The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 541: Equally Important Person
Li Chengqian and his daughter walked in the snow, smiling but not saying anything. They ignored Songtsen Gampo's intention to go home. They probably just heard one sentence and forgot about it.

Little Magpie asked again: "Grandpa, why don't you come to see me recently?"

"Your grandpa wants to see more people."

"Who are you looking at?"

Li Chengqian explained: "Your grandfather wants to see the people in the streets and the people in the countryside."

Xiao Que'er said, "Grandpa is no longer the emperor, but he still loves the people so much."

"Oh, yes."

When the father becomes a good role model for the children, if he can set an example for them, he can also set a benchmark for the elderly. Isn't this also a good story?

When we arrived at Liangyi Hall, today's dinner was already prepared.

Li Chengqian took the cake from his daughter, took a bite and said, "This bean paste is good."

Xiao Que'er ate the bean paste-filled cake and smiled, "My daughter likes it too."

The next day, after a night of snow, when it was bright, people were already waiting in the Taiji Hall for the emperor to come for the morning court.

Pei Yan was used to wearing the court dress of the Vice Minister of War. When he looked up, he saw Xu Yushi, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat, who was talking to someone.

Xu Yushi's position was higher than his own. He was promoted from a river supervisor to the position of Zhongshu Shilang in order to coordinate canal affairs in the court.

As if he noticed the gaze, Master Xu Yue bowed politely and continued talking to the person.

Sometimes a cold wind blew into the Tai Chi Hall, and voices could be heard outside the hall.

"Why is Songtsen Gampo asking for orders again?" The Minister of the Honglu Temple Guo Zhengyi walked into the hall with an unhappy look on his face.

Pei Yan greeted people with a smile.

There were still many people outside the hall, hunching their necks in the cold wind. When they walked into the hall, everyone walked in a hurry.

A eunuch took a kettle and poured hot water into water bags, then handed them to the courtiers who walked into the hall, so that they could hold the water bags to keep warm and drive away the cold.

If the water in the water bag is not too hot, you can open the water bag and drink a sip of warm water.

Pei Yan still stood there, listening to the conversations around him, all of whom were talking about Songtsen Gampo. It was yesterday that the Honglu Temple submitted Songtsen Gampo's request to the Ministry of Rites, and then the Ministry of Rites received the memorial and submitted it to His Majesty.

After all, Songtsen Gampo is a guest of the Tang Dynasty, and he is also the king of Tubo, so he must inform Your Majesty.

But yesterday the Ministry of Rites delivered the memorial to Chengtian Gate, and it should have come before Your Majesty.

His Majesty approved all the memorials that were to be approved that day, except for Songtsen Gampo's request, which he ignored.

Today, at dawn, Songtsen Gampo waited in front of the Suzaku Gate and waited until officials from the Honglu Temple appeared.

This is what Guo Zhengyi talked about with everyone in the Taiji Hall.

Pei Yan held the hot water bottle in his hand and closed his eyes to rest.

Later, Xu Jingzong and Yu Zhining also came, followed by Shangguan Yi, Chu Suiliang, and finally Duke Ying came to the Taiji Hall.

After waiting for a while, His Majesty arrived in the palace and today's morning court session began.

It seemed that Xu Jingzong had given some instructions to Guo Zhengyi. The morning court was almost over, and the people from the Ministry of Rites did not mention the matter of Songtsen Gampo.

After the morning court session ended, no one in the court or the public mentioned Songtsen Gampo.

After the morning court session, Li Chengqian invited Duke Ying to have dinner together.

The roasted lamb had been prepared in the new hall. Half of the lamb was steaming. Li Chengqian took a small knife, cut the meat and put it into Yinggong's bowl.

Li Ji said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian put some peeled garlic on the side of Ying Gong's bowl and said, "There is a kind of wild onion growing at the foot of the mountain in Congling. Every time spring and summer change, this kind of onion will grow all over the mountain along the water source."

"Caravans travel back and forth, and people and animals can eat these wild onions as they move around. Wild onions grow under the snow-capped mountains. I heard that it is a very beautiful scenery by the river valley. I have never seen such scenery. Such scenery must be very beautiful, so it is called Congling."

Li Ji said: "After the wild onions bloom, it will be a very beautiful scene again."

The emperor and his minister sat opposite each other. Li Chengqian cut some mutton for himself and looked out the window, but could only see the gloomy sky.

The eunuch came over and said, "Your Majesty, mutton is much more expensive this year. People are saying that the Turks have colluded with each other. Mutton that used to cost ten cents a piece is now costing thirteen cents a piece. Someone even went to Jingzhao Prefecture to complain."

Li Chengqian said: "Yes, I understand."

The eunuch stepped aside again.

Ying Gong chewed garlic in his mouth and occasionally put a piece of mutton into his mouth.

