The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 387 The New Emperor Arrives
Li Chengqian looked at the contents of the letter and nodded, "Have you sent them the new clothes that the Queen Mother prepared?"

Lin Chuan nodded and added: "It was sent a long time ago, maybe he is wearing it now."

As the brother and sister were talking, the eunuch came hurriedly to report: "Your Majesty, Su Jianzheng is here."

"Well, please come."

Su Tan was wearing court robes, holding his official hat with one hand, and hurried over with quick and small steps. He stopped in front of the hall and saluted, "Your Majesty!"

He spoke in a long voice, bowed with a loyal attitude, and said, "Your Highness."

Linchuan took his brother's letter, bowed slightly, and left.

Li Chengqian sat down in front of the new palace, looked at the respectful father-in-law, and said, "No need to be polite."

Su Tan said again: "I dare not lose my manners."

Li Chengqian said: "Wan'er is in Liangyi Palace. I will take my father-in-law to see her."

Su Tan said quickly: "I dare not disturb the queen."

At this moment, Su Tan was as humble as he could be, and as loyal as he could be.

Following His Majesty's eye signal, the sensible eunuch went to deliver the message to the Queen.

Li Chengqian added: "It's New Year, please come and celebrate."

"Your Majesty, why are you shooting arrows here alone?"

"I have just ascended the throne, I should be celebrating with my ministers, not practicing archery here alone. Now I am lonely and no one is around me?"

Su Tan said: "I made a mistake."

"In fact, my brothers and sisters are very busy. We have already made an appointment for the family dinner on New Year's Eve, so there won't be so many celebrations. This is what I ordered."

Su Tan bowed again.

Li Chengqian supported him and said, "I've already said it, no need to be so polite."

The new emperor was only twenty-eight years old. At this age, he ascended the throne. Perhaps he should be arrogant and complacent, or get drunk and celebrate with his ministers.

Despite such a big event, there was no one around His Majesty to celebrate. Instead, he was practicing archery here in such a deserted manner.

If a person can suppress the desires in his heart to this extent, he must be a very rational person.

Su Tan saluted again out of admiration in his heart. It seemed that his Majesty was like this when he was a child in the Eastern Palace.

"I am here to plead guilty."

"Excuse me? What's the excuse?"

Su Tan continued, "The Wugong Su family is the leader of the gentry in Guanzhong, but a fight between students and children of the gentry occurred in Weinan. It was because I, as the leader of the gentry, did not make good arrangements. I am willing to disband the Wugong Su family, and from now on there will be no more Wugong Su family in the Guanzhong gentry."

After all, Su Tan was still unwilling to be the head of the Guanzhong gentry.

But the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace had already ascended the throne at that time, and the Su family's martial arts should have been at its peak.

Li Chengqian asked in return: "Since he has confessed his guilt, how should we deal with him?"

"Your Majesty, I will go and dismiss the young men in my family and order them to go to various places to teach. From now on, they are not allowed to return home without reason, and they are not allowed to call themselves the Su family of martial arts from now on."

“This is not a good idea.”

"This..." Su Tan hesitated again. He wanted to ask His Majesty what he wanted to do. But in his heart, he couldn't bear to see the Wugong Su family's children die. Would His Majesty chop off all their heads?

After thinking about all kinds of things in his mind, he subconsciously wiped his forehead, and found that there was no sweat and the weather was still so cold.

Li Chengqian said: "It is a good thing for the young disciples of Wugong Su's family to participate in teaching, but there is no need to disband the Wugong Su's lineage."

After that, he added: "In the future, the court will need to recruit more teachers to teach. If the Wugong Su family can take the lead in calling on the other children of the Guanzhong gentry to participate in the teaching, wouldn't it be better?"

"Of course, my father-in-law has never regarded himself as the head of the Guanzhong gentry. How about being the head of Chongwen Hall?"

"If you still feel it is inappropriate, I am willing to let you live out your days in peace."

Su Tan bowed again and said, "Your Majesty has ordered me to do this, and I dare not refuse."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Okay, from now on, Su Jianzheng will serve as the head of Chongwen Hall and command the Guanzhong gentry in the name of Chongwen Hall, rather than in the name of the head of the Guanzhong gentry, how do you think?"

"I accept the decree."

He is indeed a good father-in-law. He always thinks about his son-in-law.

Soon Su Wan also arrived. She stepped forward, took Su Tan's hand and said, "Father, why didn't you tell me before you came so that I could go and greet you."

"I pay my respects to the queen."

Seeing her father bowing, Su Wan hurriedly went to help him and said, "How can a father bow to his daughter?"

Li Chengqian walked into the hall on his own initiative, leaving space for them.

