The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 158 Lecture
Inside the Ganlu Palace, the emperor and his two ministers drank grape wine and discussed the matter of the portraits of meritorious officials in the Lingyan Pavilion.

A eunuch came hurriedly and handed a file to Your Majesty.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji both looked at the file in silence.

Li Shimin picked up the file and looked at it carefully in front of the two of them. The file recorded everything that happened in Chang'an City today.

Changsun Wuji slowly put down the wine bowl in his hand and observed the expression of His Majesty.

Then I saw His Majesty put the file down and place it on the table between the three people.

"Cheng Qian asked people from Jingzhao Prefecture to give lectures on the streets of Chang'an in the name of Chongwenguan."

"Teaching?" Fang Xuanling picked up the file and read it in confusion, then said with a look of understanding, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince hopes that the most ordinary villagers in Guanzhong can also know the current governance strategy of Guanzhong."

Li Shimin asked suspiciously, "What's the point of him doing this?"

Changsun Wuji looked solemn and did not speak immediately.

Fang Xuanling said: "In the past, government affairs were the business of officials, and most of the time had nothing to do with the people, or the people just followed the arrangements."

Li Shimin nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"Given the current reputation of the crown prince in Guanzhong, the county magistrates in various counties are all trembling with fear as officials, because the crown prince will really dismiss the county magistrates."

At this point, Changsun Wuji noticed that His Majesty glanced at him and whispered, "Your Majesty, the dismissal of the county magistrate was indeed done by the Ministry of Personnel, but the basis for the dismissal was solid, and most of them resigned voluntarily."

Li Shimin's expression eased slightly.

Fang Xuanling continued, "When Jingzhao Prefecture and the villagers of each county come together, the county magistrates will be forced to join the construction of Guanzhong. It is not their willingness or not, but the will of thousands of people, just as the files say, and that is what the people who are giving lectures on the streets are saying now."

"Seven out of ten households in Guanzhong are still extremely poor. Apart from the land they depend on for survival, they have nothing else to rely on..."

Li Shimin sat cross-legged and said, "I'm going to tell you about the Lingyan Pavilion portrait. Should we let Yan Liben paint it?"

Then again, His Majesty seems reluctant to get involved in the Crown Prince's affairs.

Just like the Crown Prince is unwilling to pay attention to Your Majesty's supervision and the supervision of the court.

On this point, the father and son maintained a rare tacit understanding.

In Chang'an, on a street behind Chunming Gate, a tent was set up with many people sitting in it. There was also a sign in front of the tent with five words written on it: Lectures at Chongwenguan.

A minor official in official uniform shouted, "If Guanzhong is to develop, it must rely on the villagers of each county, but what are you doing? Making babies at home?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him started laughing, and gradually more and more people started laughing.

When it comes to speaking, apart from the most complicated and vulgar language, the simplest language is the most touching.

The clerk added, "The big brother who laughed the happiest must not have slept well these nights."

Hearing this, a big man with a rough face smiled and lowered his head.

The people around laughed even more happily. Some elderly people smiled, revealing their yellow teeth, some of which were missing.

This minor official was not very old, only in his early twenties, but he was very calm when speaking to the crowd.

Di Zhixun was at the foot of the city wall, writing down these words with a brush in his hand, and said to his son beside him: "Renjie, I will also teach like this in the future."

Di Renjie said: "Xu Shaoyin is very anxious, he is short of manpower, and hopes that father can give lectures as soon as possible."

Di Zhixun smiled and said, "It's okay, you'll learn it after listening for a few days."

On the other side of the street, Wen Yanbo and Yan Qinli watched the scene in silence.

Xu Jingzong smiled and said, "What do you think, old sir?"

Wen Yanbo said: "I thought what you called lectures were all about the Spring and Autumn Annals of various philosophers."

"These people don't understand the Spring and Autumn Annals of the philosophers."

The clerk then asked, "Is Guanzhong very rich now?"

More and more people gathered around, but no one answered this question.

"In fact, most of you are poor. Look at those wealthy young men and knowledgeable celebrities, and you will find that they will not listen to what I say here."

Everyone laughed again.

Several students passing by were obviously angry and walked by with gritted teeth.

"If you are not rich, Guanzhong will not be rich. Besides, without your hard-working hands, Guanzhong is nothing. Jingzhao Prefecture has always adhered to the principle of building Guanzhong with the villagers from various counties as the main force. You don't have to be afraid of having money in your hands."

"Have you heard of Xu Shaoyin, the famous one in Chang'an who beats people? This Shaoyin has never lost a fight in Chang'an City. To be honest, he is actually my superior."

