The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 511 The War Never Leaves
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has records of dispatching food and fodder, and indeed a lot of food and fodder was sent to the Western Regions. These matters were arranged by Duke Ying, and were instructed by Your Majesty?

It was not until Lord Ying walked out of the snow into the Taiji Hall that the discussions gradually died down.

Before Xu Jingzong stood back at his seat, he passed by Yan Qinli and reminded him again: "You don't have to worry about the city tax. I asked His Majesty, and His Majesty said that we should know everything we should know."

Yan Qinli nodded slightly.

In the court, as Duke Ying walked step by step back to the line of military generals, the civil officials also stood still as Ma Zhou did, and everyone returned to their seats.

Since the Zhenguan period, relying on the two emperors, Duke Ying has become more and more low-key in recent years.

It was not until the eunuch shouted loudly that Li Chengqian walked into the court and all the ministers saluted him.

Today is the eleventh year of Qianqing's reign, the New Year's court meeting. Li Chengqian wears the emperor's crown, sits on the throne, and is ready to listen to the reports from court officials.

There was silence in the hall for a moment, and Yu Zhining stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is about agricultural affairs in Guanzhong. The Sinong Temple is asking about the Kunming Lake."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Chu Suiliang understood and called out, "Guo Siqing."

After saying this, Guo Luotuo stood out from the court. Although he was only a temple official, he was the only meritorious official in the current dynasty who was listed in the Lingyan Pavilion. Even though he was not in a high position of power, he was respected by everyone in the court.

Although Guo Luotuo was a temple official, he was wearing court robes of the third rank or higher. He saluted and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, and the Institute of Literature have recently found that the water level of Kunming Lake has dropped over the years, and a large area of ​​riverbank has been exposed since last autumn."

Gao Zhizhou, the Minister of the Imperial Household, stepped out of the court and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, what the Sinong Temple said is true. In recent years, the rainfall north of the Qinling Mountains has decreased. The Kunming Lake has been in disrepair for many years since the Daye period. The water level has been dropping year after year. It has reached a point where we have to take care of it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers in the hall began to discuss.

Li Chengqian thought about it without saying a word. The Kunming Lake was expanded by Emperor Wu of Han. Due to its special location and unique water source, the 300 hectares of land where the Kunming Lake was located became the Shanglin Garden, a royal forest garden.

However, since the Wude period, the Tang Dynasty has always encouraged farming, and the land of Shanglinyuan has often been cultivated by villagers.

Kunming Lake is a man-made lake, perhaps the earliest and largest man-made lake with official historical records, that is, a reservoir.

This reservoir supplies water to several surrounding villages and counties, and is even connected to the water system of Chang'an City.

After just a moment's silence, Li Chengqian thought of many reasons and pondered the interests involved.

People in the court also began to argue, and some people started to talk about moving the capital. Once the Kunming Lake dried up, it would mean that the waterway would dry up. In addition, the rainfall north of the Qinling Mountains had been decreasing year by year. For a time, the court officials once again brought up the issue of moving the capital.

As the debate became more and more intense, some people began to suspect that someone had deliberately drained the water from Kunming Lake, causing it to dry up, in order to confuse His Majesty and force him to move the capital.

Li Chengqian ordered: "Go check the records of the Imperial Observatory."

The guard in front of the palace saluted and said, "Yes."

The Imperial Observatory is now under the control of Princess Jinyang, and various models and sand tables are placed here. Usually, Princess Jinyang is the only one here, or most of the time, there is no one here.

The guards arrived at the right time today, as Princess Jinyang was here with another little princess.

Little Mengji was wearing a proper Taoist robe and said in a childish voice, "Aunt is calculating the sun angle, so don't disturb her."

"But His Majesty asked me to check the records of the Imperial Observatory."

Little Mengji still looked calm and composed, and asked, "Why does the emperor need to review this?"

The little princess spoke quickly and clearly, seeming very busy but also somewhat calm and composed. She was worthy of being the daughter of the current emperor, and her demeanor was indeed extraordinary.

The palace guard explained the reason for today's morning court session.

Hearing this, Xiao Mengji nodded. She was still short and pushed a sliding ladder. Then she came to a bookshelf and selected two volumes of books and said, "These two volumes are enough."

The guard bowed and took the book, still a little embarrassed, and said: "Your Highness, this..."

Little Mengji first looked inside the Imperial Observatory, then looked at the guards in front of him, raised his head and said, "Let me go to the Taiji Hall with you."

It was another very fast and clearly pronounced voice.

While the guard was still thinking about these words, the princess walked out of the Imperial Observatory. He had no choice but to follow her, fearing that the young princess might bump into something and fall.

