The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 218 The Crown Prince's Rest
Inside the Ganlu Palace, after the prince finished speaking, the civil and military officials began arguing again.

Li Chengqian simply sat down beside the stove, enjoying a moment of leisure, picked up a walnut beside him, and turned to look at the eunuch beside him, ignoring the argument in front of him.

The old eunuch noticed the prince's look and stepped forward and asked, "What do you want, Your Highness?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "This walnut tastes good. Where did you get it as tribute?"

The old eunuch narrowed his eyes and smiled, and replied: "The Queen had it bought, saying it was purchased by Changsun Shi of Gaoling."

It turned out to be a relative of the Queen Mother's family. After confirming this, Li Chengqian asked, "Are there more in the palace?"

Inside the hall, the ministers were still arguing about how to win a quick victory and how to capture Gaochang first and then kill Yu Gushe.

Everyone quickly reached a consensus that if they wanted to conquer the Western Regions, they had to first capture the King of Gaochang. This included not only asking the King of Gaochang to come to Chang'an to perform a dance, or hanging the King of Gaochang in the Hexi Corridor.

What a brutal and wild dynasty...

The old eunuch spoke in a low voice, not wanting to interrupt the discussion of the civil and military officials in front of him, and whispered to the prince, "Your Highness, there are still many in the palace."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The discussion in Ganlu Hall lasted until the evening and had not yet ended. It seemed that everyone would have to have dinner here.

Seeing that his father and no one else noticed him, Li Chengqian left silently.

Walking into the cold winter wind and snow, the palace maids cleared a path, which still looked wet.

Li Chengqian put on his cloak and walked back to the East Palace with his hands in his pockets.

Halfway through the journey, the old eunuch hurriedly caught up with them, "Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Chengqian looked back and said, "You are already old, don't be in such a hurry."

The old eunuch handed over a basket and said, "This is what the Queen asked me to give to the Crown Prince."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian lifted a corner of the cloth cover of the basket and confirmed that it was full of fragrant, hot walnuts.

The old eunuch smiled and said, "The Queen also said that Your Highness is prone to getting angry easily, so don't eat too much."

Li Chengqian took the basket and said, "I have to use my brain too much recently, and I don't have as many capable ministers and generals as my father to give me advice."

"Your Highness is right."

"You don't have to come in person for this kind of thing in the future."

"I am also afraid of delaying things."

Li Chengqian held up the basket and said, "Thank you for your help. I'll have someone bring some salted duck eggs."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

In the cold winter in Guanzhong, an imperial edict was sent out of Chang'an City in the wind and snow. It was Tian Khan ordering the King of Gaochang to draw a clear line between himself and Yugushe, maintain the stability of the Western Regions, resist Yugushe with the other countries in the Western Regions, and come to Chang'an to meet Tian Khan.

This decree was meant as a warning. If the King of Gaochang did not come to Chang'an City, then this decree would be a declaration of war.

Wars between countries are complex and require a competition of national strength.

Li Shimin woke up early in the morning in Lizheng Hall and began to look at the files in his hands.

Empress Changsun sorted out new clothes for the children and said, "Chengqian said that the walnuts taste very good these days, so I asked someone to send him a basket."

Li Shimin remained silent and nodded, his eyes still on the file.

"This child doesn't care about luxurious life, but he likes eating walnuts."

The hall was quiet for a long time. After meditating with Taoist Li Chunfeng, Xiao Sizi returned to the Lizheng Hall. She walked to her mother and said expectantly, "Mother, Mingda wants to go to the East Palace to play."

Empress Changsun picked up the small cloth bag beside her, looked at her husband again and said, "Mother will go with you."

Li Shimin put down the file in his hand and said, "I will go see my father too."

The emperor, the empress, and the little princess all left Ganlu Palace.

Now in the East Palace, Li Chengqian drew his bow and put an arrow on it. His brothers and sisters, from tall to short, also pulled their bows and shot five arrows at the same time.

Li Chengqian said: "See whose arrow is not on the target."

Xiaofu ran over quickly, took a look and replied loudly: "The arrows of Prince Jin and Prince Ji are not on the target."

Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction and said, "Let them take charge of the East Palace today."

Li Zhi said aggrievedly: "This is not fair!"

Dongyang whispered, "Why is it unfair?"

Li Zhi pouted in grievance. Facing this normally intimidating sister Dongyang, he was powerless to refute.

We originally planned to give the children a rest and have a good time for the day.

Li Lizhi put down the horn bow in her hand and said, "Who told you to practice archery? Your target is the closest, this is already fair."

