The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 375 Climbing Mount Tai

Li Shimin said: "I have never asked you how you would govern the country if it were handed over to you."

There was still a cool breeze blowing through the forest, causing the willow branches in the forest to sway, and many willow leaves floated in the river.

Seeing that his son did not respond, Li Shimin asked again: "Is it rude of me to ask you this?"

Li Chengqian said: "I have no other thoughts, but I hope that in the future of the Tang Dynasty, there will be rivers flowing for hundreds of miles, and herds of horses, and that the children of the Tang Dynasty will be healthy and strong, and the territory of the Tang Dynasty will be vast for thousands of miles."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I am tired."

The emperor slowly closed his eyes. Looking at his father who was sleeping on the chair, Li Chengqian picked up the cloak beside him and put it on his father, looking at the mountains and forests in the distance in deep thought.

He called a medical officer to take his father's pulse.

After confirming that there was nothing serious and he was just tired, Li Chengqian felt relieved.

In fact, my father was still in very good health, but he felt a little uncomfortable due to the days of running around and the unfamiliar climate and water, so he left on his own and went to sit by the river.

Su Wan accompanied her mother in the forest and saw the prince sitting alone by the river.

Empress Changsun asked, "Has Chengqian been alone like this all the time today?"

As the prince's bedmate, Su Wan naturally knew it. She replied, "Mother, His Highness is always worried."

"Your Majesty has not yet given Yu Tu a title?"

"Mother, the child is still young, and Your Highness is unwilling to give the child a title too early."

Empress Changsun understood again and whispered, "It's about things in the future."

Su Wan nodded, "Yes, Your Highness is often worried about this."

Even the court officials could sense that the Tang Dynasty was about to welcome its next emperor. People in the court and the public were discussing the matter, and envoys from various countries also felt that the Tang Dynasty was about to have its next Heavenly Khan.

Empress Changsun picked up the running little Que'er and looked at her son who was all alone. It was the time when power was being transferred between father and son, and it was also a time when the child was most worried.

"Wan'er, go and accompany Cheng Qian."

Su Wan nodded and responded, "Yeah."

Empress Changsun smiled again as she hugged her granddaughter and walked back while talking.

Noticing the person standing next to him, Li Chengqian put his arm on the table, one hand on the armrest of the chair, and whispered, "Sit down."

Su Wan sat down next to her husband and said, "Mother feels that Your Highness has been very worried these days."

Li Chengqian said: "The civil and military officials accompanying me are all wondering what the next emperor will do. In fact, what else can I do? It's nothing more than consolidating the foundation of the Tang Dynasty."

"The Queen Mother is very worried about Your Highness."

"Yes, I know everything."

After Cen Wenben received the prince's instructions on the imperial examination, he discussed it with Chu Suiliang, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xingcheng and Liu Li.

As the prince said, the imperial examination screening is also a process of creating value.

This is a very cruel statement, but the imperial examination system is now very popular and is no longer what it used to be. It will become even more prosperous in the coming years.

There will be more and more people taking the imperial examinations, and the examinations will become more and more difficult.

Strengthening the professionalism of the imperial examination is a very tedious task. It not only requires that the students who take the imperial examination be able to pass the examination, but also that they have the relevant abilities.

Chu Suiliang said: "Future students, wait and see."

Xiaofu brought people back. She bought a lot of things, including carts of meat and vegetables. Tonight's meal will definitely be very sumptuous.

Li Zhi took out a radish from a cart of vegetables and chewed it while asking, "Are there any pickled mustard greens to eat today?"

The maid replied, "Your Highness, last year all the pickled mustard greens were given to the army as rations, so there is nothing to prepare this year."

When he heard that there were no more pickled mustard greens to eat, Li Zhi felt quite bored while chewing the radish.

Li Shen said, "We have braised pork today."

Li Zhi handed him a piece of radish and said, "It's still fresh."

The two brothers were sitting beside a car chewing on radishes. They had been feeling hungry for a long time, so they were chewing on them to fill their stomachs.

In the evening, the escorting army and the civil officials in the court all had sumptuous meals. Except for the meals for His Majesty's family, which were prepared by Xiaofu himself, Xiaofu did not prepare the rest of the meals himself.

Li Shimin watched Li Zhi and Li Shen wolfing down their meal, and helplessly put down his bowl and chopsticks.

Empress Chang Sun asked, "Why? Didn't you eat anything along the way?"

Little Yu Tu was also wolfing down his food, but neither his grandfather nor his grandmother said anything about him, showing obvious partiality towards him.

Li Shimin said: "I have never learned any etiquette since I was a child."

Li Chengqian said: "It's okay, it's the time to grow, eat more."

