The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 142 The Suffering of Others

Liu Rengui has a prominent place in history books, but this man who came from a poor family, was able to give direct advice in literature and lead troops in martial arts, is indeed unforgettable.

Li Chengqian didn't know what kind of person Liu Rengui was. As Li Tai said, he came here to see Liu Rengui.

I'm still very curious.

Li Chengqian also stood up and handed the fish basket to General Li Ji, who would deliver the fish to the Eastern Palace. He then handed the fishing rod in his hand to Xue Wanbei.

After washing his hands by the river, Li Chengqian turned around and saw that Li Tai had released all the fish.

Looking at the Wei River which had finally calmed down after the autumn rain, Li Chengqian looked towards the other side of the river and saw many villagers busy in the fields. They needed to pick up the Platycodon grandiflorum to use for lighting fires for heating, or sell them to others as fodder.

Li Ke hung the fish basket around his waist and handed the fishing rod to Xue Wanbei beside him.

This was the first time that Xue Wanbei, who had been stationed outside for many years, came to Chang'an City to take up his post, and it was also the first time that he went fishing with the prince.

Probably because the prince trusted him, Xue Wanbei took three fishing rods and helped to keep them.

Li Chengqian and Li Tai each got on a carriage, only Li Ke climbed onto the horse's back and guarded the prince's carriage.

Li Ji asked the team to organize themselves before heading towards Chang'an City.

As usual, General Li Ji sat on the shaft of the carriage and personally drove the horse for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The prince's words were heard from inside the carriage.

"General Xue?"

Xue Wanbei bowed and asked, "What do you want, Your Highness?"

"Are you from Hedong?"

Riding his horse beside the carriage, Xue Wanbei could not see the prince's expression at the moment and could only judge his prince's current mood from his tone.

"Your Highness, I am indeed from Hedong."

The three brothers Xue Wanjun, Xue Wanshu and Xue Wanbei all served in the army. The oldest of them, Xue Wanjun, the eldest brother of Xue Wanbei and Xue Wanshu, was a general in the army.

The three brothers in the family all served Li Tang.

Li Chengqian continued, "Hedong is truly a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Both the Pei and Xue families in Hedong have produced many capable officials and famous generals."

Xue Wanbei said: "I am ashamed that I am not as brave as my two brothers."

"Do you know Pei Xingjian?"

"Your Highness, I don't know him." Xue Wanbei explained, "After so many years, the Xue family has long been in decline and is no longer as prosperous as it used to be. After several wars, the Hedong Pei family is no longer prosperous."

"Do you know Xue Rengui?"

Xue Wanbei replied: "I don't know him. If he is from Hedong, I can write a letter and ask them to bring him over."

"no need."

Hearing the reply from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the carriage, Xue Wanbei nodded heavily and said, "Yes."

Li Chengqian reminded him again: "General, don't worry. I came here to relax."

Li Ji pulled the reins of the horse to slow down the carriage, so that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have some time to enjoy the autumn scenery by the Wei River.

There were many dignitaries who came out from Chang'an City to hunt. When they were about to reach Chang'an City, there were many fur traders along the official road near Chang'an, and many taverns were set up.

With military escort and two luxurious carriages, people on the official road quickly made way for the troop, vendors stopped shouting, and passers-by lowered their voices to talk, watching the troop pass by the official road.

It was not until the carriage entered Chang'an City that the official road became bustling again.

After entering Chang'an City, the carriage went all the way to the gate of Dali Temple.

Li Tai walked down the carriage road and said, "Liu Rengui has been taken in. Brother, don't you want to go in and take a look?"

Li Chengqian glanced at the Dali Temple and continued, "No need, just wait here. The news will be delivered sooner or later anyway."

Li Ji left first with the escorting troops, leaving Xue Wanbei and several soldiers to guard the prince.

Sitting down on the street opposite the Dali Temple, Li Chengqian asked, "Where's your fish?"

Li Ke came back to his senses and untied the fish basket around his waist. The three fish were now opening their mouths and no longer struggling, and were in a dying state.

"General Xue, kill the fish."

"Here."

Let Xue Wanbei kill the fish, and let Li Ke grill the fish, and several people wait for the result.

Soon after, he saw the Shaoqing of Dali Temple. Sun Fujia quickly ran out of Dali Temple and rushed all the way towards the imperial city.

Following them were soldiers from Chencang Prefecture who were escorting Liu Rengui.

Li Taiduo glanced at Sun Fujia's back, then picked up a book and sat aside to read.

Li Ke used a few wooden sticks to prop up the whole fish, then started grilling the fish over a fire on the street.

