The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 190 Eggs Laid

It was warm inside the Chongwen Hall, but snow was falling outside.

Li Tai scooped around the copper pot with chopsticks and found that there was no mutton in the pot, and the meat slices on the plate next to it were also empty. He was embarrassed but didn't want to take the chopsticks back with empty hands.

He could only pick up a piece of scallion and put it in his mouth to taste it.

Li Lizhi took the wooden spoon and scooped another bowl of soup for herself.

Li Shimin looked at his daughter. This child couldn't live without garlic in anything she ate. She even ate soup with garlic.

Li Yuan was a little drunk.

Seeing that his grandfather was about to sing again, Li Chengqian hurriedly said, "Grandpa, drink some hot soup to sober up, but don't drink any more."

My grandfather's process of quitting drinking is gradual. Today, he is in a good mood, so I let him drink a little more.

While his grandfather was drinking soup, Li Chengqian quickly handed the wine jug to the young eunuch beside him and asked him to take it out.

Li Shimin took out two memorials and handed them to his son who was sitting opposite him.

Li Lizhi became excited when she saw her father handing the memorial to her brother.

After looking at the emperor lying on his side, slightly drunk, Li Chengqian took the memorial and opened it to read.

Soon, the sound of grandpa's snoring was heard, and a eunuch nearby covered the old man with a quilt.

Li Shimin whispered, "During this autumn flood, two hundred hectares of farmland in Luoyang were submerged, and three villages and counties were flooded. Chai Zhewei opened the government warehouse and found that there was not enough grain to last until next year."

“Why is there not enough food?”

"This is exactly the reason why Quan Wanji investigated the case. Afterwards, he went to measure the fields and found that someone had embezzled the grain." Li Shimin stated calmly.

Li Chengqian said, "I read the tax memorials submitted by various places every year. The Central Plains has had bumper harvests year after year. From the fifth year of Zhenguan to now, even if most of the fields in Luoyang fail to produce any harvest, we can still cope with it. Moreover, there are only three villages and counties. Opening three or two of the government warehouses will be enough. How could it not be enough?"

Thinking of the conflict of interest, Li Tai clenched his fist on the table and said, "They are a bunch of rats!"

There are many tricks involved, and how much grain is traded privately?

Li Shimin continued, "The government warehouses don't have enough food, but some people have enough food to feed the disaster victims in Luoyang. The children of the local aristocratic families have stored food, and they opened porridge shops. They are great philanthropists in Luoyang."

When Li Tai heard the words "great philanthropist", his face turned pale and he did not feel happy at all.

Because he figured out why the granary was not enough, and how those people could possibly have enough food for all the disaster victims in Luoyang to survive the disaster.

"Good man?" Li Tai's eyelids twitched and he clenched his fists tighter.

Li Shimin continued, "Then, they asked the villagers to exchange their land for food, thus controlling the villagers' land. These people also asked the villagers to continue to cultivate their land next year, and they needed to sign a contract. From then on, the land remained the same, but the owner changed, and how much food they could get was entirely up to the owner."

Li Tai suddenly asked, "What should their children do?"

Suddenly thinking of the signed contract, Li Tai said with a painful expression: "Oh, right, it will be difficult for their children to leave. This is going to wipe out the whole family!"

Li Chengqian looked at the contents of the memorial, patted Li Tai on the back, and said, "Don't worry, my brother Ke is in charge of the flood affairs in Luoyang, and has torn up all these contracts. I don't know how much resistance he will encounter in Luoyang."

Li Tai hurriedly said, "Father, brother! Let Qingque go to Luoyang as well. Qingque wants to tear those rats alive."

Li Shimin sat upright without saying a word, but kept his eyes down.

"Qingque, of course our families must unite. Before my brother Ke left, I said that all of us brothers and sisters are his greatest supporters."

After a pause, Li Chengqian added, "And my father."

"That……"

Seeing the anger on his brother's fat face, Li Chengqian comforted him, "Brother Ke can handle Luoyang's affairs by himself. He has Ma Zhou, Quan Wanji, and Chai Zhewei by his side. He can handle these things. If there are any more changes, it won't be too late for you to leave."

Li Tai stood aside and had no intention of picking up his chopsticks. He seemed to have seen corpses all over Luoyang and the wealthy families in Luoyang with their bellies full of fat intestines. "How dare they!"

Li Lizhi whispered, "When our family becomes stronger, we must change this world."

Deep down, Li Chengqian still trusted Li Ke very much, because apart from being in the army, his favorite place was Xianyang County. He and Liu Rengui were best friends, and they could also get together with ordinary villagers.

