The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 463 The fake is more valuable than the real
The cause of Gao Yanshou's death is a very interesting thing. No one knows how this man died. According to Ashina She'er, he had never seen Gao Yanshou at first. When he saw him for the first time, he was already dead.

If we want to find out the cause of death, it is most likely related to the old hatred between Goguryeo or Baekje, nothing more than some grudges.

Li Chengqian was not interested in the cause of his death. It was just that an ambitious general died, and this general's ambition was not the right one.

If everyone wanted to send beauties to the emperor to gain advancement.

How can the world ever be better? A trend has been curbed inexplicably.

All I can say is that he died at the right time and it was a worthwhile death.

While he was talking to Ashina She'er, another eunuch handed him a memorial, which was sent by Li Yifu, the censor of the Censorate.

The memorials contained words about the "famous officials" in the world.

These "famous officials" who once had thousands of disciples but are now in dire straits discuss state affairs unscrupulously. In their eyes, it seems that the Tang Dynasty will not last more than ten years and will perish.

After all, the Sui Dynasty lasted only a few years, and the Tang Dynasty was not much better than the Sui Dynasty. The current emperor is not Yang Guang, but he is the same as Yang Guang.

Li Chengqian looked at these insults to the emperor with enjoyment, glanced at them roughly, and put them aside, not intending to pay any more attention to them.

There are still enemies in the court, but the enemies in the court have no weapons and do not pose any threat. Even the court does not need to take action. Li Chengqian feels that even after a few years, these enemies will perish on their own.

From an emperor's perspective, doing one thing too much can easily make you tired and bored.

Maybe he was tired of killing too many people and exiling too many prisoners to the Western Regions to plant trees.

What else can be done?

Let Li Yifu go again and kill them all. What happens after that? There will be another batch of these people popping up, one after another. Isn't it tiring?

Ashina She'er said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave now."

Since this memorial disturbed his mood, Li Chengqian had no choice but to say, "Go and see your family."

"Here!"

Ashina She'er stood up, bowed and took his leave.

In the new palace, Eunuch Yang saw the Turkic general leave and said, "Your Majesty, the Censorate said they are all waiting for your Majesty's order."

Li Chengqian said: "I have a lot of state affairs to deal with, so I will let the censor handle the matter according to the law."

"Here."

This year's late spring cold weather lasted a long time. Before the chill had even subsided, batches of officials left Chang'an for various places. Every year, a large number of people came to Chang'an, and another large number of people left Chang'an to serve as officials in various places. This cycle repeated itself over and over again over the years.

There are not many officials left in Chang'an. Most of them have been sent to various places. This year, the largest number of officials were sent to the Western Regions.

Chu Suiliang looked at the officials who were leaving and let out a long sigh. Among those sent to the Western Regions this year was a man named Cui Xuanwei, who was thought to be quite talented, but unfortunately he was sent to the Western Regions and no one knew when he would come back.

"Your humble servant Wang Jiusi greets Minister Chu."

Chu Suiliang turned to look at the young man and asked, "How old are you?"

"I am twenty years old this year."

Chu Suiliang nodded and said, "The court needs more and more officials, and they are getting younger and younger."

Wang Jiusi bowed again and said, "Your subordinate..."

"The Sino-Agricultural Ministry and the Ministry of Civil Affairs still have some matters to submit. Please go to the Sino-Agricultural Ministry and bring me last year's report on Liaodong."

"Here."

Wang Jiusi ran around Chang'an City and came all the way from Chunming Gate to the government office of Sinong Temple.

Here Wang Jiusi met Guo Luotuo, the Minister of Agriculture, who is now listed in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Guo Luotuo is observing a potted plant.

"Mr. Guo Si, I am here on the orders of Minister Chu to receive the report from Liaodong."

Guo Luotuo took a book from the bookshelf nearby and said, "The farming reports of Liaodong are all here."

Wang Jiusi bowed, took the report, and then left.

When walking out of the Sinong Temple, Wang Jiusi was still thinking that Guo Luotuo is still the Minister of Sinong Temple and is already listed in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Your Majesty wants the court officials to know that whether or not one can be listed in the Lingyan Pavilion has nothing to do with official position.

Even a temple minister can be listed in the Lingyan Pavilion as long as your contributions are great enough.

It is said that the current court is very fair. This is also a very rare court. Perhaps in the future, even the lowest-ranking official will be able to be listed in the Lingyan Pavilion.

This is why so many people, regardless of their background or official position, were willing to sacrifice themselves for the Li Tang dynasty.

This scroll of memorial was open and not sealed with wax.

