The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 103 A Different Kind of Filial Piety
Seeing that his brother was having his meal, Dongyang smiled with relief.

The two sisters began to sort out the accounts. Li Lizhi said, "Now Dongyang can use an abacus. He can help my brother sort out the accounts. With one more person to help, we can go back and rest earlier."

Li Chengqian finished his noodles in a few bites and whispered, "Have my brothers and sisters eaten yet?"

Li Lizhi replied, "We've eaten everything. The braised pork we had tonight was pork sent from Jingyang. They said they sent some meat from the first batch of piglets they raised."

Dongyang brought a few more oil lamps and lit them up. Finally, the view in front of her became much brighter. She whispered, "I know that my brother is still busy at this time, so I will come with you to help."

Li Chengqian sighed, "These documents have been delayed for some time. They need to be sent out tomorrow. Thank you for your help."

Li Lizhi grinned and said, "It's okay, there's still time."

The imperial city is very quiet under the night.

Li Shimin saw Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji out of Chengtian Gate and told them, "You two should take care of the rest."

Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji saluted together.

The eunuch at the side said again: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Changle, and Princess Dongyang are still in the Secretariat."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "You guys go back first."

"My minister retire."

Watching Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji walk towards the Suzaku Gate step by step, Li Shimin walked towards the Secretariat with a file in his hand.

The old eunuch followed beside him, lowering his head and saying nothing.

Walking to the gate of the Secretariat, Li Shimin looked at three children sitting around a table, the sound of abacus being tampered with.

The old eunuch was just about to report to His Majesty.

Li Shimin stopped him and just stood outside the door, looking at them quietly.

The night was dark. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Changle, and Princess Dongyang did not notice the gazes outside, but continued to count the accounts, occasionally whispering a few words.

Li Shimin's gaze fell on Li Chengqian's face, and the boy's brows were furrowed.

Finally, His Majesty walked into the Secretariat and when he got closer he saw bowls and chopsticks placed aside. It seemed that the child had just finished his meal.

The old eunuch suddenly coughed.

Li Chengqian looked up and saw an old eunuch holding a lantern, and his father standing beside him.

Li Lizhi and Dongyang saw this and quickly bowed and said, "Father."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Why don't you go and rest?"

Li Chengqian moved his sore arms and said, "These accounts must be sent out tomorrow morning and finished tonight."

"I am not in a hurry to find the villa at Taiye Lake."

"Don't worry, Father. We can start construction tomorrow."

Li Shimin said with a straight face: "I said there is no hurry."

Li Chengqian looked at the account and said, "It will be completed before June."

The father and son exchanged just a few words, and they were already filled with anger. Li Lizhi hurriedly asked, "Father, are you here to see my brother? Is there something important to discuss?"

His daughter's words calmed down the anger that was about to rise in Li Shimin's heart, and he took out a file and said, "Take a look for yourself."

Li Chengqian took the file and looked at it carefully with a frown.

To be precise, this is an examination paper, and what is written on the examination paper is an article about production relations.

It is rare to see anyone other than the Eastern Palace writing this kind of article. When I think about it, the viewpoints quoted in it are the ones I left in the Hongwenguan.

Li Shimin asked, "Do you know this Pei Xingjian?"

Li Chengqian explained: "I don't know him, but I did publish an article in Hongwenguan at the time, hoping that more people would see it. This happened two years ago."

"Well, this Pei Xingjian has passed the imperial examination."

Li Chengqian was still looking at the article and asked, "What's your official position?"

Li Shimin put his hands behind his back, looked at the darkness outside, and said to his son with his back to him, "Prime Minister Fang asked him to be a county lieutenant in Weinan County."

"What does Father mean?"

"I want to hear your opinion. After all, this article came from your East Palace."

Li Chengqian put away the file and nodded, "Then do as Prime Minister Fang wishes."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only Pei Xingjian can write articles that are only found in the Eastern Palace. Don't you want to make arrangements for him?"

"How else can I arrange for him? Maybe Pei Xingjian was just being clever. After all, being able to write such an unconventional article on the imperial examination paper shows that this person is a sly person. I only care about his ability."

Li Shimin whispered, "Really?"

Li Chengqian put the file aside and asked, "What does Father want?"

Li Shimin said again: "Okay, then let him go to Weinan County to be a county lieutenant. If he can't do it well, he will be a county lieutenant for the rest of his life."

"Father is thoughtful. He is really not from the East Palace."

Li Shimin walked out of the Secretariat and said loudly, "Go to bed early."

Li Chengqian bowed and said loudly, "Thank you, father, for your concern."

Faced with this father and son, the younger sister also feels a headache.

