The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 493 Li Mengchang

How could this not make the county magistrates nervous? Once any problems in governance were discovered, at best they would be stripped of their official position and sent to the Western Regions to plant trees, or at worst they might even lose their heads.

Every time this time comes, the county magistrates will feel that the head is only temporarily on their necks.

In this era of strict laws, even if people lose their heads, it is considered as a sign of the wisdom of the current emperor.

Li Chengqian asked: "Zanpu?"

Songtsen Gampo took a step forward.

"I always feel that your letter can control Qin Ling for a while. Maybe he will attack the Little Bolor Kingdom in the future. I also heard that people from the Little Bolor Kingdom have gone to Tubo for help."

Before Songtsen Gampo could speak, Li Chengqian said, "It doesn't matter if he wants to attack, but he must have a legitimate reason to attack."

Songtsen Gampo nodded.

"The scenery here is nice. Let's take a rest here. What do you think?"

The ministers bowed and said, "Yes."

Everyone dispersed and went about their own business. Some brought vegetables, some brought meat, and some brought pots and stoves.

Xu Jingzong watched Chu Suiliang light the stove and said, "Do you know how to light a stove?"

Chu Suiliang said: "How difficult is this?"

Xu Jingzong snorted coldly, "Your Majesty has said that we must prepare all the food ourselves. You and I hold important positions in the court. If we can't even prepare a meal, we will be laughed at."

I saw that someone else had already lit a fire and was making tea.

Chu Suiliang lit a pile of hay and put the honeycomb coal into the stove. After burning for a while, the hay under the coal went out, but the coal still did not light.

This made the clerks nearby anxious.

Xu Jingzong stood aside nonchalantly, eating dates as if it had nothing to do with him.

Chu Suiliang stood up and said, "Xu Jingzong!"

"how?"

"Why don't you have some."

"I don't know how to do it." Xu Jingzong smiled and said sincerely, "If you don't know how to do it, you should ask for advice, right?"

Chu Suiliang's face turned red and he was about to explode.

Shangguan Yi came hurriedly and said, "I am here."

After saying that, everyone watched Shangguan Yi deftly take out all the hay in the stove, then relight it. When the flame was big enough, he put the honeycomb coal in, and the coal started to burn.

Shangguan Yi further explained: "You can't rush into this kind of thing."

Chu Suiliang bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

Shangguan Yi said politely: "It's okay, I will take care of the rest, you just sit down."

Who made Chu Suiliang, who came from a noble family since childhood, unable to even make a fire, let alone cook?

If the food is not tasty, I might be ridiculed by everyone.

Although the court was busy, the emperor would still take everyone out for fun to change their mood, and let the officials of the six ministries work together.

Some people were moving chairs, some were washing vegetables and meat, and some were cutting meat and vegetables.

Shangguan Yi has lived independently since he was a child, so these things are not difficult for him. He can skillfully arrange five stoves and five pots by himself.

Xu Jingzong and Chu Suiliang were both speechless. Everything seemed busy, but in order.

Chu Suiliang whispered, "Old Xu."

Xu Jingzong also whispered: "Speak."

"Shangguan Yi is not just a name, he was able to kill so many people in Hanshan Temple."

Xu Jingzong nodded solemnly.

When I looked back, I saw that His Majesty had already walked far away.

Xu Jingzong wanted to follow, but he saw a clerk busy killing a duck, so he had to go forward to help.

At the edge of the field, the old farmer saw that the other party was dressed in luxurious clothes and had guards around him, so he saluted respectfully.

Li Chengqian asked, "Is farming going well now?"

The old farmer sighed, "Now we are not afraid that no one will buy the crops we grow. The fields in Guanzhong have increased in value."

Li Chengqian nodded.

The old farmer asked again: "Is he an official from the imperial court in front of you?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Yes, he serves in the court."

The old farmer looked around and whispered, "The court is not the same as before. I heard that the officials in the court are so busy that they didn't even have a good New Year's Day this year. They went to work early. Are you very dissatisfied with the emperor?"

Li Chengqian still had a smile on his face and said, "That's right. Of course I have complaints against the emperor."

"I dare not!" The old farmer said hurriedly, "I dare not complain to the emperor. So many people died in Luoyang back then. I heard that the blood in front of Luoyang City cannot be washed away now."

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Who told you that?"

The old farmer sat down on the edge of the field, watching his children pulling the oxen to plow the fields, and said, "The emperor is good."

The old farmer gave a very simple evaluation. This was the only way he could evaluate the emperor. As for other things, the old farmer could not see the whole picture and the information he received was limited.

After listening to the old farmer talk a lot, he also knew the various policies of the court and talked about the changes these policies brought to them.

The officials in the court were very busy, but their busyness had no impact on the lives of the farmers, they remained the same as before.

