Times create heroes

  Hot pot is indeed suitable for winter consumption, it's very comfortable to eat, and it's hot and warm, after eating, the whole body feels warm and cozy. Eating in summer is also great, while eating hot pot, if you can drink a mouthful of ice-cold beer, that's even more comfortable!

  Unfortunately, there is no beer now.

  " Erlang, this hot pot is really suitable for winter days. Eating it makes my whole body warm and it's delicious!" Empress Changsun elegantly ate a piece of beef, chewed slowly, and then showed a satisfied smile: "Erlang, how did you come up with this new idea? Chengqian, Changle, don't eat so fast!"

  Li Er smiled and said: "This is not something I came up with, I'm busy every day and wish I could split myself into two people, where would I have the time to do this? This was made according to the drawings sent by the Medicine Master's sect. Look, there's even a bamboo-made pipe for smoking, the smoke comes out through this pipe, so you can eat inside the house, it's warm and delicious, haha, the Medicine Master is really blessed!"

  What a clever Empress Changsun was! She immediately understood the meaning behind Emperor Taizong of Tang's words: "Second Brother, this hot pot, I suppose it wasn't Su Ning who came up with it again?"

  Li Er smiled and nodded: "Yes, the medicine master also accidentally discovered that there was a piece of bamboo sticking out from this little guy's house, and smoke was coming out from it. The medicine master found it strange, so he pushed open the door to take a look, and this little guy was using the fire pot to eat a lot. Haha, I think about it now and find it funny. The medicine master kicked this little guy away with one foot, then started eating himself. This little guy is guilty, such a good thing for driving out the cold, yet he didn't offer it up, instead secretly eating it by himself."

  I have also sent a copy to the homes of all the ministers, and it has been very well received by them; this little fellow was beaten up by the pharmacist, became honest, and even offered the method of salt production.

  "Method of salt production?"

  The Emperor Li II smiled and said, "Yes, it's the salt we're eating now. This little guy actually dissolved the salt block directly into water, then... uh, what was it called? Ah yes, filtration! He said his master came up with this method using some strange black stuff to filter out the saltwater, leaving behind clean salt. I ordered the imperial kitchen to try it out, and indeed the result is almost identical to our usual green salt."

  "With this, I reckon the shortage of salt in the military and among civilians won't happen again. I plan to promote the method of making salt, so we won't need to use vinegar and cloth anymore. Guanyin, this kid has achieved another great merit! I really don't know what else he's capable of. He doesn't say, and Medicine Master can't bear to pressure him either. The master's ultimate skills have always been kept secret, but being able to obtain so many useful things already makes me very satisfied. Moreover, this kid is now an official of the Great Tang Empire, and has fallen into my hands - what's there to fear that I won't get to know his skills? Hahaha!"

  The Empress Longsun looked at the white, fine salt in the dish and smiled, nodding: "Then Your Majesty is prepared to reward him with something? After all, it's someone else's sect's ultimate skill, we can't just take it by force, that wouldn't be good, would it?"

  Li Er looked at the hot pot and smiled: "This is still forced by Yao Shi, this kid is very lazy, if he doesn't force him, he won't bring out what he can do. I don't know how many things this kid can do now, it's just a reward for now, but who knows what else he'll come up with in the future? He's still young and has a long way to go, no rush, let's wait until after this battle is over and see then! Guanyin, this kid is only 14 years old, not suitable for entering the court as an official yet. At that time, I'll take a look, if it's suitable, I'll hand him over to you to manage, how about that?

  The Empress Longsun said with some surprise: "Second Brother, your meaning is to let him enter the palace and study together with the children? There are either your sons and daughters or the young masters of noble families. You regard Suning so highly?"

  Emperor Li II ate a piece of mutton: "I still want to carefully consider whether he is worthy of our doing so, Guanyin, young and talented people are not easy to get, especially those with no foundation at all. The most suitable for us to use are the young and talented ones without any background. If they were from a noble family, I would be even more worried. Among the ministers after me, there are few capable people and many idle rich youths. I am very concerned that after my death, the Tang Dynasty will not have enough talent. Now that we have obtained a young and talented person, how can we not attach great importance to him?"