The twelve-year-old Meng Ji walked into Chengtian Gate step by step, and headed towards Taiji Hall under the surprised gazes of the guards along the way.

“Am I talking too fast?”

"The last general..."

Little Mengji's face, which was slightly red from the cold, looked calm as he explained, "I have a lot to learn every day and am often very busy, so I speak very quickly."

The guards in front of the palace were ashamed again when they heard this.

When they arrived in front of the palace, the guard said in a panic, "Your Majesty, the princess is here."

The one coming to the palace was the little princess who had not yet been officially given a title.

Little Mengji bowed in front of the palace and said, "Mengji greets the emperor, father, and ministers."

"No need to be so polite, please enter the palace."

"Yes." She responded, stepped on tiptoe to take two books from the guard's hands, held the books in her arms and walked into the hall very calmly, then stood in front of the ministers. She was not timid at all, but bowed very sensibly and began to explain.

"I heard that my father and the ministers mentioned Kunming Lake. Meng Ji understood what my father wanted. In fact, the Imperial Observatory has been recording the annual rainfall in Guanzhong for many years."

After that, she opened the scroll and handed it to Guo Luotuo beside her, saying, "This is the rainfall in the past three years. The rainfall in Guanzhong seems to have decreased in recent years, but it is actually because the rainy season is more concentrated than in previous years."

Guo Luotuo looked at the records of the Imperial Observatory and nodded from time to time.

In the Taiji Hall, Guo Luotuo tried hard to straighten his back, but as he had been farming for many years, his back was still a little bent. Even if he tried his best to straighten it, it still looked a little hunched.

Little Mengji stood aside, together with the elderly eunuch, waiting obediently for his father to finish the morning court.

Seeing her father looking at her sideways again, she smiled obediently, squinted her eyes and held the hand of Eunuch Yang.

Eunuch Yang had a smile on his face and a slightly hunched body. He felt extremely happy when the little princess held his hand.

Looking back, everyone was eager to see what was written on the file recorded by the Imperial Observatory, and Guo Luotuo seemed to be very absorbed in reading it, and he seemed to be mumbling something in his mouth. After reading it, Guo Luotuo passed the file to others.

"Drop rainfall" is another new word, which appears from the records of the Imperial Observatory. The Imperial Observatory recorded the drop rainfall in each rainy season every year. The strange thing is that this drop rainfall was recorded in fen, cun, chi, rather than in yi dou or hu.

It turns out that the Imperial Observatory does these things every year.

If the Imperial Observatory, the Imperial Palace and the Ministry of Agriculture could work together, agricultural affairs in Guanzhong might be better.

It turns out that the long-standing mysterious Imperial Observatory has always been concerned about people's livelihood, recording the wind and rain every year for the people's livelihood, which made the court officials feel ashamed and moved.

Guo Luotuo said, "Your Majesty, as recorded by the Imperial Observatory, it is consistent with what I know. The rain north of the Qinling Mountains seems to be less, but the rainfall is more concentrated. If we extrapolate the actual rainfall, it should have increased instead of decreased."

Gao Zhizhou, the Minister of the Imperial Household, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should rebuild the Kunming Lake."

Seeing that someone was about to refute, Li Chengqian said slowly: "Since ancient times, some people have believed that favorable weather and geographical conditions are irreversible, but in my opinion, trees have been planted west of the Hexi Corridor for more than 20 years. Thousands of people have migrated to Shazhou and Guazhou, where they have planted large tracts of forests and even a fruit forest that can grow melons and fruits."

It is said that tens of thousands of people were relocated to Shazhou, most of whom were prisoners. Since the 18th year of Zhenguan, when Your Majesty was still the crown prince, a large number of prisoners were sent to the Western Regions to plant trees. Some of them survived in the Western Regions and settled down there.

Some people did not survive in the Western Regions, and they became human fertilizer needed to feed the trees.

Whether these prisoners are dead or alive, they are burning themselves for the country. Even if they are just fat, they are useful.

According to rumors over the years, there was indeed a large forest west of the Hexi Corridor, which became a resting place for merchants from the Western Regions, and even a place for opening taverns.

And this forest is still expanding, even going all the way to Gaochang and Yanqi. No one knows how long Li Tang will continue to plant trees, but maybe it will continue for another ten or twenty years?
Not only did they relocate the population, they also planted trees. Isn't this a beautiful story?

Li Chengqian added: "There are more than ten villages and counties that need water from Kunming Lake. Do you want me to move the capital so that I can sit back and watch the water sources dry up and their land become barren and their water sources cut off? Moving the capital is not a solution to the problem. Don't talk about moving the capital lightly in the future."

