The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 258: A Person Born at the Wrong Time
Mingda had a bright smile on her face as she took the paper from her. Li Chengqian looked at the crooked words that were somewhat skewed horizontally and vertically.

"That's quite a progress, so I'll reward you with a bowl of smoothie."

Mingda said happily: "Thank you, my royal brother."

When they heard there was smoothie to eat, one younger sister wanted to eat it, and the rest of the brothers and sisters wanted to eat it.

I had to let my father's eunuchs work harder. Three eunuchs were beating the ice cubes vigorously. The crushed ice cubes were poured into a bowl, and then jam and some goat milk were added. A bowl of smoothie was ready.

Li Chengqian ate grapes while looking at the map in front of him. The Ancient Tang-Tibet Road was actually recorded in later generations.

The route is also very simple. You can start from Chang'an, leave Tianshui County, then go out of the Hexi Corridor, go south to Qinghai, pass near Songzhou, and you can reach the heartland of Tubo directly.

When giving the map to Li Zhen, I also considered whether this ancient road that could lead directly into Tubo still existed today.

But for now, the results are good.

Ning Er reported: "Your Highness, there is news from the palace that His Majesty has summoned the King of Wei."

Li Chengqian waved the palm-leaf fan in his hand, picked up a grape, put it in his mouth, and handed it to Ning'er beside him.

Ning'er took the grapes with a smile and stood beside His Highness, looking at the map.

Li Chengqian waved his fan slowly and leisurely, saying: "Qingque has made great contributions in this battle."

Ning Er whispered, "I'm afraid the King of Wei himself didn't expect that the map he made in the Comprehensive Geography could be so crucial in the war."

Originally, Li Tai's maps were supplemented based on the classics left over from the former Sui Dynasty.

After the Hexi Corridor was built, he sent people to map the terrain, and this led him to the idea of ​​this ancient road.

As long as Tubo is controlled south of Qinghai, their threat to the Western Region trade routes will be much smaller.

Moreover, the pastures around Qinghai also belonged to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Lizhi walked over quickly and said, "Brother, Sambuza has heard the news of the battle in Songzhou."

Li Chengqian said: "He didn't commit suicide, did he?"

"No, I heard he stayed indoors."

"Lu Dongzan will be brought to Chang'an anyway."

Li Lizhi sat on the side, eating grapes and tapping on the map, and whispered, "Can we build a Protectorate in Qinghai?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Sure, then we need to build a Protectorate in the capital of Tubo."

"My Royal Brother, you are joking. How could the Tibetans allow us to do this?"

The next day, another urgent report was delivered to Chang'an. This news dealt another heavy blow to Sambuza, who was already at a loss.

Tubo failed to marry the Tang princess and was defeated by the Tang army in the battle of Songzhou.

Because Tubo successively annexed many small tribes, and they also took in a lot of Tuyuhun people.

These people were a great help to Tubo before, because they felt that Tubo was powerful.

But now that Songzhou was defeated, those who once submitted to Songtsen Gampo will retaliate against Tubo.

Especially the Tuyuhun people, they rebelled against the Tang people's solicitation and joined Songtsen Gampo.

At that time, the benefits that Songtsen Gampo promised to them could not be fulfilled, and now was the time for these hungry wolves to retaliate.

When hearing the news, Li Chengqian even felt a little sympathy for Songtsen Gampo. He was afraid that Tubo would have to face endless chaos for a long time.

Now, the entire Chang'an City is waiting for Lu Dongzan's arrival.

It is not known whether Songtsen Gampo can solve his troubles now.

Li Chengqian sighed, "I heard that Tubo lacks writing, laws, and good etiquette. I don't know what Songtsen Gampo was thinking, but he actually allied with Nepal. Why bother to form an alliance with those remote small countries? It would be better to learn from the Tang Dynasty."

After saying that, he shot an arrow, which hit the bull's eye accurately.

The prince's archery skills were getting better and better. Li Ji sat aside eating the rice dumplings made by the Eastern Palace, not knowing what to teach the prince.

Even if they were to fight, Li Ji now felt that he might not be a match for the prince.

Li Chengqian was wearing a thin coat, and his wide sleeves were still swaying when the morning breeze blew. He shot another arrow, still with great accuracy.

"What do you think of what I said, Lord Ying?"

Li Ji came back to his senses a little and said, "Songtsen Gampo is not His Majesty, and he can never become His Majesty."

Songtsen Gampo once said that he admired the Heavenly Khan very much and once wanted to be on equal footing with him, but facts also taught the young Tibetan king a lesson that people cannot live according to the image of others.

Songtsen Gampo was unable to take care of himself and had no energy to move eastward.