  Li Chengqian suddenly became interested: "Father Emperor, who is this Su Ning you mentioned?"

  Li Er stroked his beard with interest and said, "He's a fourteen-year-old boy, two years older than you. Although he's young, Father Emperor always thinks he's extraordinary. Chengqian, if you have the chance, you can meet him. Hehe, he's a very interesting kid. Your elder brother is probably working under him right now."

  Li Chengqian blinked his eyes, slightly surprised: "Brother-in-law? Rushing Brother-in-law? Him?"

  Li Er nodded, smiling and casting his gaze northward: "Now, I reckon your brother is suffering in the army. I don't know what kind of errands Su Ning will have him run, but it can't be anything good. Your brother is inexperienced and a bit naive; running into Su Ning, who knows if it's good fortune or bad luck!"

  It turned out that Li Erbai was indeed a great feudal ruler with rich experience in class struggle, and he was very wise. At this time, far away in Dingxiang, Suning was holding a document and scolding Changsun Long: "Is one glance enough for this matter? Is it enough? This is a matter of life and death! You just glanced at it and dismissed it? Do you even understand what it means to handle government affairs?"

  Chang Sun-chung said with a look of embarrassment: "This matter is really difficult for me to decide, so I decided to refer to the political affairs handled by the Grand Historian. I saw that the Grand Historian had signed a 'yue zi' on many official documents, so..."

  Su Ning felt a bit depressed, but this matter couldn't be taken lightly. If he didn't take it seriously, how could his own face exist? This was his own lazy trick, his exclusive secret recipe, and it couldn't be learned by outsiders or harm the flower bones of the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, what would he use to be lazy in the future?

  "You don't even look at those official duties! They're just some trivial matters, so I, as the chief historian, only need to stamp a 'read' character to indicate that I already know about them. But this matter is a life-and-death issue, how can you treat it like this?"

  "We should also consider what kind of thing it is before deciding how to do it. You can't just treat a matter of life and death as a trivial matter, this will lead to big trouble! It will cause great damage to the prestige of the Tang Dynasty, can you understand? How will the people look at the officials of the Tang government? What face do we officials have to continue handling government affairs? Your actions are really disappointing!"

  Su Ning made a very regretful expression, with a face full of sorrow and deep meaning of "hating iron for not becoming steel": "Originally thought you were a promising material, who would have thought, alas!"

  Changsun Wuji was now anxious, for he had originally thought that the Emperor was testing him, but instead he had acted so rashly and damaged the Emperor's trust in him, as well as his own future. Changsun Wuji was deeply regretful and anxious, regretting why he had been so greedy for convenience and had not asked about the circumstances, damaging the prestige of the Tang Dynasty! What a terrible mistake this was!

  Su Ning kept piling on the big hats, and Changsun Wuji immediately collapsed completely, thinking he was a sinner of the Tang Dynasty and that only atonement could make up for his sins. So he just thought about how to atone and didn't think about anything else: "This official's mistake, this official is willing to do anything to make amends, I hope the historian will agree!"

  Suning sneaked a glance at the huge pile of government affairs that had just been delivered, almost forming a mountain. He swallowed hard and let out a long sigh, nodding his head: "Alright, alright, you go handle these affairs, finish them up and bring them back to me for review. This is your last chance, take care!" Afterward, Suning silently cheered "Idiot hurray" in his heart as he slowly walked out the door, leaving behind Zhangsun's stunned expression, who was deeply moved by the greatness of others and made a firm decision that even if it meant not sleeping, he would finish handling all these government affairs.

  Suning slowly walked out of the government office, and as soon as he left, a satisfied sly smile immediately appeared on his face. This cheap labor force would be wasted if it wasn't fully utilized. Just right, he could enjoy a rare leisure vacation, but thinking that tomorrow he would have to lead troops to attack the last forces of Li, Suning still had some worries in his heart.

