Chapter 352 The General Takes This Path
Of course, chess cannot be given away for free, so the grandfather and grandson set up their chariots, horses, and cannons, and got ready for a fight on the chessboard.

Even though Li Xiang had played chess before, this game still requires a lot of talent.

After losing four games in a row, Li Xiaoxiang entered into a state of confusion again.

“Don’t play anymore, Xiang’er, let’s draw.” Li Shimin crossed his legs and kept fiddling with two chess pieces in his hands. The chess pieces made crisp sounds when they hit each other.

“No!” Li Xiang pushed the car forward, moving the car from nine to four.

“General.” Li Shimin jumped his horse, and Li Xiang’s old general had nowhere to go and could retreat.

“I don’t want to play anymore.” Li Xiang slashed the chess piece, “It’s boring. Playing chess is really boring.”

Li Shimin laughed: “You kid, even though I gave you the chess face, you insist on listening to ‘check’. Are you addicted?”

Li Xiang looked at Aong with frustration and chose to remain silent.

He has always been very good at judging the odds. He knows that he is a hopeless chess loser, so he doesn’t want to win back.

That is to say, if you can’t even play chess better than Pei Xueqing, how can you expect to compete with his grandfather?

“Forget it, you are just a lousy chess player. I’ll go find Fu Ji and the others.” Li Shimin waved his hands in boredom, “Go play.”

After being ruthlessly rejected and driven away by Old Li, Li Xiang felt that there was no point in staying there and went all the way back to the East Palace.

Since it was lunch time, the officials of the Eastern Palace were not busy in the Wude Hall. Instead, they had the leisure to drink tea and look at the flowers.

Some people feel sleepy and take a nap on the table to relieve their fatigue.

“Your Highness?” Di Renjie noticed Li Xiang strolling over and was the first to greet him.

“Everyone stand up.” Li Xiang motioned for everyone to stand up, then leaned over and asked with a smile, “Hey, are Chouniu and Huaiying playing chess?”

“Yes, playing chess.” Cheng Chubi replied with a smile.

“Can you beat Huaiying?” Li Xiang looked at Cheng Chubi suspiciously. How can a weak and frail Cheng like you compete with Di Renjie?
Unexpectedly, Di Renjie stroked his beard and smiled, “Your Highness, don’t underestimate me. General Cheng is quite talented in playing chess. Even if I want to beat him, I have to work very hard to win.”

“Really?” Li Xiang looked at Cheng Chubi in surprise, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: “Then you didn’t play chess with Duke Lu at home? But I heard that he likes to walk around the streets with a chessboard to find people to play chess with.”

“I can’t beat him.” Cheng Chubi said concisely.

Li Xiang’s body trembled: “Could it be that Duke Lu is also a chess expert?”

“He’s a master.” Cheng Chubi pouted and said, “He’s a bad chess player. His level is not that good, but he still likes to play chess…”

Li Xiang immediately became interested. This must be some great trick. He must ask Duke Lu for advice…

“Then how come you can still win? Do you have some special skills?” he asked with interest.

“What other special tricks can he have?” Cheng Chubi held his head and sighed, “Every time my father was about to be defeated by me, he would pick up the chessboard and point it at me to make me admit defeat. Tell me… who would be willing to play against him?”

Li Xiang: …

Good man, you…

Well, that’s true, he has inherited the true skills of the Han chess master.

You, Mr. Cheng, should have your genome sequenced. Maybe your last name should be Liu.

But Li Xiaoxiang couldn’t learn this trick. He couldn’t threaten his grandfather by holding a chessboard, right?

Wouldn’t that be the opposite of Tiangang?

Besides, he doesn’t have the nerve to do such things as eating raw winter melon or splitting a toad alive.

Di Renjie had not expected this to be the outcome. He stroked his beard and said in astonishment after a long while: “Duke Lu… is such a wonderful person!”

Look at Di Renjie, he really deserves to be called a national elder who can become a famous detective in later generations. He speaks with great level.

“What a wonderful person.” Cheng Chubi said with a smile: “He is just an old rogue——”

Li Xiang knew that Cheng Chubi was telling the truth, but the truth cannot be spoken casually.

But then again, this is no secret. Everyone in the court knows about Cheng Yaojin’s unruly character.

Unable to beat his son in chess, he started threatening him with violence. This is really in line with Lao Cheng’s character.

“Your Highness, do you have anything to add about the war in the southwest?” Di Renjie asked.

