The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 362 Worship
Besides, the emperor has returned from the eastern expedition, and many current state affairs are still in the hands of the prince.

Li Shimin glanced at everyone in the hall, and finally his eyes fell on Zhangsun Wuji, and slowly said: "You all go out first, I am tired."

The ministers who followed him all bowed.

"The prince stays."

Li Shimin added another sentence.

Even little Yutu and little Lingque were led out by the palace maids. Outside the palace, the retired emperor was still singing loudly and happily.

After receiving His Majesty's gaze, Changsun Wuji bowed and left.

Outside the hall, Cen Benwen, Chu Suiliang, Zhang Xuansu, Liu Li, Gao Jifu and others stood in a row. Changsun Wuji glanced at this group of people, and then stood in the front row with his eyes closed.

Inside the hall, after everyone had left, only the father and son were left.

Li Shimin whispered, "I have taken back the four Liaodong counties from the Han Dynasty. Do you have any plans for how to govern them in the future?"

Li Chengqian replied, "Don't worry. Father has almost wiped out Goguryeo. Youyan has always been a land of frequent wars. We can send officials to Youzhou to govern. Does Father still have any doubts?"

Li Shimin nodded slightly, "Yes, I can't be anxious."

I have become accustomed to my son's attitude of taking things step by step; he is not in a rush for quick success.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I, your son, would like to congratulate you, father, on this great victory."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled and said, "It is said that I won this battle, and the contribution of you, the crown prince, is indispensable. You have worked hard to manage the Central Plains."

"Only after experiencing this kind of pressure can one know how difficult it is to govern the world. This is definitely not something that can be accomplished with just words and actions. Father's great victory this time can win the hearts of people from all over the Central Plains, which will bring great benefits to future governance."

"Everyone knows that the Tang Dynasty can recover lost territory, avenge its soldiers, and defend the borders. This will improve the trust between the court and the various regions."

At this point, Li Chengqian added: "This year, there are more than 900 people who have passed the imperial examinations and can be sent to various places. The remaining 300 teachers have been added, and now they have all gone to various places in the Central Plains."

Li Shimin placed one hand on his knee and the other on the table, and said, "I have also heard that during your time as the head of state, you have embarrassed the assistant minister several times?"

"Father, my uncle would never say that."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled and said, "Yes, even if you were not nice to him, he would not say that. On the way to Luoyang, someone submitted a memorial to me and told me these things."

"Uncle is my son's right-hand man. I need to rely on him for court affairs."

Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is the assistant machine capable of doing its job?"

"Very good, but some aspects need more attention. Generally speaking, it is more than capable of handling state affairs, but it has neglected some minor details."

Seeing his father's doubtful expression, Li Chengqian continued, "Of course, this is not because of my uncle. This is because the structure of the court officials is not comprehensive. Therefore, some of the functions that have been omitted need to be filled by the Jingzhao Prefecture. More officials will be appointed in the future to make up for it."

Li Shimin leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and breathed, and said, "You can tell me directly that if the court has not thought of it, Jingzhao Prefecture can use it."

"Jingzhao Prefecture also needs to be restructured. The problem of power ownership and functional distinction has become prominent."

Li Shimin took a sip of tea and asked, "In your mind, what should the court be like in the future?"

Li Chengqian said: "Officials are like wolves and tigers, and military generals are galloping on the battlefield. The court should be strong."

"I have met Liu Rengui. He is a good minister."

Hearing his father say this, he was planning to promote him. Li Chengqian followed the meaning of the words and said, "It would be very appropriate to arrange for him to be in Jingzhao Prefecture."

Li Shimin said: "I thought you would hand over Jingzhao Prefecture to Xu Jingzong."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "One Xu Jingzong is not enough. We need to add another one. It would be good to have two Shao Yins in Jingzhao Prefecture to manage affairs. Xu Jingzong is quite good at managing trade, but he is not as good as others in governance. Liu Rengui has risen from a county lieutenant to a county magistrate, so he is worth training."

"Don't forget that Liu Rengui killed a captain."

"Because of this, he is both honest and upright. Such a person is suitable to be placed in Jingzhao Prefecture, so that he can be relied upon by thousands of villagers all over the world. He can kill a general for the villagers. What I value is his courage. The officials of the Tang Dynasty need courage too much."

"Now Duke Zheng is seriously ill. I have searched among the court officials for a long time and finally found someone who looks like Duke Zheng. Liu Rengui is enough."

Li Shimin suddenly laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that he will have conflicts with Xu Jingzong?"

