The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 213 Drought
After little Sizi came down from her grandfather's arms, she walked up to her royal brother, took out a scroll of drawings, and opened it. On the drawing was a person and a sun.

Little Sizi asked: "When will the sun be closer to us?"

Listening to her question, I can see that this little girl doesn’t know many words now, and most of the time she needs to learn by looking at pictures.

Some pictures and graphics can trigger her associations better, and with her talent, she can use pictures to illustrate things.

Li Chengqian looked at the picture and said with a smile: "How about I tell you a story, my brother?"

Little Sizi nodded and climbed onto her brother's lap and sat down. She nodded and said, "Mingda likes to listen to stories."

"Legend has it that there is a world where people live on a rotating ball, and the sun and the moon also revolve around this ball..."

Li Yuan sat aside and listened with a smile.

Little Sizi watched his brother draw another picture, which showed the trajectory of the moon and the sun. This trajectory was not a perfect circle, and even had changes in height.

This is more like a three-dimensional painting. Little Sizi's bright eyes look at the picture, as if the stars in the universe are also clearly revealed under her gaze.

From the changes of day and night, to the changes of the four seasons, and then to the changes of day and night in each season.

Even when the emperor put down his pen, Xiao Sizi was still immersed in the story. She asked curiously, "Imperial brother, is there really such a world?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "No one has seen it."

Little Sizi looked up at the sky. She was sitting on her brother's lap, but even sitting like that, her forehead could not touch his chin.

Then she jumped off her brother's lap and took the blueprint to tell this story to Taoist Li Chunfeng.

Li Yuan smiled and said, "It seems to you that the four seasons and day and night are really real."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Stories are best used for enlightenment."

The little Sizi who had just run away came back again. Li Chengqian asked suspiciously, "Didn't you understand?"

She shook her head vigorously and said, "Master Yuan said that this summer will most likely be dry, and there will be floods before autumn. He will be watching the stars until summer."

Even this little princess, the young Xiao Sizi, can give advice to the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "My Royal Brother understands."

She left laughing again.

Seeing the drizzle still falling, Li Yuan said, "This weather doesn't look like it will be dry."

Li Chengqian flipped through the memorial and said, "Last year, I asked Jingzhao Prefecture to build a lot of water cellars."

"Do you even think so?"

"It's just a precaution. Many people also think that it's unnecessary for Jingzhao Prefecture to build a water cellar."

Listening to his grandson's words, Li Yuan looked surprised and doubtful, but this grandson always kept many things in his heart, so he stopped asking any more questions.

Li Chengqian flipped through the memorial in front of him. Although there was abundant rain in Guanzhong, drought had already occurred in Xingyang and Chenliu.

After writing down the order to prepare food and fodder and have Luoyang be prepared to take in more people from various places, Li Chengqian had the memorial sent to the Secretariat.

At least I have saved some money over the past few years and am prepared for a rainy day.

Li Chengqian put all his thoughts into the scheduling and construction of this year, and almost forgot that the Prince's East Palace had just built the Right Rate.

In the morning, before the city gates are opened, you can see a group of people running along the city wall.

These people were wearing leather armor, and they were obviously soldiers of the Wei Palace, and they were well-equipped.

The leader was Hejian Prince Li Xiaogong, and behind him were Cheng Chumo and Li Jingheng, each leading a team of more than ten people, running.

This is a unique landscape every morning.

Some people pointed fingers at them, but this team of soldiers never paid attention to the discussions around them.

In Guanzhong, officials from Jingzhao Prefecture rode their horses on various official roads, carrying grain from granaries in various places and sending it to Luoyang.

Looking from the direction of Weibei and Weinan, on the official road along the Wei River, there are teams of civilians transporting grain to Tongguan and Luoyang.

Today's Jingzhao Prefecture still advocates construction, and the word "construction" is an important task hanging over the heads of officials in various counties in Guanzhong.

It is also an important criterion for increasing productivity and getting rid of poverty and becoming rich.

The construction of Du He's dormitory has begun, and two-story houses are rising from the ground.

Luoyang and Tongguan are still under construction.

Xu Jingzong found Guo Luotuo, who had been observing a bird called starling during these days.

Guo Luotuo threw a bug to the bird, which caught it and flew away.

"Brother Guo, you are no longer concentrating on farming, but have started raising birds?"

After hearing what he said, Guo Luotuo sat on a rock, looked at the flying birds with a smile, and said, "They eat insects, and they like locusts more."