“No, we just need to have sufficient logistics.” Li Xiang replied, “Leave the rest to Li Qinling and Xue Rengui. This time, Li Qinling is carrying a blood feud. As the saying goes, the army of grief will win. I believe that the two of them can achieve great things and at least repel all the Tibetans who invaded Tuyuhun.”

“I really didn’t expect that Tubo would dare to touch the tiger’s whiskers of the Tang Dynasty at this critical juncture.” Di Renjie said, shaking his head.

Li Xiang said, “Mangsong Mangtsen was born in the deep palace and raised by women. In the whole Tubo, only Lu Dongzan understood the real strength of the Tang Dynasty. Now that Lu Dongzan is dead, the people he promoted have also been purged by Mangsong Mangtsen. The entire Tubo court has become his puppet. Naturally, no matter what he wants to do, his subordinates will try their best to facilitate it. For example, if he wants to attack the Tang Dynasty, his subordinates will claim that the Tang Dynasty only looks strong, but is actually a shaky house, and he can kick it from the outside…”

“Will it collapse suddenly?” Cheng Chubi asked.

“No, a group of burly men will rush out and beat him up.” Li Xiang said with a smile.

“If that’s the case, I can understand it.” Di Renjie nodded in agreement. “Lu Dongzan, the only one in Tubo who dared to speak the truth and could speak the truth, is dead. It seems that Mangsong Mangzan has been completely deceived by his subordinates and cannot see the real gap between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty. That’s why he dared to try to stop a chariot with a mantis arm and shake a tree with an ant. He really overestimates his own abilities and is extremely ridiculous!”

“Originally I was worried. What if Tubo continued to prosper under the leadership of Lu Dongzan?” Li Xiang said with his hands spread out. “But who knows? He suddenly abandoned his martial arts and destroyed the Great Wall.”

I mean, who knew he would suddenly turn the knife around and stab his own stomach three times. I had no idea what to do.

“So what Your Highness said is particularly reasonable.” Cheng Chubi suddenly said.

Now that he was in the East Palace, he had to weigh plants when he was working, and Cheng Chubi knew this very well.

The children of Old Cheng’s family have very high emotional intelligence.

“What?” Li Xiang raised his eyebrows.

“A person’s destiny depends on his own efforts, but it also depends on the course of history.” Cheng Chubi laughed.

“Haha.” Li Xiang just smiled and didn’t say much.

He was not being modest, he really did not expect that such a vicious incident would suddenly occur in Tubo.

But it is understandable. There are inspectors in Tubo who are colluding with them. In addition, Lu Dongzan’s son Li Qinling is in the Tang Dynasty. Mangsong Mangzan is young and energetic. After hearing a few slanderous words, he will naturally begin to doubt Lu Dongzan’s loyalty.

It can be said to be accidental, but it is definitely inevitable. Now in the surrounding areas of the Tang Dynasty, the only major threat left is Tubo.

The reason why we cannot say that is because the gap in national strength between the two sides meant that Tubo was unable to cause any serious damage to the Tang Dynasty.

The reason why they were considered a major threat was because of their geographical conditions, which determined that it was difficult for the Tang Dynasty to attack upwards, but it was easier for them to attack downwards.

The next morning, before Li Xiang got up, he heard someone calling him outside.

“What are you doing so early?” Li Xiang rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“Hurry up and take a look, Xiang’er.” Pei Xueqing said gently, “What if it’s something urgent?”

“Even if it’s an urgent matter, we should go to Daming Palace to find Aye.” Li Xiang muttered, stood up and let Pei Xueqing help him put on his clothes.

In fact, the task of dressing is usually done by the maid, but the couple has a sweet relationship. Every time Li Xiang stays overnight in Pei Xueqing’s palace, she will not let others change Li Xiang’s clothes, but will help the little Xiang change his clothes herself.

He put on his shoes and went outside.

“Your Highness.” Fu Bao stepped forward and said, “News came from Xian De Hall that the steam-sailing ship being researched by the Academy of Sciences has made some progress!”

Li Xiang immediately became alert.

“Really?”

“Yes, Di Zhanshi is waiting for you in Xiande Hall.” Fubao said in a low voice.

Fubao’s original surname was Du. Li Xiang, based on the principle that the position of general manager would fall on him in the future, restored his original surname and gave him the name Zhong.

But usually, he still prefers to call him Fubao.

Fubao was naturally overjoyed. It was his blessing that His Highness did not hold grudges against him.

“Okay, I’ll go right away.” Li Xiang took big steps and left Yi Qiu Palace.

“Your Highness, Your Highness, please prepare the sedan chair–” Fubao asked loudly.

“No need, I can’t wait!” said Li Xiang.

