The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 115 Impeachment by County
Although I haven't seen my brothers and sisters these days.

However, at the morning court the next day, Li Chengqian was standing in the Taiji Hall, listening to the civil and military officials arguing about the trade again, but he saw an old eunuch standing outside the hall.

This old eunuch is the one who always stands beside my father. Most likely, my father has something to tell him.

It rained for several days in a row and only stopped yesterday. It was still a little chilly this morning, but when the sun rose fully, it seemed as if a heat wave was surging between heaven and earth.

The moisture and water vapor accumulated during rainy days were evaporated in an instant.

It is very noisy in the Taiji Hall now. The court officials are divided into two groups, civil and military, and they are arguing fiercely.

After the military officers joined in the debate, the argument became even more heated. It was also stuffy in the hall and everyone's forehead was covered with sweat.

Li Chengqian stood in the Taiji Hall with a numb look on his face.

Seeing that the morning court could not continue, Li Chengqian sighed and walked around the crowd out of the Taiji Hall. The ministers were still arguing.

Outside the palace, the old eunuch walked forward with a smile and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you."

Li Chengqian turned around and took another look at the chaotic hall. He didn't know whose shoes were thrown out of the hall.

Li Chengqian wiped the sweat from his forehead and said slowly, "Please lead the way, eunuch."

The old eunuch still had a smile on his face and said, "Your Highness, please come this way."

As they followed each other, the quarreling sounds in the hall behind them became farther and farther away.

Sometimes I understand my father. After all, in such a powerful court, everyone is fighting for meaningful things. It's just a fuss that makes me feel annoyed.

What a wonderful era this is! Everyone is arguing about the affairs of family and country, and no one will do anything shady behind the scenes for the sake of petty gains.

Li Chengqian followed the old eunuch all the way from the back of Ganlu Hall to the Sanqing Hall next to the Treasury.

The Sanqing Hall seemed empty at the moment, with only a Bagua diagram hanging on the wall.

Li Shimin stood in the hall with his back to him.

Li Chengqian frowned and looked over. His father had his hands behind his back, looking up at the Bagua diagram.

Ever since Li Tang traced his roots and found Li Er as his ancestor, my father has always had a special feeling for Taoism.

But there are reasons why the legitimacy of imperial power must exist.

When he walked into the hall, he saw his father still staring at the Bagua diagram in a daze, and Li Chengqian was standing silently behind him.

The hall was quiet for a long time, with only the incense burner on the side still burning incense.

"Ugh……"

A sigh sounded in the hall.

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Why is Father sighing?"

Li Shimin took two steps forward and sat down on a redwood chair. He looked at his son and said slowly, "I heard that you went to various counties yesterday to check on the summer harvest this year?"

Li Chengqian also sat down and replied, "I am worried about this year's summer harvest."

After giving his son the power to preside over the agricultural affairs in Guanzhong, he went to check it out with great responsibility. As a father, the emperor was satisfied with his son's sense of responsibility, but he also felt that his son was too practical.

The old eunuch handed over a bowl of tea. Li Shimin sipped the tea and said, "In the future, you can find a few trustworthy people to investigate such matters."

"Your Majesty is right. I will be more careful in my future actions."

Then he thought that his son was only sixteen years old after all. Even if he was more mature than his peers, he was still kind-hearted.

Li Shimin asked again: "Don't you want me to give you the Taiye Lake as a reward?"

"If the emperor gives me a reward, how dare I refuse it?"

"Hehehe..."

Seeing his father smiling again, Li Chengqian held his temple with one hand, leaning back in his chair, his expression becoming more worried, and added: "When your father is willing to give it to me, you don't need me to ask, your father will naturally give it to me."

The laughter stopped and Li Shimin looked at his son in surprise.

"I think it would be stingy of father if I only exchange grapes for a Taiye Lake."

"Then what reward do you want?"

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. I will tell you when I have thought about it."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "But no one dares to negotiate with me in this way."

Li Chengqian also looked at the Bagua diagram hanging on the wall and said slowly: "This son is not negotiating terms with the emperor."

After talking to his son for only three or five sentences, he would feel unhappy. Li Shimin stood up and looked at a tower next to the Sanqing Palace. He looked at it and said, "How many heroes of the past are left now? When I get old one day, I will probably forget what they look like."

Li Chengqian hesitated and asked, "Why did you say that, father?"

