The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 452: A Different Regent
The two carriages slowly came to the military camp. Li Zhi stood up and looked at Di Renjie who was sitting on the bench and said, "Let's go back."

Di Renjie handed over a pot of wine and said, "See you in Chang'an."

Li Zhi picked up the wine pot, drank the wine in it, and said loudly: "See you in Chang'an."

While Yuchi Gong was still talking to Cheng Yaojin, he saw Prince Jin and Prince Ji get on a carriage and were taken away by the guards.

Cheng Yaojin stroked his beard and asked, "Are all the old brothers doing well in Chang'an?"

Yuchi Gong shook his head and said, "They are already old, and the health of Brother Qin and Lord Wei is getting worse and worse."

Hearing this, Cheng Yaojin was quite touched. He shrank his neck in the cold wind and said in a deep voice, "We are all old."

Yuchi Gong patted Cheng Yaojin on the shoulder and said, "Let's go! Let's have a banquet. Let's have a good drink together, old brothers."

Cheng Yaojin was pushed along by him, pointing at Yuchi Gong behind him and scolding him with a smile: "I didn't go into battle to kill the enemy this time, you old brothers please don't laugh at me."

"How can I laugh at you?" Yuchi Gong laughed loudly.

"Hahaha!" Cheng Yaojin laughed, "It's better to see you guys laugh at me than to see a bunch of you old brothers crying."

The two old generals left with laughter.

Pei Xingjian stood to one side and asked, "Isn't General Zhang going?"

Zhang Shigui was mending his boots with needle and thread, and said, "I can't get along with them, so I won't go."

There are many old generals in the court, and not everyone can get along with everyone.

Someone came riding a fast horse. It was Xue Wanbei. He first glanced at the military camp and said loudly: "His Majesty has ordered all the generals to return to the court tomorrow!"

All the soldiers stood up, saluted and said, "Yes."

Anning Village is located in the north of Longshouyuan. As to why it is called Anning Village, no one knows the reason.

Only Li Shimin knew that this was the name given by his son Chengqian. It should have been called Zhenguan Village or Tiance Village.

But in the end, the name Anning Village was decided.

Because the simpler, the more peaceful.

Li Shimin, who was in his fifties, sat on the edge of a field, wearing a coarse cloth dress and a bamboo hat, looking at the snow scene with great comfort.

"I still can't figure it out. Cheng Qian is a man who wants to complicate state affairs, so why does he treat my village so simply?"

Standing next to him was a woman in a white dress. She was Li Shimin's daughter, Princess Dongyang.

She explained: "Father, I just hope that you can think of the world in a simpler way."

Li Shimin raised his voice and spread his hands, "Am I a very complicated person?"

Dongyang added: "People are complicated."

Two old farmers were walking on the official road, talking about their family affairs in the snow. They heard the sound of horse hooves behind them, and saw a team of cavalry guarding two carriages galloping past.

The two old farmers frowned at what they saw, then they saw the carriage enter Anning Village and then they looked away.

One person whispered, "Look, there are carriages and soldiers going to that village again."

Another person asked, "They are all such poor villages, why do they always have so many soldiers passing by?"

"I don't know."

The two simple old farmers both shook their heads. They were no longer surprised by the village which looked ordinary but was populated by rich and noble people.

The carriage entered Anning Village and stopped in front of a house in the center of the village.

Li Zhi and Li Shen each got off the carriage and walked along the ridge of the field accompanied by eunuchs.

No matter what kind of clothes their father wore or what his back looked like, the two brothers could recognize him at a glance.

They stepped forward quickly and said in unison: "Father."

"Yeah." Li Shimin responded first, then turned around to look at his two sons, looked them up and down, then retracted his gaze, still looking into the distance.

Li Shen stepped forward and said, "Sister Dongyang."

Li Zhi also said, "Imperial sister."

Dongyang looked at his two younger brothers and said, "Many old generals are coming to drink today, so my daughter will go back first."

Li Shimin still looked into the distance and nodded seriously.

Dongyang patted his two younger brothers on the shoulders and left.

Li Shen stepped forward and said, "Father, this time we have defeated the Hu people in Congling so badly that they can't even stand up."

"Yes." Li Zhi also nodded heavily and said, "I went into battle and killed the enemy several times."

Li Shimin suddenly sighed and said, "Dongyang is a very capable girl. She is in charge of a hospital run by thousands of doctors. All the capable doctors have gone to her hospital. Even the medical officers of the Imperial Medical Bureau are only a few."

Li Zhi wanted to talk about the battle in Pamir Mountains again, but he heard his father talking about his sister.

