The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 150 Acting righteously
Xu Jingzong continued, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu doesn't need to take care of anything here."

Liu Rengui smiled bitterly and said, "You still say it wasn't arranged by the prince."

"Whatever you think is up to you."

After leaving these words, Xu Jingzong left. It was not that he could not work with Liu Rengui, but it was very difficult to get along with such a person. He would keep asking questions until your scalp numbs.

As the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture, Xu Jingzong had to deal with such people. At this moment, he was very moved by himself. It was all for the people of Guanzhong, so he was willing to risk his life.

Li Ke was busy in Xianyang County for a whole day. It was not until nightfall that he returned to the imperial city and hurried to the Chongwen Hall of the Eastern Palace.

There were quite a few people here at the moment. Li Chengqian was sitting here playing chess with General Li Jing. Hejian County Prince Li Xiaogong stood aside with a frown, watching the killing on the chessboard in silence.

Li Ke stepped forward quickly and said, "Royal brother."

Li Chengqian looked at the chessboard with a serious expression. Facing such a powerful opponent, he fell into deep thought and replied, "Did you do hard labor today?"

"Exactly."

"Go on, spend more time with the simple folks in the neighborhood, and spend less time with those playboys."

"Brother, I obey your orders."

Li Chengqian raised his eyes and looked at the general holding the black chess piece.

Li Xiaogong said with emotion: "I didn't expect that Li Weigong could fight with the prince for so many rounds. It's wonderful."

The situation on the chessboard was naturally exciting, with both sides having very few pieces left.

In my previous life, I played a lot of chess with the elderly people in the hospital, whether it was Go or chess, and I had already mastered the sophisticated moves at that time.

But it was a bit difficult to face General Li Jing.

Li Chengqian slowly pushed his cart forward and said, "General."

Li Jing had no choice but to sacrifice his position.

Li Chengqian responded quickly, pushed his horse forward again, and said, "General again."

Faced with the prince's continuous attacks, Li Jing moved his generals.

So Li Chengqian pushed the other horse forward and said, "General!"

Li Jing wanted to move the chessboard again, but found that he was finally in checkmate.

Seeing that the chess game was about to be won or lost, Li Xiaogong said loudly: "As expected of Lord Li Wei, he can fight with the crown prince like this."

Li Jing looked at the chessboard that had been checked and whispered, "The prince wanted to move my Xiang away so that the knight would have a direction to attack, but there were only a few pieces left and he was too exhausted to deal with it, so he lost."

Li Xiaogong said: "I played chess with the Crown Prince, but I could not last more than ten moves."

Li Jing was still not satisfied, and nodded, "No wonder Your Majesty never plays chess with the Crown Prince."

There were laughter and cheers coming from the Chongwen Hall. Li Yuan came out holding little Sizi, and a group of children followed him.

Even Li Tai is here today.

Li Chengqian said: "Father and mother will be here soon, you should stay and have dinner."

Li Ke nodded and said, "Yes."

Li Chengqian patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can get along more with Liu Rengui in Xianyang County. Now your father has dismissed you from the army. When there is a chance in the future, I will arrange for you to join the army again."

Hearing this, Li Ke quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, my brother, for the arrangement."

"You're welcome, we are all brothers."

"Mother has instructed me to follow my brother's instructions."

Seeing that it was his father and mother walking towards them, Li Chengqian said, "Let's have dinner together."

"Here."

Li Tai stood not far away and watched his two royal brothers. He could also hear their conversation, and he felt even more confused.

Li Yuan held Little Sizi in his arms and asked, "Why is Qingque unhappy?"

Li Tai walked towards the Chongwen Hall and said, "My grandson is not unhappy."

Li Yuan said with a smile: "Don't think too much. You brothers are all good people. Cheng Qian will help Li Ke now, so in the future, Cheng Qian will also help you."

Li Tai nodded secretly and walked into the Chongwen Hall.

The Emperor and the Empress arrived and everyone sat down. Today's dinner was very sumptuous. Everyone in the East Palace had been busy since morning until now to prepare it.

Pots of dishes were served on the table.

Ning'er stood outside the Chongwen Hall, listening to the laughter inside the hall, and then looking at the flying snow in front of her with a smile on her face.

Xiaofu's cheeks were red from the cold. She squatted down beside the stove and stretched out her hands to let the fire warm them. She looked up and said, "Sister Ning, the snow is so beautiful."

The wind and snow were blowing very slowly, as if time was passing very slowly in this cold winter. Laughter and shouting could be heard again.

The snow on the ground piled up thicker and thicker, and as the night grew darker, the city of Chang'an returned to its tranquility.