Li Zhi and Li Shen lowered their heads and took the broom and brush handed to them by Xiaofu with a look of grievance.

Xiaofu smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Shen said aggrievedly: "Xiaofu! You are the most skillful, help me!"

"No." She shook her head and said, "Xiaofu still has to prepare today's meal. Helping Prince Ji and Prince Jin will delay their meals."

"Ah..." Li Zhi wailed as he walked back to the East Palace to sweep the floor.

Li Yuan looked at his two miserable grandsons, grinning and stroking his gray beard.

"Royal brother! Royal sister!" Little Sizi came running over quickly.

Li Lizhi turned around and hugged her sister who ran towards her. She looked at her ears and nose which were red from the cold, then looked at her father and mother who were walking together in the distance, and bowed.

Li Chengqian put down the bow in his hand and glanced at Ning'er.

When she received the look, she arranged for people to prepare tables and chairs and told Xiaofu that His Majesty and the Queen were also coming today, so more food would have to be prepared.

Li Yuan asked, "Erlang, I heard that you are going to use troops against the Western Regions?"

Li Shimin also sat down in front of the Chongwen Hall and looked at his father with white hair and beard. "Yes, the King of Gaochang is still insisting on his own way. I will test their strength."

"Okay, it should have been done long ago." Li Yuan nodded slightly, then looked at his grandson beside him and asked, "Have you prepared the food and fodder for the expedition?"

Without needing her brother to answer, Li Li, who was holding the little Sizi, asked, "My brother has already stored food and grass at the border. He can clear out the granaries in Guanzhong and store food at the border. Whenever we go out to fight, the soldiers will have confidence."

Li Yuan sighed, "Back then, there was not so much preparation for the war. It is good that the soldiers went out to fight and there was enough food and grass in the rear."

The family began to discuss the arrangements for the war in the Western Region.

Even Li Lizhi was able to say a few words. She said: "The food and grass stored in the Hexi Corridor can now be transported to Tuyuhun, which will greatly reduce the burden on the army's march."

Li Shimin looked at his son who was drinking tea without saying a word.

Dongyang took out some more files and placed them on the table beside him, saying, "This is the recent situation in the Western Regions that my brother had collected. It's from last year."

Li Shimin picked up one of the scrolls and asked, "When did you go to investigate the Western Regions?"

Hearing this, seeing that both sisters were looking at him, Li Chengqian explained while peeling walnuts, "In recent years, trade with the Western Regions has been very frequent. At the beginning, these merchants were doing business in the Western Regions and inquired about the routes and the recent situation in the Western Regions. Your Majesty may not know that Tubo has also changed a lot in the past two years."

Li Shimin frowned as he looked at the file and asked, "Are these merchants your people?" Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Of course not?"

"Then why did I hear that so many merchants have gathered in the Hexi Corridor? Who gave the order to stop trading last autumn and move all of them to Wuwei County?"

"Father, merchants are a very sensitive group of people. When they learn of the signs of war, they will take actions to seek benefits and avoid harm. This is not surprising."

When Empress Changsun heard the father and son talking about state affairs again, she asked with an unhappy look, "Can't you finish talking about these things in the court hall?"

The purse of the Eastern Palace is tied to Jingzhao Prefecture. Even if those merchants do not obey the orders of the Crown Prince, they will definitely obey the orders of Jingzhao Prefecture.

The father and son both fell silent at the same time and sat side by side at the table peeling walnuts.

Li Chengqian whispered, "Is Father still angry recently?"

"I've been drinking herbal tea for half a month, and I feel much better." Li Shimin chewed a walnut and said, "I slept well, too. How are you?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I've been drinking herbal tea for half a month, but it doesn't work."

After saying that, he pointed to a few pimples on the side of his face.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "I still have a few wild ginseng roots. Would you like to try some ginseng soup?"

"Okay."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Li Shimin whispered again: "Eat less walnuts."

Li Chengqian picked up the tea bowl again and nodded without saying anything.

The Emperor and his wife came to the East Palace to have dinner. The Empress personally shaved the Crown Prince's beard, fixed his hair, and trimmed his face.

His Majesty took a short nap, and the Queen left after she had trimmed the long hair of the children in the Eastern Palace.

In mid-January of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, a man named Zhang Xuanbi came to Chang'an City with his family. He was a former soldier in Yizhou and a disciple of a great Confucian scholar.

Zhang Xuanbi, who was in his middle age, met the emperor and the crown prince who were taking a bath by the Taiye Lake.

In the past, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace did not have a day off, because when the Emperor was on day off the Crown Prince had to supervise state affairs. However, this year many things have been settled.

