Li Xian talked a lot to himself, not noticing Xue Ne's expression of shock.
To be honest, he was not surprised when the saint asked him to find someone to help the prince, but he was surprised when the prince himself asked not to help.
The higher the position, the more shameful one becomes, and he knows this very well. Especially when his father was still alive, he knew very well how much price it would cost for the top nobles of the Tang Dynasty to compromise.
Originally, he thought that even if His Royal Highness practiced martial arts diligently, he would still behave like ordinary people when it came to matters involving face.
However, he really didn't expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would actually choose to show his true feelings.
Perhaps it would be embarrassing to do so, but it would maintain the feathers. Even he felt that His Highness the Crown Prince's choice was much better than cheating.
Cupping his hands, Xue Ne said seriously: "Your Highness's choice, I greatly respect you!"
After glancing at Xue Ne, Li Xian didn't say anything.
The reality is like this. When people are doing things, the most taboo thing is to make a fool of themselves and pretend to be fat. Maybe you can deal with it this time, but what about next time? What about next time? Two consecutive blows, could it be possible to treat swelling once and then fight again on this basis?
Just be your truest self, don’t do things you can’t do, don’t do things you can’t do well, sometimes you’ll run out of manpower, and if you don’t do it, you’ll be despised at most, but if you fail, it’s not contempt. So simple.
In order to maintain the role of "Prince Xian", Li Xian felt that there was no need to embarrass himself and pretend to be fat.
but....
After taking a look at the elites selected by Xue Ne, an idea came to his mind. However, after considering the actual situation, Li Xian gave up the idea.
It's overacted, even the stupidest person can see it, so forget it.
However, these people can be regarded as talents. The geese have plucked their feathers, and now that they have come to the East Palace, how can they put them back again?
After taking a look at Xu Ze who was on shift today, Xu Ze came over with a smile.
This period of getting along with him has made him familiar with His Highness the Crown Prince. The best meat is put to his mouth. What can he do if he doesn't eat it?
Handing the silver medal to Xu Ze, Li Xian smiled and said: "These people will stay in the East Palace for the time being and take turns guarding. In their free time, they will teach the East Palace guards archery at the shooting range."
Xu Ze agreed and hung the silver medal on his waist.
If you don’t return the gold medal, how can you return the silver medal?
After arranging all this, Li Xiancai was about to continue shooting arrows when he saw Li Yong running in like a gust of wind.
When he came near, Li Yun quickly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, General Yunhui, Qi He, and his son, Qi Hui, are asking for an audience."
"Oh? They came very quickly. Go and let them in."
After receiving the order, Li Yun turned around and went to deliver the order. With his superb skills, the speed of delivering the message was naturally not comparable to that of ordinary eunuchs.
Just when Li Xian took the time to shoot a dozen arrows, Qi He walked in with his son and daughter at the door of the martial arts arena.
No wonder Qi Lan didn't come to the martial arts field today. It turned out that he was wearing normal clothes to greet his father.
As a father, Qihe was naturally at the forefront. After being searched by the eunuchs, he was allowed to enter the martial arts arena.
Taking a few steps forward, Qi He and Qi Hui cupped their hands and said, "General Yunhui Qi He, pay homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Although his true identity is the prince's father-in-law, the huge difference in identity naturally overwhelms the difference in relationship.
but....
After all, he is also an elder, so although Li Xian does not need to salute first, he still has to return the salute.
After bowing his hands in return, Li Xian took two steps forward to help him and said: "General Qi is a rare warrior in the Tang Dynasty. I have always admired him very much. It's a pity that I only got to see him today."
After saying that, Li Xian looked at Qi Hui again, nodded and said, "People often say that a tiger father has no dog sons. Today I have seen it. I didn't expect Brother Qi's body to be so strong."
It's useless not to be amazed. Qi He's figure is still a standard general's figure, but Qi Hui is different. This guy's muscles are well developed and he looks like a bodybuilding champion. He doesn't have a systematic fitness tutorial, so he can become what he is now, which must be the result of hard training.
However, maybe all he has left is training hard.
Today, there is truly no war on the border of Datang. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, fools like Tuyuhun still dared to take action, but now under Emperor Gaozong, only Tubo is the only one who dares to take action, and the rest are not doing their best to serve the suzerain country of Datang. As long as Datang does not take the initiative to attack, those who dare to resist will be the few whose brains have been kicked by donkeys.
