The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 430: The Internal Organs of the Court

In the past, the water in Qujiang Lake was not so clear and seemed turbid.

After Chang'an rebuilt the drainage ditches six years ago, the water conditions here have gradually improved, and now fish can even jump out of the water.

After the water condition improved, there were more fish here, and it was no longer like a fish pond.

There was a row of fishing rods in the distance, and my father was sitting there, with the eunuch watching.

Although he had abdicated, he was still very concerned about state affairs, especially those related to Tibet.

Li Chengqian sat by the pool, enjoying the warm sunshine.

Seeing that Tian Khan did not reply for a long time, Songtsen Gampo took the chair handed to him by the eunuch and sat down. The chair was indeed very comfortable to sit on, and the backrest was cleverly designed.

"In fact, it is good to let the Protectorate enter Tibet. With the Tang army guarding Tibet, we can feel more at ease. If there is civil unrest in Tibet again, it will not be a good thing for me or you."

Songtsen Gampo nodded and said, "Thank you, Khan, for your understanding."

"In fact, this is not your concession. If you really want to make concessions to maintain the peace of Tubo, this is just a premise, not a condition."

After thinking for a moment, Li Chengqian said, "Even if we don't build the Protectorate, the civil strife in Qinling was quelled by the Tang army. Besides, your Tibetan ministers are very willing to serve me."

"May I ask, what other conditions are required by the court?"

Li Chengqian glanced at Yan Qinli and Shangguan Tingzhi standing on the side, and said: "Building a Protectorate in Tubo is a prerequisite. Can the Zanpu agree to this?"

Songtsen Gampo nodded.

"Increase the number of Chongwen Halls in Tubo, and Chongwen Halls can select some students to come to Chang'an for enrollment."

"The Heavenly Khan wants a Tibetan child?"

"A very small number of gifted children can do it, over eight years old."

"Will they be able to return to Tibet in the future?"

"If you want to go back, go back. The Tang Dynasty will not stop you."

Songtsen Gampo asked, "How will the Heavenly Khan deal with Rulaijie?"

"What you Tibetan ministers do has nothing to do with me."

"He has made great contributions in assisting Wang Xuance. Will the Tang Dynasty protect him?"

Li Chengqian took the scroll handed over by the eunuch and said as he read it, "I have never treated meritorious officials badly. Let's keep him."

Songtsen Gampo said, "Shouldn't we kill him?"

"Hahaha..." Li Chengqian suddenly laughed, "I am the Khan of Heaven. If I don't tolerate Tubo, how can I be called an emperor who cares about the world? You and I should be the same person. Why do you have to worry about this? Is his method very powerful? Will his existence affect the overall situation of the relationship between Tang and Tubo?"

"The Khan of Heaven is incomparable to us."

Li Chengqian's eyes were still on the words in the scroll, and he continued, "The Central Plains is indeed different from Tubo. There are many difficult problems in the Central Plains, and many people have been killed in the past two years."

A chilly wind blew across Qujiang Lake, causing ripples on the water surface.

Songtsen Gampo looked at the scenery here and said, "But there are many capable ministers in the Central Plains."

"The Central Plains has been like this since ancient times. Tubo also had Sambuza, Lu Dongzan, and Zamp, but the Tang Dynasty was still not strong enough or rich enough. The Tang people lived a hard life."

Songtsen Gampo learned new experience in dealing with the world from the young Khan, that as an emperor, one should not be obsessed with these good and evil.

Li Chengqian invited Songtsen Gampo to drink tea and said, "I heard that you haven't been sleeping well recently?"

Songtsen Gampo said: "I am weak. I am over thirty, but my body is sixty or seventy."

"You are too pessimistic. I was also weak and sickly when I was young. Whenever I was seriously ill, I would be bedridden for several days or half a month."

"But now the Tian Khan is very powerful."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "You can start exercising from now on. Maybe you will get better. Go out more often and see more Tang people."

Songtsen Gampo smelled the tea and asked, "What kind of tea is this?"

"There are some medicinal herbs in here that can calm the mind."

"Your Majesty has been feeling uneasy lately?"

"They want to stuff women into my palace."

After tasting it again, the tea with a hint of floral fragrance was very mellow. Songtsen Gampo frowned and asked, "Has the tea of ​​the Tang people become like this?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Of course I still prefer pure tea."

Another eunuch handed over a wooden box.

When you open the wooden box, there is a cup inside.

Li Chengqian added: "Drink more hot water."

This is a cup made of peach wood. Songtsen Gampo poured tea into the cup, took a sip and said, "Hmm, it has a unique flavor."

“There’s really no difference.”

"It is rumored that Tian Khan likes cups very much."

