The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 107 The Prince's Appreciation

Li Shimin asked: "What about the next step? How to make them submit?"

"Why don't you ask the teacher what he thinks and then make some decisions?"

"Don't you have any strategy in mind?"

Li Chengqian folded his hands and said sadly: "I am a low-level official. I have little knowledge and skills. I am troubled by the allocation of money and grain, let alone strategies."

Li Shimin chuckled.

"Father, a person's ability is limited. No matter how wise I am, I cannot accomplish everything by myself."

After a pause, Li Chengqian sighed, "So if the Tang Dynasty wants to be strong, it needs more talents. The imperial examination should not only continue, but also be held on a grand scale."

Looking at the villa in front of me, although it doesn't look like a palace in the palace, it looks more like the courtyard of an ordinary wealthy family.

Li Shimin looked at the waterwheel in front of him and whispered, "How much money did you spend on building this villa?"

"The labor, wood, and stone materials totaled three hundred and twelve strings of cash."

I patted the wall hard. The wall was very thick. In order to avoid the summer heat, red willow trees were transplanted on the side. In the summer, these trees can block the sunlight.

Li Chengqian explained: "When the sun comes from the east, it can shine into this villa. At noon, the sun will be blocked a lot. This villa will not be too cold, nor too hot in summer. The house faces southeast, avoiding the southwest sun as much as possible."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "I appreciate it."

"These are the principles I learned from these craftsmen. What kind of house will be hot in the summer and what kind of house will be colder in the winter are all valuable wisdom accumulated in people's lives."

If the budget for my father's villa exceeds one thousand strings of cash, it would be a bit of an overspend.

Even if it's over 500 strings of cash, it still hurts.

As June approached, the hot summer season in Guanzhong arrived early, and my younger brothers and sisters and grandfather left the Eastern Palace and moved to other villas to escape the summer heat.

The court also began to rest, and the imperial city was empty.

Anyone who has a place to live in the countryside or counties will choose to leave Chang'an City at this time.

Now the entire Chang'an city is like a steamer. There are very few pedestrians on Zhuque Street, but there are some people crowded in the alleys, who are using the shade of the alleys to escape the heat.

It is not until the evening that Suzaku Street becomes lively again.

It was obvious that even the defenders on the city walls were twice as few as before.
Li Chengqian walked alone in the imperial city, came to the gate of the Secretariat, and pushed the heavy door open with force.

Smelling the unique smell of ink here, Li Chengqian sat down in the teacher's seat and looked at the memorial in front of him.

Jingyang started the second round of trade, and this time they brought not only soap but also tea.

Some people in Guanzhong have already started to follow suit. Some merchants, taking advantage of the policy of mutual trade between the court and China, have begun to sell some goods outside the pass, including silk, pens and ink.

Sunlight shone in through the open door of the Secretariat. Li Chengqian sat alone in the Secretariat, flipping through memorials one after another.

These are the memorials that have been handled in the past six months.

Finally, Li Chengqian's eyes fell on the memorial on the Hexi Corridor, based on the plan made by Yu Zhining this month.

The cost of building the four counties in the Hexi Corridor would have required at least 50,000 strings of silver.

There are many herdsmen in Tuyuhun, most of whom are Tuyuhun people left there by Fuyun.

Li Chengqian wrote a comment on a memorial and walked out of the Secretariat alone.

Walking in the empty imperial city, you can even feel the heat of the ground when your boots step on it.

Gains and losses need to be weighed with prudence, and he has to be prude because he is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty and will ascend the throne to become emperor in the future.

The people of this world need an emperor, and people nowadays cannot leave the stable living conditions brought by the emperor's rule.

Once this kind of rule is broken off, the world will become extremely chaotic.

Therefore, some gains and losses must be avoided.

As you approach the Menxia Province, you can see officials on duty, all of them bowing respectfully.

When he arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, Li Chengqian stopped and looked at the half-open door.

Li Chengqian stretched out his hand and pushed open the half-open door, and saw a civil servant sitting inside. He looked very young, about the same age as himself.

When the civil servant saw the visitor, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian looked around the place and it seemed that there was no one else besides him, so he asked, "Are you the only one here?"

"I am in the residence of Li Yifu, the Minister of Rites of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The superiors have gone to rest. I am on duty here. If there is anything important, please inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is guarding Chang'an."

Li Chengqian listened to his serious reply and carefully looked at the civil servant who bowed his head.