Such an international situation has resulted in second-generation military officers like Qi Hui having almost no chance to fight on the battlefield. I have to say that this is also a kind of tragedy.
Qi Hui did not expect that he would also be spoken to by His Highness the Crown Prince, and he was flattered and replied: "Your Highness is ridiculous, the humble minister is just practicing blindly, and the general is a tiger who has not been able to go to the battlefield for more than 20 years. It has become a joke. "
As soon as he said these words, Qi Hui felt that his father and sister's expressions had changed. Then he realized that what he said was not quite right, and quickly changed his words: "Your Highness, Wei Chen didn't mean that. Wei Chen wanted to say... .”
There were almost black lines on Qihe's forehead, so he could only hold up his hands and say: "Your Highness, I'm sorry, it's the dog's mouth that doesn't hold back."
He asked Li Yun to move the tables and chairs. After Li Xian sat down, he waved his hands and said, "It doesn't matter. What Brother Qi said is true. However, if the military does not encounter war, it can only keep fat. For the military, It’s a pity, but it’s a good thing for us people in the Tang Dynasty.”
"At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there were only two million registered households in the country. Now, with the migration of refugees, thorough population census, new land registration, and years of rest and recuperation, although we have more people, we are not as big as the vast number of people. Compared with the land, it still seems too small.”
"Only when the borders are stable, internal governance can be stable. Apart from anything else, as long as all the people have enough food to eat, clothes to cover their bodies, and houses to shelter themselves, the Tang Dynasty can survive for hundreds of more years."
"Nowadays, if we want to fight at the border, we can't fight it. So, why don't we change the direction of Brother Qi's ambition? In Gu's opinion, whether it is defending the country and guarding the border or governing the local area, the credit is the same."
Hearing the prince's words, Qi He couldn't help but frown, while Qi Hui looked confused.
As for Qi Lan, he happily poured tea for the three of them. She could see that her husband was deliberately reminding her father and brother.
Although Qihe is a general, he is not stupid. He also knows very well that if there is no war on the border, it is inevitable to turn to internal affairs. Military generals can only occupy enough territory in the court when the war continues, and even civil servants have to stay away.
However, as the war ceased, military generals were overpowered by civil servants.
This is inevitable, so there is nothing wrong with His Highness the Crown Prince’s words.
As for Qi Hui...
Glancing at his child, Qihe chose to remain silent.
Everyone walks his or her own path. As a father, if he can bring his children to this level, he has done his best. As for how to proceed from now on, it's up to him. If you have the ability, you can make him a prince or a marquis; if you don't, you can eat chaffy vegetables. If the blood is passed down, it is better than anything else. He does not have to enjoy the blood food for thousands of years in the tomb.
Although Qi Hui was a little stunned, he was not stupid. He knew very well that His Highness the Crown Prince was giving him instructions.
But, a military commander turned into a civil servant?
Then wouldn’t all those years of practicing martial arts have been in vain?
What's more, he has been studying the Art of War these past years. Is he going to temporarily switch to reading books about sages?
Seeing Qi Hui trapped in the battle between heaven and man, Li Xian smiled and said nothing, just drinking tea.
In fact, there are a few places that are very suitable for Qi Hui to go to.
It just depends on whether he has the brains.
As Qi Lan's relatives, they can barely be regarded as relatives. Because of Qi Lan, he can give preferential treatment to their father and son. However, there is no free lunch in the world. It is impossible for him to build a tall building from the ground and save his father-in-law like Li Xian in history. People moved it. Qi He, and Qi Hui, if they want meritorious deeds, they can provide them with opportunities, but it depends on them to actually get them.
Without disturbing Qi Hui's thoughts, Li Xian stood up and invited Qi He to the other side of the field to learn about his marksmanship.
He still learned his marksmanship from Qi Lan, but he just learned a certain airs. Now that he has met a master of marksmanship, how could he not ask for advice?
Qi He felt that it was very honorable for the prince to learn the family's spear skills, so he did not hide it and showed it as much as possible.
There are specialties in martial arts, and Qihe can make great achievements on horseback with his marksmanship, so his marksmanship is naturally top-notch.
Although it is impossible to learn all the scriptures in one day, it is still possible to go through it in general and gain some understanding.
