The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 478 I am ashamed

The geographical location and unique climate are Guanzhong's advantages. The foundation for this had already been laid when Guanzhong was being developed. Guanzhong has its own uniqueness.

These were what the country relied on for development back then, so many important pillar industries such as cotton cloth, soy sauce, wine, vinegar, and grapes are inseparable from Guanzhong.

This is the moat in Guanzhong.

In fact, judging from the situation in the court and the country, the reason why Guanzhong was able to continuously absorb population, in addition to the emperor, also included the imperial examinations and teaching.

The imperial examination was only held in Chang'an. There were the most teaching teachers in Guanzhong, and their knowledge was closest to the court. They could learn the latest court knowledge and know the changes in the situation between the court and the country at any time.

Today's imperial examination essay questions are becoming more and more difficult, also because today's court policies are becoming more and more complicated. Relatively speaking, young children mostly read the classics, and when children grow up to the age of fourteen or fifteen, they should start to learn more about the court policies.

After the decree was issued, young people in various places could take the imperial examinations as young as seventeen years old. After the Qianqing period, there were three imperial examinations every two years, and most of the officials recruited by the court were around twenty years old.

In order to adapt to the increasingly difficult and complex imperial examination questions, most people with official ambitions would come to Chang'an, or go to teach in remote areas.

Not many people can grow up in Jingzhao Prefecture like Di Renjie.

Not many people can be like Pei Yan, who has had the guidance of famous teachers since childhood.

After both production resources and learning resources were gathered in Guanzhong, Luoyang's advantage in the middle section of the canal was no longer a concern.

Excessive concentration of resources is not a good thing. If these resources remain in Chang'an in the short term, it will be of great benefit to the power. But for people, if resources are too concentrated in Guanzhong, people will only live a more tiring life.

After talking about the canal, the Minister of War Yu Zhining began to talk about the construction of the Anxi Protectorate.

Guo Luotuo, the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, stepped out of the court to add to the current situation in the Western Regions. Qiuci is still mainly based on agriculture. The Western Regions need food and cotton. While meeting the food needs of the Western Regions as much as possible, we must also increase cotton cultivation.

After clearing the hidden dangers of the Ili River, the Western Region will plant 6,000 hectares of cotton this year, about 500,000 acres.

At this point, people in the court began to discuss. What does it mean to have 6,000 hectares of cotton? If all these fields were used to grow crops, how many people could they feed?
According to the current season, it is now the season for planting cotton in the Western Regions.

It is also true that after the Pamir Mountains were leveled, cotton can be grown on both the east and west banks of the Ili River, covering more than 6,000 hectares of land.

These were all the benefits of attacking the Pamir Mountains back then. The Tang army fought all the way from Suiye City to Talas City, leaving the areas east of the Pamir Mountains almost deserted. It is said that there are few people living there now, and all the living people and livestock were taken to the Western Regions by the Tang army.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Guo Zhengyi, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the officials of the Ministry of Rites in Xizhou have recently submitted a memorial stating that more and more Persian nobles have fled to the Western Regions, and they hope to allow the Persian prince Peroz to go to the Western Regions as well."

Zhang Xingcheng said: "Your Majesty, you must not let Peruz go to the Western Regions. The Western Regions are not Chang'an. Once the Persian prince gathers troops in the Western Regions, chaos may occur."

Ma Zhou, the then imperial attendant and Minister of Personnel, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I also think that the Persian prince should not be allowed to go to the Western Regions."

Li Chengqian asked, "What do you think, Lord Ying?"

When His Majesty asked Duke Xiang Ying, all the ministers in the hall lowered their heads and pricked up their ears.

Many times, no matter what His Majesty said or what request he made, Duke Ying would just nod.

It is rare that His Majesty took the initiative to inquire about the great general who protects the country.

Li Ji said: "Your Majesty, if you want to allow Perus to go to the Western Regions, you must drive out the Persian nobles who remain in the Western Regions."

Duke Ying again gave the choice to Your Majesty.

Everyone guessed that no matter what His Majesty chose, Duke Ying would still nod his head.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Okay, let Perus stay in Chang'an. If the Persian nobles still have requests, let them come to Chang'an to inform the court."

Ying Gong nodded slowly.

The ministers felt extremely relieved and nodded.

The harmony between the monarch and his subjects is a sign of a prosperous era. Lai Ji came to a conclusion in his mind and decided to write this incident in the national history after the morning court session.

Then Yu Zhining talked about Jin Chunqiu and Jin Famin.

It seemed that His Majesty did not care much about this matter. As soon as Guo Zhengyi finished reading the memorial from the Honglu Temple, His Majesty retired early.

