Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 311 Li Shimin: What emperor abdicates in his thirties?! [Seeking monthly votes]

The military academy's popularity exceeded everyone's expectations, overshadowing the excitement of the imperial examination results announcement and becoming the talk of the town.

But when the news that both top scholars had enrolled in the military academy reached the palace, Li Shimin couldn't resist and broke down in his defenses.

It should be noted that this was the largest-scale examination in the traditional imperial examination system.

Future examination subjects will be gradually replaced by new subjects.

Even if the new learning has many benefits for the future of the Tang Dynasty, even he, the emperor, doesn't know much about it. How can he use people in the future?

If an emperor can't even use his ministers effectively, then that emperor's reign is probably over.

"What exactly is going on?"

After a furious roar, Li Shimin gradually calmed down and then asked Yun Duan with a gloomy expression.

But then Yun Duan cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, it was Yuchi Baolin, Cheng Chumo, and Qin Huaiyu who led the way into the Military Academy before the other candidates for the martial arts examinations entered one after another!"

"I'm asking about Wei Yuanzhong. Why would he go to the military academy?!"

"This one……"

"Just say what you have to say, why are you beating around the bush?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. As far as I know, the Embroidered Uniform Guard began searching for talent for the Crown Prince long before the imperial examinations, and Wei Yuanzhong happened to be one of the talents they were looking for!"

After saying this, Yun Duan quickly lowered his head, knowing that another angry roar was about to follow.

really!

Upon hearing his words, Li Shimin's previously gloomy face instantly flushed red, and he burst into a tirade: "Useless! Are you all useless?! When did my Hundred Cavalry Division become so useless?! And what are my Hongwen Academy members doing?! Giving away such talented people like this!"

"Your Majesty, it's not that we are inferior to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but rather..."

"You still dare to protect them? You have some nerve!"

Before Yun Duan could finish speaking, Li Shimin interrupted him in a fit of rage.

It should be noted that when he established the Hongwen Academy and even set up eighteen Hongwen Academy scholars, it was all to attract talented people from all over the country.

Although before he became emperor, most of the talented people in the country had been recruited into the Hongwen Academy.

However, after he became emperor, there was a clear shortage of talented people.

This is why he repeatedly asked Feng Deyi, who was then serving as Right Minister, to recommend talented individuals.

However, Feng Deyi actually told him that there were no talented people in the world, which made him so angry that he almost lost his temper.

Fortunately, the two subsequent imperial examinations produced some capable individuals; otherwise, he would have broken down long ago.

However, even so, from the first year of the Zhenguan era to the fourth year, the court still lacked talented people.

Especially after Li Chengqian's major defeat at the Double Ninth Festival banquet, the shortage of talent became even more acute.

Even though Li Chengqian transferred a group of newly learned talents from Jiangling, Li Shimin did not find them very useful.

Because he sometimes couldn't even understand the memorials submitted by these exceptional talents, he dared not give them any important positions.

Therefore, he pinned all his hopes on this unprecedented imperial examination.

I hope this grand imperial examination will produce many talented individuals, and that they will all serve him.

As a result, the best talent, skilled in both literature and martial arts, was snatched away by Li Chengqian early on. How could he not be angry?!
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Apart from the scholars who participated in the military examination, the scholars who participated in the civil service examination did not go to the military academy. Rest assured, apart from Wei Yuanzhong, the second and third place winners this year are also quite talented. Even the top twenty scholars are not much weaker than the top three, especially that Pei Qian, who is said to be the second place winner in the previous examination!"

After Li Shimin's anger subsided somewhat, Yun Duan carefully offered his words of comfort.

However, his attempts to comfort Li Shimin only made things better; the moment he tried to console him, Li Shimin's anger flared up again.

But Li Shimin laughed in anger, saying, "Fine! Fine! You call a good-for-nothing who went from second place to tenth place a talent? If he's a talent, then what is Wei Yuanzhong? Huh? I'm asking you, what is he?!"

"His Majesty……"

"Enough! I won't listen to your nonsense! From now on, I want the Hundred Cavalry Commandery to recommend ten talented individuals for me every year. They don't have to be better than Wei Yuanzhong, but they can't be much worse than him! They must be well-rounded in both civil and military affairs!"

