The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 187 Suitable environment
The last piece fell on the puzzle, and the puzzle of the entire Chang'an City was completed. Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It took me half a month to complete it."

In fact, it wasn't that I spent half a month playing jigsaw puzzles. It was just that on weekdays, my father had to read reports from various places, military reports, and deal with some matters between nobles and royal family members. Occasionally, when he had some free time, he would sit down and do jigsaw puzzles.

A withered yellow ginkgo leaf fell on the completed puzzle. Li Chengqian picked up the fan-shaped ginkgo leaf and placed it on the table beside him.

Li Shimin enjoyed his achievements and whispered, "When will you draw the map of the entire Central Plains and make a puzzle for me?"

Li Chengqian took a sip of hot tea and said, "It will happen. It won't take too long."

The eunuch lifted up His Majesty's puzzle and carried it all the way into Xingqing Hall, most likely to keep it in a very safe place.

After more than two thousand years, the history books finally have the first emperor who liked playing puzzles.

"Is there something important that you came to me for?"

"It's nothing important, I just want to come and see my father."

Li Shimin, who knew his son well, snorted coldly, looked at the dark ink pool and said, "Take out the hidden memorial."

Li Chengqian smiled awkwardly, took out a memorial from his waist and placed it on the table.

Li Shimin picked up the memorial and began to read it. When he saw that it was from Luoyang, he frowned.

The leaves of the ginkgo tree were still falling from time to time. When the eunuchs at the side saw some leaves falling on the Crown Prince's long hair, they hurriedly fanned the leaves away from his hair.

Li Chengqian leaned back in his chair and whispered, "Originally, the problem in Luoyang was not serious. After my brother Ke and Quan Wanji checked the flooded fields, they found that the fields were not measured correctly. After finding this clue, they found a second clue. Later, they found that someone had annexed the land and killed someone."

"But the body was not found, and there was no evidence. Ma Zhou and his men could not order the arrest of the person, so they searched for the body in Luoyang. Later, a militiaman risked his life to deliver the news that the body was thrown into the Luo River. This militiaman threw it away with his own hands. He was coerced and could not sleep all night afterwards. He was almost killed to silence him. With his last breath, he told Ma Zhou where the body was."

"It has been two months since the flood in Luoyang. When my brother Ke found the bodies of the family, they had already been soaking in the Luo River for two months. Perhaps they died unwillingly, so their bodies remained at the bottom of the river and were not washed away."

Li Shimin's hand holding the memorial was trembling slightly.

Li Chengqian said slowly: "There are so many things hidden here that this memorial cannot tell them all. If we say that Luoyang always suffers disasters, and the powerful and wealthy always become rich, how cruel it is, and how many such things are hidden, it cannot be explained in several rolls of paper."

Li Shimin put down the memorial and said in a deep voice: "Investigate thoroughly! Kill him."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Prime Minister Fang has already made arrangements. Several important prisoners will be escorted to Chang'an."

Li Shimin took a sip of hot tea and whispered, "If Cheng Qian were you, what decision would you make?"

Li Chengqian looked calm and said in a leisurely tone: "Investigating annexation is useful, but it is not enough. We need a stronger will and longer persistence. I asked Lord Zheng what we should do if there is such a thing in Longyou in the future."

"Duke Zheng told me that if something is done once, it should be done twice, one after another, without stopping for a long time. I think many people will die in Luoyang this time. Ma Zhou and Quan Wanji will not let them go, because they are both tough guys who are not afraid of the powerful."

After saying this, Li Chengqian swallowed a mouthful of tea, and his Adam's apple moved.

There was no shortage of capable officials during the Zhenguan period, and it was only a matter of time before people started falling to the ground in Luoyang.

Seeing that his son had the same Adam's apple as himself, Li Shimin smiled and said, "Unconsciously, you are almost twenty years old."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "Yes, I will be eighteen next year."

"Chai Shao said that after he dies, I will give you the title of the Grand General of the Zhenjun Army."

Li Chengqian looked at the ginkgo tree beside him and said, "I am unworthy of this position."

Li Shimin asked with a smile: "I give it to you, why are you not worthy of it?"

"I don't know the art of war, I can't lead an army, and I've never managed an army."

"You are just like what Xuan Ling said. If you can't do it, you can't do it. If you can do it, you can do it. You are very honest."

