The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 39 His achievements are the Tang Dynasty
Sister Ning Er brought two bowls of noodles and whispered, "Your Highness, do you want more garlic?"

Li Chengqian looked at the bowl of noodles in front of him and said, "Since it's a midnight snack, no need for garlic."

Li Lizhi, who was sitting next to her brother, raised her hand and said, "I want garlic!"

In the East Palace, one needs to raise his hand to answer questions when attending lectures. Now Li Lizhi has developed a habit of raising her hand to speak.

Ning'er handed over some peeled garlic.

Seeing the little sister eating garlic and noodles with relish, Li Chengqian reminded her: "Remember to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth before going to bed."

Li Lizhi nodded continuously and asked, "Brother Emperor, what is centralization?"

Li Chengqian said: "Centralization is what most emperors would do. It is related to the strength of a dynasty, so it is necessary to centralize power."

She looked at her royal brother, chewing garlic in her mouth.

Under the starry sky, the brother and sister sat in roughly the same position. His Highness liked to bend his other knee, and put the elbow of the hand holding the bowl on his knee, which saved some effort when holding the bowl while eating.

Ning'er stood behind the brother and sister, silent.

Gradually, during the past six months in the Eastern Palace, Princess Changle also developed this sitting posture.

Actually, this is not good, but since Her Royal Highness the Princess is at home, it doesn’t matter.

Li Lizhi pondered and asked again: "Is centralization the imperial examination?"

"The imperial examination is just a means of centralizing power. Similar methods include reforming military power or taking back local power."

At this point, Li Chengqian became somewhat discouraged. Historically, the centralization of power in the Tang Dynasty was not very good, and the local governments were too powerful, which led to a situation in the later period where the local governments were able to suppress the central government.

The Central Plains is not that big, but when local officials, generals, and various military-government officials become too powerful to be controlled, the contradictions between the local and central governments will intensify.

In other words, the powerful empire lost its passion for external expansion and only fought for the sole interests, which generally killed others as well as itself.

In fact, the current emperor, the Heavenly Khan, is on the right track in keeping a group of powerful men from the Tang Dynasty in Chang'an City.

Under the current political system, the central power of Chang'an City is strong enough.

Now that we want to hold an imperial examination, it is just as the saying goes, all the heroes in the world are within our grasp.

No, it should be that all the heroes in the world are within the grasp of the emperor.

The old ministers retired and new young ministers came up. They were going to do some big things. In addition to the western expedition to Tuyuhun, the second big thing was to open the imperial examination.

Li Chengqian added: "I've said too much, you won't understand. It's getting late, go back and rest."

Li Lizhi stood up, stretched, and went back to her own room to see if her younger brothers and sisters slept well and read for a while before going to bed.

Xiaofu and several palace maids were still cleaning up the East Palace, picking up various things that the princes and princesses had thrown into various corners and putting them back to their original places in the East Palace.

Not until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went to sleep did the palace maids go out in groups of three or four to rest.

At night, the garden tour of Qujiang Lake was still going on. The current emperor and empress arrived and raised their glasses with everyone, shouting "Long live the Tang Dynasty."

The emperor and empress are not here, as if they are just there for a formality.

After the guests had dispersed, Changsun Wuji sat in a waterside pavilion, with his uncle lying beside him. He whispered, "Bring that old monk Bopo here."

"Here."

Before Changsun Wuji could say anything, someone hurried away.

After a while, an old monk was brought to the water pavilion.

Popo was an Indian, not a Tang person, so he was extremely respectful to the powerful people of the Tang Dynasty.

Gao Shilian asked, "What did His Royal Highness ask you, and what did you say to His Royal Highness?"

Bo Po told the two people exactly what happened by the Qujiang Lake, and then he bowed and said, "Dear noble, I dare not hide anything."

Gao Shilian nodded and pointed to a bowl of wine on the table with his eyes.

Popo took the bowl of wine with both hands and bowed again.

This old Indian monk behaved as humble as possible in front of the Tang people.

Changsun Wuji said: "Uncle, why bother to embarrass such an old man."

Gao Shilian sighed, "Am I no longer an old man?"

"You can go now. If anyone asks you about this in the future, you must report it truthfully. This involves the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, so you must be careful about your words and actions."

"I obey your command, old monk." Bo Po leaned on his crutch with one hand, bowed to Changsun Wuji, and then left.

More and more people were leaving the Qujiang Lake, carrying lanterns. There were groups of three or four people, both men and women.

Changsun Wuji said, "Uncle, it's getting late, we should go back."

Gao Shilian whispered, "You said that I am embarrassing an old man, but if you don't help the East Palace, aren't you also embarrassing me, an old man?"