Therefore, Li Ke knew very well how difficult their lives were. Every grain of rice and every load of millet were grown by bending over.

There are still many problems in this world.

Li Shimin said: "There are still many people to be killed, and the administration of Luoyang needs to be rectified."

In fact, he hoped that his younger brother Ke would make a bigger fuss, because after all, the emperor had arranged troops in Mount Yao, and these troops were to support Li Ke.

If things change, these troops can rush to Luoyang within a day and a night.

Li Chengqian looked at the second memorial and then looked at his father's expression. This second memorial was sent from the Hexi Corridor.

News finally arrived from the Hexi Corridor. After two years, the construction of Wuwei and Dunhuang counties was completed, and now only Zhangye and Jiuquan counties remained.

General Li Daliang sent a memorial stating that this year's food and wages should be distributed, and the subsequent construction costs still need to be paid. He also listed all the accounts at Li Yi's mansion in the Hexi Corridor, including the fact that 60,000 strings of cash would be sent for food and wages this year.

Li Chengqian frowned and looked at it. This was a considerable expense.

"I have asked Niu Jinda to withdraw and replace him with someone else to garrison Tuyuhun."

"Has Father chosen someone?"

Li Shimin thought for a while and said, "Let Zhang Shigui go."

Li Chengqian put the memorial aside and replied, "Father, please make the arrangements. I will leave the money and grain matters to you, your son."

Li Lizhi watched her father and her brother discuss the Hexi Corridor and Luoyang one after another. At this moment, she felt that the distance between her brother and her father was getting closer and closer.

When my brother ascends the throne in the future, my father can enjoy his old age in peace.

Li Lizhi sighed in frustration and ate a piece of cake in silence.

Inside the Wude Hall, Li Yuan's snoring was still going on, and the conversation between father and son could be faintly heard.

Li Lizhi walked to the outside of the Wude Hall and half-closed the heavy door to prevent the wind and snow outside from blowing into the hall.

The wind and snow continued, she let out a long breath, and it turned into a cloud of white mist before her eyes.

Laughter came from not far away. It was the younger brothers and sisters who were making a snowman.

Li Zhi and Li Shen playfully kicked a snowman and broke it, causing Dongyang and Qinghe to chase and beat them.

Li Lizhi also had her hands in her pockets, watching the scene with a smile on her face.

There was heavy snow in Guanzhong these two days, so the court was closed for two days. Anyway, it was not far from the winter solstice.

The next morning, it was still snowing heavily, but the prince could not slack off in his physical exercise. In winter, after his morning run, he would practice archery every day.

In fact, the prince is very good at archery. If someone asks why the prince still insists on practicing archery.

The prince would say that basic skills are the most important, and diligence leads to success while laziness leads to failure.

Guanzhong had entered winter. In the morning, the gate of the East Palace was deserted and the palace had also become quiet. Li Chengqian stood in the snow, drew his bow and arrow, and the arrow was released, hitting the center of the bull accurately.

Li Ji stood in the cold wind, not knowing what to teach the prince.

Once again, Li Chengqian drew his bow and put his arrow on it. His fingers, red from the cold, still pulled the bow steadily, and he shot an arrow calmly.

The sound of hurried footsteps on the snow was heard. Looking up, I saw a eunuch leading a young man about the same age as the prince.

The man came with a package in his hand and bowed politely, "Your Highness, I greet the General."

The last time I saw Du He was when I was visiting Qujiang Lake Garden.

Li Chengqian put down the longbow in his hand, exhaled a breath of hot air, and asked: "Why are you here?"

Du He took out a wooden box from the package. Inside the box were plums. He explained, "These are plums sent from Zhao'an. They said this year's green plums are better than in previous years, so they brought them from Guanzhong and sent them to Your Highness."

Li Chengqian picked up a plum from the box and tasted it, then handed a few to General Li Ji who was standing beside him.

Du He is the money bag of the Eastern Palace, but the two rarely meet.

The Eastern Palace would not interfere in Du He’s daily business.

Li Chengqian ate a plum and asked, "How is your workshop?"

Du He explained: "We expanded it in the fall of this year. Now the three workshops in Jingyang can accommodate 500 workers. After some manual work was delegated to other places, including the women who do manual work for Jingyang, there are thousands of people working for Jingyang."

In fact, the city tax provided by Jingyang every quarter was the highest, ranking first among the twelve counties of Chang'an.

The administration of Jingyang County is personally handled by Xu Jingzong, the current Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture, who also serves as the county magistrate of Jingyang County.

Therefore, among the twelve counties of Chang'an, Jingyang County was excluded from the evaluation of model counties.

