Chapter 83 Northern Patrol
After the King of Qi respectfully accepted the order and thanked the emperor, Li Jiancheng said to Liu Jianzhi: "Now that you are assisting the King of Qi, you should consider helping and supporting him and live up to my expectations.

After I ascended the throne, I never forgot the teachings of the princes, and posthumously awarded him the titles of Si Tu, Shang Shu Ling, Governor of ten states including Lingzhou and Binzhou, and Duke of Wei, and honored him with the highest degree.

In the future, if the King of Qi achieves great success, wealth and honor will naturally come to your family. If there are any bad things, the punishment will also be imposed on you. Remember this!"

Liu Jianzhi bowed to the emperor first and then to the King of Qi, who returned the greeting with impeccable etiquette.
Naturally, Yang Guang and Xiao Shi would not give birth to an ugly child. Yang Ling was also quite handsome, and he was well-versed in classics and history, skilled in riding and shooting, and could be considered both civil and military. Currently, the impression of him by the court and the public was quite good.

Therefore, there were many memorials requesting to directly appoint a crown prince, but the emperor still wanted to observe for a period of time, or he just did not want to have a crown prince right away.

But the King of Qi did not think so. He was the only one left now, and he was the eldest son of the Queen. The position of the Crown Prince was as stable as a rock.

So after returning to the palace, he saw that court officials came to visit him in an endless stream. The Prince of Qi's palace was crowded with people, and even relatives were vying to pay their respects, blocking the road.

The newly appointed head official of the palace, Liu Jianzhi, advised: "Your Highness, this is a critical moment. Everyone from His Majesty to the Empress and the ministers are watching you. You should close the door and study in peace."

But Yang Ling just frowned and said, "My ministers and relatives have come to congratulate me, how can I be so rude?"

Liu Jianzhi was still immersed in the big cake that Yang Guang had painted for him, and was thinking about the King of Qi, saying: "If the ministers are truly concerned about His Highness, then they will certainly understand that His Highness is being cautious now. Even if His Highness wants to congratulate others, he should not rush in one or two days."

"Your Highness..."

Listening to Liu Jianzhi's incessant chatter, King Yang of Qi couldn't help but feel disgusted. He had just taken office, but he wanted to control me in every way and had no idea what was superior and inferior.

Yang Ling left with a flick of his sleeves. The steward stopped Liu Jianzhi who wanted to catch up with him and said, "Mr. Liu, why bother disturbing His Highness's interest? I will take you to meet the officials of the palace."

……

In the third year of Daye, there were not many changes in the court on the surface, but the influence of the Guanlong nobles on the court was greatly weakened with the death of Yang Su, and the Jiangnan families, whom the emperor especially trusted, began to rise.

However, most of the military power was still in the hands of the nobles in Guanlong, and the emperor was willing to appease them, so the country was generally peaceful.

More than ten men from Hebei were sent to dig a path through Taihang Mountain to Bingzhou to open a highway.

In April, the emperor issued an edict to tour the north, intending to bring with him an army of 500,000, 100,000 war horses, as well as civil and military officials, monks, nuns, Taoists, and nuns.

When the emperor arrived at Yanmen, the governor of Yanmen offered him delicious food. But when he arrived at Mayi, the governor of Mayi, Yang Kuo, had nothing to offer. Yang Guang was very displeased and wanted to issue an imperial decree to punish him for disrespect.

Li Jiancheng had heard of the reputation of this prefect, so he went to persuade him and found some of the more famous local specialties, which finally calmed the emperor's anger.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. From then on, wherever he passed, local officials would offer food and compete with each other in offering lavishness.

Finally, the emperor stopped at Yulin County. The 500,000 accompanying guards were enough to engage in a life-and-death battle with the Turks. In order to prevent Qimin Khan from doing anything rash in panic, the emperor ordered Li Jiancheng and Zhangsun Sheng to go first.

The two led hundreds of cavalrymen to Qimin Khan. On the way, Li Jiancheng told Changsun Sheng about the recent situation. The two families were very close now, so there was no need to lie. After learning the specific number of corvée laborers in the country, Changsun Sheng couldn't help but said with some worry: "I have heard about it in the border, but I didn't expect it to be so many. I'm afraid the people can't bear it?"

Li Jiancheng nodded: "There have been many cases of officials forcing the people to rebel. As long as they were not large-scale, they were all concealed by the local authorities. But even so, there are already seven or eight cases reported to Your Majesty. I'm afraid there will be more and more in the future."

Chang Sun Sheng did not say anything, but his eyes revealed his worry about the future. It was true that the fortune left by the late emperor to the Sui Dynasty was very rich, but with Your Majesty squandering like this, no amount of it would be enough.

Before the two of them arrived, Qimin Khan had already wisely invited tribal leaders such as the Xi and Shiwei to come and listen to the will of the Great Sui Sage Khan.

The emperor forced millions of people to do corvée labor, which was naturally not a good thing in the eyes of the people in the Central Plains. However, in the eyes of the leaders of the Turkic tribes, this was really awe-inspiring. The current emperor was probably much more powerful than the previous one.

Now they heard that the emperor himself was coming here for a visit with an army of six or seven hundred thousand or seven hundred thousand men, and they were both respectful and fearful. They envied the majesty of the Sui emperor, but were also afraid that the inspection was fake and that he was really looking for a reason to destroy them.

After discussion, they decided to show their obedience and never give the Saint Khan a chance to get angry.

So Qimin Khan led all the leaders to personally welcome the envoy. After meeting him, they presented gifts and asked about the emperor's health and preferences in a corny manner.

Li Jiancheng and Changsun Sheng looked at each other and decided on their attitude towards the leaders. They both raised their heads arrogantly, and the leaders bent down more humbly when they saw this.

Surrounded by Qimin Khan and others, they returned to the yamen. In terms of enjoyment, the Turks riding winged horses were not as good as those in the Central Plains. The big tent of the Turkic Khan, the leader of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, was actually just a bigger tent.

It's just that there is carpet inside, and the tables, chairs and couches are a little more exquisite. The road outside the tent is still overgrown with weeds.

Chang Sun Sheng stopped in front of the big tent and said: "This grass smells really good."

The Xi and Shiwei leaders looked at each other in bewilderment. Isn't this grass an ordinary weed that can be found everywhere? What's so fragrant about it? It just smells like grass.

Qimin Khan was a great leader, so he was quite capable. He disregarded his dignity and knelt down to sniff the food, then raised his head and said sincerely, "Your Excellency, this doesn't seem to smell very good."

Changsun Sheng did not speak. Li Jiancheng squatted down and said to Qimin Khan with a smile, "According to the rules, when the emperor visits a place, the princes must personally sweep the imperial road and remove the weeds on the imperial road to show their respect."

"Chief Changsun thought these were the herbs that Khan had left on purpose. If they are not, please remove them."

Qimin Khan jumped up and saluted the two men, saying, "It is my fault! My flesh and blood were all given by the emperor. How dare I refuse to show my strength? It is just that the people on the border do not know the law. I have to rely on the two generals to teach me. This is the general's kindness and my fortune."

After he finished speaking, he immediately drew the sword from his waist and personally cut down the weeds around the tent. The surrounding tribal leaders saw this and said, "No wonder you became the Khan, bah!"

But they all lay down and helped pull the weeds, thanking Changsun Sheng and Li Jiancheng for their advice.

…………

　Let me report to you that the first order of 558 is within expectations.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)