Datang Fenghua Road

In the early morning of the next day, the wind and snow covered Chang'an, and the five-day watch had just sounded on the street, and the gatekeepers of the high-profile households in the city quietly opened.

The people are sound asleep, especially before they wake up, and the ministers are already going to court, and this has been the case since ancient times.

The Tai Chi Palace was brightly lit, and the huge butter candles crackled, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day.

Although the fire was bright, the ministers who were waiting for the early morning frowned, and some even quietly covered their noses with their hands, and their faces were faintly pale and uncomfortable.

There is no other reason. Although the giant butter candle is brightly lit, the smoke is too large when it burns. There is a word in ancient times called smoky fire, and the smoke from the giant butter candle is worse than the smoke.

At this time, the emperor had not yet arrived, and an old minister stood in the hall and looked around. He saw thirty or forty giant candles standing in the hall, each one was as tall as a person, and so many giant candles were burning at the same time. It made the whole hall a mess of smoke.

"Alas!" The old minister couldn't help sighing.

Prince Li Chengqian stood at the front of the court class. He heard the minister's sigh and couldn't help but turn his head and asked with a smile, "Why did Master Kong sigh, can you tell the King Gu to listen to it?"

Next to Wei Wang Li Tai, his eyes flashed, and he also said: "If Master Kong has troubles, students can also help."

Kong Yingda is the only one who can be called Master Confucius by the Prince and the King of Wei at the same time. This old man is a direct descendant of Confucius. The Shandong Confucian family occupies half of the Confucianism. Kong Yingda is an old man who may not be looked down upon, but he is the head of Confucian scholars all over the world. People, even the crown prince, want to show his favor to him.

Kong Yingda stroked his long beard and said lightly, "This old man is not distressed, just a little emotional."

"Oh?" Li Chengqian smiled slightly, and said curiously: "Master Kong is the teacher of Confucian scholars in the world, and every emotion must be a sentence of pity for heaven and man. I don't know what classic language he uttered this time?"

Kong Yingda shook his head slowly and sighed, "This time, this old man sighed, that he has enjoyed wealth and honor for a long time and can't be poor..."

He raised his finger tremblingly, pointed at the smoke in the hall and frowned: "Today, the incandescent lamp is not lit in the hall, but replaced with a giant butter candle. In the past, the giant butter candle was also used, but The old man didn't feel anything wrong at the time, but now I'm used to the incandescent light, and suddenly I feel the smoke from the giant butter candle, and I feel a little unwell."

Li Chengqian nodded, turned his head suddenly and shouted at the two guards at the door: "Where is Jin Wuwei? Go forward and talk."

The two guards looked at each other, and one of them trotted forward and said respectfully, "Is it suitable for the prince to summon the villain?"

Li Chengqian pointed to the main hall, and asked with a cold snort, "Why don't you light the incandescent lamp today, but switch to a giant butter candle instead? Manchao is about to go to court, and the emperor will come over later, so why don't you just serve Zaochao like this? It's so smoky, don't get rid of it quickly..."

The guard stayed for a while, then explained carefully: "Don't blame the prince, this is an order from the inner palace. At the fourth watch this morning, a servant came to inform him that it was His Majesty who ordered a giant butter candle."

He glanced at Li Chengqian, and then said softly: "The reason seems to be that Your Majesty received a letter from the Marquis of Jingyang, saying that the city on his side needs to be illuminated by street lights, so please send back the three generators..."

"Nonsense!" Li Chengqian yelled violently, and took advantage of the topic: "Lighting up the court is a national event, and the Marquis of Jingyang wants to get back the generator, which is still used to illuminate the city's street lights. This is simply disrespectful. There is nothing in the civil and military court. Now you take someone to tear down the giant butter candle, and then immediately light up the incandescent lamp, and the prince will tell the father when the court is in the morning."

The guard cupped his hands and said with a wry smile: "Don't blame the prince, the order from the inner palace is that the generator must be dismantled before going to court, and then it must be transported to the northeast before going down. This is not something that the villain can control, but also I beg your pardon."

He cupped his hands again, turned and quietly retreated to the door.

Li Chengqian's face was very wonderful. He was the prince who oversaw state affairs. He wanted to take the opportunity to sell the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, but he didn't know that a guard would not give him face, but he couldn't get angry about this, because it was the emperor's order to dismantle the generator.

King Wei Li Tai's eyes flickered, and he suddenly laughed and said: "My brother heard that the Marquis of Jingyang has built a dam in the northeast, which can block the river into a lake and borrow water to generate electricity. machine."

The implication is very straightforward, clearly saying that Han Yue did this on purpose, that is, to make Manchu civil and military return to the era of using butter candles to go to court.

Li Chengqian's face was very ugly, and many ministers who listened attentively were also very angry.The world is like this. After enjoying wealth and honor, it is difficult to return to poverty. Incandescent lamps are bright and convenient, but butter candles are smoldering. None of these people want to reuse butter candles.

"Jingyang Hou Feiyang is domineering and domineering. When the court comes, I will read his book."

