The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 47: Fu Yun's End

The morning court was over, Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, bowed and watched his father leave the Taiji Hall.

Another person who breathed a sigh of relief was Zhangsun Wuji, the current Minister of the Secretariat and Minister of Personnel, and the current Duke of Zhao.

After everyone had left, Changsun Wuji wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the prince who was still chatting and laughing with the King of Wu and the King of Wei.

Just because of his uncle's words, the prince wanted to be emperor.

As the prince's uncle, Changsun Wuji adhered to his conscience and at least did not agree to any ideas of treason, nor did he make any promises.

Today's morning court session was extremely critical.

Changsun Wuji wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He didn't know whether the prince had already made plans or had a strong ability to respond.

Finally, I managed to handle this matter beautifully.

It is really difficult to be the uncle of this prince.

Just because of a few words from my uncle, I am almost willing to sacrifice my life for the crown prince of the Eastern Palace?

Being a relative is a difficult thing, especially being a relative of the emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty.

"uncle!"

Hearing the voice behind him calling, Changsun Wuji immediately put on a very forced smile, turned around and saluted, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian said, "Everyone is busy, there is no one else here, uncle, there is no need to be so polite."

Changsun Wuji smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Highness, follow me."

"Ah?" Li Chengqian followed and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Chang Sun Wuji's face was sometimes stern, and sometimes he would smile, and he said as gently as possible: "Your Majesty is going to autumn hunting. The prince will stay in Chang'an to supervise the government affairs. He is going to see your Majesty off."

"Yes, I want to see my father off."

Changsun Wuji shook his head and said nothing, almost saying: What else?
I thought it was okay, the prince was still young and could be properly persuaded in the future.

At the Xuanwu Gate, five thousand troops were ready to set out. The generals escorting the emperor and his family to the Autumn Forest of Mount Li included General Yuchi Gong of the Jinwu Guard, Niu Jinda, the generals of the Left and Right Thousand Bull Guards who served as the vanguard, and Liang Jianfang, who led the left and right gate guards.

There is a river channel on the west side of Xuanwu Gate, which is the remains of Taiye Lake in the Han Dynasty. If you look closely, you can also find the direction of the Tang Imperial Palace extending westward. You can see a flat foundation, which is the remains of Jianzhang Palace of the Han Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty at that time had not yet built the Daming Palace, nor had it reopened the Taiye Lake, so the area around Xuanwu Gate is still quite deserted.

Changsun Wuji walked with the prince, explaining all the rules along the way.

Li Chengqian listened to his uncle's chatter and saw Ning'er giving instructions to several palace maids. When he approached, he could probably hear her saying that Prince Jin would grind his teeth when he slept and that he should eat less coarse grains in his meals.

Princess Qinghe must drink water when she wakes up in the morning, and Princess Dongyang kicks off her quilt when she sleeps.

Princess Gaoyang's right teeth were a little loose, and she might need to change them. She reminded them several times not to drink raw water, and to make sure food was cooked thoroughly.

Ning'er worked as the head female official in the Eastern Palace. She had always been very capable in handling affairs. At least if the Eastern Palace lacked anything or encountered any problems, she could arrange them properly.

After taking care of her younger siblings for more than half a year, she has memorized each child's habits, things to pay attention to when taking care of them, and even their physical conditions.

Long before this autumn hunt, she did not rest last night and prepared travel supplies for each of her brothers and sisters.

She didn't sleep all night just because of all this.

When I walked to the Xuanwu Gate, I saw my father preparing to get on the carriage. Guarding the carriage was Li Ke.

Li Shimin stood beside the carriage and looked at the accompanying soldiers.

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Father."

"Yes." Li Shimin looked at the carriages behind him, most of which were ready, and said, "You stay in Chang'an and supervise the government affairs. If you encounter any puzzles, you can ask Fu Ji and Xuan Ling."

Li Chengqian replied calmly: "I understand."

"Yeah." Li Shimin looked up at Xuanwu Gate.

I don’t know if it’s because of the bricks and stones used, but the walls of Xuanwu Gate have always been pitch black.

After his father got on the carriage, Li Chengqian said again: "Brother Ke, take good care of our father."

Li Ke pulled the horse's reins and nodded in response: "Yes!"

Seeing Li Tai sitting in the carriage at the back, Li Chengqian smiled at him.

Seeing this, Li Tai stood on the shaft of the carriage and bowed.

With a loud shout from Yuchi Gong, the team began to move forward slowly, but the speed was not very fast.