After saying this, the clerk couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

When Xu Jingzong heard this person making fun of his title as Xu Shaoyin, his face suddenly darkened.

Mr. Wen Yanbo had a smile on his face and said, "That's very well said."

Xu Jingzong put his hands behind his back and sighed in frustration.

"Our Xu Shaoyin is well-known in Chang'an City. He doesn't care about the children of the rich and powerful. If anyone bullies the people in the village or the county magistrate causes trouble to the area, you tell Jingzhao Prefecture to first ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to dismiss him, and then let Xu Shaoyin break his legs or chop him up and feed him to the fish!"

There were cheers from all around.

At present, this is the only place for lectures in Jingzhao Prefecture. In the future, the scope of lectures will be expanded, and the speeches will be as close to the lives of Guanzhong villagers as possible, so that they all know why Jingzhao Prefecture does this, and these simple and practical ideas will be passed on and spread.

When Xu Jingzong came back to his senses and looked again, the old man had already walked away without him knowing when.

He quickly followed and said, "This is what Chongwenguan does. Please forgive me, old gentleman."

Wen Yanbo leaned on his cane and said, "It seems like a bit of nonsense."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that he is smiling and laughing with the villagers now. In fact, this young man who is giving lectures is also a man of great learning. However, like most people in Jingzhao Prefecture, he has a bad past."

Wen Yanbo was puzzled and asked, "What are the majority of people in Jingzhao Prefecture like?"

Xu Jingzong looked at the bustling scene at the city gate in the distance and replied, "Since grapes were planted in Jingyang and the crown prince took charge of farming in Guanzhong, I have been in charge of Jingzhao Prefecture. In order to supplement the manpower, I have recruited many people. These people were selected by the Ministry of Personnel, and most of them came from poor backgrounds. For example, Xu Lin, who is giving a lecture, has been a lonely man since he was a child, relying on borrowing books from other people's homes to get to where he is today."

"Did His Royal Highness recruit these people on purpose?"

"Old gentleman, you may not know that since the imperial examination was launched last year, more than 5,000 people have participated in the examination, but less than 100 have passed. Some of these unsuccessful candidates have been absorbed by Jingzhao Prefecture."

Wen Yanbo whispered, "How did the princes of previous dynasties ascend the throne?"

The old gentleman was anxious about the crown prince's ascension to the throne. He felt that the crown prince would definitely launch an expedition to the east after he ascended the throne.

Xu Jingzong whispered: "As far as I know, some of them were assassinated by the palace to seize power, or they were supported by military generals..."

He also looked around, fearing that these words would be heard by others, and then said: "Furthermore, he has the support of the nobles. There are local nobles who support the prince to ascend the throne with extremely high prestige."

"Yes, it has been like this since the Han Dynasty. The experience of our predecessors is valuable." Wen Yanbo shook his head helplessly and said, "But the prince chose this path."

Xu Jingzong comforted him, "Your Highness knows that the experience of the predecessors is valuable, but Your Highness knows that choosing these three paths is the lowest cost and the easiest to succeed, but this is not what the Crown Prince wants."

Wen Yanbo nodded and walked into Chongwen Hall. It was very quiet here. He said to the people beside him: "I thought I had a few disciples who could help Your Highness, but they are all from the aristocratic families. Your Highness would not want me to do this." "Forget it, forget it." Wen Yanbo nodded and said: "I will wait for a few more days to see what the vision of Your Highness the Crown Prince will become."

In early spring, in March, memorials were sent to Chang'an, and news from all over the Central Plains arrived one after another.

This year, the area west of Mount Xiao, along both sides of the Yellow River and along the border with the south of the Yangtze River warmed up very quickly.

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian and Li Ji were practicing against each other.

The prince threw a punch, and Li Ji raised his leg and kicked the prince on the elbow. If the kick had been stronger, the prince's elbow would have been broken.

Li Chengqian took a few steps back and took a deep breath.

Li Ji took a step forward and threw a punch.

This time the prince did not take the punch head-on. Instead, he dodged the fist by leaning sideways, grabbed the general's arm, and exerted force with his waist and back.

A clean and neat shoulder throw knocked the man to the ground.

Li Chunfeng looked curious when he saw this action.

Li Ji was thrown to the ground and kept coughing. He lay on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. It took him a while to recover. He asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what kind of move is this?"

Li Chengqian reached out and grabbed his hand, helped him up, and said, "Over the shoulder throw, I've seen someone teach it before, so I took note of it."

"I miscalculated."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I feel a little unfamiliar."