Duke Ying was the first to bow and salute, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

Then all the ministers followed suit and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

Some people thought that grapes could not be grown in Guanzhong, but they were actually grown in Guanzhong.

At first, some people thought that Guanzhong could not repair the silt dam, but Guanzhong finally repaired it.

Although it is difficult to plant trees in the Western Regions, more than 20 years have passed and there have finally been some results, even if they are small.

Even if God does not want the emperor to stay in Guanzhong, the emperor probably wants to fight for the advantage of time and place. Even if he loses, the emperor will not suffer any loss and can win the hearts of the people.

Therefore, Xu Jingzong was very sure that the current Majesty was born to be the emperor.

The project of Kunming Lake was presided over by the Ministry of Works, with cooperation from Sinong Temple, Taifu Temple and the Institute of Literature. The lake was rebuilt and redeveloped into 300 hectares of land as a reservoir to increase its water storage capacity.

People should not retreat when encountering difficulties. This is the spirit of Duke Zheng. The emperor should do so, and so should the court officials. Lai Ji wrote down the process of today's grand court meeting.

After the matter of Kunming Lake was settled, the morning court continued. Duke Ying held a scroll and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I have an urgent report from Congling."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Mr. Ying, please speak."

Li Ji said in a powerful voice: "Shiguo, Dayuan and other Congling Hu people have offended the Tang army several times. Last winter, the crown prince was attacked when he went to Talas City. Fortunately, the crown prince was fine. Pei Xingjian chased the enemy for more than ten miles in the wind and snow and killed more than a hundred enemies. However, the Congling Hu people have been interacting with the Arabs frequently recently. I think we must be on guard."

Afterwards, Li Ji faced the crowd and said in a loud and powerful voice again: "How dare they offend the crown prince? I, your humble servant, please wipe out the barbarians in the Congling Mountains!"

Duke Ying was like a ferocious tiger, and his speech in the court was like the roar of a beast.

In recent years, Lord Ying has been like a sleeping tiger, and no one dared to provoke him. But now an urgent report from Congling has just been sent to Chang'an, which has angered Lord Ying.

Normally, there is nothing that can make Mr. Ying angry, except for this incident.

In the Taiji Hall, Duke Ying is still the pillar of the country and the great general who protects the country.

Outside, this Ying Gong was like a ferocious tiger. Just looking into his gaze made one feel like being torn to pieces.

Lou Shide hurriedly stood out of the court and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, the Arabs have advanced eastward several times in recent years and have annexed many old Persian territories, and their troops are heading straight for the Pamir Mountains."

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice: "Pass on my order, order Liang Jianfang to be the general commander of the Congling Road, and Pei Xingjian to be the deputy general commander of the Congling Road, and lead 60,000 troops from the Anxi Protectorate to march into the Congling Mountains."

What was coming had finally come. Four years had passed since the encounter with the Arabs, and the Anxi Protectorate had also been under construction for four years. The management and accumulation during these four years were all for the war.

All previous speculations have confirmed everyone's guesses. Until now, when His Majesty issued an edict, everyone knew that the Tang Dynasty was about to go to war again.

This is what the Tang Dynasty really looks like in people's minds. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, from the Wude period to the Zhenguan period, and to the present day, war has never left.

In the Taiji Hall, Duke Ying said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers saluted once more and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise."

After the court officials had reported the rest of the matters, today's grand court meeting was coming to an end. Someone again advised to recall the crown prince who was away from home, as the country's heir must not be lost.

Li Chengqian really wanted to train his son, so he agreed with the court officials to write a letter home to ask him to come back earlier.

This war does not require recruiting soldiers in Guanzhong, nor does it require drawing troops from other places. The troops that should be drawn had already been drawn by Ying Gong in the autumn of last year. The road has been paved long ago, and all that is needed is a reason to start a war.

After the morning court session ended, His Majesty invited Duke Ying, Yu Zhining, Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang and Xu Jingzong to have dinner in the new palace.

Then, His Majesty, who was having a meal, had someone deliver an imperial edict, which was sent all the way to the Ministry of Personnel. His Majesty ordered Chongwenguan to send another 50 teachers to teach in the Western Regions.

Lai Ji returned to the Secretary's Office. He sat down and said to the clerk beside him, "Bring me some writing brush and ink."

"Here."

A scroll was spread out, and Lai Ji took up his pen to write about what happened at today's grand court meeting, recording His Majesty's words and deeds in the national history.

"Old sir, this year's decree will be posted on the city wall near the Suzaku Gate." The clerk asked, "Would you like to add a few more strokes, old sir?"

Lai Ji said with a smile: "No need, just post it once you have drafted it. People are waiting to see it, and we can't miss it every year."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)