The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 349 A Matter of Dignity
The thunderstorm submerged the entire city of Luoyang, and people stopped making noise. In the heavy rain, this place in the world became much quieter.

Inside the house, grandpa's laughter continued.

The palace maids recited the good news over and over again, and Gao Shilian was tired of listening to it. He walked out of the house with an unhappy look on his face, but was stopped by the heavy rain and could only stand under the eaves.

Turning his head and seeing his grandson beside him, Gao Shilian asked, "Are you done with the affairs of the court?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the wall and said, "I'm too busy."

Gao Shilian looked around the courtyard again and said, "Look at your grandfather. He's laughing so hard that he can't sleep at night."

"That's great. Grandpa wasn't this happy when we conquered the Western Regions."

Gao Shilian sighed, "Yes."

Due to the various regrets left by the former Sui Dynasty, the victory of the Eastern Expedition was very inspiring. Even now, some people are still thinking about Yang Guang’s failure and those who died in the battle in Liaodong.

"I heard that you sent a lot of people to Hebei?"

"Well, uncle knows too?"

"Your Majesty asked me to assist the Crown Prince. Someone came to report after the morning court session." Gao Shilian took a stool and sat under the eaves, his gray beard fluttering in the wind. He added, "As a Hebei gentry, there is a saying that even if the four surnames are commoners, they can still laugh at the nobles."

Li Chengqian said: "My grandson doesn't think so."

"Well, you really shouldn't think so. This is just a rumor." Gao Shilian continued, "They like to write some things in the family tree, which family they belong to, which people have what kind of merits, how powerful their ancestors are, and use these to maintain their reputation."

Li Chengqian looked at the heavy rain for a long time without saying a word.

The crown prince sent many people to Hebei to investigate the case. Many people immediately sent memorials of persuasion to the court. Many officials ran around the imperial city of Luoyang in the rain. However, when these people's memorials of persuasion arrived at the palace gate, an eunuch said loudly: "The crown prince is not in the palace. You can leave your memorials and leave."

He also went to see the Duke of Zhao, who was the prince's uncle and the current Minister of Personnel, that is, the Minister of the Central Secretariat. He hoped that the Duke of Zhao could persuade the prince not to implicate the entire Hebei gentry.

Duke Zhao was not at home. When the rain stopped, he met the prince in Qianyuan Hall.

The thunderstorm had just stopped and there was a golden sunset in the sky.

Li Chengqian stood under the sunset and whispered, "Even my uncle is here to advise me?"

Changsun Wuji asked, "Does your majesty know about this?"

"Alas..." Li Chengqian continued, "Shouldn't those who delay military affairs and bribe officials be killed? They are always thinking of ways to exploit the people. Some people in various parts of Hebei are using the name of raising grain and grass to openly force villagers to sell their land at a low price. Uncle, ten dan of grain for one acre of land, is this what human beings do?"

Changsun Wuji bowed and said, "That should indeed be investigated and he should be executed."

Li Chengqian sighed, "Land annexation? Haha... What a cheap and stupid method, short-sighted. People who don't know would think that the court forced them to sell the land at a low price. The Eastern Expedition is the glory of my father. We cannot let them get even a little bit of dirt on this glory. The court cannot turn a blind eye to it. It is a matter of dignity."

Zhang Sun Wuji looked angry and said, "I would like to go to Hebei."

Li Chengqian added: "The crimes investigated by Ma Zhou and all the evidence have now been handed over to Zhang Xingcheng, the Imperial Censor."

"I will go to the Censorate right away."

"No need, just go to his house."

"I will go to his house and wait for him to come back."

"No need to wait, he will be at home these days."

Zhang Sun Wuji bowed and was about to leave when he heard the prince's words again, "Why can't I be better than their three generations of ministers after ten years of hard study? It's ridiculous."

Hearing this, Changsun Wuji paused for a moment, took a deep breath, raised his head, and quickly walked out of the palace gate.

In the empty imperial palace, Li Chengqian was still standing alone in front of the Qianyuan Hall.

Ning Er came over and said, "Your Highness."

Li Chengqian said: "Let's go and have dinner."

"Yeah." Ning'er smiled again.

At night, after the family had finished dinner, Li Chengqian watched his mother teaching her two children how to hold a pen.

Grandpa loves them very much, but the children of the emperor's family have to start early. Now the two children are only three years old, and their mother has begun to teach them how to use a pen and chopsticks.

Back in the bedroom, Li Chengqian looked through the memorials of advice and remonstrance sent by various court officials today.

A prince with big ambitions is always a cause for concern.

In fact, there is a saying that has always been correct: there has never been a third choice in this world. The empire and the aristocratic families alternate. When the empire prospers, the aristocratic families prosper, and when the aristocratic families prosper, the empire weakens.