Just as Mr. Ying said, not everyone can have the personal charm of his father, which can make heroes all over the world willingly work for him.

As the son of the emperor, I should understand this point more clearly.

Li Chengqian said: "Tubo is a good place. I don't want to lose control of such a good land. Songtsen Gampo has made great achievements. His great achievements have unified many tribes in Tubo. If something happens to him, Tubo will fall apart again, and it will be difficult to clean up in the future."

Li Ji asked in confusion, "Your Highness wants Songtsen Gampo to revive his army?"

Dongyang and Li Lizhi came over after breakfast to practice archery.

Li Chengqian drew his bow and arrow again, and the three brothers and sisters shot an arrow together, hitting the bull's-eye of all three targets.

Dongyang and Lizhi have only been practicing archery for a short time, but have made rapid progress. People cannot be compared with each other, and their talents are indeed much better than that of their royal brother.

Li Yuan woke up cursing because the eunuchs had taken possession of his grape wine.

This is Dongyang's order. Grandpa must continue to control the amount and frequency of his drinking.

Then the old man sat on the side and ate oatmeal porridge.

Going back to what he said before, Li Chengqian said: "Of course I don't want Songtsen Gampo to revive his power. As the king of Tubo, he is respected by everyone. If he can serve as a minister of the Tang Dynasty and help the Tang Dynasty stabilize Tubo, he will definitely achieve great success."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "What a great achievement."

Li Ji saluted quickly.

After finishing the oatmeal porridge in the bowl, Li Yuan said, "Don't be surprised. Cheng Qian has always advocated making the best use of things. He would like to use one penny as ten pennies and one person as three people."

"I understand that Songtsen Gampo is a capable man."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, put down the longbow in his hand, and then went to the Secretariat.

As they walked, Li Chengqian saw the general beside him with a worried look on his face, so he asked, "General, are you worried about Li Zhen?"

Li Ji replied: "As long as Zhen'er can get better, I have nothing else to ask for."

"Li Zhen made great contributions in this battle."

"I hope he can continue to stay in the Hexi Corridor."

"Okay, I will discuss it with father." Only then did Li Ji's expression improve a little.

Outside the Secretariat, Chu Suiliang was boasting with Zhang Xingcheng and Cen Wenben.

They were all important officials in the Secretariat, and now many people regarded Chu Suiliang as a disciple of the Crown Prince. He himself neither denied nor admitted it.

Instead, he said to the two people in front of him: "Do you know why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has always employed a certain family?"

Zhang Xingcheng asked: "Why?"

Chu Suiliang said: "You are too far away from the prince, and I think you don't know his character. The prince of the East Palace has never liked too many people to give advice. The prince only needs capable ministers who can get things done."

As they were talking, they saw Zhang Xingcheng and Cen Wenben already saluting.

Chu Suiliang looked back and saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hurriedly bowing. His eyes turned rapidly, and he wondered if His Royal Highness had heard what he had just said.

Li Chengqian walked into the Secretariat with a normal expression and began to deal with today's government affairs.

The Ministry of Rites sent people to visit Sambuza for several days in a row, wanting to ask if this man was unwell or needed anything.

Except for eating, Sambuza kept himself locked up.

Li Chengqian said to the official of the Ministry of Rites beside him: "We should treat the envoy well. If he is not physically ill, we should ask him if he has a mental illness."

"Your Highness, how do you cure your heart disease?"

Li Chengqian hesitated and asked, "Find some Hu Ji to make him happy?"

"Your subordinate..." This method of treatment is a bit special. I don't know if the Tibetans will like Hu Ji's taste. He replied: "Your subordinate will arrange it right away."

The matter of Fan Yang was still in a murky state. Li Chengqian sighed and put the memorial aside.

This is not just a matter of 100,000 shi, nor is it a matter of 100,000 shi being less every year. This is a matter of the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian was worried with his hands in his pockets, and Xiangrui was also in trouble.

The matter has been taken over by my father, and Gao Ji Fu has also arrived in Bohai, so we will just wait and see.

It was almost autumn in Guanzhong, and the counties were harvesting their crops. Li Chengqian stood up and walked outside the Zhongshu Province, saying, "General, please prepare the carriage. I will go out for a walk."

"Here."

Some people in the Secretariat were talking about how General Li Ji was always by the Crown Prince's side these days. It was rare to see the general going to the Secretariat with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince every day, and it was also rare to see the general waiting for the Crown Prince outside the Secretariat every day.

In the Zhongshu Province, which had returned to peace, Zhang Xingcheng asked, "Why didn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ask you to stay by his side?"

Chu Suiliang paused writing, and continued, "There are still so many important matters that need to be approved. Your Highness will certainly not let me delay."

