The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 271 The Great Image That Cannot Be Let Go
"During these days of my son's wedding, a lot of things were delayed. I finalized all these things yesterday."

Li Shimin nodded and took a piece of silk from a eunuch, saying, "This year, the Indian envoy came and talked about Xuanzang. Xuanzang also wrote a letter to the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty."

I took the silk handed to me by my father. The silk made from India was very rough. I opened it and looked at the words on it.

Li Shimin added: "I think Xuanzang should come back in the next two years."

"Will the King of India be willing to let Xuanzang return to the Tang Dynasty?"

"What do you think?"

Listening to his father's question, Li Chengqian looked at the letter carefully. A monk in India became a good friend of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty through correspondence.

This strange story has long been spread throughout the government and among the people.

As a prince, he has long been accustomed to their speculations. If there are no legends about the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace among the people, is he still the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty?

The letter said that Xuanzang was now traveling around India. He wanted to see every place in India. After he had seen all the scenery in India and completed his Buddhist studies in India, he would return to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian put the cloth aside. The Tang Dynasty was finally strong. Even the envoys from India came to congratulate the Tang Dynasty.

"Father, when the Indian envoys came to pay homage, didn't they bring an elephant?"

Li Shimin searched among the puzzle pieces and said, "No, the Indian envoy said that elephants cannot reach the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian thought about it and said, "It's OK."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "If India could send a thousand elephants from India to Tang via Tubo, even if a thousand elephants died along the way, how many would survive to be transported to Tang? The Indian envoy said that this was a matter of killing lives, so I did not ask any more questions."

Li Chengqian picked up a dried date and put it in his mouth, chewing it.

The father and son were silent for a long time. Li Shimin took a sip of tea, looked at the puzzle and sighed, "I already know about Su Xu's affairs. King Peng is an ignorant boy. I let him return to his fiefdom."

"Du Zhenglun told me about this."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

The father and son did not hide anything and seemed to be exchanging information.

Li Baiyao, the Minister of Rites, came hurriedly and reported: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Tibetan envoy has arrived."

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing His Majesty's question, Li Baiyao looked at the Crown Prince. At the moment, the Crown Prince had his back to him and was fishing. He replied, "Songtsen Gampo sent a thousand kilograms of gold and silver. I am willing to obey the Khan's orders. Please, Your Majesty, release Lu Dongzan and Sangbuza."

Li Shimin cleared his throat.

After receiving his father's hint, Li Chengqian looked at the water and said casually, "Six thousand kilograms of gold, not even a kilogram less."

Li Baiyao looked at His Majesty again.

His Majesty put down the puzzle in his hand without speaking.

He had no choice but to reply: "I will go and tell the Tibetan envoy right away."

After the people left, Li Shimin asked, "Are you taking Lu Dongzan as a hostage?"

"I have never considered him a hostage. Lu Dongzan is now on duty at Sifang Pavilion. He is living a good life, so good that he has almost forgotten about Tibet. This is also a good story."

Songtsen Gampo always hoped that he would come back.

"Six thousand kilograms of gold is the capital for the battle of Songzhou. The capital has not been recovered yet. What do you think, father?"

Li Shimin sighed, "The battle in the Western Regions brought us so much treasure, and you asked for so much gold again in the battle in Qinghai. How will people view the Tang army in the future?"

Li Chengqian caught a fish and sat down leisurely to drink tea without answering his father's words, nor did he intend to answer.

The sun finally broke through the dark clouds and shone on the land.

My father was sitting in a rocking chair with a stove beside him, his eyes closed and he seemed to be asleep.

Li Chengqian stood up and saw that only one corner of the puzzle was completed. Many pieces were placed on the table, forming a full pile.

The twelfth year of Zhenguan was an extremely ordinary year. No one starved to death in Guanzhong, and Guanzhong had successive bumper harvests.

This year, the population of Chang'an City increased to 750,000.

On this day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Chengqian was walking in Chang'an City under the escort of General Li Ji.

After a year of renovation last year, Chang'an City did not look brand new, but looking from a high vantage point, the streets and square markets looked exceptionally neat.

Li Chengqian stood on the Drum Tower and looked at the pleasant scenery for a while.

Li Ji stood behind the prince without saying a word.

Under the escort of soldiers and horses, Li Chengqian walked out of Chunming Gate and saw Du Zhenglun sitting by the official road and eating a piece of cake.

Li Chengqian asked with his hands in his pockets, "Where did Minister Du come from again? Have you returned from your errand?"

Du Zhenglun chewed his biscuit and said, "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has finished the matter."

