Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 161 Gathering the Culture of the Nine Provinces, Li Chengqian's Change (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
From that day on, the courtiers could clearly sense that Li Shimin seemed to have changed.

He remained as diligent in his duties as ever.

But the smile on his face had diminished considerably.

Many people had actually visited Gu Quan. These were all Li Shimin's true confidants, and they all wanted to help Gu Quan in some way. However, for most people, this matter remained a secret.

In fact, there were indeed many rumors circulating right after the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

But these rumors have long since faded away with time.

No one could have imagined—

It's amazing that someone could sacrifice so much for their family and their own feelings.

They couldn't possibly know what's happening now.

Li Shimin's confidants ultimately wouldn't reveal this matter.

This is taboo, and everyone understands this perfectly well.

Li Shimin found many doctors for Gu Quan.

In fact, Gu Quan didn't have much hope. For him, being able to see Li Shimin again was enough.

I have no regrets in this life.

Surprisingly, his health did improve somewhat.

No, perhaps it can't be said to have improved.

Instead, the rate of continuous weakening has slowed down.

This may be partly due to his decision to set aside political affairs and return to the familiar climate of the Central Plains.

Li Shimin was naturally very pleased with this.

Gu Quan had originally intended to do something more for him, but Li Shimin's attitude toward the matter was extremely firm, and he did not want Gu Quan to worry about any more politics.

There's really no need to worry about anything.

Even with the help of the Luoshu Xielu instrument, Gu Quan's domestic affairs skills were still far inferior to those of the ministers in the current court.

The Western Regions were the only place truly suited to him.

But neither Gu Yan nor Li Shimin would allow him to concern himself with these matters anymore.

Gu Quan thus found himself with nothing to do.

But for someone like him, it's impossible to stop.

He shouldered the responsibility of educating the entire family, passing on his years of military experience to the next generation of the Gu family.

especially--

It is to deal with foreign tribes.

Based on his experience over the years, he summarized the strengths and weaknesses of foreign armies throughout history, and taught them military strategies while establishing them for his family.

Li Shimin had to see him every day.

He granted Gu Quan a privilege that others wouldn't even dare to dream of: to ride directly into the palace in a sedan chair. Although Gu Quan refused repeatedly, Li Shimin insisted on doing so.

He never discussed politics with Gu Quan, but only talked to him about important future events.

"I will build a grand port in Lingnan for my Great Tang Dynasty, making it the foundation for the expansion of my Great Tang."

"The great maritime undertakings mentioned by Marquis Jingxiang".

"I must do it!"

"Ziyuan, you must stand with me and watch the troops of my Great Tang march in all directions. This is my imperial decree!"

It was still the same as before, but the feelings for the two of them were completely different.

They had just taken power at that time.

The entire Kyushu region is in a period of extreme exhaustion, and even the idea of ​​a northern expedition is out of the question.

But now the name of the Heavenly Khan has spread throughout the world.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty is now qualified to do these things, but starting all of this will inevitably require a huge investment.

Repair the port, build large ships, and train naval personnel.

The ocean is ultimately different from a lake.

The human and material resources required for this are unimaginable.

However, the Western Regions are not yet completely stable. The Nine Provinces have not yet developed to the point where they can ignore major natural disasters.

As an emperor, Li Shimin could not easily take this step.

He did this simply so that Gu Quan could recover properly and walk with him to the end of the Zhenguan era.

Gu Quan certainly understood Li Shimin's thoughts, but who could control matters of life and death?
He had no fear of death.

This is a characteristic possessed by every member of the Gu family.

He would not stop, no matter what; as for death—he would simply await it.
Time flies by.

Gu Quan's departure did indeed cause some problems in the Western Regions, and Gu Yan's abilities were indeed insufficient to handle such complex matters in the Western Regions.

Although he had tried his best.

But such is the extent of one's ability; what can one do?

To completely control the entire Western Regions, a combination of kindness and severity is only the foundation; many other issues are involved.

Li Shimin had no choice but to send more officials to the Western Regions to help Gu Yan resolve everything.

This incident undoubtedly pushed back Li Shimin's grand ambitions once again.

He could go no further.

The fact that the Tang Dynasty developed to this extent in just over a decade is a miracle in this day and age.

Simply put, they took too big a step.

While it did indeed push the entire Tang Dynasty's national strength to its peak, it would take much longer to completely resolve everything and truly bring peace to all sides.

