The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 374 At the Foot of Mount Tai
Xiao Yutu finished the rice in his bowl and took the bowl of mutton bone soup brought by the eunuch. He looked at the clear soup and asked, "Where are the chopped green onions?"

The eunuch then remembered that the emperor's grandson loved chopped green onions the most, so he sprinkled some on it.

In this way, the emperor's grandson finished drinking the bowl of bone soup with a look of satisfaction on his face.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes onions, so the emperor's grandson also loves chopped onions.

"uncle?"

Li Zhi then came back to his senses and said, "If we talk about the person who is the most proficient in military strategy in the world, it is Li Weigong."

Xiao Yutu nodded heavily, "What about uncle?"

Li Zhi looked troubled. Regardless of what he was good at, the most troublesome thing right now was the issue of independence. He had no idea about his career yet.

Li Shen said: "Yutu."

Little Yutu nodded obediently, "Yes."

Li Shen said with a smile: "No one in this world has ever considered himself to be the best in knowledge. Learning never ends, so we must remain humble and respect knowledge."

"Well, nephew understands."

Li Shen added: "You should start with the most basic literacy."

"Well, nephew will learn to read now."

Seeing that Shen Di had finally coaxed his nephew away, Li Zhi heaved a sigh of relief and said, "You still have a way."

Li Shen said: "There are always more solutions than problems."

The four of them sat together again, and Zhang Jianzhi was lying on a stone, resting.

Di Renjie said, "I'll go see Censor Li."

Li Zhi was puzzled and asked, "Why go to see him?"

"I want to ask something."

Behind the emperor's carriage, a group of civil officials were sitting together.

Shangguan Yi put some files into a box and arranged for someone to send them to Chang'an.

He knew Di Renjie, the boy who often accompanied the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Ji. He stroked his beard and smiled, "Renjie?"

"I've met Imperial Censor Shangguan."

Shangguan Yi asked, "What are you doing here?"

Di Renjie replied, "I want to see Li Yushi. I have some questions to ask."

Shangguan Yi looked towards the team.

Di Renjie also looked up and saw many officials sitting in groups of three or four, but he did not see that person.

"According to the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Li Yifu needs to take care of some things, and I'm afraid he won't be in the team these days."

After saying this, seeing that Di Renjie was still disappointed, Shangguan Yi, who had always admired this young man, asked, "What do you want to see Li Yifu about?"

Di Renjie saluted and replied, "I and the King of Jin have read the case files of Bozhou. It is recorded in the case files that the mute met Li Yushi last year. This person said that he wanted to take revenge on Cui Renshi, since he is also looking for Cui Renshi."

Shangguan Yi nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Di Renjie continued: "When the Jiangzuo people found Master Cui Renshi, he died afterwards. I always feel that..."

"That's enough." Shangguan Yi interrupted him, looked around and said, "Don't tell outsiders about what you have read in the case file."

Di Renjie quickly said, "I understand, kid."

Shangguan Yi said: "Okay, you can go back now."

"Here."

In fact, the court understood these things, but the affairs of Bozhou were more than what Di Renjie thought of.

Shangguan Yi found himself admiring Li Yifu very much. He always stood up when necessary, no matter it was because of the influence of the mute on him or because he had always hated the children of aristocratic families.

This time Li Yifu stepped forward again.

After returning to the carriage, Xiao Yutu had not made any movement for a long time. Xiao Que'er, wearing a beautiful red dress, climbed up the shaft of the carriage with the help of Xiao Fu. She walked into the carriage and saw that her brother had indeed fallen asleep on the book.

In less than a moment, Xiao Que'er stood on the shaft of the cart, with her hands on her hips, and said, "Brother, you really fell asleep right after eating."

Xiaofu smiled and said, "Your Highness has been like this since he was a child."

In the palace, Xiaofu watched the two children grow up. Even when Xiao Yutu was still a toddler, he was already a child who would eat and sleep.

Although the little prince is young, he is not light at all. He is not too fat, but very strong.

"Auntie Fu, Que'er wants to play shuttlecock."

"Okay."

Xiaofu is now an expert in handling affairs in the palace, and is in charge of the daily life of everyone in the palace.

Therefore, she was very strict when dealing with matters in the palace, and would yell as she did in the past. However, Xiaofu was also a person who clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments, and Concubine Su and Concubine Ning also valued him very much.

The sound gradually faded away, and little Yutu was still sleeping in the carriage.

