Ang Lee was both intelligent and brave. He was a rare talent in a hundred years. Li Longji trusted Ang Lee to handle the situation in Dongnu Province. It was not only because he trusted Ang Lee, but also because it was a training for Ang Lee. If the Tang Empire wanted to stand tall and never fall, it needed the continuous efforts of generations of talents. It needed talents even more to expand the territory.
Li Longji was an emperor with a great sense of achievement. He led a group of officials and opened the Kaiyuan Age, allowing the Tang Empire to enter its heyday. Although he was now old, his ambition had not diminished. In his lifetime, he still hoped to further expand the territory of the Tang Empire.
In fact, the spirit of pioneering and enterprising had begun from the moment the Tang Dynasty was founded. Since Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's great defeat, the Tang Empire had been in the stage of expansion. It had taken over large areas of the northeast, the north, and the northwest, established a large number of protectorates, and incorporated the surrounding minority governments into the Tang Empire.
There was no end to human greed. As the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji's need to expand the territory naturally had no end. He had very well inherited the pioneering spirit of his ancestors, constantly expanding the territory. Moreover, he had indirectly encouraged the generals at the border to provoke the surrounding powers by attaching great importance to military achievements. This had led to the constant friction between the Tang Dynasty and the surrounding powers.
War needed soldiers, but it also needed talents. The Tang Dynasty had a vast territory and abundant resources. It had a large population, so there would never be a shortage of soldiers. However, high-quality talents were not so easy to obtain. Therefore, Li Longji must have attached great importance to talents.
When Wang Zhongsi was young, he had led 300 light cavalry to raid Tubo and killed thousands of enemies. He had also forced Tubo's Tsangpu to flee in panic. After that, he had repeatedly made contributions. Therefore, Li Longji did not hesitate to promote Wang Zhongsi and let him sit on the high position of Shuofang Jiedushi step by step.
Now, Ang Lee had suddenly emerged from Yingzhou. His ability and courage were too similar to Wang Zhongsi's more than 10 years ago. If he was trained well, the Tang Dynasty would have another famous general. In this way, Li Longji would have more confidence to expand the Tang Dynasty and leave more industries for future generations.
Ang Lee had met the Crown Prince, which made Li Longji have some doubts in his heart. However, the Crown Prince had always been under his control. He was not worried that Ang Lee's growth would threaten his throne. In addition, it was not necessarily a bad thing that Ang Lee was familiar with the Crown Prince. Sooner or later, his country would be handed over to the Crown Prince. In the future, if there was a talent like Ang Lee to assist the Crown Prince, he believed that the Tang Empire would be even more powerful.
As a qualified emperor, Li Longji not only had to think about how to expand the Tang Dynasty while he was alive, but he also had to think about whether his son would be able to control the Tang Dynasty once he passed away. He also had to think about whether his son would be able to deal with the provocations of the surrounding regimes once he passed away.
Li Longji not only had to guard against the Crown Prince from having the strength to threaten his throne, but he also had to ensure that the Crown Prince could stabilize the Tang Dynasty once he succeeded the throne. Such contradictory requirements were difficult for this great emperor.
###
The Yuanri Court was very lively. However, Ang Lee did not have much interest in it. Taking advantage of the fact that Yan Ruyu was attending the court, he went to his residence. He used the excuse of learning the Tufan language to stay with Yan Ruyu for the whole morning.
Although Ang Lee's learning aptitude was very good, with such a beautiful girl like Yan Ruyu by his side, he did not have much interest in learning. Moreover, if he learned everything, he would not have the chance to ask for advice in the future.
Ang Lee stared at Yan Ruyu's fair and tender face and sighed in his heart at the miraculous nature of God's creation. The corner of his mouth unconsciously revealed a faint smile.
At this moment, Ang Lee's biggest wish was to be able to quietly look at Yan Ruyu like this, admiring her charming face and impeccable figure.
"Don't worry, these Tufan words are very simple. You will be able to remember them after writing them a few times. Come, start writing."
Yan Ruyu was like a very responsible teacher, earnestly teaching Ang Lee the Tufan language.
Ang Lee did not take the brush and directly grabbed Yan Ruyu's entire right hand, scaring Yan Ruyu so much that she trembled.
"Ruyu, this Tufan language is too difficult to write. Why don't you write with my hand? That way, you will be able to learn faster."
Ang Lee's lips curled into a smile. He leaned close to Yan Ruyu's ear and shamelessly made his request.
Although Yan Ruyu was only sixteen years old and her mind was still very immature, she could still feel Ang Lee's bad intentions. However, in her heart, Ang Lee was a great hero and someone she admired greatly. Therefore, even though she knew that Ang Lee wanted to take advantage of her, she was not angry at all. In fact, she even felt a trace of joy. After all, if she was not beautiful enough, Ang Lee would not be so close to her.
At the age of sixteen, it was the age where one's heart was budding. The feeling that Yan Ruyu had when she saw Ang Lee was the same as the feeling that Ang Lee had when he saw Yan Ruyu. If it were not for her sincere admiration and desire to be close to him, Yan Ruyu would not have agreed to personally teach Ang Lee the Tufan language.
Yan Ruyu glanced at Ang Lee and smiled. "Don't worry, these words are very simple. I will only teach you once. If you can't learn it, I will draw a tortoise on your face."
