A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 20 Stunning Li Shimin

Changan.

In the Chengqian Hall of the West Palace,

Li Shimin led a group of staff to welcome the emperor's edict. The messenger in a dark green round-collared official robe announced the edict loudly, "The Right Army Marshal, the Supreme Pillar State, Duke of Zhao, Shimin, is a man of profound vision and wisdom, a man of both civil and military powers, with a well-known reputation and a high reputation. He is close to the wise and virtuous.
Shimin can be made Minister of the Chancellery and General of the Right Wuhou, and the rest remain the same."

After the imperial edict was read, the eighteen-year-old second prince Li Shimin stepped forward to receive the order.

"Congratulations, Your Highness," the messenger Cui Dunli hurriedly congratulated the second prince, who was much younger than himself. He was appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery and the General of the Right Marquis, and the emperor had also appointed him to lead an army of 100,000 to Jingzhou to fight against Xue Ju.

The second prince had a broad face, a square forehead, a thick complexion, large earlobes, and thick eyebrows. Although he was young, he already had a beautiful beard. Among the princes of the current emperor, the eldest son Jiancheng and the second prince both had beautiful beards and were handsome. Only the fourth prince, Duke Gong of Qi, was born ugly, so ugly that even his biological mother, Dou, always disliked him.

Li Shimin, who was seven feet tall, stroked his beautiful beard, then took out a golden knife from his belt and stuffed it into Cui Dunli's hand.

"Thank you, Cui Lang, for coming here under the scorching sun to announce the decree."

Cui Dunli looked at the golden knife that was forced into his hand and couldn't help but look at the Second Prince with new respect. This golden knife was actually a pair of golden scissors made of pure gold, but it was not a practical item, but an auspicious ornament to ward off evil spirits, suppress demons, and avoid disasters.

Of course, a very exquisite gold knife can be used as money at any time.

This golden knife is worth tens of thousands of dollars and can be exchanged for a good horse.

"Your Highness, I cannot accept this."

"Cui Lang doesn't want to be close to me?" Li Shimin asked with a smile.

Of course Cui Dunli couldn't say yes, because this was the second prince who had already been appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery. He was both a prince and a prime minister.

Today, the emperor appointed five prime ministers at the same time. The second prince Li Shimin was appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery, the Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Pei Ji was appointed as the Minister of the Right and concurrently as the Minister of State Affairs, the Sima of the Prime Minister's Office Liu Wenjing was appointed as the Minister of State Affairs, the Minister of Civil Affairs Xiao Yu, and the Recorder of the Prime Minister's Office Dou Wei were both appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs.

The five prime ministers of the new dynasty were headed by Li Shimin.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your reward." Cui Dunli had no choice but to accept the golden knife.

Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand, "Ke Ming."

Du Keming, a military officer in the Duke of Zhao's mansion, came forward and brought a tray that had been prepared long ago. He lifted the red cloth on it, revealing ten ingots of gold inside.

The gold in stock is worth ten taels and one ingot, with an inscription on it.

"Thank you for your hard work, Cui Lang. This is a small gift from His Highness."

One hundred taels of gold, worth eight hundred thousand coins, was more than just a small token of appreciation. He was a sixth-rank Tongshi Sheren, and his annual salary of rice was only ninety dan.

However, Cui Dunli was not someone who lived on that little stipend. He was a descendant of the Boling Cui family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans. His grandfather was Cui Zhongfang, who had served as the Minister of Rites of the Sui Dynasty. His family moved to Guanzhong in the late Northern Wei Dynasty and settled in Xianyang, becoming one of the famous families in Guanlong.

He also had the halo of a famous family with five surnames. At the age of 24, he was already a sixth-rank Tongshi Sheren. He was both clean and noble, and had a bright future.

He felt a little disgusted and averse to the Second Prince's behavior of directly using gold to bribe him, but in the end he still accepted it.

It’s not that he loves money, but he can’t refuse the Second Prince’s kindness. He can’t afford to offend the Second Prince.

Send Cui Dunli away,
Li Shimin put away the smile on his face, sat on the couch, half of his body leaning on the table, frowning.

"His Majesty appointed Your Highness as the Minister of the Chancellery, but why is Your Highness frowning?" Du Ruhui asked from the side.

"I'm thinking about the invasion by the bandit Xue from Longyou. The last time Xue Rengao attacked Fufeng, I defeated him and he fled back to Longshan. But this time, Xue Ju personally led a large army, but instead of attacking Fufeng, he suddenly attacked Jingzhou." Li Shimin stroked his beard. "This time, Xue Ju is clearly trying to sever the connection between Guanzhong and Lingwu. His real intention isn't to attack Guanzhong, but to unite with Liang Shidu in Shuofang, or even to lure the Turks south."

Judging from the map, Xue Renju occupied Longyou and established his capital in Tianshui. Naturally, he would go east along the Wei River Valley, break out of Longguan, and go straight to Fufeng. As long as he could break through the Tang Dynasty's defense in Fufeng, he could enter the flat Guanzhong Plain.

But now Xue Ju chose a faraway place instead of the one near him and suddenly ran to Jingzhou.

This is not only a matter of giving up the near for the far, but also a matter of giving up the easy for the difficult. Jingzhou is located in the Jinghe River Valley, where the terrain is more dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

As soon as Li Yuan ascended the throne, Xue Ju launched a large-scale attack, which was extremely disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty.

Du Ruhui also agreed with Li Shimin's analysis, but was not very worried.

"Xue Ju is just a reckless man. Although he chose this moment to launch a sudden attack, Jingzhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Moreover, Xue Ju's food supply route has to cross the Longshan Mountains, making it extremely difficult to supply. He has also assembled an army of 100,000, which makes it even more difficult to supply.
Your Highness, when you lead your army north, there is no need for a quick battle. You can consider that the enemy is small in number, dig deep trenches and build strong fortifications to wear out their army.

