The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 19 The more they oppose, the brighter it shines

In front of the Taiji Hall, court officials were walking out in groups of two or three.

Lu Dong exclaimed: "Only after coming to Chang'an did I realize how prosperous the Tang Dynasty was."

Li Chengqian took back his hand and said calmly: "Brother, you've said too much. The Tang Dynasty is not rich at all. We are also very poor."

Hearing this, Lu Dongzan said with emotion: "But they all say that the land of the Tang Dynasty is vast and rich."

Li Chengqian smiled awkwardly and whispered, "The Tang Dynasty is not that good yet."

"At least you are richer than Tubo." Lu Dongzan sighed, looked towards the west of Chang'an City, and said with a smile: "We in Tubo don't have so much land to cultivate, and we can't go into the mountains and forests to hunt like you do. In Tubo, even killing one more fish may bring disaster."

"If we eat all the fish, there will be no ospreys. Without ospreys, there will be no lush aquatic plants. Without aquatic plants, there will be no livestock."

As he spoke, Lu Dongzan looked at the Taiji Hall in front of him again, raised his head and said: "Chang'an is really good."

Li Chengqian said: "You can come to Chang'an more often in the future."

"hope so."

Lu Dongzan bowed and saluted, then strode away.

The ecological environment of Tubo was indeed very fragile, and the ancients should not underestimate it at all. The words of the Tubo prime minister revealed the vision that touched upon the structure of the ecosystem.

After the people walked away, Li Chengqian noticed that Monk Popo was looking at him from afar.

Li Xiaogong asked, "Your Highness the Crown Prince still has contact with this monk?"

Li Chengqian retracted his gaze and walked towards the East Palace. "It is easy to invite this Indian monk here but difficult to send him away. I asked him about Xuanzang. It is likely that he was feeling guilty and gave up. I am sure that the uncle is also aware of what happened next."

"Ah."

Li Xiaogong walked beside the prince.

Li Chengqian kept silent with his hands in his pockets.

After walking for a while and getting away from the Taiji Hall, there was no one else around him. After hesitating for a while, Li Xiaogong said, "I heard that many children from aristocratic families in Chang'an City advocated that the Dream of the Red Chamber be listed as a banned book."

Li Chengqian whispered, "Are there many banned books?"

"It has only been a few years since the Tang Dynasty was established, and Red Mansions is the first volume."

"So if they say it's a banned book, then it's a banned book?"

Li Xiaogong sighed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince thinks the world is too simple. The noble families are intermarrying with each other, forming alliances with each other, and they control the local officials. Many times, they even ignore the emperor."

It's ridiculous to say, what's ridiculous is...this kind of thing really happened among the seven surnames and ten families in the Central Plains.

Aristocratic families have lasted for hundreds of years and have deep roots.

The Tang Dynasty had only been established for more than ten years, and the entire dynasty still seemed strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Apart from building guard posts and recruiting soldiers to maintain a sense of security, the dynasty's control over the local areas was still weak in other matters.

The Tang Dynasty, which had emerged from internal and external troubles, was still a baby who had just learned to walk. When it came to internal governance and the administration of officials, it was not enough to just have a large number of soldiers and generals.

We can't always count on the personal charm of this Heavenly Khan...

It is only because of such a noble family that emperors of all dynasties would show some courtesy to them. They are so arrogant.

It is deeply worrying...

If I ascend the throne and become emperor in the future, and am promoted from crown prince to emperor, the aristocratic families will most likely be my number one enemy and the number one internal threat.

In other words, if the aristocratic families are not eliminated and these local powerful families cannot be overthrown, the productivity, population and wealth of the Central Plains cannot be released.

Li Chengqian still put his hands in his pockets and continued walking slowly, saying, "I am indeed inexperienced, but so what. They are afraid of the Red Mansion. The Red Mansion makes them feel uneasy. The more afraid they are, the more brilliant the Red Mansion will be."

After a pause, Li Chengqian said sadly: "Banned books are valuable, and masterpieces are even more priceless."

Seeing that he was silent again, Li Chengqian called out, "Uncle, what do you think?"

"Yes." Li Xiaogong nodded in agreement, stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then replied: "In fact, we don't have to care about Yan Shigu's impeachment. After all, this Red Mansion was not designed by the crown prince."

"Uncle Huang is absolutely right."

"A bastard like Cheng Yaojin is impeached dozens of times a day, but he still eats and sleeps well, not to mention the crown prince of the Eastern Palace." Li Xiaogong looked around and saw that no one was around and whispered, "It won't be too late to deal with Yan Shigu after Your Highness ascends the throne. The new emperor will always have to kill a few people to feel satisfied when he ascends the throne."

"I will keep the teachings of my uncle in my heart."

Li Chengqian agreed with this statement.

Li Xiaogong was even more satisfied with his nephew and looked very pleased.

Arriving at the East Palace, Ning'er and Xiaofu were already prepared to invite the imperial uncle to have dinner in the Chongwen Hall nearby.

Seeing that he was still looking towards the East Palace, Li Chengqian said helplessly: "Uncle, there is no need to look. Mr. Cao is really not in the East Palace."

