The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 201 Legends of the Western Regions
When Yan Qinli asked the militiamen from various counties to bring hundreds of carts of grain, the carts filled with grain formed a long line and were neatly arranged in front of Chunming Gate.

Five thousand shi of grain and fodder was not a small amount. Under the dispatch of Jingzhao Prefecture, all the counties in Guanzhong took out a portion of their surplus grain.

There was a tent in front of Chang'an City. Li Chengqian was sitting in the tent, counting the silver and money he brought out from the court treasury.

"Your Highness, the money and food are ready." Zhang Daxiang stepped forward and said.

Li Chengqian looked up and saw Yan Qinli nodded, so he ordered: "It is necessary to mark which county sent the grain and how much was sent."

"Here."

Li Chengqian put away the money and grain account book in his hand and said, "Minister Zhang, after these money and grain are delivered to Luoyang, a notice should be posted in Luoyang to inform the counties in Luoyang which counties provided the grain and fodder."

"I will escort you personally, Your Highness, rest assured."

Zhang Daxiang was about thirty years old, with a beard on his chin, and he looked very handsome. He said, "Your Highness, I will personally deliver the money and grain to Luoyang."

Li Chengqian stood up, looked towards the city gate and said, "Wait a little longer."

Zhang Daxiang was a little surprised, so he just stood aside and said, "Yes."

"Oh, right." Li Chengqian said, "Da'an is now serving as the chief clerk in Weinan County."

Zhang Daxiang said, "I feel ashamed that Daan was determined not to stay in the East Palace."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "His intentions are good. If we just let him stay in the East Palace, it would be a waste of him."

Zhang Daxiang nodded and said, "Your Highness, I understand."

Soon, a group of soldiers came out from the city gate, and Li Daozon and his men came straight to them.

Li Xiaogong hesitated and asked, "Chengfan, why are you here?"

Li Dao Zong said: "According to the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, these books have been delivered."

Li Chengqian took a book from the carriage, which contained the governance strategy for Guanzhong in the past two years and the content of his lectures at Chongwenguan.

"Please help Minister Zhang to take these books to Luoyang as well."

Zhang Daxiang said in a clear voice: "I obey your command."

After saying this, he jumped on his horse, rode to the front of the team, and said in a loud voice: "I have been ordered to rush to Luoyang for assistance. Everyone, please go with me."

"Here!"

The escort team responded loudly.

The team headed towards Luoyang.

This time, in addition to money and food, there was also a carriage full of books. After the Crown Prince left, Li Xiaogong grabbed Li Daozon who was about to leave.

"Brother, do you have any other instructions?"

Li Xiaogong said: "It's fine to send money and food to Luoyang, but what's the point of sending these books?"

Li Dao Zong first looked around, then turned around and whispered, "Brother, do you know what the situation is in Luoyang now?"

"Of course I know that, the killing of so many people is known to everyone."

Li Dao Zong sighed, "It is for this reason that all the officials in Luoyang counties are being investigated and replaced in the future. So what kind of officials should be in the future?"

Li Xiaogong hesitated for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Officials like this in Guanzhong!"

Li Dao Zong whispered, "Jingzhao Prefecture originally had a lot of people stationed in Tongguan. In addition to investigating, these people will go to Luoyang next. Otherwise, what do you think is the point of preparing these? After many years, Luoyang will be completely new."

"It turns out that the prince has big plans."

Although Li Daozon felt that he was in Jingzhao Prefecture, as the prefect and the chief official of Jingzhao Prefecture, he had an unusually leisurely time on weekdays.

Xu Jingzong, Yan Qinli and Di Zhixun are all very capable people and do not need to trouble a prefect like me.

The control within Chang'an City was supervised by officers and soldiers from the Leading Guard and the Left and Right Guards.

For a while, he sat in Jingzhao Prefecture all day long.

But even so, when he saw so much money and grain being sent out and saw the achievements of Jingzhao Prefecture in governing Guanzhong, Li Daozon could not hide the pride on his face.

In the New Year of the tenth year of Zhenguan, the people of Gaochang still bought 10,000 bars of soap from Jingyang.

Just as Xu Jingzong and Du He had planned together, at a time when productivity was limited, they could only reduce manufacturing costs and shift their focus to more efficient soaps.

Originally, Jingyang had a lot of soap in stock that had not been sold, and most of the people in Chang'an City still used ordinary soap.

This made Prince Gaochang feel cheated, so he decided to raise the price of all soaps from the Western Regions, and make the soap sold to the Persians more expensive.

Persia is a magical place. Persia is very rich and they were once very powerful.