It is better to hold out and wait until their food runs out, then we can make our move." Li Shimin nodded, "I thought so too, but Your Majesty deeply hates Xue Ju's aggression and ordered me to destroy him quickly."

"Furthermore, the newly surrendered Wuyuan general Zhang Changxun marched south to Lingwu and engaged in a fierce battle with Xue Ju's general Zong Luohou. Xue Ju led a large army down Longshan to reinforce them and marched directly to Jingzhou. Now they can advance to attack Jingzhou and aim for Guanzhong, retreat to support Zong Luohou's attack on Lingwu, or head east to contact Liang Shidu in Shuofang and open up a passage to the Turks."

Li Shimin was in a dilemma because he knew Xue Ju had a strong army and a direct confrontation was not a good idea, but his father, the emperor, was forcing him to fight quickly. Li Yuan was worried that the longer he waited, the more trouble he would face.
If Li Shimin was blocked south of Jingzhou, then the newly surrendered Wuyuan Commandery's Zhang Changxun would most likely be defeated or annexed by Xue Ju. It would also be very likely that Zhang Changxun would surrender to the Turks in the north, or that Xue Ju of Longyou and Liang Shi of Shuofang would form an alliance and then bring the Turks south.
Then Li Yuan might even lose the throne that he had not yet secured.

"The latest military news is that after Xue Ju entered Jingzhou, he has moved his headquarters to Zhecheng City and is fiercely attacking the nearby Jingzhou City. His troops are pressing on Gaocheng City. Jingzhou is sending urgent letters for help one after another, and the city is almost out of food.
Lingwu's Zhang Changxun is also in a position to be defeated by Zong Luohou."

Li Shimin wanted to wait and delay the attack, but the defenders of Jingzhou and Zhang Changxun of Lingwu could not hold on.

"Your Highness, don't be impatient. Xue Ju attacked Jingzhou in order to win quickly," said Du Ruhui.

"Of course I don't know, but Your Majesty is pressing me." Li Shimin sighed, "Tomorrow, I will set out north. Reinforcements are essential, so I won't be taking you and Xuanling with me this time."

Du Ruhui had no choice but to remind him again to be cautious and not to go into battle rashly, which was what Xue Ju wanted.

"You and Xuanling will stay in Chang'an and help me arrange for food and weapons. This war won't be over soon, so there can be no problems with the food and fodder supply. I'm leaving it all in your hands."

Du Ruhui agreed, "Your Highness, please take care of your health. You are the commander-in-chief of the three armies, so please do not put yourself in danger so easily."

As he said this, he thought of something.

"I got a pot yesterday. It's amazing. Pour boiling water into it, then add a handful of rice, cover it and simmer it for an hour. You can get a pot of porridge. Even if you add some meat and vegetables, you can make a pot of broth. Your Highness is leading troops outside and often has irregular meals. It's not good for your health to eat one meal and eat the next.

Your Highness, take this pot with you so that you can have hot porridge and hot soup even when you are on the march."

Li Shimin laughed heartily. "Is there such a magical thing in the world? Just fill a pot with hot water, add rice or meat, and you can make hot porridge or hot soup without using firewood or fire?"

"This thing is truly magical. I've tried it myself, and it's true."

After saying that, he went to get it and brought it back quickly.

"Your Highness, this item is said to be made of stainless black steel from outer space. It was made by a Taoist master of refining. The material is rare..."

Du Ruhui handed the magical cup given to him by his cousin-in-law to Li Shimin.

After getting the cup, the second prince was more and more surprised the more he looked at it. He had seen many rare and precious things, but he had never seen anything like this.

The shiny cup body feels light in the hand, yet looks very sturdy.

Even the foldable spoon is so delicate and beautiful.

Du Ruhui also demonstrated how to use it. First, pour in boiling water, simmer for a while, pour it out, and then pour in boiling water again. Then add a handful of rice, or some diced meat or vegetables, cover it, and wait for an hour or two, and you can get hot porridge or hot soup.

"Your Highness, the most amazing thing about this thing is that even if you add hot water and rice before going to bed, the porridge will still be hot after a night. In fact, the hot water can even remain a little hot for a whole day and night."

"I never thought there would be such a magical artifact in the world." Li Shimin praised.

Du Ruhui asked Li Shimin to carry it with him.

"Which master craftsman made this weapon?"

"It was made by Taoist Li of the Wuji Temple in Yusuchuan, Wangqu, south of the city. However, not long ago, the cliff behind the Wuji Temple collapsed during a rainstorm, and Taoist Li was crushed to death. This Tianwai Stainless Black Steel Stewing Cup was made by one of his disciples who has since returned to secular life."

Li Shimin asked, "Does this disciple of Taoist Li also understand this weapon refining method?"

"This man's name is Li Yi. He's only sixteen years old and has just returned to secular life. He's now the village chief of Luojiabao in Yusu Township, Wannian County. I wonder if he knows how to refine weapons. This cup belongs to my cousin's husband. The village chief of Guozhuang in Yusu Township obtained it from him."

"Such a treasure must have cost a lot, right?"

"He said he wanted 150 strings of cash. He was going to come and see me, but he couldn't enter the city yesterday because he didn't have the official verification or the pass."

Li Shimin smiled at Du Ruhui and said, "This item is indeed worth 150 strings of cash. I like it very much, so I'm keeping it." Then he called the chief guard, Hou Junji, and said, "Sanshui, get 200 strings of cash for Keming later."

"Keming, next time that Li Yi comes to Chang'an, remember to bring him to see me. If he has any real skills like his master, he must be recruited into the shogunate."

　Please read on, fellow book lovers.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)