The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 206 The truth
Even in the Hexi Corridor, there are more and more steamed cakes, and the living standards have been greatly improved as a result.

In his early years, Murong Shun began to travel to the Turks and Uighurs, and later he went to Gaochang, Tubo, and even more distant small countries in the Western Regions such as Khotan.

In the outside world, Murong Shun already has his own reputation. He is also the most trustworthy person when doing business for Master Du He.

As long as he spread the word, Murong Shun would live in the Hexi Corridor for a long time in the future, and merchants from all over the Western Regions would no longer have to go to Guanzhong, but could do business in the Hexi Corridor.

In Guanzhong, there will be a steady stream of goods delivered.

Li Zhen sat on the city wall of Wuwei County. He found that under the arrangement of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, many things were going smoothly.

From being at a loss when he first came here, Li Zhen is now full of confidence and can finally feel that he has lived up to the trust placed in him.

In fact, he doesn't have to do much now. Just as the booklet sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, the Hexi Corridor will become a very wealthy place in the future, and even Gaochang will be nothing.

The previous trade documents were still there, but merchants from the Western Regions were now able to come to Chang'an to trade on their own. Gaochang's soap trading rights would be weakened to a certain extent, and then slowly eliminated.

Perhaps many years later, when the few wise old men in Gaochang look back on the past, they will recall that when the king and his sons of Gaochang were still immersed in arrogance and arrogance, enjoying the happiness brought by gold and silver, the Tang people had already shown their fangs.

Within the Tibetan territory, another person who coveted the Hexi Corridor was the Tibetan Prime Minister Lu Dongzan.

Songtsen Gampo sat in a small hut next to piles of cow dung. It was still cold in Tibet in mid-February.

Lu Dongzan ate tsampa in silence.

Songtsen Gampo put some cow dung into the fire and remained silent.

There were only two people in the room, watching the flames of the burning cow dung in silence.

Outside the hut there were the sounds of war horses neighing and Tibetan warriors fighting and scolding each other. Some time ago, Lu Dongzan led his troops to conquer a small country in the Western Regions.

That small country was so small that no one knew that the Tibetans had taken over it, not even the Tang people knew about it.

But now Tibet is still not rich.

"What is the Tang people's city like?"

Songtsen Gampo asked the same question again, a question he had asked many times.

Lu Dongzan replied as usual: "The cities of the Tang people are very rich. They have endless food and endless money. They have four distinct seasons and endless game in their mountains."

Songtsen Gampo shook his head, he felt that Lu Dongzan was wrong.

Lu Dongzan said: "Sambuza did not go to see the Tang emperor this year. This is what the people in the Western Regions say about the Tang people."

The Tibetan king looked somewhat unhappy. He asked, "When the Tang people built the Hexi Corridor, did you think about it now?"

Lu Dongzan said: "I thought that after the Tang people had used up the Tuyuhun people, they would kill them all and bury them, or build a Jingguan for them to deter the outside world."

Songtsen Gampo threw another ball of cow dung into the fire and said, "If they really kill the Tuyuhun people, no nobles from the Western Regions will go to the Hexi Corridor in the future. It is precisely because of their current behavior that more nobles from the Western Regions will go to the Hexi Corridor in the future."

Lu Dongzan was silent. He felt frustrated from the bottom of his heart. He was actually wrong. The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty actually thought more long-term than himself, the prime minister.

After a long silence, Songtsen Gampo said, "In the language of the Tang people, there is a story called "draining the pond to catch fish" and another story called "teaching a man to fish". Their wisdom is too far-sighted. Three years ago, we all thought about how the Tang people would kill these Tuyuhun people. Now, three years later, we are ashamed of our self-righteousness. Their wisdom is always so far-sighted."

"I really like what the prince of the Tang Dynasty said. He said he would double the tax revenue in Guanzhong. Now he is fulfilling his promise. The prince's conduct and character are a kind of wisdom that we have not learned before. He made a promise for the future and put it into practice in the present."

"No." Songtsen Gampo denied: "For the Tang people, this is just their code of conduct. They demand and control themselves, which is something that the Tibetans do not have."

Lu Dongzan looked at the Zamp and advised: "The Zamp is someone who is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Khan. He does not need to look up to the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace like this."

"The books of the Tang people taught them to be modest and to examine themselves three times a day. I am learning from the Tang people."

Lu Dongzan said again: "Zamp's great cause also needs to be practiced."