Li Xiaogong withdrew his gaze in dismay, laughed, and said loudly: "Let's eat."

The uncle and nephew, who were good at taking advantage of loopholes, quickly became familiar with each other.

These past two days, Donggong had ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The younger brothers and sisters were like a group of little devils. The first skill they learned was to make ramen.

This also means that Donggong can’t finish all the food now, and has to eat noodles for three meals a day.

If this continues...

How about opening a Donggong noodle restaurant?
Li Chengqian stroked his forehead in distress.

Two bowls of ramen were served, and Ning'er brought a large piece of cooked beef, explaining, "General Cheng gave Your Majesty a slaughtered cow, and Ganlu Palace gave the East Palace a whole cow leg."

Li Chengqian asked: "Have your brothers and sisters eaten?"

"They have all eaten. Princess Changle has soothed them and they are taking a nap."

Before I knew it, it was already time for a nap. The morning court in the Tang Dynasty lasted for most of the day, and the work intensity was quite high.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A loud slurping sound came to my ears. Li Xiaogong was holding chopsticks in one hand and a bowl in the other, sucking noodles into his mouth frantically.

He drank it all in one gulp along with the soup, then picked up a few slices of beef and put them in his mouth to chew.

He took a deep breath and said, "How can this be enough for me to eat?"

Hearing this, Li Chengqian brought his own bowl to him, "Uncle, enjoy your meal."

"Hmm." Li Xiaogong began to inhale frantically again, shaking his head and muttering, "Not enough, not enough!"

Ning'er gave Xiaofu a look.

Soon someone brought in a clay stove, placed a small ceramic pot on it, poured in mutton soup, sprinkled some chopped green onions, and placed a basket full of ramen on the side.

The Eastern Palace should treat its guests generously and not let others look down on them.

So, Li Xiaogong simply sat by the stove, reached out to grab a handful of ramen from the basket and put it into the pot to cook first, while eating the ones in the bowl.

After finishing the noodles in the bowl, scoop the noodles in the pot into the bowl, and then grab another handful of noodles and put them back into the pot.

In this way, a whole piece of beef was eaten, and most of the basket of ramen was also eaten.

This is an important partner of Donggong. Just eat it. It’s okay to eat more.

Li Xiaogong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing his nephew's expression as if he had lost his soul, he smiled awkwardly, "You haven't eaten yet?"

He handed over the basket and said, "There's more here."

Li Chengqian looked at the messy ramen, and then saw some crystal water droplets on it, and suddenly he felt overwhelmed.

"These are all given to the emperor's uncle. Take them back and enjoy them slowly."

"Hahaha!" Li Xiaogong was even happier and stood up with a basket of noodles.

Li Chengqian reminded him again: "Uncle, take a few more steps to breathe easier."

Li Xiaogong held his fat belly and nodded, "Of course."

Ning Er stood aside and whispered, "Your Highness, the Queen came to ask if there is any soap left. She said that several powerful women in Chang'an came to ask about it."

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Did you talk about the price?"

Ning Er replied, "I didn't say that. The queen will most likely be awarded to a woman from a powerful family. Now the candidate for the crown princess hasn't been decided yet, so it's only right to show goodwill and find a good girl for His Highness."

Li Xiaogong's legs had long since become unable to move, and he stood there with his ears erect. Li Chengqian asked, "Huh? Uncle, why don't you move?"

Li Xiaogong turned his head mechanically and asked again: "Soap? Can it make money?"

That’s why it is said that Sister Ning’er is the most capable assistant in the Eastern Palace, always able to say the most appropriate words at the most appropriate time.

Li Chengqian said in distress: "Uncle, I have nothing to do recently so I made something called soap."

As he spoke, a piece of soap as white as jade was placed on the table.

The soap was not big, only the size of a palm. Li Xiaogong stared at it with his big eyes like copper bells, "Are you free?"

"Yes, you have nothing to do?"

"Didn't you say that His Highness was very busy at the court?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets, looking distressed, "This East Palace is very busy when it's busy, and very idle when it's idle. I'm a normal person. When people are idle to a certain extent, it's not strange for them to do any strange things, just like I built a toilet."

Li Xiaogong picked up the soap and put it to his nose and smelled it. It had a faint minty smell. "How do I use this thing?"

"bath."

"bath?"

Li Chengqian showed an innocent smile and said, "After bathing with soap, the fragrance will remain."

Li Xiaogong's understanding of his nephew has reached a new level. How many good things are hidden in the heart of this seemingly well-behaved and sensible prince?
"Can I eat it?"

"solitary……"

Before he could finish his words, Li Xiaogong took a bite and put it down with a bitter look on his face, "Well, it's not delicious."

Problem...

Li Chengqian said secretly in his heart, and then he saw that a corner of the soap had been bitten off, leaving two clear rows of teeth marks, and even some saliva.

Covering his eyes with his hands, Li Chengqian looked painful and said, "This piece of soap is also given to the emperor's uncle."

So, Li Xiaogong left with a bar of soap and a basket of noodles.

People walked out of the Chongwen Hall and gradually went away.