Fortunately, Kyushu culture is flourishing and producing a great number of talented individuals.

The imperial examination system selected countless talents.

These people can be sent to all corners of the world.

With the Gu family's supervision of officialdom, even if it could not cover the entire Tang Dynasty, it still ensured the lower limit of officialdom throughout the Tang Dynasty, enabling the Tang Dynasty to continue to move forward.

It is worth mentioning that--

At Gu Lei's suggestion, the Gu family established a refined place called "Yunshao Pavilion" in Julu.

Its purpose was to gather scholars from all over the world and to collect poems, songs, and prose from all over the world.

That's right, it's poetry and songs.

As the standard of living in the Tang Dynasty continued to improve, coupled with the popularity of the Nine Provinces culture, the literary world of the Tang Dynasty also embarked on a completely different path.

Poetry and songs, which were once considered "heretical" and neglected, are now becoming increasingly popular.

Almost all of them are works praising the prosperous era.

This is completely different from the original development of the literary world in history.

In the original history, the development of literature in China was extremely long.

From the didactic function of the Book of Songs at the beginning, to the continuous emergence of works like the Chu Ci, which are full of intense emotions, free in form, and highly personal.

This is like two factions.

During the Han Dynasty.

So-called "orthodox" literature mainly consisted of prose and fu (a type of classical Chinese poetry), and mostly served the court for political purposes.

The others are considered unorthodox.

Although it is exceptionally artistic, it has gone unnoticed.

The major turning point in all these changes occurred during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The great chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty and the rise of metaphysics shook Confucianism.

Then, Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, proposed that "literature is a great undertaking for governing the country and a glorious achievement for immortality," elevating literature to a position of equal importance with establishing merit and making achievements.

Especially the subsequent aristocratic system.

When powerful families held cultural sway, literature became an important tool for demonstrating status. It was precisely because of these factors that the so-called "orthodox and unorthodox" path was reversed, which led to the subsequent golden age of Tang poetry.

But things are completely different now.

In fact, all of this had already changed somewhat back when Gu Kang established his doctrines. Gu Kang's emergence laid the foundation for "practical learning."

This has further diminished the importance attached to literary creations that are considered "leftist."

Furthermore, Gu Chen's appearance influenced the emergence of the aristocratic family system.

All of this has kept the literary world unchanged.

But it is true that when everyone has enough to eat, people will start to pursue other things.

That's exactly how it is now!

Simply put, the flourishing of Tang poetry in the past was born from the suffering of generations of people across the land.

But now, it's because the country is too powerful.

Li Shimin certainly deserves credit for this; he not only played a role in commendation but also wrote many poems himself.

This move subtly influenced the entire world, especially young people like Gu Lei who loved literature.

This is also why he was able to propose building the Yunshao Pavilion.

In response, Gu Yi could only marvel at how useful the new brain was. Despite the fact that Gu Quan and Gu Zi had much higher attributes than Gu Lei, they were incapable of thinking of such things.

From a long-term perspective, this matter will have a significant impact on the entire Gu family.

Given the influence of the Gu family.

This Yunshao Pavilion will undoubtedly become a sacred place that all literati in the Nine Provinces cannot bypass, and the Gu family can use it to collect their masterpieces.

Poetry, lyrics, and songs—these can absolutely be called an indelible brilliance in Chinese history.

Even for the Tang Dynasty at present, this matter is of profound significance.

When this building stood tall.

Whether people of this era or those of later generations, they can all use this building to marvel at the power of the Zhenguan era.

Chang'an, the Marquis of Champion's residence.

Li Chengqian was discussing military strategy with a group of Gu family members at this time.

Although the Gu family is now very prosperous, those who can study with the Crown Prince are naturally among the elite.

Among the current generation of Gu family members, the most outstanding talent is Gu Jing.

Although he was Gu Quan's eldest son.

However, unlike Gu Quan, who was only good at commanding troops and fighting, he was most skilled in politics, with an attribute score of 82.

Just like Gu Xi in the past, he is a master of political intrigue.

This boy's personality is very similar to Gu Quan's.

He is a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He usually appears extremely indifferent and is not as lively as other children.

Most importantly, this kid is a polymath.

His domestic affairs attribute reached 71 points, as did his leadership, and even his worst martial prowess was still 69 points.

The other members of the family were also quite talented.

As history returned to normal, the Gu family produced talented individuals across three consecutive generations.