Songtsen Gampo nodded and fell into silence again. He couldn't understand where such wisdom came from.

If the wisdom of the Tang people is all in their books, then why didn't he find this wisdom from those books?

Walking out of the hut, Lu Dongzan breathed in the scent of soil and grass in the pasture air, and Songtsen Gampo admired the prince of the Tang Dynasty even more.

This is not a good thing, and it is an extremely bad thing for Tubo's great cause.

It was mid-February in Guanzhong, but the spring rain still hadn't come and the weather was still as cold.

The Prince of Gaochang wanted to return to Gaochang, and he was talking to Ashina She'er.

"Come to Gaochang and we will entertain you with the most beautiful Hu concubines and the best wine."

Ashina She'er refused and said, "No."

"Don't you like beautiful Hu Ji and good wine?"

Ashina She'er stood in front of the Sifang Pavilion, his face full of seriousness, and asked, "Can you give me soldiers and horses?"

"Soldiers... Soldiers and horses?"

"I want to defeat the Mobei people."

"We can't agree to this. We Gaochang people have never been warlike."

"Then don't go."

Hearing the other party's refusal, Gaochang Prince Qu Zhisheng began to talk about his experiences in the past few days. His words were nagging and contained some dissatisfaction and complaints.

In the past two years, the exchanges between Gaochang and the Tang Dynasty seemed pleasant, but in fact they were becoming increasingly unpleasant.

Until now, Qu Zhisheng felt that he was unhappy in Chang'an and could not even sleep well. He just wanted to return to Gaochang as soon as possible and continue to seek comfort in Hu Ji's embrace.

In front of Sifang Pavilion, one was willing to speak and the other was willing to listen.

Finally, Qu Zhisheng said he was tired, so he took his delegation and left. He wanted to leave Chang'an and go home.

Ashina She'er was still on duty in front of the Sifang Pavilion, standing still even when the cold wind blew.

Shangguan Yi brought two people with him. Since he became the director of Hongwenguan, he has arranged the books that the Persians, people from the Western Regions, and Turks here read. What books these people need to read and what books they do not need to read are all decided by the director of Hongwenguan.

Seeing that the Prince of Gaochang was just leaving with the envoys, Shangguan Yi asked, "Didn't the Prince of Gaochang invite you to go to Gaochang with him?"

Ashina She'er said with a straight face: "I want to go, but I want revenge."

Shangguan Yi sighed: "He must be very annoying."

Ashina She'er nodded, "It's annoying."

Patting him on the shoulder, Shangguan Yi walked into the Sifang Pavilion.

On the East Market Street in Chang'an City, there is a mansion. This is the mansion of the general of the Zhenjun Army.
Inside the palace, Chai Shao peeled a longan and tasted it carefully, while hearing His Majesty's stories and complaints.

The tenth year of Zhenguan should have been a year worth celebrating, but for Your Majesty, it was not so pleasant.

After eating too much longan, Chai Shao picked up a bowl of tea, savored it carefully, and felt the taste in the tea and his mouth.

Li Shimin was also peeling longan. There were already quite a few longan shells on the table in front of him. He added, "At the last court meeting before the holiday last year, I wanted to hold a banquet, but Cheng Qian said in front of all the civil and military officials that he would stick to the policy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and continue to practice the frugal style for more than ten years."

Chai Shao smiled and nodded as he drank his tea. "I thought at the beginning that someone would definitely stand up against Cheng Qian, so I waited for a moment, waiting for someone to stand up against him."

Chai Shao smiled and said nothing.

"My child is standing in front of me. After I said these words, not a single person in the court objected. They didn't even ask a question. They actually agreed. They actually agreed to my son."

Li Shimin drank a mouthful of wine unhappily and said, "Do you think my son still has me as his father in his eyes?"

Chai Shao replied: "Your Majesty is joking. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince respects Your Majesty the most."

Li Shimin held his forehead and continued, "This kid has issued another decree. He, a prince, actually wants Guanzhong, Tongguan, and Luoyang to absorb population."

Chai Shao smiled and took another sip of tea, continuing to listen to His Majesty's complaints.

Li Shimin pointed in the direction of the East Palace and said, "He ordered Luoyang, Tongguan, and Guanzhong to absorb people from all over the Central Plains, saying that if people have nowhere to work or nowhere to settle down, they can go to Luoyang and Tongguan to settle down. This kind of policy order was actually arranged by Xuanling and others."

