The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 12 Waiting for the Warm Wind
In the Imperial Observatory, the old man sitting in the center was still silent, as if he was asleep, with his eyes closed and his breathing was steady.

This person is most likely Yuan Tiangang.

But the other party didn't speak.

While listening to Li Chunfeng's words, Li Chengqian looked around and said, "Well, what you said makes sense. I also need to observe his words and expressions and judge the situation."

Li Chunfeng asked suspiciously, "Your Highness, what exactly do you want to do?"

Li Chengqian asked again: "Does Taoist Li want this chart? Or record other things in the chart, such as the stars."

"Wulian Tianzun." Li Chunfeng picked up the whisk beside him and said, "Really?"

"I think it would be better to hand it over to the Imperial Medical Bureau."

At this point, seeing that the prince was about to take the map, Li Chunfeng held his hand and said, "The doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau may not be able to help Your Highness. I know where the divine doctor Sun is now. If he can testify, he will surely be able to help Your Highness."

Li Chunfeng had a smile on his face, but his palm was pressing hard on the rice paper with the chart drawn on it, to prevent the prince from changing his mind. After all, there was a precedent.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me this merit."

Nodding his head and looking at the Taoist priest, Li Chengqian frowned and said, "Is it true that the Imperial Medical Bureau can't help me?"

Li Chunfeng stroked his beard and smiled, "The Imperial Medical Bureau can only explain to Your Majesty using pathology and pharmacology, but Princess Changle's marriage concerns the country and Your Majesty's opinion, how can this chart influence it?"

After handing the chart to Li Chunfeng, Li Chengqian quickly left the Imperial Observatory.

Li Chunfeng planned to exchange Sun Simiao's whereabouts with his father.

Just go back to the East Palace and wait for news.

I only heard that Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang hurriedly went to meet the emperor, and then the Ministry of Revenue and the Honglu Temple sent many officials to leave Chang'an.

Life passed peacefully for a few days. Ning'er was summoned to Lizheng Hall today, and it was already noon when she returned.

"Your Highness, the Queen and His Majesty have postponed Princess Changle's wedding. At least, Her Highness will not be married off this year."

Li Chengqian was not very satisfied with the dry tea leaves from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Their tea leaves were moldy and the tea water brewed from them tasted bitter.

Listening to Ning'er's report, Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I understand."

In fact, what Li Chunfeng said is not without reason. It is difficult to change the world by relying solely on a chart that records the premature death rate.

This is just like raising the banner of freedom of love in ancient times.

Although I don't know how Li Chunfeng did it, since he was able to postpone the marriage, it also gave him enough time to maneuver.

I cannot compete with my father right now, at least I don’t have the strength now.

Ning Er continued, "Master Li Chunfeng handed the chart to Your Majesty. Your Majesty will have people check various places to see if the records in the chart are true."

The brothers and sisters were playing in the back hall. Li Chengqian looked back and whispered, "The facts cannot be changed, and the facts will not lie. If they want to investigate, let them do it. The more they investigate, the clearer the facts will become."

Ning Er nodded heavily and said with a smile, "That's great. Your Majesty has finally postponed Princess Changle's wedding date."

My younger brothers and sisters are still innocent and they spent their childhood in the palace.

After noon, I would give lessons to my younger brothers and sisters.

Li Chengqian looked at his brothers and sisters who were sitting in three rows from short to tall and asked, "What is land?"

Li Lizhi replied: "It is wealth."

Li Zhi also replied: "It is food. Land is food."

"No." Li Chengqian explained again: "Land is a means of production and a tool of production. Wealth comes first after production. So those who control food are not necessarily those who control wealth. Those who control the tools of production are those who control wealth..."

It was still a lesson that they only understood half of what was being taught, and they always only understood half of what was being taught.

As for the articles sent to Hongwenguan, no one mentioned them.

In Ganlu Palace, Li Shimin was reading the articles from the Eastern Palace again. Recently, His Majesty always liked to read the articles written by the Crown Prince.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, His Majesty still prefers King Li Tai of Yue.

But when His Majesty was alone, he would always take out the articles from the Eastern Palace and read them over and over again, and His Majesty would never show these articles to outsiders.

This has even become a secret. The person in charge of the Eastern Palace will record the prince's daily life and send it to the Lizheng Palace. The Queen will then have someone extract the article and hand it over to Your Majesty.

This article talks about production relations and production tools.

These are all very novel viewpoints. Li Shimin was surprised that Cheng Qian could analyze the issue of childbirth so thoroughly.

