The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 338 Wen Jing and the Present

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "I will write a charter for each county and present it to Your Majesty. In all dynasties, the expansion of counties and towns is a good thing and beneficial to the country. The population in the Central Plains is declining, and it is rare for Guanzhong to have such a prosperous scene."

Li Chengqian stood beside the uncle, "But before arranging so many things, there is one thing that you must always be on guard against and not let down your guard."

"Your Highness, are you talking about the Censorate's inspection?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Whether it is the prefecture or the counties, they have always been in a subordinate relationship with the court. Even the counties and townships must clearly distinguish between subordinate relationships, and they must not be transformed into some kind of contractual relationship or equal relationship."

Changsun Wuji looked at the crown prince beside him, and now he felt that the prince did not like the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, which was admired by Confucian scholars.

After many years of relationship between the monarch and his subjects, Changsun Wuji, who was the king's brother-in-law and held great power in the Ministry of Personnel, vaguely felt that this was not only a strict crown prince, but also a crown prince who advocated centralization and power.

After leaving the Secretariat, Li Yifu was still somewhat lost and perplexed.

Zhang Daan walked with him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Yifu was also a very young official. He was the head of Chongwenguan in Luoyang. Most of the talented people in the East Palace Gate were very young.

Li Yifu said: "I just feel that there are many things to do, and these are not what I am good at."

Zhang Daan smiled and said, "Do you know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said?"

"What?"

"If there will always be problems in the future, it is better to meet them earlier." Zhang Da'an advised: "You are going to Shandong this year. I will arrange the Luoyang affairs with the governor."

Li Yifu's eyes were filled with fighting spirit again.

Zhang Da'an smiled helplessly. In terms of talent, it was indeed difficult for him to come to Li Yifu to govern the villagers, but if he was asked to deal with certain people, that was exactly what he was best at.

In winter, His Majesty still did not go hunting this year, and no one cared about it.

His Majesty and the old general seemed to have reached a tacit understanding. This year, no one mentioned going winter hunting, and they all stayed quietly at home.

Li Shimin flipped through the memorial in his hand, looked at his son beside him, and then looked at Changsun Wuji in front of him, "Doesn't this matter need to be discussed by the court?"

"It's not a big deal to add a few more townships and officials."

"Isn't this a big deal?"

"I don't think this is a big deal, what do you think, uncle?"

"Your Majesty..." Changsun Wuji was in a dilemma. It was not good to say it was right, and it was even worse to say it was wrong.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Cheng Qian, don't embarrass Fu Ji."

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea and said, "I didn't embarrass my uncle."

Seeing that the father and son were about to have a dispute, Changsun Wuji said, "If your majesty permits, I will arrange the matter right away."

Li Shimin handed the memorial back to him and said, "Assistant, thank you for your help."

Changsun Wuji bowed and took his leave.

The father and son in the hall, one drinking tea and the other eating walnuts, were silent.

"You have been in charge of agricultural development in Guanzhong for ten years?"

"Your Majesty, the court officials are united and the governance of Guanzhong is quite effective. I congratulate you."

Li Shimin chuckled and said, "What the assistant wrote in the memorial is never a trivial matter. If it were a trivial matter, he would not come to see me now."

"My uncle is the Minister of Personnel. He is very considerate and always reports everything to me. He is indeed a loyal and good official."

"How are the arrangements for the Eastern Expedition going? Can we go on the expedition after the summer harvest this year?"

"We will march eastward after the summer harvest in Guanzhong. It will be winter when we reach Liaodong, and it is bone-chillingly cold there in winter. We should march early this year, in March, so that we can reach Liaodong in autumn. We should take the four counties of Liaodong before winter."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Very good, I will wait for your arrangements."

"Your Majesty may receive a lot of persuasive memorials recently."

"Haven't you already convinced Xuanling, Duke Zheng and Fuji?"

"It's not my father's business, it's my son's business."

"I have always been able to listen to advice."

Half a month later, when the Ministry of Personnel and Jingzhao Prefecture issued the decree, officials from various counties complained bitterly.

In the past, I heard that officials in the court were so busy that they didn't know the seasons.

Now the officials in various counties have also begun to get busy. It would be fine if they had grievances to speak out, but are they going to complain to Your Majesty?
Now that the emperor and his son are united, the entire Guanzhong area is changing.

When Zhang Da'an and Li Yifu went to Luoyang again, they saw officials from Chongwenguan and Jingzhao Prefecture traveling between the counties.

Teams of troops rushed to various counties, and some people recited the court's decrees in front of the villagers.