Li Zhi and Li Shen were still chewing, nodding as they continued to eat voraciously.

Tonight, the escort team was very happy. Li Chengqian listened to the arrangements made by Lord Ying. The army could rest for half a month when they arrived at the foot of Mount Tai.

After these two months, most people are already exhausted.

The next day, just after dawn, little Yutu and little Que'er were brushing their teeth, but their movements were still a little unfamiliar.

"Brother, are you going to climb Mount Tai too?"

Little Yutu brushed his teeth, rinsed his mouth, and washed his face. He was always confident and said loudly: "Taishan, it's right there, how can it be difficult for me!"

Xiao Que'er sighed. She was only seven years old, but she had been preparing for a rainy day since she was a child. She was ready to tell her grandfather and father about this matter.

The team set off again. When they passed a mountain stream, they looked up and saw the majestic Mount Tai. Looking up from the bottom, they could see that the mountain seemed to rise from the ground to the sky.

This mountain stands between heaven and earth, existing eternally. It is older than human beings.

The carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain. There were already ceremonial officers standing on the steps, bowing and welcoming the emperor to climb the mountain.

Li Shimin, wearing the emperor's crown, looked at the stone steps for a long time without saying a word.

Li Chengqian also got off the carriage and looked at the stone steps leading up the mountain. There were dense woods on both sides of the steps, and the sunlight was just enough to cover the entire stone steps without being blocked by the shade of the trees.

Cen Wenben and a group of ceremonial officials stood aside.

Li Shimin personally took the lit incense and slowly inserted it into the incense burner, and then burned the ritual objects and silk books in the bronze tripod.

The ceremonial officer shouted, "Mountain climbing!"

“Mountain climbing!”

“Mountain climbing!”

Shouts came from above. After Li Chengqian and his father kowtowed in greeting, they walked up the stone steps of Mount Tai.

After walking for a while, I looked back and saw a large group of people also climbing the mountain behind me.

Li Zhi and Li Shen, Xiao Yutu and Xue Wanbei, Ying Gong, Cen Wenben, Yu Zhining, and other civil and military officials followed behind him.

Every time we walked a distance, when the incense at the foot of the mountain was about to burn out, there would be an incense burner on the stone steps, and we would light another stick of incense.

The climbing team was large, but also quiet. Everyone looked serious and did not speak. They just took steps and followed the emperor's steps to climb up.

After walking along the stone steps for an hour, the road became more rugged the higher we went, and the stone steps were a little dilapidated due to years of disrepair.

Going further up, you can see stone steps with cracks or broken slabs, which are all signs of time.

It was unknown when the last emperor climbed Mount Tai, and the road leading to the top of Mount Tai had not been repaired for many years. Seeing that His Majesty had stopped, the eunuch beside him hurriedly wiped the sweat off His Majesty.

The eunuch ordered, "Your Majesty has ordered us to rest for a while."

Little Yutu could no longer climb, and his heroic words in the morning had long been forgotten. He hugged Xue Wanbei's legs, breathed heavily, and tried to go down the mountain several times.

The ministers sat on the stone steps in groups of three or four to rest, while the people from the Ministry of Works went up first to pave the way for His Majesty to climb the mountain later.

Li Chengqian took a sip of water from the water bag and looked at the scenery below the mountain. He could see smoke rising from the quiet village in the distance and a river running through the woods.

Looking back now, the official road we took here looks like a winding path.

Looking up again, you can see the sunlight shining through the gaps in the clouds, and vaguely visible rays of sunlight in the air.

Li Shimin said: "What a beautiful scenery this world has."

Li Chengqian said: "Father, you can't see the whole world at a glance."

The father and son smiled knowingly and rested for half an hour. Then His Majesty and the Crown Prince set out to climb the mountain again, and the court officials and generals behind them followed.

Duke Ying followed behind His Majesty and the Crown Prince.

After walking for another two hours, it was already dusk. The sight of the prince supporting His Majesty as he ascended the stairs was moving.

Li Ji felt warm in his heart, but his nose also felt a little sour.

By nightfall, some people had already lit lanterns on the mountain road ahead, but the weather was not good and it was drizzling tonight.

Fortunately, we had prepared a house in advance to shelter from the rain.

Li Chengqian saw that Xiao Yutu was carried up on Xue Wanbei's back.

In fact, this kid didn't need to climb Mount Tai. Li Chengqian pressed his legs and said, "Why did you climb Mount Tai? How are you now? Can't you climb anymore? Can't you get down the mountain?"

Xiao Yutu said, "After a night's rest, I can climb the mountain again."

Li Chengqian instructed the young eunuch beside him, "Give him a good massage, otherwise his feet will be swollen tomorrow."

"Here."

