Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 442 Li Xiao's Engagement

In early February, people in the Henan region began to busy themselves with farming.

Henan Province is located between the north and south, so the crops grown there are particularly abundant, including rice and silkworms from the south, as well as millet, wheat, and soybeans from Hebei.

When Li Xiao and the other two went to Laizhou, they were in such a hurry that although they enjoyed the scenery along the way, they couldn't take it all in.

Now that the war is over, the three received an imperial edict to return to Chang'an.

The imperial edict did not specify when they would return to Chang'an, and their six-month term working at Mojiaxuan had long passed. Therefore, they walked very slowly on their way back, carefully observing everything along the roadside.

Li Lian stared intently at the farmers busily working in the fields. Seeing them dig up the soil and plant small purple balls, he wondered and asked, "Captain Zhang, it's only February now, what kind of grain are those people planting?"

A knight following beside the carriage glanced at the field and chuckled, “Fourth Young Master, that’s not grain, but vegetables. Farmers plant vegetables between the planting and harvesting of their main crops. This not only makes the land more fertile but also maximizes the yield.”

Li Lian nodded and sighed, "It seems that farming is a science in itself."

The knight laughed and said, "What you say is absolutely right, sir."

Li Lian looked at it for a while, then pulled his head back out of the car window. He turned his head and saw that there was only Li Xiao in the car, who was frowning and deep in thought.

"Second brother, why hasn't third brother arrived yet? Should we slow down and wait for him a little longer?" he asked.

Li Xiao hummed in response, his reply casual and clearly absent-minded.

Li Lian waved his hand in front of his eyes and asked, "Second brother, what are you thinking about?"

Li Xiao snapped out of his daze, glanced at him, and said, "Si Lang, have you noticed that my elder brother often goes to the home of the county magistrate of Yecheng? Even when he's busiest, he still makes time to go there."

Li Lian laughed and said, "The county magistrate of Yecheng is in charge of the security of Yecheng. It's normal for you to go and discuss official business with him, elder brother."

Li Xiao shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. I asked around and it's said that the county magistrate of Yecheng has a daughter who is sixteen years old, beautiful, talented in music and dance, and loves horseback riding and hunting."

Li Lian asked in surprise, "Second brother, what exactly are you trying to say? What does this have to do with eldest brother?"

Li Xiao glanced at him and said, "Do you think it's possible that my elder brother is after the daughter of the Yecheng County Magistrate?"

Li Lian exclaimed in astonishment, “How is this possible? My elder brother is a prince, how could he be with the daughter of a county magistrate… Moreover, that county magistrate of Yecheng comes from a poor family and has no background whatsoever!”

Li Xiaodao: "Do you remember that evening when my elder brother received a letter from Chang'an? He was all smiles after reading it. I was sitting next to him and caught a glimpse of it."

"I remember," Li Lian nodded, then asked, "What did it say?"

Li Xiao said in a deep voice, "That was a letter written to him by Aunt Liu, asking if he had a sweetheart in Laizhou."

Li Lian paused for a moment, then said, "Could it be that Aunt Liu heard something?"

Li Xiao waved his hand and said, "Whether Aunt Liu heard it or not, this letter is highly problematic. There are no prominent families in Laizhou. What does it mean that Aunt Liu asked him if he had someone he liked in Laizhou?"

Li Lian suddenly realized, "Aunt Liu doesn't care about the woman's social standing!"

Li Xiaodao: "That's right, and this should not only be Aunt Liu's idea, but also Father's idea, which is why my elder brother is so happy."

Empress Liu Chong'ai has never had much of her own opinion, and she would definitely listen to Li Zhi's opinion on her son's marriage. Since she wrote this letter, she obviously had already received confirmation from Li Zhi.

Li Lian smiled and said, "Second brother, when did you suddenly become concerned about eldest brother's marriage?"

Li Xiao sighed and said, "I was just reminded of something from the past because of what happened to him."

