In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Wang Yue, the supervisor of the Qingyang Bureau in Qizhou, is my cousin."

"A few months ago, the dry weather caused the riverbed to dry up, resulting in the deaths of many wild animals. In addition, the abundance of mosquitoes indirectly led to a horse plague, causing many warhorses to die."

"Now, faced with the imperial edict from the Ministry of War, I am willing but unable to do so."

"I wonder if Seventh Uncle could be lenient and reduce the ration amount a bit? So that Qingyang Prison can catch its breath."

"If Seventh Uncle can help, I will be extremely grateful."

Li Yuanchang immediately frowned.

The outbreak of equine disease is a dereliction of duty.

Moreover, the Taipu Temple, which was in charge of all warhorses in the land and oversaw the eight workshops and forty-eight offices, had not reported this matter at all, clearly indicating that they were unaware of it.

In other words, Qingyang Prison definitely didn't report it. They were only forced to come to me when the investigation was about to expose them.

Furthermore, if it really was horse plague, why didn't the Crown Princess tell Li Zhi directly? If Li Zhi hadn't pursued the matter, then it would have been over.

Why would she come looking for herself instead of her own man?

It all sounds rather strange.

It sounds like a shoddy construction project, like a collapsed bridge.

Seeing that Li Yuanchang did not speak, Wang immediately added, "Seventh Uncle, I know that it is inconvenient for me to inquire about this matter due to my status."

"But recently the Crown Prince has been busy overseeing the country and is under a lot of pressure. I don't want to cause him any more worry."

"If Your Highness could make even a slight adjustment, I would be eternally grateful."

As she spoke, she gave a slight bow.

Having said that, Li Yuanchang couldn't very well refuse.

If what she said is true, it doesn't really break the rules. It just means that some horse farms will allocate more resources, and others will allocate less, depending on the actual situation.

"Your Highness, there's no need for that."

"If it is as you say, I will naturally decide based on the actual situation and will not give anyone an unachievable task."

"But the premise is that it has to be as you said."

He emphasized this because he suspected it might not be that simple, and he couldn't make any definitive statements.

Madam Wang smiled and said, "Thank you, Seventh Uncle, of course."

Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, Li Yuanchang's doubts were somewhat dispelled.

Immediately afterwards, Crown Princess Wang had her personal maid bring up a small box.

"Seventh Uncle, these are some gifts that I have prepared for the Princess Consort of Han. I hope you will not refuse them. They are just some cosmetics."

Li Yuanchang, with his keen eye, could tell from the curvature of the joints of the palace maid's joints that this was definitely not the weight that rouge and powder should have.

He politely declined directly: "Princess Consort, please forgive me."

"Recently, the Princess Consort of Han has been devoutly worshipping Buddha, bathing and burning incense daily, and has abstaining from makeup, fearing it would be disrespectful to the Buddha, so..."

Crown Princess Wang knew it was a polite refusal, but she didn't press the matter: "I see, then it's not a good time."

"Alright, if that's the case, then I'll send it later."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness." Li Yuanchang bowed.

"..."

Not long after, Li Yuanchang left the Eastern Palace.

He immediately sent people to the horse farm in Qizhou to find out what was going on. If it was horse plague, he would turn a blind eye.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities are also considered unfortunate events, and Li Yuanchang is not the type to kick someone when they're down.

Incidentally, he sent a letter to Tang Meng.

Last year, Tang Meng was promoted again, but he was transferred away from Chang'an and went to Qizhou to serve as Sima, which is considered a high-ranking local official position.

The four notorious villains of yesteryear have quietly transformed from纨绔子弟 (spoiled young masters) of Chang'an.

Cheng Chuliang and Yuchi Baoqi both became fourth-rank generals, managing a superior military command.

Tang Meng was a Sima, a high-ranking local official.

As for Li Chongzhen, the most intelligent guy besides Li Yuanchang, he ended up doing the worst, only serving as a county lieutenant in Xianyang County.

But this guy was also the most sensible and happiest person, having married six concubines.

Like his father, he adhered to the principle that "Xiaoman" (the first fullness of the lunar calendar) signifies perfection and never considered promotion.

Every day is spent catching thieves and handling trivial cases, which is quite pleasant.

Although the five met less often, they frequently exchanged letters, especially Situ Lan and the other women, as well as Cheng Chuliang's wife, who had private interactions with them.

……

Half a month later.

Finally, there was a reply regarding the matter at the Qizhou horse farm.

However, the result was completely opposite to what Crown Princess Wang had said.

"Your Highness, there is no horse plague at all. The number of horses in the Qingyang Supervisory Office in Qizhou is far different from the records of the Imperial Stud, and the breeds do not match either."

According to the Taipu Temple, the Qingyang Bureau was established eleven years ago and raised more than eight thousand Turkic horses and blue horses, which were the main mounts of the cavalry.

"The stallion was captured by His Majesty during his campaign against the Eastern Turks, and was later bred and trained by people."

"But when I went there, I found that most of the horses grazing in the horse farm were nags. Judging from their coats and physiques, they didn't look like Turkic horses or blue horses. They looked more like hybrids."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang, who was handling official business at the time, immediately frowned!

"Crosshorse" is a general term referring to inferior and low-quality horses that cannot be used as warhorses and can only be used for hauling goods and performing menial tasks.

Horse breeding is a rigorous process, with strict requirements on everything from breed selection to farm location. The strength of the Tang Dynasty was absolutely inseparable from its warhorses.

This thing has a higher priority than swords and arrows.

Those born from hybridization have impure bloodlines, so they can't run fast and lack endurance; on the battlefield, they're just sent to their deaths.

Are you sure?

"That's right. At the time, I even sought help from Lord Tang Meng, the Prefect of Qizhou. When Lord Tang learned that I was from the Prince of Han's residence, he helped me investigate."

"He instructed me to tell Your Highness that the pastoral supervisor, Wang Yue, likely engaged in a deceptive practice, giving away warhorses from the horse farm for hunting pleasure, cultivating relationships, and befriending powerful figures, before substituting inferior goods for superior ones."

"They thought that with the mountains high and the emperor far away, and the Tang Dynasty having hundreds of thousands of warhorses, they wouldn't be discovered. But now that the Ministry of War suddenly wants to requisition horses, their secret has been exposed."

A look of disgust and murderous intent flashed in Li Yuanchang's eyes.

What he hates most is corruption.

Moreover, using national resources to curry favor with powerful figures is extremely egregious, as warhorses were the very foundation of an ancient dynasty's existence.

It's like the missiles in the national arsenal have been secretly sold off; if a major war breaks out, all the missiles pulled out will be duds.

This is completely different from losing a batch of warhorses due to equine disease.

To put it bluntly, if Li Yuanchang dared to protect Li Shimin, Li Shimin would find out and he would be removed from his position as Minister of War!

"Your Highness, Lord Tang Meng also said that the Horse Stable is not under his jurisdiction and he has no control over it, so he directly intervened to investigate the evidence. In addition, Wang Yue has connections, so Your Highness is advised to be careful."

Li Yuanchang nodded: "My brother is very kind."

"Send someone back to tell him to rest assured."

"Prepare the carriage! I am going to the Eastern Palace!"

"yes!"

Li Yuanchang couldn't suppress this matter, but he didn't need to be the one to take the lead. Since the Crown Prince was in charge of the country, he would naturally report it directly to Li Zhi for handling.

However, before that, he didn't want to add any more enemies and also planned to do a favor.

and so.

He didn't go to the Crown Prince's place first, but went to find the Crown Princess.