  Six days ago, he met with the envoy sent by Qilibi Khan to seek peace. In history, during the Tang Dynasty, there was a famous foreign general named Shi Sulie. This guy is still a die-hard Turk and has an arrogant face. It's obvious that this doesn't look like someone seeking peace at all. Yesterday, he also met with the envoy sent by Emperor Taizong of Tang to appease the Turks, Tang Jian. Tang Jian brought the order for Li Jing to lead the army to accept their surrender.

  Reminds me of history, after Xieli went to Chang'an and was not respectful to Emperor Taizong of Tang, he was detained until the capture of Jiali, then surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, eventually becoming an important general of the Tang Dynasty. Speaking of which, the Tang Dynasty is also a strange dynasty in Chinese history, never has there been a Han Chinese dynasty that used foreign generals on such a large scale, such as Xieli, Ashina Dulu, Ashina Zhen, Qibi Heli and other Turkic generals in the early period, and those like Gao Xianzhi, Fangan Changqing, Geshu Han and An Lushan in the middle period. This situation almost only exists in the Tang Dynasty.

  The grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, which encompassed a hundred rivers, is indeed a magnificent phenomenon in Chinese history.

  According to historical accounts, Qilibi Khan was merely employing a delaying tactic, feigning surrender while actually stalling for time until the arrival of spring, when he would make his escape northwards to the desert and regroup, seeking an opportunity to rise again. In line with the traditional Chinese notion of the heavenly dynasty being the superior state, this scenario is indeed quite plausible.

  However, Emperor Taizong of Tang was not easy to fool, and the two evil spirits Li Jing and Li Shiji were even more impossible to fool. As a result, Illig qaghan ended in tragedy, defeated by Li Jing and Li Shiji. In the end, with only dozens of cavalry left, Illig qaghan ran into the Datong army led by Li Daozong. After a fierce battle, Tang general Zhang Baosang captured Illig qaghan.

  Thus began the glory of the Great Tang, and Li Er also obtained the title of Tian Kehan, with the heavenly might of the Tang spreading throughout the universe.

  Will I be a participant in this epoch-making undertaking? Can I live to see its arrival? Can I make great contributions, even dominate the change of this historical process and make it more perfect? The tragedy of the Han people is always like this: decline, prosperity, decline, prosperity. Each decline will bring about a significant reduction in the population of the Han people, the destruction of the crystallization of Han wisdom, and the loss of countless exquisite skills. The Han nation has to rebuild its country on the ruins and welcome a new prosperity again.

  But what about after the prosperity? The Tang Dynasty was the most glorious time for the Han people, and this glory is undeniable. However, beneath this glory, many hidden dangers were buried. As someone who clearly understands all of this, Su Ning feels that he has a duty to make these hidden dangers disappear, to make the upcoming Zhenguan golden age even more perfect, to maintain this prosperous era, and to last for thousands of years! Let the Liao, Jurchen, Tubo, and Mongols, those nations that brought countless humiliations to the Han people, have no chance to exist! The Han people must thoroughly eliminate these hidden dangers when they are at their strongest.

  Su Ning asked himself that he was not a person with serious nationalist sentiment, but he absolutely could not bear to see this nation bring so much humiliation to the great Han nation without being moved!

  Su Ning suddenly felt that he was a great man, a man with great ideals. However, the prerequisite for achieving all this was that he must occupy an important position in the Tang Dynasty, occupying a position that would make Emperor Li and his successors take him seriously. Since he did not want to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, it was not very realistic. So he wanted to become a high-ranking official of the Tang Dynasty, making this broad-minded emperor do even greater things than he had done in history, making the Tang Dynasty more glorious, so glorious that the whole world would bask in the light emitted by the Tang Dynasty!

  Hehe, will all this really come true?

  Su Ning smiled, and suddenly felt that he had gained a bit of momentum to move forward. Words like "muddle along" and "wait for death" were really not suitable for someone with grand ambitions like himself. Although he loved comfort and ease, when compared to the future of the entire Han nation over thousands of years, his own desires were truly insignificant. Hehe, when did he develop such lofty ideals? Was it really true that "the times create heroes"?

  Since you have decided to be a legendary figure, then...

  Night raid on Yīn Shān!