I found that everything that should have been done last year had been done, but this year's work still had to wait for reports from various places.

Li Chengqian had so much free time that he could take a day off.

Li Chengqian took the ginseng soup cooked by his mother, tasted it and frowned, saying, "My mother added honey water, and it tastes better."

Empress Changsun said, "You used to drink it often when you were a child. Now that you are in good health, you don't need to drink it often."

"Thank you, mother."

Empress Changsun said with a smile, "Zhi Nu, drink the rest of the soup."

"Ah..." Li Zhi was busy putting together a puzzle for his father. He suddenly looked up when he heard the words. He then agreed and drank the hot ginseng soup in the pot in gulps.

Not far away, the emperor was talking to Zhang Xuanbi.

Li Chengqian was holding a straight fishing rod. The end of the rod in his hand was made of jade. The junction of jade and bamboo was inlaid with gold edges, which looked very luxurious.

The texture of this jade and the gold edges alone are enough to show how valuable it is.

"Mother, who sent this?"

"Your uncle asked someone to make it and send it to me. He knows you like fishing. You are nineteen this year, and he is afraid that he will not live to see you twenty."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "It seems that my uncle is usually poor, so he must have a lot of wealth hidden away."

Empress Changsun said helplessly, "Your uncle has told mother that after he passes away, all the family property he has accumulated will be handed over to mother. Mother can't manage the family property well, so your uncle said that it can be handed over to you."

"Is your uncle's family business very big?"

After thinking for a moment, the Queen Mother spoke.

"The family business is not large, only nine hundred acres of land in Shu."

"The fields in Shu?"

"Yes." Empress Changsun placed a wooden box on her knees and whispered, "The nine hundred acres are salt fields. Your grandfather asked your uncle to govern Shuzhong, and that's when he bought them."

"As for Gao Luxing's lineage, your uncle has also made arrangements. He has sent them to the ancestral land of Bohai. When the old man passes away, the funeral will be held in Chang'an, and Bohai's relatives will just need to wear mourning clothes."

When Li Chengqian heard the funeral arrangements made by his uncle, he suddenly smiled and said, "This is really my uncle's usual style."

My uncle wants to give 900 acres of salt fields to my mother, which is truly a huge family fortune.

In fact, my uncle has never been very fond of his own children, but he cares a lot about my mother's family.

My mother and uncle were raised by my uncle, who married my mother to my father, who was still young at the time. At that time, my father and my uncle, Changsun Wuji, were just common people.

If there is one person that my uncle is most worried about, it is the current Queen Mother.

This is also the reason why my uncle has always supported my father since the uprising in Jinyang.

Not long after, Li Shen came running over and said, "Father asked me to go see Mr. Zhang Xuanbi."

Li Chengqian put down the exquisite fishing rod in his hand and walked towards the water pavilion in Taiye Lake.

There is a layer of ice on the Taiye Lake now. Li Shen threw a stone onto the ice surface, but only some white scratches were left on the ice surface, and the ice layer did not crack.

Today's winter is indeed very cold, and Li Chengqian exhaled a puff of white mist in the cold wind.

The weather in Guanzhong experienced great fluctuations last year, and it is still very cold from winter to now.

As I approached the waterside pavilion, I could hear Zhang Xuanbi speaking to his father in a grandiose manner.

Li Chengqian sat quietly aside, with his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed.

As he spoke, Zhang Xuanbi's eyes occasionally glanced at the Crown Prince standing beside him.

Li Shimin stroked his beard and smiled, "Cheng Qian, haven't you met the master yet?"

Li Chengqian remained seated, bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Mr. Xuanbi."

Zhang Xuanbi smiled and said, "I have been to Fanyang, and to various places in Shandong. I have seen barren land everywhere in Hebei Province."

"Well, this year has been tough."

Li Chengqian nodded.

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stored grain in Tongguan and promptly sent it to the counties and cities that had been suffering from drought for a long time. Although there was a severe drought this year, no one was killed. This is really rare."

Li Shimin was still very proud when he heard someone praising his son.

Li Chengqian said, "You are too kind, old sir. I always let the people below do it. Besides, the government is supposed to protect the people within its borders. This is what it should do."

"No wonder, no wonder." Zhang Xuanbi kowtowed to the father and son in front of him again, and said loudly: "The Tang Dynasty has such a wise ruler. I congratulate the people of the world."

Li Shimin said quickly: "Sir, there is no need to perform such a great ceremony."

Zhang Xuanbi even wiped away his tears, and he added: "Since I arrived in Guanzhong, I have seen the various measures taken by Jingzhao Prefecture in Guanzhong."

(End of this chapter)