The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 189 Smart People
In the middle of November in Guanzhong, each of the twelve counties of Chang'an had a workshop opened by Jingzhao Prefecture. In the process of building Guanzhong and teachers going to the countryside to teach, a trend of thought sprouted in the land of Guanzhong.

If we really want to talk about what this budding trend of thought is, perhaps it can be attributed to the invisible hand that controls the production scheduling in Guanzhong, and the owner of this hand.

Before this trend of thought grows branches, it is difficult to explain what the power of this trend of thought is.

Luoyang sent a second report.

Two eunuchs were standing in front of the Wude Hall, where there was a table, a chair and a clay stove.

The fire in the stove was burning. When the wind blew, it entered through the holes under the stove, making the fire burn more vigorously.

If you look closer, you can recognize that the person sitting in front of the Wude Hall is none other than the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, who is now so free that he needs to kill time by eating barbecue.

While flipping the barbecue skewers, Li Chengqian listened to the argument between his father, uncle, teacher, and Duke Zheng in the hall.

Cui Renshi resigned from his post because his relatives were on the list of criminals in the land annexation case in Luoyang. He felt unworthy of the appreciation of the Khan and sent a letter of resignation and confession. Now he is in Luoyang, awaiting the emperor's decision.

Of course, this matter has little to do with Cui Renshi. He is just a representative elected by the gentry in the Boling area.

The person who committed the crime was his cousin's cousin, so naturally, as the representative of the Boling gentry, he had to confess his crime to His Majesty.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Li Chengqian looked back and said, "Uncle, is there any result?"

Zhang Sun Wuji took a skewer of meat from the prince and said, "Not yet. Sigh... I am so annoyed."

Li Chengqian sat on a chair, eating barbecue, and said leisurely: "Master Cui Ren is a very smart person."

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded, "Your Highness is right. The people nominated by the Boling nobles should not be underestimated. Originally, this matter had little to do with him, and the Cui family members who participated in the Luoyang murder case had little to do with him."

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, sat by the stove, and felt the warmth from the flames. He said, "As the representative of the Boling nobles, he had to come forward and apologize to the court and resign, so that the Boling nobles could see how much he values ​​his children, and thus keep his position as the representative?"

Changsun Wuji looked at the prince in astonishment, thinking that his highness had considered things very complicatedly and comprehensively. He said nothing, but ate the skewers in silence.

Li Chengqian handed a handful of roasted meat skewers to the eunuchs beside him and asked them to give them to his father, Lord Zheng, and the teacher.

The meat on the skewers is cut into large pieces and the lamb is very firm. One skewer will fill you up.

Chang Sun Wuji whispered, "Based on the reputation of the Boling nobles, Ma Zhou and the others are still waiting for the response from the court. Should we kill all these prisoners?"

Li Chengqian finished eating a string of mutton, washed his hands in a basin beside him and said, "Of course we have to kill them all."

"That's what Duke Zheng and the others said."

Li Chengqian wiped his hands dry, put his hands in his pockets and said, "Some things are not done decisively at the first time, and if you hesitate, it will make the other party feel that there is room for negotiation, and then they will push their feet again and again."

Changsun Wuji nodded slightly.

"Uncle, speaking of smart people, I have also heard of a smart person recently."

"Oh?"

"He is a businessman." Li Chengqian explained, "At first, I was fishing near Baqiao and met a man who was also fishing. He spoke to me, but I didn't respond. Fishing is a quiet thing. Listening to the wind, watching the clouds, watching the water, it trains you to be able to feel the subtle changes around you."

"Two days ago, Xu Jingzong came to the Secretariat to see me. He said that there was a merchant waiting at the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture every day for a month without giving up. Later he said that he had gone fishing with me. After that, Xu Jingzong reluctantly rented him a piece of land that no one wanted and gave him the right to operate it for three years. Not only was the land full of rubble, but it was also very barren."

"Then he took a basket of dates to the wasteland, found a group of children from somewhere, and told them to give each of them a date if they took a stone and put it in the basket. In half a day, he cleared all the gravel from the three mu of land, and the basket of dates became a basket of gravel."

"When Xu Jingzong said that, the man was called Pei Mingli, a fellow villager of Pei Xingjian, the magistrate of Weinan County. He made friends with the villagers who raised sheep and gave them some copper coins to have them bring their sheep past the vacant land he bought every day, leaving a field of sheep dung."

"Such poor land can produce crops."

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "He wants to grow crops?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "He rented three mu of land for sixty strings of cash. This price was a bit high, but Pei Mingli didn't bargain and rented it decisively. He couldn't make back the money he spent just by farming, so he planted a lot of hollyhocks on that land."