As the eunuch pressed on him, little Yu Tu screamed again. This child was really suffering.

Everyone was drinking the dry food they brought with them with water. Fires were lit in the night. The night in Mount Tai was still a little cold, and it was raining, so everyone tightened their clothes.

Li Chengqian first checked that Li Shen and Li Zhi were fine, then handed Xue Wanbei a water bag and said, "Thank you for your hard work, carrying him up the mountain."

"It won't be hard for me."

Li Chengqian sat down, listening to the rustling sound of raindrops falling in the forest, and said, "This child is always like this, with a very high spirit."

Xue Wanbei chewed a biscuit and said, "Your Highness may be aloof, but as a prince, you must be different from us."

Li Chengqian said: "He is indeed an ambitious child."

"Ah."

On this climb, only His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in the best condition. Old ministers like Cen Wenben can no longer walk. They can only walk as many steps as they can on the mountain road. There is no need to force themselves if they cannot climb up.

A night passed and everyone rested quietly. At dawn, the melodious sound of birds was heard from the mountains and forests.

The group once again headed towards Mount Tai. This journey was much more relaxed than when they first started climbing.

Li Shimin slowed down his pace and chatted and laughed with several court officials. This section of the road was not so steep, and everyone felt much more relaxed.

When passing by an ancient stone gate, the ceremonial officer introduced: "This was left behind by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when he was meditating in the mountains."

Li Chengqian looked at the ancient stone gate, one corner of which had fallen off, and asked, "Can we build a new stone gate here?"

"Your Highness, we will be able to do it after His Majesty has performed the Fengshan ceremony."

Emperor Wu of Han climbed Mount Tai five times, and there are many relics here left by Emperor Wu of Han.

Perhaps Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, had a special feeling for Mount Li.

The crowd came to a mountain top where there was an altar for sacrifice. From a distance, there was a road winding all the way up. Along the way, there were flags fluttering on both sides, fluttering in the wind.

This is not the top of Mount Tai, we still have to cross a few more mountains.

The emperor needed to offer sacrifices here and climb the mountain again.

After resting for an hour, everyone continued to move forward. More and more people stayed behind along the way, and fewer and fewer people followed behind.

Little Yu Tu lay on Xue Wanbei's back, with only the strength left to breathe.

The mountain wind blew, and the clothes rustled.

Until the next night, when only the last stretch of distance was left to the top of Mount Tai, they looked up and saw ceremonial officials busy on the stone steps. They swept the ground with branches and washed the stone steps with water, waiting for the emperor to offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai.

Li Zhi and Li Shen lay on the stone steps and breathed hard. Their clothes had already been soaked with sweat, and a large area of ​​their backs were wet.

Li Ji was still wearing armor, but he was also very tired.

After Xue Wanbei put Xiao Yutu down, he also sat on the ground.

Li Chengqian helped his father sit down again and saw that his father was just looking at the top of Mount Tai quietly without saying a word.

Now there are only these few people left. Looking back, they can see that on the mountain road they came from, court officials and generals were sitting together in groups of three or four. There was no end in sight and only their black court robes could be seen.

When the prince looked at them, the civil and military officials also looked up at His Majesty and the prince who were so close to the top of Mount Tai.

"Please sit down." Li Shimin was amazed at his son's physical strength and said, "You have been in poor health since childhood."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Li Shimin could still remember that Cheng Qian was a weak and sickly child, and every time he was seriously ill, he needed a long time to recuperate.

He held his son's hand and whispered, "I never thought I would need your support when I climb Mount Tai."

Li Chengqian said: "It is what I should do."

Li Shimin let out a long sigh, "Since then, you have been exercising regardless of the weather. Now you are in good health and I can rely on you."

Li Chengqian patted his father's back to help him calm his breathing.

Li Shimin sat on the stone steps and said, "Back then, people's livelihood was in decline, the foundation of the Tang Dynasty was unstable, there were several natural disasters and several man-made disasters, I blamed myself for a while and couldn't sleep for a long time."

Li Chengqian listened quietly to his father talking about the past.

"At first, I hoped that God would have mercy on the people of the world. I prayed like this, again and again, and later your illness was cured."

"If so, this son of yours truly is auspicious."

Li Shimin smiled in surprise and said, "What an auspicious sign."

Li Chengqian asked, "Did Yang Jian also offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai?"

"Him." Li Shimin chuckled and said, "He is offering sacrifices to the gods on the hill below. Haha... that's all."

There was a hint of pride on my father's face.

Yes, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty climbed higher than him, Yang Jian, and his father could only say that it was nothing special.

Looking down the mountain in the moonlight, everything under the starry night seems so small.

Looking up at the sky, I didn't feel that the stars and the moon were any closer to me.

(End of this chapter)