Xu Jingzong also looked at the flying birds and said, "We should raise more of them."

"When they hunt, they fly very low and eat insects on the ground." Guo Luotuo said with some worry, "But they never stay in Guanzhong for long. They leave in autumn and winter and come back in spring and summer. Someone has marked their feathers to see how many will come back next year."

Birds migrate, and starlings are also migratory birds.

Xu Jingzong asked doubtfully, "Is it really impossible to keep these birds?"

Guo Luotuo was holding a piece of paper in his hand. He held the paper in his hand and then shook it slightly, and the originally soft paper stood up.

There is a paper recycling workshop in Weinan. After the used paper is recycled, it is taken to Weinan for further production and becomes this kind of dark brown and hard paper.

This kind of paper is best for drawing, but the ink tends to flow away when used for writing.

Guo Luotuo looked at the blueprint and asked, "What has Xu Shaoyin been busy with lately?"

Xu Jingzong, who was punished with three years of no promotion, stood aside, and the court still did not make any move to promote him.

Now Xu Jingzong is mentally prepared to serve his second three years as Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture.

He had really liked the position of Shao Yin, and seeing how different different places in Guanzhong had become, if he left Jingzhao Prefecture, he would feel like he would be back to his previous idle state.

Xu Jingzong said: "The paper made in Guanzhong is getting better and better."

Guo Luotuo nodded and said, "I heard that Jingyang found a secret recipe that allows paper to be formed more quickly, but I don't know what secret recipe it is."

Looking at the grain transport team in the distance, Xu Jingzong also sat down and handed him a meat bun.

Guo Luotuo didn't hesitate to take the meat bun and started eating, saying, "Now more and more money and grain are being shipped out of Guanzhong."

Xu Jingzong nodded and said, "Someone in the court has begun to criticize our behavior again." "Jingzhao Prefecture is in charge of the construction of Guanzhong. Fortunately, the crown prince is supporting Xu Shaoyin. If His Royal Highness the crown prince gives up, then Jingzhao Prefecture will soon fall apart."

Not long after, Di Zhixun, who had just finished his work, came over with his son Di Renjie.

Before Di Zhixun could speak, Di Renjie said, "I heard that someone in the court has begun to impeach Jingzhao Prefecture."

Xu Jingzong said with a dark face: "What's the point of them guarding these money and grains! Are they full of worms?"

Di Zhixun smiled modestly and whispered, "There will always be people in this world who hold short-sighted views, but we cannot be swayed by these short-sighted views."

Hearing this, Di Renjie's originally angry expression relaxed a lot.

In the eyes of Xu Jingzong, or in the eyes of Di Zhixun, this prince is someone who doesn't like to reason with others.

To be fair? This is a thankless task, but in fact, as long as I can see the smiles on the faces of the Guanzhong villagers, it is all worth it.

It was mid-May in Guanzhong, and on this day heavy rain swept across Guanzhong again.

It doesn't look like a drought season, as several large water cellars in Guanzhong are filled with water. These water cellars are connected together using the karez method, forming underground living water, which has become a good place to get water between villages and counties.

On this day, the imperial examination began in Chang'an City. There were 9,000 people who came to take the examination this year, some as young as 15 years old and some as old as 60 years old.

As long as one submitted documents proving his or her place of origin and local government to the Hongwenguan, one could take the imperial examination.

Like the imperial examinations of the previous two years, this time the imperial examination did not ask about one's background, family background, or who recommended one. As long as one had a household registration document issued by the local government, one could take the examination.

Once one passed the imperial examination and was able to enter officialdom, clerks in Chang'an would go and inform the local authorities who had passed the imperial examination and become an official in which prefecture or county.

This time, it was still Prime Minister Fang who presided over the imperial examination.

While the court was busy, Li Chengqian and his father were fishing in Taiye Lake.

Li Zhi and Li Shen, who were standing by, were arranged by their sister Li Lizhi to come here to grill meat for their father and brother.

Rainwater floats on the Taiye Lake. This spring, rain has almost become the main scenery in Guanzhong, and the weather is like this most of the time.

Li Shimin asked, "I heard that Jingzhao Prefecture dug up the underground of many villages and counties in Guanzhong?"

Li Chengqian looked at a branch on the fishing line, which was a buoy hanging on the fishing line, and explained: "Father, you must distinguish right from wrong. How could Jingzhao Prefecture dig out the underground of Guanzhong with its manpower? We only asked Jingzhao Prefecture to build water cellars and karez in several villages and counties where it is difficult to get water."

