The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 232 Ordinary as Him
Looking at these scenes, people will not be so impetuous or anxious.

The pace of life for the Tang people was very slow. Most of the time they could stare at the crops in the fields or at the rivers.

"Will you come out often? I heard that among all the counties in Guanzhong, you, Liu Rengui, are the only one who rarely visits the magistrates of other counties."

Xue Wanbei stood aside in silence, and these words were addressed to Liu Rengui in the rear.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has come to Xianyang Bridge to fish again, and it never ends.

Liu Rengui replied: "I think Your Highness is in a restless mood recently, so he came here."

Li Chengqian asked: "So you're not going to chase me away now?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince will have to disperse the villagers when he travels. As long as he does not disturb the villagers in the county, I will not disturb Your Highness."

"You have disturbed me now, and Magistrate Liu is unaware of it."

"How did I disturb Your Highness?"

"It's uncomfortable to have people staring at my back." Li Chengqian said with a smile, "Don't always stand at the back. Come closer. I'll feel more comfortable this way."

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "I dare not."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "You even want to drive me away, what else are you afraid of?"

Liu Rengui bowed and lowered his head.

Xue Wanbei and his troops stood by in silence.

As he spoke, Li Chengqian caught a fish, skillfully took it off the hook, and then put it into the fish basket beside him.

A cold wind blew, and a few dead leaves fell, floating on the water and creating ripples.

Li Chengqian breathed the air here, smelled the scent of the air, and looked at the slowly flowing river. When fishing, one's body and mind will be immersed in the surrounding environment.

Listening to the lively conversation on Xianyang Bridge, I am enjoying the tranquility of the moment without the distractions of government affairs.

The fish took the bait again, and Li Chengqian caught a fish the size of a thumb.

Liu Rengui watched carefully and saw the prince throw the small fish into the river in the distance. After seeing the prince's actions, he lowered his head as if thinking about something.

After catching two or three more fish, Li Chengqian walked aimlessly along the river bank.

Xue Wanbei helped His Highness hold the fish basket in one hand and the fishing rod in the other.

Every time the prince walked a distance, the guards followed him.

Liu Rengui followed closely behind.

There are many radishes planted in the fields on both sides of the river, and there are many children playing in the fields in the distance.

Li Chengqian said, "County Magistrate Liu."

Liu Rengui stepped forward quickly and said, "Your Highness."

Normally, if you follow me behind you, he will come forward if you call him.

Don't look at him like this now, he is like a candle that can't be lit without being lit.

The people of Xianyang County, which he governed, all remembered his hard work.

After all, few county officials would live in a shack in the fields for a month during the harvest season to watch over the grain.

Li Chengqian asked: "How much is your salary now?"

Liu Rengui replied, "Your Highness has raised the salary of our county magistrates to the fifth rank, with an annual allowance of 20 dan of rice."

This is the salary regulation left over from the Wude period.

It can be seen that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince frowned for a moment, and Liu Rengui became a little worried again. Was he wrong?

Then he thought again that this was the salary he was going to receive this year, so he lowered his head and pondered.

"How is your daily life?"

"Your Highness, it is still rich."

This sounded reasonable. Li Chengqian stopped and looked into the distance, thinking: "Really?"

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "I have used my talents to govern the county. Your Highness's policies are enlightened, and the people in the counties of Guanzhong live in peace and contentment. What more can I ask for?"

Li Chengqian glanced at him again and whispered, "You are someone who can be a county magistrate for life."

"I accept your order."

If it were Xu Jingzong, he might have already said such nice things to the sky.

You can never hear any praise from Liu Rengui.

In fact, Liu Rengui's life was not rich. Just as Li Ke worried, Liu Rengui even distributed his family's rice allowance to the poorest families.

He was loyal and trusted the court. Judging from the fact that he beat Yu Ning to death, his father even promoted him from a county lieutenant to a county magistrate, and then to his current position as a county magistrate.

This kind of person is rare because at the critical moment, he will definitely be the first to step forward.

To put it another way, he would rather the world let him down than let anyone down.

Are all the people in the Liu family, who are relatives of the Han Dynasty, really like this?
Li Chengqian walked into Xianyang County and watched the villagers in the fields tie up bundles of wheat straw and pile them in their own courtyards.

There was also a family of five or six people, young and old, sitting in the fields to eat. After eating, they took a short rest and then continued to work in the fields.

When the soldiers entered the county, the villagers began to give way.

"Has Brother Ke still been hanging out with you recently?"

"Your Highness, the King of Wu is on duty in the army now. After his duty, he occasionally comes to drink with me. These are the drinks and food that the King of Wu brought."

