Forty-Four Life and Death Decisions

  Who can't say nice words? Who can't talk big? Who can't speak loudly? Everyone can say it, but whether they can do it is another matter. Of course, many people can't keep up with what they say, because saying is almost always easier than doing. There are exceptions, such as love, which is harder to do than to say, isn't there a song that sings like this?

  Love you in heart, hard to express

  Of course, Su Ning won't encounter such a thing for now, and he doesn't have the mind to consider it. Being so close and staring face-to-face with Li Erbai, Su Ning feels quite depressed. Once there are no outsiders, Li Erbai's wise eyes will become very frivolous, and there will be a hint of slyness...

  In fact, during the early Tang Dynasty, there were not so many rules between the monarch and his ministers. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for Emperor Taizong to play the guqin while Emperor Gaozu danced personally. They both had non-Han ancestry, so their behavior was naturally different from that of other Han Chinese dynasties.

  "Do you know why I brought you into the palace alone?" Li Er raised the wine cup on the small table in front of him, poured the wine into his mouth and swallowed it with relish.

  Everything in the imperial court left Su Ning still somewhat unresponsive, only knowing that after he finished saying those words, Li Er's gaze towards him became extremely fervent, and labor reform was immediately passed on the spot. The Ministry of Rites did not draft an edict, and the Ministry of War did not have a chance to refute it. Of course, Kong Yingda seemed to have no such intention, he went to think about some things, as for him now, Li Er wanted to do what, he didn't want to care.

  Labor reform became a national policy of the Tang Dynasty, promulgated throughout the country. Among this batch of more than 50,000 Turkic prisoners, except for Ashina Helu and Xiao, all others were assigned to the class of public slaves, guarded and trained by the army. Emperor Taizong even specially set up the Public Slave Administration, under the Ministry of War, under the jurisdiction of General Hou Junji. This ruthless general would not let those prisoners have a good life. The Tang Dynasty now has many places that need labor, especially free labor. These Turkic laborers will be in high demand...

  Then Li Er was granted the title of Marquis of San Yuan County, and he was also awarded 1,200 mu of good land for his descendants. This was in addition to the 2,000 mu of land that he already had as private property, which was equivalent to the fiefdom of Su Dingfang. He was also granted an additional 150 households, making a total of 300 households. Furthermore, he was awarded 200 taels of gold, 500 taels of silver, 3,000 strings of cash, and 5,000 bolts of silk. Additionally, he was given 20 servants. Su Ning couldn't help but sigh in amazement at the generosity of the reward. This is indeed a grand gesture! That's why people in ancient times loved to be officials. Once they became officials and received rewards, the rewards were enough for them to live off for several generations! Whether they were honest or corrupt officials, once they received rewards, they would become overnight millionaires!

  To know the difficulty of mining and smelting at that time, the annual silver output of the Tang Dynasty was only 15,000 taels, and gold was even less. The emperor had to use it himself, give some to the royal family, and use it as a reward. Three hundred taels of gold and five hundred taels of silver were considered a generous amount. Of course, at that time, gold and silver were luxury goods, and the quantity was too small. On the other hand, 3,000 strings of copper coins were not a small sum, which could be spent.

  Of course, copper coins are cumbersome and large transactions are extremely difficult. Therefore, during this period, medium-sized transactions used silk as currency, while large transactions used gold as currency. So when emperors rewarded their meritorious officials, they generally gave them gold or silk.

  No one opposed, no one raised any doubts, and soon the palace staff arrived to dress Su Dingfang and Su Ning in their earl attire. Elegant music filled the air as Zhangsun Wuji walked over with a smile, personally placing the official hat on Su Ning's head. As for Su Dingfang, it was Li Shimin who helped him put on his hat. The two sons of the same family were simultaneously granted titles, and this became a celebrated tale. It was clear that Emperor Taizong of Tang intended to honor the Su family, and even a fool could see that.

  But Suning was a bit depressed that Li Er didn't give him any official position, only letting Suning enter the palace together. Suning was very puzzled and looked at Li Jing, who winked at him with a very happy expression. Suning then looked at Li Shimin, who also had the same expression. Suning understood that this must not be anything bad, and Li Er might still want to test his own abilities one last time!

  Su Ning guessed half of it, but more importantly, Li Er wanted to personally assess Su Ning's abilities and see if he could be used by him. If not, Li Er would have to take other measures; all previous reports were unreliable, and only after judging for himself could he determine whether Su Ning's appearance was a good or bad thing for the Tang Dynasty.

