Although the drilling of wells and canals this time has greatly alleviated the drought in Guanzhong, the crops in the crop fields have regained their vitality under the nourishment of the ditches.

In the eyes of the common people, this natural disaster was over, but in the eyes of the court, it was just the beginning.

All the officials came to the emperor one after another, hoping that the emperor could offer sacrifices to heaven and issue edicts to punish himself.

The reason is very good. The appearance of the solar eclipse is to warn the world that the emperor's governance is unethical.

Otherwise, there will be disasters year after year. Whether it is for the sake of the Tang Dynasty or the welfare of the people of the world, please ask the emperor to accept it no matter what.

Chengqing Hall

Such a big incident happened, and Li Shimin had to end his recuperation in Cuiwei Palace and return to Chang'an. Looking at the memorials piled on the case, Li Shimin sat there with a gloomy face and said nothing.

The little fat Li Tai has been kneeling there for more than an hour. It can be seen from his trembling legs that he can no longer hold on. The sweat has soaked his collar and back, but he still doesn't move.

Dare to move.

Li Chengqian knew that he loved to be clean. Normally, he would have taken a bath in the fragrant soup, but today was different. The little fat man had caused a lot of trouble.

He was in charge of the preparations for the imperial examination this time, and his teacher Xiao Yu was the examiner. Those who wanted their children to become officials had been fawning over him recently.

Drinking too much wine is bound to make a mistake. At a banquet, Li Tai said subtly and subtly that the emperor had had enough patience with the aristocratic family. This big exam was to select a large number of talents to replace these unsightly guys.

This goes on year after year, and within a few years all the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government who come from aristocratic families will be replaced.

His words have stirred up a hornet's nest. If he wants to replace them all, then your Li family doesn't want to be around anymore. You don't have to think carefully about whether you have such good teeth.

The emperor had done this for hundreds of years, but Yang Guang thought about using Goguryeo's war to consume them. What would be the consequences? He should be reimbursed.

The conflict between the imperial power and the aristocratic family has been mutually victorious for hundreds of years. This was originally a tacit understanding, but now it was decided and Li Tai exposed it directly.

Taking advantage of the warning from heaven propagated by the monks and Taoists, they took the opportunity to launch an attack and gave the emperor a look, so that Li Shimin and Li Yuan could retreat.

Of course, these days seem to make the people and officials who originally believed in immortals and gods more convinced. Otherwise, why would there be famines year after year? It was either a locust plague or a drought, so there were riots.

"Father, my fourth brother has been kneeling for so long, please get up and move around."

Li Chengqian couldn't stand it. He and Li Tai had a tacit understanding. Just take what happened in Luoyang last time. Didn't Li Tai also help him?

Li Chengqian didn't say it was okay, but Li Shimin became even more angry when he heard his plea. He did a good job in digging wells to fight drought in Guanzhong, but he also caused trouble.

Those princes and princesses came to him and cried and made trouble, which made Li Shimin feel miserable during his summer vacation this year.

"You are begging for mercy. Don't think that I don't know that some of these courtiers who are making noises are also fighting for food for you. Tell me how to deal with this matter."

Li Shimin put down the tea cup in his hand and scolded Li Chengqian.

"It's okay to worship the sky. Anyway, now that the wells and canals have been repaired, it doesn't matter when it rains.

It's good if you can agree to ask for rain. If you have to issue an edict to sin yourself, that would be shameless. It's not you who caused this natural disaster.

Whatever the monks and Taoists say is what they say. Their ears hear what the so-called gods say. It's okay if you want. Let the ministers who believe in gods and monsters invite the gods. As long as they can invite them, let alone one, ten articles.

Everything is fine.”

Li Chengqian is just acting rogue, which is very similar to Cheng Zhijie's style of doing things. But he is right. If you can't be invited, then keep your mouth shut. There is a limit to your patience. Aren't you afraid of losing your head if you force me like this?

?

"The war on the frontline is tense right now. The main focus of the imperial court is to focus on fighting the war and letting them be proud for a while. After we finish collecting the profits, who can carry out the reforms with the power of victory and big swords and axes?"

Li Chengqian's words touched on his vital point. Why did Yang Guang fail that year? These people held back a big factor. Once a war breaks out in the north, the stability of the domestic situation must be ensured. If the war on the front lines remains stalemate and chaos breaks out in the country, then

Yang Guang drew lessons from his own mistakes.

Well, Li Shimin nodded, but with Li Tai's incident, this big exam is bound to become another exciting confrontation between the scholars and common people, which he does not want to see.

"It's okay to pray for rain, but you also know that their real purpose is not here. I don't want to cause any more trouble in the examination room."

"Father, can my fourth brother get up?"

Seeing how rogue he was, Li Shimin didn't know how to say good things to his son, so he immediately waved his hand and asked Li Tai to get up.

Li Chengqian stepped forward and helped Li Tai up, then turned around and said: "Double the number of Jinshi scholars, and divide these students into two groups according to their status. If we separate them, nothing will happen."

Li Chengqian should pay attention to this. Students from noble families will be ranked on one list, and students from poor families will be ranked on another list. No one can interfere with anyone else. If you fail to pass the exam, it will be a problem of your own level. No one can say anything at that time.