“Are they exaggerating?”

"It's an exaggeration. In fact, after the Karez was built in Jingyang, it became a summer resort every summer."

Li Zhi and Li Shen placed the roasted lamb skewers in front of their father and brother, waiting for the next arrangements.

Originally, this kind of thing does not require two brothers to do it.

Li Zhi once suspected that the eunuchs in the palace were almost dying out.

Li Chengqian whispered, "Okay, go play by yourself."

The two younger brothers fled as if they had been pardoned.

The duck in the Taiye Lake is still swimming freely. It is getting fatter and fatter. As a dish that will sooner or later become a table, it exudes the charm of being treated as a delicious ingredient all the time.

In the evening, Li Zhi could no longer bear it. He called three eunuchs, jumped into the Taiye Lake, caught the fat duck he had raised, and then killed and cooked it.

Three years had passed, this duck had been raised for three years, and finally it became Li Zhi's meal.

The child enjoyed eating duck meat very much and even vowed to raise a few more ducks in Taiye Lake.

As a kind of poultry, its ultimate destiny is to become meat in people's mouths.

This year's imperial examination did not end until the end of May. Many students who came to take the examination stayed in Guanzhong, waiting for the day when the results would be announced.

Outside the city of Chang'an, there is a building where some simple houses are built.

It can be used to accommodate foreign merchants and scholars who come to take the imperial examinations. Everyone who lives there can get a small room. The room is not big, can only fit a bed, and has only one window. However, this small house costs ten cents a day.

For poor people, if you find a hard labor job in Chang'an City, you can get about 20 coins for a day's hard labor, and the remaining 10 coins can buy a bushel of grain.

That way, you can live here for a long time.

Moreover, Chang'an is short of manpower now, so it is easy to find work.

At the beginning of June, the weather in Guanzhong changed from the rainy season to the hot summer immediately.

It was so hot that it seemed as if there was no way to live, and the scorching sun was baking the city of Chang'an.

When the imperial examination results were announced, the emperor and his family were by the Taiye Lake.

It was not until July that the scorching sun caused the water level of the Guanzhong River to drop rapidly.

After the results of this year's imperial examination were announced, the successful candidate was a young man named Guo Zhengyi.

Drought also occurred in various parts of the Central Plains. Li Shimin looked at these reports and said solemnly: "This year's drought came so quickly."

It seemed like the drought came overnight, catching us off guard.

Fortunately, Jingzhao Prefecture had been well prepared. Under the arrangement of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, a lot of money and grain were transported from Tongguan to Luoyang, and then prepared and shipped out from Luoyang early.

This time, when drought occurred in various places, before the report was sent to Guanzhong, Ma Zhou got the news first and transported money and grain to the counties affected by the drought.

If the villagers in various places really have no means of making a living, they can move to Luoyang or Tongguan.

Zhang Xuanbi and his family came to Taiyuan from Xiangyang. Seeing acres of fertile land turned into wasteland, he shouted, "Heaven is cruel."

It was June, the best time for crops to grow in the fields. But looking out in the distance, there was not a single blade of grass, only fields that were so dry that they were about to crack.

Thirteen-year-old Zhang Jianzhi watched his father Zhang Xuanbi shouting. Although the villagers not far away were in low spirits, they were eating the bread in their hands and seemed to have no shortage of food.

And unlike previous years of famine, this year seems to be a year of extremely abundant food.

Looking at his father who was still complaining about his fate, Zhang Jianzhi stood there, feeling a little at a loss.

After some inquiries, we learned that Guanzhong and Luoyang had sent a lot of money and grain before the drought occurred, and the grain was transported in time when the drought occurred.

This was not prediction, but a prediction made after several inquiries in Luoyang and confirmation of which places had not seen any rain for a whole month.

Guanzhong was still extremely hot. After Guo Zhengyi passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, he entered the Hongwenguan as a bachelor.

The seventeen-year-old Guo Zhengyi often followed Shangguan Yi, the director of the Hongwenguan.

At dusk, when the sun was no longer so scorching, Guo Zhengyi would follow Shangguan Yi to various counties to check the situation.

In fact, in addition to them, there were many officials walking around the countryside, asking about the conditions in each county and making nitpicking inquiries about governance.

(End of this chapter)