The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 50 Talent
The officials in Taiji Hall bowed to the prince. Although there was no cheering, everyone's attitude was still solemn.

There were not many people attending the morning court today, as some of them followed my father to the autumn hunting trip in Mount Li. I didn't notice it yesterday, but today I found that even some of the civil servants had gone.

It was very quiet in the Taiji Hall, and Li Chengqian looked at everyone with a smile on his face.

Fang Xuanling walked out of the court first. He was the Shangshu Zuo Pushe at that time. In terms of official rank, he was the de facto prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. When His Majesty was away, the crown prince supervised the government and only the prime minister could make arrangements.

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Please ask Prime Minister Fang to preside over the government affairs."

Fang Xuanling nodded, looked at everyone and said, "The Ministry of War should come first."

Minister of War Hou Junji was still in the Hexi Corridor. The person who spoke was Vice Minister of War Duan Zan. He stepped out of the court and said, "Your Majesty is hunting in Mount Li in autumn. You have 5,000 soldiers and horses with you. 500 dan of grain and fodder were delivered to you yesterday. Where will the grain and fodder be obtained from in the future?"

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling looked at the other side of the court, where Li Daxiang, the Minister of Agriculture, stood up and said, "This year, the official warehouse in Weinan has 300 dan of grain and fodder stored. We can send it there first, and wait for the counties to dispatch it. The rest can be handed over to the Ministry of War."

Then Duan Zan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, nodded, bowed, and walked back to the court.

Li Baiyao, the Minister of Rites who was just promoted this year, stood up and said, "Prime Minister Fang, envoys from various countries are coming soon. Can we prepare the expenses for hosting the reception of envoys from various countries in advance?"

Fang Xuanling didn't look thin, nor did he look middle-aged and fat. He looked to be in his forties. He stroked his beard and frowned, saying, "Let the Secretariat discuss this matter later."

Li Baiyao bowed to the prince again before returning to the court.

Li Chengqian stood behind Fang Xuanling with his hands in his pockets, listening to Prime Minister Fang arranging various affairs in the court in an orderly manner.

Even Li Xiaogong, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, came out to inquire.

Li Chengqian stood with his hands in his pockets, carefully watching the various steps of the morning court. Unlike previous morning courts, now everyone was facing the crown prince supervising the government, and the ministers spoke in a much lower tone.

Instead of standing up and speaking loudly in the court as usual, he was afraid that the emperor sitting on the throne could not hear him.

Everyone was very relaxed at today's morning court session, it was more like standing together and holding a meeting.

After autumn, there were not so many things to do in the court. Some things were prepared for the coming year. Even if there was something, it was just to provide food and fodder to the army for the autumn hunt in Mount Li.

Long before going to Mount Li for autumn hunting, everything that needed to be arranged had been arranged.

About half an hour later, Fang Xuanling turned around and looked at the prince, and whispered, "Your Highness, do you have anything else to say?"

Li Chengqian finally came back to his senses and said, "Thank you for your hard work, actually..."

There was a pause, and everyone watched the prince walk back and forth with ease.

"In fact, there are many things I still don't understand. I still need to learn from you and ask for your advice with an open mind. If I encounter any difficulties and need your help and guidance, I hope you will not hesitate to give me your guidance."

Everyone laughed.

The atmosphere in the Tai Chi Hall has become much more relaxed, and people are chatting with each other.

Li Chengqian continued, "We dare not delay state affairs, so all departments in the court should get back to work."

Having said this, Fang Xuanling took the lead in bowing, and after the other ministers bowed, they dispersed in twos and threes.

Li Chengqian walked out of the Taiji Hall with his hands in his pockets, and saw three eunuchs walking hurriedly past. As soon as they passed the Taiji Hall, the two eunuchs saluted and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian stopped and frowned, "Why are you so flustered?"

I thought that my father was no longer in the palace, and many people from the palace had gone to Mount Li, so I thought that nothing should happen.

The eunuch in front of him bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor is angry again and insists on going on the autumn hunt. We old servants can't stop him."

Li Chengqian said: "Okay, I'll go there."

The eunuchs finally felt relieved and saluted repeatedly.

Taiji Hall is not far from Wude Hall. Li Chengqian looked back and saw that all the civil and military officials in Taiji Hall had already left.

Then he walked towards the Wude Hall. The weather was very good today. I was sure that my father must have enjoyed the autumn hunting in Mount Li.

The Wude Hall is to the east of the Taiji Hall, and is actually not very far from the East Palace.

As soon as I walked out of the hall, I saw a stool being thrown out.

"Tell them! If you don't let me go to Mount Li today, I will lead my troops and fight my way out."