Li Shimin drank tea and frowned as he read a passage, "Production relations are not simply confirmation of a fact of wealth, but a key that explains the logic of the mode of production and production relations, thus making it a weapon. Knowledge can be a tool, a force, and even a weapon."

There have been three articles sent from the East Palace. Li Shimin put down this one, put the weight of his body on the cushion behind him, and then rubbed his eyebrows.

"What does my son want to do?"

His Majesty whispered this, and then put the articles sent from the East Palace into a wooden box.

After showing the article to Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji for the first time, Your Majesty never showed the article to outsiders again.

By mid-January, there were finally a few sunny days in Guanzhong.

The people in Chang'an City also began to become active, and envoys from various countries began to move among the court officials of the Tang Dynasty. Recently, there were rumors that the Heavenly Khan was going to send troops to the Hexi Corridor.

Sometimes Li Chengqian would still care about these rumors. While he was trying to improve the quality of life in the Eastern Palace, he would occasionally inquire about the situation outside.

Today, there were guests in the East Palace again, and they were Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode.

Yu Zhining has been busy in the Secretariat recently. He is a person at the center of power, and as the Secretary of the Secretariat, he is directly involved in major decisions of the court.

As for Xu Xiaode, he didn't know if it was because Gao Shilian came to ask about it that day, but the old man went to see Xu Xiaode again.

Today, he didn't even bring his daughter with him. Was he worried that I, as the crown prince, was planning to take advantage of his daughter, so he hid Xu Hui in my home?
Walking into the Chongwen Hall, Li Chengqian looked at the two and said with a smile, "It's been a long time since we last met."

Li Chengqian sat down and asked, "How are you these days?"

Yu Zhining bowed and said, "Everything has been fine lately."

Xu Xiaode sat aside, his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart, sitting quietly like a wooden sculpture.

"I heard that the Tang Dynasty is planning to send troops to the Hexi Corridor recently?"

Yu Zhining said, "There is indeed discussion in the court. Several generals in the court have reached the point where they can no longer tolerate Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun has been causing chaos for so many years, and it is time to deal with it. The court meeting is about to begin. There have been too many rumors in the court these days, but none of them has been personally agreed to by Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Yu Zhining continued, "There are rumors in the court and the public that the price of grain has risen to six coins per dou recently. They say that because of the upcoming war, grain has become more valuable. Before your Majesty issues an order, these are all rumors."

"Tuoba? How is Tubo doing recently?" Li Chengqian whispered, "I heard that there is a young man named Songtsen Gampo in Tubo who is very capable."

"Tibet?" Yu Zhining said, "Tibet is vast and sparsely populated, and the land is barren. It is nothing to be afraid of at the moment."

"Yeah." Li Chengqian responded again and asked about the current situation in the north of the Tang Dynasty. He then talked about the several times that Zhenzhu Yinan Khan of the Xueyantuo in Mobei wanted to marry the Tang Dynasty.

Yu Zhining is a walking encyclopedia. If you ask him a question or two about the affairs of the court, he can always explain them clearly.

So much so that Xu Xiaode was speechless.

Ning Er brought boiled water. Li Chengqian smiled awkwardly and said, "The East Palace is in financial difficulty recently. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you two."

"It's okay. I don't like alcohol either." Xu Xiaode, who had been silent on the side, finally spoke.

"I heard that the prince has the habit of drinking boiled water. It turns out to be true."

Ning Er first bowed to the two gentlemen, and then said, "Your Highness, Du He is here."

Knowing that there would be guests coming to the East Palace, Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode bowed and took their leave.

Li Chengqian is fifteen years old this year. It is said that children of this age change every year. In Ning'er's eyes, His Highness has changed a lot.

Du He walked quickly into the Chongwen Hall and said with a bitter face, "Your Highness!"

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "Du He, why do you look so bad?"

Du He sniffed in grievance and continued, "Earlier, His Highness said that he wanted to build a production base and told me to go home and wait for news. I have been unable to sleep or eat, and have been waiting for news from His Highness. It has been half a month, and there is still no news."

After saying that, Du He slowly raised his head and said, "Your Highness, you didn't forget it, did you?"

"I haven't forgotten." Li Chengqian gave Ning'er a look first.

Then Ning'er left quickly, and when she came back, she was holding a roll of cloth in her hand.

Spread out the silk cloth, and you will see all kinds of instruments drawn on it.

Du He frowned and asked, "Your Highness, what is this?"

Li Chengqian explained: "This is papermaking."