Zhang Daan was riding on the horse and asked, "Have you ever seen such a magnificent scene before?"

Li Yifu said: "I have never seen anything better, and I don't know if it is good now."

“Most of the events of past dynasties can only be glimpsed in history books, but if you really look at them in front of you, you don’t know whether they are good or bad, and you don’t know where the future lies.”

Li Yifu rode his horse to one side and said, "We are going to Luoyang. I will pack up and go to Shandong."

Zhang Da'an nodded and said, "Just go ahead."

When the two men rushed all the way to Tongguan and planned to rest for a day before going to Luoyang, they were stopped by a group of soldiers.

The man who came was riding a horse pulling the reins and had a sword on his waist. He looked like a member of the Zhechoufu, but it was unknown which group of troops he came from.

Li Yifu was wearing his official uniform. Facing the newcomer, his aura was not weak at all. He asked in a clear voice, "Who is coming?"

The other party said loudly: "The Flying Tigers of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Chumo."

Li Yifu was puzzled for a moment, then said hesitantly: "Flying Tiger..."

Li Jingheng couldn't stand the man's show-off look, so he explained, "I am Li Jingheng, the right officer of the East Palace. Please ask Li to go to Bozhou with us. There are some things we need to investigate."

Upon hearing this, it turned out to be the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace.

The legendary Donggong Youlue does not easily show himself in front of people, and some people even forget that there is a Donggong Youlue among the 24 guards in Chang'an.

Li Yifu nodded and said, "Okay! Let's go to Bozhou now."

Zhang Da'an sighed with melancholy as he watched Li Yifu follow them away.

Looking up again, you can see several huge warehouses located in Tongguan, and the river beach in front of Tongguan City has become a market with many vendors coming and going.

There are five large warehouses in Tongguan, all used to store goods. The goods pulled out from here every month are worth tens of thousands of strings of cash, and there are nearly ten thousand merchants coming and going every month.

Different from the market, transactions in the warehouse are all in bulk, with goods being shipped out in truckloads, and only powerful merchants can come to trade.

And this business model was very effective and attracted many big businessmen.

Because they know that if they need to buy thousands or tens of thousands of soaps, they don't have to go around to buy them, but can just come to the warehouse in Tongguan to trade.

When Tongguan took control of this transaction, it not only controlled prices but also made huge profits from it.

Tongguan could bring a considerable amount of silver to the court just by collecting market taxes and warehouse storage fees from the market.

This is because Tongguan’s geographical location is very critical. It is not only the main road to the east, but also the only way for merchants from the Central Plains to come to Guanzhong.

Ten years have passed, and these ten years of the Tang Dynasty have not been wasted. The next ten years may be completely different.

Zhang Daan thought to himself.

This year's grand court meeting has not yet begun, and the atmosphere in Chang'an City is very strange. The veteran generals in the court often take out weapons that have been hidden for many years to practice.

Xianyang County, Liu Rengui explained: "Now Xianyang County has seven more townships, one thousand more households, and four thousand more people." Li Ke stood on a high slope and scanned the entire Xianyang County, "Are there any changes?"

Liu Rengui sat on a rock, repairing his straw sandals with one hand, and said, "Your Highness the King of Wu is looking too far ahead."

"We are going to march east."

"Really?" Liu Rengui repaired the straw sandals, revealing an unsightly grass knot. He then used the sandals to wipe off the dust on them before putting them on his feet.

"You are still wearing straw sandals in such a cold day."

"got used to."

Li Ke said with an unhappy look: "My brother has increased the salaries of all of you county magistrates. Your salaries are now equivalent to those of fifth-rank officials."

Liu Rengui whispered, "That's the wisdom of your Majesty and the Crown Prince."

"If you give all your salary to the poor villagers, you will starve to death sooner or later."

Liu Rengui smiled and said, "There are orphaned children and elderly people without anyone to take care of them in Xianyang County. I'll give them some of what I can, and the rest will be given to my wife at home. I don't need so much."

Li Ke put his hands behind his back and said, "You are truly a saint."

"Your Highness, King Wu, you are too kind."

"When the Eastern Expedition begins, Ke will also go out and recruit soldiers. Ke will come to Xianyang County to recruit soldiers, and you and your militia will follow him to fight."

Liu Rengui remained silent.

Li Ke said: "With military merit, you will be able to live a better life. This is the only way I can help you."

Liu Rengui walked down the hill and said, "The court has issued an order, and no one dares to disobey it."

When Li Ke walked out of Xianyang County and arrived at Xianyang Bridge, he saw his brother the emperor and Li Tai fishing.

