The Ministry of Personnel.
As the year draws to a close, everyone is actually quite free, but they have to pretend to be very busy.
Changsun Wuji, of course, didn't need to put on an act, because he was very free every day.
But today, he still got up very early, which was unusual for him, and came to the Ministry of Personnel to pretend to inspect the work.
"The New Year is just a few days away. Everyone should finish their work as soon as possible so as not to delay important matters of the court!"
"Please rest assured, Lord Changsun, we will certainly work hard and never let His Majesty and you down!"
Changsun Wuji nodded upon hearing this, and then picked up a scroll of documents.
"These must be the imperial guards summoned by His Majesty?"
"Lord Changsun is right. This is indeed the document His Majesty issued to summon the troops in Guanzhong!"
"Which military commanders were recruited?"
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has only summoned the military governorates of Shangzhou, Shanzhou, Huazhou, and Yongzhou this time!"
"Yongzhou?"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji's heart stirred, for he suddenly thought of someone: the Zhechong Prefecture, which was directly led by his eldest grandson Li Jue, seemed to belong to Yongzhou!
Are all the military commanderies in Yongzhou included in the conscription list?
"My lord, this is a difficult matter to discuss!"
What do you mean by that?
"His Majesty only wants to take 20,000 men to Liaodong this time. Many military commanderies want to go but can't get a spot. Our Ministry of War must select the best of the best and try to choose some military commanderies that are good at fighting to accompany His Majesty on the eastern expedition."
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji immediately understood. In recent years, the martial arts of the Tang Dynasty had been too powerful, and every battle they went into was a success, so much so that the soldiers of the Tang army were all eager to go into battle.
However, this attack on Liaodong was too dangerous, and His Majesty dared not gamble with the fate of the nation. He only wanted to take tens of thousands of men to fight, which meant that many soldiers did not get the chance to go to the battlefield.
"I see!"
"Go ahead and get busy. Let me know when the list of those personally leading the expedition is finalized!"
"promise!"
After leaving the Ministry of War, Changsun Wuji immediately summoned Chu Suiliang.
"Chu Suiliang, go and do this. Find a way to get Sanglin Zhechong Prefecture to submit a letter requesting permission to fight!"
"oh?"
"Does Your Excellency mean that the Sanglin Garrison Commandery should accompany His Majesty on the eastern expedition?"
"right!"
"His Majesty's intention to change the heir apparent is now crystal clear. If we do nothing, we can only watch helplessly as His Majesty deposes and installs the crown prince."
"Therefore, Your Majesty must have Li Jue taken along on this eastern expedition!"
Chu Suiliang had a different opinion when he heard this.
"My lord, if Li Jue were to achieve military merit in Liaodong, wouldn't he become even more difficult to deal with?"
Changsun Wuji snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"I never intended for him to come back alive!"
"If necessary, even His Majesty can be abandoned!"
"ah?"
Although Chu Suiliang supported the Crown Prince, he was still shocked when he heard that Changsun Wuji even wanted to kill the Emperor.
"My lord, this matter is of utmost importance, please don't..."
Changsun Wuji smiled faintly upon hearing this.
"Rest assured, I am utterly loyal to Your Majesty and would never do anything to harm you!"
"But Liaodong was a dangerous place. Even with Emperor Yang of Sui's great talent and ambition, he still failed to achieve anything after three expeditions."
"Although His Majesty's martial arts are unparalleled, they may not be effective in Liaodong. At best, there will be losses of soldiers and generals; at worst... not to mention the loss of a legitimate eldest grandson, it would be quite easy, wouldn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Suiliang chuckled.
"So, sir, you were thinking that swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield!"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji sighed in frustration.
"I don't want it to be this way either, but Li Jue is growing up too fast. Give him a few more years, until he comes of age, gets married and has children, and His Majesty will surely pass the throne to him!"
"The reason why His Majesty is hesitant to make a decision is simply because the child is too young."
Chu Suiliang nodded in agreement, fully acknowledging Changsun Wuji's words.
Leaving aside distant examples, just consider the fireworks in the shape of the character "寿" (longevity) that Li Jue presented on His Majesty's birthday a few days ago; that alone is enough for His Majesty to appoint him as the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.
Although fireworks are just toys, it's not easy to make them into something special or even spell out words.
Li Jue's actions were not only a unique gift to His Majesty, but also a declaration to the people of the world of the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the Li family imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty.
Now, the whole of Chang'an is abuzz with the news that Heaven has sent down auspicious omens on His Majesty's birthday, which is enough to prove that His Majesty is the Son of Heaven and that the Li Tang dynasty is the rightful heir to rule the world!
"My lord, I will make the arrangements immediately. However, if this matter displeases His Majesty, I hope you will protect him!"
Changsun Wuji nodded upon hearing this.
"Rest assured, if His Majesty becomes angry, I will certainly not stand idly by!"
...
Ganlu Hall of Taiji Palace.
Although the Lunar New Year was approaching, Li Shimin remained busy.
Firstly, he needed to prepare for the campaign after the New Year; secondly, with the year-end approaching, the various affairs of different prefectures and counties were piling up, keeping him extremely busy.
However, he still manages to steal a moment from his busy schedule to go out for a stroll.
For example, go to the Prince of Qin's mansion and see what good things Li Jue and Li Tai, uncle and nephew, are secretly tinkering with.
Ever since Li Shimin was burned by gunpowder, he had taken a liking to this thing. After hearing that it could blast open a rockery, he sent people to keep an eye on it every day, afraid that his son might have come up with something powerful without telling him.
On this day, while he was reviewing memorials, he suddenly heard the Hundred Cavalry reported that Li Jue and Li Tai were going to test something called a hand grenade. Only then did he put aside all his official duties, put on ordinary clothes, and come to the Prince of Qin's mansion, hiding behind a group of guards to spy on them.
Li Jue and Li Tai had no idea that Li Shimin was spying on them; the two were simply arguing about the technical aspects of the hand grenade.
"Fourth Uncle, who told you to make such a big grenade?"
Is it big?
"Isn't it better for this thing to be bigger?"
Li Jue looked at the hand grenade on the ground, which resembled a pumpkin, and felt like his head was about to explode.
Who the hell could throw such a big grenade!
"Fourth Uncle, think back to what I told you a few days ago?"
"You said you wanted to build a long-range projectile weapon!"
"Yes!"
"That's what I said, but look what you've done!"
Upon hearing this, Li Tai looked down at the pumpkin-shaped grenade and immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
He also realized the problem: the object was too big and didn't seem to be suitable for throwing...
But he had no intention of admitting his mistake to Li Jue and continued to argue forcefully.
Just because you can't throw it doesn't mean others can't!
"Yuchi Fan, come here for a second!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Chi Fan's eyelids twitched. He had witnessed the power of gunpowder firsthand. Last time, just a small bottle of gunpowder had blasted the entire artificial hill apart. This huge lump today—could it have created a massive crater in the back garden?
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"
"Light this thing on fire, then throw it as hard as you can!"
"ah?"
Yu Chi Fan was completely stunned when he heard this.
"Your Highness, have I offended you?"
"No……"
"Then why did you want to blow me up?"
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