The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 273 The sky is going to clear up
Li Shimin looked at it for a moment and then put down the book in his hand. He picked up the tea bowl beside him, took a sip of tea, and looked at his son thoughtfully.

"I will take my leave now."

"Wait a minute."

Li Chengqian turned around and asked, "Does the emperor have any other instructions?"

Li Shimin picked up the memorial from the side and said, "This is a matter for discussion in the army. We are still short of 300,000 shi of grain and fodder."

Li Chengqian took the memorial and nodded, saying, "Go and prepare it right away."

The emperor's eyes fell on the puzzle again, and Li Chengqian left with the memorial.

The palace was very quiet. The queen was in a good mood and continued to alter a Taoist robe with needle and thread with a smile on her face.

Li Shimin took a sip of tea and never looked at the cotton pricing strategy at hand again.

In the coldest month of winter, heavy snow fell in Guanzhong again.

Li Zhi accompanied his sister Mingda to the Imperial Observatory.

Li Chunfeng was holding a compass in his hand, wearing a thin Taoist robe, with his eyes closed as if he was thinking, and whispered: "Today's north wind, wind speed Class B level 3..."

After a long while, Li Chunfeng stood up and looked at the heavy snow outside the Imperial Observatory, and said, "The sunny day will come soon."

Li Zhi sat down with his sister and looked at Taoist classics together. This was a punishment from his sister, and he could not go to play with Di Renjie for a while.

Mingda asked: "Master Li, how many days will it take for the weather to clear up?"

Li Chunfeng waved his sleeves and said, "It will be soon."

Taiye Lake to the north of the Imperial Palace.

Li Chengqian sat by the Taiye Lake wearing a straw hat. Whenever he lit a stove here, the deer were very human-like and would come over to keep warm as soon as the stove was lit.

Su Wan was wearing a red cloak and was teaching the little Princess Linchuan to play the zither. The sound of the zither could be heard from the gate of the villa all the way to the waterside pavilion of Taiye Lake.

Ning'er brewed a bowl of hot tea and placed it on the table next to His Highness.

While the prince was fishing, at this moment in the Secretariat, Chu Suiliang walked hurriedly into the room, stepping on the snow.

Entering the Secretariat, he shook off the snow that had fallen on his body and saw Yu Zhining and Zhang Xingcheng were already busy.

Chu Suiliang sat down, looked at the account book in front of him, and said, "Where can we find 300,000 shi of grain and fodder to dispatch?"

Yu Zhining picked up his pen and dipped some ink on the inkstone, saying, "I thought you weren't coming."

Chu Suiliang rubbed his hands and said, "Minister Yu underestimated me."

Chu Suiliang flipped through the files in front of him and whispered, "Where can we get 300,000 shi of grain? Didn't we send 600,000 shi to Anxi Protectorate this year?"

Zhang Xingcheng explained: "Six hundred thousand dan of grain will only be enough for 50,000 Anxi troops for a few months?"

Chu Suiliang frowned and thought, "Could it be transferred from various counties?"

Yu Zhining said: "Tongguan has 800,000 dan of grain stored, and the Hexi Corridor has 200,000 dan of grain stored. We will first dispatch 100,000 dan from the Hexi Corridor, and then transfer 500,000 dan of grain from Tongguan to the Hexi Corridor, and then transfer another 100,000 dan to the Anxi Protectorate."

After being reminded, Chu Suiliang flipped through the files and wondered, "Tongguan only has 150,000 dan of grain in stock. Where did we get 800,000 dan?"

"Minister Chu, please take a look at the official warehouses in Chencang, Xianyang County, and Jingyang County, and then the official warehouses in Tianshui County."

Hearing this, Chu Suiliang stood up and took down a few more volumes from the bookshelf. He looked at the records of grain dispatch and suddenly realized, "It turns out that grain was sent west every month before."

In the past, emperors who ascended the throne in Guanzhong would store grain in Luoyang, which is why the Luoyang Palace was located there, and the emperors would often go to Luoyang.

After Yang Guang built the Grand Canal, he also lived in Luoyang for a long time.

The current crown prince has stored grain in Tongguan.

As Chu Suiliang looked at the volumes of records, routes for transporting grain appeared in his mind.

Starting two years ago, grain from Guanzhong has been mobilized and continuously transported to the Hexi Corridor. This transportation route starts from Tongguan, passes through Weinan, Chang'an, Xianyang Bridge, all the way through Chencang to Longyou, and then to the Hexi Corridor.

The grain in Guanzhong has always been mobile rather than stored in one place.

Now, with just one transfer order, the grain stored in various counties can be sent to the Hexi Corridor immediately.

Several counties east of Longshan Mountain could gather 300,000 shi of grain and fodder from the Hexi Corridor within half a month, and it could be transported to the Anxi Protectorate in two months at most.

