The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 546: Warning, Not Lobbying

The Analects of Confucius says: "Do not eat without ginger, and do not eat too much."

It is said that every meal should have ginger, but you can't eat too much ginger.

There is a sentence in the Analects of Confucius. It was because Confucius liked to eat ginger that some people later said that it was Mencius who loved to eat ginger.

In people's eyes at this moment, Guo Luotuo held the ginger in his hand and said: "This piece of dry land can be used to grow ginger. Inform the Ministry of Revenue to increase the acreage of Guanzhong by another 25 hectares."

Officials from the Sino-Agricultural Temple are recording and measuring the fields here.

The land on the north side of the Wei River was originally dry land. Guo Luotuo spent three years changing the soil and filling the land, turning it into sandy loam, which is the best soil for growing ginger.

The more than 20 hectares of land here were originally dry land where no crops could be grown. Now, onions and ginger can be grown here, and a large amount of onions and ginger are harvested.

These are what Sinong Temple has been doing in recent years. In addition to cultivating crops, it also guides the villagers in various counties in Guanzhong to grow crops.

A clerk in the Sinong Temple whispered to a young man who had just taken up the post, "Our Minister Guo rarely attends the morning court, and rarely goes to the Sinong Temple. These days he has been walking around in the fields, or living next to the fields."

Guo Luotuo was one of the few talented people in the Qianqing period who was able to enter the Lingyan Pavilion. Several young men who had just come to work in the Sinong Temple looked at Guo Siqing with admiration.

The clerk at the side shook his head again and said, "Following the orders of the Sinong Temple is definitely not like the other departments. Being on duty in the Sinong Temple means being on duty in the fields, not in the official residence. In the future, you should also be like Guo Siqing."

A group of young people who had just arrived to take up their posts were in awe when they heard this.

Guo Siqing took the land register handed over by the county magistrate and stamped the seal of the Ministry of Agriculture on the register. The village then had an additional 25 hectares of arable land.

"Don't over-irrigate the fields here, and don't over-cultivate them. It's not easy to cultivate dry land."

The county magistrate nodded quickly and took the land book with a smile on his face.

This is the fifth piece of land that Guo Luotuo has improved. There are still fields that are being improved, and there are dozens of fields of this size.

Guanzhong has a large population, but it is only so big after all, so the distribution and cultivation of crops in Guanzhong need to be carefully planned.

We also need to improve land utilization and the cultivation of high-quality crops, which is what Sinong Temple has been doing in recent years.

After arranging the current matters, Guo Luotuo took his men to check the next piece of land.

Shangguan Yi and Xu Jingzong were walking along the official road, and they saw Guo Luotuo still leading his men to inspect the fields.

"The farmland in Guanzhong can no longer be changed. This is the bottom line set by the Secretariat. From now on, Jingzhao Prefecture will no longer have an excuse to build workshops."

Xu Jingzong did not react much to Shangguan Yi's words. It was as if he was saying that now he was the Chief Censor of the Censorate, and if Jingzhao Prefecture still wanted to occupy the land for the workshop, his Censorate would not let Jingzhao Prefecture go.

Xu Jingzong said: "Jingzhao Prefecture is not the hard work of this old man alone."

Shangguan Yi looked at Guo Luotuo from a distance and asked, "Are you saying that Jingzhao Prefecture is also the credit of your majesty?"

Xu Jingzong neither denied nor nodded.

Everyone knows that when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, Jingzhao Prefecture was supported by the Crown Prince.

It's okay to say these words to others, but they are useless to Shangguan Yi.

"The situation is different now. Your Majesty must consider the entire Central Plains and the country, not just one place."

Xu Jingzong was still looking at Guo Luotuo and added: "Only Guo Luotuo is still doing the same things as before. He has never changed."

Shangguan Yi stroked his beard and said, "That's because your Majesty knows that people like Guo Luotuo should not be infected by the court."

The two are Guo Luotuo's best friends in Chang'an. Originally, they wanted to invite Guo Luotuo to have a drink today, but now it seems that they probably can't invite him.

Xu Jingzong turned and left, saying, "Let's go drink by the Xianyang Bridge. Brother Guo can see him when he comes back."

Shangguan Yi said: "Okay."

These two important officials of the court were wearing ordinary round-necked clothes, not official uniforms. They came to a tavern and asked the owner to serve them drinks.

The wine was poured into the bowl. Looking at the turbid wine still swaying in the bowl, Shangguan Yi said, "You can't be too hasty if you want to plot against Nanzhao."

Xu Jingzong sighed, "I have to be anxious. I am almost sixty years old."

Shangguan Yi, who was also over fifty, said, "We still have a few years left in the court. I'm afraid His Majesty is already planning for the next generation of talents."

Xu Jingzong picked up the wine bowl and said, "I heard that this year, your Imperial Censorate sent another group of officials to Yangzhou?"

Shangguan Yi picked up the wine bowl and said, "It's not a big deal. We just need to kill a few people and capture a few people."

The two of them sat opposite each other drinking. It was the busy farming season in Guanzhong in March, and the weather was warm but still cold.

The two men who were drinking did not feel how cold the night was. The lanterns beside the Xianyang Bridge were swaying in the wind.

A boat came to the river bank, and the shopkeeper boarded the boat and left, leaving the two guests to do as they pleased.

It was not until the night that Xu Jingzong saw someone coming with a lantern. He smiled and asked, "Here you are?"

Guo Luotuo walked forward holding a lantern and said, "Sorry for the long wait, both of you."

Guo Luotuo's temples had turned white. He sat down, took the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Shangguan Yi said: "It is indeed the most enjoyable to drink with you."

