The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 240 The teacher's consistent style

In the winter of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, the snowflakes of the winter solstice flooded the entire city.

In a street, there was a big pot stewing dumplings. These dumplings made of rice and flour with mutton and green onion fillings were the most common food in Chang'an City.

I don't know when it started, but I heard that people in the palace like to eat dumplings at this time of year, so the habit of eating dumplings on the Winter Solstice also began to emerge among the people.

Hou Junji held a bowl of dumplings and stuffed several of them into his mouth. While chewing, he picked up a bowl of mutton soup and let out a long sigh of relief.

Under the arrangement of Jingzhao Prefecture, they could rest for an hour before continuing to build the ditch.

In the palace, a fawn brought other fawns, but the guards only allowed the fawns raised by Princess Dongyang to enter and leave Taiye Lake.

Just when the guards were in a dilemma, the group of deer lingered outside and refused to leave.

A cough was heard not far away. The guards looked back and saw a little girl in Taoist robes and the emperor coming.

The guards quickly bowed to greet him.

Li Yuan said with a smile: "Cheng Qian said, let these little deer come in."

"Here."

The guards then made way, and the leading deer was the one raised by Princess Dongyang.

It held its head high and walked into the Taiye Lake with the other smaller deer.

When Li Chengqian was fishing, the deer came to the heater again, and there were other deer too.

Judging from how close they are to each other, they should be from the same nest, gathering around the stove to keep warm.

Mingda counted them carefully and said, "Grandpa, there are five fawns here."

Li Yuan said: "Look at their spots, they are all from the same family. Keep them, they are very smart."

She stroked the head of the smaller deer, and it seemed to be dodging a little, but after trying a few more times, it stopped dodging.

“They are so pretty.”

Li Yuan sat aside and nodded, "Your father is out hunting in winter. Perhaps it felt something and brought them all here. It is their nature to choose a place that is more suitable for them to grow up."

Li Chengqian flipped through a booklet in his hand. When the eunuch hurried over, he handed the booklet to him and whispered, "This is the code of conduct for teachers who teach in the countryside. Give it to Shangguan Yi, the head of Hongwenguan, and have him copy it and arrange for people to distribute it to teachers in each county."

"Yes." The eunuch received the book and left quickly.

Since my father is not in the palace, I, the crown prince, can only take care of all the major and minor affairs in the court.

When the fire in the stove went out, the fawns had just woken up. They looked around and moved their ears to listen to the movements around them.

Seeing no strangers, they walked out of the pavilion one after another and walked slowly in the snow.

At noon, Grandpa would take a short rest and then return to the East Palace.

Li Chengqian took his sister into Ganlu Palace. Compared with the novelty of Xingqing Palace, she was very familiar with Ganlu Palace, so there was nothing new here for her.

There were still quite a few memorials on my father's desk, some of which were placed directly on the desk, waiting for the emperor to come back and deal with them.

Li Chengqian picked up one of them and saw that it was another military report, which was about the construction of Gaochang. The person who submitted the memorial was Lord Zheng.

He frowned as he looked at Duke Zheng's strategy. He wanted to build Gaochang into a place to station troops.

After finishing one, Li Chengqian picked up another and simply sat down to read one after another.

There were eunuchs standing in the palace, not daring to make a sound. Even the sound of their breathing could not disturb His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. This was an unwritten rule in the palace.

They also knew who had spread the news. Now the eunuchs in the palace had a tacit understanding that they must not breathe loudly in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian quietly looked through the memorials here, as well as the population reports from various parts of the Central Plains. All the major events in the construction of the country and the nation were handled on this table.

There is also a discussion about taxation. Although Zhang Xuansu went to Luoyang, he still submitted his opinions on governing the country to the emperor, saying that clarifying taxes is the top priority of national affairs.

There was also a case like the eighty-year-old Yu Shinan, who asked his granddaughter to write memorials on his behalf. The old man mostly dictated and his granddaughter wrote them on his behalf.

Yu Shinan used Xiang Yu as an example, saying that Xiang Yu's alienation from Fan Zeng led to his failure, while Emperor Gaozu of Han won the hearts of the people by being close to Li Shiqi.

I hope that your father's people will listen more to advice and criticism instead of following it.

Li Chengqian finished reading one copy, then picked up another one, also wanting to flatter his father, or use Yao and Shun as comparison standards to measure the character of an emperor.

Zhang Xuanbi also submitted a memorial saying that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin had beaten his son Zhang Jianzhi.

Zhang Xuanbi, who was protective of his son, could not bear to see his son being beaten. As the emperor's elder brother, he could control his younger brothers and sisters, so he simply replied and said to the eunuch beside him: "Send this memorial to where it came from."