Changsun Wuji raised his head and sighed, saying, "Uncle, please stop being unreasonable."

"Hehehe..." Gao Shilian closed his eyes, enjoying the cool night breeze comfortably, and said, "Do you know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Popo meant?"

Changsun Wuji said: "If Xuanzang can return safely, he will be successful and famous."

Gao Shilian nodded slowly.

Zhang Sun Wuji added: "But to Your Highness, Xuanzang is a Tang man. What Your Highness meant is that Xuanzang's achievements should be the achievements of the Tang Dynasty, not the achievements of an Indian like him, or a Buddha."

Gao Shilian said: "That's right, in fact, you and the prince are of the same kind."

"But..." Changsun Wuji wanted to say something but stopped himself. He kept his mouth shut and swallowed his words. He simply stopped talking and lowered his head without looking at his uncle.

Gao Shilian smiled when he saw this. He stood up and patted the shoulder of his nephew whom he had raised. He said slowly, "You are still the same. You have not changed. You were a commoner friend of your majesty back then. Just like back then, you are not only the most loyal person around the emperor, but also the most powerful relative."

The old servant followed Duke Xu with a smile on his face.

After walking out of Qujiang Pond, Gao Shilian shook his head and said, "It's hard for my grandson. He still has a long way to go."

The next day, Li Chengqian woke up early and received a message from Ganlu Palace, saying that there would be no court session that day.

"Hehe." Li Chengqian, who had just finished washing up, smiled numbly, took off his court clothes and returned to the couch to take a nap.

It is not easy for the emperor to grant a holiday. It has been such a long time since he finally gave one.

Ning'er smiled helplessly when she saw His Highness's behavior, then closed the door of the bedroom and stood quietly outside.

On the banks of the Wei River in Weinan, two horse-drawn carriages arrived at the river one after the other. After Xu Xiaode got off the carriage, he hurriedly saluted to the people in the carriage behind.

The person in this carriage is the current Duke of Ying, Wu Shigui.

Wu Shigui was one of the original contributors to the Jinyang Uprising. However, after he followed Li Yuan in the uprising, as more and more people followed Li Tang, Wu Shigui had received some criticism over the years.

Because Wu Shigui was born into a Shanxi Wu family, his family started out as a businessman and was one of the largest timber merchants in the pre-Sui Dynasty.

After that, he met Li Yuan, and because of Li Yuan's uprising, he became the Duke of Ying and an official of Li Tang. Wu Shigui coughed and got off the carriage, bowing in return.

There was a little girl following behind Wu Shigui. She stuck her head out of the carriage and looked at the carriage in front of her. There was also a girl of the same age as her.

Xu Xiaode said worriedly, "Duke Ying, why don't we go back to the court together? Doctor Sun is in Chang'an and can go and check on the patient."

Wu Shigui waved his hand and said, "I will go visit General Li Shenfu first, and I will come to Chang'an to meet you after I finish these things."

After saying that, he got on the carriage again and headed south from here to Bingzhou.

Xu Xiaode stood there to say farewell and shook his head in disappointment.

Because Wu Shigui governed Jingzhou and made friends with Li Shenfu in Bingzhou, they had a good relationship. The brave and warlike Li Shenfu fought against the Turks at Fenshui and beat the cavalry who came to offend Jie Li Khan at Shahe.

Like the royal family general Li Shentong and others of that time, he fought for the Li Tang for more than ten years.

But times have changed. Now that he is suffering from a serious illness, Li Shenfu has exhausted his body from years of running around. Now he can only take a break and recuperate.

Wu Shigui was a man who valued friendship and loyalty, so it was natural for him to go visit Li Shenfu.

Xu Xiaode was still very worried about Wu Shigui's physical condition.

"Daddy."

Xu Hui's voice came from behind, "Will Xiao Wu come to Chang'an?"

The Xiao Wu that the girl was talking about was the second daughter of Wu Shigui, who had accompanied her all the way here.

The two girls had a companion along the way. Xu Xiaode glanced in the direction of Chang'an City, gathered his thoughts, and said, "We'll be there."

A gust of wind blew across the official road, creating some ripples in the Weishui River.

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian slept until noon and opened the palace door with sleepy eyes. The first person he saw was Ning'er standing outside the palace.

She bowed and said, "Your Highness, you can have your meal now. Xu Xiaode is already waiting in Chongwen Hall."

Li Chengqian nodded and walked towards the front hall. His younger brothers and sisters were sitting at a long table eating. They kept quiet while eating, which was the rule of the Eastern Palace.