"Your son is good at governance." Li Chengqian mentioned a strength. In his previous life, he was lying on a hospital bed, hoping to go back to school. At that time, he watched the news and read books every day, almost to the point of reading all kinds of books.

The only time I could do while lying in bed was reading, as I had been away from school for too long, and out of my thirst for learning, I continued to do so until now.

The memory slowly faded away in my mind and returned to my eyes. Under the ginkgo tree, my father was right in front of me.

Li Chengqian added: "If the emperor wants to give it to me, I will not refuse."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I advised Chai Shao to pass the title down to his children, but he said it cannot be passed down and must be conferred by me. He only mentioned that he would give it to the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."

Li Chengqian was silent for a long time.

A small figure interrupted the brief silence between father and son. Little Sizi, wearing a Taoist robe, ran towards here, and not far away, the queen mother was also walking towards here.

"Royal brother!" Little Sizi ran quickly, his short legs allowed him to run very fast without fear of falling.

Li Chengqian held her in his arms, looked at the little sister and asked, "How did you know that my brother was here?"

Little Sizi said playfully, "I was originally here to see my father, but I saw my brother over there."

Looking at the direction his sister pointed, Li Chengqian asked, "Can you see it from this far?"

"Yeah." Little Sizi blinked his eyes and said happily: "Mingda's eyes can see very far, which is also a talent for learning astrology. Sizi and Taoist Li can both see stars that others cannot see."

Li Chengqian asked his sister to sit on the table and said to her, "I will make you a telescope from now on."

"What is a telescope?"

"It should be called clairvoyance. It allows you to see more stars that ordinary people cannot see."

"Okay, okay, Mingda wants it now."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Not now. When you grow up and reach your brother's age, I will give it to you."

"Okay!" She happily agreed again, "Royal brother, please don't tease Mingda."

"Everyone knows that my brother is a man of his words and always keeps his word."

Empress Changsun looked at the brother and sister with a smile on her face. As for whether they really had clairvoyance or not, it didn't matter.

It is now November of the ninth year of Zhenguan. Li Chengqian looks at his father, the emperor, his mother, and little Sizi in front of him.

This year, my mother's health has improved, and my grandfather can play happily with his younger brothers and sisters every day.

In this way, Li Chengqian believed that little Sizi would be able to grow up safely and happily.

Li Chengqian said, "Mother, the waterside pavilion at Taiye Lake has been built. When can we go and see it?"

Empress Chang Sun said, "We'll go after the winter solstice."

Li Shimin walked to the ginkgo tree, plucked a withered yellow leaf, and said, "I haven't gone hunting in autumn for two years."

Empress Changsun whispered, "You usually take a few people out of the palace for hunting, are you trying to hide it from your son?"

Li Shimin said with a guilty conscience: "I just go out to relax." He put the memorials on the table back, Li Chengqian put them behind his waist, held his sister in his arms and followed behind his father and mother.

I heard my mother scolding my father for not paying attention to the affairs of the palace recently.

Li Chengqian said: "Father, Queen Mother, I will go back first."

Empress Changsun said, "Take Sizi with you, she always misses the food in the East Palace."

The cold wind blew Xiao Sizi's Taoist robe. Li Chengqian led her all the way to the East Palace. It was evening and the aroma of food wafted from the East Palace.

"Mingda!" Li Zhi called out.

The little sister ran into her sister's arms again.

Li Yuan stroked his beard and smiled, "When this child arrives at the East Palace, there will be endless laughter here."

Dongyang was still criticizing Li Zhi's homework. In the eyes of the sisters in the East Palace, Li Zhi had long been excluded from the ranks of smart people and classified as a poor student.

If Li Shen had not been with him, Li Zhi would have been the one with the worst performance.

As dusk approached, Li Chengqian left the East Palace, which was the busiest at that time, and walked towards the deserted Chengtian Gate alone. Most of the officials in the imperial city had also left.

When I arrived at the Secretariat, I saw Yu Zhining and Chu Suiliang were still there.

"Aren't you going back yet?"

Chu Suiliang packed up and said, "I will go back now."

When he left quickly with his official hat in one hand, Yu Zhining said, "Even if the Crown Prince went fishing, Chu Suiliang would say that the Crown Prince was going to kill someone."

Li Chengqian placed the memorial on a bookshelf nearby and recorded it in a file, writing, "Does he always say this?"

Yu Zhining complained, "It's all his words. Now some people think that no one is allowed to enter the room with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian smiled in surprise.