Cen Wenben said worriedly: "In the court, the trend of flattery and climbing up the ladder should not be encouraged."

Zhang Xingcheng nodded in agreement.

Chu Suiliang put down his pen, slammed the table and said, "Who is flattering! Who is fawning on me!"

Cen Wenben said: "I just said it casually, Minister Chu, please don't be angry."

During the holiday, there was still a quarrel in the Secretariat with only three people. Li Chengqian, who had just walked away, shook his head helplessly.

Last night, after Li Tai was summoned by his father, he did not return to his Prince Wei's Palace, but hurried to check on the construction of the silt dam.

Li Chengqian sat in the carriage and looked at the scenery along the way. There were many people selling and buying grapes on both sides of the official road.

There are also truckloads of goods being transported to Tongguan and Luoyang.

Now Guanzhong still advocates production mainly and increasing employment opportunities as the key to development. Except for the busy farming season, most of the time, residents of various counties are working in workshops.

When the idea of ​​Jingzhao Prefecture spread to the twelve counties of Chang'an, it was still fine. But when it spread to the remote counties and towns, it became another idea, and became a means to eliminate idle people.

What this means is that there cannot be too many idle people in each county, and all of them should be thrown into the workshops to work.

It has consolidated public security in the counties and also increased the labor force.

Therefore, when the central government's orders are passed down to the counties, there will be different understandings.

In the end, they all reached the same conclusion. They used their own preferred way of understanding to understand the decrees issued by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

There is nothing we can do about this. It is difficult for remote counties and towns to understand long speeches on governance, and they may not be able to comprehend them. However, if we use a method that they can understand, it can be implemented quickly.

These are all valuable experiences gained in practice, and we should always think about them and let the people of Jingzhao Prefecture reflect on why the cultural level of these counties and towns has stagnated.

Even if it is teaching, the results will not be immediate.

Li Ji hurried along the carriageway: "Where do you want to go today, Your Highness?"

"Father has mentioned the construction of the Summer Palace again. Let's go to Longshouyuan to take a look."

Along the way, Li Ji told stories about Longshouyuan. For example, according to rumors, there was a black dragon going to the Wei River to drink water, and the traces of the black dragon's stay in Longshouyuan became Longshouyuan.

The carriage was not moving fast, and Li Chengqian could occasionally see the scenery outside through the gaps in the curtains that were sometimes lifted by the wind.

When he arrived at Longshouyuan, Li Chengqian met an old man there.

For a long time, Yuan Tiangang has been a relatively mysterious figure in the Imperial Observatory. I went there several times but never saw him. Either way, he would sit cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Yuan Tiangang, with white hair and beard, was wearing a coarse cloth suit. The dark green outer garment was a bit thick, and the old clothes were densely pilled.

Li Chengqian walked closer and looked at the high slope of Longshouyuan. He said, "Master Li said that Master Yuan will not come back until the beginning of autumn this year."

Yuan Tiangang replied: "I went to see a few old friends and helped them resolve some of their concerns."

The past of this old Taoist priest is very mysterious, and even in the palace now, few people can explain it clearly.

Li Chengqian walked up the high slope of Longshouyuan, feeling the wind blowing towards him, "The wind blowing here is stronger than that in Chang'an."

Yuan Tiangang asked, "Will His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agree to build a summer palace for His Majesty here?"

Li Chengqian stepped on the soft soil and asked, "It is adjacent to the Ba River on the left and the Feng River on the right. This is indeed a good place. I heard Zheng Gong, who edited the Book of Sui, also said that the rivers and plains are beautiful and the flowers and plants are lush..."

Yuan Tiangang looked at the prince, who had just turned twenty, with a little worry.

Li Chengqian continued, "What do you think of Songtsen Gampo, Taoist priest?"

Yuan Tiangang stroked his graying beard, his old eyes seemed thoughtful, and said: "I have never met him. It is said that Songtsen Gampo became famous at a young age. As early as four years ago, before the Tibetan envoys came to the court, someone told Your Majesty about Songtsen Gampo's youth. If we look at Songtsen Gampo in the current Tang Dynasty, we can only say that he was born at the wrong time."

From here you can also see the Longshou Canal which was built during the Han Dynasty, and if you look further into the distance you can see a large area of ​​grape trellises.

An official came running over and reported: "Your Highness, Lu Dongzan will arrive in five days."

Li Chengqian collected his thoughts and nodded to indicate that he understood. He then let the official leave and continued talking to Taoist Yuan, "What would happen if we don't build a palace here?"

Yuan Tiangang replied: "If you don't want to repair it, that's fine too."

A good start to August, three chapters updated!

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(End of this chapter)