In fact, the conversation between the father and daughter could be vaguely heard in the hall. It was probably because Su Tan was elected as the leader of the Guanzhong gentry, and he was trembling with fear all day long.

If the Guanzhong gentry did anything wrong, the Su family should be held accountable.

But now it’s all right. From now on, he is the head of the Chongwenguan in Chang'an, so he doesn’t care about being the head of the aristocratic family.

It's just that the head of the gentry was allowed to combine with the Chongwenguan.

Rather than letting Su Tan command the young men of Wugong County, it would be better to let him command the young men of the gentry in the entire Guanzhong area.

It can not only make the father-in-law feel at ease, but also make him legitimate.

Originally, Su Tan was the Secretary General of the court, and his appointment as the Director of Chongwenguan was considered a demotion.

Li Chengqian was somewhat distressed. Most people would evaluate an emperor as being cold-hearted and harsh.

Which emperor would demote his father-in-law, a relative of the emperor, to the Chongwenguan after ascending the throne, instead of promoting him?

After Su Tan finished talking to his daughter, he walked into the palace and said, "Your Majesty, I will go back now and wait for your Majesty's order."

"No need to be so fussy. After Yan Qinli took office as the Junior Inspector of Jingzhao Prefecture, the position of Director of Chongwenguan has been vacant ever since."

"Then your Excellency..."

"Take office now. Chongwenguan was located under the East Palace. I can appoint or dismiss him directly without consulting the court."

After that, Li Chengqian handed him a badge and said, "My father-in-law, keep it."

Seeing the goldfish bag, Su Tan said again: "I obey your order."

The emperor and the empress stood in front of the new palace and bid farewell to Su Tan.

"My father is always so worried about gains and losses. I am sorry to make Your Majesty laugh at him."

"It's okay. Actually, my father-in-law is a good man."

"I have prepared the meal."

Before they knew it, it was noon and Li Chengqian felt a little hungry. The couple walked out of the new palace together.

On the first day of the first lunar month, it snowed right after the freezing rain.

When Changsun Wuji saw the national policy brought by His Majesty, he asked someone to call Chu Suiliang and scolded him severely.

The Duke of Zhao is now the Grand Marshal and the regent of the court, a position second only to the emperor.

Chu Suiliang was scolded and kept his head down.

"You are so brave! Do you know what the consequences will be if this national policy is seen by outsiders?"

Chu Suiliang hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty..."

"Shut up!" Changsun Wuji pointed at him and shouted, "How dare you mention His Majesty? His Majesty has only been on the throne for a short time. If this national policy is announced to the world, won't the world be in chaos?"

Chu Suiliang bowed his head and said nothing. This national policy does not mean that it should be used now, but just to inform Your Majesty.

Although he felt aggrieved, Chu Suiliang had no choice but to endure it, as Duke Zhao was the regent and the uncle of the current emperor.

If there are state affairs, it is reasonable to let Duke Zhao take charge.

What made Changsun Wuji angry was not how radical this national policy was, but that Chu Suiliang bypassed him, the Grand Marshal, and submitted the national policy privately.

This has happened more than once or twice.

After Changsun Wuji scolded him, he let him leave.

The wind and snow were howling on Zhuque Street. As Chu Suiliang stepped out of Duke Zhao's mansion, he saw Xu Jingzong standing across the street.

Unexpectedly, the other party was still smiling and waving.

Chu Suiliang walked forward with a stern face and said, "Are you making fun of me?"

Xu Jingzong patted his shoulder and said, "I knew that His Majesty would hand over your national policy to Duke Zhao. You are too anxious."

"For the sake of long-term peace and stability of the country, what does this little thing mean?"

Xu Jingzong said: "Do you know why Your Majesty gave this national policy to Duke Zhao? If the national policy is not well written, Your Majesty can just put it aside and ignore it."

"Why?"

"Your Majesty knows that you are young, and the Duke of Zhao is your uncle. It is natural for your Majesty to be taught by your uncle. This is also to reassure the court officials, so that they don't think that your Majesty is a stubborn person. So, your Majesty is wise!"

Seeing that his expression had eased a lot, Xu Jingzong said, "In fact, I also submitted a national policy, why was it not sent to the residence of Duke Zhao?"

"Why?"

"Because my national policy has been handed over to Lord Ying."

"Old fox!" Chu Suiliang uttered three words from between his teeth.

Xu Jingzong said with great enjoyment: "Duke Zhao will scold you, but His Majesty will not only not scold you, but will appreciate you instead."

"Just because you have followed His Majesty for many years? That's why you make such a guess?"

Xu Jingzong said: "Duke Zhao will not last many years in the court. Your Majesty will let him retire."

Chu Suiliang also seemed to be thinking about something.