Hearing the voices in the hall, Li Chengqian saw that his uncle Li Xiaogong was also standing in the hall. He also had a worried look on his face.

"Grandpa Huang?"

"What are you doing?" Li Yuan shouted angrily. He turned around and saw that it was his eldest grandson. He straightened his clothes and asked in a more gentle tone, "What are you doing here?"

"Grandson wanted to come and see you." Li Chengqian walked carefully past the various things that were thrown all over the floor, and asked, "Eh? Is Grandpa Huang playing cards?"

Li Yuan glanced at the cards on the table and said, "I'm not interested."

After giving his uncle a look, Li Chengqian sat down and said, "How about my grandson playing cards with Grandpa?"

Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded helplessly, "Okay."

Li Xiaogong hurriedly came up and sorted the cards.

The three of them sat at the card table, took out some copper coins, and Li Yuan first played a card at random.

Li Chengqian also dealt with it by playing one.

The Wude Hall finally quieted down.

After playing four or five games in a row, Li Yuan felt something was wrong and he kept losing the cards against his grandson.

Li Xiaogong winked so hard that his eyeballs almost popped out.

Li Chengqian played three straights in a row, and all the cards in his hand were gone. He put his hands in his pockets and said, "My grandson won again."

"How come you are so skilled?" Li Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"Cough cough cough..." Li Xiaogong on the side started coughing violently.

"Why are you coughing?" Li Yuan said unhappily, "You keep losing."

Li Xiaogong said quickly: "You don't know, this card was made by your grandson."

"Ah..." Li Yuan realized it later and said with an awkward smile: "No one has ever told me this."

Li Xiaogong was dejected, thinking that he had finally managed to appease the retired emperor, and had hoped to make the old man happy by winning the cards, but this eldest nephew from the East Palace was so ruthless that he made his grandfather lose like this.

Seeing that he had lost interest in the card game, Li Xiaogong looked at the bow and arrow hanging beside him. This was the bow and arrow that the retired emperor in Wude Hall planned to use for the autumn hunting in Mount Li.

It was just hung in the hall and was of no use.

Li Xiaogong said again: "Why don't you practice archery? I haven't practiced for a long time. I don't know if my hands are numb."

Hearing this, Li Yuan nodded and said, "Okay."

They asked a few eunuchs to set up the targets, and the grandfather, grandson, uncle and nephew planned to play archery. Since they had nothing to do anyway, they simply set up the array in front of the Wude Hall.

Li Xiaogong stood aside.

Li Yuan put an arrow on the bow and shot the arrow. He frowned and looked into the distance, not knowing where the arrow landed, but it was definitely not on the target.

Li Chengqian stepped forward and said, "Let my grandson try."

"Ah."

After taking the bow from the emperor's grandfather, Li Chengqian first tried the bowstring. It must be said that it was quite difficult to pull the bowstring.

The Tang people loved longbows, and this longbow with a long range was once popular for a long time in history.

Li Chengqian drew his bow and shot an arrow. The arrow landed on the target but not in the center.

Li Yuan shook his head and said, "That's not how you pull a longbow."

"Is that right?"

"That's not right. You need to step forward." Li Yuan said, "I remember I taught you this when you were a child. Have you forgotten?" "My grandson probably forgot."

Seeing the retired emperor patiently teaching the crown prince how to draw a longbow, Li Xiaogong felt much calmer.

Not long after, Li Lizhi came over quickly. She saluted and said, "Hello, uncle."

Li Xiaogong glanced at Li Lizhi, who was still short and childish, and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I heard that Grandpa Huang was angry, so my mother asked me to come and see."

Li Xiaogong looked at the crown prince who was asking the emperor how to draw a bow. The crown prince stood with his hands in his pockets and listened attentively. He said, "Actually, your brother is a pitiful child."

Li Lizhi was puzzled and asked, "Why did the emperor's uncle say that?"

Li Chengqian took the longbow from the emperor's grandfather again and shot an arrow. This time his posture was much more standard and the arrow was more powerful.

It hit the target accurately, and the tail of the arrow was still shaking due to the residual force.

Li Xiaogong whispered, "Your Majesty is out hunting in the autumn, and the Crown Prince can only stay in the palace and do archery to relax. Isn't this pitiful?"

"That's not right."

"Ok?"

Li Lizhi explained in a low voice: "The emperor's uncle feels pity for my brother because he is the crown prince of the East Palace, and because my father is always suspicious, this makes the emperor's uncle feel pity for me."

Li Xiaogong remained silent.

In fact, Cheng Qian is a worry-free child, and Princess Changle seems to be very smart, so she hit the nail on the head.

The brother and sister in this palace are more powerful than each other.

Li Xiaogong felt that he was old and couldn't keep up with the young people.

