"Eunuch Wang, go and get me a writing brush and some paper," Li Jingyun whispered to Wang De furtively.
"Yes."
Wang De replied.
Was the little princess up to some mischief again?
Even he thought this idea was absurd as soon as it popped up in his mind. How old was the little princess? Although she was under the protection of an immortal, the immortal had only taught her how to make cement and sweaters, which had nothing to do with the current situation.
Soon, Wang De returned with the writing brush and paper. Li Jingyun, relying on her memory, wrote down every word the system had said just now.
The words seemed jumbled and out of context at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they actually made a lot of sense.
The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony fell silent. Li Shimin, Empress Zhangsun, and all the court officials were looking at Li Jingyun.
After finishing writing, Li Jingyun put down the brush with satisfaction and looked up, only to meet her father's concerned gaze.
Only then did she notice that all the officials seemed to be looking at her!
She had been so quiet and hadn't even raised her voice. How had they all noticed her?
Chu Suiliang stepped forward to ease the awkwardness. "Princess Chengyang is only five years old now and won't start her enlightenment until next spring. How can she already read and write? The princess is truly a prodigy, picking things up quickly."
"I learned from Secretary Supervisor Wei and Minister Yan when they were printing books in the villa. They praised me like this too," Li Jingyun said proudly, her eyes almost closing with joy.
She didn't notice at all that her father and mother had picked up the paper she had just written on and read it several times.
It was a good deal for the Turks and Tubo to sell whole sheep to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang people could eat the meat, drink the milk, and make sweaters out of the wool to sell back to them.
As for the later part about the land being over - burdened, turning into barren wastelands, and causing the Turks and Tubo to fall into civil unrest or even perish, the Tang Dynasty would need to give it a push from behind.
Even if they couldn't make the land barren, as long as they could temporarily appease the two Turkic countries, this strategy would be useful.
Could this really be the idea of his little daughter?
With such a daughter, it was truly the blessing of the Tang Dynasty from the heavens!
After reading the paper, Li Shimin came to this conclusion. He looked at Empress Zhangsun, who also nodded seriously.
With just a glance at each other, they understood what the other was thinking.
"That's all for today. Everyone may disperse. We'll discuss it again in the Political Affairs Hall tomorrow," Li Shimin said, relieved, and dismissed the officials.
By now, the officials had guessed Li Shimin's thoughts. There must be some brilliant strategies on the little princess's paper that had made the emperor extremely pleased.
Was the little princess a child prodigy sent by the heavens to help the Tang Dynasty?
Li Jingyun looked down and only then noticed that her mother was holding the paper she had just written on.
"Mother?" Li Jingyun called tentatively.
Empress Zhangsun smiled. "Hongxuan, my good child, are you tired? Do you want to go back and rest?"
"I just woke up when I came out of the warm building. I'm not tired at all. Father, Mother, do you think what's written on this paper makes sense? These are the words of the immortal," Li Jingyun said, looking at her parents eagerly.
The principle wasn't hard to understand, and she got it. But could they really achieve it? Would it be that easy?
If it were really that easy, why were the officials at a loss?
Li Shimin ruffled his daughter's hair. "Of course it makes sense. Even if it doesn't, we still have to give it a try, don't we?"
"That's true."
Li Jingyun nodded. She had to focus on making sweaters. Once things were more stable, she would recruit more female workers and open more shops.
How many sweaters would they sell in the future? Definitely more than ten thousand!
Empress Zhangsun hesitated for a moment but finally said, sighing deeply at the end. "Your Majesty, Prince You went to the warm building today. Sigh. I've already punished him to copy 'Mengqiu' a hundred times and told Concubine Yin to discipline him well."
"What happened?" Li Shimin's nerves tightened again. He knew his son's temper well. Li You could do something to anger people without making a sound.
Empress Zhangsun and her daughters looked at each other, and finally Li Jingyun spoke up. "He said that Princess Xinxing and Princess Gaoyang looked like a couple, which made both sisters angry."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin almost choked on his breath.
How could such immoral words come from his son's mouth?
How had Concubine Yin been raising this son? Why had all their methods to correct him failed?
Maybe they shouldn't have let Concubine Yin raise this child in the first place.
Concubine Yin's father, Yin Shishi, was a minister of the Sui Dynasty. He had not only confronted Emperor Gaozu on the walls of Chang'an, killed Li Shimin's younger brother Li Zhiyun, but also dug up the Li family's ancestral graves.
The Li and Yin families had deep - seated enmities.
"Rebellious son, rebellious son!" Li Shimin said in great pain, looking at his two well - behaved and capable daughters and then thinking of Li You.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Raising a child takes time," Empress Zhangsun said, offering a cup of tea to soothe him.
Just as Li Shimin was drinking the tea to calm his nerves, Wang Gui returned with a memorial in hand.
"What now? What's going on this time?"
Li Shimin knew from Wang Gui's expression that it couldn't be good news.
The alliance between the Turks and Tubo and the unruly fifth son Li You had already given Li Shimin a huge headache.
"Your Majesty, please read it for yourself," Wang Gui said, handing over the memorial. Wang De then passed it to Li Shimin.
As the head of the门下省, Wang Gui had the power to review and reject memorials.
However, in history, he was in poor health and would resign from his position next year, to be replaced by Wei Zheng.
After reading the memorial, Li Shimin rubbed his temples and threw the memorial on the table. "Zhang Liang has been indulging in sorcerers and intends to rebel. Arrest him and send him to the Ministry of Justice for trial. Arrest his family members and throw them into prison. Execute them after autumn."
Normally, Li Shimin had many informants around Li Jingyun, and he would quickly know what she said and did.
But today was different. He had been busy dealing with the Turkic marriage alliance, and since Empress Zhangsun was with the daughters, he hadn't paid much attention. Who would have thought such a thing would happen?
Zhang Liang had secretly raised private soldiers and adopted five hundred sons, with the intention of rebelling. Li Shimin wasn't unaware of what he had done; he had just been patient and hadn't punished Zhang Liang.没想到 this family had become even more excessive.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I obey your order."
Wang Gui lowered his head and smiled.
Zhang Liang, you've really walked into a trap. When the emperor is already so troubled, you still send up that memorial asking for mercy? Aren't you just forcing the emperor to punish you?
Do you really think the emperor doesn't know about all your dirty deeds?
What are you thinking? The emperor is as clear - eyed as they come. What doesn't he know?
"Intend to rebel?!" Li Jingyun was shocked. This was the most serious crime she had ever heard of, and she never thought it would happen to a minister she hardly had any impression of.
Li Shimin nodded. "He had several sorcerers. One of them said that he, with the surname Zhang, would be the lord of a different capital. That's when he gradually developed rebellious thoughts. I've heard about this too."