Wang Jiusi opened the file and took a look at the various records above. He saw that the annual rice harvest in Liaodong was that four acres of land could produce one and a half stones of grain, and the Sinong Temple had opened up nearly 80 million acres of land in Liaodong.

Seeing this number, Wang Jiusi was stunned. He was surprised at the number of acres of farmland in Liaodong. According to his understanding, Liaodong is a black soil area and belongs to a high-altitude and cold zone.

I wonder when Liaodong became the granary of the Central Plains?
No wonder Guo Luotuo can be ranked among the Lingyan Pavilion.

What an achievement this is.

Wang Jiusi looked back at the Sinong Temple and saw Guo Luotuo's somewhat hunched back. He bowed again and quickly ran towards the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

When he arrived at the door of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wang Jiusi heard the officials' discussions again.

Listening to the dull words coming from the official residence, they were complaining that the Censorate was having trouble with salt again.

Wang Jiusi placed the report on Chu Suiliang's desk, and the complaints of officials could still be heard in his ears.

Chu Suiliang glanced at the report and said, "I will present it to Your Majesty right away."

After seeing the Minister of Civil Affairs off from his official residence, Wang Jiusi was still shocked by the amount of land.

Zhang Jianzhi happened to pass by and saw Wang Jiusi and said, "I remember you. You sat in front of me during the imperial examination."

Wang Jiusi naturally knew the other party and bowed, "Meet Zhang Dianyi."

Zhang Jianzhi asked, "Are you working in the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"

"He is just a lowly clerk."

Zhang Jianzhi said with emotion: "Many people in our time had to start from humble beginnings to serve in the court. Do you know Lu Zhaolin?"

"I've heard of it."

"Lu Zhaolin was just a bookkeeper at the Chongwenguan. Among us, only Pei Yan and Di Renjie held important positions in the court at such a young age."

Wang Jiusi said: "Di Renjie and Pei Yan both made great contributions in the battle of Congling. How dare I compare myself with them?"

Zhang Jianzhi sighed again: "What a pity! Why wasn't I the one who went to fight in the Congling Mountains?"

Wang Jiusi added: "Nowadays, the government is clean and fair, so we still have a chance."

Chu Suiliang came back again, and they both bowed to each other.

Walking back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Chu Suiliang said, "Your Majesty has ordered us to go to Laizhou to find someone who can make salt from seawater."

After hearing this, several officials hurried away again.

"Wang Jiusi, you don't have to go." Hearing this, Wang Jiusi stopped.

Chu Suiliang ordered: "Go to the Literature Museum and ask King Wei to find relevant books on making salt from seawater."

"Here."

Before leaving, Wang Jiusi heard Minister Chu complaining about the Censorate again.

On the first day of his appointment in the court, Wang Jiusi was very busy. He was running around all day, helping the Ministry of Civil Affairs to submit various memorials. He did not return home until it was completely dark, finishing his busy day.

There is enough salt from all parts of the Central Plains, not to mention that we now have salt from Qinghai.

His Majesty still felt that salt was not enough, so he ordered people to make salt from sea water.

The sea water is endless and inexhaustible. If salt can really be made from sea water, the Central Plains will have an inexhaustible supply of salt.

Late at night, the city of Chang'an was silent.

Wei Chang walked into Jingzhao Prefecture and said, "Di Shuling, our people have lost track of Murong Shun. Murong Shun escaped in Anxi Protectorate."

Di Renjie looked at the book and said, "I understand."

"It's because my staff is not alert enough."

"It's good enough that we can follow him to Anxi Protectorate." Di Renjie said lightly: "Next time he comes to Chang'an, we will keep an eye on him."

Wei Chang asked: "Will he come to Chang'an again?"

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Yes."

Wei Chang responded: "I am ashamed."

For Di Renjie, this was just an attempt. Murong Shun was an old fox. He was glad that the Bad Guys could follow him to this extent.

Just after the Grain Rain season in the sixth year of Qianqing's reign, the imperial examination began.

The time for the imperial examination was very bad. As the weather was unpredictable, it rained heavily on the day the examination was about to begin.

There was a rumbling of thunder in the sky, and a group of students crowded under the Suzaku Gate to avoid the rain.

An official came in the heavy rain and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty has ordered that the imperial examination be postponed for half a month this year."

After hearing the imperial decree, the students dispersed and returned for the exam half a month later.

The imperial examination hall, which had been prepared long ago, was being drenched by heavy rain.

Li Chengqian was sitting in front of the Wude Hall. His grandfather was 87 years old and his uncle was 78 years old.

Gao Shilian complained, "Humph, why don't you die, old man? I am about to die, and you are almost a good omen in the palace."