The grain in Guanzhong is mobile, and the granaries and markets in various counties are coordinated with each other. Some people say that in a war, food and fodder must be sent before troops move. But for the prince, even if the troops do not move, food and fodder are always being mobilized.

Although it seems that there is not much grain in the government warehouses in various places, in fact a large part of the grain is on the way to transportation.

Chu Suiliang wrote the transfer order and gave it to Yu Zhining.

Yu Zhining took the transfer order, confirmed it, and left in a hurry.

The heavy snow was still falling in Guanzhong. After listening to the eunuch's report and confirming that Yu Zhining had left with the transfer order, Li Chengqian felt relieved.

When His Majesty summoned the generals in the army to discuss the war in the Western Regions, the Crown Prince's 300,000 shi of grain and fodder were already on the way.

In the twelfth year of Zhenguan, when the heavy snow was about to end, Li Chengqian, who had been married for more than a month, stood outside the Xingqing Palace, looking at the snow scene in front of him and listening to the conversation inside the palace.

The voices of the conversation were a little hazy. Zhang Shigui was the main general and the commander-in-chief of the Kunqiu Road army.

Li Chengqian just stood outside the hall without saying a word.

The eunuch in front of the palace asked, "Your Highness, it is very cold outside the palace. Please allow me to report to His Majesty and let Your Highness enter the palace."

"No need, I'm leaving."

After saying this, Li Chengqian walked into the snowstorm.

The eunuch stood there in shock, then quickly bowed and bid farewell to the prince.

In Chang'an City, Wang Xuance was different from Pei Xingjian. Pei Xingjian stayed in the Hexi Corridor and prepared to fight in Tianshan to support General Zhang Shigui.

Wang Xuance didn't care about this war because news came from the army that there were too many generals participating in this war.

That day, a soldier walked into the Sifang Pavilion. He glanced at everyone inside and said in a loud voice: "Ashina She'er! Jingzhao Prefecture has issued a transfer order, ordering you to return to Turkic and lead 30,000 Turkic cavalry to Anxi Protectorate before May and serve under General Guo."

"Here!"

A loud shout came from inside the Sifang Pavilion, startling the sleepy Sambuza.

Ashina She'er's voice is so bright.

The soldier delivered the message and left with his men. Lu Dongzan put down the pen in his hand and looked at Murong Shun who was eating soup noodles.

As soon as Murong Shun returned to Chang'an, he kept eating and now he has indeed gained some weight.

Lu Dongzan asked: "The Tang Dynasty is about to pacify Tianshan, aren't you going?"

Murong Shun drank a mouthful of noodle soup, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "I am just a businessman, why would I go to Tianshan?"

Lu Dongzan whispered, "When the Tang Dynasty conquered Gaochang, you went to the Western Regions."

Murong Shun sighed: "That was all coincidence."

The most mysterious person in Sifang Pavilion is Murong Shun. Everyone knows that he is working for Jingzhao Prefecture, but no one knows what he actually does.

The heavy snow was still falling, and Ashina She'er ran out of Chang'an City quickly. He asked the soldiers in front of the city for a war horse, carried some dry food on his back, led three Turks, and rode quickly towards the north of the Tang Dynasty.

At the emperor's command, Ashina She'er rushed to the Turkic Khan to reorganize his troops and work with the Tang army to conquer the Tianshan Mountains.

The emperor's orders were sent out of the imperial city one after another. These days, Li Chengqian was still fishing by the Taiye Lake, and occasionally went to the Shaofujian to inquire about the transformation of the spinning wheel.

This war had been prepared long ago, but it just started at this moment.

To outsiders, this battle does not seem to have much to do with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. If there is any connection, it is only about raising food and fodder.

Li Chengqian looked into the distance and saw Li Zhi walking on the ice of Taiye Lake with his sister. The brother and sister fell from time to time, but they were having a lot of fun.

Ning'er stood beside His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, silent, because the war was about to begin, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was always worried at this time.

Li Chengqian fished a fish out of the hole in the lake's ice and said with a smile, "The Tang Dynasty will surely win this battle!"

Ning Er added: "Great Tang will win."

Empress Changsun was leading Su Wan in front of the villa and talking in a low voice.

My father has been in Xingqing Palace these days, spending three hours every day discussing the issue of pacifying Tianshan with the generals in the army.

Putting the fishing line into the ice hole again, Li Chengqian lay on the steps on his side, folding the paper in his hand, pulling and tugging, and the thing he folded looked like a duck.

Picking up another piece of blue paper, Li Chengqian folded it again with unskilled technique, but finally gave up and put the half-folded paper aside.

He simply let Ning'er sit down as well. Li Chengqian rested his head on her legs and closed his eyes to rest.

Looking at her husband's sleeping face, Ning'er smiled gently, folded the papers beside her, and then tidied up the hair on his highness's temples. She leaned against the pillar of the water pavilion, feeling the tranquility between heaven and earth.

