The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 469: Passer-by of the Hundred Generations

The story of Ganlu Palace's past starts from when my grandfather first entered Chang'an City. In fact, these events have long been recorded in the palace's files.

It was during the Daye period, and Emperor Yang of Sui had already lost control of the world. My grandfather at that time was also a powerful figure and was at the forefront of the times. He was also surrounded by many talented advisers.

Until Yang Guang really got into trouble in Jiangdu, the world was in complete chaos. In addition to Yang You, many people were buried with Yang Guang, such as Dou Jiande and Yu Wenzhi, but they were buried later.

It seemed like my uncle was talking about the lessons of the Sui Dynasty, and that we must remember that the Tang Dynasty must not follow the old path of the Sui Dynasty.

Originally, my uncle was not a person who worried about gains and losses. He just came to pick up some things and gave a few instructions along the way.

Maybe in his heart, the uncle sympathized with the situation of Yang You, but in the struggle at that time, life and death were not in his own hands, so how could he talk about tomorrow?
Li Chengqian walked out of the hall with his hands in his pockets, and waited for his uncle to come out. Then he closed the doors and windows again, and Ganlu Hall returned to its original appearance.

The wind and snow were still falling, and the snow on the ground was very thick. There were people in the palace clearing the snow. There were small paths cleared in the snow on the ground, connecting the various palaces.

The Taiye Pond in the imperial palace is more beautiful than before and has been renovated several times this year.

The wind and snow formed a thin layer of ice on the surface of Taiye Lake. The snow from the north was howling, and when the snowflakes approached the ground, they suddenly slowed down and fell quietly.

By the Taiye Lake, my father, the emperor, my mother, and a group of younger brothers are here.

Gao Shilian sat down beside him, sitting by the stove with Li Yuan, drinking tea, and said, "Your Li family's children have grown up so much."

Li Yuan said: "Well, they still look like children, but they already have their own things to do."

Gao Shilian held the warm teacup in his hand and said, "You are auspicious. You have truly enjoyed all the blessings of the world."

Li Yuan said: "Look at them, they are still so young."

"Yes." Gao Shilian stroked his beard and said, "The younger you are, the more courageous you are."

Li Chengqian took his niece from Li Zhi's arms. The baby, still in swaddling clothes, didn't know how to call her uncle, and her little hands were struggling to get out of the swaddling clothes.

"This kid is always making a fuss."

Li Chengqian handed the child to his mother who was standing beside him, and said, "It was the same way when I took care of the brothers and sisters in the East Palace."

Li Lizhi stood beside her brother and said with a smile, "I'm used to it."

Du He was making tea in front of his father with trembling hands, with his head lowered, looking very submissive, while his father had a stern face the whole time.

Even if his father coughed now, he would almost kneel down on the spot.

Li Lizhi took out a piece of paper and said, "This is Beiyuan's recent article."

"Are you still in charge of Beiyuan's affairs?"

Li Lizhi took the hand warmer handed over by Sister Ning'er. The hand warmer was furry on the outside and contained a water bag filled with hot water. She put her hands in the bag and felt very warm. She whispered, "I was a little careless when I was pregnant last year. At that time, Linchuan was in charge of Beiyuan. I can only go out now."

She continued, "I heard that many nobles and uncles from the royal family want to put beauties in your palace?"

Li Chengqian's eyes were still on the contents of the paper. "Well, this happened two years ago."

The brothers and sisters of the Eastern Palace grew up together. Just by looking at the eyes of their younger brothers and sisters, Li Chengqian can tell how they are doing.

Now that they have grown up, they can help each other and are as close as if they were their own children.

Li Lizhi said, "Remember when Zhinu was little, he said that if he was bullied, he would let his father and brother avenge him as long as he had a breath left."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "He is good at bullying others now."

Li Lizhi chuckled and said, "He has been training in the Western Regions for two years, but he hasn't become calm at all."

Looking at the contents on the paper, Li Chengqian let out a long breath in the cold wind and said, "Have you begun to discuss the issue between population and survival materials?"

"Well, what do you think, brother?"

Li Chengqian put away the article and said, "The current situation in Guanzhong and Luoyang is just as you wrote in the article."

Li Lizhi picked up the tea bowl beside her, took a sip of tea, and her expression became somewhat solemn.

"Some people say that the Tang Dynasty is about to usher in a prosperous era. The bumper harvest in Liaodong has given them great confidence. However, from the Zhenguan period to the present, we have very few means of survival and production conditions have not increased much. Therefore, it is important to increase production tools and production knowledge, as well as necessary material needs."

"My sister thinks so too, so the technical institute has also recruited many famous craftsmen. They can participate in the labor and can also be guests in the technical institute."

