215 Chapter 215
◎Safe childbirth.◎
The Turks had been harassing the Central Plains for many years. When Li Shimin ascended the throne two years ago, they still wanted to take advantage of the situation to rob. At that time, the Tang Dynasty used gunpowder to achieve a surprise victory and captured the two Turkic khans, Jie Li and Tuli. However, because the Tang Dynasty still had internal troubles, it was unable to attack the Turks with all its strength. Therefore, Li Shimin only signed an alliance with them, requiring them to return the looted people. As for the horses, cattle and sheep that the Turks needed to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty every year, those were given by Jie Li and Tuli on their own initiative, and they were not asked for by the Tang Dynasty's monarchs and ministers.
The Turks suffered a loss and certainly wanted to make up for it later, but they did not expect that they would suffer a heavy blow in terms of timing and people. First, they failed to quell the internal strife, and Tuli was dissatisfied with Jie Li's closeness to the Tang Dynasty. Then they encountered heavy snow, which caused cattle, sheep and other livestock to freeze to death. In addition, they had to give livestock to the Tang Dynasty, and the strength of the Turks declined greatly.
The Tang Dynasty had been gathering its strength and preparing for war at any moment, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate its greatest threat. Now, Li Shimin felt that the time had come.
This time, the Tang Dynasty was even more powerful, with gunpowder and telescopes as its weapons. Li Shimin noticed that Jie Li had become restless again, so he thought they could strike first.
Li Chengqian reminded him: "I remember there will be a drought in June this year."
Li Shimin unfolded the map and said, "I have instructed everyone to make preparations. There is plenty of food and fodder for disaster relief and war."
"Can you understand it?" Li Shimin asked.
Li Chengqian looked over and saw a military deployment map. He nodded, "Yes."
Li Shimin smiled briefly, then quickly turned serious again. "Well, Cheng Qian, fighting isn't just about the general leading the soldiers into battle. The commander in the rear needs to prepare and understand a lot."
What Li Shimin wanted to teach Li Chengqian was not how to lead troops in battle, but how to coordinate. While the soldiers were fighting on the battlefield, how could the monarch in the rear control the overall situation? This was no easier than winning a battle.
And these are indeed what Li Chengqian lacks.
Li Chengqian was studying enthusiastically. In addition to attending many military meetings, he also participated in the handling of the drought. Because he was too busy, he was in a hurry and rarely stopped when he went to pay his respects to Changsun every day.
However, even so, he still heard that Li Yuan's ninth son had fallen seriously ill. Fortunately, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau had made rapid progress in medical skills through the teaching of the genius doctor, and they managed to save Li Yuanfang's life. However, he was afraid that he would be frail and sickly from now on, and he had to pay attention to taking good care of himself.
Chang Sun said, "It wouldn't have been delayed to this extent, but..." She shook her head and didn't say anything else.
Li Yuanfang was the daughter of Zhang Jieyi, Li Yuan's former favorite concubine. She and Concubine Yin De had always been at odds with the Qin Palace. They had connections with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and had repeatedly whispered in Li Shimin's ear to slander him.
However, Li Yuan's favor always came and went like the wind. He soon had a new favorite concubine, and Concubine Zhang had a grudge against the new emperor. Even though the new emperor had no intention of settling scores later, everyone still consciously kept their distance from the mother and son. This led to Li Yuanfang being sick for several days before he could invite an imperial physician to treat him, and the minor illness was delayed until it became a major one.
"It was my negligence too." Changsun sighed.
Li Chengqian said hurriedly, "Don't overthink it, mother. It's clearly the father of the old man who is irresponsible. He only cared about giving birth but not raising the child. His son is sick, but he himself is fine. You don't need to blame yourself."
Before he finished speaking, a cough was heard from the other side of the screen.
"Father, what are you eavesdropping on? It's not just Grandfather who is in charge of giving birth but not raising the child, you are too." Li Chengqian rolled his eyes.
Chang Sun patted his arm and whispered, "Cheng Qian..."
Li Shimin strode in and said dissatisfiedly, "When did I stop caring about giving birth and not raising children? Which of you didn't I raise?"
"Everyone's clothes for all seasons and daily life, which one is not taken care of by my mother? You support them? Father, you really know how to flatter yourself." Li Chengqian said unhappily.
Chang Sun pressed his hand and said with a smile, "Ah Niang is the Queen, the legitimate mother of these children. Not to mention that they are still young now, when they grow up and get married, it will be my responsibility to take care of them. Cheng Qian, stop talking nonsense."
Li Shimin took his wife's hand and held it in his palm: "Guanyin, thank you for your hard work."
Li Chengqian leaned over and said, "If you have fewer children, my mother will have less toil."
Chang Sun scolded softly, "Cheng Qian, shut up!"
How could a son interfere in his father’s affairs?
Li Shimin was not angry. He smiled and said gently, "This is because Cheng Qian cares about you. You are getting older now, and you really shouldn't be working so hard. Let the subordinates do these things. You just need to rest and recuperate."
"No!" Li Chengqian objected, "Mother, you still need to move around. As long as you're not feeling unwell, you should still move around. It's not good to rest all the time."
Li Shimin turned his body and looked at him: "How come you, a child, know everything?"
"I learned it from books, father. This is my mother's fourth time giving birth, how come you don't know anything?" Li Chengqian asked with his arms folded across his chest.
Li Shimin: “…”
Li Shimin and Zhangsun were childhood sweethearts. They had shared weal and woe for many years. In Li Shimin's heart, his wife had an absolutely unshakable position, and he gave his wife all the honor he could give.