"Did you hear that? Your elder brother has given you a good idea, why don't you go ahead and do it. In addition, you have to run the newly built Lixian Hall well. If you make any mistakes, I will skin you."

Yes, yes, Li Tai gave Li Chengqian a look and withdrew.

Chang'an's circular mound has four floors, all made of earth, about eight meters high, the bottom floor is about 54 meters in diameter, the second floor is about 40 meters in diameter, the third floor is about 29 meters in diameter, and the fourth floor is about 29 meters in diameter.

The first floor (that is, the top floor) is about twenty meters.

The height of each floor ranges from one meter to two meters, and a small depression can be seen at the center of the top floor.

There are twelve steps in the west circle mound (twelve steps to climb up the circle mound), which divide the whole altar into twelve fan shapes, which means "twelve stars".

That is, Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, etc., alluding to the twelve directions in the sky, among which "Wubi" in the south direction is the widest and longest, and is the staircase for the emperor to ascend to the altar.

The emperors of the past dynasties attached great importance to worshiping the heaven, so they came to the Temple of Heaven every year. The day to worship the heaven must be chosen well. "Winter Solstice" is the day with the shortest daytime, and it also means "the three Yangs bring prosperity".

The winter solstice every year is the country's grand day of worship, and the emperor must personally complete this arduous and sacred task.

But the situation this year is different. If it were in the past, Li Shimin, a very vain man, would happily take the ministers on a one-day trip.

Before dawn, the eunuchs and maids were busy around him, which made Li Shimin even more angry when he was already getting out of bed. It took three eunuchs beating him in succession to make him feel better.

better.

The ceremonial officer of the Ministry of Rites had already arranged a series of tedious preparations. Li Shimin didn't even look at the preparations of the ceremonial officers, got in the car and left.

Seeing that the emperor was not very interested, the officials of the Ministry of Rites naturally did not ask for trouble and followed the convoy from the palace in the north of Chang'an City to the Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs.

The emperor's trip was grand and spectacular. A large group of people walked south along Zhuque Street and out of Mingde Gate, then turned east and arrived at the Temple of Heaven. The journey was not short at all. The emperor's carriage and horses probably took

It takes two hours to walk to get there.

When the drummers, ministers, and all relevant personnel were in place, the ceremony of worshiping the heaven officially began.

Li Shimin stood alone on the top of the circular hill, with a broad field of vision, looking up to the sky like a canopy. With the Temple of Heaven as the center, Chang'an City and the fertile fields of Guanzhong were right in front of his eyes, and he stood here, offering sacrifices to heaven and praying for rain for the country's prosperity.

In front of him is the tablet of "Haotian God". Li Shimin is holding a jade in his hand to offer to heaven. At this moment, officials from the Ministry of Etiquette are standing on every step of the Temple of Heaven, offering sacrifices to the twenty-eight constellations corresponding to their positions.

, there should be three circular low walls outside the Temple of Heaven, surrounding the Temple of Heaven layer by layer.

Therefore, Li Shimin followed the instructions of the Minister of Ceremonies to enter the altar, offer gifts, leave the altar, and enter the altar again... This went through a complicated process of offering sacrifices to heaven.

Subsequently, the sacrifices, jade, silk and other sacrifices presented to Haotian will be burned in the burning altar in the southeast of the Temple of Heaven. The fireworks will rise to the sky, allowing the Emperor of Heaven and the gods to smell the scent and enjoy the sacrifices.

On the way back, Li Chengqian was called to the banquet. Looking at the emperor's face, Li Chengqian could squirm. He picked up the pier and sat at Li Shimin's feet without saying a word.

After a while, Li Shimin, who finally came out of his thoughts, glanced at Li Chengqian, grabbed the tea on the coffee table and drank it all in one gulp, as if he was predicting and stopping.

"Father, whatever your will is, you will do it."

Li Chengqian, who had been father and son with him for several years, certainly knew that there must be something bad about the emperor's expression.

After a while...

"Cheng Qian, you also know the current situation in the court. There is no room for failure in the Northern Expedition. I want you to serve as the supervisor and accompany Li Jing on the expedition. This is a battle of national destiny and cannot be taken lightly, so I still want you to go to the battlefield before leaving.

It happened once."

Hey, what do you think it is? It's just that we go with the army. Even if you don't say anything, we have to go.

He understood what Li Shimin meant, and he was not at ease asking him to hand over all of Tang Dynasty's wealth to Li Jing. After all, Li Jing did not come from the Prince of Qin's palace, and he was just a bystander during the Xuanwu Sect.

If Li Shimin hadn't cherished his talent, the old boy would have gone to see his uncle Han Qinhu long ago, and he would have been supported by a high-ranking official and generous salary.

Li Shimin originally thought that Li Chengqian joined the army just to get over his addiction to leading troops, so that the veterans in the court would not despise him too much, but who would have thought that he would really dare to take out a knife.

Since the Battle of Tiemenguan, Li Shimin has stated more than once that he will not be allowed to go to the battlefield again. But the current situation forces him to eat his words.

"Father, even if you don't tell me, I still have to ask for your orders. Hou Junji has always said in the past how mysterious the general's use of troops is. This time, I am very lucky to be able to accompany the general and learn how to arrange troops.

"

Li Shimin patted Li Chengqian who was at his feet, and then said: "When the autumn grains are harvested, you can go out with the army."
Chapter completed!