If you want to speak, you have to put down your bowl and chopsticks, and swallow the food in your mouth before speaking. These are the rules of the Eastern Palace.

In fact, it is similar to the etiquette in the palace.

Most of the time in the palace, the maids in charge of these children would turn a blind eye, but it was stricter in the East Palace.

Li Chengqian walked through the front hall and headed towards the Chongwen Hall.

Ning'er gave a look to the palace maid beside her, and immediately the palace maid carried the stove to Chongwen Hall.

Xu Xiaode was standing in front of the Chongwen Hall. When he saw the prince coming, he bowed and said, "Your Highness."

Li Chengqian walked straight into the Chongwen Hall, sat down and planned to eat first. He took the boiled water handed to him by Ning'er, drank a sip, and said, "I'm glad you're back."

Xu Xiaode bowed and said, "The water level of the Yellow River north of Tongguan has dropped, so I had to stay and open up the official road, which delayed me for two months."

"Tongguan is the throat of Guanzhong. Its geographical location is very important, and it should be so."

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was understanding, Xu Xiaode was relieved. He handed over a bundle and said, "This is what I prepared for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Ning'er first took the bundle and placed it in front of His Highness.

When I opened the bundle, I saw a pile of dried tea leaves.

Xu Xiaode added: "I am from Dongdao, Jiangnan. I have known tea since I was a child and can distinguish tea leaves. I asked people from my hometown in Jiangnan to pick the tea leaves according to your instructions, and then dry and fry them."

Li Chengqian picked up some tea leaves, put them in a bowl, and then poured in a bowl of boiling water.

When the tea leaves are soaked in boiling water, the rising hot steam carries the fragrance of the tea leaves.

Then he made another bowl for Xu Xiaode, and Li Chengqian said, "I will drink with Xu Changshi."

Ning'er watched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Xu Xiaode pick up the tea bowls together.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only took two sips, then looked at Xu Xiaode and drank the tea in one gulp as if to quench his thirst.

Perhaps it was because he felt the trust of His Highness that Xu Xiaode showed his loyalty in this heavy drinking.

Li Chengqian poured him another bowl and asked with a smile, "How does it taste?"

Xu Xiaode wiped his mouth with his sleeve and replied, "It's a bit bitter."

"Don't drink so much this time. Take a sip or two and drink slowly."

Hearing this, he picked up the tea bowl this time, took a sip, savored it carefully, and after a moment, he said, "It has a unique flavor."

"Tea has existed since ancient times, and tea drinking has a long history. People have different ways of drinking tea. I prefer to fry the tea leaves before drinking it, which is simpler and purer." Li Chengqian said with emotion: "That's great. The Tang Dynasty finally has a decent way of frying tea."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Xiaode noticed that the Crown Prince's smile had a profound meaning and was inexplicably gloomy.

Xu Xiaode bowed and frowned, not understanding the meaning. It was rare to see His Highness with such an expression.

Tea is certainly beneficial to the country and the people. Since its advent, many wars in later generations have been caused by tea.

Jingyang, after the summer harvest, it became even busier. Most of the able-bodied laborers in Jingyang County went to work in Du He's workshop.

Shangguan Yi built a small hut for himself here and lived in it. The house was not high and not spacious enough to accommodate a bed and a table, and was just enough to shelter from wind and rain.

After the Jiangdu Incident, he was tired of living under someone else's roof, so he moved out of Du He's mansion and simply lived in Jingyang.

The karez in Jingyang was being dug. Xu Jingzong stroked his beard and said, "It will be completed in half a month."

Shangguan Yi watched as people were constantly pulling buckets of soil out of the shafts with ropes, and frowned, "Where did you get so many people?"

Xu Jingzong said: "Borrowed from the next county."

"Where do all these ropes and farm tools for digging come from?"

“It was also borrowed from other counties.”

Shangguan Yi did not doubt Xu Jingzong's ability. This man was able to borrow so many manpower and farm tools from nearby counties. How well connected was Xu Jingzong in Guanzhong?

This person was not in a high position, and he had only known him for two or three months. Shangguan Yi asked again, "As long as Minister Xu asked, would they lend it to him?"

Xu Jingzong said: "It is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's intention, they will naturally do it."

Shangguan Yi was puzzled and said, "Then the Ministry of Personnel's approval of the memorial on reclamation is also..."

Xu Jingzong said: "Of course, it is also the intention of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"As long as we say it's His Royal Highness's intention, they will arrange it?"

"Of course. I, Xu Jingzong, am a lowly person with little influence. As long as you say you are doing something for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I will give you some convenience."

Shangguan Yi looked at him incredulously and said slowly, "What do you think of the prince?"

(End of this chapter)