The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 112: The Stingy Father

Xu Jingzong hurried forward and helped pick up the documents on the ground.

Li Dao Zong smiled and said, "I heard that Xu Shao Yin and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are very close."

Xu Jingzong said, "I only see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a few times a year, so I can't say we are close. I just follow His Royal Highness' instructions and take charge of many matters in Jingyang."

"Alas, now I also have to obey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's orders. You don't have to be so polite. You two can hang out with me more often in the future. After all, we are all working for the Crown Prince."

Xu Jingzong said quickly: "I am willing to sacrifice my life for the country of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Daozong handed over two volumes of documents and said, "Go to Weinan County to find the county lieutenant Pei Xingjian, and take a trip to Weibei to see if sorghum can be grown on the dry plateau in Weibei."

Xu Jingzong took the document and bowed, saying, "Yes."

Li Dao Zong waved his hand lightly and said, "Go ahead. I don't have any skills and can only rely on you. Let me rest for a while."

Xu Jingzong bowed repeatedly and walked out of Jingzhao Prefecture with Guo Luotuo.

Walking along Zhuque Street, heading towards Chunming Gate, we are leaving Chang'an City and heading to Weinan County.

Looking back at Guo Luotuo who was following behind him, Xu Jingzong said, "Brother Guo, let's have breakfast first."

Guo Luotuo said: "On weekdays, I don't need breakfast."

"This is the rule of Jingyang, and also the rule of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Three meals a day."

"Here."

Seeing the other party's respectful look, Xu Jingzong hurriedly said: "You don't have to be like this, Minister of Agriculture. You and I are at most equal."

Guo Luotuo smiled and said, "I'm used to it."

The two found a shop and sat down to eat porridge and some mutton.

Xu Jingzong asked, "Brother Guo, have you got married?"

Guo Luotuo shook his head and continued to eat. He wiped his mouth with his distinctly black and white palm and said, "I am not good-looking, and young men are unwilling to marry me."

"Alas... worldly views."

Guo Luotuo whispered, "I gave the money to my old mother at home and asked her to find a wife."

Guo Luotuo looked to be no more than 20 years old, not good at speaking, but very sincere.

After breakfast, Xu Jingzong and Guo Luotuo hurried out of the city.

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian had just finished his court session and was correcting the homework of his younger brothers and sisters, as he had not finished grading them yesterday.

They can play as much as they want, but they can't fall behind in their studies, and they can't neglect their studies.

At first I thought Li Shen was very talented in architecture, but now it seems that his ability to understand is more focused on geometric figures.

Li Chengqian finished marking all the test papers, let out a long sigh, and whispered, "There really is no improvement at all. Is it because I am not teaching correctly?"

Ning Er stood aside and made a bowl of tea for His Highness, saying, "In fact, Your Highness's talent has surpassed many of his peers. Among his peers in the Imperial Academy, especially in terms of mathematics, the teachers all praised him highly."

"is it?"

"Because of this, Your Highness should stop complaining about yourself."

Li Chengqian said: "Thank you, Sister Ning'er, for comforting me."

Ning Er said: "This is not consolation, it is the achievement of His Highness."

Li Chengqian picked up the document beside him and flipped through it casually. Yesterday, in addition to promoting Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi, and Guo Luotuo, his father also promoted the Palace Censor Zhang Xingcheng to the position of Minister of Justice.

"Father has always valued those civil officials whose family backgrounds are relatively ordinary and whose positions are opposed to those of the aristocratic families. In contrast, the children of aristocratic families would not be promoted in this way. People have different positions and consider different interests."

Hearing His Highness say this, Ning Er whispered, "Many old officials have left the court in the past two years."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Not only that, these civil officials will become the backbone of the Li Tang Dynasty."

Ning Er replied: "Your Highness has considered it far-reachingly."

"As the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, I must also study state policy and learn how to appoint officials." Li Chengqian whispered, "The power I can mobilize is still too weak."

It was just like when my father asked my uncle to compile the clan records and he insisted on re-arranging the surnames.

This behavior would not only put the Li family, as the emperor, in a difficult position, but would also restrict the development of the aristocratic family.

After all, it is all for the stability of imperial power and the legitimacy of the throne.

However, when my father was angry and had a conflict with the clan, he was persuaded by Prime Minister Fang and others.

Is clan history important?
Not necessarily.

It should be set on fire.

Of course, these words cannot come out of the mouth of a prince, otherwise the Crown Prince of the East Palace will become the target of public criticism.

Xiaofu walked over quickly, handed over the document and said, "Your Highness, it was sent from Jingzhao Prefecture."