But... as a ruler of the feudal era, Tian Khan's words were beyond his understanding.
"I……"
Changsun said, "Alright, alright, Chengqian, don't bring up these things again, or Mother will be really angry. Your father is so busy with all sorts of things, it's not his place to worry about things like this. I'm fine too, with the imperial physician and these people to look after me, so I don't need your father, who's so clumsy."
Li Shimin hurriedly said, "I should know something about these things, Guanyin, I will ask the imperial physician to ask when I have time in the next two days."
"There are so many things going on lately, how can you have the time..." Changsun shook her head.
Li Chengqian supported his chin and listened to his parents talking back and forth until they became bored. He couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.
All in all, his parents had a very good relationship, and Li Chengqian was very happy to see them.
…
In November, a victory report was sent back to Chang'an City, and Li Jing conquered Dingxiang.
Li Shimin was overjoyed and ordered his men to draft an imperial edict, conferring titles and rewards on the officers and soldiers. Li Jing was given the title of Duke of Dai and an additional fief. He then said to Li Chengqian, "Chengqian, the gunpowder and telescope played a significant role this time, and you should be credited with a great achievement!"
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Okay, then remember this first. I'll come back to exchange it when I want a reward."
Li Shimin nodded and smiled, "Okay, I'll remember this for you!"
Li Chengqian continued, "Then let's discuss our next plan and try to invite Jie Li to Chang'an as a guest again."
Li Shimin laughed and said, "It's a bit tricky, but I think this won't be difficult to do."
Soon, Jie Li Khan sent people to Chang'an to apologize and said that he would submit to the Tang Dynasty with his entire country. Tuli Khan, who had already submitted to the Tang Dynasty, believed that Jie Li's surrender at this time was not credible. After testing the envoy, he reported to the emperor. Li Shimin then sent Li Jing to lead the troops to fight again.
In this battle, Li Jing reached Yinshan Mountain and captured hundreds of thousands of people and cattle and sheep. Jie Li Khan was also captured again. The Eastern Turks were destroyed and the territory of the Tang Dynasty expanded again.
Although there was no defeat in the ninth year of Wude, this was a great victory for the Tang Dynasty over the Turks, avenging its previous defeat. When the good news was sent back to Chang'an, the court and the people were jubilant.
It was already February of the following year, and the army had not yet returned to the capital, but the good news came from Taiji Palace first: the queen had safely given birth to a child.
Li Shimin was overjoyed and gave his youngest son a nickname, Zhinu, that same day.
Li Ying happened to be in the palace at the time. When she heard about this, she couldn't help but say, "Your two brothers have nicknames, but you don't seem to have one."
Li Chengqian: "..."
"They all have two-character names, but mine is three!" Li Chengqian said irritably, "You're the only one who knows, right?"
In addition to Li Chengqian, the sons of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji also had the character "Cheng" in their names, but they all died in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Except for the eldest son, none of Li Shimin's sons had the character "Cheng" in their names.
Li Chengqian didn't know if there was any reason behind this, and he didn't want to delve into it further.
In his previous life, among his father and mother's three sons, Li Chengqian was indeed the one who received the least favor from his father. This was a fact that Li Chengqian had long understood.
When Li Chengqian truly felt the favor of the Khan in this life, he did not feel ecstatic. After all, there would always be someone who had to feel the feeling of not being favored like he did in his previous life.
Li Chengqian knew that it was not pleasant.
After knowing his thoughts, Li Ying said: "Your Highness, you can have empathy, but it's really not your fault that he is partial to you. It's mainly your father's problem."
Li Chengqian said, "Human hearts are inherently biased."
Li Ying thought for a moment and confirmed, "Are you speaking for your father?"
"I'm being pragmatic," Li Chengqian said. "Besides, the only one challenging me is Li Tai, and Zhinu hasn't offended me, so I have no problem with him."
Li Ying said: "That's true, your father must have a problem with him, after all, he married your father's concubine."
"According to what you said, that young slave will definitely not like my grandfather's little daughter who was born this year." Li Chengqian said.
Li Ying wondered, "Why?"
Li Chengqian said, "My little aunt will have a title in the future. You must have heard of it: Princess Qianjin."
"Ah!" Li Ying clapped her hands, "Feng Xiaobao!"
Wu Zetian's male favorite Xue Huaiyi, whose original name was Feng Xiaobao, was given to her by Princess Qianjin.
"The princess even recognized Wu Zetian as her mother. Your family relationship is really messy." Li Ying said again.
Li Chengqian: "..."
"Goodbye." Li Chengqian raised his hand to see him off. "I have to go to Lizheng Hall. You should go and earn some money, or I'll deduct your year-end bonus!"
In addition to rewards, the Tang Dynasty also held a celebration banquet for this great victory. The person who was most enthusiastic about the celebration banquet was Li Yuan.
Li Chengqian felt that there was nothing he needed to do and nothing he needed to learn, so he just often went to Lizheng Hall to accompany his mother and ignored the affairs of the previous dynasty.
This time, because her physical condition was much better than the same period in her previous life, and she became pregnant nearly two years later, Changsun's condition after giving birth was better.
The wet nurse placed the little prince, who had eaten his fill and fallen asleep, next to the queen. Li Chengqian lay on the edge of the bed and looked at the baby's face. He didn't remember what Li Zhi looked like when he was born in his previous life, but this little slave looked very cute now, and he liked him very much.
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