His attitude was very humble, he kept his head down and stood still with a very upright posture.

"Did you pass the imperial examination this year?"

"That's right." Li Yifu responded.

Li Chengqian sat down at the side, put the memorial aside, frowned and said, "No need to be polite, sit down."

"I can just stand." Li Yifu put his feet together and bowed with his hands. He was as reserved as he could be, with some sweat on his forehead.

Li Chengqian whispered, "I also heard that you were recommended by General Li Daliang, but you still want to take the imperial examination?"

Li Yifu replied: "I want to enter the government through the imperial examination."

"Is it because of anger? Are you dissatisfied with those children from noble families?"

"I am not angry."

Li Chengqian sat on a chair, crossed his legs, leaned against the chair and whispered, "What do you think the children of noble families are like?"

Li Yifu said: "I think they are all a group of people who rely on their family background to help the tiger."

"To be an accomplice to the tiger?"

"Hu is a noble family, and they are the lackeys of the noble family."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and tapped the table with his fingers.

Seeing that His Royal Highness was hinting at something, Li Yifu quickly took the memorial and opened it to read, "Your Highness, this is..."

"Just wait and see. If tomorrow morning's court session goes well, you will have to take a trip to the Hexi Corridor. It may take several years for you to come back."

Li Yifu put away the memorial, bowed and said, "I am willing."

"Hehehe..." Li Chengqian patted his shoulder and said, "Think about it carefully. This is not an easy job."

"Your Highness has entrusted me with this. I will do my best."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. I'll wait for news tomorrow."

"Here."

This time Li Yifu responded loudly.

Maybe Li Yifu would feel very lucky at this moment, as he got a job that others couldn't get. He, Li Yifu, might even face a lot of infamy because of this.

Little did he know that the prince chose him for a reason. Even if he was not the one on duty in the Menxia Province, he would not hand the memorial to someone else.

The current prince does not need too many reasons to act, nor does he need others to know whether it was a deliberate arrangement or an unintentional act.

Li Chengqian returned to the quiet East Palace. Ning'er was instructing the palace maids to take the toys of the princes to the villa.

"Your Highness." Ning'er followed into the bedroom and whispered, "Everything has been arranged."

Li Chengqian stepped on the ground barefoot, picked up the cold tea beside him and took a sip, "Is there no ice cubes in the East Palace?" Ning'er said, "If Your Highness needs ice cubes, I will arrange for someone to buy them right away."

"No need." Li Chengqian stopped him and said, "If there is any surplus, send it to Father and Mother."

Ning'er stood aside, waiting for His Highness' next instructions.

Li Chengqian rolled up his long sleeves, fanned himself, and said slowly: "The East Palace is not quiet much these days, Sister Ning'er should also have a good rest."

There are also paper cranes folded by my sister hanging on the table. When the wind blows, the paper cranes will sway.

Speaking of leisure time, Ning'er is actually a restless person. She will tidy up the bookshelves in the East Palace, put the books side by side, and measure them with a line to make sure they are neat.

According to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's habit, the East Palace must be kept clean and everything in front of him must be arranged neatly.

If no one cleans up, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will do it himself. If that is the case, Ning'er will feel that letting His Royal Highness do it himself is a dereliction of duty for the palace maids.

Ning Er said, "In fact, Princess Gaoyang still talks in her sleep. If she can't sleep well in the villa, she can go back to the East Palace."

"Li Zhi is always thoughtful. She will be prepared."

"I hope I am not worrying too much."

Li Chengqian said: "Actually, I think I should be more realistic and steady."

Ning Er replied: "Even if you say that, Your Highness will still lose his temper. Not everyone in this world can control their mood."

“So I am actually a very mediocre person.”

Ning'er looked at His Highness's back and fell silent again. She used to think that His Highness was still a child, but now looking at His Highness's back.

The figure looks taller than before, probably due to years of exercise and archery practice.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's shoulders have become much broader and his back is more upright, not as thin as before.

Li Chengqian asked again: "What are we having for dinner?"

Ning Er hurriedly said, "I will go check on Xiao Fu. She is probably still busy. She has to prepare food for the Villa and the East Palace."

As night fell in Chang'an City and Guanzhong, the heat of the day faded away and a cool breeze came.

A palace maid came hurriedly over, "Sister Ning, is His Highness here?"

Ning Er said, "I'm having dinner."