Li Chengqian said, "That's all rumors. These cups don't last long. They usually need to be replaced within three or two months. Wooden cups don't last long, and iron cups get cold easily. It's not easy to keep them warm."

“Is there really a cup that can keep things warm?”

Li Chengqian said, "It's useless. Just try to keep the temperature as high as possible."

"I hope that Tubo and Tang can be like a thermos cup."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I hope so."

Your Majesty and the Tibetan king sat by the Qujiang Lake, talking like old friends who had not seen each other for years, and they were talking about ordinary trivial matters.

Songtsen Gampo was very curious about health preservation and asked again: "What is health preservation?"

"You need to maintain your health and improve yourself by changing your lifestyle. If you start maintaining your health at the age of 30, you may be able to live to 70."

"Haha!" Songtsen Gampo suddenly laughed and said, "If I can really live to be seventy, I will be able to see the day when Tubo will prosper again."

What does seventy years mean? We can see three generations grow from children to teenagers. It will take three generations for Tubo to prosper again.

"I hope that Tubo will not need to wait for 70 years to prosper." Li Chengqian changed his sitting posture and frowned again, saying, "If you take back the governance power of those Tubo ministers and give their power to the officials of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo may not need to wait for 70 years to prosper."

At this point, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "The Tang people are better at governance."

Songtsen Gampo looked up at the clear sky and said, "If the Heavenly Khan and I can really live to be seventy years old, when that year comes, I will hand over the power of governing the Tibetan ministers to the Heavenly Khan."

"What if you commit suicide?"

"I will never commit suicide."

"What if I don't treat the disease properly?" "I am the Tibetan king, please believe me, Khan."

"Okay." Li Chengqian clinked his teacup with his new one and said, "Then let's start counting from this year. We still have forty years. If you are still alive after forty years, the Tubo state will be handed over to the Tang Dynasty."

Songtsen Gampo said: "Okay! It's a deal."

Li Chengqian stood up, straightened his clothes and left.

Shangguan Tingzhi and Yan Qinli hurriedly followed.

"Are you two willing to accept the punishment?"

"I am willing to accept the punishment."

The two said in unison.

"Okay, you two will each stay in office for one year and not be promoted. The rest of the officials in Jingzhao Prefecture and Dali Temple will each write a statement explaining their negligence in their duties."

"Here."

"I will leniently punish you this time. If you do it again..."

"I wish to resign from my official position."

"Not really."

After seeing His Majesty off, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. There was no severe punishment this time. His Majesty was indeed wise. There were too many things that were hard to guard against, and they would have to intensify inspections in the future.

At the quiet Qujiang Pond, Li Shimin was about to leave when he ordered, "If you can't catch any fish, no one can leave here today."

Several eunuchs nodded hurriedly, holding on to the fishing rods without letting go.

The court did not get involved in the internal struggles of Tubo. This was what Your Majesty promised Songtsen Gampo, and everything was left to the Tibetans to decide for themselves.

Since the establishment of friendship between Tang and Tubo, no one has challenged Tubo’s residence anymore.

But the Tibetans were still unwelcome in Chang'an.

In the remaining days, Songtsen Gampo followed the advice of the Heavenly Khan and often went out for a walk, until the first grand court meeting of the fourth year of Qianqing on this day.

Songtsen Gampo came to Taiji Hall to congratulate Tian Khan.

Also arriving were Ashina She'er of the Turkic region, envoys from Silla, envoys from Mengshezhao, envoys from the Uighur region, and monks from the Western Regions.

At this court meeting, Li Chengqian had someone read out the imperial edict, appointing Ashina She'er as the Great Khan of the Turks.

In the same year, Kim Chunchu, the general commander of the Donghaidao Army, submitted a letter to the Heavenly Khan, stating that the Silla royal family had abdicated.

The emperor appointed Kim Chunchu as the King of Silla, and he continued to rule Silla and Donghaidao. As for Donghaidao, there was no clear territory there. Probably all the land east of Silla was Donghaidao of the Tang Dynasty.

Ashina She'er came with his children and expressed his loyalty to the Heavenly Khan. He was determined to obey the Heavenly Khan's orders for the rest of his life and voluntarily asked to leave his children in Chang'an.

The Silla envoys were willing to continue fighting for the Tang Dynasty.

Mengshezhao was willing to march southward to unify the south, so Tian Khan named the country Nanzhao.

Outside the imperial city, teams of officials left Chang'an to read the emperor's edict in various places, and another group of students left from Chongwenguan. This time, there were one thousand teachers sent by the Tang Dynasty to teach in Tubo and India.

This is an unprecedented scale.

One decree after another was read out in front of the Suzaku Gate by officials from the Ministry of Rites, and people all listened attentively.