The Zhenguan period had entered its ninth year. Li Chengqian, who had been on leave for a month, got up early before dawn to practice archery as usual.

The arrow whistled and hit the bull's eye.

Li Shimin woke up early, walked out of Chongwen Hall, and asked, "Didn't Li Ji come today?"

Li Chengqian shot another arrow, but suddenly a strong wind blew, causing the arrow to deviate slightly and not hit the center of the target accurately.

"The general comes here occasionally these days."

Li Shimin looked at his son's figure drawing the bow and whispered, "That's because Li Ji feels that he has nothing more to teach you. From now on, it all depends on your own patience and understanding."

Accustomed to the streamlined and efficient learning method of later generations, Li Chengqian frowned and felt a little lost as he had to study on his own next.

"If you feel that practicing archery at the target is not effective, you can also go hunting."

"I will first practice my basic skills well."

Li Shimin nodded in agreement.

On the first day of the ninth year of Zhenguan, officials in every market town of Chang'an were reciting imperial edicts aloud, all of which were about how to work hard to govern the city in the ninth year of Zhenguan.

The residents of Chang'an City opened their doors one after another to welcome the new day. The bell of Shengguang Temple rang, and the villagers around the market town felt that their sweet dreams were disturbed. They walked out of their homes helplessly and with complaints.

On the city wall, eunuchs were also reciting this year's decree aloud.

They were still on holiday, but the county magistrates from various counties in Guanzhong came to Jingzhao Prefecture again. The Jingzhao prefect ordered them to report on the preparations for various matters this year.

So many people in official uniforms were waiting in front of the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture. Many lazy and contented residents of Chang'an City were curious during this New Year.

Xu Jingzong came hurriedly, opened the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture, and invited the county officials into the still dim hall.

In the middle of January in the ninth year of Zhenguan, the imperial city was still empty. It was rumored that Li Weigong, who had always closed his doors to visitors, now often played chess with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in front of the Secretariat.

Just a few days after mid-January, news came from the court and the public that the Crown Prince had dismissed the county magistrates of two counties in Guanzhong, namely Sanyuan County and Fuping County.

It was as if there was a pair of eyes above the heads of all the county magistrates in Guanzhong, and the prince was staring at the actions of the county magistrates in each county.

The pressure on county officials is quite great nowadays.

This is just the pressure that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace puts on the counties. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, God knows what kind of pressure all the officials of the Tang Dynasty will face.

Some old ministers are already preparing to retire.

At the beginning of the ninth year of Zhenguan, when everyone was still resting, the news that the prince dismissed the county magistrates of two counties in one breath cast a dark cloud over the heads of many officials.

Originally, they were just the county magistrates of two counties. People always like to have a blast, so the discussions became more and more frequent, and the rumors became more and more outrageous. In a tavern, Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi, and Guo Luotuo were drinking.

Suddenly, someone said, "The Crown Prince of the East Palace is so harsh in his actions. Everyone in the court will be in danger in the future."

"Yes! This is the case in all counties now, and it will be even worse in the future."

Guo Luotuo put down his chopsticks heavily, stood up and rushed towards the man who spoke rudely.

Brother Guo is not good at speaking, and he respects His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

It is rare to meet someone who is willing to value his talents, and he is fortunate to have met the current prince.

Guo Luotuo was not good at speaking, so he rushed forward and knocked the man who was talking nonsense to the ground.

It seemed that people from all around were about to come over to fight.

Xu Jingzong slammed the table and said, "Brother Guo, someone is here!"

Shangguan Yi put another piece of mutton into his mouth, rushed into the crowd and kicked away the person who was beating Guo Luotuo.

The three of them did not lose the upper hand at all when facing the siege of more than ten people.

Xu Jingzong rushed into the crowd, kicked one person away, and smashed another person on the head with a stool.

Shangguan Yi bit one person's wrist and grabbed another person's hair.

Guo Luotuo helped Shangguan Yi block a punch, and Xu Jingzong stepped forward and kicked away the attacker.

The waiter of the tavern hurriedly called the soldiers, and the fight stopped only when Li Daoyan brought his men.

Xu Jingzong looked at the men who were knocked down, first wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, then looked at Guo Luotuo and said, "Are you injured?"

A red mark was left at the corner of Guo Luotuo's eye, and he would probably get a black eye afterwards.

The tavern became quiet, with only Xu Jingzong, Guo Luotuo and Shangguan Yi standing there, supporting each other.

When Li Daoyan came in, Xu Jingzong kicked the person lying on the ground wailing again.

"Take them all away!" A group of people were carried out by the officers and soldiers.

In the army guard's yamen, the names and hometowns of people one after another were recorded and kept as criminal records. After paying a fine, they were released.

