The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 234: The Style of His Majesty in His Time

Looking at the piles of gold and silver left on the ground, Li Chengqian patted Hou Junji on the back and said, "General, go back too."

"The last general..."

"It's okay. I will leave the rest to you and my father. Of course, you will still be punished. It's the general's fault for not governing the army strictly."

Hou Junji bowed and said, "I am ashamed. Your Highness the Crown Prince is full of heroic spirit and has the demeanor of a hero. He can intimidate the soldiers with just a few words. I..."

Hou Junji bowed and clasped his fists in salute, and said, "Your Highness, wait a moment."

He blew a whistle, and several more carriages came from a distance, a total of fifteen carriages. Hou Junji said, "All the things I have confiscated are here. I have not kept a single cent for myself."

"Okay, I understand the general's intention."

Hou Junji even searched the drivers who came to the carriage to make sure they had nothing hidden. He said loudly: "Your Highness, if the soldiers can be safe this time, I am willing to serve you at your service."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly.

After Hou Junji led his men away, Li Chengqian took a basket from the side of Taiye Lake and picked up the gold and silver pieces of all sizes on the ground by himself.

After picking up one row after another, dragging the bamboo basket with great effort, Li Chengqian continued to pick up the gold on the ground, muttering, "It's really a lot."

Soon, a figure came over. Seeing the person coming, Li Chengqian said helplessly: "You have been watching for a long time."

Du Zhenglun also picked up a piece of gold and put it into the prince's bamboo basket, saying, "Five thousand catties of gold and sixteen thousand catties of silver. All the wealth accumulated by Gaochang over the years is here."

Li Chengqian dragged the heavy bamboo basket and said, "Gaochang is really rich."

Du Zhenglun said: "Because the Crown Prince used soap to fatten Gaochang, Gaochang has accumulated so much treasure, and now they have all become the wealth of the Tang Dynasty. Money can attract people's hearts, and the army under General Hou's command is not strict enough, so this happened."

As he listened to him, Li Chengqian continued to pick up the gold and silver on the ground.

"I will report to Your Majesty." Du Zhenglun saluted.

"Hey!" Li Chengqian stopped him and asked, "Minister Du didn't steal it, did he?"

Feeling that his character had suffered a heavy blow at this moment, Du Zhenglun said with a sullen face: "I didn't take it."

"Then go away. I'm annoyed when I see you."

"I...I will take my leave."

Picking up so much gold and silver was really tiring. After picking up two full baskets, Li Chengqian was so tired that he could not straighten his back.

"Brother Emperor!"

Hearing the shouts, Li Chengqian looked up and saw that it was Li Zhi who came with a group of eunuchs.

The next thing to do was very busy. The gold and silver needed to be weighed again and sorted and stored in the warehouse.

What Du Zhenglun said was probably the content of the secret report to his father.

After one night, the amount of gold weighed here reached 8,000 kilograms, and the amount of silver reached nearly 20,000 kilograms, which was different from the secret report.

When His Majesty's decree came out, exactly half a month had passed, and Hou Junji was stripped of his military power and confined to his home.

Hou Junji should have retired after achieving his goal, but as the Crown Prince, Li Chengqian made minor adjustments to the final conclusion of the matter, which affected some minor conclusions.

For example, the looting of Gaochang was to confiscate the wealth hidden by Qu Wentai.

In other words, if all of it is handed over now, all the gains of the army will belong to the Tang Dynasty.

As a result, Hou Junji was only charged with the crime of lax military discipline in the end. He was lightly arrested and given house arrest.

In front of the gate of Jingzhao Prefecture, Xu Jingzong looked at the list of volunteers and checked it over and over again.

Li Dao Zong asked, "Old Xu?"

Xu Jingzong said in a deep voice: "Well, what does the prefect have to say?"

"I heard you had a fight again last night?"

"A few people who I don't know where they came from said that a certain family bullied Master Du He and bought paper at a low price. Master Du He hates being slandered the most. Master Du He and I are close friends, so how can I allow others to slander us? I beat them up."

After a long while, Xu Jingzong saw the last person who came to do hard labor. After confirming his name and hometown, he said, "No one is missing."

Li Dao Zong asked curiously, "What do you mean, not one is missing?"

Xu Jingzong murmured, "General Hou is back. The prince ordered them to go back and recuperate for half a month before returning to Chang'an City to do hard labor to atone for their crimes. I thought a few would run away, but they all came back."

Li Dao Zong recalled something that happened back then, and he sighed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has the same demeanor as Your Majesty did back then!"

The five thousand soldiers who had made mistakes during the expedition to Gaochang were released by the prince, who then asked them to voluntarily come to Chang'an to accept punishment and do hard labor.

These people went home to see their families, or the soldiers who had not yet seen their families all came back to receive punishment.