Li Yuan laughed and said, "I want to die too. Those guys won't let me die sooner."

"I shouldn't have listened to Princess Dongyang and recuperated. I'm getting older and older. It's really annoying."

My uncle still complained as usual, saying that some people would become annoying if you saw them too much, and he would become even more annoyed if you lived longer.

Li Chengqian sat under the eaves of the Wude Hall, listening to the complaints of two elderly people in the hall and drinking tea with great enjoyment.

It is difficult to guess what His Majesty is thinking; this is the consensus of everyone in the palace.

Li Chengqian fished out a tea egg from the pot beside him, ate the egg while looking at the rain falling all over the sky, feeling contented.

Gao Shilian held a cup made of colored glaze and asked, "Can colored glaze be made to this extent nowadays?"

Li Yuan said: "I don't like wearing those glasses. What's wrong with my old eyesight? I am very happy now. Wherever I look, I see beauties everywhere."

Gao Shilian looked at the glass in his hand and knocked it on the table.

The old man's actions frightened the eunuchs standing by, and every time it bumped against the table, they would be startled. Although this item was burned in the palace, it was a very valuable item after all.

Gao Shilian pursed his lips and raised the glass in his hand, through which he could see blurry human figures.

Then, with a loud bang, the old man finally dropped the glass to the ground, and all the eunuchs knelt down upon seeing this.

Li Yuan said: "I have long wanted to throw it to see the secret."

Outside the palace, the current emperor Li Chengqian was still eating tea eggs calmly, and his uncle just threw the glass cup worth hundreds of strings of cash.

The cost of this thing is definitely less than a hundred coins. Taking into account the cost of manpower and firing, it can barely be worth fifty coins?

As long as my uncle is happy, he can throw things as much as he wants. His grandson is already the emperor, so it doesn’t matter if he throws things a few more times, as long as he is happy.

Li Chengqian thought to himself, sat with his hands in his pockets, and looked at the rain with a smile on his face.

In the Wude Hall, Gao Shilian picked up a piece of debris, observed it for a long time, and then said: "This thing can be used as a murder weapon if it falls."

Li Yuan also came forward, picked up a piece of glass, examined it carefully, and said, "This is indeed fake colored glass. Real colored glass does not have such a transparent texture."

Gao Shilian shook his head and said, "What a great craftsmanship! How did you make this round noodle?"

As soon as he said this, Li Yuan said to himself: "This fake should be more valuable than the real thing."

"Humph! As expected, the colored glaze in the past was a lie. It could be as transparent as this, but they still used such a poor quality product to deceive me."

Inside the Wude Hall, an old story was told. It was something that happened before the Sui Dynasty. At that time, Yang Guang gave my uncle a glass bead. At that time, the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. In order to settle his family, my uncle sold the glass bead.

Now that he thought about it, it turned out that this bead was so worthless. Gao Shilian remembered how grateful he was to Yang Guang in the past, and how regretful he felt now.

Gao Shilian was old, but he also had a temper. He shouted, "Where is Yang Guang's body? I want to dig it out and scatter it to ashes."

A group of eunuchs were still kneeling in the hall.

Li Chengqian was still sitting outside the hall, listening to his uncle's extremely heroic words. He really admired the fact that he could still speak so boldly at such an age.

A eunuch came hurriedly, carrying a box filled with molds used for movable type printing.

Li Chengqian said: "That's what the craftsmen said."

The eunuch replied: "Although it is less labor-intensive than engraving, if you want to print neatly, engraving is the most appropriate. This thing is not that easy to use."

After saying that, he handed over the drawings.

The rain outside was getting heavier, and occasionally a few drops of rain fell on His Majesty. The eunuch also heard the whispers of the old man and the old eunuch in the hall.

Seeing a few drops of rain falling on the drawing in His Majesty's hand, the eunuch hurriedly stood in front of His Majesty and used his back to shield His Majesty from the wind and rain.

The rain in this season is very cold, and my back was soon soaked and dripping continuously.

Li Chengqian looked through the drawings and the details of the equipment. He believed that movable type printing could not be applied mechanically. It required corresponding equipment to bring out the productivity of movable type printing.

Looking at the various machines in the printing workshop, there are levers at the front and back ends, but there is a lack of a sense of coherence, as if some links are missing, and I don't know what is missing.

"I really don't understand mechanization."

The emperor also has things he is not good at, and his industrial foundation is still weak.

Li Chengqian put away the blueprints again and ordered, "Give it to Zhinu. If he can use these molds to increase the efficiency of printing books by two times within half a year, I will reward him generously."

"Here."

The eunuch put the drawings in his arms, then carried the big box and walked into the rain again.

(End of this chapter)