"Hmm? Papermaking?" Du He looked at it carefully and asked, "Papermaking? Are you going to sell paper in the future?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "This is just the first step."

There is indeed paper in Guanzhong, but the price of paper is so expensive that it makes people's teeth hurt. Even the Xuan paper used in the court now is saved as much as possible.

It would be fine if it were other things, but what can’t be done with cloth, silk, fur, or anything else?
Must we make paper? Du He was troubled and said in a dilemma: "This papermaking is really..."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Why? Are you scared?"

"I'm afraid of being questioned by the government."

"It's okay. Just keep things secret and be responsible for production. You don't have to worry about how to sell it. This way, even if the government interrogates you, you won't be implicated."

Even with the prince's assurance, Du He still felt uneasy. He was not a fool like Zhao Jie, who would take the position of commander of the Right Army of the Eastern Palace without any agreement. One can imagine his current fate.

"Do you know the Tibetan envoy?"

"I don't know him." Du He replied subconsciously.

"I want to meet you."

Du He bowed and said, "I'll arrange it right away."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Thank you for your help."

After everyone left, only Li Chengqian and Ning'er were left in Chongwen Hall.

"Sister Ning'er."

"kindness?"

Li Chengqian said: "There is no need to tell Father what happened today."

Looking at His Highness's face, Ning'er suddenly smiled gently, bowed slightly and said, "Yes."

After saying this, Li Chengqian put his hands behind his back and strode out of the Chongwen Hall.

As soon as the guests left, Ning'er cleaned up the place, scrubbed the original floor, put away the bowls that had been used to boil boiled water, and hurried back to the East Palace.

In the past, we always followed the Queen's arrangements.

Now that His Highness has asked me to keep it a secret, Ning'er is naturally willing to help His Highness keep it a secret. In my heart, I have already regarded His Highness the Crown Prince as my younger brother, so this little thing doesn't matter to me.

"Sister Ning'er." Dongyang came running over and said, "These boots can no longer fit."

When they were growing, the princesses and princes had to change their clothes every year. Last year’s clothes would no longer fit this year, and last year’s shoes would no longer fit this year.

Ning Er took the shoes and said, "I made a few extra pairs of cloth shoes last night. Just ask Xiaofu to get them."

The East Palace is now lively and bustling.

The climate in Guanzhong had just bid farewell to the severe winter, and the sun had only been out for three or two days, but the weeds in front of the East Palace had started growing again.

When Li Chengqian had nothing to do, he took care of the environment of the East Palace. He made a seesaw, a swing, and pulled weeds.

The entire Guanzhong area is also waiting for the sound of spring thunder, looking forward to the early arrival of warm spring.

In general, the climate in Datang is still relatively warm.

The city of Chang'an is full of vitality. The holiday is about to end. There are more and more envoys from various countries in Chang'an, and the West Market, which has been deserted in the past, is also bustling.

The vast majority of Tuyuhun people and envoys from Mobei lived here.

Du He took the opportunity to meet the Tubo envoy, Lu Dongzan.

The next day, with Du He's intervention, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lu Dongzan met at the Honglu Temple.

The current Honglu Temple Minister Li Baiyao has begun preparing to receive envoys from various countries early on. Maintaining diplomatic relations with foreign envoys is the main job of the Honglu Temple.

Among the envoys from various countries, there were court officials who had contacts with Tuyuhun envoys, or there were Turks or Xueyantuo people from the northern desert.

Only the prince wanted to meet the envoy from Tubo.

What is there to see from an envoy from a poor place like Tubo?

Since it was the Crown Prince's request, this meeting between the heir apparent of the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo envoy was held under the auspices of the Honglu Temple.

Lu Dongzan was still wearing Tibetan clothes, and other envoys who came to the Tang Dynasty also wore Tang clothes.

I don’t know if these Tibetans are arrogant or if they have no money and can’t even afford a set of clothes.

Standing in front of the gate of Honglu Temple, Lu Dongzan looked from afar and saw a man in plain white clothes walking towards him, with a woman following him.

The other party's steps were not fast. He waited until he reached in front of him, and then Lu Dongzan bowed and saluted using the Tibetan etiquette.

Li Chengqian looked him up and down and asked curiously, "Are you Lu Dongzan?"

"The foreign minister is Lu Dongzan."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I have heard a lot about you, Prime Minister of Tubo."

Lu Dongzan quickly withdrew his hand, took three or two steps back, and bowed humbly again.

Li Baiyao, who was currently serving as the Minister of the Honglu Temple, said with a smile, "Your Highness, the food and drinks have been prepared."

(End of this chapter)