This incident spread among the people in Chang'an, and soon it became a good story in the city, with everyone talking about the prince's generosity.

In the Eastern Palace, Empress Changsun and His Majesty listened to Li Zhi's story.

"Is this really how people are praising your brother?"

Li Zhi said: "My brother released 5,000 soldiers. My brother gave them half a month's leisure to visit their families. Now they have all returned to receive their punishment. When the news came out in Jingzhao Prefecture, some people didn't believe it. The Ministry of War checked and found that not one was missing."

Empress Changsun smiled comfortingly, took out a jade pendant and handed it to him, saying, "Take it."

Li Zhi grinned and said, "Thank you, mother, for the reward."

The queen was unusually happy today. Even Li Lizhi, who was usually strict with her brother, was a little more lenient with Li Zhi and Li Shen.

"Your Majesty, Cheng Qian's spirit has become more mature."

Before Li Shimin could speak, Li Yuan drank his wine, let out a long sigh of enjoyment, and said, "Cheng Qian has always been a man of integrity. He keeps his word, and naturally more people will follow him. The heroic spirit of the army is still there, and each of them is a hero. A man should be like this."

Li Shimin was sitting in the Chongwen Hall, listening to his wife and father praising his son. He read his son's article on the development strategy for the next ten years without saying a word.

Walk west from the Drum Tower of the Imperial Palace, pass the Secretariat and pass Daoming Gate. There is a stream here, which is the Qingming Canal in the palace.

After crossing the wooden bridge, there is a pavilion. This pavilion has no name yet. Because there were many peonies planted here in the past, Li Chengqian named it Peony Pavilion when he asked the Ministry of Works to renovate the imperial palace.

At this moment in the pavilion, the three brothers were eating the fruits sent from Lingnan.

Li Ke ate a banana with his arms on the stone table, looking at the busy craftsmen around him.

Li Tai said: "The Literature Institute has sent thirty teachers to teach. I hope my brother will approve it."

Li Chengqian used a small knife to peel the pears skillfully. "Do you have enough staff in the Literature Museum? Chongwen Museum is not short of staff."

"Brother, teachers who go to teach in remote areas receive ten dan of rice every year and five hundred coins every month. This is much better than being an editor in the Literature Museum."

"Would you like me to give some extra money to your literary museum?"

"Not really." Li Tai cleared his throat to ease some of the embarrassment, and said, "Compiling a comprehensive geographical record is a long-term plan, and those brothers who want to leave midway will not be stopped."

Li Ke continued to eat the banana carefree.

Li Chengqian handed the peeled autumn pear to Li Tai, then picked up another one and continued peeling it.

"Thank you, brother." Li Tai took a slurp and took a bite of the juicy autumn pear.

"I heard from Liu Rengui that you have been going to Xianyang County frequently recently."

Li Ke nodded and said, "I went there yesterday." Li Chengqian handed him the autumn pear and said, "Liu Rengui is a good man, very nice."

These are the last few autumn pears in the palace. We will never be able to eat them again after this season.

Li Baiyao hurried over, walked across the wooden bridge over the Qingming Canal, and came to the pavilion. He said, "Your Highness, this is a letter from the Indian envoy."

Li Chengqian took the letter and opened it to read.

Li Ke also took a look and asked in surprise, "How can the Indians write in the Central Plains language?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "This is a letter written by Xuanzang."

Li Ke was surprised and said, "He is not dead."

"So he has already reached India." Li Tai thought, "This Xuanzang is a man of perseverance. It took him eight years to walk from Guanzhong to India."

There were words written on the cloth scroll, all of which said that after he arrived in India, he was highly regarded by the King of India, who held a grand event for him.

Li Ke asked: "Can the Indians really tame war elephants?"

Li Tai smiled and said, "Any human being can tame an animal. The momentum of a herd of war elephants galloping is unstoppable..."

The learned Li Tai explained to Li Ke the arrangement of war elephants in battle, and that it was mentioned as early as in Lüshi Chunqiu that war elephants could even be used for farming.

In fact, there are many rumors about elephants. What Li Chengqian knew was that the Persians had used war elephants to fight a long time ago.

So long ago... Alexander wanted to conquer Persia, and then he was deeply shocked by the elephants.

Li Chengqian drank his tea and gave the remaining autumn pears to Li Baiyao, saying, "Here you go."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the gift."

In the era of cold weapon warfare, war elephants were the ceiling of cold weapon warfare, but humans always have many ways to deal with animals.

Li Chengqian could even imagine the scene of Xuanzang reciting scriptures while riding on the back of an elephant.

"I still have some things to do, don't waste these fruits."

Li Ke said, "My Royal Brother, please go now."

Inside the pavilion, Li Tai peeled a banana, took a bite and sat chewing it.