Since childhood, Li Zhi has been the most outstanding and the strongest student among her brothers and sisters in the East Palace.

She mastered relevant knowledge the fastest.

It is for this reason that Li Chengqian feels that Li Zhi has almost grasped the key to the Malthusian trap, a demonstrative relationship between population and living conditions.

People's lives are inseparable from production and material needs, and in the early days, that is, a long time ago, people's lives were still based on the ancient economy of the Mesopotamian region.

Just relying on the efforts and transformations over the years, we can now even say that we have the rudiments of an industry.

Although Luoyang and Guanzhong had begun to take shape, they were only beginning to take shape, with a few more spinning wheels and workshops.

Apart from coal and cotton cloth, people's material life has not changed much in essence.

The Tang people had an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit, but today the adventurous spirit of the Tang Dynasty is greater than the entrepreneurial spirit.

Li Chengqian rubbed his brows, thought for a while, and roughly imagined the next version of the Tang Dynasty. In short, living a better life.

Li Lizhi said: "Brother, this is not an urgent problem."

Now is not a critical time. Li Zhi looks far ahead. She may be thinking about the situation in the Tang Dynasty decades or even a hundred years later, when people will need more production tools and material needs.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. It's better to wait a few more years for the world in front of us."

"Ah."

When Li Tai and Li Ke also arrived at the Taiye Lake, the whole family was finally together, and the winter solstice banquet was as sumptuous as usual.

The emperor and grandfather sat at the top, Li Chengqian sat next to the queen mother, and everyone sat around the table eating.

While eating the freshly made cakes by Gaoyang and Qinghe, Li Chengqian suddenly remembered what his uncle said in Ganlu Palace this morning, recounting the deeds of his grandfather and father in Chang'an. In fact, it is just like what Li Bai said, time is the passer-by of a hundred generations.

It is said that it was the times that created so many heroes and brave men of that time. They also rose up because of that era, and their actions all came from courage.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the child crying again. It was Li Tai's son Li Xin who was crying again because Yu Tu took away the last chicken leg in the bowl.

With no other options, he asked the eunuch to bring another chicken leg.

This family dinner by the Taiye Lake was very peaceful, with the sounds of children crying, adults laughing, and whispers between brothers and sisters.

In the cold winter, the wind and snow finally stopped.

After tea and dinner, grandpa finished his meal and went for a nap again.

Eunuch Yang handed over a picture and said, "Your Majesty, this is a painting sent by Gao Jifu, the governor of Luoyang."

Li Chengqian opened the scroll, looked at the ship in the painting, and said with a smile: "Gao Jifu really will report on everything, big or small."

Eunuch Yang replied, "Your Majesty, the people of Luoyang City saw thousands of boats transporting grain, and they all said that a prosperous era was coming."

As he spoke, Yang, the eunuch, happily wiped his tears. He was very happy that this old eunuch had survived the most difficult period of his life. Li Chengqian put away the drawing paper and continued to look at the beautiful scenery in front of him.

Eunuch Yang calmed down and stood beside His Majesty. Is it a prosperous era? His Majesty didn't say, but the Tang Dynasty is really getting better and better.

On the second day after the wind and snow stopped, Chang'an City was still bustling after the winter solstice.

Zhang Jianzhi received instructions from Jingzhao Prefecture and hurried here.

Di Renjie was sitting at the gate of Jingzhao Mansion, eating noodles. He looked up and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Haha..." Zhang Jianzhi smiled awkwardly, scratched his head and looked around, "Yeah, why am I here? Your people from Jingzhao Prefecture asked me to come."

Di Renjie motioned him to sit aside and asked, "How is teaching these days?"

"Well, it went pretty smoothly."

As he spoke, Zhang Jianzhi shrank his neck in the cold wind and blew hot air into his folded palms, trying to warm them as much as possible.

In fact, my feet were also very cold, but I didn’t care about it.

Before my eyes, officials from Jingzhao Prefecture were constantly moving around, and even the county magistrates from various counties had come.

The more Zhang Jianzhi looked, the more he felt something was wrong. He looked left and right, and listened to people around him discussing the current affairs in Guanzhong.

Di Renjie asked curiously, "Did the prefect ask you to come?"

Zhang Jianzhi shook his head and said, "Someone asked me to come here, and then he left."

This coward doesn't look like someone who would cause trouble. Even if Zhang Jianzhi was a bit unreasonable, he would not cause trouble. He was beaten by the Prince of Jin so many times but still endured it. He is obviously a fool.