The emperor also issued a decree that the Tang Dynasty should maintain a frugal style in the next few years. As the Tang Dynasty was still not wealthy enough, large urban and rural areas with Luoyang and Guanzhong as the core should be established, and the construction of each county should be reported to Jingzhao Prefecture.

As soon as a eunuch finished reading the decree, another eunuch came quickly and continued to read the decree loudly. In the next five years, the Central Plains would focus on developing farming and building granaries in Hebei and Liaodong. All unsold grain would be purchased by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture.

In front of the Suzaku Gate, people have been talking, and everyone is listening to the meaning of the decree. His Majesty hopes that Hebei and Liaodong will vigorously carry out land reclamation and cultivation, and not worry about not being able to sell grain. The Ministry of Revenue will cover everything?

How much grain does the court need to buy and how much money will it need to store all of it?
After the fields and household registrations in Hebei were redistributed, the amount of grain did increase in the past two years, and the grain prices in Guanzhong and Luoyang were stabilized for a time.

Someone asked, "Have you heard? Last year, His Majesty asked the Minister of Civil Affairs Chu Suiliang to go to Luoyang and build three large granaries there, saying that they would store food for nearly one million people for a year."

The imperial edicts continued to be read out, and most of them were national policies for the next five years, such as increasing the efficiency of each county and simplifying redundant procedures. If the villagers in each county had any difficulties, they could go directly to the government office to which they belonged, without having to report to the village head or county magistrate, and could make their own decisions.

In addition, housing construction was increased in Guanzhong and Luoyang, and the quality of workshop goods was improved while the two places were developing rapidly. If Jingzhao Prefecture saw someone selling inferior goods as good ones, they would impose a fine each time, with the fine being a multiple of the price of the goods.

After that, there were many instructions to Yangzhou, strengthening the teaching and supporting mulberry and tea, and continuing the teaching.

Until His Majesty issued the final decree to investigate the salt households.

When these notices were posted together with the government decrees in the court, there were so many government decrees this year that they almost covered the outer wall of the Suzaku Gate, creating an unprecedented spectacle.

Emperors of all dynasties had built wonders, but I have never seen anything like this.

The content of each decree is very detailed.

The historian Lai Ji stood on the city wall of Suzaku Gate. Looking at the grand spectacle in front of the Suzaku Gate, he wrote in the history book that on the first day of February in the fourth year of Qianqing, the emperor issued more than 30 decrees, all of which were displayed in the Suzaku Gate for thousands of people to observe.

Tens of thousands of Chang'an residents gathered in front of the Suzaku Gate. Looking all the way to the Suzaku Street, there was a bustling crowd, all listening attentively to the Khan's order.

The influence of the Tang Dynasty court was growing. The emperor had always been willing to inform the people of the world of his decrees, and every decree of the court was made public.

This was the case when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince and was in charge of the construction of Jingzhao Prefecture and Guanzhong.

It remains unchanged today, except that the current policies are spoken to the people of the world.

Kong Zhiyue, who also recorded the national history, sighed: "In fact, your majesty is just showing the decrees to the people of the world, letting them know what the court is going to do. Just by doing this, you can win so many people's hearts."

Lai Ji explained: "The state and the people are inseparable. Your Majesty is not like the emperors of previous dynasties, who manipulated their ministers and sought power. Our Majesty wants to share the world with all the people of the world."

Kong Zhiyue added: "Since the Han Dynasty, people in the Southern Chen Dynasty and the Northern Dynasty have become less and less aware of what the court is. Now, Your Majesty is like digging out the internal organs of the court and showing them to the people."

Lai Ji looked back and saw eunuchs holding the emperor's edict. They ran out from Chengtian Gate and came all the way to Zhuque Gate, and then continued to recite the edict aloud.

The remaining decrees are all related to the military. From today on, all the generals and soldiers in the army must study, and the teaching business of Chongwenguan has become much bigger.

On the edge of the village of Beiyuan, Li Shimin was frowning as he looked at the government decrees one after another.

Changsun Wuji was sitting nearby and watching.

Sitting at the other end were the current Prime Minister Fang and Duke Li Wei.

The four of them passed the cards one by one to each other, and there was already a thick stack on the table, which was weighed down with stones to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Li Shimin said, "Assistant, I have said that as soon as you leave the court, Cheng Qian will behave recklessly."

Chang Sun Wuji said: "It's not that they are acting recklessly. Every government order has something that each department must do."

Fang Xuanling also nodded and said, "It even clearly explains what kind of things should be done by what kind of people, including the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War."

In fact, when Duke Zhao was still in the court, Your Majesty did not make such a big move. After he retired, Your Majesty seemed to have taken out all the political affairs accumulated over the past few years.

(End of this chapter)