Li Chengqian is now twenty years old.

With his involvement in politics over the past few years and the influence of Gu's education, his aura has become increasingly extraordinary, much like Li Shimin in the past.

The only thing that's wrong with him is that he's lame.

But nowadays, nobody cares about these things.

Li Shimin's decision to involve Li Chengqian in politics effectively silenced everyone's thoughts, and no one dared to harbor any unfounded ideas.

At this moment, Li Chengqian was carefully reading Gu Quan's military treatise.

His brows were furrowed deeply.

Li Shimin naturally required him to be proficient in both literature and martial arts, and Li Chengqian could clearly see the extraordinary qualities he possessed.

"Mingyan," he asked Gu Lei, who in the Gu family wrote this book?

Gu Lei was actually completely uninterested in military strategy. His purpose in coming to learn was different from others. He wanted to simply understand the military strategy so that he would be qualified to create a masterpiece on the battlefield one day. Naturally, he did not study it with much focus.

Upon hearing this, his expression changed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately said nothing more and simply shook his head.

Li Chengqian didn't think much of it.

Seeing that Gu Lei didn't speak, he looked at the military book in his hand again and couldn't help but sigh, "This man knows foreign tribes like the back of his hand. If he were alive, he would definitely help our Great Tang achieve a great cause that lasts for ten thousand generations!"

A simple sentence, yet it reveals boundless pride!
This is how Li Chengqian changed.

Despite his young age, he was completely unlike the historical figure he was portrayed as. He was resolute and determined, and already possessed the demeanor of an emperor.

The hall was completely silent.

An hour later, everyone began to answer the questions.

This is a simulated war devised by Gu Quan.

At their age, they no longer need the kind of guiding education that Gu family provides. Instead, they need to hone their adaptability through various simulated battles.

Li Chengqian answered the questions very seriously. After putting down the test paper, he first discussed it with everyone, and then visited Gu Zi, who had now resigned from his official post, before leaving the Marquis of Champion's residence.

People were already waiting outside the mansion.

As soon as Li Gang, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, saw Li Chengqian, he immediately went to greet him with a strange expression.

"gentlemen."

Li Chengqian still had to perform the ceremony.

But Li Gang immediately stopped him, saying with a strange and serious expression, "Your Highness, return to the palace immediately."

"Hmm?" Li Chengqian frowned, noticing Li Gang's unusual expression, and asked, "What happened?"

Li Gang hesitated for a moment, and after seeing that no one was around, he sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, His Majesty has just granted the Prince of Wei the power to set up a literary academy and recruit scholars."

His expression was very complicated.

King Li Tai of Wei now wields far too much power.

Although he was in the capital, he remotely held the position of Governor-General of Xiangzhou, overseeing the military affairs of seven prefectures: Xiang, Wei, Li, Wei, Ming, Xing, and Bei.

Such power is truly terrifying.

Now that Li Chengqian has gradually become involved in politics, the Crown Prince's faction has gradually formed, and Li Gang, who is one of them, is naturally uneasy.

"Is it because of that 'Kuodi Zhi'?" Li Chengqian's expression did not change at all, he just frowned slightly.

Li Gang nodded.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian immediately waved his hand and smiled faintly, saying, "Sir, there's no need to worry about it."

But how could Li Gang relax so easily?

Although it was just a recruitment of talented people, this move immediately reminded him of Li Shimin in the past, who was Li Jiancheng's Crown Prince's tutor.

This is far too sensitive.

“They don’t understand what kind of emperor Father was,” Li Chengqian said fearlessly. “They also don’t understand what kind of future ruler Father wanted.”

Having said that, Li Chengqian ignored Li Gang and immediately headed towards the carriage.

Just before the carriage.

He glanced at the rather ordinary carriage, shook his head, and said to the eunuch standing to the side with his head bowed, "Such a vulgar thing, too mediocre. Replace it next time."

His personality has indeed changed somewhat.

Although he didn't become as eccentric as in the original history, he did start to enjoy luxury.

This is actually a normal phenomenon.

For Li Chengqian, his lameness was like a thorn in his side; even if no one discussed it, he couldn't help but think about it in his mind.

Throughout history, have there ever been a crown prince or emperor who was lame?

He needs these external things to demonstrate his extraordinary nature.

This is also an unavoidable aspect of human nature.
(P.S.: Hoping for monthly votes to secure a top ranking at the beginning of the month~~)
(End of this chapter)