"Let's go and drink together!"

Chu Suiliang flicked his sleeves and left quickly.

Xu Jingzong said with a straight face, "You don't know what's good for you."

He also walked towards the other end of the street.

During the Wude period, the Central Plains was pacified. During the Zhenguan period, the territory was expanded several times. The Li Tang foundation fell into the hands of the new emperor. It was an extremely large family business.

On the third day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Qianqing reign, the new emperor went to visit Duke Zheng in person.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Qianqing reign, Li Chengqian and the Queen accompanied their father and mother to a newly built village outside Beiyuan.

Li Chengqian walked beside his father.

Li Shimin asked, "Are you unwilling to raise your child in the deep palace?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and looked at the fields and the newly built village around him. This village was built from the ground in just a few days.

The emperor of Li Tang still did not build a palace in Longshouyuan, but instead built a Beiyuan and a village here that were like a forbidden area.

Li Chengqian said: "Father's hundred cavalrymen will all live in this village in the future. In addition to protecting Father, they will also bring their families to protect this place."

Looking at his son running in the fields, Li Chengqian said, "Please, father, take him for a walk more often."

Li Shimin whispered, "I will."

"I have visited Lord Zheng, and Dongyang has done his best. It is not surprising that Lord Zheng will die at any time. At least he will not feel pain. It would be good if he died in his sleep."

Li Shimin stopped.

Little Magpie said, "Dad, Grandpa, I want to go to my aunt's house to study."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Great, Beiyuan has the most powerful knowledge nowadays."

Li Chengqian continued to talk with his father. The two emperors walked side by side on the edge of the field. Empress Changsun watched this scene with a smile on her face and said, "Wan'er, this is the most beautiful scenery your mother has ever seen."

She took her mother's hand and said, "Yes."

I talked to my father about the future governance of the Tang Dynasty. The first effort of the Tang Dynasty was to expand its territory. Then in the next few decades, the Tang Dynasty would move towards a peak in accumulating national strength. This peak would be based on productivity, wealth, and population.

Although where will the next peak be in a few decades? I am afraid it will take a long time to find it.

Moreover, boosting productivity is a very complicated matter, and the lack of production tools and production technology is a barrier.

Li Chengqian continued, "I want to expand the scale of Chongwenguan and build an independent government office."

"Build another one within the three provinces and six ministries?"

"I don't plan to do that. In the future, the Chongwen Academy will be built outside Chang'an City and will only be supervised by the Censorate and arranged by the Secretariat. In addition to the three provinces and six ministries, the Chongwen Academy will need to train teachers, arrange teaching support, and provide books."

"I will also build a larger printing house so that books can be printed faster and in greater quantities, and paper can be produced in large quantities."

Li Shimin listened quietly to his son's subsequent arrangements. He felt a little tired after listening so much, so he sat down and planned to take a nap.

Hundreds of cavalrymen entered the village with their wives and children.

Li Chengqian and Su Wan stood in the sunset and said to their son, "Come back anytime you want. Follow your grandfather and walk with the villagers in the counties."

"I obey your command." Yu Tu saluted like an adult.

Li Chengqian patted his son on the back of his head and said, "Go and accompany your grandparents."

"Here."

Su Wanduo glanced at her son's happy back and followed her husband back to the palace.

In the first year of Qianqing, after the Lantern Festival, the new emperor held his first grand court meeting since he ascended the throne.

Duke Ying Li Ji and Duke Zhao Changsun Wuji stood at the front of the court procession, in the civil and military rows.

The Taiji Hall was very quiet, waiting for the new emperor to come to the court.

The wind blew in from one side of the Taiji Hall, causing the clothes of the civil and military officials to flutter.

Li Chengqian walked into the hall wearing a yellow robe, came to the throne, sat down gracefully, and looked at the civil and military officials in the hall.

The ministers shouted "salute" and rows of ministers bowed in salute.

Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "The Lantern Festival has just passed. Where are the ministers now? I hope you can help me govern the country."

The ministers saluted once again.

Li Chengqian said in a clear voice: "Now all parts of the Central Plains are resting and recuperating. I am well aware that there have been several major expeditions during the Zhenguan period, and people's livelihood is exhausted. I would like to reduce taxes and levies from now on."

Li Ji stood out from the court and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong handed over the national policy to me earlier."

"Hand it over."

Li Ji handed a memorial with both hands to the eunuch beside him.

Then this national policy fell into the hands of His Majesty today.

Li Chengqian looked at the national policy and said with a smile, "I wonder what uncle thinks of this national policy?"

Changsun Wuji didn't want to respond, but the eunuch had already handed the volume of national policy to him, so he took it with both hands.

(End of this chapter)