The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 369 Who else would you rather me?
Li Shimin stood up and looked outside the city. Xue Rengui was coming back with a group of soldiers. The newly appointed Right General of the Army was very satisfied with what he saw.

Changsun Wuji also stood up and looked at the people coming and going under the city. He whispered, "Wherever the court goes, there will be the most merchants."

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Ying is here."

Li Shimin nodded and signaled for someone to come up.

Following Li Ji came the current Minister of the Central Secretariat Cen Wenben.

They both saluted.

Li Shimin stroked his beard and said, "My daughter said that I have white hair."

Cen Wenben said: "Your Majesty now has four generations living under one roof, and we should congratulate Your Majesty."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled again and said, "Do you all know about Cheng Qian's arrangements?"

Li Ji bowed and said, "I have heard it."

Cen Wenben said: "The reform of Jingzhao Prefecture has been discussed for two months."

Li Shimin picked up the memorial beside him and said, "Take a look."

Cen Wenben took the memorial with both hands and looked at it.

On the city wall, the king and his ministers were silent for a moment.

Cen Wenben said: "I think the prince's strategy is to deal with the current Luoyang and Guanzhong. The two places are now populated by large numbers, and the cause is still those workshops."

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "After Luoyang had undergone several major changes, Ma Zhou was in charge of Luoyang affairs and moved a lot of people in. Now nearly 60% of the people in Luoyang are from outside. These millions of people need to be managed. Your Highness has often said that this problem has reached a point where it must be resolved."

Cen Wenben took over the conversation and said, "Duke Zhao is right. When there are people, there will be construction. If people leave, there will be no construction."

Luoyang and Chang'an were both the emperor's residences. It was not a bad thing that the emperor's feet were prosperous.

It is somewhat like the early days of the Li Tang Dynasty, when they used heavy troops to weaken the local areas, strengthen the center, and control the local areas.

In this way, the empire's appeal becomes even stronger.

With such a large population, once the command is raised, it would be an army of millions.

Li Shimin said: "Don't you think the prince is too eager for success? I think he should proceed step by step."

Cen Wenben replied: "Your Majesty, this is the result of gradual progress."

Li Shimin was speechless again. Of course, as an emperor, he had to understand how to govern the country. It was just that he didn't know whether it was because he was too old or he had fought too many wars and was alienated from state affairs that he couldn't understand it.

Cen Wenben added: "Perhaps in the past, some people believed that officials recruited through the imperial examinations should be kept in the court to strengthen the power of the court."

Li Shimin nodded in agreement.

Cen Wenben continued, "I think that the Crown Prince has assigned most of the additional officials to the counties and townships, and Jingzhao Prefecture is in charge of the counties, but the three new offices and six supervisors in the counties are not managed by the county magistrates, but by Jingzhao Prefecture."

"In the articles of Chongwenguan, the grassroots are repeatedly emphasized. The so-called grassroots are the most common villagers below the county level. Jingzhao Prefecture believes that they are the foundation and constantly sends officials to the grassroots. This is the power going to the countryside. If the counties are strong, Luoyang and Chang'an will be strong."

"When your majesty went on the eastern expedition, there were many conflicts in Guanzhong. Prime Minister Fang therefore sent officials directly to the villages, and then the counties regained stability. What the prince did was inspired by Prime Minister Fang, and it was not aimless."

Li Shimin remained silent.

Cen Wenben added: "In all dynasties, the distance between officials and the people was too great, and they even became two different kinds of people, which caused the local areas to become desolate, but the officials did not know the people's affairs."

"Now that the imperial examination has been launched, officials come from the people, and officials govern the people. This is a complementary relationship. Your Highness has never forgotten the original intention of the imperial examination, but Your Highness the Crown Prince has taken the role of the imperial examination a step further."

Seeing that His Majesty was still silent, Changsun Wuji lowered his head and thought, after the restructuring of Jingzhao Prefecture, the prince's power became increasingly greater.

The number of additional officials in each county ranges from thirty to fifty people, to a dozen or so people in some counties. Although it seems weak now, if officials are added several times in the future and each county becomes fully developed, the prince will then have completed centralization of power.

Li Ji also knew very well that when the Crown Prince was young, he had already had the desire for power. At that time, the Crown Prince was only sixteen or seventeen years old?
Li Ji, who was guarding the prince at that time, understood that the prince had actually started to desire power since that time, and this had been going on for many years until now.

Your Majesty has been away from state affairs for a long time and may not understand the current situation in the court. Cen Wenben continued: "Your Majesty, the wealth of Luoyang and Chang'an now mostly comes from the workshops in the villages and counties. The wealth of the villages and counties is the foundation of the current prosperity of Guanzhong and Luoyang."