In the peaceful Xianyang County, you can occasionally hear birds singing.

The scenery looks golden, and amid the withered yellow you can hear the barking of dogs and the crowing of chickens.

When he arrived at the gate of Xianyang County Government Office, he saw a child who was still staggering running out, and he stretched out his arms to hug him.

Liu Rengui quickly stepped forward and hugged his child, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me for making fun of you. This is my son."

A woman from the county government office also walked out quickly, looking flustered and apologetic, and bowed silently.

"County Magistrate Liu, my brother Ke doesn't have many friends. If he can treat you as a friend, you should also treat him as a friend."

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "I understand."

"Okay, I'm going back too." Li Chengqian sighed and walked out of Xianyang County.

After returning to Chang'an, Li Chengqian bought a large piece of Zenggao for his younger brother and sister, and took the opportunity to check out the construction work of Chang'an City.

Li Zhi chewed the zongzi in his mouth and said, "Royal brother, the Royal sister said that the Queen Mother is not happy with the Emperor."

"is it?"

Li Zhi swallowed the zongzi hard and said, "My mother came to the East Palace today and talked to my sister. My sister was not happy after talking to my mother and was still chopping pork ribs."

After listening carefully, he could indeed hear the sound of chopping ribs in the kitchen of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian rubbed his brows and asked, "What happened to my father?"

"How did my brother know it was because of our father?"

What else can I think? The only person in this family who can make my mother unhappy is my father.

After all, if younger brothers and sisters get into trouble, Li Zhi should be the first to get angry.

If this were true, Li Zhi should be crying now instead of enjoying the zonggao.

Li Zhi explained very simply, "I heard from grandpa that today my mother went to see my father and discussed some things with my uncle. Later, my mother came to the East Palace and now she is back to Lizheng Palace." Li Chengqian patted him on the back of his head and said, "It's okay, eat yours."

"Ah."

Li Zhi nodded heavily, chewing a large piece of zonggao in his mouth.

Ning'er was wearing an apron and sleeves on her wrists, which were unique to the Eastern Palace.

In her hand, she held a piece of bamboo to press down the clay that had just been shaped, and turned a disc.

The shape of a ceramic bowl slowly took shape. Under Xiaofu's gaze, a ceramic bowl was taken and placed in the oven that was usually used to bake cakes, waiting to be formed.

In fact, it’s not that there are no bowls and chopsticks in the East Palace, it’s just that Ning’er likes to make some pottery in her free time.

Tonight, the meal at the East Palace was still very sumptuous, except that the ribs were chopped a little too finely.

The same meal was also sent to His Majesty and the Queen.

Chang'an City was very lively at this time. After dinner, Li Chengqian washed up and said, "Ning'er, prepare some cloth and silk. I want to go visit my teacher."

Ning'er tidied up the bedroom and found some good but not too expensive cloth.

"Your Highness should not use too expensive gifts when visiting the Prime Minister. This is just right."

Li Chengqian asked Li Zhi and Li Shen to hold two pieces of cloth each. It would be best if these two silly and cute younger brothers stayed by his side.

Li Zhi and Li Shen were very happy to hear that they could go out of the palace to play at night.

Walking out of the quiet palace, the night gradually enveloped the entire Chang'an.

As night fell, Zhuque Street became very busy. Lanterns were hung up and there were many people walking on the street.

This kid Li Zhi is easily distracted by external things.

Li Shen even pulled his sleeve.

Only then did Li Zhi come back to his senses and catch up.

When they arrived at Prime Minister Fang's residence, Li Chengqian explained his purpose and walked into the mansion with his two younger brothers.

A servant stepped forward and said, "Your Highness is here. I will report to the Prime Minister right away."

"No need, just take me there."

I walked to the teacher's study and saw that it was no different from when I came here last year. The study was very spacious, with bookshelves filled with books, and I could even smell the scent of ink.

Fang Xuanling came to the door and greeted him, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Zhi and Li Shen bowed first and said, "Greetings, Prime Minister Fang."

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and saluted Li Zhi and Li Shen.

"After the Cold Dew Festival, it will get colder. I wanted to come and see the teacher. I rarely see the teacher in the Secretariat these days."

Fang Xuanling whispered, "There are many things to arrange at the border recently. The troops in Hedong and Shuofang were just mobilized a few days ago."

Li Chengqian sat down and looked at the furnishings in the study.

Fang Xuanling asked, "I heard that the prince went fishing at Xianyang Bridge again today?"

"Ah."

"Have you met Liu Rengui?"