There has never been a talk of coexistence. Perhaps there was a need for aristocratic families to exist in all dynasties, but previous emperors saw that it was these few families stirring up the situation. Isn't that annoying?

Emperor Yang of Sui had a strong presence, and he was also an emperor with a strong personality and wild behavior.

He must be feeling annoyed...

After the implementation of the imperial examination system, the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty could not become a tool in the hands of aristocratic families. Those people were good at transforming the interests of the country into personal interests. This has always been their forte.

Changsun Wuji came to Zhang Xingcheng's home overnight, where a group of people gathered.

Oil lamps were lit in the hall, and next to each lamp there was a person sitting and recording files.

Seeing Duke Zhao coming, Zhang Xingcheng bowed and asked, "Why are you here so late at night?"

Changsun Wuji glanced around the place and saw that there were more than thirty people recording files here.

"Recently, many people have written memorials to advise the Crown Prince."

Zhang Xingcheng led Changsun Wuji into the hall and said, "This is the charge that Ma Zhou sent from Hebei."

Chang Sun Wuji picked up one of the scrolls, opened it and looked at it, saying, "Are all these evidences true?"

"Well, it seems to be true now." Zhang Xingcheng looked a little worried, and explained: "The witnesses are in Ma Zhou's hands. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that the evidence must be confirmed."

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded, feeling relieved, "Thank you for your hard work."

Zhang Xingcheng laughed out loud and said, "I can't say it's hard for me. In fact, Chu Suiliang has a harder time. He is not only the Minister of the Central Secretariat, but also the Minister of Rites. He also has to manage the transportation of grain and grass from Guanzhong to Youzhou. The prince said that Chu Suiliang has to work three jobs at the same time. It's not easy for him."

Chang Sun Wuji looked at the names hanging on the wall. There were Cui Yuanzong, Cui Zhiwen, Cui Renli, Cui Zhu...

"Names like Duke Zhao..."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Zhang Xingcheng was not afraid that Changsun Wuji would tell others, and these people were under Ma Zhou's surveillance and could not escape.

Besides, if we say it tonight, everyone will know it tomorrow.

Chang Sun Wuji sat down here and asked, "Why don't you investigate these matters in the court, but here?"

Zhang Xingcheng replied: "There are many people who advise the prince, right?"

Chang Sun Wuji said, "Your Highness should have said that there will be no court tomorrow, right?"

Zhang Xingcheng shook his head and said, "Not really." "What?"

Changsun Wuji looked surprised.

Zhang Xingcheng asked again: "Why do we need to adjourn the court?"

Hearing this, Changsun Wuji looked confused again, and said, "If we take a break from court, it's not the prince's style."

Zhang Xingcheng nodded, "That's right."

The next day, early in the morning, all the ministers stood quietly in front of the palace gate, waiting for today's morning court session.

The prince ordered the arrest of so many people in Hebei, including the Cui family of Hebei, local gentry, and officials of local prefectures.

For such a big matter, the court officials naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Cui Dunli, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, stood in the crowd. He was from the Cui family of Boling. Although he grew up in Guanzhong, he had an inseparable relationship with the Hebei gentry.

He was the grandson of Cui Zhongfang, the former Minister of Personnel of the Sui Dynasty, and the cousin of Cui Renshi.

Cui Dunli was only doing his job while serving in the court. Since he entered the officialdom, he rose from a General of the Left Guard to the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. He had served in the army many times, including the Battle of Tuyuhun, the Battle of Songzhou, and the War in the Western Regions.

Deep down, Cui Dunli hated his identity and didn't want to have too many entanglements with Cui Renshi's people.

But now the prince wants to wipe out the Hebei gentry, and the Cui family of Boling is a prominent family in Hebei, and the most prestigious one among the many gentry families in Hebei.

When it comes to the interests of the clan, there are some things he cannot control. At this moment, he looks anxious and uneasy.

Now Duke Zheng is ill and Prime Minister Fang is old. The only one standing before all the officials is the crown prince's uncle, Changsun Wuji.

Facing repeated questions from the officials around him, Changsun Wuji stood there with his eyes closed, saying nothing, letting them

The palace gates have not yet been opened, but the sun has already shone on the still quiet Luoyang City.

Chu Suiliang asked Yu Zhining who was standing beside him, "What case is this in Hebei?"

"The case of Wei Ting delaying the delivery of grain and fodder."

Chu Suiliang asked in confusion: "Has this matter not been concluded yet?"

Yu Zhining said: "No."

"Ow..."

"You do not know?"

Chu Suiliang held the tablet in his hand and asked in surprise, "You don't know? Should I know?"