Li Shimin whispered, "I want to build this pavilion and paint all the heroes who roamed the world in those days and hang them here, just like the family paintings in the East Palace."

Wisps of green smoke from the incense burner in the Sanqing Hall drifted towards the pavilion within sight.

"Lingyan Pavilion?"

Li Chengqian suddenly said.

Li Shimin stroked his beard and nodded, smiling and said, "Okay, this is a good name, let's call it Lingyan Pavilion."

Li Chengqian sat quietly beside his father. In fact, his father was an emperor who was very good at handling the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, which was worth learning for a son.

Because of my father's personal charm, he was surrounded by capable people like Fang Xiang, Li Yaoshi, and Yuchi Gong.

Li Shimin asked again: "How are you doing recently?"

"pretty good."

The old eunuch stood aside, listening to the calm conversation between His Majesty and the Crown Prince. There were only three people in the Sanqing Hall.

Seeing that the incense in the stove was about to burn out, the old eunuch hurriedly returned three more incense sticks.

"Very good?" Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "I have heard that yesterday, the civil and military officials in the court had a big quarrel in the Secretariat, and now the civil and military officials are quarreling again in the Taiji Hall. Do you think this is good?"

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea and said calmly, "I can handle it."

Li Shimin said: "If there is anything that requires my intervention, just tell me. I know that you are sometimes too busy to supervise the government affairs."

"I can handle it."

His Royal Highness answered in the same tone as before.

The old eunuch beside him lowered his head and sighed quietly.

Li Shimin said: "I worry too much."

There was a long silence between father and son.

Li Chengqian said: "Father, I want to ask you something."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "You go ahead."

"If I start a large-scale construction project outside Chang'an and am impeached by the court officials, will your Majesty help me?"

"You want to build a palace?" Li Shimin asked curiously.

"Not really."

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "I will see how the court officials impeach you and deal with you fairly."

"Fair?" "I always act fairly."

The old eunuch beside him sighed again.

Li Chengqian was surprised and said, "It turns out that my father is still worried about me obstructing the construction of the Summer Palace and Jiucheng Palace."

Li Shimin emphasized: "I have said that I have always been fair."

Seeing that the father and son were about to quarrel if they continued talking, the old eunuch hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, it's time for lunch."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Just bring the food over. The prince and I will have dinner in the Sanqing Hall."

"Here."

The old eunuch gave a few instructions outside the hall, and then the eunuchs outside the hall brought the meal. The meal was very simple, just a bowl of porridge made with millet and lotus seeds, a bowl of day lily and half a chicken.

Li Shimin drank a mouthful of porridge and said, "Today I thought of coming to Sanqing Temple to burn incense, so I'll eat something light."

Li Chengqian drank his porridge and said, "I have been feeling a little irritated lately."

After saying this, the father and son enjoyed their meal quietly.

It's just a little too quiet, not normal quiet.

The old eunuch asked everyone else to leave and left him alone standing aside.

After finishing the meal, Li Chengqian burped comfortably, stood up and said, "I want to rest after the meal, so I will go back to the East Palace first."

Li Shimin urged: "If you encounter any difficulties, tell me."

"If I really get into trouble, I will tell Father."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walked out of the Sanqing Hall.

The old eunuch was still waiting by the side, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is young and energetic."

Li Shimin swallowed the porridge in his mouth and nodded, "Children of this age are all like this, not only my son, but also Yuchi Gong's son and Cheng Zhijie's son. When these children get into trouble, they will know the pain."

The sun was shining brightly at noon. Li Chengqian walked from the Sanqing Hall to the Taiji Hall. The ministers who had been arguing in the hall were long gone, and the hall was empty.

After walking for a while, I began to sweat under the scorching sun and felt the ground being scorched by the sun.

Li Chengqian walked quickly to the East Palace, washed his face vigorously with cold water, and took a sip of iced water. He felt much better.

I took off my coat and boots, walked barefoot on the ground, and my whole body relaxed. As soon as I lay down, I didn't want to move.

Children of this age may have a rebellious period, but Li Chengqian does not have a so-called rebellious period. His psychological age has long left behind the immature rebellious period.

From a personal perspective, the prince is both a status and a job.

If he regards the status of the crown prince as a job, then handling state affairs, supervising national affairs, and guarding Chang'an are all within his scope of responsibility.

If you get promoted in the future, you will become the emperor.

Now I need to lay a solid foundation for the future.

