his hands in his hands and asked, "Second brother Qin, you said it was so slow to build a firearm in Lishan. It has been two months and there has been no news."
Speaking of firearms, Niu Jinda leaned over with his ears raised.
This made Cheng Yaojin very unhappy and said angrily: "Old Niu! You are almost attached to a certain family."
Niu Jinda had a smile on his face and said with an attentive look: "Old man Cheng, how about you make a pact with the army and let a certain family try the artillery?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin sped up and left.
Niu Jinda said anxiously: "Don't be arrogant, old man, just give it a try to a certain family."
As he spoke, he chased after her again.
The prince stood in front of the Xingqing Hall, watching many old generals leave. From here, he could see the Chengtian Gate in the distance at a glance.
Some people say there is another reason why Your Majesty hosted the banquet, while others say it was His Majesty's whim.
Some people also praised Tian Khan as having the style of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
All in all, during Li Shimin's career as emperor, before Zhang Yang entered the Ministry of Rites, many of his external measures did follow the example of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
An emperor also has idols.
After all, Tian Khan has not yet reached his old age. If Tian Khan really wants to act like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, all the generals and people in the world should be cautious and trembling.
Changsun Wuji didn't care about His Majesty's intention of entertaining the generals this time. He walked to a wine shop and saw Zhang Daan eating.
Eating the millet in the bowl quietly, Zhang Daan enjoyed this moment very much. When he was working in the East Palace, his brother said that he could eat here without paying any money.
It seems that the restaurant owner here has a great relationship with his brother, so the owner obeys his brother's words.
There was no need to pay money back then, and now there is no need to pay after returning from Liaodong.
The store owner is a person who keeps his promises and has a knight-errant spirit. This person often says that it is just one more bite of food.
Now that he is the Minister of Rites, it is not to save money on this meal, but to sit here and remember the past, so that he will not forget his instructions and warn himself.
Changsun Wuji sat down aside, looked around and said, "It's too noisy here."
Zhang Daan finished the food in the bowl, put down his chopsticks and said seriously: "Why did Duke Zhao come to find the official office?"
"With your talent, it's a pity that you are just a minister of etiquette."
"What does Duke Zhao mean?"
"You should join Zhongshu Province. Only in Zhongshu Province will your talents be put to use."
Zhang Daan wiped his mouth and put his hands on his knees, "Zhao Guogong was joking. I want to stay in Liaodong. There are still many things to do, so I was hurriedly recalled to Chang'an City."
Changsun Wuji lowered his voice and said, "You are still young, and you will have many opportunities in the future."
"Um."
However, he responded, making Changsun Wuji more and more confused. He didn't know how to tell the young man his purpose. He continued: "Is it because of Zhang Yang's arrangement that you feel you owe a favor?"
Zhang Daan added: "Dong Zhao, my brother's kindness goes beyond this."
"I cherish my talents, and I am telling you this in the hope that the talents of the Tang Dynasty will not take detours. Don't you understand who Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu are? If you follow them, you will become like them sooner or later. "
Changsun Wuji's tone was a little serious.
"It turns out that it was Zhao Guogong who cherished his subordinates and came to persuade him with good words."
"If Xu Jingzong causes trouble in the future, several of your ministers in the Ministry of Rites will be implicated. I advise you to find another way out as soon as possible."
Zhang Daan nodded and said: "I have remembered what Mr. Zhao Guo said."
The young man showed no intention of leaving the Ministry of Etiquette. He was calmer than expected. He sat for a while and then stood up and left.
All this was seen by an idle gangster outside the wine shop.
Half an hour later, the ruffian came to Xu Jingzong and said, "Xu Shangshu, the Duke of Zhao first read a book at home, and then danced with his sword for a while."
"Well, Changsun Wuji still dances with a sword? What does he do with a sword?"
"I don't understand that people continue to watch Zhao Guogong's every move."
Xu Jingzong lowered his face and said, "Continue."
"Well." The ruffian continued: "Later, Duke Zhao went to the toilet and came out after half an hour..."
"Okay." Xu Jingzong said with a straight face: "Is there anything important?"
He said that he would keep an eye on Changsun Wuji's every move, and there was no need to report things like going to the toilet.
"Well, I just don't know which things are important and which things are not important."
"Then you should tell me everything."
It was also mentioned that Changsun Wuji met Zhang Daan. It seemed that the two talked for a long time, and at the end of the conversation they broke up unhappy in the wine shop.
What did he do when he saw Daan?
Looking at the ruffian next to him, he also looked like he was frowning and thinking.
Xu Jingzong sighed, took out a bunch of copper coins and handed them to him.
"Thank you, Mr. Xu."
"I don't need you to do anything here. You can find a remote place to live for a while."
"Here."
Who dares to touch the people of the Ministry of Rites? His eldest son, Wuji, is so incompetent? Zhao Guogong was nothing more than that. Xu Jingzong felt that it was not him who should die, but someone else.
The blue sky is very beautiful, Zhang Yang can never get tired of looking at it.