It is not necessary to master it completely, but to have some understanding and be prepared when facing the enemy in the future.
People's energy is limited. Li Xian doesn't think he can master eighteen kinds of weapons. It would be good if he could play the horizontal sword well.
After the two of them had been fighting with sticks for a long time, they were both sweating profusely. Qi Lan took two towels and asked the maid to give one to his father, and she wiped her husband's body herself.
She had imagined this scene before, and now it had come true, which made her very satisfied.
After wiping his sweat, Qi He smiled and said: "His Royal Highness's skills are enough to compete with ordinary generals. To be honest, it is hard for me to imagine that you only started practicing martial arts after returning to Chang'an."
Li Xian nodded, not surprised by Qi He's praise.
People must learn to be humble, but they must also learn to be proud.
Unless there is something important every day, there will be no interruption. Coupled with the dedicated teachings of Xu Ze and others, if I don't make progress, I might as well not learn at all.
"General Qi's skills are truly unparalleled. It can be seen that you have tried your best to hold back."
Through the competition with Qi He, Li Xian had a clearer understanding of the value of force in this era.
There is no doubt that those who occupy the top position are people with military backgrounds such as Qi He and Xu Ze. The martial arts skills practiced on the edge of life and death are naturally beyond the reach of ordinary people. Although Li Yun is very skilled, he is definitely no match for Qi He in a head-on battle.
As for Zhou Quan...
To be honest, Li Xian is still not sure how high this dead eunuch's martial arts skills are.
At this moment, Qi Hui on the other side had figured out something and was standing on the edge of the competition venue, looking like an obedient boy.
Seeing that his father and the prince had finished their martial arts competition, he came over, cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, I have already understood your instructions."
After finishing speaking, Qi Hui turned to his father and said, "Father, I want to learn how to govern the people. Please ask my father to find a good teacher for my son."
Qihe was also surprised to see that his son actually chose to change his future, especially when he didn't show any displeasure.
In that case...
Qihe was silent for a while and then said: "My father has a brother who is a family friend and is an official in Hedong Road. You can go and learn from him."
Qi Hui nodded: "In that case, the child will... tomorrow."
"etc."
Before Qi Hui finished speaking, Li Xian interrupted: "It's too late to leave tomorrow, it's better to leave after autumn. It just so happens that in two days, the court will hold a large-scale autumn hunting. If you miss this time, I don’t know how many years I have to wait. I heard Lan Lan say that your archery skills are also very good. In that case, how can you not show your skills in front of the barbarians?"
"Autumn hunting?"
"Autumn hunting?"
Both father and son looked confused.
Seeing that Qi He didn't know what was going on, Li Xian knew that the current affairs of Qiu Lie might not have been officially announced yet.
Such a large-scale activity cannot start suddenly. Whether it is the previous personnel transfer or material preparation, it is not a matter of a day or two.
Since the news has not been revealed, it is obvious that Honglu Temple is also preparing to put on a show.
It's almost like the "quick recruitment" and "quick response" display of later generations.
I have to say that this kind of display is also effective.
Since today, it is not impossible to keep secrets from the military generals, lest they hide it for too long and make them feel that they have been ignored.
After looking around, Li Xian lowered his voice and said: "This time, envoys from various countries have gathered together, especially since we have a drought and there are changes in Turkic and Tibetan affairs. It is necessary to show our strength at this time. It is estimated that, This time, Honglu Temple just wants to show foreigners how fast our Tang Dynasty soldiers can react. Needless to say, Honglu Temple must be ready now. If you are troubled, try to express your anger with the military generals, Qiu There’s no need to tell me how to behave when hunting.”
Qi He chuckled, he knew very well what to do, and there was no need for His Highness the Crown Prince to say more.
Since Honglu Temple has this plan and the starting point is good, all they need to do is cooperate.
What's more, there has been no autumn hunting for many years. On weekdays, I only take a few generals with me to go for a walk in the mountains and forests. Only a few can hunt deer or anything. And this time, I was able to participate in the imperial court’s autumn hunt and enter the royal gardens to hunt...
Tsk tsk tsk, it feels beautiful just thinking about it!
Lowering his voice, Qi He muttered like a black businessman: "Don't worry, Your Highness, the minister will soon leave the palace and reveal the news. The military will definitely be prepared, and we must not let those barbarians underestimate me." wait."