After a while, Li Chengqian finally sat up and asked, "What are we having for dinner today?"

Ning Er replied: "Xiao Fu is preparing it, most likely baking buns."

Before lunch was ready, a group of younger brothers and sisters gathered around Xiaofu, waiting for the steamed buns in the oven to be cooked.

Li Chengqian picked up the fishing rod and put it aside.

There were more and more papers in the palace, including paper sent from Jingyang, paper sent from Luoyang, and even parchment sent from Weinan.

Piece of paper after piece was folded into windmills or airplanes in the children's hands.

Gao Yang came over quickly and said, "Sister, I've folded a bowl for you, brother."

Li Chengqian took the bowl she folded and said, "I heard that you didn't do well in the exam this time."

Gao Yang pursed his lips and said aggrievedly: "The questions are too difficult."

"Go and get some tutoring from your sister Dongyang during this winter break."

"Yeah." Gao Yang nodded sensibly.

The dishes were placed on the table, steaming.

When the emperor came back, the father and son sat at a separate table.

This is almost an unwritten rule in the palace. Every time the Queen and the children of the Eastern Palace have a meal, they will leave His Majesty and the Crown Prince alone.

Not far away is a lively dining table, and here are the quiet father and son.

Li Shimin picked up a piece of pickled radish, put it in his mouth and chewed it.

Li Chengqian served himself a bowl of soup and drank it quietly.

It was so quiet that the only sounds were the clinking of dishes and the sound of food being chewed.

After they were somewhat full, Li Shimin looked at his son, whose chin still had some green stubble, and asked, "Are all the food and fodder ready?"

"Yes, another 500,000 stones were transferred."

"I have discussed with the generals in the army and only need 300,000 stones."

"It's good to have more. The soldiers can feel more at ease. We will continue to deliver more in the future. This year's harvest is good and there is a surplus of grain in Guanzhong. Father, don't worry."

"Your food is all shipped from Tongguan?"

Li Chengqian put down his chopsticks and replied, "Guanzhong needs cotton to develop. I will do my utmost to help you in this battle."

Li Shimin smiled and put his weight on the chair. "Now all the generals in the army know that as long as the prince dispatches food and grass in the rear, the soldiers will not go hungry when they go out to fight."

Li Chengqian watched the eunuchs put away the bowls and chopsticks, and then served the remaining dishes to the table of princes and princesses. Children's appetites had increased greatly and they ate a lot as they were growing.

Li Zhi and Li Shen had already eaten two bowls of corn and six toasted buns, and they still looked like they could eat more.

Li Shimin said: "Let Qingque and Ke'er get married next year, and I will have put my mind at ease."

Li Chengqian took the tea brought by the eunuch, holding the teacup in his hand and nodded.

"Ke'er said that he doesn't want to go with the army next year and wants to continue to travel around the counties to see what's going on there. Is this what you asked him to do?"

"In the eyes of my father, this matter is commonplace, but to him or me, this matter is of great significance."

Li Shimin sighed, "Concubine Yang is relieved now. Have you told me about their marriage?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I only told you that your father was considering their marriage, but I didn't tell them who they were going to marry."

"The royal family still has complaints about your reduction of the regular salary. Do you need me to help you ease the pressure?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "No, father, don't worry too much. I will not be deserted by my friends and relatives. Look at my brothers and sisters, they are such a united family."

"Someone has mentioned to me that they want to renovate the palace in Luoyang. I have declined several times, knowing that the court is about to use military force, but..."

"No money."

Li Chengqian replied calmly, spitting out two words.

Li Shimin picked up the tea bowl beside him, took a sip of tea, and remained silent.

After dinner, they rested for two hours and then Li Chengqian led the entire East Palace family back home.

The Queen and His Majesty were left sitting by the Taiye Lake, talking about family matters in low voices.

On the way back, Li Chengqian listened to his sister's story that the marriage of Li Tai and Li Ke was presided over by their mother, and all the money and expenses were prepared by their mother.

This is a good thing, as the marriages of the two younger brothers will be arranged by their mother.

In fact, my mother's family is quite well-off, and she is the one who usually plans the expenses of the palace.

"Royal brother! Royal sister!" Mingda came running quickly from a distance.

Li Lizhi squatted down and hugged her sister who came running over, frowning and asked, "What's wrong?"

Little Sizi said loudly: "Master Li said it will be sunny tomorrow."

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "Finally, there is a sunny day."

The next morning, morning light appeared on the horizon, illuminating the blue sky in the east. The sky after the cold winter was so clean that it was somewhat charming.

Today is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the twelfth year of Zhenguan is about to pass.

Li Chengqian walked outside the East Palace, stretched his arms and legs, and then led his younger brothers and sisters to start a morning run.

After two rounds, they lined up in front of the East Palace gate, from the tallest to the shortest, and drew their bows at the target in the distance.

(End of this chapter)