Li Lian asked, "What is it?"

Li Xiaowei turned his head slightly and said in a low voice, "Two years ago, my aunt from Linchuan came to my residence and mentioned a marriage to me, saying that when I was a few years older, she would marry a woman from the Wei family as my principal wife."

Princess Linchuan's mother was Consort Wei, and it was quite normal for her to arrange the marriage between Consort Wei's daughter and Li Xiaocheng.

Li Lian grabbed a dried fruit from the table, ate it, and said, "I've heard that the Wei family of Jingzhao produces many beauties, and their family education is also excellent. Wouldn't it be great if my second brother married a woman from the Wei family?"

Li Xiao shook his head, looking somewhat annoyed, and said, "I was young at the time and didn't think much about it, but now that I think about it, why should I listen to Aunt Linchuan about my marriage? I want to make my own decisions!"

Upon hearing this, Li Lian finally understood.

Li Xiao was envious of Li Zhong's ability to make his own decisions about his marriage, which is why he was unhappy.

Li Lian laughed and said, "That's easy. Just tell Aunt Linchuan when you get back to Chang'an. She shouldn't force you, right?"

Li Xiao shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. Every time my aunt from Linchuan comes over, she mentions her niece to me. She also says that Lady Wei has been preparing for the wedding and is just waiting for Lady Wei's daughter to come of age so that she can ask the Dowager Consort Wei and Prince Shen to petition Father to grant the marriage!"

Li Lian was slightly startled.

Since the woman had gone to such lengths, even involving Prince Shen, Li Xiao really couldn't refuse easily.

"Second brother, why don't you just reluctantly agree? After you marry your principal wife, it's not like you can't marry a concubine in the future."

Li Xiao said in a low voice, "You make it sound so easy. There can only be one principal wife, and it concerns my entire future. How can I decide that so casually?"

Li Lian was still clueless about matters of the heart and didn't understand what was so troublesome about it. He stuck his head out of the carriage again and muttered, "Why isn't Third Brother here yet?"

When the carriage passed through a small town in the morning, it went straight through the town. But Li Yong heard people at the tea stall at the entrance of the town discussing the war against Goguryeo, especially praising Xue Rengui.

Li Yong immediately became interested and told Li Xiao and Li Lian to go first. He wasn't shy at all and went over to sit down with them, drinking tea and chatting.

After looking around for a while, he heard the sound of horses' hooves, and several riders came chasing after him. The one riding in the lead was Li Yong.

"Hey, Third Brother has finally arrived!" Li Lian laughed. A moment later, Li Yong caught up with the carriage caravan, got on the carriage, and was carrying some food wrapped in lotus leaves.

"Here, take this and eat it." He handed it to his two brothers.

Li Lian asked curiously, "Third brother, what is this? Why does it look like a horse's hoof?"

Li Yong laughed and said, "Fourth brother, you have a good eye. This thing is called horseshoe cake, a kind of pastry from Jiangnan."

Li Lian picked up a piece and found it to be soft and smooth, pliable without breaking or snapping. He took a small bite and found it to be sweet and delicious, melting in his mouth.

"Mmm, delicious!" He stuffed the water chestnut cake into his mouth in one bite.

Li Xiao also picked up a piece and tasted it, but found it too sweet. He only ate one piece and then stopped, asking, "Where in Henan Province did these Jiangnan pastries come from?"

Li Yong laughed and said, "Among the merchants at the tea stall just now, there was one from Jiangnan. He and I had a very pleasant conversation, so he gave me a bag to eat."

Li Lian and Li Xiao both knew his character. Their supposedly pleasant conversation was probably because the Jiangnan man also admired Xue Rengui and the two hit it off.

Seeing their lack of interest, Li Yong changed the subject: "Do you know what other news I just found out?"

Li Lian, a foodie, muttered with his mouth full of water chestnut cake, "What news?"

Li Yong chuckled and said, "Japan is in chaos!"