Seeing Duke Zhao's gaze again, Cen Wenben received the look, understood it, and stopped talking.

Seventy percent of the officials who passed the imperial examination this year will go to the counties in Guanzhong and Luoyang.

After the addition of the imperial examination system in previous years, there were indeed not many positions left in the court.

As soon as the prince issued the decree, there was considerable discussion in the court and the country.

Wei Xuantong stood in front of the palace gate of the imperial city. Today he was going to take up his official position.

Pei Yan bowed and said, "Brother Wei, you finally have an official position. Just as I said, the court will definitely make arrangements for you."

"When you take the next imperial examination, you will also be able to enter this imperial city."

Pei Yan smiled and said, "I will wait here for Brother Wei. When you receive your official title, we will drink together to celebrate."

Wei Xuantong straightened his clothes and handed the documents given by the court to the guards in front of the imperial city.

The guard confirmed the document and said, "Go line up over there."

There was a long queue at the side gate of the imperial city, and it looked like there were about three to five hundred people in the queue.

Wei Xuantong stood in the team. The youngest people in the team were eighteen or nineteen years old, and the oldest were forty-five years old.

"Have you heard that when we go to serve as officials in the counties, we will be assigned to a separate government office."

"The court has allowed us to settle our family here, which is a good thing. We will bring them here next year. Jingzhao Prefecture has always been generous."

"Chongwenguan has assigned two clerks to each of us. I heard that they are people who did not pass the imperial examination this time. They also have monthly wages from Chongwenguan."

Most of the people here start out as the supervisor of a place or the director of one of the three offices of a county, which is probably a position of eighth to ninth rank.

This starting point is very low, but Jingzhao Prefecture will promote officials based on the governance situation of each county.

Since it is the prince's order, everyone is convinced.

Today's crown prince is a man of his words, and the words written in the decree are not empty talk.

Someone else asked, "How much do we receive from the court?"

Someone replied, "Don't worry. Since the crown prince took charge of the court's expenses, he has increased the salaries of officials in various departments. The salary of the county magistrate has been raised to the fourth rank. Even if it is only a ninth rank official, it is the salary of an eighth rank official. The worst is two hectares of official land, 60 dan of rice per year, and more than ten strings of cash for government expenses, which is enough to support a family of sixty-five people."

"That's right. The price of rice in Guanzhong and Luoyang is high now. Our Lu rice is very valuable."

"Look, they resigned."

Everyone looked up and saw several young men in luxurious clothing walking out of the side door on the other side, and they seemed to be saying something that small officials would not do.

These people were all children of gentry, and there were quite a few of them who participated in the imperial examinations.

A middle-aged man in his forties whispered, "Everyone, don't think you can rest easy now. Even if you are sent to serve as an official in various places, if you don't do a good job, you will be banned by the court. As for them... hehe, the sons of the nobles are all going to be generals and ministers, and they are too smart to see us."

He raised his voice deliberately.

The steps of several young men from noble families in the distance stiffened a lot.

Except for a few who are directly appointed by the court, the vast majority of people here have to start from the bottom.

Wei Xuantong listened to everyone's discussions and moved forward step by step at the back of the team.

By dusk, many court officials had finished their duties and were leaving the imperial city one after another. It would be a lie to say that they were not envious. The people in the front row were discussing the officials who were leaving the court one after another, such as which ones were the prince's disciples and which ones were the Duke of Zhao's disciples.

Wei Xuantong was wearing a plain coarse cloth gown. Looking back, he saw that the line behind him was very long, stretching all the way to the street entrance.

Finally it was his turn. Wei Xuantong walked into the imperial city, where several officials from the Menxia Province were sitting.

Guo Zhengyi flipped through the files and asked, "Wei Xuantong?"

"It's down."

"Yes." Guo Zhengyi nodded again and said, "The sixth-rank official of the Xinfeng County Household Registration Department will sign and seal your name. You will go to Chongwen Hall tomorrow with three clerks. The government office is still under construction, so we will arrange a house for you to live in for the time being."

He spoke very quickly, as if he was in a hurry.

"Yes." Wei Xuantong took the official document with both hands, signed and sealed it, and then received a stack of documents and a badge.

As he was about to leave with the official seal in his hands, Wei Xuantong saw another familiar face, it was Li Anqi.

"Brother Wei? What's your position?"

"Household Registration Department."

Li Anqi enviously said, "It's great that I got a job as the Director of the Housing and Construction Supervision Bureau."

Li Anqi was the son of Li Baiyao. He never expected that the son of the former Minister of Rites would have a lower official position than himself after passing the imperial examination.

The two left the imperial city together and walked into the crowd.

After the great victory of the Eastern Expedition in the 19th year of Zhenguan, more and more people came to congratulate the emperor on his victory.