Li Chengqian took the tea handed to him by the servant, observed the tea leaves in the tea, and whispered: "He...it's hard to describe in a few words."

"Your Highness attaches great importance to county governance. All the Crown Prince's orders go directly to the counties through Jingzhao Prefecture. This method is good. It can be seen that Your Highness cares very much about Liu Rengui."

"Teacher, do you think he is someone who can be a county magistrate for life?"

"Your Highness wants to promote him?"

Li Chengqian denied: "Not yet."

Fang Xuanling took a sip of tea and whispered, "It is said that the Crown Prince of the East Palace has many talented people under his tutelage. Does Your Highness still need a Liu Rengui?"

"Teacher, you're joking. There will always be a shortage of talent."

"I also heard that Your Majesty is quite concerned about the fact that Your Highness the Crown Prince used the money he earned from the Western Expedition to repair Chang'an?"

Li Chengqian looked at his two sensible younger brothers who were sitting beside him. They didn't say anything either, but just sat there quietly.

Listening to the teacher's words, he explained: "The renovation of Chang'an City was discussed by the Secretariat and presided over by the Ministry of Works. The strategy of practicing frugality in the court is also supported by all the civil and military officials. It doesn't matter if the emperor has some words. There are still many people who support me."

"It's normal for my father to complain. At least when he complains, I feel that he is a real person."

Fang Xuanling nodded in understanding.

Li Chengqian took out a memorial and said, "There are some things that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace cannot decide on his own. When my father appointed me as the governor of the Eastern Shaanxi Road, he wanted to do something. Please consider the arrangements in the memorial."

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling took the memorial but did not open it immediately. Instead, he asked, "Your Highness, do you really not intend to reuse Liu Rengui?"

Li Chengqian explained: "It is said that Liu Rengui is a relative of the Han Dynasty, but he has never regarded himself as such. As he said, if the court allowed him to be a county magistrate for life, he could sit in the position of county magistrate for life."

"Liu Rengui felt that he was an ordinary person. As ordinary as he was, talking to such a person inspired him deeply."

Fang Xuanling looked at the contents of the memorial and listened quietly to His Highness' words.

The servant pulled the wick of the oil lamp higher to make the light brighter.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Chengqian said, "Yu Gushe betrayed Gaochang. After the King of Gaochang died, I learned a lesson from Qu Zhisheng's regretful face. It is normal for things to change. The world is not as good as we expect. So we should not rely on our talents, nor on the help of others..."

"Teacher, look." Li Chengqian paused and said, "Liu Rengui doesn't think highly of his family background. He thinks he is ordinary, but the King of Gaochang thinks highly of himself. Isn't it interesting to compare the two?"

As the prince finished speaking, Fang Xuanling also finished reading the memorial, placed it on the table, and pondered quietly.

Li Chengqian watched the servant take away the cloth, and then he heard the voice of his master's wife outside the door, with some self-blame and complaints.

Fang Xuanling said: "Your Highness, the Secretariat can arrange these decrees."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Thank you, teacher."

"They are all things that benefit the villagers and protect the good of the officials."

Walking out of the teacher's study, Li Chengqian met his teacher's wife, bowed briefly and said goodbye.

Madam Liang and the teacher and his wife saw the Crown Prince off to the doorstep before saying goodbye.

It was already completely dark. Li Zhi followed his brother's footsteps and asked, "Is Liu Rengui a very powerful person?"

Li Chengqian walked along and said, "He is a very disappointing person."

The next day, after the morning court session, Fang Xuanling went to see His Majesty early.

After the prince met Yu Zhining, Yu Zhining, who was the Secretary of the Eastern Palace and the Imperial Censor, went to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Yu Zhining stopped outside the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture, thought for a moment, and then walked into Jingzhao Prefecture alone.

Half an hour later, Yu Zhining went to Jingyang County with Jingzhao Prefecture Yin Li Daozon, Jingzhao Prefecture Shaoyin Xu Jingzong, and Jingzhao Prefecture Shuling Official Yan Qinli.

Normally speaking, it was normal for Xu Jingzong, Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture, to come to Jingyang, because he had always served as the magistrate of Jingyang County.

Du He has grown a little beard and looks much more stable than before.

Yu Zhining smiled and said, "Master Du He, the court wants to buy paper from the workshop."

"There are plenty of papers here. Minister Yu, follow me." Du He took the lead and led the three people to a warehouse. They opened the door of the warehouse and saw a warehouse full of papers. The papers were golden yellow and rolled up on both sides of the warehouse.

A little sunlight shone into the warehouse, and Yu Zhining took down a roll of paper. The paper was very thick and fell heavily to the ground.

(End of this chapter)