The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 29 Cultivating a Conscience

As soon as Wei Chang finished speaking, the doorman looked up and saw the person standing in front of the door.

The doorman's eyes suddenly turned red, and he saluted and said, "Your Highness...Your Highness, you are finally here."

Li Chengqian's expression twitched, wondering what happened? He smiled awkwardly at Sun Simiao, then looked at him and asked, "Where is Du Heren?"

"Yes, the young master is at home." The gatekeeper opened the door and invited everyone to enter the courtyard. He wiped his tears and continued, "Your Highness, the young master is making paper all day long, muttering about the things your Highness asked him to do and refusing to neglect them. He hasn't slept well these days."

When I walked in and saw the Duke of Lai's mansion, I found it was not very spacious.

Sun Simiao was still talking to the doorman here, probably saying some disturbing words.

Not long after, Du He finally came out from the backyard in a hurry, his clothes were still dirty. When he saw the prince, he smiled innocently, "Your Highness."

Li Chengqian looked back at the servants of Du He's family and asked puzzledly, "Why haven't you slept well these days?"

Du He scratched his head without explaining. Seeing the old man beside him, he happily stepped forward and said, "Is this Divine Doctor Sun?"

"I am Sun Simiao."

Li Chengqian patted Du He on the back and said, "Excuse me, can you please talk for a moment?"

"Okay." Du He led them to the backyard.

Ning'er quickly followed the Crown Prince's footsteps.

Sun Simiao and Wei Chang remained in the front yard, looking at the mansion.

The backyards of other people's homes are places for the owners to rest, and outsiders are not allowed to enter according to etiquette.

But the backyard of Du He's house looked a bit messy.

Buckets of pulp were being churned.

Li Chengqian frowned and looked at the yellowed paper pulp and said, "Have you been busy with these things these days?"

Du He added: "Your Highness has ordered us to do this. How dare we neglect it? We must produce more paper in the next few days."

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and looked at everything here. This not very spacious backyard now seemed very crowded. There were several servants in the house who were scooping out paper pulp and filtering it repeatedly.

"So, do you live here on a daily basis?"

Du He nodded and opened the door of a small room. The room was very messy. This was where he usually slept.

The room was small and dim, things were placed in a mess, and you could even see dust floating in the air.

Just one word from the prince could make Du He lose his appetite and sleep. In essence, Du He was a very honest person. At least he would do whatever he was asked to do down-to-earth and try his best.

"I originally wanted to build another workshop in my ancestral home, Duling County, but it is still a bit far from Chang'an, and it is inconvenient to transport paper back and forth, so I thought about finding a place nearby to arrange for paper drying. Now is the busy farming season, and the county magistrate of Jingyang County has refused several times."

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze from Du He's room and asked, "Why must it be Jingyang?"

Du He bowed and said, "I have sent people to several counties near Chang'an to dry the paper, and only the paper from Jingyang is the most suitable because it is located in the upper reaches of the Jing River and the wind is drier."

"It's just a small workshop, not a big building, nor a palace."

"The county magistrate of Jingyang refused."

"Can't you just give me money?"

"I did." Du He said with a sad face, "I was kicked out."

Li Chengqian patted his shoulder again and said, "Du He, I have high hopes for you."

Du He bowed quickly and said, "Your Highness has entrusted me with a great trust. I dare not fail you. At worst... I will fight with the county magistrate."

"You don't have to fight with others."

Du He replied, "The county magistrate is unreasonable. It doesn't matter who said it was his intention. He must have a written approval from the court, and it must be from the Ministry of Personnel. Only then will the county magistrate of Jingyang be willing to provide manpower and land."

To be honest, I have a very superficial impression of the officials of the Tang Dynasty, and I know even less about the work style of local officials.

"We don't know enough about the grassroots and the counties. We are too far away from the people. We should get closer to the masses. The East Palace was negligent in this matter."

"Your Highness, please don't say that."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "You are a capable person, but you are too rigid in your actions."

First he was praised, then criticized. Du He lowered his head, not knowing whether he should be glad or ashamed.

"I will find a way to deal with this matter, don't worry too much." Li Chengqian sighed, "Clean up your own home and yourself in the future, and those who don't know may think...that's all, take care of yourself."

The secret recipe for papermaking is still in Du He's hands, so his father will not do anything to seize his property.

In order to do things as thoroughly as possible, Li Chengqian gave a few more instructions.

Returning to the front yard, Sun Simiao found a side room to stay in temporarily.