"If there really is a conflict, it is their problem and not something I can consider. They are following orders and performing their duties. There is no conflict with the interests of our Li family. However... Xu Jingzong has always been a cruel official. He and Liu Rengui should be able to get along well."

"You are worried that Xu Jingzong will become too powerful in the future."

"It's just to add more officials. I haven't thought about it that much."

Li Shimin seemed to be thinking about something, and then asked: "What is the current situation in Hebei?"

Li Chengqian pondered and said, "The manpower required for the coal mining industry is still insufficient. The newly built coal mines can only sustain the livelihoods of 6,000 households. The vast majority of the population in Hebei still makes a living by farming."

"In the short term, there is not much improvement. Some people also said that they should hand over these coal mines to the nobles and dukes in the court to manage. This way, they can recruit manpower and save time and effort. It is also a method of managing the local area at a seemingly very low cost. However, in the long run, it is easy for Hebei to follow the old path of aristocratic families and hidden households. Therefore, I refused."

"Nowadays, 90% of the population in Hebei has regained their household registration, but even though the government has put a lot of effort into governance, there are still people who want to become hidden households again and become servants of others. I think this is because the education support was not in place in the first place."

"For this reason, I have discussed with Mr. Gu Nalu that education is not a cure. There has never been a cure. Since the Han and Wei dynasties, it has been a very long process to restore education. It is like planting a tree. It is easy to destroy it, but it takes hundreds of times more effort, material resources, financial resources and manpower to rebuild it."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled. Everyone knew that this crown prince liked fishing and planting trees.

After the incident in Hebei, this crown prince who was good at killing people, fishing, planting trees and attaching great importance to the law had become famous throughout the world.

"The old gentleman also said that after the Han and Wei dynasties, emperors of all dynasties had never accomplished such a long-term undertaking. It might take decades, or even several generations, to restore it."

"But we have to do it. Some people oppose the policy of selecting teachers for the teaching in Chongwenguan that I used. Even after the teachers were sent out, some people felt that they were not well-educated and were not qualified to teach others."

Li Chengqian smiled somewhat ashamedly and said, "But the selection of the Master cannot fall into the hands of the gentry. Their short-sightedness and opposition are just the result of their guilty consciences. Why not wait a few more years and see?"

Li Shimin noticed the scrolls on the table and said, "These are..."

Li Chengqian said, "This is the report that I have prepared for you in the past two years. You can take a look at the records of the court in the past two years."

Li Shimin picked up one of the volumes, a thick book that felt heavy in his hand. He immediately put it down, picked up the tea bowl beside him, and took a sip of tea with a serious expression.

Outside the palace, the sunset glowed on the faces of the ministers.

It was not until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walked out of the palace that Changsun Wuji, led by Cen Benwen and others, bowed and saluted.

Li Chengqian took out seven volumes of documents and handed them over, saying, "Uncle, please distribute these seven volumes of documents."

Chang Sun Wuji took the seven volumes of documents in both hands and said, "Here."

Li Chengqian said again: "The emperor has ordered that you all go back and the court will be closed for two days."

"Here."

The ministers bowed once more and then left.

Cen Wenben took the document from Duke Zhao and read it as he walked. It contained all the new appointments in the court.

Liu Rengui was appointed as the Junior Inspector of Jingzhao Prefecture, Xue Rengui was appointed as the Right Lieutenant General of the Army, Liu Renyuan was appointed as the Left Guoyi Commandant of Fengming Prefecture of the Right Wuwei, and was granted the title of Duke of Liyang County, and Quan Wanji was appointed as the Secretary of Jingzhao Prefecture...

They were all new appointments after the Eastern Expedition. Among them, the one Chu Suiliang was most concerned about was Liu Rengui. Why did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince put him in Jingzhao Prefecture? Chu Suiliang said again: "These appointments were all written by the Crown Prince."

Cen Wenben said: "These documents will be sent down early tomorrow morning, so don't think too much about it."

Chu Suiliang said to himself again: "Why isn't it Zhang Daan?"

Cen Wenben said: "Zhang Daan is not suitable for the position of Shao Yin. He is not as upright as Liu Rengui."

People left the palace in twos and threes.

Tonight, the family dinner in the palace has been prepared.

Li Tai and Li Ke came with their families, which made Li Shimin particularly happy.

In front of the Zhenguan Hall, little Yutu was talking to Li Xin and Li Ren. No one knew what the three children were talking about.

Empress Changsun was trimming her husband's hair and beard.

Li Yuan and Gao Shilian were competing on the chessboard.

The family sat around two tables, with the sisters at one table.

The three brothers sat together with their father and grandfather.