"This……"

Yun Duan looked bitter, wondering where he could possibly find such a thing.
But Li Shimin was in a fit of anger, and he dared not provoke him any further, so he respectfully bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

"Okay, you go down first!"

"Yes!"

Yun Duan responded and then bowed and withdrew.

However, just as he reached the door, Li Shimin suddenly seemed to remember something and said coldly, "Keep an eye on the every move of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If there is anything unusual, report it to me immediately. If such a thing happens again, you and the Hundred Cavalrymen will all be sent to the grasslands to herd sheep!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Duan trembled and immediately prostrated himself on the ground with a thud: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely complete the task Your Majesty has entrusted to me."

"Humph!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly, but said nothing more.

Soon, Yun Duan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly left.

After watching him leave, Li Shimin sighed helplessly and muttered, "Is that rebellious son in such a hurry? Why couldn't he wait a few more years? I've only been emperor for a few years!"

"Why does he always have to compete with me for everything? Are we, father and son, really going to come to the point of fighting each other?"

To be honest, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin never wanted to repeat the same mistakes.

Even now, he still finds it hard to sleep when he thinks about what happened at Xuanwu Gate that day.

So, despite his frequent threats to Li Yuan, he never considered taking his relationship with Li Chengqian to the point of no return.

However, the problem now is that he has been making concessions, but Li Chengqian has only taken advantage of the situation, which gives him a bad feeling.

He might become the next Li Yuan.

And this day won't be long.

That means he might be forced to abdicate by Li Chengqian before he turns forty.

This was simply unacceptable to him.

You should know that there is no such thing as an emperor emeritus who abdicates in his thirties!

"Impossible! I would never allow myself to go this far!"

Li Shimin's eyes flickered several times, then grew increasingly resolute.

Because he is not Li Yuan, nor could he possibly be Li Yuan.

He launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident because Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Qi Li Yuanji were pressing him relentlessly, and Li Yuan was deliberately protecting him, leaving him no choice but to launch the incident.

The situation now is not like it was back then.

Although Li Chengqian was also pressing forward step by step, he was not as eager for quick success as Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

In other words, he actually values ​​the greater good quite a bit.

After all, he had set a bad precedent, and he couldn't continue down that path; otherwise, his descendants would follow his example.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin's mood brightened, and he murmured with a half-smile, "The higher I elevate your virtue, the less likely you are to commit such a treasonous act..."

As he spoke, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind, so he immediately shouted towards the door: "Guards! Summon Wei Zheng, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, Xiao Yu, the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Prince, and Yang Shidao, the Minister of Rites!"

"promise!"

A voice responded from outside the door, and someone immediately turned and left.

.........

On the other side, at the Yue King's Palace.

When Li Tai heard that only two out of thirty scholars from his Yuewen Academy had passed the imperial examination and become Jinshi, he was also taken aback.

"Are you all useless?! Before the exam, everyone claimed to have the talent to pass the imperial examination, and this is what you got?!"

"I ask you all, were the test questions difficult this time?! I did them myself, and I didn't find them particularly difficult!"

"This one……"

Upon hearing this, the scholars of the Yue Literature Academy were filled with shame, wishing they could bury their heads in their crotches.

In particular, Liu Yuan dropped from second place to tenth, and Pei Qian failed the exam altogether.

That's incredibly bad.

But then Su Xu, who had been serving Li Tai, comforted him, saying, "Your Highness, please calm down. Although they didn't do very well in the exams this time, their results in the county and state exams were quite good. This shows that they are still talented people."

"Isn't there a saying that goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'?"

"Yes, Your Highness, if you give me another chance, I guarantee I will pass the imperial examination!"

"Your Highness, I failed to perform well this time, and I will never make the same mistake again!"

"Oh! I only misspelled one word, but I didn't expect the examiners to be so strict. I dropped so many places! I'm only twelfth. I was pretty sure I'd be in the top three!"

Upon hearing Su Xu's words of comfort to Li Tai, the other scholars from the Yue Literature Academy echoed his sentiments, all adopting an attitude of "the fault is not mine."

Pei Qian and Liu Yuan, who had been watching with unbearable shame, couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

However, it was precisely because of their 'thick skin' that Li Tai, who was not very experienced in the matter, actually believed them. He then softened his expression, frowned, and said, "You really didn't perform well?"