The emperor finally left, and the two sisters were really relieved. They were afraid that the emperor and their brother would have another big fight here.

The night wind blew into the Secretariat, causing the flame of the oil lamp to flicker.

After the expenses of the Taiye Lake Villa were clearly calculated, Li Chengqian took his two sisters out of the Secretariat, closed the heavy door, and led them back to the Eastern Palace.

Since the beginning of this year, the court has spent more than 30,000 strings of cash, and there is still a surplus of 20,000 strings of cash. Once the taxes from the trade are paid, there will be another 50,000 strings of cash left.

All in all, if everything goes well this year, the money and grain in the court will be in a state of circulation, and the disposable amount can reach 100,000 strings of cash.

This was already a very good situation for the Tang Dynasty's political and economic recovery from the natural disasters in the early Zhenguan years.

For a long time, the mutual trade became an important part of the capital flow between North Korea and China.

For example, Jingyang sold one hundred bags of soap residue to the Turks. Each bag of soap residue could be exchanged for sixty sheep, which means six thousand sheep. The soap was exchanged for sheep, and then the sheep were used for trading. The court could collect customs duties from this trade.

If we calculate that a ram in Guanzhong costs three hundred coins, that would be a big deal worth one thousand eight hundred strings of cash.

He made nearly two thousand strings of cash just by giving away the soap.

This was a normal operation. Du He had his people sell the sheep to various provincial capitals east of Guanzhong, where they could get a higher price.

So it was just some soap residue, excluding the labor cost of transportation, Du He could make at least a net profit of one thousand strings of money.

To earn so much from just one deal, and it's just some leftovers, is undoubtedly a good start.

Compared with opening a workshop in Jingyang before, that was just a small business, and neither the uncle nor the emperor's uncle looked down on it.

And controlling the import and export trade channels of the Tang Dynasty is the real big business.

The next day, the results were announced at the Suzaku Gate. The young man named Xu Yushi topped the list of successful candidates in this imperial examination and soon became the focus of discussion in Chang'an City.

Xu Yueshi soon became the object of marriage for the sons of noble families.

People like this may hold an important position in the court in the future, not to mention his family background, as he is a child of Duke Qiao.

Pei Xingjian saw his name on the list of successful candidates and couldn't help but sigh.

Li Yifu came over and whispered, "Brother Pei, congratulations."

Pei Xingjian said, "I saw your name, and congratulations to you as well." Li Yifu bowed and said, "I have obtained an official position, and now I am the Minister of Ceremonies of the Ministry of Personnel."

Pei Xingjian said: "I have also obtained an official position, the county lieutenant of Weinan County."

As for the rest of the people, they all had their own arrangements. Pei Xingjian added, "This has already entered the Ministry of Personnel. It is not impossible for Brother Yifu to enter the Ministry of Central Secretariat in the future."

Li Yifu looked up at the name on the list of successful candidates and said, "Perhaps Pei County Magistrate will also be in charge of the three provinces and six ministries in the future."

"You're joking." Pei Xingjian said lazily, "The county lieutenant is a good position. I'll be a county lieutenant for the rest of my life."

The two said goodbye with a smile and left Suzaku Gate in their separate ways.

No one knows what the future will be like. Li Yifu is very young and Pei Xingjian is only sixteen years old.

Li Yifu is a young man who has hatred towards the aristocratic families, so Pei Xingjian does not want to get too close to this man, so as to avoid some unnecessary trouble in the future.

The newly appointed county lieutenant had to go to Jingzhao Prefecture to pay a visit to Shangguan Jingzhao Prefecture Governor. After all, Weinan County was also under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Pei Xingjian took out the document, handed it to the doorman and walked in.

Li Daozon was holding a bronze mirror in his hand and shaving his yellow teeth.

"Prefect, County Magistrate Pei is here."

The clerk beside him whispered.

Li Daozon glanced impatiently at the unfamiliar boy who had just arrived.

Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "County Lieutenant of Weinan County, Pei Xingjian greets the prefect."

Li Dao Zong put down the bronze mirror, sniffed, sat up straight, looked at the man, and said, "Some people say you have the talent to be a general."

Pei Xingjian was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean, Prefect? ​​I am only a county lieutenant."

"Someone even said that they asked a certain family to take special care of you. What extraordinary abilities do you have?"

Facing the prefect's aggressive questioning, Pei Xingjian stood there in confusion and said, "I did think about becoming a general, but I have never led troops in battle. I just passed the imperial examination and became a county lieutenant."

Li Dao Zong continued: "Can you endure hardship?"

Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "May I ask, Prefect, who is it that wants to take care of me? Who said that I have the talent to be a general?"