When they returned to the camp, Li Chengqian ate the food prepared by the officials and asked, "Did Shangguan Yi prepare all this?"

Di Zhixun said, "That's right."

"Yeah, good craftsmanship."

Shangguan Yi added: "The food is a little simple, I am ashamed."

Li Chengqian looked at the basin of fish and the bowl of Liang rice in front of him and said, "It's good. My daily meals are also very simple."

Everyone ate the food they cooked themselves, and they felt relieved to see that His Majesty was enjoying his meal.

Most of the meals I cook are made by myself.

Shangguan Yi is the best cook, and he is the one who cooks for Your Majesty.

As for the rest, looking at the food in their bowls, which they had cooked themselves, they had to swallow it no matter how bad it tasted. To waste food in front of His Majesty was like they really didn't want to live.

I heard three or four people talking about their children.

Li Chengqian complained: "Your child is considered good, but my child is different. He is the crown prince. He wanted to go to the Western Regions to fight, but was beaten by my father until he could not walk, and then he stopped."

All the ministers were smiling and were quite interested in listening to His Majesty talking about family affairs.

Li Chengqian continued, "I need to consult you more on educating children." "I dare not."

"It's okay, just tell me more about your experience."

Now that there was a topic to talk about, the ministers all expressed their opinions, talked about their own children, and told each other about the embarrassing things that happened when they were young.

There were constant sounds of laughter and scolding along the Ba River.

The emperor and his ministers had a picnic, ate, and talked about family matters.

Perhaps in another twenty years, when the emperor is old and everyone is old too, the elderly Xu Jingzong with white hair and beard will come to the Ba River again. When he recalls the current scene, he will smile involuntarily. The emperor and his ministers will open their hearts to each other, and the ministers will give the emperor advice on how to discipline his children.

The emperor would also make a few jokes and talk about whose daughter he would let the prince marry in the future, which would lead to another round of laughter.

The warm spring breeze blew through the campsite, and the picnic did not end until the sun set.

Seeing His Majesty leaving and recalling their previous words, the ministers were even a little reluctant to let him go. They also wanted to chat with His Majesty about family matters and teach him how to educate his children.

I had been trembling with fear when I followed His Majesty out for the outing before, but now that I had put the burden down, I felt that His Majesty was so close to me, just like my neighbor.

The next day, when the morning court was held again in the Taiji Hall, the ministers regained their respect for His Majesty and bowed to him.

Imperial decrees were sent out of the imperial city and delivered to various guardhouses and official residences.

From the beginning of the year to now, there have been so many imperial edicts in the tenth year of Qianqing that people can no longer remember how many imperial edicts this has been since the beginning of this year.

In May of the tenth year of Qianqing, in Qinghai Province, Li Zhen received the imperial edict from His Majesty. He looked at the generals in front of him and said, "I didn't expect His Majesty to ask you to come to change the defense."

The man who came was Chai Zhewei. He saluted and said, "I'll have to trouble General Li with the affairs of the four Anxi towns."

Li Zhen stood up, saluted towards the direction of Chang'an City and said, "I will obey your orders."

Along with the change of guard, Songzhou General Duan Zan also went to the Western Regions.

Li Zhen and Duan Zan led the troops from Songzhou and Qinghai Road to Xizhou.

Cui Dunli was still stationed in the Tibetan Protectorate, watching over the Tibetan troops.

Songtsen Gampo's letter and the Heavenly Khan's decree also reached Qinling of Tubo, who transferred Qinling to Qiuci.

Troops from all over were being mobilized, generals in the court were being transferred one after another, and the construction of the four towns of Anxi became more and more complete.

Inside the city of Qiuci, Li Mengchang sat in front of the city with his feet on the table, looking up at the Tibetan soldiers heading towards Qiuci.

Li Mengchang held a whip in his hand and asked, "Why are the Tibetans here?"

Gao Kan said: "It is your Majesty's order to send Tibetan soldiers to the Western Regions."

Li Mengchang whispered, "Your Majesty, are you asking them to interfere in the affairs of the Little Bolor Kingdom?"

Chai Zhewei also came with Qin Ling.

Seeing Chai Zhewei, Li Mengchang put away his domineering attitude, stepped forward and saluted, saying: "General Chai!"

Chai Zhewei took out the document from the Ministry of War and said, "Come and transfer 100 dan of grain and fodder. We will send it to the north of Tianshan Mountain."

Gao Kan took the documents and went to prepare them personally.

Li Mengchang had been stationed in the local Zhechoufu. Due to the feud between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty, he still had hostility towards the Tubo people.

In front of Qiuci City, Li Mengchang said with a slightly provocative tone: "After the four Anxi towns are built, we will attack the Arabs. Your Majesty has arranged so many generals in the Western Regions, so there must be a war."