"Thanks to Minister Du for his guidance."

"Your Highness, you are joking. I will go back first."

Afraid of saying any more words to the prince, Du Zhenglun quickly walked back to Chang'an City.

With Li Chongyi and Li Jingheng as the Donggong's right-hand men both inside and outside the court, things will be much easier in the future.

In the past, these household affairs were arranged by my father and my uncle.

Things are different now. The East Palace will have its own family affairs in the future.

Li Chengqian got on the carriage for the trip, looked at the scenery along the way, and planned to go to Longshouyuan again.

Along the way, more and more children from Guanzhong could be seen. A group of children who were playing around saw the soldiers escorting the imperial carriage, so they left the official road and hid in the fields.

There was also a group of children fighting over food, rolling and crawling on the side of the road.

If an average household can have three children, the population of Guanzhong could triple in another ten years.

Li Ji drove the carriage and said, "More and more people are moving into Guanzhong now. I often hear people in Jingzhao Prefecture say that it is fortunate that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has foresight to build a huge distribution center in Tongguan and store grain to supply Guanzhong's needs."

"General, was there a shortage of food in Guanzhong in the past?"

The sound of horse hooves continued, but the horses were not moving fast. Li Ji explained, "There was a shortage of food in the past. At that time, there were few people in Guanzhong, and many fields were not cultivated. Now there are more people, and more people are cultivating, so there is no shortage of food."

Another fast horse caught up with him from behind. The person who came revealed his identity. He was Di Zhixun, the magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture. He drove the horse to the side of the carriage and reported: "Your Highness, this is a letter from Dr. Sun."

Li Chengqian took the letter and asked, "President Di Tong?"

"The minister is here."

"I heard that the Minister of Justice Liu Dewei admires you very much."

Di Zhixun clasped his fists while riding on horseback and said, "I have indeed been in contact with Minister Liu recently."

"Today I saw the memorial. Liu Dewei recommended Jingzhao Prefecture Tongpan Di Zhixun to the Ministry of Justice. Jingzhao Prefecture Tongpan Di Zhixun traveled to various counties during his tenure as an official and was fair and upright. He is exactly the talent the Ministry of Justice needs."

Hearing the words coming from the carriage, Di Zhixun was a little confused.

"Why? You didn't know?" "I really didn't know Brother Liu would recommend me like this."

"The recommendation has been sent to the Ministry of Personnel, and we will discuss it again at the court meeting next year."

"Another cow fell to its death in the Cheng family today."

The carriage was very quiet again, as if His Highness did not like to hear the news.

Di Zhixun added: "I am still trying to find out the reason."

"Don't worry about it."

"I'll take my leave." Di Zhixun slowed down the horse and watched the prince's carriage go away.

Why did the Minister of Justice Liu Dewei recommend himself?

Dickson was confused and pulled the reins and went back the same way.

In the swaying carriage, traveling on the quiet official road, one could even hear the sound of the carriage wheels breaking through the ice on the frozen ground.

Li Chengqian opened the letter and what caught his eye was Doctor Sun's discussion on building a medical clinic.

After all, Doctor Sun did not accept the suggestion of dividing medicine into different specialties, and from the beginning he talked about orthopedics and dentistry.

Up to now, Dr. Sun has only divided medicine into internal medicine and surgery, and only these two departments.

After reading the letter, Li Chengqian put it aside and thought to himself that this was actually a great progress.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and Li Ji said, "Your Highness, Longshouyuan has arrived."

Li Chengqian got off the carriage. The soil on the ground had frozen solid during this winter, and he walked up the high slope of Longshouyuan.

In winter, you cannot see the sight of trees blooming in spring or rivers blooming, nor can you see herds of draft horses or flocks of sheep everywhere.

Guanzhong in winter is as depressed as other places in the Central Plains.

Li Chengqian stood facing the wind. In fact, what General Li Ji said before was still an outdated view, because the arable land in Guanzhong was limited.

The available land is also limited. The population has recovered well now, and the fields are being cultivated, so there seems to be no shortage of food.

More and more people are moving into Guanzhong, which is a manifestation of strength.

The development of workshops and the growth of productivity in Guanzhong will be one of the most important strengths in the future.

After all, farmland is limited, and the two sides of the Yellow River, which rely on small peasant economy, are too dependent on grain. At a time when city taxes are increasing year by year, it can be seen that the productivity of Guanzhong has been improving over the past five years.

Whether it is paper, wine, or soap, for a long time these have been the three most important pillar industries for Guanzhong's productivity and economic growth.

