The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 216 Expectations and the Future

Riding on horseback, Li Ke led the officers and soldiers all the way westward. The drizzle was still falling. As they were moving forward, they suddenly saw a ray of light in the distance.

He quickly pulled the reins, and the horse raised its front hooves and neighed at the river bank.

Li Ke saw the sunlight breaking through the dark clouds and shining down, and the rain in front of him turned into a sun shower.

The King of Wu had a happy smile on his face. The rain was about to stop, so he pulled the reins and stopped for a moment. The people around him were also looking at the sunset in the west with smiles on their faces.

"Gee!" Li Ke shouted and spurred his horse again.

The rain stopped overnight, and the autumn rain started again the next day.

Li Ke spent a night in Tongguan. He walked out of the inn where he was staying and saw Yan Qinli as soon as he went out.

"Your Highness, Prince Wu, are you heading to Chang'an today?"

Li Ke sat down in front of the inn, putting on his boots and frowning at the rain.

Yan Qinli said: "Today's rain is lighter than the previous two days, and this year's flood season is coming to an end."

Worried about Luoyang's affairs, Li Ke put on his boots, stood up and said, "I hope so."

Yan Qinli said: "I hope so."

"You are the secretary of Jingzhao Prefecture. Why are you here in Tongguan?"

"I came to Tongguan to check the river conditions here. Now the river water seems to be stable, but I need to wait for some more time."

Li Ke said: "Many people from Jingzhao Prefecture also went to Luoyang."

Yan Qinli stroked his short beard and said, "There will be more things to do in Jingzhao Prefecture in the future."

The servant of the posthouse handed over a bag of dry food. Li Ke took it and said, "Ke will go back first."

After saying this, he mounted his horse and headed towards Chang'an City.

Tongguan is not far from Chang'an. If you ride fast, you can get there in six or seven hours.

By the time Li Ke arrived in front of Chang'an City, it was already night.

In front of the city gate, two children were standing here. Li Zhi and Li Shen were sitting in front of the closed city gate, talking in low voices, and there were guards holding torches beside them.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, Li Zhi looked up and asked, "Are you back?"

The guard shouted, "It's the warhorse of His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

Li Shen stood up and stretched lazily, saying, "It's been a long wait."

When the warhorse came closer, Li Ke dismounted and saw his two younger brothers in front of him. He asked, "Why are you here?"

"Wait for my brother." Li Zhi leaned against the city wall and said, "Hurry up and go to the palace to see father. We are all sleepy."

Li Ke was a little surprised, but he didn't ask any more questions. He entered the city gate and went all the way to the palace.

Led by Li Zhi and Li Shen, Li Ke walked into the palace from Chengtian Gate and saw that the lights in the Wude Hall were still on in the rain.

Walking into the still warm Wude Hall in the rain, Li Ke clasped his fists and saluted, saying, "I am here to help with the flood control in Luoyang..."

"No need to be polite."

The emperor's lazy voice was heard from inside the palace.

Li Ke stood up with a serious expression and was about to report when he saw his father, his elder brother, and the King of Wei playing cards.

Li Zhi and Li Shen sat outside the door of Wude Hall, listening to the sound of rain in the night and feeling sleepy. They were waiting for the matter on their father's side to be finished before they could go back to rest.

Li Tai was still hesitating with the cards in his hand, while his brother and father had already fought several rounds.

Li Chengqian finally finished playing the cards in his hand and said, "Father, I have said that I don't like this game anymore."

Li Shimin put down the cards in his hand and looked at Li Ke, who was still wet. He was standing in the hall waiting without saying a word.

"Send me the documents from Luoyang."

"Here." Li Ke took out a roll of documents from his arms and handed it to the eunuch beside him.

I watched the document being handed from the eunuch to my father.

Li Tai said in a deep voice: "This year's autumn flood came quickly and violently. The many scholars of the Literature Museum have to investigate the entire course of the Yellow River."

Li Chengqian asked, "Did you send someone out to investigate?"

"Not really. We just asked the various states along the Yellow River to hand in documents."

"Qingque, I think it would be better to send someone to take a look at this matter in person. It is better for professionals to do professional things. Besides, the officials of the various prefectures along the Yellow River may not be able to give a more professional explanation."

Li Tai thought for a moment and said, "My royal brother is right. After Qingque returns, we will dispatch some personnel to personally inspect the Yellow River."

While his father was still looking at the documents, Li Chengqian said, "In fact, the Huai River and Huai River regions also suffered from floods this year. This is not just a problem in Luoyang. The news was delayed too much and the court only received the report recently. We must work hard to deal with it in the future."

Li Ke stood there, listening to the words, frowning and saying nothing.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Okay, Ke'er, Qingque, you should all go and have a rest."

