The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 307 The Prince's Internship
He led all the officials into the imperial city, and the crowd dispersed in front of the Suzaku Gate.

Li Chengqian sat in the Xingqing Hall, looking at the reports sent from the border. Zhenzhu Khan's camp was located on the Duluo River. A lot of things had happened in the south of the desert in the past six months. The people in the north of the desert had once again attacked Baidaochuan, which was also the geographical location where the Tang army defeated Jie Li's army.

Baidaochuan is also Baidaoling. From the perspective of cavalry strategy, is this the key to advancing to Yinshan?

The eunuch waited on the side, standing quietly with his head down, awaiting the Crown Prince's instructions.

Li Yuan walked past the entrance of Xingqing Hall holding little Sizi. From outside the hall, he saw his grandson looking at a memorial inside the hall.

Little Sizi was wearing a Taoist robe and had a wooden hairpin in her hair. She whispered, "Grandpa, will my brother be like this when he becomes emperor?"

Li Yuan stroked his beard and smiled, whispering, "That should be the case."

Little Sizi raised his head and said, "Now that our father is not in Chang'an, the affairs of the world are in the hands of my brother."

Li Yuan took her hand and walked towards the Imperial Observatory again.

Taoist Li Chunfeng has gone on a trip with His Majesty, and Taoist Yuan has not returned since his departure. Now Xiao Sizi is the young master of the Imperial Observatory.

Inside the palace, piles of memorials were lying next to the prince's hands, but the prince's expression was not good. Perhaps he had seen something unhappy?
Li Chengqian stood up silently and walked outside Xingqing Hall.

At dusk, Li Lizhi came quickly.

Li Chengqian whispered: "Uncle still thinks we are too young."

Li Lizhi put her hands behind her back and whispered, "Did your uncle do it on his own initiative?"

"Although I said in the beginning that I would collect taxes from Qinghai, it cannot be done by my uncle." Li Chengqian reached out and patted the ginkgo tree in front of the hall.

"Uncle wants to help my brother, but he also feels that my brother is young and that he should be in charge of some government orders?"

A 23-year-old prince is indeed too young to preside over state affairs.

No one knows how long it will take the emperor to return from this trip.

However, there are too many uncertainties when it comes to a young and energetic prince handling state affairs.

When the emperor is away, court officials have to help the crown prince. As he holds great power and is the uncle of the current crown prince, Duke Zhao is naturally the most respected person at this time.

Although Duke Zheng also accompanied his father on the trip, Prime Minister Fang was still in the court.

Li Chengqian took the tea bowl brought by the eunuch, drank a sip of tea with a serious expression and said: "It's okay, I should also be able to rely on my elders."

After that, he added: "It's only temporary."

Li Lizhi handed over a scroll and said, "This is the strategy written by my sister, Xiaowu, and Xiaohui."

I took my sister's book and looked at it. It was full of ideas about absorbing and storing resources in Guanzhong.

Li Chengqian asked again: "Have you seen Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"My sister asked Xiao Wu to send a copy to Jingzhao Prefecture as well. I think Jingzhao Prefecture will give us a reply in a few days."

She added, "Sister, please go and have dinner with mother first."

"Ah."

At night, Li Chengqian still sat in front of the Xingqing Palace. The candlestick beside him was still lit. When the wind blew, the candlelight swayed from time to time.

Another eunuch handed in a memorial saying, "Your Highness, the Minister of Rites Li Baiyao requests an audience."

Li Chengqian replied calmly, "He is already old, let him go back early. We can discuss it in the morning court tomorrow."

"Your Highness," the eunuch whispered, "He is here to retire."

Li Chengqian took the resignation letter and hesitated after reading the contents: "Who is the current Minister of Rites?"

"Your Highness, it's Zhang Dasu and Xu Yushi."

Zhang Dasu was the son of Zhang Gongjin, the Duke of Tan. The Duke of Tan died early, and his three sons all served in the court. It was not a good thing for the children of nobles to rise too quickly.

Xu Yueshi was a newly promoted official through the imperial examination, and Jingzhao Prefecture was not one of the six ministries in the court.

Jingzhao Prefecture can be bold in appointments, but the appointments and promotions of officials in the six ministries need to be cautious.

After a brief thought, Li Chengqian ordered, "Go and invite Li Baiyao over, and then tell Chu Suiliang to temporarily take over as the Minister of Rites."

"Here."

The night had completely enveloped the sky. Ning'er came with a food box and placed the dishes in front of the prince.

Li Chengqian said: "Prepare an extra set of bowls and chopsticks."

"Here."

After finishing these things, Ning'er walked back to Xingqing Hall, looked at the pile of memorials on the desk, and began to sort them out.

It's still a little cold when the night wind blows.

Li Baiyao was led by the eunuch to the front. He had white hair and beard, and was wearing official uniform. He saluted and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian helped the old man up and said, "Have dinner with me."

