Chapter 50 Offerings
Li Chengqian turned around and continued to look for his father, His Majesty Li Er. As for the matter of Princess Xinxing, it was just a small episode and he didn't need to care too much about it.
Princess Xinxing would soon marry Changsun Wuji's cousin Changsun Xi.
In terms of seniority, Li Chengqian had to call Changsun Xi uncle.
Li Chengqian came to the side hall of the Liangyi Hall, Qianqiu Hall, and waited for the eunuch to report to His Majesty Li Er before he walked into Qianqiu Hall under the guidance of the eunuch.
"Your son pays homage to the emperor!" Li Chengqian saluted His Majesty Li Er.
When His Majesty Li Er was tired of handling military and national affairs in the Liangyi Hall, he would go to the side hall to rest for a while. As soon as His Majesty Li Er arrived at Qianqiu Hall, Li Chengqian came to ask for an audience outside the hall.
"Da Lang! Why are you here? What's the matter?" His Majesty Li Er asked.
"Father! I have something to present to you." Li Chengqian directly stated his purpose.
At this time, Li Chengqian was like he got a new toy and tried his best to let his parents know.
"Oh!" Li Er was also very curious. Li Er wanted to see what treasure his prince had to present to his father. He smiled and said, "I don't know what treasure it is, and I have to trouble my prince to bring it to me personally."
"It's this thing!" Li Chengqian said, and took out a U-shaped iron sheet from the silk bag on his waist and placed it in front of His Majesty Li Er.
His Majesty Li Er picked up the iron sheet in front of him and turned it over and over. Apart from knowing that it was a strangely shaped iron sheet, he couldn't figure out anything.
Li Er, the leader of the imperialists, could not help but frown. The prince was getting more and more outrageous. He even presented him with a few pieces of broken copper and rotten iron as treasures.
It seemed that he had been idle recently, so he had nothing to do, and he was so obsessed with toys that he dared to fool me with a piece of iron.
You said that you should plan to have a baby in the East Palace, which is better than being obsessed with toys. You should really find something for him to do.
Seeing Li Er with a frown, Li Chengqian knew that Comrade Li must have misunderstood him.
Horseshoes were invented by Gao Juzhen, the judge of Zhangwu Circuit, during his mission to Khotan during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Because the roads were difficult to travel, the Uighurs passed on the horseshoe-making technique to Gao Juzhen, and horseshoes were introduced to the Central Plains from the Uighurs.
There were no horseshoes in the Tang Dynasty, let alone horseshoe-making, so it was not surprising that Li Er did not know about it.
Li Er's face became more and more ugly. Seeing that Comrade Li was about to lose his temper and educate his son on the spot, Li Chengqian spoke up.
"Father! Don't be angry. Listen to me first, and then you can get angry! This thing is called a horseshoe! Father, do you know what it is used for?"
This question stumped Li Er. However, Li Er thought about it carefully. Although he didn't know what the horseshoe was used for, since he mentioned horseshoes, it must be related to horse hooves. But
what is the specific connection? Comrade Li couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Then tell me, what is the function of this horseshoe?" "
The function of horseshoes is to nail the iron sheet on the horse's hoof. Horseshoes are also called horseshoes, which is the iron lump in front of you, father." "
When a war horse is running, it can prevent the horse's hoof from cracking, and it can also gallop on sandy and bumpy mountain roads." Li Chengqian explained.
Li Chengqian thought that next year, Li Er would go on another expedition to the east. With horseshoes, the fighting power of the cavalry would be enhanced, so that the expedition to Liaodong might be smoother.
Originally, Li Chengqian wanted to make stirrups and horseshoes together and present them to Li Er. He found that stirrups had already appeared in the late Western Han Dynasty, but they were not used in the military. Stirrups were widely used in the army in the Tang Dynasty, so there was no need for him to invent them.
When Li Chengqian said that horseshoes were horseshoes, Li Er had already understood what this iron thing was used for.
His Majesty Li Er's eyes lit up, as if he saw from the horseshoe in front of him the hope that the Tang cavalry would sweep across the continent in the future, and even expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty many times.
"Good! Good! Good! Chengqian, you have made great contributions this time! I will reward you greatly." Li Er immediately clapped his hands and laughed, saying three good words in a row, which was enough to prove how happy Li Er was at the moment.
Now that he had this horseshoe, he wanted to see who was still the opponent of the Tang Dynasty. Xueyantuo and Goguryeo were not the opponents of the Tang Dynasty. If anyone dared to disobey, they would be in trouble.
"It is my duty to share the worries of my father! I don't want any reward." Li Chengqian said.
Now he is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, the future emperor. His father had issued an edict several years ago to allow him to use the things in the treasury without restraint. Why would he need any reward now
? "Since I said I would reward you, I naturally cannot break my promise. As the saying goes, a king never jokes! Let me think about what I should reward you with." Li Er said, and then he fell into deep thought.
Li Chengqian was not curious at all about what Li Er would reward him with. It was nothing more than some toys like pearls and agates.
"How about this! I will reward you with some beauties, so that your East Palace will not lack vitality." Li Er said.
"Thank you, father!" Li Chengqian almost vomited blood after hearing this. He wanted to refuse, but when he met Li Er's eyes, Li Chengqian finally swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
"Okay! If you have nothing else to do, go back first!" Li Er said. He was so cheerful just now, but now he seemed like a different person.
Li Chengqian saw a trace of worry between Li Er's brows and asked: "Father, what's wrong? I don't know what you are worried about! Why don't you talk to your son, maybe your son can relieve your worries for you!"
"It's all because of Xin'er's marriage. I just received a report from the border that Xueyantuo's Zhenzhu Khan Yinan is personally escorting hundreds of thousands of livestock and is on the way to Lingzhou."
"I thought Yinan would be afraid to come because I asked him to go to Lingzhou in person, so I took the opportunity to cancel the engagement, but who knew that he actually came! Now I don't know what to do!" Li Er said.
Li Er had no intention of marrying Xueyantuo, but now that Li Chengqian had presented him with the horseshoe, Li Er's mind began to become active. However, without a legitimate reason, he could not take action against Xueyantuo, who was attached to the Tang Dynasty, otherwise other vassal states would be in danger!
This would be detrimental to the Tang Dynasty's rule over other ethnic groups around it, nor to the future development of the Tang Dynasty, and even more inconsistent with Confucianism.
Li Chengqian thought it was a big deal, but it turned out to be a small matter. It was a small matter for Li Chengqian, but a big deal for Li Er. If there was no legitimate reason, he would not be able to cancel the engagement like this, even if he was the emperor. This was a matter of face and reputation for a country.
As the ruler of a country, how could he break his promise so easily?