After the Chu envoy entered the Tang Dynasty, there was no news about him.
On the other hand, on the south bank of the Tuojiang River, the Tang army mobilized its troops and appeared at various passes to reinforce city defenses and compete for the defenders.
Suddenly, the south bank of the Tuojiang River became noisy again.
After receiving the news, Su Lu already knew the answer. Regardless of whether the Tang Dynasty would send troops to rescue Chu, he knew that he would definitely not let the Han army pretend to go to Tang to rescue Chu.
In the imperial study room, Li Qing finished reviewing a memorial, stretched out, stepped off the dragon chair, and sat down next to Su Lu. He stared at his little daughter running around in the imperial study room with a lot of doting in his eyes.
"Gao Lan still doesn't dare to let us pass."
Changning next to him smiled and said:
"With our Han prince here, which country would not be afraid of our army."
Su Yun, who was teasing Su Yi next to him, snorted in his nose:
"That's not necessarily true. The Taixi people are not afraid of us. The Mali people even threatened us to return the land of Tang State, otherwise they will start a war with us."
"Even our neighbor to the east, the old witch of Dongqi, is not afraid of us. No, the cargo ship coming to Fuxiang was detained by them a few days ago."
The female officer came over and informed that it was Qian Qianyi who wanted to see him.
Li Qing frowned slightly and asked Su Lu:
"Why is Minister Qian here at this time?"
Su Lu shook his head:
"You can just ask him later. I can't guess."
Li Qing's eyes lit up, a hint of narrowing appeared on his cheeks, and he said with a smile:
"Su Yun just said that the old witch's men seized the Han Dynasty's cargo ship. If nothing else happens, someone must have begged my Qian Shangshu."
After a while, Shangshu Qian came in, saluted Su Lu and Li Qing, and was given a seat.
Li Qing asked with a smile:
"Qian Shangshu, why did you come to see me in such a hurry?"
"Didn't I already say everything that needs to be said in this morning's meeting?"
Qian Qianyi stood up and bowed to Li Qing with a respectful attitude.
"This matter was a sudden thought of an old minister, so I came here to see His Majesty and the Prince. I have disturbed Your Majesty and the Prince. I hope that Your Majesty will atone for his sins."
Li Qing's face turned cold when he heard this, and he deliberately lowered his voice and said:
"Why, did you, Qian Qianyi, accept another gift from someone and come here to be a lobbyist?"
A look of astonishment flashed across Qian Qianyi's face, and after a long while, he said doubtfully:
"I am stupid. I really don't dare to accept gifts from anyone these days."
A trace of doubt flashed in Li Qing's eyes. He slapped the handrail with his bare hand and said angrily:
"What a group of businessmen, using my old ministers, but they don't even give them any money. What kind of crime should they do?"
Qian Qianyi looked confused and immediately recalled the matter he wanted to report from head to toe. There was no possibility of being instigated by others. Why did Your Majesty act like I had been deceived and came to beg for help on someone else's behalf.
Su Lu waved his hand, motioning to Qian Qianyi and said:
"Okay, old Qian, tell me your story. Don't let your Majesty make random guesses."
A look of confusion flashed across Qian Qianyi's face, but he still spoke:
"Back to Your Majesty, back to Your Majesty, after I went to court today, I went to the Capital University to teach. After class, while talking with my classmates on the grass, I saw birds in the sky."
"A few students have mentioned that they want to serve the imperial court and want to join the army. However, if they join the army, they will inevitably be looked down upon by their families and relatives. Therefore, they asked me if there is any way for them to serve the imperial court while also being able to serve in the army.
Don’t be looked down upon by your family, relatives and friends.”
Li Qing heard this and said:
"Ten years of hard work, but in the end they end up working as a top soldier. Their families look down upon them, so what's there to say?"
"These students don't want to study hard and take the imperial examination so that they can serve the court and support their parents. Instead, they want to be soldiers. They are really overqualified and underqualified."
Qian Qianyi's old face suddenly turned red from holding back, and he couldn't say the next words. After being scolded by Li Qing for a long time, he turned his eyes to Su Lu, with a hopeful look on his face.
Su Lu smiled:
"Master Qian has some ideas. Your Majesty, please listen to them. You cannot discuss them one by one. Besides, why can't students from the Capital University be admitted to the military academy and serve the imperial court?"
"The imperial examination is to serve the imperial court, join the army, conquer the world for the imperial court, and expand the territory, it is also to serve the imperial court."
"It is better to follow the example of the imperial examination and establish a martial arts department to select military talents who are proficient in martial arts and familiar with strategy to provide talents for the Ministry of War and the General Staff Office."
Qian Qianyi next to him slapped his thigh and said excitedly under Li Qing's astonished eyes:
"Your Majesty said well, this is what I think. There is an imperial examination for the selection of civil servants. Although there is a martial arts hall for the selection of generals, not everyone can enter the martial arts hall due to their family background and limited growth. We might as well open a martial arts department, such as
The imperial examination is generally used to select talents for the imperial court."
Li Qing was thoughtful.
Su Lu gave Qian Qianyi a thumbs up and praised him for his thorough consideration.
A young eunuch hurried into the royal study and reported:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Wangjiang has sent an urgent report from eight hundred miles away."
With that said, the little eunuch handed over an express report.
Changning took the express report, checked it carefully, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, presented it to Su Lu.
Su Lu glanced at the express, narrowed his eyes, and handed the express to Li Qing, with an ugly expression on his face:
"This old witch from Dongqi is really good at making monsters."
Li Qing read the express report, and his face also turned ugly:
"Kill our merchants and destroy our warships. Dong Qi is going to start a war with Han."
Qian Qianyi looked confused and looked at the two of them, wondering what kind of evil thing Dong Qi had done.
Li Qing handed the express report to Qian Qianyi and said in a deep voice:
"The Laifuxiang cargo ship was detained. The Wangjiang navy sent a grasshopper boat to negotiate. The Yingte people signed an armistice agreement with us. I thought there would be no trouble, but I didn't expect something happened again."
"Kill my merchants, destroy my cargo ships, seize my warships, and hang the heads of my navy generals on the masts for public display. This old witch's generals are so brave."
Su Lu stood up, walked to the imperial cabinet, picked up a booklet, opened it and read it.
"I asked what's going on. When did Zhao Shuo take the courage to challenge the Han Kingdom? It turns out he's not Zhao Shuo. The Commander-in-Chief of the Harbor City has recently been replaced. Our old acquaintance, Zhao Shuo,
Chang."
Li Qing said coldly:
"I don't care whether he is Zhao Chang or Zhao Shuo. Since he dares to kill my navy soldiers, then I will make him look good. Duan Xiu is a brave general who had a banquet in my Wuying Palace. Since he died in the hands of Zhao Chang, then he
Zhao Chang will come and be buried with you."
"To convey my order, immediately prepare a letter of state and send it to the old witch of Qi State. Tell him that the general of Qi State has no right to kill our general of Han State. He must hand him over within three days, otherwise I will pacify his harbor.
city."
Qian Qianyi persuaded him and said:
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid three days are not enough. It will take three days until the letter is delivered to the capital of Qi."
Li Qing's face was cold and arrogant, and his tone was stern.
"What I want is that there is not enough time, otherwise how can I attack Qi, spread my will, and watch the Jiang Jiang navy gather. Within one month, I must conquer the seaport and avenge General Duan Xiu."
Su Lu pinched his chin and suddenly said:
"In this case, it would be better to destroy the Qi State and expel the Yingte people completely."
Qian Qianyi looked worried. Those were Yingte people, Yingte people with powerful crossbows. If they really fought, something big would happen.