Li Ji pointed at the eunuch standing beside him and said, "Your Highness, please go find them. I can't stand being beaten like this again."

The five eunuchs took a few steps back. They were here to look after the retired emperor, not to practice martial arts with the Crown Prince. Besides, the fall just now looked very painful.

Li Chunfeng stroked his beard and said, "Very interesting skills."

Li Ji brushed off the dust on his body and said, "Master Li, do you want to try it?"

"No, I still have to go to Hongwenguan." Li Chunfeng looked up at the gloomy sky, probably it was going to rain.

Without moving his feet, he added: "Your Highness needs to be careful about how you use your fists and feet. Your movements are too stiff."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Taoist priest."

Watching Li Chunfeng leave, Li Chengqian asked with his hands in his pockets, "General?"

"Ok?"

"Have you ever fought with Taoist Li? I have seen that he has always been very calm, and has the demeanor of a hermit."

Li Ji whispered, "I have never fought with Taoist Li, but I heard that Niu Jinda fought with him once, but his fists and feet could not touch Taoist Li."

The two of them were still looking at Li Chunfeng's back, his Taoist robe fluttering in the wind.

"What does it mean to be untouchable?"

"Your Highness, we punch to knock people down."

"That's right." Li Chengqian replied with a frown.

"But there was a strange thing. No matter how hard I punched, my arms were always three or two inches away from hitting him." Li Ji recalled the scene at that time, and said: "Later, Niu Jinda was so anxious that he chased Taoist Li with a horse spear in hand, from Zhuque Gate to Chunming Gate."

"Really? How do you practice this?"

"I don't know either, but I heard that Taoist Priest Li grew up in a Taoist sect, reading books while carrying water and chopping wood."

"that's it?"

"I heard from the Taoist priest that this is the case."

Li Chunfeng had already walked far away. The wind was stronger and some drizzle was falling, making the Taoist's figure look even more ethereal.

The spring rain finally came. Amid the anticipation of thousands of people, a spring rain descended on Guanzhong.

Pedestrians on the street were taking shelter from the rain. Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi and Guo Luotuo were drinking in a tavern.

A group of people were walking in the rain, heading towards the tavern.

The leader was Yuchi Baolin. He walked in the rain and said, "Remember, don't use a knife."

"Don't worry, General. I understand."

More than thirty people walked in the rain, moving toward the tavern at a steady pace. Passersby on the road dispersed when they saw that something was wrong.

Seeing the other party's posture, Shangguan Yi slammed the table and said, "Old Xu! Go!"

"Still want to leave?" Yuchi Baolin had surrounded the tavern with his men. He had a sarcastic smile on his face and was playing with the stick in his hand.

The rain fell on the people gathered outside the tavern and also on the sticks.

Yuchi Baolin said, "In the past, no matter how domineering your Jingzhao Prefecture was, I didn't care. Now your Jingzhao Prefecture wants to move our workshop outside the pass. You are seeking death."

Xu Jingzong remained calm and said, "This is the rule of the court. It has nothing to do with you."

"What does a certain family's workshop have to do with you?"

"For the sake of General Yuchi, I will give you some face. If you leave now, you can get away with it."

“Hahaha…” Yuchi Baolin laughed angrily, pointed his stick at Xu Jingzong, looked at the people behind him, turned his face fierce again, and shouted angrily: “Hit him!”

A group of soldiers surrounding the tavern were about to rush in when they suddenly heard dense footsteps in the distance.

Under the rain, another group of militiamen rushed towards here. They were not holding knives, but sticks.

Wei Chang shouted: "Save Shao Yin!"

This group of militiamen rushed into the enemy's camp, and both sides started fighting in the street.

In the chaos, someone went to call for soldiers.

It was also in this chaos that Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi and Guo Luotuo escaped.

Shangguan Yi said with lingering fear: "Fortunately, Brother Wei came early."

Xu Jingzong said: "Most likely Wei Chang knew that Yuchi Baolin had begun preparations when he gathered his troops, but he didn't have time to inform me."

The fight on the next street was still going on. Xu Jingzong said again, "Brother Shangguan, Brother Guo, don't panic. The patrol officers will be here soon."

Seeing Shangguan Yi was about to leave, Guo Luotuo asked, "What are you going to do, Brother Shangguan?"

Shangguan Yi walked into the rain and waved his hand, saying, "Just wait here for the officers and soldiers."

Soon the officers and soldiers surrounded the area. Li Daoyan led his soldiers to cordon off the street and captured all the fighters.

"Xu Jingzong, why is it you again?"

(End of this chapter)