Li Chengqian held the fishing rod in one hand and asked, "Have you seen him?"

Li Ke said: "My brother, Liu Rengui is very careless."

Li Tai said lazily: "Then change one."

"No." Li Ke said firmly: "Liu Rengui and Ke will go on the expedition to the east together."

Li Chengqian looked at the calm lake and said, "You also know that Liu Rengui distributed all his salary to the poor villagers, so his life was very difficult. But have you ever thought that even if he won military merit and became a general after his meritorious service, his life would still be like this."

"Brother Ke, you have good intentions, but for Liu Rengui, his wealth will only allow him to help more people, and he will never keep it for himself. In the end, you will find that he will still be the same as he is now, and he will not change at all."

Li Tai took over the conversation and advised: "As a comrade and friend, it is not wrong to hope that he can live a better life. You can help him temporarily, but not forever. Liu Rengui is a person who will not seek change."

Li Ke said with a straight face, "This is the last time I will help him."

Li Chengqian chuckled, put away his fishing rod and returned to Chang'an City with his two younger brothers.

"Is Father really going to lead the army in person this time?"

Li Tai suddenly asked.

Li Ke immediately perked up, "What? Father wants to lead the army in person!"

This Qingque is actually very smart, he is just too smart.

Li Ke asked: "Brother, how many troops will be there this time?"

"A thousand? A few thousand? At least it won't be tens of thousands."

"Then the emperor will most likely not lead the army himself. The emperor will not go to war with such a small number of troops."

Li Tai said: "Don't be so sure. Qingque still thinks that father will personally lead the expedition to Goguryeo."

The two younger brothers held different opinions. Li Ke felt that 10,000 soldiers were not enough for the emperor to lead the army, and it was not in line with the posture of the emperor leading the army in person.

Li Tai felt that even if his father did not lead the army in person, even if his father followed the army, it was still an Eastern Expedition. The point was not the number of troops, but whether his father wanted to go on the Eastern Expedition.

The Tang generals were all able to defeat the larger enemy with a smaller force. General Li Ji conquered Mobei with only 5,000 soldiers.

It only took a special force to capture Songzhou.

A large number of troops were mobilized in the Battle of Tianshan because the territory of Tianshan is vast and so many troops were needed.

Goguryeo was no bigger than a prefecture, and four counties could be easily conquered with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses.

Li Chengqian didn't say a word, let his two brothers argue, and returned to Chang'an first.

As soon as I returned to the palace, I saw my son chasing a cat.

The cat nimbly climbed into the palace and then disappeared from sight.

Li Chengqian looked up.

The maidservant who was watching over the cat said, "Your Highness, this is the cat that Concubine Yang kept. It must have escaped. Concubine Yang is sending people to look for it."

"father!"

"Why are you so mad at a cat?"

Little Yutu held his father's hand and said as they walked: "It ate Xiaofu's dried fish."

Li Chengqian asked: "How many words did you learn today?"

When he heard the word "study", Xiao Yutu's face fell. He pursed his lips and thought, then scratched his head, as if he couldn't remember how many words he had learned.

Whenever he talked about studying, he was afraid that his mother would scold him for not concentrating.

Li Chengqian simply carried him and said, "Next year you will be three years old."

"My child, the cat is very beautiful. It would be nice if it could come every day."

This child was born rich, the richest child in the world.

Li Chengqian said: "Remember to learn to read when you go back."

"The boy wants to learn... to learn archery."

"You can only learn archery after you learn to read."

"How long will the child need to study?"

"If you put your talents into learning to read, it won't last long."

When Su Wan saw His Highness coming back with his son in his arms, she put down her needlework and went forward to take the child.

"Your Highness, Concubine Yang came today and said she wanted to ask about your Eastern Expedition. When she saw that your Highness was not there, she left. The cat stayed in the Eastern Palace, and this child chased after it."

"Princess Yang is worried about your brother's expedition to the east. It was the same when we conquered Gaochang."

Su Wan washed her son's hands and let him eat some snacks.

No matter how much her son played around, he would behave himself as long as Su Wan glared at him.

Even his mother was sometimes helpless against him, and Su Wan's look was always enough.

In the past, Su Wan was a very gentle and virtuous woman, but as her children grew up, she became more and more like a strict mother.

With grandparents who love him so much at home, there must be a strict mother to discipline him.

Little Lingque was much more sensible. She was always well-behaved and never made such a fuss. She held a cake that was bigger than her face and ate it bit by bit, looking at her brother with a teasing look in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)