The eunuch replied, "Yes."

Mingda climbed onto her father's desk, opened a wooden box, and saw a piece of jade. She frowned and observed it for a long time, "Brother! This stone glows."

Li Chengqian took a look and said, "Night Pearl."

Mingda sat cross-legged on his father's table and asked curiously, "Is this thing rare?"

Li Chengqian nodded: "I guess so."

When the snow outside the window got heavier, Taoist Li Chunfeng, who usually took care of little Sizi with his mother and father, was still in seclusion. Except for someone bringing him food every day, the Taoist never went out.

Dinner in the East Palace was very quiet. Xiaofu's burden had been much lighter recently, and it was also her happiest holiday.

While Li Chengqian and his grandfather were eating, Xiaofu and his sister were pulling noodles beside them.

Ning Er walked over quickly and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, the people from the Ministry of Works have gone to Mount Li."

Li Chengqian took a sip of the noodle soup and looked straight ahead. He neither frowned nor replied immediately.

It was Li Yuan who asked first: "How many craftsmen did the Ministry of Works send?"

Ning Er replied: "Not many, just three hundred people."

Li Yuan whispered, "It is likely that your father is planning to build a residence in Mount Li."

"Well, grandpa is right."

The memorial was sent out during the night curfew.

This memorial was delivered to Zhang Xuanbi.

The next day, Zhang Xuanbi went to Mount Li and met His Majesty who was on a winter hunt.

The emperor and the empress were originally unaware of the fact that Prince of Jin Li Zhi and Prince of Ji Li Shen had fought against Zhang Jian. Before the banquet at Qujiang Lake, Li Shimin had no time to read the memorials delivered that day.

It was not until Zhang Xuanbi sent this memorial that Li Shimin realized that Zhinu and Li Shen had reached the age where they could fight.

At this moment, in a temporary palace, this palace is not big, and many palaces in the Lishan Palace are still abandoned.

Zhang Xuanbi stood in front of the emperor and the empress, bowing his head.

The queen looked at the words in the memorial. Zhang Xuanbi said that the prince had bad character, but what Cheng Qian wrote in the memorial was very interesting.

Afterwards, the queen left the palace, leaving the emperor to comfort Zhang Xuanbi.

Cheng Qian's memorial not only did not ask Zhinu and Li Shen to reflect on themselves, but also contained some encouragement. This encouragement was pertinent, and the queen left with a smile on her face.

Zhang Xuanbi lowered his attitude as he listened to the emperor's consolation.

Beside the hot spring pool of the Lishan Palace, a group of children gathered here to do their homework. Li Lizhi was supervising them, with her disciples Xiao Wu and Xu Hui standing beside her.

A palace maid came quickly and handed a memorial to Princess Changle.

After her coming-of-age ceremony, she didn't like complicated buns. Instead, she used a ribbon to tie her long hair up, leaving some hair on both sides, which made it look neater and more clean.

After reading the memorial, Li Lizhi signaled the palace maid to leave, and then continued to supervise her younger brothers and sisters in doing their homework.

An hour later, their homework was finished.

Li Lizhi left Zhinu and Shendi alone, took out the memorial and said, "Look for yourselves, the emperor and the queen have already known about this matter."

Li Zhi opened the memorial and read it with Li Shen. He was furious for a moment. "Zhang Jianzhi, how dare you file a complaint? I will definitely beat him up when I get back."

Neither the emperor's elder brother nor his elder sister told the matter to their father and mother, but kept it secret.

Instead, it was Zhang Jianzhi who asked his father Zhang Xuanbi to complain to the emperor.

Li Lizhi ordered: "My brother has made a note. When you return, go to the East Palace to receive the punishment."

Li Shen nodded slightly and said, "I will accept the punishment from my brother."

Li Zhi and Li Shen did not feel too aggrieved, because their brother's words in the memorial made them feel a little proud.

"You are a man of high moral character and respect, and you cannot stand young children pointing fingers at the world. Perhaps you also hate children like the King of Jin who cannot stand etiquette or the difference between high and low birth.

But please think about it, sir. You said that King Jin and King Ji were frivolous, but have you ever thought that they were young? "

These were the comments from the emperor's brother. Li Shen and Li Zhi felt that these words were more like they were spoken to themselves rather than to Zhang Xuanbi.

The other meaning is that they say you are frivolous, but have you ever thought that you are still young?

Xiao Wu and Xu Hui followed Princess Changle and asked, "Your Highness, why did the Crown Prince say that?"

Walking to a secluded place, Li Lizhi looked at the disciples around her and asked, "Are you confused?"

