Yang Xuanji followed the direction of the servant's finger and looked casually into the palace.

It was dawn in the morning and a cold wind was blowing at the second palace gate. In front of the red palace gate, there was a short figure. It was the eighth prince Li Chengtai.

He was wrapped in a thick gray-gold fluffy cloak. His little face was white and tender inside the cloak, his little nose was red from the cold, his pair of big black eyes were blinking, and his two little hands were tucked into the cloak. He looked childish, like a little tiger standing in the wind.

When he saw Yang Xuanji, Li Chengtai's eyes lit up. He hurried over and said respectfully, "How are you, sir?"

He is still very young and has a soft voice.

Knowing that Mr. Yang Xuanji would enter the palace today, Li Chengtai got up early, changed into new clothes, and waited for the gentleman at the palace gate, showing great sincerity.

Yang Xuanji stroked his beard and looked at the child in front of him with shrewd eyes.

Yang Xuanji had heard that Concubine Chen had just returned to the palace recently. The two princes of Concubine Chen were raised in Donghua Mountain since childhood, so much so that there was a lot of discussion in the outside world, and people believed that Concubine Chen's sons did not know etiquette.

But today, when Yang Xuanji took a look, he found that Li Chengtai was well-mannered and his eyes were sincere.

Know the rules very well.

Yang Xuanji felt a little bit satisfied.

"You know how to be polite, but I value talent more when I accept you as a disciple." Yang Xuanji said sternly, "If you don't have talent, I won't be afraid even if the emperor issues an imperial decree."

Li Chengtai showed a lovely smile: "Please give me some advice, sir."

Yang Xuanji stroked his white beard and walked towards Guangwenguan.

...

Guangwenguan was quiet as the eunuchs were moving the treasured ancient books in the library. Yang Xuanji brought Li Chengtai to the vacant attic.

The palace maids serving Li Chengtai were waiting outside the door.

In the attic, the windows were bright and clean, and warm Biluochun tea was served. Li Chengtai knelt down beside the table in an orderly manner.

Yang Xuanji stroked his beard and said in a deep voice: "You are still young, so I won't test you with too complicated questions."

Li Chengtai sat up straight: "Please give me some advice, sir."

Yang Xuanji was not troubled at all, as he was only asked some simple enlightenment questions at the beginning. Li Chengtai had a good memory and answered the questions one by one. It was not perfect, but Yang Xuanji was barely satisfied.

Yang Xuanji further increased the difficulty by quoting from classics and asking questions from the perspective of ancient books. Li Chengtai could answer some of the questions; and he had not read some ancient theories yet, so he wrote them down on rice paper, intending to look them up later.

Reading is not about rote memorization. In addition to examining Li Chengtai's academic foundation, Yang Xuanji also tested his ability to analyze problems, his ability to understand ancient Chinese, his memory, etc.

Time passed quietly, the Biluochun hot tea on the table slowly cooled down, and the sky outside the attic was already bright.

Yang Xuanji's expression became more and more satisfied, and he looked at Li Chengtai with more appreciation. This child is smart and good at drawing inferences from one instance. He is a good potential candidate.

He wants to take this child as his apprentice!

Considering Prince Li Chengtai's status as the possible successor to the throne in the future, Yang Xuanji decided to ask him about state governance.

Yang Xuanji stroked his beard and said slowly: "Donglin is a small vassal state of Qing, and it pays tribute every year. Now that Nanchu is rising, if Donglin joins hands with Nanchu, Daqing will be at war again. Your Highness, how do you think we can make Donglin give up the idea of ​​cooperating with Nanchu?"

To the northwest of Daqing State was the State of Yue. To the south is Nanchu, and to the east is Donglin Kingdom.

Li Chengtai unfolded the map of Qing Kingdom and glanced at Donglin Kingdom in the east corner of the map. He thought for a while and said, "I heard from my father that Donglin is short of food and has to buy food from Daqing every year. It should be possible to use food to balance Donglin."

Yang Xuanji nodded slightly: "It is indeed good to use grain as a check and balance. But our Qing Kingdom does not always have good weather and good harvests. Occasionally, there are natural disasters and the grain production drops sharply, leaving us with no surplus grain to sell to the Donglin Kingdom."

Li Chengtai scratched his head: "Donglin is a small country. We can directly conquer this country... No, Yue and Nanchu may take advantage of the situation and move in."

After racking his brains for a while, Li Chengtai looked at the map again, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "I have an idea! Sir, you see, Donglin Kingdom is low-lying, and there is a Mingyuan River in its territory. The people of Donglin Kingdom rely on this river for drinking water and irrigation. The upper reaches of the Mingyuan River are within the territory of our Qing Kingdom."

Li Chengtai pointed to the Mingyuan River on the map and said, "Build several dams upstream to block the water. If the Donglin Kingdom obeys, we will release water to them. If the Donglin Kingdom does not obey, we will flood them."

Yang Xuanji was stunned.

Yang Xuanji never expected that a child could come up with such a vicious idea. He was so angry that he blew his beard and glared: "The people of Donglin are so innocent. If the floodgates are opened, won't they all suffer!"

Li Chengtai spread his palms and said, "Only in this way can our Qing Kingdom be safe and secure."

Yang Xuanji rebuked: "A gentleman should win over others with virtue, not fight violence with violence!"

Li Chengtai's face fell and he pouted to express his dissatisfaction: "Father said that the interests of Qing Kingdom are above all else, and no one else can sleep beside my bed. If Donglin Kingdom has any rebellious intentions, they should be severely punished."

Yang Xuanji was so angry that he blew his beard: "Your method is cruel, which really does not represent the demeanor of a wise ruler."

Li Chengtai muttered: "Only those with strong fists have the right to speak, if you don't accept it, just fight."

This principle was taught to him by Shen Wei, and Li Chengtai has always kept it in mind.

The big one and the small one started arguing. Li Chengtai's brows were twisted into knots, thinking that this old man was a bit pedantic.

The two of them parted on bad terms, and Yang Xuanji left Guangwenguan in anger. Yang Xuanji did not leave the palace immediately, but went to Chang'an Palace to pay his respects to the emperor.

Li Chengtai refused to admit defeat and ran to Chang'an Palace.

...

...

In Chang'an Palace, the hall was quiet and the incense in the copper furnace slowly diffused.

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