"Your Highness...Your Highness cannot eat at the same table with me."

"It's okay, don't worry about the etiquette, it's just a simple meal."

In response to the prince's invitation, Li Baiyao still picked up the bowl and chopsticks, put some dishes on the rice bowl, and ate while standing aside instead of sitting down.

The old man ate very anxiously, his chopsticks constantly moving the food, and soon the bowl of millet rice was empty.

Li Baiyao's resignation letter was placed aside, but the prince did not pick it up to read it. The eunuch thought about it and took the other party's bowl and chopsticks and put them aside.

"I am full now."

Li Chengqian sighed: "Minister Li is already seventy years old."

Li Baiyao said: "When I was young, I assisted the former Sui crown prince Yang Yong. After the Sui emperor Yang Guang ascended the throne, I was appointed Sima. I am seventy-nine this year."

Li Baiyao was an old minister who had lived through the reigns of Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui. He also experienced the turmoil during the Daye period and the wars during the Wude period. These turbulent experiences ran through the life of this old minister.

"From now on, Minister Li will stay in Chang'an to recover, and the court will still provide him with half of his salary."

Li Baiyao bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"What do you think of letting Chu Suiliang take charge of the Ministry of Rites from now on?"

"Chu Suiliang is a suitable candidate. Your Highness can train him. He may be of great use in the future." Li Baiyao bowed and said, "If there are envoys from other countries who come to Chang'an and act recklessly in the future, I, this old minister, will have no choice but to teach them a lesson."

Li Chengqian said loudly: "Great! This is the spirit that a minister of the Tang Dynasty should have."

Li Baiyao handed over another memorial and said, "This old minister has another matter to ask for. Mobei Zhenzhu Khan Yinan wants to marry a Tang princess."

"According to rumors, this Zhenzhu Khan is already very old, right?"

Li Baiyao added, "Last winter, Zhenzhu Khan sent a letter. This is their third request for marriage. Your Majesty said that marrying the princess requires Mobei to show sincerity, but due to the Crown Prince's previous proposals, Your Majesty did not agree immediately. He wanted Zhenzhu Khan to offer 50,000 horses, 10,000 cattle and camels, and 100,000 sheep."

Li Chengqian opened the memorial and said, "Fifty thousand horses, one hundred thousand sheep, does he have such a rich family background in Mobei?"

Li Baiyao bowed again and said, "Your Highness, the one who benefited the most from Jie Li's defeat was Mobei. Mobei can probably give out these gifts. If they really present all of them, I'm afraid Mobei will be seriously damaged and even suffer civil strife." The emperor would make things difficult for people. Such a sky-high price for a bride price would be enough to cause the destruction of Mobei.

Li Chengqian had a smile on his face. He was afraid that Mobei would be the first country to be destroyed because of the sky-high bride price.

"Have you told the Mobei envoy about this?"

"I haven't said it yet." Li Baiyao said again.

At night, Li Chengqian talked for a long time with the Minister of Rites who came to retire. When he saw the old man off, he doubled the sky-high bride price to 100,000 horses, 200,000 sheep, and 20,000 cattle and camels.

This is the condition set by the prince. He wants Zhenzhu Khan to empty the entire Mobei.

Li Baiyao knew clearly in his heart that the prince never wanted to marry the princess far away, and he wanted Mobei to be destroyed because of this.

Ning'er cleaned up the dishes, picked up the food box and accompanied the Crown Prince back to the East Palace.

The next day, all the officials were waiting in Taiji Hall for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to come and hold court. The sun was getting higher and higher, and by the time the Crown Prince arrived at Taiji Hall, the court session had started an hour later than usual.

Cen Wenben stood out from the court and said, "Your Majesty is out on a trip, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is supervising the government affairs, so he should be on time."

Li Chengqian stood in front of all the officials and replied, "Postpone it for an hour, so you can have some free time to take care of your families."

Cen Wenben bowed his head again and saluted, "Yes."

Today's morning court began as usual. Almost every year for three to five months, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace would preside over state affairs. Since the Crown Prince turned twenty years old, he has been presiding over state affairs more and more often.

Since the great victory at Tianshan, Your Majesty seems to have lost a lot of spirit.

Listening to the reports from various departments in the court, when Li Baiyao saluted the officials in the court and announced that he was leaving the court, everyone was touched.

In the current court, Li Baiyao is indeed the oldest one.

Li Chengqian said in a clear voice: "From now on, Chu Suiliang will take charge of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Dasu, the Minister of Rites, and Xu Yushi will assist him."

Hearing this, Changsun Wuji took a step forward, but heard Chu Suiliang from behind him respond loudly: "Yes."

Standing in the quiet court class, Changsun Wuji listened to his own breathing, his feet froze in place, and after a moment he took his feet back and continued to stand in the court class, silent.

The prince continued speaking, his words echoing in the hall.