Li Ke asked, "How long have you and Xuanzang known each other?"

Li Tai shook his head and said, "We didn't know each other. Many years ago, there was a monk named Bopo who taught Xuanzang. Later, Xuanzang went to India."

"really?"

Li Tai said: "I heard about it."

At that time, Popo was praying for the seriously ill prince in the East Palace. Whether it was true or not is probably only known by the emperor’s brother, as Popo has passed away.

If Xuanzang died and the emperor didn't want to tell the secret, then the secret would be hidden forever.

There were both opposition and support in the court regarding the salary increase.

Because once the salary is increased, it cannot be reduced later, otherwise it will appear that the king is not trustworthy.

There was a Censor in the court named Zhang Xuansu, who advised the emperor not to increase salaries casually and that salaries should remain constant from beginning to end.

The harvest has been good in the past two years, so we should not be too arrogant.

Originally, Li Chengqian didn't want to care about Zhang Xuansu anymore. He couldn't help feeling annoyed after hearing too much about her.

When his father said he wanted to build the Luoyang Palace, Zhang Xuansu advised against it, saying, "When Afang Palace is completed, the Qin people will disperse; when Zhanghua Palace is completed, the Chu people will leave."

He used the stories of Afang Palace and Zhanghuatai to persuade his father not to renovate the Luoyang Palace.

Now he comes to give advice again.

Thinking that Zhang Xuansu was a talented person, Li Chengqian colluded with his uncle and transferred this man to Luoyang to serve as the governor of Luoyang because of his wise advice.

Li Chengqian completely forgot that Zhang Xuansu had actually worked in the Eastern Palace in the past, so he let him and Ma Zhou take charge of the affairs in Luoyang out of consideration for their old friendship.

Occasionally when he had free time, Li Chengqian would leave Chang'an City and go out to see the outside world.

Li Ji came back from Shuofang. Just like before, he personally drove the horse for the prince, and the carriage was not moving fast on the official road.

"Your Highness, where is Xue Wanbei?"

Li Chengqian sat in the swaying carriage and explained, "After returning from Gaochang, Xue Wanche was named Duke of Lu. I asked him to go back and rest for a few days. Besides, it's rare for the brothers to be reunited."

Li Ji smiled and said, "It was indeed not easy for them brothers. It's a pity that Xue Shixiong passed away early."

All the way to the outside of Weinan County, there is a papermaking workshop where a truckload of paper is being transported out to Tongguan.

The production in Guanzhong is in order, and several workshops are also working, all of which are simple handicraft workshops.

Weinan County is located downstream of the manufacturing industries of the Guanzhong counties. They mainly produce pottery jars for holding grape wine for Weibei County, and recycle old paper and weave baskets for Jingyang.

"Your Highness, if we go a little further we will reach Huayin."

Li Chengqian looked at the scenery outside, raised his head and said, "I'm afraid it's going to rain, let's go back."

"Here."

Man proposes, God disposes. The rain came when it came.

Li Ji put on his bamboo hat and continued to drive the horse. He said, "Zhen'er sent me a letter. He said that the Hexi Corridor is now full of merchants and the market tax is higher than in the past few months."

"General, send a letter asking him to come back and resume his duty after the New Year."

Li Ji said, "Let him stay in the Hexi Corridor. Now is the time when there are the most merchants. It is not appropriate to let him leave. This child has heard about the matter between Your Highness and Hou Junji and wrote to ask about it."

Li Chengqian looked at the rain outside the carriage and said, "Just say that everything is fine with me."

"Here."

The rain caused the temperature in Guanzhong to drop sharply. When the carriage arrived at the gate of Chang'an, Li Chengqian got off the carriage and the guards beside him immediately stood up straight.

Unlike in the past, the generals now looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince differently, because Hou Junji's affairs had already spread throughout the army.

Now when I see the prince again, I feel a sense of respect in my heart.

This is not a statement or taking sides, it is just pure respect for the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.

Li Ji said, "I heard that kid Chu Mo complained recently that there are only ten people in the right command of the Eastern Palace now."

Li Chengqian stood under the city gate with his hands in his pockets to avoid the rain and said, "It's better to have fewer people. Too many people will be annoying."

While tying the horse's reins, Li Ji suddenly smiled and told the soldier beside him, "Take the horse away."

Li Chengqian saw a notice posted on the city wall. It was a notice for Chongwenguan to recruit teachers to teach in rural areas. Few children from wealthy families went to teach in rural areas. Most of those who could go were students from poor families who failed the imperial examinations and were stranded in Chang'an.

What's wrong with making a living and teaching at the same time? Less than half a month after the decree was issued, hundreds of people registered at Chongwenguan. Yan Qinli still had to select them one by one and send them out after the winter this year.

Add more, add more (already honest)



(End of this chapter)