"My son, please retire."

The two men walked out of the Wude Hall, and Li Zhi and Li Shen were able to go back to sleep.

His Majesty and the Crown Prince were the only ones left in the Wude Hall. On the quiet rainy night, the father and son were talking in low voices.

It was not until late at night that Li Chengqian walked out of the Wude Hall and looked at the rain still falling.

Ning Er walked forward with a lantern in one hand and an umbrella in the other, and asked, "Your Highness, are you going back?"

Li Chengqian looked back at his father who was still reading the document and whispered, "Go back."

"Here."

Li Chengqian took the umbrella from Ning'er and held it himself, saying, "You can just hold the lantern."

Ning'er nodded slowly.

The rain drops hitting the umbrella make a loud noise, which shows that the rain is getting heavier.

Two days later, rumors began to circulate in the palace that Your Majesty and the Crown Prince had a quarrel because Your Majesty was planning to set up a hereditary governor.

In the end, His Majesty did not mention this matter in the court.

This autumn, Li Chengqian had some free time again and could go to Taiye Lake to fish and relax. After finishing the work in spring and summer, the remaining things were to finish this year.

Little Sizi has been learning astrology from Taoist Master Li Chunfeng these days.

When Li Lizhi passed by the Sanqing Temple, she saw a master and a disciple, one big and one small, sitting there. The little Sizi, who was wearing a Taoist robe, was also sitting cross-legged, seemingly meditating, with a very focused face.

But soon, her meditation was interrupted, and she saw her imperial sister, and ran out happily again, "Imperial sister!"

Li Lizhi held her hand and said, "You should learn well from Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng. Don't stop when you see your brother and sister."

Little Sizi said: "Mingda told the Taoist priest the story of the emperor's brother."

"Really?" "The Taoist priest said that the story that my brother told must be in line with the truth and can be repeatedly pondered."

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "My brother's stories are always strange. They don't seem to be anything special at first, but if you think about it carefully, you can always find some connections."

Little Sizi continued, "Mingda wants to go play with the emperor sister."

Li Chunfeng in the Sanqing Hall nodded slowly, which was considered as his agreement.

Li Lizhi really couldn't do anything about this sister, so she bowed and said, "Sorry to bother you, Taoist priest."

Li Chunfeng held a whisk in his hand and said, "Princess Jinyang's talent makes me feel ashamed. I am just thinking of going to the Ministry of Works."

After saying this, the Taoist priest left.

Li Li asked, "Sizi, what is the Taoist priest doing at the Ministry of Works?"

Holding the hand of the emperor's sister, Xiao Sizi said, "The Taoist priest wants to create the story of the emperor's brother, just like the sun and the moon, and their orbits."

Li Lizhi suddenly smiled and said, "Can this thing be made?"

"Mingda doesn't know either. Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng said that there will always be some fallacies on the road to exploring the ultimate truth of heaven and earth, and these fallacies will definitely be useful to future generations after being passed down for several generations."

As autumn turned to winter, when it snowed in Guanzhong, Li Ke once again came to Xianyang County and met Liu Rengui again.

Liu Rengui now looks less poor than before. He is well-dressed and even has a pair of boots to change.

"Your Highness, the King of Wu." Liu Rengui saw the visitor and saluted while standing in the field.

"All the counties in Guanzhong are undergoing construction, but why is it that your Xianyang County remains the same?"

Liu Rengui explained: "The farmland here is scarce. I have mentioned to Jingzhao Prefecture several times that workshops are not allowed to be built in Xianyang County. Later, Jingzhao Prefecture presided over the construction of markets on both sides of Xianyang Bridge. Now the market alone can bring a lot of money to the county."

He looked at a group of children in the distance and said, "Whether a village or county is rich or not can be determined by the clothes these children wear, you don't need to ask me."

Li Ke lay down on a pile of dry grass and said, "The flood control in Luoyang is over. Why haven't Ma Zhou and Quan Wanji come back yet?"

"Why didn't His Royal Highness the King of Wu send someone to ask?"

"I sent someone to deliver the letter, but they haven't replied yet."

Liu Rengui put a pile of straw on the cart beside him. He pushed the cart and put the straw into the warehouse. "Since they didn't reply to the letter, it means they will continue to stay in Luoyang. Maybe there are more important things."

Li Ke was lying on the haystack, with one hand resting on the back of his head, and said, "I heard that Master Du He recently sent a lot of people to Luoyang to open a bigger workshop?"

Liu Rengui: "Not only Master Du He, but also other merchants and several other counties went together."

"What? They don't want to manage Guanzhong anymore?"

