The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 364 New Appointment
To what extent was this prince wealthy? Even the emperor did not know how much wealth the prince had accumulated for Li Tang.

The father and son sat in the pavilion, eating fruit, and remained silent for a long time.

When the wind blows, you can still feel a little cool.

Soon, Li Shimin lay down in the pavilion and rested with his eyes closed.

Li Chengqian looked at the fruits in front of him and gave a look to the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch came quickly and took away the fruits.

During this period of time since returning from the Eastern Expedition, my father has often closed his eyes to rest like this, but he can never get enough sleep.

Dongyang said that this was because his father had been away on a military expedition for a year and the long period of instability made it impossible for him to sleep well.

Now that we are back from the Eastern Expedition, my father feels much more at ease. That is why he is so sleepy, but it will get better in a few days.

Although my father, who is nearly fifty years old, is not as healthy as he used to be, fortunately he does not have any serious illness.

The two-day recess was over, and on the next morning, all the ministers went to the Qianyuan Hall of the Luoyang Palace for the morning court session.

After several renovations, the Qianyuan Hall now has large windows, and the lighting here is very good during the day, both in the morning and in the evening.

Because the doors and windows of the hall should be opened for ventilation when the sun just rises.

The air here is also very fresh.

Li Shimin walked into the hall and all the ministers saluted him.

Seeing the emperor sitting on the throne again, the empty seat was finally occupied. The ministers felt a little uncomfortable for a moment. It was indeed a long time since they had felt this way.

Changsun Wuji stood out from the court and read out the rewards given to the generals and officials from all over the country since the Eastern Expedition.

In fact, there had been rumors of these rewards in the court and the public for a long time, such as the generals Xue Rengui, Liu Rengui, Liu Renyuan, and even the son of Duke Ying was given the title of Duke of a county.

And when it was announced that the land tax in most of the Central Plains would be exempted, everyone in the court was quite shocked and there was a lot of discussion.

After reading the imperial edict, Changsun Wuji returned to the court.

Everyone was shocked, but seeing that the prince didn't say anything, they didn't have much to say. Anyway, as long as the prince had no ideas, the ministers would have no objections to the money and grain taxes.

The attendant Liu Li stood out from the court and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty has now conquered the four counties of the Han Dynasty, leveled the Tianshan Mountains, and made the people prosperous. We ask Your Majesty to offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, and Your Majesty should report your achievements to the gods."

Li Shimin looked at the court officials without saying a word.

Today, the territory of the Tang Dynasty is vast. Although the Pamir Mountains have not yet been taken, the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains have been leveled. Songzhou has become a place for military farming in the Tang Dynasty, and it extends east to the four Han counties in Liaodong.

With such great achievements, this Heavenly Khan is worthy of being enthroned among the emperors of all dynasties.

Ma Zhou said: "Your Majesty, the army has just returned, why not rest for another half a year before talking about Fengshan."

Gao Jifu said: "I second the proposal. The soldiers in all parts of the Central Plains and the court should all rest and recuperate."

Today was the first time that Xu Jingzong stood in the court. He was very excited. After the crown prince paid homage to Mr. Wen Yanbo, the Ministry of Personnel sent him the official title of Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

Now Xu Jingzong could also stand in the court and participate in state affairs with his ministers.

Although he was only the Minister of the Secretariat, Xu Jingzong was extremely excited to be able to stand in the same row with Chu Suiliang.

Especially when I saw Chu Suiliang’s ugly face, I felt so happy.

Li Shimin nodded in agreement with Ma Zhou's words and motioned Liu Li to return to the court.

The Tang Dynasty could no longer fight, whether in terms of national strength, military forces, or manpower in various prefectures. The Eastern Expedition almost drained all of Hebei, Laizhou, and Yingzhou.

I can’t fight anymore now, I really can’t fight anymore.

Li Shimin looked at his three sons, Li Chengqian, Li Tai and Li Ke, standing at the front of the court, and suddenly felt that his achievements in this life had come to an end.

The remaining achievements will have to be won by these young people themselves.

The prince is still young, only twenty-five years old.

Listening to the reports from the court officials, Li Shimin closed his eyes and thought. In fact, Cheng Qian said a lot on the day he returned.

He still has a lot of things to do. He wants to make the court more powerful, and the officials in the court are far from enough.

Minister of War Duan Zan described the current situation of the prefectures and cities, and also talked about Ashina Helu north of the Tianshan Mountains who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty.

It had only been a few years since the Tang Dynasty conquered the Tianshan Mountains when the herdsmen under Ashina Helu's command actually rebelled.

In order to attack Yugushe, Qibi Heli and Ashina She'er crossed the Altai Mountains and beat Ashina Helu, who then surrendered with his herdsmen.