"I also participated. This man has no court in his heart, he has no father and no king. He clearly has the technology of the power station, but he still cares about the three pedal generators. Well, he built a power generation dam in the northeast. Shenyang City is brightly lit at night, enjoying life on its own, but instead of helping His Majesty build one in Chang'an, even the generators of the previous dynasty have to be shipped back, which is shameless, vicious, and unarmed..."

The crowd was angry, and they attacked in unison, but the two guards at the door rolled their eyes secretly, and said with disdain: "A bunch of shameless old people, don't think that the generator was originally owned by the Marquis of Jingyang, and they gave you three years of use for nothing. Why can't you go back?"

It's a pity that the two guards are just ordinary Jinwu guards, who are not only low-ranking but also mild-mannered, unable to argue with the ministers at all.

At this moment, I heard faint footsteps coming from behind the court, and I heard a eunuch shouting loudly: "Your Majesty is here, the morning will start..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Shimin's figure appeared from the back of the hall. The emperor walked all the way to the throne, his eyes slowly swept across the hall, and then his brows were slightly wrinkled, and he subconsciously raised his hand to cover his nose.

The smoky smoldering fire and the smell were overwhelming. The ministers who were watching carefully below brightened their eyes. Seeing that the emperor was disgusted with the giant butter candle, everyone was instantly convinced.

"Marquis Jingyang, you did a good job this time, and you will look good when the court opens..."

From ancient times to the present, in any dynasty or generation, the emperor had to speak first in the previous dynasty. If the emperor did not speak, the ministers had to hold back even if they had farts.

The same is true in the Tang Dynasty. Every time in the early dynasty, the emperor had to ask the emperor aloud, and then the court proceedings could be carried out.

Li Shimin slowly put down the cuffs that covered his nose, and said with a light face: "Is there any matter in the court today?" start.

After the emperor speaks, it will be your turn next, and the ministers can play whatever they want.

"Your Majesty, the minister has a performance!" A minister jumped out from behind Li Chengqian, he secretly glanced at the prince, and then respectfully said to the emperor: "The minister wants to attend Jingyang Hou Feiyang to be domineering, to act without a father or a king, and he clearly has power generation in the northeast. Station, but still want to get the generator back, this is clearly disrespectful, I ask Your Majesty to punish him..."

Li Shimin nodded lightly, with a trace of disdain in his heart.

The emperor held the court, and all the ministers were like puppets, and they had to act along his wrist.

Why did Han Yue write to ask for a generator?

All these actions this morning were basically Li Shimin's own idea. He would use the generator as a lever to test the reaction among the ministers.

Removing the incandescent lamp is just a small matter. What Li Shimin is going to say in the court today is the real big thing.

The emperor looked at the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty and said lightly: "The generator is originally something of the Marquis of Jingyang, and it is a reasonable request for him to write a letter to ask for it. I can't refuse this matter. The emperor can't take the interests of the people. ."

The minister bowed and saluted, and retorted proudly: "Under the whole world, there is no king's land, and the coast of the land is not a king's minister. The Marquis of Jingyang is a minister under His Majesty's command, and he has the responsibility to pay tribute to treasures. This person knows how to measure things. , he knows that incandescent lamps are beneficial to the court's discussion, but he still asks for a generator, this is disrespectful, to say something ugly, this act is arrogant, and he has the intention of rebellion..."

"A heart of treason?" Li Shimin smiled lightly, and said leisurely: "In your opinion, he has a heart of treason if he wants to return the three generators. Now that he has an army of 30, how should we make a conclusion?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the court was shocked. The minister subconsciously raised his head and said in a daze, "Your Majesty, what do you mean...is..."

"What I mean is very clear. The Marquis of Jingyang has developed a strong army, with a total of 26 cavalry and [-] to [-] infantry." Li Shimin's eyes were bright, he glanced at the people in the court, and asked with deep meaning: "Everyone, what do you think of this matter?"

Chapter 322 Cut his rank and accept his soldiers

The important civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were silent for a while. The reason is very simple. The news thrown by the emperor was too scary, and it scared these big men of the court to dare not comment.

It is now the fourth year of Zhenguan, and it has been barely thirteen years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but how many soldiers and horses are there in the entire Central Plains?

Is there 100 million?

Yes, according to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, there were indeed 100 million soldiers and horses in the Tang Dynasty. This number sounds tyrannical, but it is a pity that it is not accurate enough.

The Tang Dynasty implemented the Fubing system. Soldiers gathered during wartime and stayed at home at ordinary times. At least 100 million of the 70 million army were farmers.

Now Jingyanghou himself has developed 30 soldiers, and the number alone is on par with the entire regular army of the Tang Dynasty. The most surprising thing is that 30 of Jingyanghou's 26 troops are all cavalry.

Cavalry!

In the age of cold weapons, one cavalryman could kill five infantry soldiers. Back then, when Li Shimin attacked Liu Heida in Hebei Province, he relied on [-] black armored cavalry to fight against Liu Heida's hundreds of thousands of infantry soldiers. Won.

This shows how powerful the cavalry was in the age of cold weapons.

"Why won't you talk anymore..." Li Shimin smiled and stared down, no one knew what the emperor was thinking.