"Yan Qinli is now the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture is Zhang Da'an, and the Vice Prefect is Di Renjie. Zhang Da'an is a relatively patient person. With him in charge of the affairs of Jingzhao Prefecture, there will probably be no problem talking to him."

Li Ji said, "Your Majesty appointed Zhang Da'an as the prefect of Jingzhao because he felt that Xu Jingzong and Yan Qinli had been too strict with Guanzhong. Now he wants to use Zhang Da'an to give Guanzhong some relief. Even though Zhang Da'an is a gentle person, Di Renjie can complement him. At least Di Renjie is not too lenient."

Li Chengqian brewed a bowl of tea and handed it over.

Li Ji took the tea handed over by His Majesty with both hands, bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, after the matter of Tubo and Nanzhao is settled, Xu Jingzong should also retire."

Li Chengqian placed his hands on his knees, watched Lord Ying take a sip of tea, and nodded, saying, "If Xu Jingzong wants to be listed in the Lingyan Pavilion, he must have these two achievements. Xu Jingzong wants Tubo and Nanzhao to be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty more than anyone else."

After saying this, Li Chengqian stood up and took a book from the bookshelf beside him. He flipped through it for a while and said, "This is a report sent by Tubo. It was sent by the Tubo Protectorate."

Li Ji wiped his hands, took the memorial handed over by His Majesty, opened it and looked at it with a frown. The memorial was written by Li Anqi, the Protector General of Tubo. There had not been any civil unrest in various parts of Tubo for a long time. However, in the territory of Tubo, there was a group of Tubo children who were calling on herdsmen from all over the country to join the Tang Dynasty.

"I, your Majesty, congratulate you!"

Seeing that Lord Ying was paying respect again, Li Chengqian stepped forward to support him and said, "We have been planning for the battle of Songzhou for twenty years, and it has finally come to a conclusion. I should congratulate Lord Ying together."

Just as the prince's article said, Tibet is extremely precious to the Tang Dynasty. From a geographical point of view, Tibet's snow-capped mountains are a natural barrier.

Once Tibet was incorporated into the Tang Dynasty, the territory of the Tang Dynasty would expand westward to the snow-capped mountains and guard the key passes of the snow-capped mountains. Only a hundred people would be needed to guard the west of Tibet and block the enemies from Nepal, India, and even the Pamir Mountains.

Now, in order to garrison the Hexi Corridor and Qinghai, tens of thousands of troops have been deployed in the two places.

The incorporation of Tubo could reduce the burden of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses for the Tang Dynasty. If these tens of thousands of soldiers and horses could return to their lives and return to production, it would be a great help. Moreover, if tens of thousands of soldiers and horses who had been freed from work returned to production, the effect would also be huge.

The pressure on border defense was reduced by at least 60%. Li Chengqian said again: "Don't worry, Lord Ying. I am not afraid of Tubo's rebellion."

Li Ji nodded again.

Your Majesty and Duke Ying enjoyed this meal very much.

Ning'er came to the outside of the new palace and saw the white-haired Lord Ying. She saluted and said, "Lord Ying." "Concubine Ning." Li Ji bowed and then left with a cane.

Ning'er walked into the hall and saw His Majesty reading a book. Li Miao had been here since someone had known him, and was eating the leftover roasted lamb. The child's cheeks were bulging from eating.

Seeing this, Ning Er stepped forward with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Ying has just left."

Li Chengqian was sitting upright, writing on a piece of paper.

Ning'er helped to organize the memorials on the table. Her movements were very natural and skillful. It had been thirty years. She had been by His Majesty's side for thirty years.

After cleaning up, seeing that His Majesty was still reviewing memorials, Ning'er sat by the stove and wiped the oil off Li Miao's mouth.

The child has always been lively. As soon as he sat down, he became interested in the chess on the bookshelf. He pointed to the chessboard on the bookshelf and asked the eunuch to get it for him.

Ning'er nodded and signaled him to play with the chessboard, and the eunuch then helped to take it down.

The new palace was very quiet. When the eldest son and daughter, the Crown Prince and Que'er, were not around, His Majesty's side was always very quiet. Only when these two children came, His Majesty's side would become lively.

A person's life is very long, and how can we say that thirty years pass in the blink of an eye? During the thirty years I have been with Your Majesty, everything has been peaceful.

When Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince and still young, he was already well-loved by the people. Later, the talent and ability he displayed moved Prime Minister Fang and Duke Xu.

"what are you laughing at?"

Hearing His Majesty's words, Ning'er realized that she was looking out the window and smiling absentmindedly. She explained, "I remembered the auspicious sign His Majesty mentioned."

Li Chengqian said, "I used to think that the auspicious sign of the Tang Dynasty was my grandfather. After my grandfather passed away, I now think that the auspicious sign of the Tang Dynasty is Duke Zheng. Now I think that the auspicious sign of the Tang Dynasty is the millions of people. I just read the report of the Ministry of Revenue. From south to north, there are 6.51 million households in the Central Plains, with a total population of 40 million."