Today Songtsen Gampo came to visit Lishan again. Zhang Yang was sitting by the Weishui River fishing, and said sadly: "Is your Tubo Zampo really not afraid of being bombed to death?"
There was another artillery blast.
Zhang Yang looked at the water and shook his head and sighed, "It's not easy to fish recently. It's not easy for my family to catch a fish."
Songtsen Gampo stood aside and said: "There are also fish in Tubo. There is a kind of fish in the holy lake. They will swim upstream when they reproduce."
"I remember that you Tubo people don't eat fish."
"Well, in the eyes of the Tubo wise men, the fish in the holy lake cannot be eaten."
Speaking of the Holy Lake, Songtsen Gampo's expression became much more solemn. He explained: "Some people say that the Tibetans guard such a large lake, but they can only use it to kneel and worship. Because their view is narrow and they can satisfy their appetites, but they can also Therefore let all things in Tubo wither away.”
"Some people say there is nothing disrespectful about just eating a fish. Those people don't know that Tubo is not like the Central Plains. The Central Plains has many types of crops and livestock, but Tubo is a barren place."
"There are only a few types of crops and livestock in Tubo, and it takes several years for the fish in the Holy Lake to grow from juveniles to big fish. They grow very slowly. Once there is a large amount of fishing, the Holy Lake can be completely covered in a few years. Finished eating the fish."
“If there are no fish in the holy lake, the water birds will not come to live there. Without the nutrients brought by the water birds, the water plants will not be dense, and the livestock will not have water plants to feed them. The livestock will starve to death, and the Tibetan people will also starve to death. "
Songtsen Gampo took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, and said with a smile: "Ashamed, Tubo is very fragile compared to Guanzhong, so fragile that it doesn't even dare to eat fish."
Zhang Yang sat on a small bench by the river, with more appreciation in his eyes, and nodded in agreement: "Zanpu's understanding of the ecological chain is far better than many people today. You must miss your hometown very much."
"Precisely because Tubo lives under the barren snow-capped mountains, the Tubo people cherish every plant and tree. Since I was a child, I have traveled all over Tubo to see the people of Tubo and the creatures of Tubo."
Songtsen Gampo looked a little more proud as he spoke. He continued: "Zhang Yang, you should be proud of being born in Guanzhong. I envy you very much."
"Zampu is different from those big cannibals. Big cannibals are ignorant."
"Zhang Yang, if it weren't for the fact that you were an important minister of Tian Khan, if it weren't for the war between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, I wouldn't be a hostage of the Tang Dynasty, and you wouldn't be the Marquis of Lishan County. I would have become a friend. "
Songtsen Gampo meant the word friend very seriously.
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "It's also possible that we will never be friends in this life."
Songtsen Gampo admired Zhang Yang and Tian Khan. He admired all talented people. The man in front of him who was similar to his own age was his rival. If he couldn't be friends, he would be his rival for life.
He also sat down by the Weishui River, "Let's talk about business now."
"Huh? I thought Zampu had nothing to do, so he came to Lishan to relax."
Songtsen Gampo was used to such words that would spoil the mood in just a few words, so he explained distressedly: "Actually, Zhang Daxiang arranged this visit."
"Why did Brother Elephant ask Zamp to come to Lishan?"
"Borrowing troops."
"What kind of troops can I borrow?"
"Your Ministry of Rites sent Pei Xingjian, Xue Rengui, and Wang Xuance to Persia to rescue the original Persian prince Belus. Now the king of Persia has rescued him, but the cannibals will come back sooner or later."
"No matter how clever Pei Xingjian is, he can't stop the cannibals with just the few troops in his hands and the skirmishers in the Western Regions. Moreover, he also has to be wary of the Tianzhu people, so Wang Xuance went to Tianzhu first in the winter, hoping that Tianzhu could give him some help. Tang soldiers and horses.”
Songtsen Gampo paced back and forth while talking, and then said: "I have some experience in the art of war in Guanzhong. If my guess is correct, Pei Xingjian has two purposes. The purpose of asking Wang Xuance to go to Tianzhu is to test. If Tianzhu is willing to lend troops to People of the Tang Dynasty, then the descendants of the Tang Dynasty will have no worries."
"But war is cruel, and people's hearts are also sinister. The last time the Great Cannibals were defeated was because they were arrogant. If they come back this time, they will no longer underestimate the Tang people. And Tianzhu refuses to lend troops. If the Tianzhu people and the Tang people are at a critical moment, The cannibals form an alliance and attack the rear of the Persian capital. The Tang people will definitely lose this battle."
"Because of this, Pei Xingjian made a decision. He hoped that Wang Xuance could use Tubo's troops to destroy Tianzhu first. Rather than saying that Tianzhu was a concern, let this worry disappear. Since Tianzhu did not want to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, nor did it want to rush to the aid of the Tang Dynasty. Tang, it doesn’t matter if it’s destroyed.”
After listening to Songtsen Gampo's speech, Zhang Yang finally caught a fish.