Li Chengqian opened the document and flipped through it. It was a work brief written by the emperor's uncle. He sent Xu Jingzong and Guo Luotuo to Weinan to help Pei Xingjian with his work.

Xiaofu handed over another letter and said, "Your Highness, this is a letter from Master Du He."

The grapes in Jingyang have all been picked. In addition to being distributed to every household in Jingyang Village, the remaining ones that could not be eaten were all sold.

Du He sold all of his sixty acres of grapes in just one day.

In just one day, Du He earned another 3,000 strings of cash from grapes. An acre of grapes grown in Guanzhong can be sold for around 50,000 strings of cash, which means the average profit per acre is 50 strings of cash.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Du He is becoming more and more like a big businessman."

Ning Er replied: "If it is sold to the counties east of Guanzhong, the price can be even higher."

Xiaofu said: "Well, if we sell it to the east of Mount Xiao, we can make more money."

Now Du He is frantically absorbing Ying Gong's business experience and Ying Gong's original business channels, and is growing into the largest businessman in Guanzhong.

Du He made his first fortune from soap, and was the first to reap the benefits from tables and chairs. Jingyang was also the first to benefit from the trade.

Before he knew it, Du He found that his huge fortune was nothing to him and he even felt troubled by it.

In addition to converting money into labor, as a long-term and short-term labor asset, it can also be exchanged for silver cakes.

So far, he has not thought of a way to convert a large amount of copper coins into a more stable asset.

Li Chengqian sighed, "In just two years, Du He has become so rich. Did you know that? Cheng Chumo used Jingyang's money to eat and drink lavishly outside, and Du He didn't even blink an eye."

Ning Er whispered, "Young General Chu Mo will be a good helper to Your Highness in the future."

"A good helper for me?"

Xiaofu said, "Your Highness will need help in the future."

Xiaofu is not tall and not very smart, but even she knows that the Donggong needs help now because the Donggong is too weak.

Looking at the present, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Du He still rejected my suggestion."

Ning Er asked, "Are you going to let Master Du He manage the land business?"

"Silver and gold are still the hardest currencies. The only thing Du He can have is real estate," Ning'er whispered, "but if he buys and sells houses in Chang'an and drives up the prices, Du He will be blamed. The reputation of the Jingzhao Du family is an extremely important asset."

According to Ning'er, if he were to get involved in this kind of business, this shameful behavior would be the biggest waste of money.

It was not easy to live in Chang'an City. In the later period when the political situation was stable, it was extremely precious to have a house in Chang'an.

This is why Han Yu later said, "It can be said that being noble yet able to be poor is the effect of a benevolent person not being rich."

This is a manifestation of Chang'an's excessive "urbanization".

Xiaofu looked up at Sister Ning'er and whispered, "Sister Ning is talking more and more like the Crown Prince now. The word 'assets' is so uncommon."

Ning'er's face flushed slightly, and she quickly said, "I just said it casually."

"Many times when I was teaching my younger brothers and sisters, Sister Ning would listen by the side and naturally learn." Li Chengqian looked at Xiaofu and said, "But you, you usually stand by and listen but don't really understand."

Xiaofu lowered her head, "Sometimes the principles His Royal Highness talks about are too profound for me to understand."

This girl is not very smart, but she is a good chef in the East Palace.

Li Chengqian stood up and said, "Everyone has his or her own areas of expertise. Xiaofu is very good at cooking and can innovate."

Xiaofu put his hands on his stomach, his face flushed with praise, and said shyly, "Your Highness, you are too kind."

Ning'er smiled. Regardless of whether the prince's words were intentional or unintentional, this would undoubtedly make the Eastern Palace more united.

This is a good thing. Only when the Eastern Palace is united and works together can it better serve His Highness.

Xiaofu's abilities are indeed worthy of praise.

Li Chengqian sighed: "What are we having for dinner tonight?"

Xiaofu said quickly: "I will go and see what we can eat tonight."

She walked out of the bedroom with brisk steps.

The Tang Dynasty had only undergone a slight change, and that change was that Li Yuan would sing loudly by the Taiye Lake.

The grandfather who was decadent and depressed in the past now has a desire to live a long life. When he sang this song, his inner yearning for the future was self-evident.

Noon had passed, and it was afternoon when the prince left the East Palace.

The sky is gloomy today, and it will probably rain.

Ning'er caught up with him a few steps, holding the bamboo umbrella, and said, "Your Highness, it's going to rain."

Then, she stood at the gate of the East Palace and watched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walk away alone with an umbrella.