Yu Zhining let out a breath and didn't want to talk to this person anymore.

Chu Suiliang took out a cake from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "Eat some. I've been so busy these days that I really don't know what's going on in the court."

Yu Zhining took the cake and sat with him in front of the palace gate to eat it, while explaining what had happened recently.

Chu Suiliang was speechless for several times after hearing these things. He was so busy that he could hardly tell which way was which. Only then did he hear that the prince wanted to kill so many people.

Zhang Xuansu looked at Chu Suiliang with great dissatisfaction, wondering whether this man was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid.

When the palace gate opened, Chu Suiliang stuffed the cake in his hand into his mouth in three or two bites, and walked into the palace while chewing.

The civil and military officials walked hurriedly towards the main hall. The hall was exceptionally quiet today. No one discussed the affairs of the court, family matters, or even the affairs between neighbors.

Until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walked into the hall wearing a dark blue robe.

All the ministers bowed in greeting.

Li Chengqian walked to the front of the officials and said, "Luoyang is still so hot in August. I have asked someone to prepare some mung beans. You can make mung bean soup when you go back."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Changsun Wuji spoke first.

"Thank you, Your Highness." All the ministers shouted in unison.

Li Chengqian looked at the ministers in front of him and said, "Today I received some memorials, all of which advised me to be lenient with the Hebei nobles."

After His Highness finished speaking, the hall remained very quiet.

Li Chengqian continued, "Some people also say that the delay in the delivery of grain and fodder was the sole responsibility of Wei Ting and had nothing to do with the local nobles?"

The hall was still quiet.

Li Chengqian continued, "If everyone thinks that Wei Ting's death has nothing to do with the gentry and local officials, then I think if we let it go, Wei Ting's death would be too unjust and he would die with regret."

"They are so smart. I really admire those vested interests behind the scenes. Wei Ting's death is the end of everything."

The ministers remained silent.

Li Chengqian asked again: "Isn't it?"

The prince's words echoed in the hall.

"I often read the theories of various schools of thought. Of course, this is also because I have nothing to do on weekdays. I always read the Spring and Autumn Annals, Confucian classics, or the teachings of Huang Lao. These books have given me great inspiration. The ancient sages taught me propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame."

Chu Suiliang stood quietly with his eyes closed in the court, thinking that the prince liked to fish when he had free time, and did not like to read books of sages.

Li Chengqian said again: "A ruler should read these books. This is what my father taught me, and also what my uncle Hejian taught me."

"Now the Hebei nobles are trying to win over Wei Ting, and it seems that they are trying to make friends with him and give him convenience. A powerful Hebei transport envoy has no idea of ​​priorities and has delayed important matters. This is really ridiculous. If the court does not care about this kind of thing, is there any sense of propriety, righteousness, and shame?"

Li Chengqian continued, "Since propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame cannot control a person's behavior, the law should be used. You are all officials in the court. We have to look at the faces of the noble families when we stand in the court. Shouldn't we be embarrassed? I feel very embarrassed anyway."

Cui Dunli stood out from the court and said, "Your Highness, please punish the Hebei nobles with strict laws, instead of letting them go."

"Okay!" Li Chengqian responded cheerfully, "This is about the dignity of the court. If you feel that the people of the Hebei nobles should not be punished, you can leave the court now."

The hall was very quiet and no one left the court.

Cui Dunli actually stood against the Hebei gentry, which was unexpected to everyone in the court. This guy might be a traitor of the Cui family of Boling.

That's roughly the case.

Zhang Xingcheng handed over a file and said, "Your Highness, this is the evidence compiled by the Censorate recently. It involves 67 evildoers, led by bribing 35 people in the local prefectures, raising land rents, and forcing villagers to sell their land. Their gang is rampant in the village."

"There are 271 county officials who robbed the villagers of their food and grass in the name of raising food and grass. The money they transferred and the benefits they gained are all on the record. Hebei Provincial Inspector Ma Zhou has all the evidence."

A person cannot go to such an extent as to be an accomplice to a villain, among whom there are evil people, wicked people, robbers and those who provide money.

In a place where the light of law is lost, how many dirty things are hidden.

Li Chengqian said: "The guilty must be arrested, but I think it is just treating the symptoms and not the root cause, which is equivalent to no treatment. In the future, we will build the Hebei Dao Chongwen Hall and the Hebei Dao Yushitai to inspect the local areas and clean up the local areas."

The prince handed the file to the court officials for review and said, "The Tang Dynasty inherited this mess from the war. This country has a vast territory, but people's livelihood is in decline and the population has dropped sharply. Years of war have almost emptied the country."

(End of this chapter)