Cheng Yaojin stood out from the court and said, "This bastard! The Tang Dynasty gave him pastures and herdsmen, but he dared to rebel. Your Majesty, give me three hundred soldiers, and I will go and destroy him!"

Duan Zan added, "Your Majesty, Liang Jianfang and Pei Xingjian, who are guarding Tingzhou and Xizhou, have already sent troops to quell the rebellion. Military reports will probably be delivered in the next few days."

Li Ji said: "Zhijie, don't be impulsive. I'm afraid that by the time you have assembled your army and left Chang'an, Liang Jianfang will have probably captured Ashina Helu. Besides, even if you use troops, Qibi Heli has already returned to Shazhou, so you won't be needed."

Cheng Yaojin stood back and went to class, sniffed, and smiled with shame.

Zhang Shigui, who was among the military officers, stepped out of the court and said, "Your Majesty, Ashina Helu is a fickle person. We kept him here to appease the herdsmen. Now he is openly rebelling. This is against the will of the people in the Western Regions. We can justifiably take him to Chang'an."

All the officials in the court smiled knowingly.

Naturally, everyone understood the implication of Zhang Shigui's words.

I don’t know whether Ashina Helu can dance.

Li Chengqian stood out of the court and said, "Father, many villagers in Hebei have been registered. This year, the land tax in Hebei is 3 million shi. I request that the magistrates of Shandong, prefectures and counties in Jiangnan check the household registration and report it to the court."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "The household registration and land tax will be checked by the county magistrates of each province. They are ordered to investigate and submit the information to the court before September next year."

Li Chengqian stood back in the court.

Li Tai suddenly glanced at his royal brother. This decree looked simple, but it was quite troublesome to implement. What if there was false reporting or concealment?

On second thought, this might be aimed at officials from various prefectures.

Today's morning court was particularly long. All the departments in the court had to report on everything that had accumulated over the past year. The morning court on the first day of the emperor's eastern expedition did not end until the afternoon.

After court dismissal, Li Chengqian returned to his bedroom.

"Dad, the four wise men all said that I am an extremely intelligent person. They are almost too embarrassed to teach me."

Listening to his son's words, Li Chengqian nodded and said, "How are you smart?"

Xiao Yutu said: "My child..."

He thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out where his intelligence lay. In the end, he just said, "Anyway, the four wise men think that the child is very smart."

"Ah."

"Then...then why doesn't Taoist Li accept me as his disciple?"

"Master Li already has a successor."

"Master Li's successor is Aunt Mingda."

"Exactly."

Little Yu Tu sat cross-legged beside his father, still thinking about the profound meaning of these words.

His chubby little face was filled with worry, he frowned in thought, with his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed as if he was meditating.

He also learned how to meditate from Aunt Mingda, and he often meditated with her. Li Chengqian asked, "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Little Yutu opened his eyes and said, "I understand, kid."

"What have you figured out?"

"I want...I want Aunt Mingda to stop being Master Li's disciple. That way, Master Li will accept me as his disciple if he has no more disciples."

Li Chengqian sighed, "Wrong."

"Ah..." Xiao Yutu scratched his head again and asked, "Is it wrong?"

Li Chengqian asked, "You want to learn the skills of Taoist Li, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what Taoist Li's ability is?"

"What is it?"

Li Chengqian looked at his son and said, "You don't even know what his abilities are, so why do you want to be his disciple?"

Xiao Yutu nodded and said, "Yes, yes, what should I learn?"

Li Chengqian thought that teaching children was indeed a very tiring task, and explained: "The skills you want to learn have nothing to do with Taoist Li as a person, but with Taoist Li's skills. Your Aunt Mingda is Taoist Li's disciple, and she learned Taoist Li's skills. If you take Aunt Mingda as your teacher, can't you learn it?"

Little Yu Tu suddenly understood and said with a look of surprise, "I understand now."

Li Chengqian retracted his gaze and half-lay down, saying: "You are resourceful and should have figured it out earlier."

"I'll go find Aunt Mingda right away."

After saying this, he left quickly again.

Ning Er smiled and said, "Your Highness, children of this age are the most noisy and require the most care."

Su Wan shook her head as she watched her son running away. This child was chubby and looked resourceful since he was a child. But after he grew a year or two older, she felt that he was too ordinary, no different from other children.

After the morning court session, Xu Jingzong came to Jingzhao Prefecture in Luoyang, which was larger than the one in Chang'an City.

Because Jingzhao Prefecture was built later, it covers a large area.

Jingzhao Prefecture in Chang'an was built during the Wude period. It is difficult to move it now, so it appears much smaller than Luoyang.

Xu Jingzong was the Minister of the Secretariat, wearing the official uniform of the fourth rank. He strode into the Jingzhao Prefecture and met Liu Rengui.