While reading, Li Tai looked to the side and saw his brother sitting against the wall with his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed as if he was resting.

Li Tai, feeling depressed, couldn't understand why his brother cared so much about other people's suffering.

There was also news about Weinan County sent by Xu Jingzong, asking Pei Xingjian to temporarily take over the position of Weinan County Magistrate. After all, Jingzhao Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of the prince, and Weinan County would sooner or later become a place where the prince had the final say.

Looking at his brother Li Ke standing beside him, he was still eating grilled fish with a smile on his face, looking completely free of worries.

Although he was staring at the book in his hand, Li Tai found that he couldn't concentrate at all.

A middle-aged scholar dressed in a blue shirt and like a scholar passed by the Dali Temple. He saw three young men in luxurious clothes, accompanied by armored guards. Most of them were the sons of powerful people in Chang'an City.

I thought it was better to have less trouble than more.

But looking at the young dandies in front of him, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Recently, there are more and more young dandies in Chang'an City.

He pointed at a few people and said, "Do you know what this place is? In front of the Dali Temple, there is a fire and grilling fish?"

Li Ke looked back at the person who was scolding him and ignored him.

Xue Wanbei placed his hand on the sword at his waist, stepped forward and glared at the scholar who was shouting.

The other party stepped back, pointed at these playboys, muttered a few words, and was about to leave.

To be precise, this Dali Temple was opened by the father of these three young men.

The salaries of the Dali Temple were all paid by the Crown Prince.

Even the sensible officials from the Dali Temple did not dare to disturb them.

There has been no news since Liu Rengui was taken to the Dali Temple.

Soon another official hurried back to the Dali Temple.

Li Tai said: "General Xue, go ask what's going on. Sun Shaoqing should have reported this matter, why hasn't he come back?"

"Here."

Xue Wanbei hurried over to ask a few questions, and then came back and said, "Your Highness, Sun Shaoqing went to see His Majesty and told him about the incident in Chencang. His Majesty was shocked and angry." Li Chengqian nodded slightly and asked, "Is the fish cooked?"

Li Ke was still grilling the fish and said, "It's not cooked yet."

"Then wait."

After a while, Sun Fujia came running towards them with his official hat in one hand. Li Chengqian said in a clear voice, "Shaoqing Sun."

Hearing this, Sun Fujia hurried over and bowed, saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the King of Wei, Your Highness the King of Wu, you shouldn't be grilling fish here."

Li Chengqian whispered, "Did Qingque bring the money?"

Li Tai said: "Ah?"

"To light a fire in front of the Dali Temple is disrespectful to the government office. A fine of 500 yuan and hard labor for half a year will be imposed."

Sun Fujia said: "The hard labor can be exempted, but Your Highness the Crown Prince knowingly committed the crime, so the fine should not be 500 coins, but one string of coins."

Seeing that Li Tai looked embarrassed and probably couldn't come up with the money, Li Chengqian said, "Ask Du He for it."

Sun Fujia asked again: "Your Highness, are you waiting for news here?"

"Well, how does Father plan to deal with Liu Rengui?"

"No decision has been made yet, but Your Majesty probably doesn't have the extra energy to deal with Liu Rengui."

"Why do you say that?" Li Tai was a little surprised.

"Alas!" Sun Fujia sighed heavily and said, "The soldiers who escorted Liu Rengui here handed in a volume of charges. It was Yu Ning who harmed the villagers after he was appointed as the commander of Zhechongfu. Your Majesty was shocked and angry. Now I still admire Liu Rengui very much."

Li Chengqian picked up a hot pancake from the fire, put a small fish baked by Li Ke in the pancake, sprinkled some pepper and salt on it, and walked quickly towards the Dali Temple. He turned around and said to the others, "You can go back first."

Li Tai and Li Ke looked at each other in silence, put out the fire in front of them, asked Xue Wanbei to pack up, and then left.

The Dali Temple seemed a bit gloomy. The official in charge was very quiet, and three or two minor clerks stood aside without saying a word.

The people of the Tang Dynasty were tough and the officials were even tougher, especially in the early stages of the dynasty.

A captain was beaten to death by a county magistrate. No one would believe it if this story were made public, but it happened.

Now the murderer who killed the captain was sitting cross-legged in the Dali Temple.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Liu Ren asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to kill me? When can I see you?"

"You are just a county magistrate. There is no need for the emperor to meet with a county magistrate."

Hearing the voice behind him, Liu Rengui smiled sadly and said, "Your Majesty should see me. I killed the captain who was personally appointed by your Majesty and was recently promoted."