"Yes, Your Highness, how could we possibly have done so poorly in the county and prefectural examinations?"

"That's right! We were all fooled by the Crown Prince's imperial examination reforms and were unprepared, which is why we failed!"

"Damn it! If I had known the exam would be this easy, I shouldn't have let the top scorer go to someone else!"

Pei Qian: "..."

Liu Yuan: "..."

The two looked at each other, speechless.

I thought to myself, I've seen outrageous things, but I've never seen anything this outrageous.

Fortunately, Li Tai wasn't completely ignorant of the imperial examination system. He immediately raised his hand to interrupt them: "You may all leave! Prepare well and help me compile the 'Kuodi Zhi' next month!"

"Yes, yes, Your Highness, rest assured, I am a man of great learning and will certainly be of assistance!" "Your Highness is wise; with this 'Comprehensive Gazetteer,' the world is entirely under your control..."

"Your Highness, the King of Yue..."

"Alright! You may all leave!"

Li Tai finally couldn't contain his frustration and impatiently chased away these boastful scholars from the Yue Literature Academy.

Su Xu, Pei Qian, and Liu Yuan, who watched them leave, looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this moment, Li Tai said again, "I heard that both the top scholar in the civil service exam and the top scholar in the military exam went to the military academy?"

"Yes, Your Highness, even the second-place martial arts scholar went!"

Su Xu quickly replied.

Li Tai frowned, then asked, "What about Wu Tanhua? Did he go?"

"Maybe not……"

"Oh?"

Li Tai raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but say, "So, not all martial arts students go to military academies?"

"This one……"

Su Xu hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Pei Qian and Liu Yuan.

But Pei Qian said thoughtfully, "If it weren't for Cheng Chumo and the others taking the lead, almost no one from the martial arts department would have signed up for the military academy!"

“Yes! Whether it’s the civil service exam or the military exam, all the scholars are aiming to become officials! Who would want to be a student after passing the exam?” Liu Yuan couldn’t help but chime in.

But then Su Xu pondered and said, "Military academies train a bunch of warriors, and what our Great Tang Dynasty has no shortage of is warriors. I'm sure His Majesty wouldn't care about those warriors!"

"Therefore, even if they get into military academy, they won't have a bright future!"

"It's such a pity that Wei Yuanzhong was such a talented man, skilled in both literature and military affairs!"

"Yes, I don't know what Wei Yuanzhong is thinking. Is he after that future emperor's protégé?"

Pei Qian sneered, "Throughout history, how many future emperors have there been, but how many have actually become emperor in the end?"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai's eyes lit up, and his previous gloomy mood vanished completely.

Clearly, Pei Qian's words were to his liking.

But then he smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right! This Wei Yuanzhong is short-sighted and will never amount to anything!"

"but."

Then, he changed the subject and continued, "We could also learn from military academies and recruit talented people who are participating in this imperial examination!"

"Ok?"

Su Xu, Pei Qian, and Liu Yuan were all taken aback.

Su Xu spoke first: "Does Your Highness mean that our Yuewen Academy should also follow the example of the military academy and recruit talents from this imperial examination?"

"Not bad!"

Li Tai smiled and nodded, saying, "Since we can't cultivate talents who can pass the imperial examinations, why don't we just recruit those who can?"

"That's right! How come I didn't think of that!" Liu Yuan couldn't help but slap his thigh upon hearing this.

Pei Qian, standing to the side, gave him a disdainful look, thinking to himself, "You'd never guess that."

However, this Prince of Yue is indeed clever. Since the Crown Prince can take advantage of what's readily available, so can the Prince of Yue.

But Pei Qian chimed in, "I am not very talented, but I happen to know a few people who have passed the imperial examination. I would like to introduce them to His Highness Prince Yue!"

"Excellent! Talented Scholar Pei has indeed not disappointed me!"

Li Tai's face lit up with joy, and he immediately assured him, "As long as they agree to join my Yuewen Academy, I will definitely ensure their official careers are successful!"

“Your Highness, I also know several scholars who have passed the imperial examinations!” Upon hearing Li Tai’s assurance, Liu Yuan quickly followed suit and recommended talented individuals to him.

"Ha ha……"

Li Tai smiled, seemingly very satisfied with their attitude, and said with a smile, "Rest assured, as long as you recommend enough talented people, and they are good enough, I will never treat you unfairly!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The two exchanged a glance and quickly bowed to Li Tai.