In November of the 19th year of Zhenguan, heavy snow fell in Guanzhong and Luoyang.

This is the second month that Wei Xuantong has been serving as the director of the Household Registration Office of Xinfeng County, and the new government office was just completed today.

The magistrate of Xinfeng County led his people into the government office and said, "This was just Xinfeng Township before, and it was re-designated as a county last year. Officials must always be careful about their conduct. Jingzhao Prefecture is extremely strict."

Wei Xuantong nodded slowly and said, "Thank you, County Magistrate, for your advice."

He is now looking more and more like an official.

The magistrate of Xinfeng County appreciated the young man's talent and handed the place over to him.

Heavy snow was falling. At this moment in the Luoyang Palace, Li Chengqian listened to Zhang Da'an's report and nodded, saying, "A few county offices have not been built yet. Send them a document to ask about it. If it is still not built, you can arrange for someone to go there."

"Here."

The affairs of the three offices and six prisons went relatively smoothly, so smoothly that it was a little surprising.

After Zhang Da'an left, Li Chengqian came to the back of the Luoyang Palace wearing a cloak, where his father was offering sacrifices to the Taoist ancestor.

"They all asked me to go to Laojun Mountain to worship the Taoist ancestor."

Li Chengqian was wearing a cloak and holding his hands in his pockets. He said, "Master Li said that the sacrifice is the same wherever you are."

Li Shimin looked at the portrait of Daozu and said in a deep voice, "Are those things done?"

"There are still some troubles."

Little Yutu was running in the heavy snow. Li Shimin looked at the child who would be one year older next year and said, "Next year he will be six years old."

"Ah."

The father and son sat down, and the eunuch came with a letter and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is a letter from Duke Zheng."

Li Shimin took the letter and read its contents. He only glanced at it briefly, then put it down and said, "Duke Zheng and your teacher told me that if I no longer have the energy to deal with state affairs, I can pass the throne to the crown prince, and also told me not to be greedy for the throne."

Li Chengqian took the letter and looked at it.

Long before the Eastern Expedition, Duke Zheng had talked about ascending the throne, but he had never told his father about it.

Li Chengqian said, "In fact, before my father's expedition to the east, I persuaded you and Duke Zheng to let me ascend the throne. You and Duke Zheng told me about it."

Li Shimin stroked his beard in the snow and said, "Now, except for the auxiliary machine, they all want you to ascend the throne."

"Well, only my uncle didn't talk about this."

Seeing that Xiao Yutu was listening in the chair, Li Shimin grabbed the eavesdropping grandson and rubbed his chubby cheeks with his rough hands, saying, "I abdicate. Do you think it's a good idea?"

Little Yu Tu said happily: "Great, great, then my grandson will be the crown prince."

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Did your father let you be the crown prince?"

"My grandson is gifted. My mother said that he has been resourceful since he was young."

Li Shimin laughed loudly and said, "Haha! Are you gifted? Are you resourceful?"

Little Yutu was a little unconvinced and said, "Who else but me?"

"Hahaha!" Li Shimin laughed even more happily and said, "Do you know how difficult it is to be the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty?"

Little Yu Tu looked at his father standing beside him and replied, "They all said that Daddy is very powerful."

Li Shimin did not shy away from his son beside him. He held his grandson in his arms and said, "Your father is a very determined and hardworking man. How about you?"

"My grandson is so resourceful!"

"Besides being resourceful?"

Little Yutu scratched his head and said, "Grandson..."

This winter, Princess Su Wan gave birth to another daughter for the Crown Prince, and the Emperor named her Meng Ji.

As soon as the child was born, the emperor ordered the court to have a holiday and rewarded officials from various departments with cotton cloth, soap, soy sauce, money and grain, and congratulated the ministers together.

On this day, the gate of the East Palace was filled with various gifts.

Xiao Yutu, as the eldest son of the Eastern Palace and the elder brother of two younger sisters, was rummaging through the gifts with Xiao Que'er, hoping to find something interesting among them.

Du He came to Luoyang in person to congratulate, and Li Chengqian received him in the Qianyang Palace.

"Long years no see."

Du He said: "Yes, it has been so many years without me noticing."

Li Chengqian asked: "What are your plans for the future?"

Du He lowered his head and said, "I want to build a library, and make it the largest library in history."

Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "It's not easy."

"Well, the counties all refused."

Li Chengqian sat by the stove, drinking tea and said, "Whether it's Luoyang or Guanzhong, do you know what they lack the most now?"

Du He replied: "There is no shortage of paper or people. What is lacking is better production tools."

Li Chengqian nodded. "Whether it's a craftsman or a weaver in a workshop, technology is very important. To strengthen the strength of Guanzhong and Luoyang, we must improve our technology level."

(End of this chapter)