Even though the Arabs were at war with Persia, the wealth of the Persians was still astonishing.

This can be seen from the fact that even though Prince Gaochang felt that he was being plotted against, he still gritted his teeth and bought 10,000 bars of soap.

Because he can still make sufficient profit from it.

Du He earned another 800,000 yuan, 10% of which he gave to Jingzhao Prefecture as city tax.

In order to transport the 10,000 bars of soap out of Chang'an City, Prince Gaochang needed the city tax documents from Jingzhao Prefecture. He had to pay 20% more taxes than Du He.

All in all, Jingzhao Prefecture collected city taxes and export taxes twice.

Prince Gaochang was an important client of Jingzhao Prefecture. Although Xu Jingzong could not hold a banquet in Chang'an where frugality was prevalent, he still invited Prince Gaochang to dinner and drinks alone, and gave a clerk from the Ministry of Rites. From then on, Prince Gaochang had a fixed room and position in the Tang Dynasty's post station.

For Prince Gaochang's exclusive use at any time.

At the wine table, Gaochang Prince Qu Zhisheng drunkenly said: "You Tang people are very powerful. You win no matter how you calculate it."

After drinking half a pot of wine, Xu Jingzong's face was red from being drunk, but his mind was still clear. He replied: "In fact, you Gaochang people can earn more. We in Jingzhao Prefecture can only get a small profit. You are joking."

Qu Zhisheng smiled and said, "The Persians are very rich. Your soap has increased in price. You have to pay twice as much for the soap you give to the Persians. And tell Xu Shaoyin that the Arabs also like Tang soap."

Xu Jingzong understood clearly and roughly understood the trade relations between Persia, Gaochang and Dashi.

As he had served in Jingzhao Prefecture for many years, he was familiar with many things and understood many principles.

Gaochang Prince Qu Zhisheng told a very old story. He whispered: "Since ancient times, when the first piece of silk appeared in the Western Regions and when the Roman emperor wore silk, those people started to go crazy."

"Three years ago, when the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace took out a piece of soap and gave it to the Tubo Prime Minister Lu Dongzan, soap became popular in Chang'an and Guanzhong."

"The following year She'er brought soap to the Turks, and the year after that... I, the Prince of Gaochang, came to the Tang Dynasty and bought 10,000 bars of soap. Now the nobles of Persia like the scent of soap, and the nobles of the Arabs also yearn for soap. For them, soap can be exchanged for food and cattle and sheep. It is a precious item that can be used as gold. The farther silk goes, the more precious it is, and the same is true for soap..." Now, the name of soap has spread to the Arabs, along with the exchanges and contacts between people in Tocharistan and the Ili River Basin.

They also appreciate the creative wisdom of the Tang people time and time again.

The name of soap spread from Tocharistan and the Ili River Basin to Persia, and even to India and the Caliphate.

Xu Jingzong listened quietly. He imagined the scenes in the West and how soap could be bought for dozens of coins in Guanzhong, while in faraway Persia, ten bars of soap were worth one gold coin.

This was great wealth and honor, and a scene that Xu Jingzong had never imagined.

Thinking about it again, Xu Jingzong felt that the Prince of Gaochang had made countless money by selling soap. He also thought that Xuanzang, who was still traveling on some unknown road, might also be using soap to take a bath.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace gave Luoyang enough money and food. In fact, judging from past years, when it came to spending, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would be very frugal, but when it came to big things, he would never be stingy.

The court had not yet opened and was still in a state of rest. At the beginning of the new year, on January 10th of the tenth year of Zhenguan, the residents of Chang'an City were still visiting their relatives. The entire Chang'an was living a comfortable and fulfilling life in this peaceful world.

This New Year is particularly pleasant. The Zhenguan period has lasted for ten years. During these ten years, the Tang Dynasty did not collapse, but instead developed in a more stable direction. The emperor has not used foreign wars for many years.

People who have emerged from the war feel that this is the most beautiful thing in the world.

This morning, Li Chengqian stood alone in front of the East Palace gate, pulled the horn bow in his hand, and shot an arrow, which landed accurately on the center of the bull's eye.

Li Lizhi also came with a bow. She took out an arrow from the quiver beside her, drew the bow, put the arrow on it, and released it. The arrow did not hit the target, but landed on the ground closer.

She blinked, looking confused.

However, this did not dampen her enthusiasm for archery. She took out another quiver from the quiver and pulled the bow hard.

Pulling the bowstring tests the arm strength. Li Lizhi originally had some heroic spirit in her brows, and now when she draws the bow and arrows, she has the temperament of a heroic woman.