Xiao Wu nodded, and Xu Hui also nodded.

Li Lizhi explained, "In fact, Zhinu and Shendi have been raised by the emperor in the East Palace since they were old enough to understand. In fact, it is the same for brothers and sisters. The emperor does not want us to be too obedient to some old ideas. Who says people cannot be outspoken? If we all live the same way, it would be too boring."

Thirteen-year-old Xu Hui still looked confused.

Xiao Wu was also confused and did not understand the meaning.

Li Lizhi looked at the scenery in the distance with a smile and said nothing more. Instead, she led them along the mountain path.

Beside the hot spring pool, the two brothers were still sitting there.

Li Zhi looked toward the west of Mount Li and said, "Brother Shen, do you want to return to the East Palace?"

Li Shen nodded and said, "I want to go back."

The winter solstice in Chang'an had just passed. Li Chengqian was wearing a cloak and standing at a drum tower in the East Market of Chang'an. Although he could not see the entire Chang'an city from here, he could see the entire East Market.

Mingda held onto the railing, took a deep breath, and then exhaled, saying, "Chang'an City is so beautiful in the snow."

Li Chengqian said: "Come and visit often in the future."

"That's what the emperor said."

"Now as the crown prince, my royal brother, I have to guard Chang'an. When father comes back, we will go to the outside of Chang'an together."

The bustling scene of the East Market is reflected in his bright eyes, and the pedestrians are in harmony with the silver-clad Chang'an City.

When leading his sister down from the drum tower, Li Chengqian asked Li Daoyan beside him, "Father is on winter hunting in Mount Li. Is there anything you need?"

"Your Majesty has not sent anyone to deliver the message."

Li Chengqian led his sister and walked through the East Market under the escort of guards.

He also bought some cakes along the way. On the way back, Li Chengqian took a look at the repair of the ditch on Zhuque Street.

The repair work went smoothly, but in the Tang Dynasty where materials were still scarce, the progress was very slow, and many stonemasons were still working hard to polish the stone slabs.

Walking back to the imperial city from the bustling Zhuque Street, the noise of Zhuque Street became quieter, and after walking a little further, I could no longer hear the sounds of everyday life.

There was still some work in the court that needed the prince to do, so Li Chengqian took his sister back to the Secretariat and looked through the files he brought during his leave.

Due to the floods in the past two years, people have begun to move to Luoyang or Guanzhong under the arrangement of Jingzhao Prefecture.

There is a very magical phenomenon that teaching in remote areas can also drive population migration.

Zhang Xuansu sent another memorial from Luoyang, which was about transferring some slave population to the registration of free people.

There were many people who wanted to redeem themselves. Li Chengqian looked at them with a frown. Zhang Xuansu wanted to face their slavery, but this involved the wishes of the master's family.

Compared with Zhang Xuansu's worries, Ma Zhou's memorial was more direct. He directly changed the household registration of these slaves. As for whether they were escaped slaves, he would leave it alone for now and deal with it when trouble came.

Because some powerful families had too many slaves and were unable to manage them themselves, the court could just wait and see what happened without panicking.

"Your Highness, the Duke of Zhao is here."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian looked up and saw his uncle in a plain long gown, and also saw Li Zhi, Li Shen, and Dongyang following behind.

Before his uncle could speak, Li Zhi came over quickly and said, "I heard from my uncle that he would return to Chang'an to help my brother deal with state affairs, so I will follow him back."

Li Shen also came closer and said, "Yeah."

Dongyang whispered, "My father asked my sister and my brother to visit Mr. Yu Shinan."

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Your Majesty ordered me to bring the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Ji here."

Li Chengqian first asked Dongyang to take care of his two younger brothers and sister, and then invited his uncle to sit with his hands in his pockets, and said, "How about Father's winter hunting in Mount Li?"

Chang Sun Wuji took a sip of hot tea, let out a long breath, and said solemnly: "Everything is fine."

Li Chengqian poured some more hot tea for his uncle, listened to the sound of the tea dripping into the bowl, and said, "Uncle, you don't have to hide it from me."

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "Your Majesty is reconsidering whether to invite the great Dongyi scholar Gu Nalu to serve as an official in the court."

Li Chengqian was drinking tea by himself.

Zhang Sun Wuji added: "However, someone suggested to Your Majesty that you give Gu Nalu an honorary title and first propose the post of Counselor to Gu Nalu. Even if this great scholar does not come to the court, he can still be given an official position."

"Did the emperor agree?"

"It was rejected by the Prime Minister."

Li Chengqian thought about it and said, "This is really the teacher's usual style."

(End of this chapter)