The foundation of the Eastern Palace is very weak, because all the civil and military officials in the court are loyal to the emperor. When the Lingyan Pavilion is completed in the future, all the civil and military officials in the court will be more loyal to the emperor.

Li Chengqian loosened his collar and wiped his neck with a cloth soaked in ice water.

Ning'er stood aside and watched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rubbing his neck vigorously. Soon his neck turned red.

Li Chengqian simply hung a cloth soaked in ice water around his neck and looked through the memorials sent from Jingzhao Prefecture.

Because Jingyang County refused to provide grape cultivation techniques, Gaoling County impeached the Jingyang County Magistrate, Xu Jingzong, the Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture, for being arbitrary and authoritarian...

The magistrate of Duling County impeached Xu Jingzong for being selfish and refusing to share the grape kaner well irrigation method.

The magistrate of Lantian County impeached Xu Jingzong, the junior minister of Jingzhao Prefecture, for private transactions.

……

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was looking at the memorials one after another. Ning'er saw sweat running down his forehead, so she quickly picked up the fan beside her and fanned him.

Li Chengqian finished reading the memorials on the table. Without exception, they were all impeaching Jingyang or Xu Jingzong, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Li Chengqian put down the memorial angrily and lost the mood for lunch break. He said, "How does Xu Jingzong do things?"

Ning'er continued to fan His Highness in silence.

Li Chengqian put all these memorials aside, and then wrote a letter, put the memorials and the letter together, and said: "Let the eunuch in charge of Chongwen Hall hand them over to Jingzhao Prefecture."

Ning'er signaled to the palace maid beside her, and immediately the palace maid took the memorial and left.

Li Chengqian took another big gulp of cold water, then lay down and whispered, "No wonder father said these words to me in Sanqing Hall. Xu Jingzong was impeached by the counties in Chang'an, and father knew it faster than I did."

Ning Er whispered, "Nothing that happens in Chang'an can be hidden from your Majesty's eyes."

Li Chengqian turned over on the ground, took a pillow from the couch beside him, and kept lying on his side with the pillow under his head.

Then he felt that the pillow was too soft, so he took a roll of bamboo slips and placed it around his neck. Only then did he feel more comfortable lying down.

The wind blew in from the window of the East Palace, causing the Crown Prince's clothes to flutter.

Li Chengqian whispered, "You should also go to bed early."

Ning'er stopped fanning and left His Highness's bedroom.

After his breathing became steady, Li Chengqian gradually fell asleep. In his dream, he saw the rolling heads in front of Chengtian Gate again.

Suddenly waking up from a nightmare, Li Chengqian sat up and took two deep breaths of fresh air, his hair falling messily from his forehead.

He collected his thoughts and calmed himself down, stroking his forehead in pain. Perhaps he had been facing too much pressure recently, which led to this nightmare.

I stood up and looked outside the hall. The sun was gradually setting.

In fact, the impeachment of Xu Jingzong by various counties was due to other reasons besides Xu Jingzong's personal problems.

Because Jingyang County is now so wealthy, the wages that Du He pays to the villagers of Jingyang County alone are enough to make the villagers of Jingyang County rich families with some extra money.

In the past, Jingyang was an almost impoverished county in Guanzhong.

Jingyang is a typical example of poverty alleviation and prosperity in Guanzhong.

Although this case is actually... not very typical. After all, the soap was originally given to Du He by Donggong.

And Du He became the money bag of the Eastern Palace.

Later, Jingyang began to grow grapes, and the prosperity of Jingyang County became obvious to all in Guanzhong.

Judging from the memorials from various counties impeaching Xu Jingzong, and then analyzing from the perspective of him being the crown prince, there are both good and bad sides.

The good news is that all counties are determined to get rid of poverty and become rich, which is very good and just shows that there is hope for Guanzhong to get rid of poverty and become rich.

At first, all the counties were very poor and had no material foundation, so everyone lived a miserable life and could even just give up and lie down.

While other counties were still at the stage of solving the problem of food and clothing, Jingyang was the first to become rich and start eating meat.

When other counties saw that only one family in Jingyang County ate meat, conflicts would arise.

Where there are people, there will be conflicts. It is no surprise that Xu Jingzong became the target of criticism in various counties.

Who made Xu Jingzong the county magistrate of Jingyang County and the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture? How could the second-in-command of Jingzhao Prefecture favor one over the other?

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and looked at the vegetable garden outside the palace, thinking quietly.

(End of this chapter)