She pulled the bowstring, her knuckles even turned white from pulling so hard, she frowned and aimed at the target in the distance with anger in her eyes, and shot an arrow, which went towards the target, just a little further than the previous arrow, and still fell to the ground without hitting the target.

Li Lizhi was not discouraged. She said, "My brother started practicing archery when he was fifteen. I am sixteen now. It is not too late to practice archery."

"You..." Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait a minute."

Move the distant target closer, as it is not appropriate for a novice to use a target a hundred steps away. Then take out a horn bow that he had used before from his grandfather's Chongwen Hall.

Li Chengqian adjusted the bowstring and said to his sister, "The bow in your hand is actually the one used by our father."

Li Lizhi looked at the bow in her hand.

"It's not surprising that you can't pull this bow with your current strength. It's because you don't have enough strength." Li Chengqian handed her the adjusted bow and said, "Try this bow first."

Li Lizhi tried pulling the bowstring and found it much easier, so she nodded.

When the sunlight fully shone on the palace, Li Yuan woke up. He walked out of the Chongwen Hall and sat next to his grandson.

"Why does Li Zhi suddenly want to practice archery?"

"My grandson doesn't know either."

Li Yuan whispered, "In the past, when you were in a bad mood, you would practice archery to relieve it."

Li Chengqian took the breakfast from Xiaofu and whispered, "How did Grandpa know that?"

"You are my grandson, how could I not see that?" As he said this, Li Yuan also took the bowl of noodles with soybean sauce and ate it with slurps.

When Dongyang came out of the East Palace, she saw her sister practicing archery. She wanted to try it too.

So, the sisters took turns practicing.

Occasionally an arrow would hit the target.

After breakfast, Li Chengqian stepped forward and said, "It is not an easy task to master archery."

Li Lizhi looked determined and said, "However my brother learned it, I can do it too."

Dongyang also nodded heavily.

Li Yuan watched with great interest as his grandson taught his two granddaughters how to draw a bow. He whispered to the eunuch beside him, "At my age, I can only feel more comfortable watching such scenes."

The eunuch smiled and said, "Your Majesty can enjoy this kind of family happiness. I am happy for Your Majesty."

"Alas, if all the children of the Li family could have the archery skills of Erlang..." Li Yuan paused and emphasized: "No matter whether they are men or women, all the children of our Li family should have excellent archery skills."

Li Lizhi and Dongyang are still beginners and need to start practicing from the bow drawing posture.

Li Chengqian warned: "Be sure to pay attention to your posture when drawing the bow. If your posture is not good, it is easy to strain your muscles and bones."

Dongyang said: "Sister, remember that my brother was in so much pain that he couldn't even lift his arms in order to improve his archery skills."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Just proceed step by step."

Seeing that their postures had improved a lot, Li Chengqian saw the eunuch standing not far away and said, "Let's get familiar with the posture of drawing the bow today. I have something else to do in the court, so I'll go first."

Li Lizhi put down the bow, stretched her arms and said, "Brother, please go. I can practice well."

After leaving the East Palace, the eunuch who was waiting here caught up with him and said, "Your Highness, Xu Shaoyin is already waiting in the Secretariat. He said he has something important to report to Your Highness. He brought two boxes with him. I don't know what's in the boxes. They look very heavy."

Li Chengqian nodded and walked from the East Palace to the gate of the Secretariat.

Xu Jingzong bowed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Xu Shaoyin, I haven't seen you for such a long time, but you look neither fat nor thin."

He smiled and said, "Your Highness looks taller than before."

Li Chengqian walked into the Secretariat, where there were two boxes. The boxes were not big and could be carried by one person.

"Your Highness, after the Gaochang prince bought the soap, he asked me to give two boxes to Your Majesty, saying that they were presented to the Heavenly Khan. Since it was presented to Your Majesty by Gaochang, I wanted to give it to the Ministry of Rites, but the Gaochang prince asked me to show it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first."

Li Chengqian looked at the box and asked, "Have you seen what's inside the box?"

"I have never opened it."

Li Chengqian slowly opened the wooden box and saw a pile of gold, which were gold bricks of regular sizes and shapes, stacked up full.

I picked up a palm-sized gold brick. It felt heavy in my hand. The surface was not smooth and had many scratches, which should have been caused during the casting process.

Xu Jingzong said, "Yan Qinli said at the beginning that Qu Zhisheng intended to give the Crown Prince gold. I'm afraid he has no way to see the Crown Prince, so he had to send it under the pretext of offering it as a tribute."

(End of this chapter)