At the other end of the team, Li Chengqian sat next to his father, with Yu Zhining and Chu Suiliang reporting matters in front of him.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Hedong Road was demarcated during the Wude period, and four prefectures and seventeen counties were built in Shanxi.

After the Jinyang Uprising, my grandfather had a special feeling for Shanxi.

After Chu Suiliang finished his report, Li Chengqian looked at the memorial.

Li Shimin asked: "Do local officials still watch over these coal mines?"

Chu Suiliang said: "That's right, but some local people are not easy to deal with. They want to occupy the coal mine for private use. Hundreds of people surrounded the coal mine and prevented the government from moving."

Cen Wenben bowed and did not speak immediately, waiting for His Highness's instructions.

There are indeed many coal mines in Shanxi, but whether they should be supervised by the central government still requires dealing with the local forces.

How could they easily hand over the things on their own territory to the court for safekeeping?

Today, the coal mines in Hebei are developing smoothly, and they have even brought a steady stream of money to the court. People working in the coal mines in Hebei have also received money to support their livelihoods, and may even be able to escape poverty in a few years.

Li Chengqian said: "Minister Chu, the villages and counties within the coal mine area will be able to get honeycomb coal on demand in the future, and if they can work in the coal mine, the court will still give them wages, such as housing, taxes, or their children's education."

"Can……"

Seeing that Chu Suiliang was about to say something else, Li Chengqian said, "Give what you can give, unite the villagers as much as possible, pick out the leaders and deal with them, don't fight with the villagers, and don't have conflicts with them. Find a few capable people to go there, preferably officials from Shanxi."

Upon hearing this and hearing that they needed to unite the villagers, Chu Suiliang suddenly realized what to do about this matter.

Li Chengqian nodded and signaled him to make the arrangements.

Li Shimin looked at his son beside him and saw that he encountered troubles and dealt with them so calmly. This child has always been calm since he was a child.

Li Chengqian took Cen Wenben's memorial and looked at its contents.

Cen Wenben bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, these are the concerns that court officials and local officials have expressed about the imperial examinations in recent days."

Looking carefully at the contents of the memorial, what it says is nothing more than people's concerns about the imperial examination. The number of official positions is always limited, and officials cannot always be arranged by establishing official positions.

Re-establishing the Three Departments and Six Supervisors in each county can temporarily alleviate the redundancy of officials, but there are only so many positions, and one day they will not be enough. Even if official positions are constantly opened up, they will only be used temporarily.

This is their concern about the imperial examination, a way to use the current environment and past experience to judge the future situation. The imperial examination is not achieved overnight, and a new system will produce various problems related to acclimatization.

"I don't think they are wrong. Times are changing. We should change our decisions based on the situation, rather than looking at things from the perspective of the past."

What Li Chengqian said could not relieve the worries of the new Minister of the Central Secretariat, as his words did not hit the point.

Putting down the memorial in his hand, he looked at him and said, "Of course, it is still a question of position. From now on, the court will announce to the world the direction and relevant positions of officials to be recruited one year before the imperial examination every year, so that people can prepare before the imperial examination."

Cen Wenben bowed again and said, "Since the public knows that the officials included are useful, the world will not have so many concerns, but I can only tell the world part of it."

"Yes." Li Chengqian said, "People are worried that their talents are not being used, but I think the court must give them space to display their abilities."

"Here."

Another seemingly troublesome task was arranged.

Seeing Cen Wenben still standing here, Li Chengqian said: "In fact, the imperial examination will become more and more difficult in the next few years, and the students admitted will definitely be more outstanding. Some people like me who were fifteen or sixteen years old back then are now preparing for the imperial examination. This is another generation."

"The imperial examination is a way to select talents. The survival of the fittest in the selection process is actually a process of creating value. What I said may be too realistic and too cruel, but this is the imperial examination of the future. It will be more cruel, the elimination rate will be higher, and it will be more difficult."

Cen Wenben bowed and then went to arrange matters.

These two things are the political affairs that need to be arranged today. Originally, traveling outside is just like a spring outing during the holiday.

"I originally wanted to let my uncle take care of state affairs temporarily. I was negligent. My uncle is not a man who is good at making decisions."

Li Shimin drank the tea in silence.

The convoy rested in Pingyin County for two days and then set off again, this time with Mount Tai as its destination.

When I returned to the carriage, I saw my son looking sleepy.

Little Magpie said, "Dad, brother fell asleep again. I woke him up because I was worried that he would not be able to fall asleep again after nightfall."

Xiao Yutu stared blankly ahead, looking as if he was half awake.

Li Chengqian handed him a pot of water and said, "Drink some."