After the court session, the prefect of Jingzhao, also known as the Prince of Jiangxia, did not come here. Xu Jingzong was used to it.

The newly appointed Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture, Liu Rengui, stood in the main hall. He was looking up at a plaque in the main hall. On the plaque were written the words "Perform Duties Dedicatedly".

When Prince Jiangxia came to Luoyang, he also brought this plaque with him.

This was given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Prince Jiangxia must carry this plaque wherever he goes. If he could put it in his arms, he would probably want to carry it with him.

"Liu Shaoyin." Xu Jingzong called politely.

"Greetings, Minister Xu." Liu Rengui turned around and greeted.

The two men were about the same age, Xu Jingzong was older than Liu Rengui, so he stroked his beard and said, "You are new to Jingzhao Prefecture. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "When I was serving as the magistrate of Xianyang County, I often interacted with officials from Jingzhao Prefecture and knew a lot of things."

"Well, His Royal Highness wants me to continue to be in charge of trade, and you will be in charge of the affairs of Luoyang and the counties in Guanzhong."

Liu Rengui, wearing his new official uniform, bowed again and said, "I obey your orders."

Xu Jingzong introduced him to the current situation of Jingzhao Prefecture, as well as the various regulations and how they should cooperate with Chongwenguan.

He took out another piece of paper and handed it to him. Xu Jingzong said, "This is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ordered me to give you before the morning court today."

Liu Rengui opened the folded paper and saw only two words: "serious".

"serious?"

"Exactly."

"I wonder what your Highness the Crown Prince means?"

Xu Jingzong said: "You know that all the counties in Guanzhong say that I am a cruel official and that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is extremely strict."

Liu Rengui seemed to understand something.

"In fact, whether they are cruel or strict, they all need to be serious. Any decree or a simple sentence from Jingzhao Prefecture may destroy the peace of the people in the counties. Therefore, the officials of Jingzhao Prefecture need to abide by the law and not be swayed by external factors."

Xu Jingzong put one hand behind his back and stroked his beard with the other, saying, "Without being serious, everything will be muddled. If you are not serious as a Shao Yin, the Shu Ling, Tong Pan, and even the gatekeepers below will deal with it muddledly. As an official, as an official of Jingzhao Prefecture, you must be more serious, even if it is a small matter. Don't muddle through, and don't let anything go because of personal feelings."

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "I will teach you."

After saying that, Xu Jingzong asked Zhang Da'an to take Liu Rengui to familiarize himself with Jingzhao Prefecture.

In fact, people like Liu Rengui are very suitable for Jingzhao Prefecture. Xu Jingzong even feels that if he leaves Jingzhao Prefecture one day in the future, Liu Rengui will do a better job than him if he takes over.

Liu Rengui was an honest and upright person who dared to go against the nobles. He could kill anyone a captain of the Zhechoufu said he would. Such a person was in charge of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Xu Jingzong felt that when he passed away one day, he could rest in peace.

It took more than ten years to build Jingzhao Prefecture. Xu Jingzong loved this place and spent more than ten years of his hard work on it.

"Xu Shaoyin, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given an order."

Xu Jingzong reached out and took the document.

The eunuch added, "This is for Liu Shaoyin."

Xu Jingzong signaled him to leave, and then opened the document and looked at the contents. His Highness wanted Liu Rengui to be in charge of people's livelihood and inquire about the affairs of various counties.

Jingzhao Prefecture had many responsibilities and complicated affairs.

Xu Jingzong put the document on the table again. He suddenly felt that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wanted to split up Jingzhao Prefecture and set up separate government offices.

Zhang Da'an, Liu Rengui, and Yan Qinli have to act on their own.

After working for the Crown Prince for so many years, Xu Jingzong felt that he had lived most of his life in vain if he couldn't even think of this intention.

I'm afraid it's not just Jingzhao Prefecture. After the crown prince ascends the throne in the future, there may be major changes in the three provinces and six ministries of the court.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes fishing. Recently, the Crown Prince has been very free, so free that he can go fishing in the upper reaches of the Luo River.

After the Eastern Expedition, the three brothers rarely got together. The three brothers and their father were sitting by the river, each holding a fishing rod and fishing.

Li Chengqian listened to his father's words on how to hold the banquet and decided to make it a grand one.

"I will hold a banquet for three days, during which the court officials will have a day off, the curfew in Luoyang will be lifted, and they will be rewarded with silver and money."

When the emperor and his family went out for fun, the happiest person was the emperor's grandson.

Li Xin, the son of King Wei, was crying because Yu Tu had broken his windmill.

Li Ke's son Li Rencai had just learned to speak, and he had no idea of ​​the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness in front of him.

(End of this chapter)