Su Xu, who was next to Li Tai, narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

.........

Meanwhile, at the Eastern Palace's Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.

Yang Nannan and Pei Xingjian are interrogating a prisoner.

But Pei Xingjian said coldly, "I will ask you one more time, where are the soldiers?"

"Sir, I really don't know. He came to the cave last time and hasn't been back since. I don't know where he is!"

A prisoner bound to a cross said with a bitter expression, "To be honest, gentlemen, I'm also looking for him! He made me copy a musket, but the muskets I made kept exploding! I asked him to get me a group of craftsmen who know about muskets!"

"It's been several months now, and we still haven't gotten it!"

"If the cave's supplies hadn't been running out, I wouldn't have come out. If I hadn't come out, I wouldn't have been captured by your Embroidered Uniform Guard. If I hadn't been captured by your Embroidered Uniform Guard, that cave wouldn't have been exposed..."

"It's all Wu Bing's fault! I wish I could tear him to pieces!"

"That was the weapons workshop I painstakingly built up over ten years! And he ruined it all like that, my heart is bleeding... Ah! It hurts! Be gentle, be gentle..."

Before the prisoner could finish speaking, Yang Nannan's dagger sliced ​​open the skin on his chest, and she said calmly, "If I use a little more force, your heart will really be bleeding!"

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

"Humph!"

Yang Nannan snorted coldly but ignored him. Instead, she looked at Pei Xingjian seriously and said, "He probably really doesn't know Wu Bing's whereabouts. Because a wolf master like Wu Bing would never easily reveal his whereabouts."

"And he is nothing but a rat, doing all sorts of shady things!"

"How...how did you know I'm a giant rat?!"

Upon hearing this, the prisoner's pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly recovered and said, "I know, you are Yang Nannan, the one the Garrison Commander ordered to be wanted! That ant-like Gu master!"

"Do you want to die?"

Yang Nannan gave a cold glance and was about to increase the pressure on her hand holding the dagger.

But Pei Xingjian said coldly, "He can't die yet!"

"Yes! You can't kill me! I have important information about you! If you spare my life, I'll tell you!" The prisoner nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Yang Nannan and Pei Xingjian narrowed their eyes at the same time and said in unison, "What important intelligence!"

"Gulu!"

The prisoner swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "You really won't kill me?"

"Pfft!"

Without a word, a dagger was plunged into his thigh, but Pei Xingjian coldly said, "Don't try to negotiate with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or I'll show you what despair is!"

"Yes, yes, I'll talk, I'll talk..."

The prisoner nodded repeatedly, then, forcing himself to endure the pain, said, "As far as I know, the garrison commander sent two people to Chang'an, one of whom is Yang Nannan's master!"

"what?!"

Yang Nannan was shocked, then grabbed the other person's clothes and said, "Are you serious?!"

"While it can't be said to be absolutely true, it's pretty close to the truth, and they're all after the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Is this true?!" Pei Xingjian couldn't help but grab the other person's clothes to confirm this information.

"Oh, my lords, my life is in your hands, how could I dare to lie to you? Even if this lord doesn't believe me, you should believe this lord, we were both guards!"

"She knows the nature of us rats; survival is our top priority!"

"This one……"

Pei Xingjian and Yang Nannan exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded and said, "What he said is indeed true. Most of the big rats are people who are afraid of death!"

"So that means His Highness the Crown Prince is in danger?"

Pei Xingjian's face darkened.

Yang Nannan shook her head and said, "Not necessarily. My master is not good at fighting, and there are only two of us. Even Wu Bing can't get into the protection zone of my Embroidered Uniform Guard now!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"I want to see my master!"

"What did you say?!" Pei Xingjian drew his embroidered spring knife without saying a word.

But then Yang Nannan said calmly, "Have you forgotten that mother-child Gu? Only my master can cure it!"

"But why should I believe you?"

"Why should I have no right to this?!"

Yang Nannan said calmly, "You are the garrison commander, and I am your subordinate. You are responsible to the Crown Prince, and I am responsible to you."

The conversation ended there.

……

Requesting double monthly votes; I'll add an extra chapter when I reach 1000 votes.

(End of this chapter)