"It seems that Prime Minister Fang is also very supportive of the Crown Prince's decree. The Crown Prince is in charge of the agricultural affairs in Guanzhong, so he can naturally issue such decrees. It is also the power of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. This is granted to the Crown Prince by His Majesty."

"You mean I asked for it?"

Chai Shao cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty knows clearly that I have absolutely no such intention."

"Why am I telling you this?" Li Shimin waved his sleeves and stood up, looking distressed. "Even you are going to hand over the position of the General of the Zhen Army to the Crown Prince. I guess you are protecting him too."

Chai Shao bowed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the heir to the throne. A wise and virtuous Crown Prince is a blessing to the country. I will definitely take care of the Crown Prince. When I first met the Crown Prince, he was already a very sensible child."

Li Shimin left. It was inappropriate to talk to Chai Shao, who doted on the prince so much, in his mansion.

It’s not that I, as an emperor, am not magnanimous enough.

Li Shimin walked back to the palace and told the eunuch beside him: "In the future, let the prince visit him more often. I will not come here anymore."

"Here."

The East Palace was a mess. The children were not very good at archery practice, but they were playing games instead.

They took off the arrowheads and put them on white cloth. The brothers and sisters were divided into two teams. The white cloth was covered with dust. As long as the arrow hit the opponent, there would be a white mark, which would count as a point.

Gao Yang and Qing He sat aside to keep score and act as referees.

Li Chengqian stood at the gate of the East Palace, looking at the laughter in front of him. His grandfather had always loved them, and it was within his expectations that their archery practice had reached this level and had become a kind of game for them.

Grandpa would let them play as much as they wanted, fearing that they wouldn't have enough fun.

Li Chengqian left silently, planning to go meet someone first, that is, Du Zhenglun mentioned by his uncle.

Du Zhenglun now serves as the Imperial Censor of the Palace, and his father just issued an edict this year.

As soon as Du Zhenglun came out of the back door of the Secretariat, he ran into the prince who was eating noodles there.

He bowed hastily and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Du Zhenglun turned around and saluted, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian pointed at the still open back door and said, "Close it."

"Yes." Du Zhenglun walked back and knew the prince's habits. He quickly closed the door and made sure it was tightly closed. Then he bowed again and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute."

After taking just two steps, he heard the Crown Prince's words from behind him, and Du Zhenglun stopped and stood still.

Li Chengqian picked up the food box beside him and said, "Let's eat together."

"I don't dare."

"It's okay. Just eat if I tell you to."

"Here."

Du Zhenglun walked back, took the food box handed to him by the prince, opened it, and found a bowl of steaming soup noodles inside.

He still kept some distance from the prince. They were about one meter apart. They ate in silence.

After finishing the noodles, Li Chengqian was still sitting on the stone steps nearby.

Du Zhenglun didn't eat fast enough and was still thinking about something when he came out of the back door and ran into the prince sitting there.

"Most officials in the court have three or five close friends. I noticed that you always walk around alone. Don't you have any friends in the court?"

"Your Highness, I am used to doing things alone and do not like making friends."

"Yes, having too many friends can be annoying. The same is true for being alone. Being alone has very few friends."

"Having one or two close friends in the world is enough," Du Zhenglun replied.

"Who is your best friend then?"

Hearing this, Du Zhenglun remained silent.

"If you don't want to talk, then I won't ask. I always see you alone, and I'm curious. Even someone like Chu Suiliang has three or five good friends to support him. I think someone like you should have a lot of friends."

"I'm sorry to make you laugh, Your Highness. I'm used to being a loner."

Li Chengqian put the bowl and chopsticks back into the food box and asked, "What did the emperor ask you to do in Luoyang last winter? Why didn't the court receive your report afterwards?"

"Your Highness, I was..."

"No need to explain."

"Nachen..."

"Even if you explain, they might come up with an excuse to cover it up."

Du Zhenglun lowered his head and said nothing, sitting cross-legged.

"You are the Imperial Censor in the Palace. If my father has not arranged for you recently, and if I have something important that I need you to do, can you help me?"

"I can't say I'm helping you, but I'm always busy and I'm afraid I'll delay your Highness."

Li Chengqian simply stood up, walked past him, and said, "I finally understand. I can't hear a single word of truth from you."

"Your Highness, every word I say is true."

"You are telling the truth to your father, right?"

"Your Highness has misunderstood me. I am ashamed."

(End of this chapter)