Li Shimin added: "Also, Cheng Qian is also a very resourceful person. He has arranged all the court officials to obey him. He is in charge of the huge country, taking every step carefully and without haste."

Li Shen and Li Zhi stood there in a daze.

Li Shimin seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and said, "Du He sent a pig, you two go and kill it."

"what……"

Li Zhi opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment.

Li Shen didn't know how to start for a long time. He tugged at the sleeve of his brother, the emperor, and left in silence.

In Anning Village, in front of the emperor's residence, Li Zhi shouted, "Brother Shen, hold it down."

Li Shen hugged the pig with both hands, but it rolled over and slipped away again.

Seeing that the two boys couldn't even beat a pig, Empress Dowager Changsun shook her head and said nothing.

Li Zhi chased the pig with a stick in his hand, shouting, "Don't run away!"

The two children chased the pig all the way, their faces flushed as they ran to catch up.

Li Shen jumped up and missed again, and Li Zhi was still chasing him with the stick in hand.

Until an arrow came whistling and pierced the piglet's abdomen, it did not stop the pig from running.

Then there were several more arrows whizzing past it, and it finally fell into the field, and stopped fleeing.

Li Zhi walked forward with a stick in his hand, dragging the pig's leg along the way.

Li Xiaogong put away his longbow, threw it to the guard beside him, and then smiled and greeted a group of old generals who happened to arrive.

Li Zhi was in a very miserable state, and Li Shen was not much better, covered in mud.

"Brother, we are already very powerful."

Li Zhi nodded, "Well, I can catch this pig without the help of the uncle."

Li Shen nodded seriously and said, "That's right."

The night banquet in Anning Village was very lively. All the generals who could come from the court came, except for a few old generals who were seriously ill and needed to recuperate. There were more than ten generals at the banquet tonight. Everyone talked about the battle in Congling and the possibility of more wars in the future.

"Child." Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "What are the Arabs like?"

Li Zhi was still chewing the braised pork in his mouth. He swallowed the meat and said, "The Arabs in black are good at plundering. General Xue Rengui said that's all. Protector Pei said the Arabs don't know the art of war. General Liang Jianfang said they are just a group of robbers with a lot of people. No one knows how they took over Persia."

Li Xiaogong slammed the wine bowl on the table and said, "If I were ten years younger, I would definitely go into battle and kill the enemy."

Cheng Yaojin said: "I really envy them."

Li Shimin drank tea without saying a word. Recently, the retired emperor spoke less and less and seemed more and more reserved. He was wearing coarse cloth clothes. If you walked outside, you would feel that he was the General Tiance and the emperor of the Zhenguan period.

Although Li Shimin's beard has turned white now, his words and eyes appear calmer.

As for when this change began, it was probably due to the death of Chai Shao, or because of Li Weigong's serious illness.

Let the old brothers drink to their heart's content. Li Shimin drank his tea and asked the eunuch beside him, "Have you sent the fish to Duke Wei?"

"This old servant personally handed it to Lord Wei." The eunuch said with certainty that His Majesty had been fishing for several days before he caught a fish in this cold winter.

After catching the fish, he had someone hand it over to the Duke of Wei.

On a snowy night, in the quiet city of Chang'an, Li Jing's words and His Majesty's words were heard from the study, and all the family members were outside the door.

After Dongyang examined Li Weigong's pulse for a while, he reminded him, "Even if you can't sleep, you must close your eyes and rest."

Li Jing nodded, "Thank you, Princess."

Dongyang got up and went outside the study.

Li Chengqian sat aside and said: "After showing off our power in the Pamir Mountains, no one will offend the Ili River again in the next few decades."

Li Jing nodded and took a book from the bookshelf beside him, saying, "Your Majesty, please accept it."

Li Chengqian took the scroll, opened it and took a look.

"Your Majesty." Li Jing patted Li Chengqian's hand and said, "Su Dingfang has also resigned, but the court needs a general who can command the entire army. If Your Majesty thinks someone can take on this important task, please give this book to him."

Li Chengqian felt the coldness of Lord Wei's palm and said, "Lord Wei must be well and focus on recuperation."

Li Jing nodded.

After visiting Duke Li Wei, Li Chengqian left Duke Wei's mansion and walked back to the palace, still thinking about tomorrow's court meeting.

Seeing that Dongyang and Mingda were going to observe the stars together, Li Chengqian also returned to Liangyi Hall.

The old eunuch brought a wooden box with a bunch of books on it. He put the wooden tray aside and said, "Your Majesty, these are letters of congratulations from the princes of the royal family and various small countries."