Ning Er asked, "Are you just going to let the Prince of Hejian go like this?"

Li Chengqian whispered, "We in the Tang Dynasty have simple customs. The emperor's uncle is just seeing soap for the first time. We have to wait for him to know whether this thing is useful or not. I am not in a hurry."

"Yes." Ning Er bowed and said, "Your Highness has not eaten yet, so I prepared some more wontons."

"I don't want to have dinner with the emperor's uncle anymore."

Sister Ning'er covered her mouth and chuckled, then hurried to prepare chaos for His Highness.

Inside the East Palace, there were still three or four palace maids pulling out the weeds. It was only mid-February in Guanzhong, and spring had not yet arrived, yet a late cold snap had arrived, with a cold wind blowing from the northwest.

The weather hasn't warmed up yet and these weeds are already popping up.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very fond of cleanliness, so they regard these weeds as their greatest enemy and are determined to pull them all out.

Among all her brothers and sisters, Princess Dongyang loved "Dream of Red Mansions" the most. She was not interested in stories like the Monkey King jumping out of a stone.

Seeing that Li Zhi and Li Shen were not getting along again, Dongyang looked at his two younger brothers and advised: "We brothers and sisters should not fight among ourselves. The emperor said that we are a family. Otherwise, it will be like the Grand View Garden in the Red Mansion. This is not good."

Li Lizhi struggled to carry a basket of clothes that had been hung out to dry, and said, "Dongyang, ignore them and help me pack the clothes."

"Okay, sister."

Princess Gaoyang and Princess Qinghe had not yet woken up from their nap. The children were very sleepy in the warm East Palace.

The weather was clear at noon, but in the evening Guanzhong was covered with dark clouds again. Ice particles fell with a rustling sound, and the sound when they landed on the roof was like the sound of constant wind and sand.

A group of children sat neatly at the entrance of the temple, doing their homework.

The hall is quiet and warm.

Looking outside, I saw a howling wind and ice particles falling continuously. Soon the wind stopped and was replaced by a drizzle of rain.

Occasionally, a breeze blew in, causing the flame of the oil lamp in front of the children to flicker.

The East Palace is a warm home, where there is hot food and an easy-going and patient royal brother.

Xiaofu supervised the princesses and princes doing their homework.

No matter how violent the storm is outside, or how fierce the struggle in the court is, this family is still warm. As the eldest brother, Li Chengqian hopes that this family can be better.

Princess Changle, the class leader of this group of children, was sitting in front of her brother, counting on an abacus.

This little girl has a great talent for math. Within half a month, she could use the abacus so skillfully.

He moved the abacus with one hand and wrote down the sum with the other.

Li Chengqian drank boiled water and frowned as he looked at the result of the arithmetic. He asked, "How was your math training before?"

Li Lizhi replied: "I studied at the Imperial Academy."

The twelve-year-old sister had a good foundation in mathematics, so Li Chengqian began to teach her quadratic equations.

It would be a pity if such a good foundation were to go to waste.

After I explained the square root solution several times using A and B to replace the symbols, she still had trouble following the train of thought at first.

After giving several examples, Li Chengqian discovered the problem.

Patiently taught: "Change your way of thinking, don't convert it rigidly, use it flexibly, and deduce it in reverse?"

Li Lizhi frowned and continued to derive the equation.

Until she solved the problem, she smiled happily, "Brother, I solved it!"

When he looked up again, he found that his royal brother was no longer in front of him. It was already completely dark, and the rain was getting heavier, forming a curtain of water in front of the palace.

The emperor is collecting homework from his younger brothers and sisters.

"Brother! Tell me a story."

"Brother Emperor tells a story."

"It's too late today. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Li Chengqian pushed away the children who were pulling his legs.

Seeing that they were still refusing to leave, Li Lizhi could not bear it any longer. She shouted, "Go wash up! Whoever dares not go to sleep will see how I punish you!"

After receiving the order, the children left one by one with sad faces.

Li Chengqian put down his homework unhappily and said, "Usually, I just spoil them."

Li Lizhi narrowed her eyes and smiled: "Royal brother, you can be stricter."

"Sometimes, you have more prestige."

She handed over the answer with a smile, "I figured it out."

Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "Several steps are repeated. Let's simplify them."

"Really?" Li Lizhi scratched her head. "This kind of equation is very complicated. I have never learned it before."

"You should have mastered it at your age. You can't delay your studies."

"Sister will listen to my brother."

Ning'er stood aside, looking down at the brother and sister. She hadn't seen such a warm scene in many years.

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "That's all for today. We'll consolidate our efforts tomorrow."

She asked, "Are mathematics and numerology the same thing?"

"Similarly, mathematics is a never-ending subject that requires great patience and perseverance to learn. If you master mathematics, you will become more clear-headed, more focused, more flexible in thinking, and more calm in analyzing things when encountering problems."

After thinking for a moment, Li Chengqian said, "Going deeper, you will find that mathematics is the foundation of everything in the future. All creation is inseparable from it. It is the most powerful knowledge weapon left by human knowledge activities. Mathematics is eternal and unchanging."

(End of this chapter)