But going forward, production and manufacturing cannot stop here, we must seek new growth.

The Western Regions have unique geographical advantages. There is endless cotton to be harvested from the time it is planted to the time it is harvested. Cotton and textiles will be the next pillar industries in Guanzhong.

This scene is not far away, and the Tang army is just waiting to sweep across the Tianshan Mountains.

Of course, similar industrial construction can still be planned. In the next five years, Guanzhong will undergo another major change.

Since farmland and food were limited, the basic development of the Li Tang Dynasty had to focus on economic and trade development while ensuring arable land.

In another five years, in another ten years...it will probably look completely different.

They all had no idea how drastically Guanzhong would change.

Li Chengqian asked with a smile: "Li Zhen should be back this year, right?"

Li Ji said: "Even if I want to keep him in the Hexi Corridor, Your Majesty will call him back and reward him."

Wei Chang walked over quickly. He was wearing coarse cloth and had a big beard on his chin. He handed a letter to the soldier guarding here, left a few words, and left quickly.

"Your Highness, the bad man Wei Chang from Jingyang County has something to report."

Li Chengqian took the paper and unfolded it after folding it several times. The wind caused one corner of the paper to curl up repeatedly.

Looking at the content on the paper, it talked about the recent changes in merchants in Guanzhong. The man named Pei Mingli took his family to the Hexi Corridor again.

Merchants from the two Jiangnan regions also completed their transactions. They exchanged tea and silk for soap and grape wine and left Guanzhong.

Looking at the words on the paper, Li Chengqian said to Li Ji: "General, let's make Wei Chang a bad commander."

Li Ji did not hesitate and said decisively: "Yes."

"Why did you agree so readily?"

"Your Highness, according to military records, Wei Chang has more than 400 bad guys under his command. Such a person is loyal to the Tang Dynasty and can be appointed as the bad leader."

Looking at the 800-li Qinchuan Plain in front of us, we can see the city of Chang'an in the distance, but the towering city walls prevent us from seeing what's happening inside the city.

You can go straight into Taiye Lake from here and return to the palace through Xuanwu Gate.

Li Chengqian took a stool from the carriage and sat down.

A soldier came to report, "Your Highness, Lu Dongzan heard that the prince was going out, and Lu Dongzan happened to be here, so he came to ask for an audience."

"Let him come."

"Here."

From this autumn to now, Lu Dongzan has lost a lot of weight.

Li Chengqian saw him again and asked, "Songtsen Gampo is only one year older than me, but he can't let go of you, the great prime minister, and is looking forward to your return."

Lu Dongzan was wearing Tang clothing, but he still followed Tibetan etiquette and said, "The Tang people's offer is too high. The Zamp will not agree to it."

"so what?"

Hearing His Highness's relaxed words, Lu Dongzan said seriously: "Zamp can't afford so much gold."

Li Chengqian waved his sleeves, put one hand on his knee, looked at Lu Dongzan who was standing below and saluted, and said loudly: "Songtsen Gampo is a capable man. He unified Tubo when he was nearly 20 years old. I think he should continue to govern Tubo instead of blindly seeking for perfection and wanting the Tang people to let you go. People should be self-reliant, right?"

"If it were me, I would give up on you and continue to govern Tibet and recruit talented people. You are living so well in Chang'an. Even if you die, will the Tibetans not live anymore?"

"People should look forward. What do you think, Brother Daxiang?"

Lu Dongzan whispered, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is saying that the Zamp is not worthy of the loyalty of foreign officials, right?"

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and said, "You can't even pledge allegiance now. Besides, I don't need your loyalty. There are too many people in this world who pledge allegiance to my father, such as Qibi Heli of Tiele, Ashina She'er of Turkic, Uighurs, people of the Western Regions, and you Tibetans can also pledge allegiance to the Tang Dynasty."

Seeing that Lu Dongzan did not respond, Li Chengqian stood up and walked to his side. He looked at Sangbuza who was standing humbly not far away and whispered, "Everyone has self-awareness. When the Tibetan subjects are willing to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty, it will not be too late for you to think about what I said again."

Lu Dongzan said loudly: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your guidance."

"Guanzhong is not bad in winter. You should take a good look at it and think about what I said today in the future."

Li Chengqian walked towards the south of Longshouyuan, and a group of escorting soldiers followed the prince.

Lu Dongzan was left standing there, with a few words passing through his mind from time to time. The Tiele people, the people of the Western Regions, the Uighurs... were all loyal to the Heavenly Khan, so where should the Tubo subjects go?

(End of this chapter)