Liu Rengui shook his head and said, "No, someone submitted a memorial to ask about this matter, and later His Royal Highness the Crown Prince told them that since they want greater benefits, they must face greater risks. This is the business of the merchants themselves and has nothing to do with Jingzhao Prefecture."

Li Ke only understood half of what he heard, "Liu Rengui?"

"Your Highness, King Wu, please speak directly if you have anything to say."

"Do you really want to be a county magistrate forever?"

Liu Rengui replied: "If being a county magistrate is what I want to do for the rest of my life, then I will do it for the rest of my life. What's the harm?"

Seeing that the King of Wu was silent, Liu Rengui said to himself: "The current crown prince is a diligent heir. There are still many problems in Guanzhong. The officials of Jingzhao Prefecture said that we should not be afraid of difficulties, and we should not retreat when facing problems. We should find problems, raise them, and solve specific problems. This is an important strategy that Guanzhong has been practicing for the past ten years."

"Some people think this is the best strategy in the world. They never say they want to benefit the world. They just talk about how to make people live a good life."

Jingyang, there is a wedding here today, Wei Chang and Xue Wuniang got married.

Wei Chang didn't care about Xue Wuniang's age, as both of them were still single.

Under the auspices of Ying Gong Wu Shigui, the marriage was simply arranged.

At night, after all the guests had left, Wei Chang stood in front of Xue Wuniang, who was wearing her wedding dress, and whispered, "Do you know what Jingzhao Prefecture is teaching people now?"

Xue Wuniang was wearing her wedding dress. She had spent almost all her savings on it.

Wei Chang, who was a little drunk, said loudly: "They teach people to understand expectations and the future. Wu Niang, do you know what expectations and the future are? This is what the people in Guanzhong have been asking about, and what they have been looking for."

Having said so much, the candle flame flickered a little when the night wind blew.

Xue Wuniang raised her foot and kicked Wei Chang, saying, "Don't use these words to fool me in the future. You are not a good person."

Wei Chang was kicked to the ground and said aggrievedly: "It was Xu Shaoyin who taught me..."

"You should stop hanging out with these officials and soldiers." Xue Wuniang raised her fist and hit him in the face, saying angrily, "If I find out again, I'll beat you to death!"

The next day, Wei Chang came out of the house in a mess. There were some bruises on his messy face this morning, but there was still some pride on his face.

In the morning, some villagers saw Wei Chang in such a state of disarray and came to ask, "What happened?"

Wei Chang said with a bitter face: "Guanzhong women are tough, right?"

"Strong."

On his wedding night, Wei Chang was beaten up, and the news soon became a laughing stock in the village.

Talking about expectations and the future, this is a question that Jingzhao Prefecture conveyed to the villagers in Guanzhong. People must have expectations when they are alive and must talk about the future.

The future of Guanzhong does not lie in Jingzhao Prefecture, but in all the villagers in Guanzhong.

If you put this question to Jingzhao Prefecture, no one in Jingzhao Prefecture would know the answer.

It was the dead of winter in Guanzhong, and the tenth year of Zhenguan was about to be spent in a busy yet leisurely manner.

From the west of Chang'an, passing through the Hexi Corridor and Tuyuhun, a fast horse is moving forward in the Gobi Desert leading to Tuyuhun from Gaochang.

The horse's hooves stepped on the Gobi Desert. From afar, there was only a war horse and a man on the endless Gobi Desert.

The clothes on that person seemed to be tied together with cloth of different qualities. When the wind blew, the cloth on his body fluttered backwards like strips of colorful ribbons.

The man's head was wrapped in a cloth, which covered his mouth and nose, covering his entire face, with only a pair of blue eyes exposed.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard from behind. In the distance where the sky and the Gobi Desert met, a group of people riding on war horses were coming, raising dust.

Seeing this, he hurriedly rode his horse towards Tuyuhun. There were Tang people and Tang army in Tuyuhun's territory. They were his only hope of survival.

The two sides were chasing each other on the Gobi Desert. Suddenly, an arrow came flying. He knew that the other party was getting closer and closer. Fortunately, the arrow did not hit him. Instead, the arrow head hit a stone on a pile of rocks not far away and fell to the ground.

He lowered his body, as close to the horse's back as possible, to make the horse run faster.

After chasing for a while, he could see the Tuyuhun people in the distance. Hope appeared in his eyes and he once again sped up his horse.

When he broke into a Tuyuhun settlement, he did not slow down, and the horse thieves behind him continued to chase him.

Finally, the warhorse could no longer run and fell to the ground.

He glanced at the warhorse that had almost no strength left but to breathe. He didn't even have time to stroke the horse's face to comfort the exhausted horse. He turned around and ran towards the direction of the Tang army's camp.

He heard shouting from behind, and saw the Tang army, two hundred steps away. This time he could not run anymore and fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)