The three counties of Weibei have developed rapidly this year, and grapes, grape wine and raisins are the main industries in Weibei.

Li Chengqian said: "From the perspective of governance and taxation, this year's model county should be one of the three counties in Weibei?"

Du He replied, "Jingzhao Prefecture now wants to choose one between Sanyuan and Fuping counties. The selection will be made after the winter solstice. Last year it was Weinan County. This year, the workshops in Weinan County have developed slowly. If it weren't for the bumper grape harvest in Weibei this year, Weinan County might still be the model county."

Li Ji clasped his fists, bowed, and left first.

Li Chengqian nodded, bowed and said goodbye with a smile, while continuing to talk with Du He.

"Your Highness, when can the papermaking workshop be put on the market?"

"Wait a little longer." Li Chengqian spat out the plum pit, still chewing the plum flesh in his mouth, and said, "The papermaking industry still has many problems. Paper is too expensive, which may affect your industry. First, strengthen yourself before discussing these things."

"I will follow the arrangements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It doesn't matter if I never enter the market."

Li Chengqian smiled with his hands in his pockets.

Du He whispered, "Your Highness, I'm afraid I won't be able to see Zhao Jie again in the future."

"What's up with him?"

"Yesterday I heard from Master Chongyi, the Junior Minister of the Zongzheng Temple, that Zhao Jie went to Princess Changguang's fiefdom."

This was an old story. Li Chengqian poured him a bowl of hot tea and said, "Let's not talk about it."

Du He nodded and said, "I have been interacting with officials from Jingzhao Prefecture recently, and I heard that Judge Di Tong encountered a very difficult case recently."

"A difficult case? A murder case?"

Du He shook his head and said, "It's not a murder case. Another cow fell to its death at Cheng's farm."

Li Chengqian said solemnly: "That is indeed a tricky situation."

Come to think of it, the cow was killed in the fall, so why didn't General Cheng send the beef to my father? It must have been blocked by Di Zhixun, otherwise the beef would have been in Xiaofu's kitchen by now.

Needless to say, the friendship and trust between the Crown Prince and Master Du He is very close.

Du He said dejectedly, "Your Highness lives in seclusion and rarely goes out. You may not know that Chu Mo went to the manor to argue with Judge Di Tong about this matter. He took his troops there early in the morning. I am worried that the two sides will fight."

"President Di Tong is from Jingzhao Prefecture. With the Emperor's uncle here, he will be more or less lenient and won't resort to violence." Li Chengqian nodded secretly and said, "It is indeed difficult and tricky."

At this point, Li Chengqian cleared his throat, thought for a moment and said, "In the past two years, more and more people have entered Chang'an City. How is the living situation in the city?"

Du He said: "It's very crowded, especially after the imperial examination next year, I heard that more people will come to Chang'an. The prices of goods in the counties of Guanzhong have risen sharply this year."

Li Chengqian said worriedly: "The counties in Guanzhong still need to continue to develop and go out of Tongguan along the Yellow River. Tongguan connects Guanzhong with the Central Plains east of Mount Xiao. We need to strengthen Tongguan's position as a hub for transportation and cargo distribution."

"Do you need anything done?"

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "You don't have to do this. Don't waste your money. I will find someone else to take care of this."

"Here."

"There is one thing." Li Chengqian whispered to Du He, "You can rent a piece of land from Xu Jingzong and build a large dormitory."

"Large dormitory?"

"The rent for each dormitory for students taking the imperial examination can be cheaper, and students taking the imperial examination cannot bring outsiders in at will..."

Li Chengqian told Du He about his idea of ​​a dormitory, writing and drawing on the ground with a branch.

A new business model emerged in Du He's mind, and he asked curiously, "Is this really possible?"

Li Chengqian was also in a dilemma: "How about you go and discuss it with Xu Jingzong?"

Du He looked at the map on the snow, and hesitated for a few seconds before bowing and saying, "I will go to discuss it with him right away."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Thank you for your help."

"Brother Emperor!"

There was a shout from behind, which sounded particularly harsh in the quiet palace on this snowy day. I turned around and saw Li Zhi running towards me. He took out a duck egg and said, "It laid an egg."

I took a small duck egg. The duck egg was very small, a little bigger than a bird egg.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Okay, I won't kill it for now."

Li Zhi said, "I asked the eunuch to take the duck outside to the Taiye Lake to swim occasionally, and sure enough, it laid eggs. Eh? Why does my brother look unhappy?"

That duck is very difficult to raise. The environment of Taiye Lake is very suitable for raising ducks. If it is made into roast duck, it will definitely be very plump.

(End of this chapter)