When leaving Taiji Hall, Guo Zhengyi asked Xu Jingzong, "Your Majesty has not yet come out of the grief."

Xu Jingzong signaled him with his eyes not to say more.

Guo Zhengyi nodded in understanding.

There was another argument in front of the Taiji Hall. Sun Chuyue shouted, "Liang Jianfang! Where did you hide the envoy from Dayuan?"

Liang Jianfang said unhappily: "How do I know where he went?"

"You are just afraid of being identified by the messenger!"

"I didn't hide him!"

Liang Jianfang was already gritting his teeth, gnashing his back teeth, and was about to take action.

Pei Xingjian hurried forward to stop them and said, "If the Censorate thinks that we hid the envoy, you can ask the Dali Temple to investigate. Why make things difficult for General Liang?"

Sun Chuyue waved his sleeves and left quickly.

Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief. If Sun Chuyue was killed by the general, the general would probably be in trouble.

After stabilizing the general and sending the Censorate away, Pei Xingjian calmed down a life-and-death battle. He felt like he had saved the country.

There are still not enough officials in the court. This is not only a concern for Your Majesty, but also a concern for the three provinces, six ministries and nine temples.

There were never enough people, and the court wished one person could do the work of three people. Fortunately, the salaries in the court were getting more and more generous, and the emperor would give generous gifts every New Year and other festivals.

Officials in the court do not have to worry about food and accommodation, and they can also save some of their salaries. So it doesn't matter if they are a little bit hard-working and tired.

The emperor's mind was indeed not on the morning court. After the morning court, Li Chengqian came to Anning Village, where he met his father who was fishing.

My father was still the same as always, with a row of eunuchs sitting by the river and asking them to hold their fishing rods in an orderly manner.

All the fish caught belong to the emperor, and the blame for not catching any fish lies with the eunuchs.

His son's reflection appeared on the river. Li Shimin waved the palm-leaf fan in his hand and asked, "Is the court over?"

Li Chengqian said: "Well, I was worried about you, father."

"I'm fine."

Of course the emperor was fine, but the eunuchs who took care of him had a hard time.

"Take it and eat it."

Seeing the basket of loquats handed to him by his father, Li Chengqian took the basket, picked up a stool beside him, and sat down to peel the loquats.

He peeled one and handed it to his father, while peeling another one in his hand.

Li Shimin said: "Yu Tu is in the army. He comes back every night. He is always dirty when he comes back. Xue Wanbei said that he can endure hardships in the army."

Li Chengqian ate loquats and said, "Thank you, father, for taking care of this child."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I am just trying to relieve my boredom."

My grandfather passed away and my father was in a very low mood. When he came to see me today, he didn’t even ask about state affairs.

It seems that my father can still eat some fruit, and his complexion looks pretty good.

After sitting with his father for a long time, Li Chengqian went to see his mother again, carrying a basket of loquats.

The Queen Mother was washing some baskets, and Li Chengqian stepped forward to help arrange the baskets for drying.

"Cheng Qian, sit down for a while."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian sat down beside his mother.

She looked at her tall son, patted him on the back, and said, "Your beard is thicker, and there are more worries in your eyes."

"Hasn't my son had many worries in the past?"

"You have had bright eyes since you were a child. Just by looking at your eyes, I know that you are worried."

"Well, I am the emperor, so I have more things to think about." "Everything is fine here, you can go and take care of state affairs."

Li Chengqian nodded heavily and then left.

When the Censorate handed the case over to the Dali Temple.

Where would a lame envoy from Dayuan go?
The Dali Temple had the Bad People investigate for two days but to no avail. The features were very obvious: a Hu man from Dayuan, with a lame leg, and able to speak Guanzhong dialect. Such obvious features should be easy to find.

But hundreds of bad guys searched all the streets and markets in Chang'an but couldn't find the person.

The Bad People are very efficient. They have agents in every market town, who are usually well-informed people. If they want to investigate a person, they will get results on the third day at the latest, let alone a Hu person from Dayuan.

"Where can a lame Hu go? How can he be buried alive?"

Shangguan Tingzhi whispered in distress, and then asked: "Where is Di Renjie?"

Wei Chang, the bad commander, replied: "During the busy farming season, Di Shuling is inspecting the villages and counties."

Shangguan Tingzhi put the document aside and said, "I won't check it anymore."

Wei Chang replied: "Yes."

With this result, Shangguan Tingzhi breathed a sigh of relief. If nothing was found, that would be even better. If the Hu man was found, it would be a huge headache.

Can this be checked?

Doesn't this offend people?
If they were found out, they would offend those generals. In the end, those generals would at most be sent to remote areas or have their salaries confiscated. As for me, I had completely offended those generals.

Shangguan Tingzhi glanced at Wei Chang.