Li Yuan looked at Guanyinbi and found that she was still unwilling for them to sit together, but fortunately they did not discuss state affairs at the dinner table.

If they start talking about state affairs, Guanyin's maid might kick the father and son out of the dinner.

Gao Shilian said: "Your family is still the most lively one."

Li Yuan said: "It has been like this at home. I want to have a few days of peace and quiet, but I can't."

Gao Shilian stroked his beard and said, "My home has always been very quiet."

Li Yuan snorted coldly: "Besides sleeping at home, what else do you do?"

"It's better for people to be more relaxed when they get older."

After the meal, Empress Changsun talked with Princess Wei and Princess Wu, discussing the situation at home.

After dinner, Li Chengqian and Li Tai sat together and listened to Li Ke talk about the hardships and dangers of this Eastern Expedition.

In fact, the Tang army made several rash advances during this Eastern Expedition, which resulted in several encounters where they suffered losses due to their unfamiliarity with the environment.

After Li Ke finished speaking, Li Tai, who had grown a short beard, peeled an orange and said, "After Mr. Wang Gui passed away, I have always wanted to find a teacher for my child."

Li Ke said: "Ke wants Quan Wanji to teach the child."

Li Tai shook his head and said, "I haven't decided what kind of teacher to find for my child yet."

Li Chengqian asked again: "How is Fang Xiang coming?"

"It's fine, but my health is not as good as it used to be."

Unknowingly, the old ministers who had followed his father in the past had grown old one by one. Li Chengqian thought that his teacher was also old and there might be no one to replace him in the future.

My father decided to stay in Luoyang for some time and return after things in Liaodong have been settled.

Only after the Queen Mother helped the Emperor to go to rest did Li Tai and Li Ke return to their own residences.

At night, Li Chengqian took his son, daughter, and Su Wanning back to the bedroom.

Little Yutu said, "Dad, grandpa wants Cen Wenben to teach me and my sister."

Li Chengqian nodded.

The little magpie asked, "Who is Cen Wenben?"

Li Chengqian replied: "He is an important official in the court and the newly appointed Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Little Yutu raised his head and looked at his father and said, "I want to take Taoist Li as my master."

Li Chengqian recalled the past events. He wanted to learn something from Taoist Li, but the Taoist never taught him anything and only accepted Xiao Sizi as his disciple.

There is no other reason why children nowadays have this kind of thinking.

Because Xiao Sizi is Taoist Li's disciple, the child is often taken care of by his aunt Mingda.

After my father returned, the court officials became more cohesive, as can be seen from the fact that all the officials were waiting in front of the city today and refused to leave.

Li Chengqian looked at the bright moon in the night sky. After all, he could not compare with his father in this regard.

Ning Er put a coat on the prince and said, "It's already August, and autumn is coming. The wind is cool at night."

Wan'er is pregnant again and is already four months pregnant.

Ning'er and Wan'er now control most of the palace's expenses, and their mother no longer oversees the palace's expenses.

Now, all the big and small matters in the palace are arranged by Su Wan and Ning'er.

There is also the family property that my uncle left to the Eastern Palace, the nine hundred acres of salt in Shuzhong.

Gao Lin passed away at the beginning of summer this year. Ning'er had been in mourning for him for more than two months and has only now taken off her mourning clothes.

The two thousand hectares of land that old man Gao Lin handed over to the Eastern Palace is in Liaodong, but Liaodong has only been pacified now, and no one knows how to deal with it.

"Tomorrow morning, I will go to pay my respects to Mr. Wen Yanbo."

"Ah."

The next day, news about the miraculous doctor Sun came from Chang'an, who appeared in Mount Zhongnan.

Dongyang felt very happy as long as she could keep hearing news about Dr. Sun. She took Xu Hui with her to Luoyang for a medical consultation early in the morning.

Xu Hui doesn't know anything about medicine, but she can follow around and help Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Dongyang likes to talk to patients, and during the conversation she will record the patients' past medical records. If these medical records can be compiled into a book, it will be a medical book that can be passed down to future generations.

She said that a person's medical history is very important, and future doctors can use these records as a reference.

If Lizhi and Dongyang had joined forces, perhaps there would be a few more theories in the Tang Dynasty that would be passed down to later generations.

Xue Wanbei personally drove the carriage for the prince all the way to the Luo River.

Wen Ting ordered people to prepare incense and candles for worship here.

Now that Wen Ting has made great contributions in the Liaodong expedition, and the imperial edict has not yet come down, his father, considering that he is the son-in-law of the emperor, has allowed him to serve as the governor of Yanzhou remotely.

(End of this chapter)