When they arrived at the Xiande Hall, Di Renjie came up to greet them and said to Li Xiang, “Your Highness, the Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a steam-powered sailing ship, which has passed their quality inspection.”

“Let me see the data.” Li Xiang stretched out his hand.

Di Renjie immediately handed over the relevant test data. Li Xiang looked through it carefully and nodded happily.

“Well, this is a big step for the Tang Dynasty!” He said excitedly, “How about I said it’s totally feasible to install the propeller behind the ship? They didn’t believe me, but now it proves that I was right, right?”

This was pointed out by Li Xiang when he showed the design sketch to him. The Academy of Sciences originally intended to install the power system on both sides, but Li Xiang insisted that they change it to a rear-mounted power system.

After all, this has been tested by history. Li Xiang stands on the shoulders of giants, and pointing out the general direction can help them avoid many detours.

“Yes.” Di Renjie bowed and said, “Your Highness has a talent that is all-powerful. I admire you.”

“You Di Huaiying.” Li Xiang pointed at him and smiled.

“This is what I really think,” Di Renjie said with a smile, “The Academy of Sciences also built a smaller ship, but the power system is placed on the sides. Whether it is speed or stability of the ship, it is not as good as putting it at the back.”

“I’m talking about these stubborn guys.” Li Xiang shook his head helplessly: “I’ve already told them to do what I want, but they won’t turn back until they hit the wall. Isn’t that good now?”

“Your Highness, calm down.” Di Renjie quickly tried to make amends for the Academy of Sciences, “I think the Academy of Sciences is also striving to achieve what Your Highness said, that practice leads to true knowledge.”

“That’s enough. I’m not angry.” Li Xiang waved his hand. “Having a questioning spirit is a quality that scientists should have. If they didn’t question my spirit, I wouldn’t believe in their abilities.”

“Your Highness is open-minded, and it is I who am stupid.” Di Renjie bowed.

Li Xiang actually felt quite comfortable getting along with Di Renjie.

This kid knows when to give compliments, when to give advice, and when to correct things in a tactful and roundabout way.

This is emotional intelligence, and this is something that needs to be mastered.

After several tests, from lakes to sea, and even a trip from Dengzhou to Japan, after confirming the stability and reliability of the ship, steamships officially began to be equipped in the Tang army.

In the early days of the establishment of the Academy of Sciences, Li Xiang repeatedly emphasized the need to carry out standardized operations.

Although it is not easy to achieve standardization in this era, at least the output of the Academy of Sciences and the Dengzhou Shipyard have always adopted standardized operating methods.

With the experience of steamships, the Academy of Sciences once again set its sights on further research on steam locomotives.

This is not a small project, and the Academy of Sciences is ready to fight a protracted battle.

By the end of the fifth year of Yonghui, steamships had completely transformed the Dengzhou Navy.

The ships of the Tang Dynasty Navy are now not only powerful, but their tonnage has also made great progress.

After loading a large amount of cargo, the Tang Dynasty’s steam-powered ship set sail from Dengzhou Port and headed for Yindian.

On the one hand, the plan was to carry out trade supplies, and on the other hand, to test how long it would take for a steam-powered ship to travel from the Tang Dynasty to Yindian.

The departing fleet was led by Changsun Quan. Changsun Chong, who loved his younger brother, specially bought a lot of canned food for him from the Chamber of Commerce, for fear that Changsun Quan would suffer from hunger on the ship.

After hearing about the existence of sepsis during the voyage, the frightened Chang Sun Chong almost monopolized all the citrus fruits in Dengzhou and sent them to the ship for Chang Sun Quan to eat.

This caused the price of citrus fruits to soar in Dengzhou. Originally, one pound of citrus fruits cost six cents, but now it can’t be bought for even sixty cents.

After all, there is a big buyer like Chang Sun Chong who has been buying citrus fruits, which has caused the phenomenon of “expensive tangerines in Dengzhou”.

The newspapers also reported this incident in detail. For a while, “Dengzhou Oranges Are Expensive” became a good story. After all, this was a manifestation of an elder brother’s deep love for his younger brother.

Far away in Tuyuhun, the war was also reaching a fever pitch.

The army of Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty helped Tuyuhun resist Tubo.

Pei Xingjian led his troops to three victories in Tuyuhun battles, and at least 100,000 Tubo soldiers died in Tuyuhun territory.

Li Qinling, who was familiar with the roads in Tubo, took Xue Rengui and rushed all the way through Tubo, heading straight for Lhasa City.

The generals who destroyed Shu Han took this path, but Li Qinling took the path all the way to the capital.

(End of this chapter)