Li Xiao disagreed, saying, "Hasn't Japan already fallen into chaos long ago?"

"That's different. This time, the chaos is particularly severe. It's said that both Silla and the Malgal have mobilized large numbers of troops to Japan. The Malgal has gathered 50,000 cavalry, which have marched south in three routes and have been advancing with unstoppable momentum, already capturing Kabui and Shinano!"

Li Xiaoleng asked, "Are they planning to capture the capital of Japan?"

Li Yong laughed and said, "That's possible. I heard that they not only attacked Japan, but also their former ally, Ezo (Japanese).

Li Xiao snorted, "As expected of a barbarian country, utterly devoid of integrity."

Li Lian disagreed, saying, "Second brother, what's the point of talking about loyalty with barbarians? If the Mohe don't attack the Ainu, the Ainu will eventually launch a sneak attack on the Mohe."

Li Yong nodded in agreement.

Seeing that his two younger brothers disagreed with him, Li Xiao looked out the window and remained silent.

Li Yong and Li Lian continued their discussion, speculating whether their father would mobilize the Goguryeo army to land directly in Japan and wipe it out!

In the past, they wouldn't have needed to discuss it at all; they would have felt that taking advantage of the situation to attack Japan was the best option.

Because the Japanese took advantage of the Tang Dynasty's unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack on Jun Province, this gave the Tang Dynasty a pretext to attack.

But now that they have personally managed logistics, they know that war is not just about soldiers and generals, but also about logistics and resources.

The smooth progress of this battle on the front lines is inseparable from the silent dedication of these logistics personnel.

Therefore, to continue the attack on Japan, it is necessary to redistribute sufficient grain and transport it to Hayabusa Province.

This is no easy feat, considering that the sea route from Laizhou to Junzhou is much longer than the route to Xiongjin.

However, upon closer examination, after the Tang Dynasty captured Pyongyang, it obtained a considerable amount of grain. It could transfer grain from Goguryeo to Ungjin Port, and then transport it from Ungjin to Sunju, which should be enough to support a war.

So after a final discussion, they all felt that their father was very likely to send troops to Japan.

After traveling at various stops, it was already April when they returned to Chang'an.

As soon as their carriage entered through Chunming Gate, a young man in brocade robes stepped down from another luxurious carriage at the city gate and strode over.

"Your Highness, you're finally back." The person who came was Zhou Boyu, the son of Princess Linchuan.

Li Xiao frowned. Because of the Flying Feather Class incident, his impression of Zhou Boyu had greatly diminished.

"Why are you here?"

Zhou Boyu smiled and said, "I heard that His Majesty summoned the princes back to the capital, so I have been waiting at the city gate to apologize to the Second Prince for what happened last time."

Li Xiao waved his hand: "No need. In the future, be careful in your actions and don't bully others again. Also, cockfighting is not a proper business, so don't do it anymore."

Zhou Boyu hurriedly replied, "Yes, thank you for your guidance, Second Prince. I have prepared a welcome banquet at home and would like to invite the three princes..."

“We all need to go to the palace to see Father, there’s no need for such a formality,” Li Xiao waved his hand.

Before Zhou Boyu could say anything more, he returned to the carriage and ordered the driver to drive towards the palace.

Zhou Boyu watched his receding figure, his eyes gleaming.

A subordinate came up behind him and whispered, "Young master, now that the Second Prince has returned, that woman will definitely take action."

Zhou Boyu turned his head, stared coldly at him, and said, "If that bitch sees Prince Xu, I'll take your head!"

The subordinate trembled and hurriedly said, "Then we need to send more men to monitor Prince Xu's residence to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

Zhou Boyu said impatiently, "Then go and keep watch! Why ask me about such trivial matters? I just need to catch that bitch as soon as possible and prevent her from meeting Prince Xu, understand?"

"Yes, yes!" The subordinate accepted the order and left.

(End of this chapter)