"People who are always worried about gains and losses are like this. Even if His Highness coughs, he will think that his head is going to fall off."

I seldom come to the Secretariat these days, and most of the time I am free and easy.

Filing the volumes here is one of the prince's daily tasks. This kind of thing can also be done by Zhining. If the prince of the East Palace does not come, he will help with the filing.

I don’t know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been busy with these days, and I don’t want to ask too much.

Li Chengqian looked at the files that needed to be filed and asked, "Has there been any news from the Hexi Corridor?"

Yu Zhining said, "It has not been delivered yet. It seems that the Tuyuhun people who were building Dunhuang County had some troubles in the early part of this month. The construction period will probably be delayed."

"It seems that things over there are not going smoothly. I really need your help."

"Yes." Yu Zhining replied, "There are very few things that can go smoothly. Just like this summer, some people said that Li Yifu recruited so many Tuyuhun people, and these people are not from Guanzhong. If you want to control them, you have to use severe punishment. It is expected that there will be chaos."

"There is some progress in the Luoyang case. Hasn't the list of prisoners been delivered yet?"

"Logically, the report from Luoyang has arrived, and the list of prisoners should have been delivered in the afternoon." Yu Zhining frowned and said, "It is likely that some setbacks have occurred."

Li Chengqian saw a record in the archived files, which was a conversation between Du Zhenglun and Cui Renshi. He pointed at the files on the bookshelf and took down the record of the conversation.

Yu Zhining took a look and replied, "Your Highness, the report from Luoyang has just been sent to Chang'an, and Cui Renshi and his family have left Chang'an City in a hurry."

"Moving away?"

"It doesn't look like that. Everything in the house is still there. When they left, they didn't take their relatives with them. Only Brother Cui Ren left."

"Looks like he went on a long trip in a hurry?"

Yu Zhining said, "It's strange. Cui Renshi is supposed to be a historian, and His Majesty has already intended to promote him to the position of Imperial Censor. Even if he had to leave Chang'an for an urgent matter, he should have reported it to the court. He left in such a hurry without even telling the court. It's a bit like..."

"Escape?"

"Yeah." Yu Zhining nodded.

Li Chengqian filed all the files so that they could be used at any time. "Does Luoyang's incident have anything to do with them?"

"Your Highness, the seven surnames and ten families all have connections in Luoyang, or they have relatives there."

"Hehehe, I find these people more and more... interesting." Li Chengqian tidied up the Secretariat, closed the door and told him a few words.

Yu Zhining bowed and left quickly.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has been having a lot of free time these days and has rarely participated in state affairs recently, except for occasionally asking about the progress of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Li Chengqian returned to the Eastern Palace and had dinner with his younger brothers and sisters. Li Lizhi then took Xiao Sizi out to play. She could stay in the Eastern Palace for the next two days.

At night, the new moon hangs in the night sky, and the night is darker than usual.

After leaving the imperial city, Yu Zhining went to the Dali Temple. When he walked out of the Dali Temple, another group of officers and soldiers came out of the Dali Temple, holding the token and leaving Chang'an, galloping towards Luoyang.

In the bedroom of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian was polishing a flat needle and placing it on a basin of water.

The flat needle floated on the water, motionless.

Li Chengqian slowly turned the wooden basin and watched the changes in the needle. He was surprised to see that the needle suddenly moved and observed it carefully for a moment.

Ning'er looked at His Highness's behavior with curiosity, and bent down to look at the needle.

Li Chengqian hung the needle on a slender iron pestle and watched the needle sway at both ends before it finally settled in the north-south direction.

If you move the needle slightly, the direction it points will change slightly.

After recording this change, Li Chengqian discovered that the direction of the pointer was not very accurate and should not have much to do with the geomagnetic changes during the Zhenguan period.

The bedroom was in a mess. Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had started to tidy it up, Ning'er also helped to put away the small items.

Li Chengqian discovered that the making of a compass was not as simple as he had expected. It would be better to use more suitable technology in a suitable environment. The compass fish and water float method were more useful and had more practical value.

So let’s make a conclusion for now.

“Leading technology is not suitable for the current environment. Appropriate technology is the real need of the moment.”

After hearing what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly said, Ning'er continued to tidy up her things, not knowing what His Royal Highness meant by that.

Xiaofu brought a basin of hot water and asked curiously, "Your Highness, what is the Clairvoyance? Is it the eyeball of the second baby among the Calabash Brothers?"

(End of this chapter)