Li Dao Zong threw out a file and said, "Don't ask any more questions. Just take it and go to work."

"What is this?"

Li Dao Zong snorted coldly: "Stop asking questions."

On his first day as an official, Pei Xingjian was completely confused. He picked up the file that the prefect had thrown on the ground and opened it, and it turned out to be the Three-Year Reform Plan for Weinan County.

"Wow!"

Pei Xingjian opened the thick file and was shocked by the dense text and diagrams on it. He said, "This is..."

Li Dao Zong sniffed again and said, "Stop asking questions."

Pei Xingjian was choked back by the prefect's words. Holding the file in his hand, he roughly understood what he had to do in the next three years.

But is this how things are done in Jingzhao Prefecture in Chang'an?
Pei Xingjian was confused and looked at the prefect.

Before I even finish my words, I'm afraid the other person will say another word or two.

Taking a deep breath and putting away the files, Pei Xingjian bowed and said, "I'll take my leave. Sorry for disturbing you."

After the others left, Li Daozon, who was sitting in the yamen, continued to pick his teeth in front of the bronze mirror. He didn't know why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince chose a boy from Hedong who barely passed the imperial examination.

After doing all this, Li Dao Zong said to the clerk beside him: "Send a message to the East Palace and tell them that the matter has been arranged."

The clerk replied, "I'll go right away."

At this moment, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was standing by the Taiye Lake, accompanied by Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode.

Still holding a roll of accounts in his hand, Li Chengqian watched a group of craftsmen measuring the ground and said, "One hundred feet is enough, it doesn't have to be too big."

The newly appointed Minister of Works, Xu Xiaode, said, "Your Highness, this is His Majesty's residence after all, so it's better to make it bigger."

Li Chengqian said: "Money and grain are limited."

Xu Xiaode nodded, and then told the craftsman, "One hundred feet from front to back and from left to right. Don't measure more."

Yu Zhining added: "Your Highness, the wood has been delivered."

Li Chengqian walked towards the wood that had just been transported here, looked at the logs placed together, and asked, "What kind of wood is this?"

"Your Highness, according to the Ministry of Works' arrangement, all the original nanmu trees have been replaced with fir trees."

Li Chengqian made a mark on the account book and continued, "Cedar is good, it's cheap and affordable, nanmu is too expensive, and this isn't a palace."

To be precise, the place where the emperor lives should be the palace.

But according to the prince, this was just a villa for the emperor to escape the summer heat, not a royal palace, even though it was built on the site of the Jianzhang Palace.

In order to arrange the budget, Li Chengqian adopted a simple and economical approach and saved wherever possible.

As long as one less brick is used here, there will be one more brick at the border of the Hexi Corridor.

Li Chengqian reminded him again: "Pave the road with stones and surround the river with guardrails. Make sure there are no omissions."

"Here."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walked in front, followed by a group of craftsmen from the Ministry of Works.

Every time His Highness gave an order, the craftsmen would write down a key point for fear of missing anything.

Inside the Xingqing Palace, Li Shimin was eating a peach while looking at the recent records of the Eastern Palace.

The eunuch came hurriedly with a smile on his face, and said, "Your Majesty, the villa has begun construction. It has finally started."

Li Shimin was lying on his side, chewing a peach.

The eunuch continued, "Moreover, the Crown Prince personally brought the craftsmen to inspect it. It is said that the Crown Prince is always like this. He will personally take care of everything, even how many bricks and stones to use, how much wood to use, he will personally inquire."

Li Shimin nodded and threw the peach pit in his hand.

The eunuch took the peach pit and continued, "Your Majesty, and the Crown Prince personally brought the craftsmen to instruct, and the people in the Ministry of Works said that Your Majesty is a filial child, so he personally watched over the construction of Your Majesty's villa, and also said that an extra platform should be built so that Your Majesty can fish and relax."

Li Shimin put an ice cube in his mouth and chewed it, "Crunch, crunch..."

The eunuch stood aside with a smile on his face.

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Filial piety? He replaced the nanmu with fir."

Hearing this, the eunuch fell to his knees with a plop.

"Haha, it's only a hundred feet. I can see Cheng Qian's filial piety."

"I only heard other people's talk. I really didn't know Your Highness had done these things." The eunuch knelt on the ground, sweating profusely.

Li Shimin added: "It's okay, I'll just stay here for a month or two to escape the summer heat."

"I didn't ask carefully enough. I shouldn't have said these things."

"You are not wrong. The prince has always been hands-on in everything he does."

After catching a cold, Xiao Zhang still had a severe cough, so he was asked to stabilize his condition and go to bed early for two days to rest.

I will try to add more chapters later.

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(End of this chapter)