Du He was not an easy child to begin with, and now that there is an "old immortal" living in his family, it is obvious that his life will be even busier in the future.

But this has nothing to do with Donggong. The partnership with Du He was that Donggong provided the secret recipe and Du He provided the manpower and material resources, and the two parties had a cooperative relationship.

At least on a clear conscience, it's acceptable.

Sun Simiao said, "Your Highness, this is my backpack."

"Hmm?" Li Chengqian suddenly came back to his senses. He had almost forgotten about it. He put down the basket hanging on his shoulders and said with a smile, "Dr. Sun, please stay here first. I will come to visit you another day."

Hearing this, Sun Simiao stroked his beard and said comfortingly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is able to keep his word. I am very pleased."

Before leaving, Li Chengqian looked at the man who had escorted Dr. Sun and asked, "What's your name?"

"I am Wei Chang, honored to meet His Highness."

"Wei Chang?" Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment, wrote down the name, and said with a smile: "From now on, you will guard Doctor Sun, and the Du family will arrange your food, clothing, housing and transportation. Is that okay?"

Wei Chang bowed quickly and said, "Yes."

"How many bad people like you are there in Chang'an?"

"Your Highness, there are still more than thirty people."

"Ah."

Li Chengqian said nothing more, but walked out of the mansion with his hands in his pockets and a heavy look on his face.

On the way back to the East Palace, Ning'er whispered, "Du He's work still makes His Highness dissatisfied."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "No, I thought he would be a smart man."

Ning Er followed behind His Highness and said, "Who would have thought that he couldn't even handle such a small matter."

"Whether it's bribery, coercion, inducement, or framing, it shouldn't be difficult for him, a descendant of a duke, to deal with a county magistrate. People with pure hearts also have advantages. At least he will be the conscience of the Tang Dynasty's manufacturing industry."

"Your Highness has considered this matter deeply. I understand."

Life is not all bad, and life is not all smooth sailing, just like the papermaking business.

Paper is a good thing. At the time when paper was scarce in the Tang Dynasty, even if you had some in stock, it would be a fortune. If you didn't sell it, you wouldn't lose money. If Du He could expand the scale, the more the better.

What is not going smoothly is the obstruction of local officials.

Therefore, understanding the importance of grassroots work always comes first and is the primary prerequisite for the development of any business.

The next day, after the morning court session, Li Chengqian met with Yu Zhining.

The two officials of the Eastern Palace are very busy on weekdays, and Yu Zhining has been elusive these days, so it is rare to see him come to the Eastern Palace.

This person is still concerned about the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, otherwise he would not have asked someone to bring a memorial to persuade him in his busy schedule because of Zhao Jie's matter.

Sitting in the Chongwen Hall, Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "I haven't seen Xu Changshi for a long time."

Yu Zhining explained: "Xu Changshi said he wanted to prepare tea for His Highness, so he went on a long journey."

Li Chengqian shook his head and sighed, "I just asked him to make the arrangements. I don't have to go there in person."

"The tea for His Highness must be carefully selected, so he needs to go there in person."

"Yu Zhanshi, don't do this kind of thing in the future. Just buy what you need. No need to make exceptions." Li Chengqian waved his sleeves, sat upright and said, "How about this, I'll have someone send some money over."

"Your Highness, Xu Changshi will not accept it."

"I'm sure he will refuse, but that's fine. In return, I can let his daughter study at the Imperial Academy and take classes with my brothers and sisters."

Yu Zhining hesitated to speak. His Highness has been thinking about this since last winter until this spring.

He is still eyeing other people's daughters.

Li Chengqian said again: "Yu Zhanshi, I need your help with something."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"Du He's family wants to open a workshop in Jingyang, but the county magistrate of Jingyang County has been blocking their way and needs approval from the Ministry of Personnel. He is a good friend of mine, so I wonder if you can ask the Ministry of Personnel to give them a favor and approve the work for Jingyang."

Yu Zhining looked troubled.

Li Chengqian continued: "Don't worry, Du He will not do anything bad by opening a workshop, and will definitely benefit the county residents as much as possible and help them get rid of poverty and become rich."

“Getting out of poverty and becoming rich?”

"Well, isn't it good?"

Yu Zhining was increasingly confused about what the prince was thinking. Thinking about it again, it was not a ridiculous thing. He looked up and saw that it was getting late. He bowed and said, "I will go to the Ministry of Personnel right away."

"It's troublesome."