Li Chengqian stood behind him and asked, "Do you regret it?"

Liu Ren track: "Regret."

"Why do you regret it?"

Liu Rengui's eyes were red, he lowered his head and said: "At first, Yu Ning bullied the villagers, I just tried to persuade him but he became more and more arrogant again and again. As the county magistrate, I want to maintain the stability of the county. If I don't kill him, the hearts of thousands of villagers in Chencang County will be unsettled. If the villagers of Chencang become rioters and cause chaos, I will be blamed for it even if I die."

"So I killed him. After I killed him, I saw the eyes of the villagers in Chencang. At that moment, I felt that killing him was worth it."

"I regret it because I should have killed Yu Ning before he was appointed as the commander of the Zhechou Commandery. This way, I would not have brought shame to the army."

Li Chengqian held a still-hot cake in his hand and said, "Then you still don't regret it."

Liu Rengui said slowly: "Am I going to die now?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "He's probably going to die."

“Hehehe…” Liu Rengui suddenly laughed and said slowly: “I’ll die if I want to. I have a clear conscience and I won’t be ashamed to die!”

In the quiet Dali Temple, voices were heard from behind.

"Some people are just dead when they die, but some people will be remembered in history after they die. You can just regard yourself as dead, and after death you will have a new life."

After saying that, Liu Rengui slowly turned his head to look at the person behind him, and his slightly red eyes looked at the young man.

He was wearing a round-necked robe, expensive clothes, and stood straight. He looked young and not yet old enough to grow a beard.

"Is the cake I gave you still there?"

Seeing Liu Rengui stunned on the spot, Sun Fujia said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked if the cake he sent you is still there."

Hearing this, knowing the identity of the person behind him, Liu Rengui hurriedly stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, I greet your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian asked again: "Where is the cake I gave you?"

Liu Rengui took out the cake from his arms. Maybe because his clothes were dirty, the cake was also a little dirty.

"I doubted the Crown Prince's good intentions. I am ashamed."

Li Chengqian put the baked cake with fish in it into his hands and ordered, "Eat it."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Liu Rengui was a little confused now. He took the cake and started eating. He was escorted all the way from Chencang to Chang'an. He was already starving and had not eaten for two days and one night.

Sun Fujia ordered someone to bring him a bowl of cold water, and then sat beside the prince, whispering, "The news from Chencang is that this County Lieutenant Liu was escorted to Chang'an, and many villagers in Chencang are seeing him off."

Li Chengqian said: "If he is really sentenced to death by the emperor, the court will have nothing to say, because he killed a captain, which is a pity..."

Sun Fujia said: "Your Highness, I admire the character of County Lieutenant Liu. It would be a pity if he died like this."

Seeing that Liu Rengui was still eating the bread and couldn't swallow the food in his mouth because he ate too fast, he drank a bowl of water.

Li Chengqian looked at the man. He had a short beard and messy hair, but his eyes were determined.

Sun Fujia whispered, "Your Highness, this Liu Rengui has been poor and orphaned since childhood, and he is studious. It is rumored that he is a descendant of the Han royal family. When the emperor was still in power, he valued him very much and offered him generous treatment, but he refused it all. Since he took office as the lieutenant of Chencang County, he has been conscientious in his duties and has never slacked off."

So, God favors the Tang Dynasty. Even though there are many bad people in the Tang Dynasty, there are also many good people in the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Rengui is a good man. Perhaps because of his experiences since childhood, he has a special feeling for ordinary villagers.

Even though he felt that he would definitely die this time, after killing the captain, he only regretted that he killed him too late and that he was not cruel enough as the captain.

As a county magistrate, why should I hesitate about eliminating harm for the people?
Liu Rengui finished eating two pancakes and a grilled fish, then stood up and saluted, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

Li Chengqian looked at him and smiled, "I am waiting here for my father's arrangement."

After saying that, Liu Rengui continued to sit cross-legged, put his hands on his knees, closed his eyes and breathed deeply again and again.

Soon, the Palace Attendant Censor Zhang Xingcheng walked into the Dali Temple.

Sun Fujia hurriedly stood up to greet him and said, "Imperial Censor Zhang."

Zhang Xingcheng looked at Liu Rengui who was sitting cross-legged on the ground: "Is this County Lieutenant Liu?"

Sun Fujia nodded and said, "That's right."

Liu Rengui still sat there without answering.

"I admire you." Zhang Xingcheng said loudly: "His Majesty said that if there are any officers in the Zhechoufu who do evil things like Yu Ning, the local county magistrate can arrest them and not pursue the matter, but they must report the truth!"

(End of this chapter)