"Hollyhock? What's the point of growing flowers?"

"Hollyhock is not only a flower, but also a herb. Moreover, the flower can be used to raise bees. What he really wants to sell is honey, which is valuable."

“If the hollyhocks bloom next year, he can keep bees, and if the honey harvest is good enough, he can quickly make back his investment.”

The autumn wind blew, and the uncle and nephew were silent for a long time again.

Changsun Wuji almost forgot that there was still a debate in the Wude Hall behind him about how many prisoners to kill, how many to kill, and how many to exile.

"Killing two birds with one stone, turning a wasteland into a treasure land. There is indeed no shortage of smart businessmen in this world." Changsun Wuji sighed.

Li Chengqian sighed, "Xu Jingzong is in a position where he can easily make mistakes. Fortunately, he handed the invitation with a gold border to the East Palace."

At the repeated requests of Mr. Zheng and the teacher, the matter was investigated strictly, and those who should be exiled or killed would be shown no mercy.

Li Chengqian stood up and stood outside the Wude Hall. The autumn wind blew from time to time, making his sleeves flutter. He put his hands in his pockets and looked into the distance.

Those who went to Luoyang this time had nothing to do with the Eastern Palace.

There were no people from the Eastern Palace moving around in Luoyang.

After asking Yu Zhining to deliver the message, Sun Fujia sent out a team of people to follow Cui Renshi along the way. They did not find any unusual behavior from him, and he did not have any correspondence with anyone in the court during that period.

When dealing with a smart person like Cui Renshi, you must strictly adhere to the bottom line and have a firm will.

He cut off his arm to survive and would rather resign his official position in the court than not maintain his prestige among the Boling gentry. This shows that he is a person who dares to give up his own interests to preserve himself.

When his father's imperial edict was sent out of Chang'an, Li Chengqian also returned to the East Palace and looked at the person who left the palace with the edict.

"Brother, has the matter in Luoyang come to a conclusion?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "There is a result. Those who should be killed will be killed, and those who should be exiled will be exiled."

Li Lizhi stood beside her brother and asked, "After killing him, will there be another incident like Luoyang?"

"Yes." Li Chengqian said, "There are still many problems in this world, and they need to be patched up."

Seeing what was on her brother's mind, Li Lizhi stood with her hands behind her back, silent for a long time.

Therefore, the officials of the Tang Dynasty must be strong enough, like Ma Zhou and Quan Wanji, who are like wolves and tigers and cannot tolerate any sand in their eyes.

The more people like this there are, the better, even if there are many people to be killed.

In this Luoyang case, because Ma Zhou and his men found the body, the Cui family of Boling had no choice but to admit defeat. Cui Renshi cut off his arm to survive and gave up his official position in the court, but he was still the representative of the Cui family of Boling.

Perhaps only God knows that there are many rivers in this world like Luoyang, and how many corpses are still sinking in those rivers.

Trade in Guanzhong is continuing, and the transactions of tea and soap, silk and soy sauce are being properly arranged time and time again.

Today, Li Chengqian was sitting in the Secretariat when Yu Zhining hurried over and said, "Something happened to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"What happened?"

"Something happened to the prisoner who was escorted from Luoyang."

Li Chengqian took the document and frowned, "Was he kidnapped?"

Yu Zhining shook his head and said, "The young man from the noble family who drowned the person was being escorted to Chang'an. Less than a mile out of the city, countless villagers surrounded him, and the leader of the evil was stoned to death." Looking at the document, Li Chengqian's face flashed an imperceptible smile.

Yu Zhining said: "Because the villagers were angry and the crime was deserved, Quan Wanji and Ma Zhou did not care."

At this moment, long-lost memories appeared in my mind again, which were pictures full of shouts.

Li Chengqian felt a power arising from the bottom of his heart, and this power made him feel extremely powerful at this moment.

"His Royal Highness?"

Hearing Yu Zhining's question, Li Chengqian came back to his senses and said, "Okay, I will file the files. The weather is getting colder, remember to put on more clothes."

"Here."

When the autumn wind stopped, the beginning of winter had just passed and winter had also arrived in Guanzhong.

Li Chengqian stood on Chengtian Gate, glanced at his father beside him, and watched the prisoner cars approaching Chengtian Gate.

Li Shimin looked at the prisoner cart on the city wall coldly and asked, "Cheng Qian, do you think they deserve to die?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Father, you already have the answer in your heart, why bother asking me?"

Then, the emperor standing on the city wall nodded to Sun Fujia.