This guy will most likely not get into trouble. He can be as obedient as you want. So what is he doing here?
Di Renjie asked, "Brother Jianzhi, you are not going to be transferred to Jingzhao Prefecture, are you?"

Zhang Jianzhi scratched his head again and said, "I'm just a teacher, how would I know?"

After saying this, Zhang Jianzhi looked him up and down again and said, "Huaiying."

"Ok?"

"You lost weight during the two years you were in the Western Regions, but how come you've gained weight again after only one year since you came to Chang'an?"

Di Renjie frowned and asked, "Have you gained weight?"

"Ah."

"This Chang'an is really a great place to live."

"You two! Come into the hall and listen."

Hearing the words of Liu Rengui, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture, Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi walked into the hall of Jingzhao Prefecture together.

There are a lot of people here, including county officials from various counties, and even people from the Ministry of Works.

Xu Jingzong said: "Zhang Jianzhi!"

"exist."

Zhang Jianzhi still felt a little uncomfortable when he walked in front of people.

Xu Jingzong handed him a small bag of copper coins and said, "This is your monthly allowance."

"what?"

"don't want?"

Zhang Jianzhi stretched out his hand hesitantly, but finally took the money bag and asked, "Prefect, I..."

Xu Jingzong drank a sip of tea with an unhappy look on his face and said, "If you have something to say, just say it directly. I am very annoyed. Don't provoke me to beat you up."

"I am just a teacher. I came to Jingzhao Prefecture because I committed a crime. My monthly salary should be paid by Chongwenguan. Although it has been overdue for two months, I am not in a hurry. But is it not good to collect monthly salary from Jingzhao Prefecture?"

He spoke out all the doubts in his mind at a very fast speed.

Yan Qinli, who was sitting next to him, explained: "Who said you are from Chongwenguan? You are from Jingzhao Prefecture."

"what……"

Yan Qinli added: "You have tried it for a month first, and now you are given your salary from last month. Do you understand now?"

Zhang Jianzhi then accepted the money bag with a clear conscience, and asked in a somewhat cute way, "So Jingzhao Prefecture also provides teaching."

Liu Rengui cleared his throat and said, "Jingzhao Prefecture doesn't provide teaching. You took the job at Chongwenguan. Don't you know what you are doing?"

Hearing this, Zhang Jianzhi was stunned again. He wanted to say that he really only knew how to teach, but it would be inappropriate to open his mouth at this time and ask more questions.

The lobby of Jingzhao Prefecture was very quiet, and everyone's eyes were on Zhang Jianzhi.

Di Renjie stepped forward and said, "Prefect, Zhang Jianzhi took over from Chongwenguan in a hurry, and there was no clear arrangement in the court, so he probably didn't know about it."

Seeing someone standing up for him, Zhang Jianzhi was indeed a good brother who had eaten sand together in the Western Regions. He bowed to him and whispered, "Huaiying, you are righteous."

Xu Jingzong took a sip of tea and said, "It's freezing cold, so some things should be said briefly."

"Yes." Yan Qinli nodded and said, "Tomorrow a group of county officials will come to you to study. You will teach them how to act in their respective counties."

Zhang Jianzhi nodded blankly.

Yan Qinli continued, "There will be a batch every month in the future. You will be very busy, so be prepared."

Zhang Jianzhi asked again: "What should I teach them?"

Yan Qinli glanced at the many county magistrates who were still sitting there and whispered, "The country, governance, and peace for the people, what else do you think it could be?"

Zhang Jianzhi recalled the books he had brought from Chongwenguan and roughly understood what was going on.

Xu Jingzong said: "Officials in various places are of varying quality. If everyone can do their job effectively, we in Jingzhao Prefecture and the court won't have to worry so much."

After hearing the words and seeing Prefect Xu looking at him meaningfully, Zhang Jianzhi looked stern, and then sat down properly.

The next thing was the affairs of Jingzhao Prefecture and the counties in Guanzhong. A map was placed in front of everyone. As Liu Rengui explained, the court wanted to build markets between the counties, as well as post stations and roads.

A county magistrate complained: "The cost of building houses in Guanzhong is very high, and the wages of craftsmen are getting more and more expensive."

With the construction of Guanzhong, civil engineers have become the most sought-after profession today, and many civil engineers have their children follow in their father's footsteps.

"Does this money have to be paid by each county and each household?"

In response, Xu Jingzong said calmly: "The court will give you money."

When they heard that there was money in the court, everyone became quiet.

Xu Jingzong added: "The money from the court is not given for free. You counties must complete the construction according to the agreement and have it confirmed by the officials of the Ministry of Works. As for the management, it is not the court's responsibility. The court is only responsible for the construction of the highway."

(End of this chapter)