Her gentle and charming smile carried a trace of mischievous threat, causing Ang Lee's heart to sway back and forth. How could he still be in the mood to learn how to write?
"Don't worry, you only have one chance. You have to learn it well."
Yan Ruyu smiled. She held Ang Lee's hand and wrote the Tufan language stroke by stroke on the white paper. From time to time, she would remind him of the important points.
However, Li An's nose was filled with the fragrance of Yan Ruyu's body, and the smooth and comfortable feeling that came from the back of his hand. This made him not in the mood to learn how to write at all. At this moment, his pair of eyes stared straight at Yan Ruyu's snow-white neck, and peered down along her neck.
"Don't worry, have you learned it?"
Yan Ruyu tilted her head and looked at Ang Lee. However, she was shocked to find that Ang Lee's eyes were staring at her neck. Her face flushed red instantly.
Ang Lee also felt that he was being rude. He quickly looked away and said naively, "Ruyu, have you finished teaching?"
Yan Ruyu rolled her eyes at Ang Lee. "I've finished teaching. Don't worry, it's your turn to write." After saying that, she pulled her hand out and let Ang Lee write by himself.
Ang Lee did not learn at all, nor did he remember the important points. After picking up the brush, he could only follow the example and write these few Tufan words.
"Ruyu, am I right?"
Yan Ruyu shook her head gently and smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, I taught you so seriously, but you didn't learn it well. How should I punish you?"
Ang Lee replied reflexively, "Ruyu, didn't you just say that if I can't learn it, you will draw a tortoise on my face?
”
Don't worry, you said it yourself. Sit down, I'm going to draw. "
Yan Ruyu smiled. She picked up the brush and waved it in front of Ang Lee's eyes.
Ang Lee smiled gently and looked like he was willing to be punished.
"Don't worry, I'm really going to draw."
Yan Ruyu was just joking just now. She wanted to scare Ang Lee. However, she did not expect that Ang Lee was not afraid at all. This made her a little overwhelmed.
She was a kind girl. Naturally, she was not willing to draw a tortoise on someone's face.
"It's okay, Ruyu, you can draw."
Ang Lee looked like he did not care at all. He even looked forward to it. If a stranger drew a tortoise on his face, it would be a great shame. However, if a beautiful girl like Yan Ruyu drew it, it would be Ang Lee's honor.
"Yashuang, Alang is back."
Yan Ruyu had just drawn a Xiao Wang eight on Ang Lee's forehead when the maid Cao hurried over to remind her.
Ang Lee and Yan Ruyu looked at each other. He got up quickly and said, "Ruyu, thank you for teaching me Tufan characters today. I'll come to learn from you another day."
"Okay, Wuyang, take care."
Yan Ruyu nodded slightly as a salute.
Ang Lee strode out of the study in the backyard and walked to the front yard to meet Yan Zhenqing.
"Yashuang, Li Xiaowei didn't learn a single character today, did he?"
"Wuyang has just learned Tufan characters. He must be slow to learn. After he gets familiar with it for a while, he will learn it much faster."
Yan Ruyu's ears were slightly red. She defended Ang Lee for not working hard.
"Yashuang, I don't think Li Xiaowei is here to learn Tufan characters. He just likes you, right?"
"Cao, if you talk nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth."
"I'll say it. I'll say it. Hahaha."
####
"Uncle, you're back. The court meeting is over."
Yan Zhenqing nodded slightly. Suddenly, he was stunned, "Wuyang, why did you go to the backyard? And why did you draw a tortoise on your forehead?"
Ang Lee's heart tightened. He hurriedly explained, "Uncle, I want to learn Tufan characters. So, I asked Ruyu to teach me. But I didn't learn well, so …"
Yan Zhenqing grinned and pointed at Ang Lee, "Well, Wuyang, why did you want to learn Tufan characters?"
Ang Lee seemed to be seen through. He was so nervous that he did not know what to say.
"Well, wipe the tortoise off your forehead. I have something important to tell you."
Ang Lee hurriedly took out a piece of white cloth and wiped off the Xiao Wang's tattoo on his forehead. He asked, "Uncle, what do you want to tell me?"
Yan Zhenqing stood up and paced. He frowned and said, "After the court meeting, I was dealing with some things in the Censorate. I was delayed for two hours. When I came back, I heard that His Majesty was going to send 500 soldiers to escort Prince Guichang back to Dongnu Province. Prince Guichang actually asked you to escort him. His Majesty readily agreed."
Ang Lee was stunned, "Is Prince Guichang Zhao Yefu?"
"Yes. During the court meeting, His Majesty officially conferred Queen Dongnu as Prince Guichang and gave her a lot of rewards. It can be seen that His Majesty values Dongnu Province very much."
Ang Lee nodded lightly, "Dongnu Province is a chess piece of the Tang dynasty to balance Tufan. Of course, His Majesty should value it. However, I'm still young. I don't know if I'm up to the task."
"Wuyang, you must have confidence in yourself. In addition, His Majesty asked the Assistant Minister of Rites, Xi Yu, to go with you. If there's anything you don't understand, you can discuss it with Assistant Minister Xi."
"Yes, Uncle."
Ang Lee responded and said, "Uncle, there must be Tufan activities in Dongnu Province. If I can understand Tufan characters, I might be able to complete the task better."
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