Side Story Chapter 11 - The Stone of Destiny! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The truth was far different from the story. Li Taiyi had naturally not come across the designs while playing around in the palace, but the Great Tang truly did have ballistae.
So long as he used his memories to slightly modify them, they could be used on a large scale in the army.
Moreover, he knew that there was someone in the Great Tang with the same idea.
“In addition, it is not impossible for infantry to fight against cavalry.”
Li Taiyi paused a moment.
“So long as the right terrain, formations, and some large shields are used, cavalry are not invincible! If Imperial Father believes in your son, your son is willing to make a full effort. Perhaps he can be of some assistance to the Great Tang.”
Hearing this, the Tang Emperor looked at Li Taiyi in a different light.
“We have summoned several princes, even your second brother, but none of them have ever been able to give the answer We desired. Wei Yuanzhong said you had the talent of a general or minister, but We did not believe. Now, however, We do.”
The Tang Emperor looked in gratitude at Li Taiyi.
“Imperial Father praises me too much. Your son is merely doing all in his meager power to assist the Great Tang.”
There was a flash of gratitude in Li Taiyi’s eyes, and even a little surprise.
He had never imagined that the Tang Emperor had already asked other Princes this question.
And he had even less imagined that Wei Yuanzhong had praised him in front of the Tang Emperor as someone with the talent of a minister or general. It had to be known that he did not easily praise others!
“Xuan’er, since this is your idea, We will give you full authority over the ballistae and all related matters.”
“Yes!”
Li Taiyi bowed and accepted the order.
Just when Li Taiyi was turning to leave, he heard coughing.
“Imperial Father…”
Li Taiyi was alarmed, but before he could say anything, the Tang Emperor waved his sleeve and ordered him away.
“Yes, your son will withdraw!”
Li Taiyi prostrated, and then he turned around and left the hall.
The Tang Emperor watched Li Taiyi leave, and then, as if he was talking to himself and also talking to Li Taiyi, he softly muttered, “There’s not much time left!”
……
After taking the carriage back to Jade Dragon Palace, Li Taiyi immediately summoned Gao Lishi.
“How is the progress on that matter I ordered you to do several days ago?”
Gao Lishi bowed and said, “Your Highness, out of fear of wasting steel, those old masters made a wooden ballista. Through testing, it was shown that it can fire three bolts at once.”
Li Taiyi nodded at this.
In his previous life, Li Taiyi had inadvertently come across a set of ballista designs. Through research, he discovered that ballistae were formidable killing weapons, so he began to secretly create them to use against the foreigners.
Alas, before he could finish them, the foreigners discovered them and destroyed them.
Thus, the first thing Li Taiyi did upon awakening in this world was to start producing these ballistae.
In addition, in the apocalyptic world, he alone was building them, so his efficiency was very low. But in the Great Tang, where craftsmanship was at an apex and talents were abundant, he could recruit many capable craftsmen to complete the ballistae for him.
Gao Lishi had followed his orders and found some craftsmen to begin work on the ballistae.
Li Taiyi had also determined that if the Great Tang still insisted on ceding the Yin Mountains even after he pointed it out during the Spring Rain Banquet, he could use it as a chance to test the power of the first batch of ballistae.
He would never permit that Turkic First Prince to take away that treaty and live. However, this no longer seemed necessary.
“Very good! Now, I order you to go to the Bureau of Works and find several experienced craftsmen to work with those old masters in researching and producing ballistae. Most importantly, you must find someone called Master Zhan,” Li Taiyi continued.
Master Zhan was the person in this era who had greatly modified and improved the ballistae. But unfortunately, his talents went unrecognized, and his improvements had yet to be applied on a large scale.
With his help and Li Taiyi’s memories, they would be able to rapidly develop a ballista that could be used on the battlefield.
“Yes!”
Gao Lishi was taken aback at first, but his eyes quickly flashed with a bright light.
The Bureau of Works had always been under the Tang Emperor’s control, and that Li Taiyi could call on the people of the Bureau of Works meant that he had already reentered the Emperor’s favor, perhaps even gained authority over the Bureau of Works.
Gao Lishi inwardly rejoiced in Li Taiyi’s place.
“Right, have there been any recent developments in the palace?” Li Taiyi asked as he sat himself behind his desk and began to read through his copy of the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals’.
Li Taiyi rarely asked about palace affairs, or about court politics. He left all this to Gao Lishi. If there was anything important, Gao Lishi would report on it, and if there wasn’t, he would save himself the trouble.
“Besides the Turkic peace talks, there really is something else.”
Gao Lishi saw that Li Taiyi had taken up a brush, and immediately bowed down over the desk, grinding ink for him as he continued to speak.
“Several years ago, there was a deputy director who produced many cruel torture implements that he used to extort false confessions and get the death penalty for people. Many officials and imperial clansmen ended up being falsely accused, and several thousand families were wiped out, for which the deputy director was executed. But these injustices were not redressed, so many people in the court hope that these cases will be reinvestigated so that those unjustly accused people can have their reputations cleared. Even Prime Minister Yao has advised as such, but His Majesty has yet to give his permission.
“Several days ago, the Second Prince earnestly requested that the cases of those who had been imprisoned by that deputy director be reinvestigated. His Majesty gave his permission and gave authority of the matter to an official who had entered the court only a few days ago.
“Importantly, today, that official was impeached by Lord Zheng, apparently because he was neglecting his duties on this case, and ended up being jailed in the Death Prison. A palace attendant of Taihe Palace said that it was apparently because this official, right after releasing some people, had them rearrested, and then arrested some more people.”
Li Taiyi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this.
He had heard about this incident in his past life, but as this was about clearing the names of those who were unjustly accused, it did not have much of an effect on the course of the Great Tang. Moreover, Li Taiyi recalled that this incident should have transpired at a different time, and the one responsible had been an imperial censor, not a new official.
It was clear that the world had subtly changed because of those two incidents within the last two months.
And from what Gao Lishi had said, the Second Prince had asked for the reinvestigation, Lord Zheng had impeached the official managing the investigation, and many of Li Chengyi’s advisors were imprisoned… It was obvious that Second Prince Li Chengyi wanted to use this reinvestigation to get some of his own men out, but this minor official had ruined it for him, and had even arrested several more people.
“Truly, trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice you used as bait.”
Li Taiyi couldn’t help but shake his head. Saying no more, he dipped his brush in ink and began to draw. Soon, the designs for a new ballista had appeared on the paper.