Li Chengqian stood at the side of Xuanwu Gate, with his hands in his pockets, watching the carriages leave.

Changsun Wuji stood behind the Crown Prince and said nothing.

The entire escort team had not left the Xuanwu Gate until the emperor's carriage had gone far away.

Seeing that the prince was still looking at the direction where the team was leaving, Changsun Wuji said, "Your Highness, autumn hunting with His Majesty is actually very boring."

"I'm really envious." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "It's a pity that we can't go together."

"Because Your Highness is young, you must be more careful with your words and actions."

Li Chengqian walked all the way to the palace and said, "I would also like to thank my uncle for coming out during the morning court session."

Zhang Sun Wuji lagged behind the crown prince by half a step and continued walking, saying, "In fact, your majesty also wants to kill Fuyun Khan. If he doesn't die, the soldiers will feel unfair."

"So no matter what I say, he must die today?"

The uncle and nephew walked towards Chengtian Gate. They were the Duke of Zhao and the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. The guards patrolling along the way all saluted.

From a distance, there were more guards in the entire palace.

After the emperor left Chang'an, the city's defenses became even tighter.

Chang Sun Wuji put his hands behind his back and nodded, "That's right."

"Father wants to kill, but he cannot personally make the decision to kill. Instead, he has to let his uncle or the court officials make the decision. In this way, Father is still the Heavenly Khan worshipped by the four barbarians, rather than a bloodthirsty emperor."

Zhang Sun Wuji sighed, "Didn't Your Highness also advocate killing Fu Yun?"

"Uncle, what you said is not right." Li Chengqian looked back and saw Sister Ning'er following him from a distance, and then returned to the East Palace from the palace gate at the side.

"Why is what I said wrong?"

"I have told everyone in front of my father that the decision to kill Fu Yun was not made by my father, nor was it made by me. It was a unanimous decision by all the civil and military officials in the court."

Changsun Wuji frowned and looked at the prince. He had never noticed it before, but now he saw that his height was as tall as his uncle.

Li Chengqian stopped in front of Chengtian Gate. Fu Yun had already been brought here. The executioner was wearing armor and was most likely temporarily transferred from the army.

On the other side of Chengtian Gate, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong were also standing in the distance, watching this scene.

Li Chengqian saluted the two generals.

Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong also saluted from a distance. Putting his hands in his sleeves, Li Chengqian continued: "My uncle is a very interesting person. There are some things..."

After a pause, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace smiled and said, "There are some things he won't teach you actively, but he will arrange things for you to give you pointers from the side, like the matter of that aunt, or other things. As the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, there are some things that cannot be decided by the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince doesn't need to make a decision, he just needs to analyze the pros and cons. This is the second principle that my uncle taught me."

Zhang Sun Wuji said slowly: "Uncle is a man who says one thing and means another."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Uncle is right."

As Cen Wenben finished reciting the decree, the executioner swung his knife down. Although he was not standing close, he could vaguely hear the sound of bones breaking.

Blood splattered on the ground, drawing a blood-red undulating wave.

Fu Yun's head fell to the ground.

There were not many onlookers, and the Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun died quietly.

On the other side, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong saluted the prince again and left in a hurry.

Li Chengqian looked at the corpse still bleeding and said slowly, "It's splattered everywhere. I'm afraid it's hard to wash the floor."

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "Today is the first day that the King of Jiangxia is appointed as the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. I am still a little worried and plan to go and take a look."

After saying this, he waited for the prince's reaction.

Li Chengqian said: "Then let's go and take a look."

Changsun Wuji nodded and waved to call a few guards.

Li Chengqian walked to the Chengtian Gate and said to the executioner, "Wash it clean."

The executioner was not a very tall man, and even in his armor it was hard to tell whether he was fat or thin. He just said loudly, "Yes!"

The voice echoed in front of Chengtian Gate. Li Chengqian walked quickly towards the East Palace. It was the first time he saw such a scene and he felt a little nervous.

I walked with my uncle from Chengtian Gate to Zhuque Gate, and then walked out of the imperial city on the wide Zhuque Street.

Everything in Chang'an remains the same, and residents continue to live their lives as usual.

This time the emperor's autumn hunting had little to do with their lives.

Following Changsun Wuji all the way to Jingzhao Prefecture, the Jingzhao Prefecture in Chang'an City still used the official offices left over from the Wude period, and many of the related official residences used during the Wude period were left over from the former Sui Dynasty.

When Li Yuan was in power, he was extravagant in handling many things without detailed planning. Not only was there a shortage of officials at that time, but the establishment of the three provinces and six ministries was incomplete.