  Suning did not know that at this moment, he was facing a choice between life and death. He just thought it was a very normal but significant conversation, which was the first face-to-face solo talk between the two.

  Facing Li Shimin, the emperor of all ages, face to face and having a conversation, how many people can have such an opportunity? Su Ning was still feeling pleased in his heart, but he didn't know that if he took a wrong step or said a wrong word, the ruthless decisiveness of the emperor of all ages was not something to be taken lightly...

  When Li heard the emperor's words, Su Ning smiled and replied: "Your Majesty, are you planning to give me a sinecure with a salary but no work, or perhaps arrange a marriage for me?"

  Emperor Li II let out a "pu" sound, spitting out the wine he had just drunk, and continued to cough. Su Ning saw that things were getting out of hand and hurriedly ran over to pat Emperor Li II's back and clear his airway. Emperor Li II chased all the eunuchs away, so only Su Ning and Emperor Li II remained in the pavilion, making it natural for Su Ning to take care of this matter.

  Li Er finally calmed down, staring blankly at Su Ning with an incredulous expression. This young hero who had just been so full of vigor and ambition could actually say such a thing? Had he heard wrong?

  "What are you talking about? Just taking a salary and not doing anything? That's a sinecure, almost all of them are for old ministers to retire on. What do you want to do? Marriage? You're only 14 years old, what's the hurry? Besides, your family will arrange your marriage themselves! You don't think you can marry my daughter, do you? She's a princess! Do you think a princess is someone you can just marry if you want to? What about the heroic words you spoke earlier, saying you wanted to wipe out all the barbarian tribes? Don't tell me that was all just an act!" Li slapped Su Ning on the head.

  Su Ning smiled: "Hehe, I won't lie in front of Your Majesty. That's not fake, it's true. I really dislike foreigners a lot, which is very similar to my master. However, my master hates foreigners even more than me. To be honest, I'm really lazy and usually can't wake up unless I sleep until dawn. Today was an exception, but I did take a nap on horseback, so I have some energy now."

  "My greatest wish is that the Great Tang will not repeat the tragedy of previous dynasties. After all, a unified situation has come at no easy cost. Although it's said that when a dynasty prospers, the people suffer, and when it declines, the people also suffer, but a prosperous situation is still better than a chaotic world. The Great Tang has already been established, with Your Majesty as a wise ruler and so many famous ministers and generals. The world of the Great Tang is as stable as Mount Tai. I only hope that within my power, I can contribute to the prosperity of the Great Tang and make it even more glorious."

  Li's heart suddenly relaxed, and then stared at Su Ning: "Prosperity, the people suffer, death, the people suffer. Haha, you say, what is within your power? What did you learn from your master? Who is your master? Are you an academic sect or just a master and apprentice? For the Tang Dynasty, are you good or bad?"

  Su Ning suddenly felt a sense of tension in his heart, why was this tone so strange? With such eyes and actions, Su Ning suddenly realized that this was the final test. Li Er needed to confirm whether he could be controlled by him, used by him, and mastered by him. If not, it would be better to kill such an abnormal person...

  Sweat broke out on Su Ning's back as he suddenly felt that everything was so unreal, so hypocritical...

  Suning sighed and said, "Your Majesty's questions are many, but I can answer them; as for the things that are within my power to do, it's not good to say because I haven't tried them out myself. My master taught me a lot of things, including astronomy, geography, literature, history, and many other things, such as cooking and a little bit of medicine. There are also many other things that I can't recall at the moment. My master's teachings were vast and miscellaneous, and my memory isn't very good either. So, only when I actually use them can I be certain. As my master said, 'Knowledge learned from books is always superficial; one must personally practice to truly understand.'"

  As for my master, I really don't know who he is. He never told me who he is, and I don't even know his name. I usually just call him "old man". But until the day my master passed away, I still didn't know what kind of person he was. As for other things, I'm not very clear either. The only thing I can be sure of is that a carefree and unconventional person like my master would absolutely not want to be controlled by others.

  "As for the last point, it depends on whether Your Majesty is willing to believe me. I and my master have the same temperament, we dislike trouble, and if the world is in great chaos, it will be very troublesome. Therefore, I am extremely disgusted with anyone who wants to stir up trouble in the world. My greatest wish is for peace in the world, and if war is necessary, let's use it against external enemies, as for foreign tribes, let them do whatever they want, just don't disturb the peaceful Tang Dynasty. What I dislike most is internal strife."