Du He and Li Daozon came hurriedly.

Li Daoyan said with a straight face: "After asking clearly, it is indeed the three of them who started it first. Shouldn't we report this to the Censorate?"

Li Daozong looked at the three people with a stern face, then smiled at Li Daoyan and said, "Daoyan, our two families are usually close."

Seeing that they were all members of the royal family, Li Daoyan's expression eased and he continued, "The restaurant was smashed and they need to pay compensation."

Du He quickly handed over two strings of copper coins and said, "If it's not enough, I can give you more."

Li Daoyan ordered his men to take away the two strings of copper coins and whispered, "Fortunately, the court is on holiday, and the Censorate probably doesn't know about this yet. Uncle, take the man away first."

Li Daozon led the three of them out of the government office of the Leading Army Guard, and Du He followed with a sullen face.

Seeing that the Jingzhao prefect looked unhappy, Xu Jingzong asked, "Does the prefect think that I am not doing my job well?"

Li Dao Zong pointed at him and shook his head, saying, "You... you were just fined one year's salary and were banned from promotion for three years. How could you do such a thing?"

Guo Luotuo's eyes turned black and blue, and he said righteously, "Those people are talking about the prince's faults."

Shangguan Yi nodded, "That's right."

"You guys!" Li Dao Zong stopped and pointed at the three people and said, "What? Still talking back? You three want to be the three heroes of Chang'an City?"

Shangguan Yi took a deep breath and stood up straight.

Xu Jingzong had some cloth stuffed in his nose to stop the nosebleed. He spoke in a heavy voice, "I know I was wrong."

Li Dao Zong warned: "If you encounter this kind of thing next time, be more alert to me. If it weren't for Dao Yan's consideration for me, you three would have been taken to those imperial censors long ago."

Xu Jingzong raised his head to stop the blood from flowing down his nose, and said, "Don't worry, Prefect. If there is a next time, I will definitely run away after beating someone up, and will never be caught in the act."

Li Dao Zong sighed, "What's wrong with this age? Everything is always going wrong."

Du He walked aside and said, "This matter still needs to be reported to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I will report this to His Highness. You all can go back now."

"Here."

On the outskirts of Chang'an City, Li Chengqian was taking his younger brother and sister skiing. Each of them carried a cloth bag. The bags did not contain any books, but were filled with food, as if they were afraid of starving to death.

Look at them sliding down the slope and cheering.

Li Ji and Xue Wanbei were guarding on the side, and more than a hundred soldiers blocked the ski area.

Dongyang is relatively quiet. She is making a snowman by herself.

Li Chengqian was sitting on a high slope, roasting mutton. He used a wooden tongs to turn the pieces of mutton over and continued roasting them.

The sizzling mutton is very attractive.

Li Zhi and Li Shen were tired from playing, so they came to eat mutton.

This is the winter vacation in the Eastern Palace. As the emperor's elder brother, I have to arrange appropriate activities for them to kill off their vigorous energy.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Jiangxia is here."

Li Chengqian said: "Please come."

When Li Xiaogong arrived, Li Shen handed over a piece of mutton that he had eaten half of, and said, "Uncle, eat meat."

Li Dao Zong said with a smile: "Your Highness, eat by yourself."

Li Shen was still chewing hard and said, "I can't chew anymore."

Li Dao Zong said: "Then chop it up into pieces."

Li Shen nodded and handed it to Xue Wanbei beside him, asking him to chop the mutton into pieces.

"Your Highness, something happened to Xu Jingzong and his men."

"what happened?"

Li Daozong explained, "We just dismissed the officials of two counties. There was a lot of talk about Your Highness in the streets. Xu Jingzong and his men stepped in to help, but were beaten up and caught red-handed by the army guards."

Li Chengqian glanced at his three sisters who were still skiing and asked, "Are you willing to help?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince doesn't like to reason with others, and they don't want to reason with others, so they just started fighting."

"Did you win?"

Li Dao Zong took the stool, sat down, and whispered, "We won the fight, and everyone is fine."

"That's good."

Li Dao Zong thought for a moment, then continued, "Fortunately, Dao Yan still did not care about this matter for the sake of the Crown Prince. I would like to say something to Your Highness first. I am worried that someone will report to the Censorate later, and I am afraid that Your Highness will be implicated."

"It's not a big deal, uncle, don't worry about it." Li Chengqian picked up another piece of mutton and said, "Isn't it enough that I've been involved in such things? I'm used to it."

Li Zhi said: "If your Royal Brother is not afraid, then neither should we."

Li Chengqian said: "It's none of your business, eat your food."

(End of this chapter)