Now Chang'an needs public security and the counties in Chang'an need to be governed, so Jingzhao Prefecture was taken out again.

Walking along Suzaku Street, pedestrians noticed that there were soldiers escorting a young man in court robes and a middle-aged man with a serious look, and they all made way.

Chang Sun Wuji asked: "How did you come up with this method to deal with it and eliminate the public opinion?"

"Uncle, are you talking about a show of hands vote?"

"Yeah." Changsun Wuji nodded slowly.

Li Chengqian said: "How does an emperor normally make decisions? Does he listen to the arguments of both sides? Whoever makes more sense, he will follow their approach."

Changsun Wuji slowed down his pace, frowned and lowered his head.

"Voting by raising hands is also a helpless move. Maybe my uncle will think that this is just a means of forcing the court officials."

"Your Highness's opinion is very interesting."

Continuing to lead the way, Changsun Wuji smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, he felt that he had thought too much. The prince still needed to be persuaded. It was not enough to rely on this method to command the civil and military officials.

Jingzhao Prefecture was built next to Kaimingfang in Chang'an City, on the east side of Zhuque Street, and was considered a relatively lively place in Chang'an City.

It’s just that now it is still built in the pre-Sui style.

Li Chengqian and Zhangsun Wuji stopped and looked at the bustling Jingzhao Prefecture. It seemed that there were quite a lot of people here.

There were many people in official uniforms sitting in Jingzhao Prefecture, and they were still arguing and quarreling.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the mansion, and for a moment he didn't know how to walk into the residence.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar shout. Upon closer inspection, I saw that Xu Jingzong was confronting another man wearing the official uniform of a county magistrate. Both sides were waving their sleeves and shouting at each other.

Changsun Wuji stopped outside the official residence, with a stern face and no words.

A doorman came hurriedly. He was not a novice, but had a friendly smile on his face. He bowed and said, "Greetings to the Duke of Zhao and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "Where are Li Daozong's people?"

The doorman looked around the mansion again. The newly appointed Jingzhao prefect was not sitting in the mansion at all. He smiled awkwardly and said, "This way, please."

After saying that, he led the way around the noisy main gate of Jingzhao Mansion, and walked around the street and went straight to the back door of Jingzhao Mansion.

The back door was an old wooden door. The clerk pushed it open and entered a relatively clean small courtyard.

Changsun Wuji walked into the courtyard first and saw Li Daozon, the Prince of Jiangxia, who was looking dejected here.

At this moment, this general, who had just returned victorious from the Tuyuhun campaign and had been stripped of his military power and confined to his house for another half a month, became the prefect of Jingzhao in Chang'an City.

The prefect of Jingzhao has always been an official in charge of governing the capital, and his power is neither big nor small.

In addition to managing Chang'an City, he also had to keep an eye on the major and minor events in the twelve counties surrounding Chang'an.

It's a position of high official power, but one that has to take care of a lot of trivial matters.

Now Li Daozon's eyes were dull and he sat limply on a stool. He seemed to be muttering to himself with a confused look on his face.

It feels like a midlife crisis has arrived, but I am powerless to reverse it.

In front of him were bowls and chopsticks, a pot of wine, a bowl of mostly cold millet rice, and a plate of mutton.

The chopsticks were placed on the bowl without touching a single bite.

As soon as he saw the person coming, Li Dao Zong seemed to have returned to his body and quickly said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Duke Zhao."

Chang Sun Wuji asked: "How is it here?"

Li Daozong looked painful, his eyes wavering between the Crown Prince and Duke Zhao, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty, why don't you send me back to my fiefdom?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "The court is in need of people right now, so if you can hire one, hire one. Besides, it's not a big mistake. Be careful in the future and don't be fooled again."

Li Dao Zong opened his bloodshot eyes again and said, "Then why did you put me in the position of Jingzhao Prefecture Governor?"

Changsun Wuji looked ahead and did not look at him, but whispered: "There are too many things piled up in Jingzhao Prefecture, and someone needs to do it."

"You also know that Jingzhao Prefecture has too many things piled up?"

"This was all arranged by His Majesty. It would have been more appropriate to leave this matter to Cen Wenben and the others."

Li Daozon took a gulp of the wine without caring whether he would be punished for drinking while on duty.

He pointed in the direction of the main hall of the official residence and said, "This morning, when I arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture, there were already many people standing outside the gate. The six county magistrates from the twelve counties of Chang'an were all here."

(End of this chapter)