However, during the following court meeting, the Duke of Zhao remained silent and frowned, looking quite uneasy and confused.

"Report!" The guard standing outside the Taiji Hall said loudly, "Urgent news from Yinshan, Li Simo led 30,000 cavalrymen to fight against Zhenzhu Khan in Baidaochuan and was defeated."

Li Chengqian took the military report, confirmed it, and then handed it to Fang Xiang beside him to circulate among everyone.

In the battle of Baidaochuan, Li Simo was defeated again and lost tens of thousands of people.

Everyone in the court was discussing the matter, and the military newspaper was being circulated among them.

Before the generals could speak, Li Chengqian said, "Mr. Ying, listen to my orders!"

Li Ji stood up and said in a loud voice: "I will be here!"

"Order Duke Ying Li Ji to be the commander-in-chief of the Shuozhou Road Army, and lead 60,000 infantrymen and 1,000 cavalrymen to station troops in Shuofang! Set off immediately!"

"Here!"

Li Chengqian then ordered: "General Li Daliang, General Xue Wanche!"

The two generals stood out from the court and said loudly: "I am here!"

"General Xue Wanche is the deputy commander of the Shuozhou Road, assisting Lord Ying. General Li Daliang is the commander-in-chief of the Liangzhou Road, preparing the troops and preparing horses for support at any time."

"Here!"

The three generals received the order and walked out of the court quickly.

The prince ordered three generals to station troops in Shuofang and asked Li Daliang to reorganize the army in Liangzhou, which probably meant that he was going to launch an expedition to Mobei.

Most likely, the prince also felt that the Turkic tribesmen under Li Simo's command could not be relied upon.

Li Chengqian continued, "Call back the Prince of Hejian, and have the Ministry of War prepare a list of generals to accompany the army and present it to Xingqing Palace."

Fang Xuanling stepped out of the court and said, "Your Highness, I would like to recommend someone who can assist the army."

"Teacher, just tell me directly."

Fang Xuanling said: "Zhang Jian of Yingzhou is quite familiar with the situation of the Turks and Mobei. He also led the army to defeat Jie Li's army."

Li Chengqian understood and said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to the teacher."

Fang Xuanling nodded and returned to the court.

After the court session, Duan Zan followed Fang Xiang and asked, "Now, the prince has begun to get involved in the border war."

Fang Xuanling said: "Your Highness did not say that he would go to war with Mobei now, but ordered Yinggong to garrison Shuofang."

Duan Zan whispered, "Your Highness has never asked about military affairs in the past."

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's all arranged by His Majesty."

Duan Zan was shocked and wondered how much power the emperor had given the prince after this trip, to the point that he could even mobilize troops.

Fang Xuanling walked along with the tablet in his hand, "Last year, when the child in the East Palace was one month old, Your Majesty and the Crown Prince had a long talk while offering sacrifices to the Taoist ancestor."

Duan Zan asked, "Is it related to the matter in Mobei?"

"I only heard your majesty mention it, but I have no idea what your majesty said to the prince. Now that your majesty is traveling, I think many things have been arranged in advance."

Duke Zhao still had a stern face and seemed very unhappy.

Cen Wenben and Zhang Xingcheng walked together, "When His Highness asked Chu Suiliang to concurrently serve as the Minister of Rites, Duke Zhao had something to say."

Zhang Xingcheng lowered his voice and said, "Li Baiyao has retired, and the position of Minister of Rites is vacant. Doesn't Duke Zhao want someone under his tutelage to serve as the Minister of one of the six ministries?"

Cen Wenben added: "It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not inform Duke Zhao before making this decision. Duke Zhao is the Minister of Personnel, and Chu Suiliang is his disciple. Now it seems... well, it's quite interesting."

Zhang Xingcheng shook his head again and said, "Duke Zhao is still the prince's uncle after all. If the prince relies too much on his maternal relatives, that's what you and I should worry about."

Today's morning court ended peacefully. After the court session, Li Chengqian sat in the Xingqing Hall to review memorials sent from various places.

The tea trade between Jiangnan and Lianghuai increased, and this batch of tea sent to Chang'an for trading weighed a thousand kilograms.

Li Baiyao retired. After officially taking off his official uniform, he did the last thing for the Li Tang Dynasty. He sent the conditions for marrying a princess proposed by the Tang Dynasty to Mobei, waiting for the Mobei Khan to receive the conditions. How did he feel?

"Has Father arrived in Luoyang?"

Suddenly, questions from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were heard in Xingqing Palace.

The eunuch at the side replied, "Your Majesty has arranged for General Li Daoyan to stay in Tongguan. According to the news sent last night, Your Majesty went to Luoyang with 300 light cavalrymen, and His Royal Highness the King of Wu personally welcomed him."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, his eyes still on the memorial.

After dealing with government affairs in the morning, the eunuch carried a pile of memorials to various departments in the court.

(End of this chapter)