"Shangguan Shaoqing, we really didn't find out."

"Even if we find out, send him out of the customs immediately and don't let him appear in Chang'an."

"Here."

Shangguan Tingzhi slammed the document in his hand on the table and said, "This ignorant envoy walked without looking at the road. He broke his leg and still caused trouble for me. What's the reason for this?"

The envoy traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an, but unfortunately he only had two legs.

He then wrote a written reply to the Censorate, and the matter was over.

Today's censors are as fierce as wolves and tigers, and anyone dares to impeach them.

In particular, a censor named Li Yifu was added, who became arrogant when he came to power.

As the Imperial Censor in the Palace, he kept a close eye on the customs of the court and the country. Anyone whose family was too extravagant or whose family tradition was not right would be impeached.

In May of the seventh year of Qianqing's reign, there was already a slight heat wave in Guanzhong.

The weather was the same last year, with the hot summer coming early and the winter being extremely cold and long.

Mingda has predicted that this year's climate will most likely be like this.

Li Chengqian drank a bowl of heat-removing herbal tea while looking at the impeachment memorials sent by the Censorate. He read them one by one and found that most of them were minor matters involving salary deductions.

Du Zhenglun stood aside and said, "Your Majesty, some people say that Li Yifu should not stay in Chang'an City."

“How come you see?”

"This person should be in charge of monitoring the construction of the canal."

Li Chengqian put down the memorial and said, "This is your own opinion."

Du Zhenglun smiled awkwardly.

"Before the grain transport goes wrong, let Li Yifu stay in Chang'an. Any censor can handle the supervision. It's a bit of a waste to let such a person go all the way."

"Then... Your Majesty thinks..."

"Li Yifu is a good killer. If someone is about to die, let him investigate."

"Your Majesty is holy."

Li Chengqian added: "Ma Zhou said you did a good job in the Ministry of Personnel."

Du Zhenglun's face showed a hint of shame.

"Ma Zhou is a ruthless person, and not many people can get his approval."

"I am ashamed."

"Do you think I should keep you in the Ministry of Personnel?"

Du Zhenglun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if you have any orders, I will obey them."

"Go to the Western Regions to plant trees?"

"what?"

"Some people died while planting trees, and we are short of manpower."

"This……"

"You are ill and can't travel far?"

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty obeys your command."

Li Chengqian took another sip of herbal tea, frowned bitterly, and said, "You don't have to go to the Western Regions. You should still be the Minister of Personnel and the Imperial Censor of the Palace, and keep this position."

Du Zhenglun lowered his head and breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Chengqian handed him the letter from Silla and said, "Take a look."

"Here."

Taking the letter from His Majesty with both hands, Du Zhenglun opened the roll of brown and rough parchment and looked at it carefully.

Li Chengqian ordered: "You arrange for a few bad guys to go to Liaodong to ask about Silla's recent situation, and ask Liu Boying stationed in Liaodong to send people out of Silla and let Jin Chunqiu be the king of Silla."

According to the letter from the country, Kim Chunchu was digging a silver mine. He had 3,000 Silla soldiers and 30,000 Japanese slaves. There were originally 50,000 slaves, but 10,000 of them starved to death last year. Thousands were killed by falling rocks while digging the silver mine, and the rest died of various causes.

Digging or pulling out silver ore requires manpower, and even has to be transported by sea. Digging silver mines is not necessarily smooth, so it is reasonable to have more than a hundred carts of silver ore a year.

Upon hearing that Jin Chunqiu was going to be crowned the King of Silla, Du Zhenglun looked stern and asked, "Your Majesty, is there any bloodline left in the Silla royal family?"

"Just send the decree to him. As for other matters, they have nothing to do with me. He will take care of them."

Is Your Majesty dissatisfied with Jin Chunqiu's excavation progress, or does he think that too few Japanese died?
Your Majesty named him the King of Silla probably because you were quite dissatisfied with Kim Chunchu's progress.

Du Zhenglun asked, "Is it a secret decree?"

"No need for secret orders, of course we have to inform the Silla people."

"But what should the Silla royal family do?"

Looking up and seeing His Majesty's unhappy expression, Du Zhenglun hurriedly said, "I will arrange it right away."

Li Chengqian took another sip of herbal tea and said, "Give me some tea."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

A bowl of black herbal tea was placed in front of him, the same color as the one your Majesty had.

Du Zhenglun raised the bowl, closed his eyes, held his breath, poured the tea into his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. It was so bitter that his teeth were chattering.

When I looked up again, I saw His Majesty pouring another bowl, still unsatisfied.

Li Chengqian said: "The court officials are very tired recently. The weather is hot and it is easy to get angry. Give them some mung beans."

(End of this chapter)