She stood outside the palace and said in a loud voice: "Your Highness, the waterwheel in front of the villa has fallen over. It was His Highness the Prince of Jin and Princess Gaoyang who dismantled the waterwheel."

The hall was silent for a long time.

"I know."

After hearing His Highness's reply, the maid was about to leave.

Then the prince's stern words came from the palace, "Tell them that whoever dismantles the waterwheel must put it back for me."

"Here."

The princesses who left the East Palace were never good people. Instead, they were energetic little devils. It was not surprising that they dismantled the waterwheel.

Li Chengqian also felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have had the sudden idea to build a waterwheel in front of his father's villa.

She wanted to appear more elegant, but she still couldn't escape the clutches of her younger brothers and sisters.

It would be fine for the emperor to stay with them for a day or two, but he would definitely get annoyed within half a month, and after that he would want to drive all these children back to the East Palace.

Only when grandpa reaches this age, he will still smile even if the children pull his beard.

Sometimes he was too lazy to take care of these things. After eating and washing up, Li Chengqian read a book for a while and went to bed early.

In terms of daily life habits, he would get up before dawn to go for a morning run, and then practice archery with General Li Ji.

The next day, when the sun had risen fully, Li Chengqian arrived at the Taiji Hall early, ready to supervise the affairs of state.

The teacher, uncle, and all the civil and military officials in the court had arrived long ago, but he was still the last one to arrive here.

This has become a habit, and the civil and military officials in the court have also become accustomed to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince coming to the court on time, and it has never changed all year round.

Li Chengqian looked at the civil and military officials and said, "I have prepared some soap in the East Palace. It is summer now, so everyone can take a piece of soap home after the court session."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The civil and military officials, led by Fang Xuanling and Yuchi Gong, bowed and expressed their gratitude.

Li Chengqian noticed Chu Suiliang in the court class and said with a smile: "Minister Chu, are you recovering from a serious illness?"

Chu Suiliang stood out of the court and replied, "My health is fine now."

"Really?" Li Chengqian glanced at him and said, "You should pay attention to your recovery. I really admire you."

Upon hearing this, Chu Suiliang's old face turned red, and he bowed again and said, "Your Highness, thank you for your praise."

Li Chengqian looked at everyone and said, "There is something I want to discuss with you."

Fang Xuanling said, "Your Highness, please speak."

"Thank you for your consideration, Master." Li Chengqian said with his hands in his pockets, "Yesterday, Li Yifu presented me with a strategy for building the Hexi Corridor. I thought it was very good. Now that Tuyuhun has been defeated, the four counties of the Hexi Corridor have not been repaired."

"Since I was in charge of the government's financial allocation, I have been insisting on increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Now that I have finally achieved results, I plan to take out 50,000 strings of cash to build the Hexi Corridor."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the court began to discuss.

Li Chengqian looked at the team of military commanders and whispered, "General Li Daliang?"

Hearing this, Li Daliang stood up and said loudly to the class: "I am here."

"General, can you go to the Hexi Corridor and help Li Yifu build the four counties of Dunhuang, Zhangye, Wuwei, and Jiuquan?"

Li Daliang said in a clear voice: "I have no choice but to accept this responsibility."

For military generals, building borders is naturally their duty. If the borders are strong, the soldiers will have more protection. There is no need to hesitate.

Li Chengqian asked: "What do you think, teacher?"

Fang Xuanling said: "Preparations for this matter have been underway since the beginning of this year. I will report this to Your Majesty and Your Highness will make the arrangements."

Li Chengqian nodded, "Does the department have any other important matters to report?"

Seeing that no one was talking in the morning class, some people were already sweating profusely, and most of them had soaked their clothes. The Taiji Hall faces south, and it is extremely hot at this time.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "Then let's leave the court first. It's so hot, everyone should go to bed early. Don't forget, everyone should go to the East Palace to get soap."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Everyone walked out of the Taiji Hall and hurried towards the East Palace.

Outside the East Palace there was a bamboo basket containing soap.

Just take one with you when you leave.

He walked to Yu Zhining's side and said happily, "Minister Yu, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he admires me."

Hearing this, Yu Zhining frowned and said, "To be appreciated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Minister Chu must have something extraordinary. I've heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mention who he admired before, and then that person..."

Chu Suiliang asked, "What happened later?"

Yu Zhining clicked his tongue and said, "I forgot."

(End of this chapter)