"I congratulate Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian added: "The old territory of Goguryeo has a population of 30,000 households, Silla has 6,700 households, the entire Western Regions and even the Congling Hu have a population of 200,000 households, and the Tibetan population is 130,000 households. This is the largest population since the Zhenguan period."

The productivity boosted in Guanzhong is actually not that much. It is easy, but also not easy, for this land to feed 40 million people.

To maintain or even preserve the balance of such a huge country would put the court's governance capabilities to the test.

Li Chengqian felt lucky because he had strengthened grassroots construction from the very beginning, and would strengthen the establishment of each county in the future. The stability of the country would be most tested by the grassroots, and the collapse of a social system often began with the collapse of the grassroots.

This is probably how the emperors understood the importance of the country.

Looking at her expression, Li Chengqian asked, "Are you worried about something?"

Ning Er said, "I have no worries."

Seeing that His Majesty had already reviewed the memorials, Concubine Ning had them all sent down.

This year is not as noisy as last year. After the victory of the Battle of Pamirs, this year has been particularly peaceful.

Just before the holiday, Li Chengqian summoned Shangguan Yi again.

Shangguan Yi was both the prince's eastern palace attendant and the chief censor in the court, and he was a very loyal person.

In addition to asking Shangguan Yi about the recent situation of the prince, there were also some things to explain.

A stack of files was brought in front of him. Shangguan Yi looked more solemn. These files looked new, without any creases and the ink marks were intact.

Li Chengqian said: "These are the files of the Ministry of Personnel. They are still a little too lax in local construction. Even if the court is strict and the rules are clearly drawn up every time, once the officials arrive at the local area, they usually 'follow the local customs' and change their appearance again."

Shangguan Yi had picked up the file and started looking through it.

Li Chengqian added: "I hope that the Censorate will strengthen its supervisory and guidance teams, and not let local officials be too local. They are officials of the court, and their duties and rules must be clearly defined, even if they have to offend local customs."

Shangguan Yi put down one scroll and picked up another.

"I don't want to see the local county government become lax. They are officials in the court. They have to work for the villagers. Their every move is for the country. Their style of conduct is for the country. If they are dissolute, then the court will be dissolute."

Li Chengqian said sternly: "Shangguan Zhongcheng, I hope that monitoring officials will become a common thing in the future, and correcting the atmosphere is something that must be done."

Shangguan Yi said: "I obey your command."

"The Imperial Censorate has prepared ten teams to inspect various places, accept reports from villagers, and ask more questions to the villagers." Li Chengqian said earnestly, "This matter is very important. Thank you for your help."

Shangguan Yi bowed and bowed deeply.

Songtsen Gampo was still waiting for the emperor's summons. The snow fell and stopped this winter.

Your Majesty is sometimes idle and sometimes busy, but Songtsen Gampo is the only one who is always waiting for Your Majesty in front of the Suzaku Gate.

It was not until the court was on vacation that Songtsen Gampo saw groups of soldiers leaving Chang'an City.

For more than half a month, Songtsen Gampo would stand in front of the Vermillion Bird Gate every day to check the government decrees that had been sent out and ask the officials of the Ministry of Rites whether the emperor had seen his memorials.

And every time, the officials would tell him that the emperor had seen his memorial, but had not summoned him.

This was the answer every day. Today the court was on holiday. Songtsen Gampo watched the tall Suzaku Gate close and was about to leave with his head lowered.

"Zanpu!"

Hearing the voice, Songtsen Gampo looked at the other party and said, "Guo Siqing."

Guo Zhengyi invited, "Can the Zanpu spare me a moment to talk?"

"it is good."

Guo Zhengyi brought Songtsen Gampo to his residence and asked his family to bring him mutton soup. He said, "Our family is in financial difficulty, please don't be offended, Tsanpo."

He shook his head while holding the bowl and drinking mutton soup in big gulps.

Guo Zhengyi said: "In fact, the Zanpu doesn't have to wait in front of the Suzaku Gate all the time."

"What does Guo Siqing mean?"

"You can leave Chang'an City and return to Tubo now. No one will stop you, and no one will ask questions. Even at the checkpoints along the way, there will be people to let you pass."

Songtsen Gampo put down his bowl and chopsticks hesitantly, and had already swallowed a bowl of mutton soup.

Guo Zhengyi handed him his bowl as well and said, "This is all ordered by His Majesty. As early as when Lu Dongzan left Chang'an, His Majesty gave this order. You can go back now."

Songtsen Gampo felt the warmth in his stomach, bowed in the direction of the Taiji Hall, and said loudly: "Thank God Khan."

Guo Zhengyi said, "Your Majesty feels sorry that the Zamp left like this, which is why you haven't seen you for so many days. In fact, the Zamp is also very important to the Tang Dynasty. It is for the peace of the country, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty. I hope the Zamp can help, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and Tubo."

(End of this chapter)