It would be normal for young people to be a little stupid, but they are very smart.

Li Xiaogong smiled and said, "I still have a lot of things to do in Zongzheng Temple, so I'll take my leave now."

Li Lizhi bowed again and said, "Take care, uncle."

Then, she quickly stepped forward and said, "Brother, brother, let me try too."

Li Chengqian handed the longbow to the sister. She tried to pull the bow, using all her strength and her face turned red, but she couldn't pull the longbow.

Li Yuan, who was standing by, stroked his beard and laughed.

Even the eunuchs standing by laughed. They were happy that the emperor was happy.

In fact, the emperor hasn't been so happy for a long time. Perhaps only with his grandchildren around him can he be truly happy.

After practicing archery for a whole morning, the brother and sister returned to the East Palace.

Li Chengqian walked in front with his hands in his pockets.

Li Lizhi walked behind with her hands behind her back.

The brother and sister walked to the gate of the East Palace one after the other.

"Beauty?"

"Ok?"

"How is the mother's health?"

Li Lizhi walked into the East Palace first and said, "Much better. As long as mother is not tired, she rarely gets sick. Even Doctor Sun said that mother's condition will be fine as long as she takes good care of herself."

Ning Er came to the front of the palace and said, "Your Highness, the Secretariat has sent another memorial."

I remember that my sister's running script is very good, and her calligraphy is deeply influenced by our father.

Li Chengqian said: "Lizhi, help me review the memorial."

"How can my sister approve the memorial? This is inappropriate."

"I can't handle it alone, come and help me."

"Well."

For her, participating in state affairs was too complicated, and helping her brother was much simpler.

In fact, it's the same thing, but it will be much easier if you say it in a different way.

Ning'er, Li Lizhi and Li Chengqian were reviewing memorials while eating.

The memorials from the Ministry of Revenue were all about tax accounts. Li Lizhi was very good at math and she could skillfully use an abacus to write comments.

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness the Princess had finished their meal, Xiaofu came to clean up the dishes.

There was a long table, with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sitting in the middle.

Princess Changle sat on the left, on the armchair, her feet not even touching the ground, so she swayed like that.

Sister Ning'er sat on the right, and she would check every comment written by His Highness to make sure they were correct.

The East Palace was very quiet, with only the occasional conversation between the three of them.

All the memorials for approval were sent to the Secretariat last night. After the Crown Prince and the Princess Royal have approved a part of them, they will send someone to deliver them there quickly. The Secretariat will also send people to deliver the subsequent memorials that need approval.

As the prince went back and forth, his work of supervising the government continued.

Li Lizhi has completed the Ministry of Revenue's statistics on the autumn harvest in various counties in Guanzhong this year, and has recorded them on a form in accordance with her brother's instructions.

She blew away the ink and said, "Xiaofu, have someone send this form to the Ministry of Revenue as well."

"Here."

The clerks waiting outside Chengtian Gate took the memorials for the prince to review and hurriedly delivered them to various departments in the court.

In the Secretariat, memorials reviewed by the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace were delivered one after another.

Zhang Sun Wuji looked at the memorial approved by the Eastern Palace with a solemn expression. He also looked up and saw Fang Xuanling frowning and silent. He stepped forward and asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister Fang?"

Fang Xuanling whispered, "I have never seen the wording of your comments before, but I can understand that your Highness wants to strengthen the guidance of the officials below, especially the local county magistrates or local village elders to increase on-site supervision."

"Yes, His Royal Highness's annotations have always emphasized the lives of the villagers."

Li Daxiang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, came with a roll of paper and said, "Prime Minister Fang, this is the map given by the East Palace."

"Besides approving, you also draw the picture?"

Li Daxiang spread out a roll of paper and what caught his eye was a form. The form was so large that it covered the entire table.

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "I have seen this kind of diagram in Li Chunfeng's Taoist temple. He said he used it to study mathematics."

After some explanation, it became clear how many fields each county had and the grain harvest after autumn.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace cares about the lives of the villagers, which is a good start.

When the memorial approved by the Crown Prince was affirmed by Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji felt that the stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground.

Li Daxiang whispered, "It's just that the handwriting on the two memorials is different."

Fang Xuanling took a look and nodded, "Yes, it is indeed different. The handwriting on this form imitates your majesty's running script, but it looks more like it was written by a woman."

Imitation of His Majesty's writing? And it's beautifully written.

After a little speculation, Fang Xuanling immediately understood what was going on. Among His Majesty's children, only Princess Changle had learned His Majesty's clerical handwriting, and her handwriting was still very clumsy.

"Haha, I've heard from the teacher at the Imperial College that Princess Changle has a great talent for mathematics."

(End of this chapter)