After everyone left, Li Chengqian walked back to the East Palace holding a book, reading it. This was a reading summary of production relations written by Li Lizhi. She compared production relations to interpersonal relationships, and production relations determine the status of each person in the production process.

It's like the comparison between the emperor and his subjects, the emperor has absolutely the highest ownership of the means of production.

Li Lizhi's understanding of the article is quite good, but she ignores many practical implications and does not discuss it in light of the current era.

That's a big generalization.

Li Chengqian walked into the noisy front hall of the East Palace, crossed the front hall and went to the bedroom.

After waiting for a whole day, there was no reply from Yu Zhining. At dusk, Xiaofu came back from Lizheng Hall with a piece of news, saying that Yu Zhining had had a dispute with Chu Suiliang, the Imperial Censor of the Menxia Province.

So, three days later, the original Jingyang County Magistrate was transferred to Luoyang by an official document from the Ministry of Personnel.

And then there was another official document, a man named Xu Jingzong became the new magistrate of Jingyang County.

Knowing clearly that all these things were arranged by his uncle, Donggong had no way to defend himself. It was unknown whether Yu Zhining would think too much about it, which would make him think that Donggong’s biggest backer was Duke Xu Gao Shilian.

Today, the court session was just over and Prince Hejian came to Chongwen Hall to have dinner again.

As usual, Donggong could not control the emperor's uncle's horrific appetite, so he handed him a basket of noodles as he had done that day, lit a stove, and let him cook and eat by himself.

Although there is no beef, fortunately there is braised pork in the East Palace now.

Li Xiaogong put the noodles into the pottery pot and cooked them. He chewed a piece of braised pork and asked, "Do you know everything?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Uncle still acts in this way. I have learned from it."

Because of the Crown Princess's regret, a censor who had helped Princess Changguang to give advice died.

Now, because of a word from the East Palace, a county magistrate near Chang'an was transferred to Luoyang.

Maybe one day in the future, with just one word from the East Palace, my uncle will be able to...

On second thought, that shouldn't be the case.

Even if my uncle is the most important relative of the dynasty, can he still force my father to abdicate?
Li Xiaogong smiled and said, "Do you know why the Jingyang County Magistrate did not allow Du He to open a workshop in his territory?"

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "It's against the rules and regulations?"

Looking at this still somewhat ignorant nephew, Li Xiaogong said again: "None of the twelve counties in Chang'an Jingzhao is simple. If someone can be a county magistrate in these places, can they hold the position steadily without some foundation to back them up?"

"Uncle, do you mean they have a backer?" Li Chengqian was confused again and asked, "Isn't the backer of the East Palace big enough?"

"Eastern Palace? Hahaha..." Li Xiaogong snorted coldly: "What is the Eastern Palace? Can it guarantee their promotion?"

Li Chengqian sighed, "Sometimes I feel uncomfortable when I am bullied. I really want to join forces with my uncle to rebel."

Li Xiaogong slurped his noodles and said, "Don't even think about it."

"Forget it. Please give me some advice, uncle."

"The Jingyang County Magistrate is making things difficult for Du He just for the sake of gaining some benefits."

"Can I do him any good?"

Li Xiaogong smiled and pointed outside the East Palace with his chopsticks, saying, "Of course not, you will be impeached."

"Didn't you say at the beginning that we shouldn't take impeachment seriously?"

"Impeachment also has big and small matters. Some matters can be ignored, while others can be big or small and need to be paid attention to."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I remember that Xu Jingzong was one of the eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace. He was also a writer in the court. How could he be a county magistrate in Jingyang?"

Li Xiaogong took a sip of soup and let out a long sigh, "It's better to use your own people than others. Xu Jingzong is a disciple of Duke Xu. Besides, the title of Zuo Zuo Lang is just an empty title. Look at the other eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace. Any one of them is better than him. Now Xu Jingzong just wants a chance."

"Perhaps, he is now in Du He's house. First, make friends with the Du family, and then provide convenience for building a workshop. This matter is done at this point. Xu Jingzong will take office in Jingyang, and Jingyang will be a place where the Eastern Palace has the final say in the future."

Li Chengqian listened to his uncle's story and kept adding to the unwritten rules of the court.

My uncle's way of doing things was very simple, so simple that it was a little rough. There were not so many twists and turns. Once the documents from his Ministry of Personnel came out, no county magistrate dared to disobey.

Besides, my uncle is an investor in Du He’s industry.

Li Chengqian sighed, "It turns out that my uncle is also taking advantage of the loopholes in the Tang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)