He reached out to take the water his father handed him. As soon as the water went down his throat, he suddenly felt refreshed and all his sleepiness disappeared. He said, "Ice water?"

Li Chengqian nodded, "Give some to my sister."

Little Yutu handed the kettle to her sister. Little Queer took the kettle, which was bigger than her face, and took a sip.

"Don't drink too much."

The brother and sister drank water, listened to their father's words, and nodded continuously.

The carriage was shaking, but the space inside was still very spacious. Li Chengqian lay on his side and ate walnuts.

Little Yutu asked, "Didn't Grandpa say there was no ice when we were out?"

Li Chengqian explained: "It was presented by a wealthy family on the road."

"Oh..." Little Yutu understood, holding the kettle but still feeling unsatisfied, "Is that all?"

"That's all I have left. How much more do you want to drink? Do you still want a stomachache?"

Hearing his father's scolding and his brother's hanging head, Little Magpie smiled happily.

She felt that her brother had always been stupid and naughty.

Little Yutu maintained his resourceful demeanor and added, "When we come here again, they will definitely offer us ice cubes."

Li Chengqian ignored the child and looked out of the carriage window, peeling and eating walnuts. The closer they got to Mount Tai, the more soldiers and officers they saw along the way.

There were also many scholars dressed in Confucian robes standing far away on the official road and paying their respects.

With one day’s journey to Mount Tai, the convoy stopped again.

We can only climb Mount Tai after Dad and Grandpa perform a sacrifice here.

Little Yu Tu climbed up a small hill first under the escort of General Xue Wanbei.

With the help of Xue Wanbei, Yu Tu climbed to the top of the mountain by stepping on the loose soil with great effort.

He looked into the distance with bright eyes and saw the towering mountains. He asked happily, "Is that Mount Tai?"

Xue Wanbei nodded in understanding and said, "That's right."

Little Yutu looked at the mountains from afar and asked, "Which is higher, Mount Laojun in Luoyang or Mount Tai?"

Hearing this, Xue Wanbei said anxiously, "I have never climbed these two mountains."

At the foot of the low hill behind him, incense was burning and there was the sound of scriptures being chanted in unison. That was His Majesty performing a sacrifice.

Xue Wanbei held Yu Tu's hand and said, "After we go back, let's go see Laojun Mountain again."

Little Yutu asked, "Can I climb Mount Tai, too?"

"Your Highness is still young, not yet old enough to climb the mountain."

"Why?" Xiao Yutu showed an attitude that did not tolerate disobedience.

In fact, he didn't need to act like this. Xue Wanbei said, "I can carry the little prince up to Mount Tai."

"really?"

"really!"

Little Yutu was a little unconvinced. He looked at his short legs, then raised his head to look at Xue Wanbei's height, and said, "I want to climb Mount Tai by myself."

Xue Wanbei smiled and nodded.

The ceremony before climbing Mount Tai was very long. The four sages of literature, led by Lai Ji, were writing on silk books, and others were preparing ritual objects and jade and silk for climbing the mountain.

We left Luoyang in April and it is now almost July. It took more than two months to get here.

At night, the whole day of sacrifice ended, with kowtows and prostrations. Li Chengqian helped his father sit down and said, "I'm afraid there are many etiquettes for climbing Mount Tai."

Li Shimin also felt a little tired and said, "If I can't climb Mount Tai, you will offer sacrifices to heaven and Fengshan."

If these words were heard by civil officials such as Cen Wenben or Chu Suiliang, they would probably say that there was no such thing as a prince offering sacrifices to heaven and offering sacrifices to heaven in this world.

Li Chengqian stood aside and said, "Actually, mountain climbing is also good for exercising."

"I have thought a lot along the way, Cheng Qian."

"My son is here."

"In fact, what Xuanling and Duke Zheng said is not bad." Li Shimin looked at Li Ji who was standing not far away and whispered, "You have always been very close to Duke Ying?"

Li Chengqian nodded.

"Li Ji is a man who values ​​trust and loyalty." As he spoke, Li Shimin took out a yellow silk cloth from his bosom and put it into his son's hand, and instructed: "When you ascend the throne, you need someone to rely on. It is not enough for you to have an assistant. In the future, you can ask him to help you in military affairs."

Li Chengqian took the silk and understood what his father meant.

There is nothing else to it. What is written on the yellow silk is the appointment of Duke Ying, and the order to let Duke Ying help the new emperor command the troops of the world.

Li Chengqian put away the yellow silk and sat beside his father, looking at the other people around him with a smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)