Li Chengqian walked out of Chengtian Gate and went all the way to the Secretariat. Then there was a rumbling thunder in the sky. There was a thunderstorm in Chang'an in July.

When it was raining heavily, Li Chengqian ran into the Secretariat in two steps.

"Uncle, this is the document from Jingzhao Prefecture."

There were not many people in the Secretariat, only Yu Zhining and Cen Wenben helped to check documents from various places.

Changsun Wuji was reviewing the document. He took it and glanced at it, then said calmly, "Your Highness does not need to report everything."

Li Chengqian sat down with his hands in his pockets, "That's right. It won't be too late to tell uncle when I have achieved results, or when I get into trouble."

Hearing this, Changsun Wuji frowned and looked around.

The pen in Yu Zhining's hand paused slightly.

Cen Wenben also smiled awkwardly.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince speaks directly and does not beat around the bush when talking to Duke Zhao.

In fact, the reason why His Majesty asked Duke Zhao to look after the prince was simply because he was worried that the prince would get into trouble, and if there were any results, Duke Zhao would be informed immediately.

Zhang Sun Wuji said worriedly, "If I get into trouble, I will take the blame together with Your Highness."

Cen Wenben picked out a scroll from a pile of documents and said, "Your Highness, this is sent by Tubo."

Li Chengqian took the document and frowned, "Tibetan?"

Cen Wenben replied: "Lu Dongzan, the Prime Minister of Tubo, knows about the trade between Guanzhong and the Turks, and also knows that people from the Western Regions buy soap from the Central Plains. Now the Tubo people also want documents for the trade."

Li Chengqian looked at Lu Dongzan's letter and said with a smile, "This Tibetan prime minister has made great progress in the Central Plains writing."

Cen Wenben bowed and said, "I heard that the Tubo Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have a close relationship. So it is true."

"I did have some correspondence with Lu Dongzan, but it was just one-sided correspondence from him." Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "Look, the letter also said that he still has the soap I gave him, and he hopes to buy more soap from the Tang Dynasty."

Cen Wenben asked: "How should I reply to this letter?"

Zhang Sun Wuji glanced at the letter and whispered, "Since the trade can bring profits to the court, why not give him the trade documents?"

"Uncle, the court has only three trade documents for the Turks, and only one for Gaochang in the Western Regions. There are only four documents in total as proof of trade."

"I know that only with the certificate can we conduct larger-scale transactions with the Tang Dynasty."

"That's right. We can't just give it to you as we please. Wouldn't that make us in the Tang Dynasty seem very casual in the trade?"

Changsun Wuji seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

There was silence for a moment in the Secretariat, and Cen Wenben asked again, "Your Highness, do you mean to refuse?"

Li Chengqian took two steps back and forth, and said with a firm look: "Reject Tubo."

Cen Wenben looked at the Duke of Zhao who was standing beside him, and when the Duke of Zhao nodded, he nodded and said, "Yes."

The Turks exchanged their sheep for soap from Guanzhong. After getting the soap, they could trade it with the Uighurs and use the soap to buy more war horses from the Uighurs.

The prince of Gaochang got the soap, took it back to Gaochang, and sold it at several times the price.

In other words, whoever gets the Tang Dynasty's trade certificate can control the trade price difference, which is a huge profit.

If the Tibetans wanted to obtain goods from them, they had to buy them from others at a higher price.

The Tang Dynasty's trade opened a window for neighboring countries, but at the same time closed a door.

In the face of huge profits, the Tang Dynasty's voice will become more important, and trade and taxation can also affect the Tang Dynasty's diplomacy at various levels.

Of course, Li Chengqian didn't care that a group of people would be fattened up between the Western Regions and the Turks in the future. The wealth of these people would sooner or later belong to the Tang Dynasty. It was only a matter of time before he would bring this wealth back to the Tang Dynasty.

Now, let my uncle give a reply to the Tibetans in the letter and let Cen Wenben send it out.

After a while of heavy rain, it turned into a light rain with constant rumbling thunder.

Li Chengqian stood under the eaves of the Secretariat, watching the rain falling from the gloomy sky, "Uncle, isn't it a bit stingy for the emperor not to give me the Taiye Lake?"

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "Does Your Highness care?"

Li Chengqian was surprised and said, "If I want it, can my uncle help me ask my father for it?"

"It was the Prince of Jin who asked for the Taiye Lake to be given to His Highness. If His Highness the Crown Prince asks His Majesty personally, His Majesty will give it to him."

After saying this, Changsun Wuji also stood under the eaves looking at the rain.

(End of this chapter)