One by one, the prisoners were taken out of the prison van. Snowflakes fell from the gloomy sky, and the prisoners knelt down shivering in the cold wind.

After Sun Fujia finished reading the decree, he watched the big sword fall and heads drop to the ground one after another.

There was blood on the ground which had just had some snow. The blood did not flow away immediately, but condensed with the snowflakes that fell on the ground.

His father left, but Li Chengqian still stood there.

Sun Fujia walked up to the tower, looked at His Majesty who had already walked away, bowed, and then walked to the Crown Prince and asked, "Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"

"Sweep the floor clean."

"Here."

This year, Li Ke may not be able to come to Chang'an to celebrate the New Year. After governing the people of Luoyang, he needs to repair the river channels in Luoyang. In the coming year, he will probably be the busiest among his brothers.

When walking down the city wall, Li Chengqian saw Qingque.

Li Tai said: "Brother, several useful scholars have left the Literary Institute."

Li Chengqian stood at the foot of the city wall, looking at the heavy snow falling all over the sky, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

I didn't expect that my brother only asked this one question, as if eating was more important to him than the departure of the scholar from the Academy of Literature.

"You probably haven't eaten yet. Come with me to Grandpa's house for dinner. We'll have hot pot and spinach today."

Li Tai followed and nodded in response.

My father is already in the Chongwen Hall. A copper pot is boiling and the soup in the pot is bubbling.

The two brothers walked into the Chongwen Hall and shook off the snow on their bodies.

Li Chengqian untied the rope and hung the sable coat he was wearing on a rack beside him.

Li Yuan held chopsticks in his hand, having just taken a bite of hot mutton, and said, "Brothers, please take a seat."

Li Tai picked up a piece of mutton from the hot pot, dipped it in some pepper and salt and ate it.

Li Yuan was not very fond of the way his grandson ate. He looked at his eldest grandson and saw Cheng Qian picking up the mutton and putting it into his mouth. He said, "Everyone eats more comfortably at grandpa's place."

The four of them, grandfather, grandson, father and son, ate hot pot quietly.

Li Yuan asked, "You saw so many people's heads falling off today. Are you scared?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Don't be afraid. They deserve what they get for causing trouble. If they continue to oppose Brother Ke, they will be opposing our entire family, right, Qingque?"

"Yes, that's what your Majesty said." Li Tai nodded.

The wind and snow outside the palace continued. Li Shimin took a sip of wine and said, "Bo Ling's marriage actually defied my will. They still acted as they had always done. A girl from their clan married in Taiyuan, and the dowry was 100,000 strings of cash."

The chopsticks in Li Yuan's hand paused noticeably.

Li Shimin added: "Chengqian, in the future, your father and mother will find you a girl from a good family. When you marry into the East Palace, the dowry will be more generous."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian suddenly said, "Father, I am not short of money."

Li Tai on the side coughed twice again.

Li Chengqian patted his brother's back to help him catch his breath.

Li Tai frowned as he looked at the thing on the plate and said, "Isn't this pepper?"

"This is Sichuan peppercorns. It's your first time eating them, so you're probably not used to them."

Li Tai felt better after taking a sip of water.

This son is indeed not short of money. He is richer than his mother. How can a prince of the Eastern Palace be so rich?
Jingzhao Prefecture has earned so much city tax for the court this year. Once this money enters the court, I, the emperor, have no right to spend it.

"What kind of wedding gift? Who is the emperor going to marry?"

I heard my sister's voice in my ears, and I didn't know when Li Zhi was standing here.

Li Chengqian sighed, "I'm not good at picking women."

Li Lizhi simply sat down, and the whole family gathered around the hot pot. She put a lot of mutton into the pot.

Seeing his daughter scooping so much soup into her own bowl, Li Shimin asked: "You come here to drink, it's not good for a girl like you to sit here."

Li Lizhi asked back: "My brother didn't drink either."

Li Chengqian nodded, "I never drink alcohol."

After saying that, he handed half a head of garlic to his sister beside him. She liked to eat garlic the most when eating meat.

Li Shimin shook his head and said, "What have you done to my daughter in the East Palace?"

Li Yuan said with a smile: "They are all very good, but they are too sensible and play around a little bit, which makes you, their father, unhappy."

"Grandpa is right." Li Lizhi ate mutton and smiled with her eyes narrowed with a mouthful of garlic.

Note: Pei Mingli was a merchant during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. He served as the Minister of Taichang Temple and there are related stories about him.

There will be only two updates today. I will go to sleep first and wait for my blood to recover.

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(End of this chapter)