"Just leave it there."

Seeing that His Majesty was in no mood to watch this, the old eunuch understood and stepped aside.

The flames from the candlesticks illuminated the palace, and Li Chengqian placed the volumes handed over by Duke Wei on the bookshelf.

When His Majesty sat down, Ning'er placed her hands on His Majesty's shoulders and whispered, "Are you worried about something?"

There were a few gold coins on the table, as well as a large glass and a charcoal pencil.

The problem of the fountain pen has not been overcome yet. For the simple Tang Dynasty, the fountain pen is still too luxurious.

Li Chengqian replied: "I am just worried about Lord Wei's condition. It's okay. Some things have to be faced."

Su Wan had just coaxed the child to sleep before she asked the palace maid to clean up the palace.

Until late at night, Li Chengqian did not look through the congratulatory letters from various countries, nor did he take them seriously.

The next day, which was originally a holiday, His Majesty suddenly asked all the ministers to attend court. No one knew what he meant. Today's morning court was one hour later than the morning court during the Zhenguan period. This was a special arrangement by His Majesty. Many old ministers in the court were used to going to bed early and getting up early, and some of them were not used to it.

After officials from various departments reported their respective affairs at the morning court today, the court began to discuss the rewards for the generals who had led the expedition to the Pamirs.

The edict drafted by the court did not receive any objections, but His Majesty still did not formally issue it.

Until the end of the morning court session, the generals who were going to the expedition to Pamirs stood at Chengtian Gate, waiting for the emperor to summon them.

From Liang Jianfang to the youngest Di Renjie, everyone stood in a row.

The officials passing by cast respectful glances at the group of generals.

An eunuch hurried over to report, "General Liang Jianfang, General Xue Rengui."

The two men responded and followed the eunuch into Chengtian Gate.

Pei Xingjian stood among the crowd, thinking that just like before, His Majesty was still summoning them one after another.

Inside the new palace, Li Chengqian was observing several gold coins and felt that the Persian gold coins had too many impurities, and that they were depreciated by 20% after being re-forged by the Shaofu Supervisor.

This was probably related to the Persian casting technology. The quality of the gold coins brought by the Arab and Persian envoys was quite good, but the quality of the gold coins collected from various places in the Pamir Mountains this time was a bit worse.

If Persia had tampered with the quality of gold coins, how much profit could it have made?
Cen Wenben was already old, but after he was given a seat, he continued to talk about the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

The palace guards led Liang Jianfang and Xue Rengui to stand outside the palace. Li Chengqian said, "I know that food has always been the foundation of the country, and food has always been a top priority."

Cen Wenben said: "Your Majesty is so wise, I am glad for this old minister."

Li Chengqian lowered his voice and said calmly, "In the next few decades, the court will continue to increase the scope of official grain collection and encourage the planting of fruits and vegetables when growing grain. This is what the Sinong Temple has been doing in recent years."

Cen Wenben, holding a cane and sitting on a chair, added: "In recent years, more and more children have been born in various parts of Hebei."

"The court will still allocate land according to population. Even if the workshops in Guanzhong and Luoyang are prosperous, grain is still the foundation of the Tang Dynasty."

Cen Wenben nodded heavily.

Compared with the help from my uncle, all kinds of help are provided silently.

Cen Wenben is like an old man who is always awake and reminds Guo Ben of his importance at all times.

When the eunuch saw the voices stop, he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the two generals have arrived."

Seeing that Cen Wenben was about to get up and leave, Li Chengqian said again: "Mr. Cen, please sit down. It's okay."

He nodded in response and sat down again.

Cen Wenben is already very old, and who will be the next prime minister in the court has been the cause of endless debate between the government and the public recently.

Liang Jianfang and Xue Rengui walked into the hall.

Li Chengqian looked at the two generals and said, "Mr. Ying is quite impressed by your achievements in the battle of Congling."

Liang Jianfang said in a clear voice: "I am willing to fight for your majesty again. There is the Dayuan Kingdom to the west of the Pamir Mountains. Dayuan's war horses are very good. There is also colorless salt from the Ankang Kingdom. I am willing to get it for your majesty."

Li Chengqian smiled.

Xue Rengui also said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go on another expedition."

This person's words were even more open than Liang Jianfang's.

Li Chengqian said: "Don't be in a hurry. The governance of the rear is also very important. After the construction of the four Anxi towns and the Anxi Grand Protectorate is completed, we can discuss the future. How about it?"

(End of this chapter)