Qin Ling said: "I am not afraid of the Arabs."

Li Mengchang added: "Young man, it only takes two strikes to kill you, don't underestimate the enemy."

Qin Ling had a bad temper and was about to rush forward to fight with the Tang general, but was stopped by the Tibetan guards.

Seeing the other party gritting his teeth, Li Mengchang said again: "Boy, I'll see you on the battlefield."

Gao Kan left Qiuci City with food and supplies, and the tense situation between the two sides was finally eased.

Qin Ling looked at Li Mengchang with an extremely unfriendly gaze, then followed Chai Zhewei and left Qiuci City with the food and fodder.

Along the way from Tubo to the heart of the Tianshan Mountains, there were earthen cities garrisoned by the Tang army every few miles.

Therefore, there was sufficient food and fodder for soldiers and horses on the way from Tubo to Tianshan.

Inside Xizhou City, Liu Rengui looked at the map in front of him, on which were drawn the locations of Jingzhao Prefecture and Chongwenguan in the four towns of Anxi.

Li Fengjie asked, "What does Liu Fuyin think?"

Liu Rengui: "If we really want to attack the Arabs, how many troops will the court send?"

Li Fengjie shook his head and said, "I haven't seen any military arrangements. The court's intention is only to build the four Anxi towns. But there are rumors that the Arabs are moving around in the old Persian territory."

After that, Li Fengjie added: "This is the news sent by the Little Bolor Kingdom."

"The current king of Xiaoboluo is Murong Shun? The son of Fu Yun?"

"Exactly."

Liu Rengui suddenly remembered that Di Renjie had been investigating Murong Shun. He heard that this man would return to Chang'an every New Year's Eve. Di Renjie also suspected that this Western merchant must be plotting something.

Now it seems that Di Renjie's guess was correct. Murong Shun did not return to Chang'an on New Year's Eve this year. He even used a large amount of money to seize power and usurp the throne in the small Bolor Kingdom and became a king.

This sounds incredible. How could a merchant from the Western Regions buy an army and capture Xiaobolü in a short period of time?
Liu Rengui suspected that there must be something hidden, and whispered: "Murong Shun must have been planning this for a long time."

Li Feng warned: "This is the Western Regions. People in the Western Regions don't have so many strategies. Don't think too highly of the Little Bolor Kingdom. After the death of the old king of Little Bolor who once lent troops to Wang Xuance, the Little Bolor Kingdom began to be in civil strife, and the royal family killed each other."

"Although Murong Shun is Fu Yun's son, he has studied in the Sifang Pavilion in Chang'an for many years and knows the way of doing things of the Tang people. It is not difficult for him to conquer the small country of Bolor."

Liu Rengui: "So, Murong Shun took advantage of the situation and sneaked in?"

Li Fengjie sat aside eating Hu Bing and nodded.

Liu Rengui shook his head again and said, "Is it possible that after the old king of Xiaoboluo passed away, their civil unrest was arranged by Murong Shun behind the scenes?"

Hearing this, Li Fengjie stopped chewing the Hu Bing.

People from Chang'an Jingzhao Prefecture are not simple. Liu Rengui can think of things that others have not thought of in just a few words.

If this is true, Murong Shun should have started preparing long ago, before the old Duke of Xiaobolü passed away.

The thought only flashed through his mind for a moment, and Li Fengjie returned to his original expression. No matter what happened to the Kingdom of Xiaoboluo, it had nothing to do with the Anxi Protectorate.

The purpose of the Anxi Protectorate was to build the Four Anxi Towns. The unrest in Xiaobolü had nothing to do with the Four Anxi Towns.

Liu Rengui led the officials brought from Chang'an Jingzhao Prefecture to arrange the construction of the four towns in Anxi.

They began construction of the four towns of Anxi, relocated the population, and added official residences.

In the past, two groups of people were involved in the construction of the four towns of Anxi. First it was Pei Xingjian, then Li Fengjie, and now it is in the hands of Liu Rengui.

The emperor still felt that the construction of the four Anxi towns was too slow, so he sent a capable minister to the Western Regions.

Li Fengjie brought the generals and officials of the Anxi Protectorate, including Cen Changqian, Li Yiyan, Zhang Shuo and others, to assist Liu Rengui in building the four towns.

It has to be said that Liu Rengui was a man with great ability to get things done. When he came to the Western Regions, he also had a power. He could conduct small-scale imperial examinations in Xizhou and appoint people from the Western Regions or Tang people as officials in the Western Regions. The four towns of Anxi, which had been stagnant for four years, were gradually being completed at an incredible speed under the leadership of Liu Rengui.

(End of this chapter)