It was precisely because of the many troubles in the court that the two of them came out to find Guo Luotuo to drink. Only by sitting together with Guo Luotuo could they put aside the complicated affairs of the court.

Perhaps it was because Guo Luotuo was a very simple person. Every time Xu Jingzong drank with Guo Luotuo, he would feel that his breathing was smoother than before.

In April of the 13th year of Qianqing’s reign, Yangzhou City.

Several officials gathered together and were talking in low voices.

Suddenly, a man came hurriedly to report, "Something happened, the Imperial Censor has come to Yangzhou."

The people present looked at each other for a long time, and one of them asked, "Could it be that some officials in Yangzhou are corrupt?"

Someone else said, "The censor must have found some clues."

"You are all wrong. If the censor hadn't come, they might have only found some clues or heard some rumors. Once the censor comes, it will be solid evidence."

The speaker was an old man in plain clothes, who looked like a lowly civil servant. He added, "The emperor's minions are coming, and I don't know how many people will die in Yangzhou."

The young people here are all officials who have entered the officialdom through imperial examinations in recent years. Among them are many students who taught at Chongwenguan, and they have only come to Yangzhou to take up their posts in the past two years.

A young official asked, "Who is this old man?"

Someone else whispered, "Back then, Li Yifu came to Yangzhou and killed many people in Yangzhou. This old man's surname is Xie. He was the county magistrate of Yangzhou and experienced the Yangzhou Rebellion."

"No wonder..." someone was certain. Another person said, "The rebellion in Yangzhou was also for the purpose of governing Yangzhou, and those who were killed were all killed. This old man should not have any complaints."

Back then, County Magistrate Xie dared to mediate with Li Yifu and others. Although he is no longer involved in the affairs of the aristocratic families, he has been demoted from the position of county magistrate to a minor clerk.

Li Yifu retained his official position because he cooperated with the censor's investigation. The former county magistrate Xie now has to write documents here for the rest of his life.

This is what the emperor's censors are like. They won't be dispatched easily, nor will they alarm the local authorities.

Even if there are corrupt officials, the censors will not alert them.

Until the censor appears in a certain place to arrest someone in person, it means that there is solid evidence, and he even brings the order from the Ministry of War to mobilize officers and soldiers from the Zhechoufu in various places. It will be impossible to escape even if you want to.

Normally, the censors came directly from Chang'an, and the officials to be arrested were all approved by the emperor. This meant that even if you cried out for injustice, it would be useless even if you kneeled in the Taiji Hall.

He was an unforgiving emperor, and would not have approved the case unless the charges were proven.

Once the criminals are escorted to Chang'an City, people from the Ministry of Justice will come to verify the charges. In fact, in the end, they may just ask some questions such as name or origin. As for the charges... the censors have already checked them in the court.

First, someone will report it. After receiving the report, the court will send bad people to investigate secretly. After finding evidence, they will send it to Chang'an. In this process, the local authorities will not be alarmed. Even without knowing it, Chang'an City has begun to review the case again and again.

After several reviews, the emperor approved the decision and the Ministry of Justice formulated the punishment. Only then did the censor bring the emperor's order and the orders from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Personnel to the local area.

Until all the three-party transfer orders are brought out, even if you hold great power in the local area, the censor can even mobilize troops from all over the place to fight the enemy. This is the power of today's supervision system.

In May of the 13th year of Qianqing's reign, a group of officials were dealt with in this way.

Chang'an City had just experienced the Grain in Ear season in May. Li Chengqian was walking by the Weishui River with a fishing rod in hand. He said, "After the last release of water into Kunming Lake, there were no more fish in the lake. I wanted to go fishing there, but I heard that the fish fry had not grown up yet. Shangguan Yi and the Crown Prince advised me not to let go of even the fish fry."

Li Chengqian said with emotion: "I am not an emperor who does not listen to advice, so I let the fish in Kunming Lake go and came to the silt dam of Weishui River to fish."

Following the emperor were the two current assistant ministers of the Ministry of War, one was Pei Yan and the other was Liu Rengui.

However, Yu Zhining from the Ministry of War was not here, but was in the court dealing with this year's military deployment.

Following behind was a group of clerks, recording the emperor's words and deeds today. Led by them was the Minister of Rites, Lu Zhaolin.

Li Chengqian stopped, and the people behind him also stopped.

Once Li Chengqian started walking, the people behind him followed.

After walking and stopping for a long time, Li Chengqian finally found a comfortable place to fish.

Pei Yan stood aside without saying anything.

Hundreds of people in the back watched the emperor fishing alone in silence.

It is so quiet here that you can even hear the sound of water hitting the silt dam and the rustling of leaves.

Liu Rengui finally couldn't help but stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial examination will be held in two days."

Li Chengqian said: "I know."

"Your Majesty should take charge of the imperial examinations."

"Minister Liu, the imperial examinations are being arranged by the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Secretariat. I rarely have time to relax. If I want to go fishing with you here, won't it disturb my interest?"

Seeing that he was about to speak, Li Chengqian said, "Are you trying to say that I am the emperor and I should set a good example?"

Liu Rengui lowered his head.

"Sometimes I think you look a lot like Duke Zheng, but sometimes you don't look like Duke Zheng. Do you know what Duke Zheng would say if I were here?"

"I don't know."

"Duke Zheng will say that I like fishing, and more and more people will come to fish, and eventually there will be no fish to eat in Guanzhong, and then I will have to give up my hobby of fishing. If the emperor's hobby endangers the country, Duke Zheng will fight to the end."

Lu Zhaolin recorded His Majesty's words in the file.

The civil servants in the back all nodded. They all had the same idea in their minds, and many even had tears in their eyes.

It’s nothing, it’s just that Your Majesty is missing Duke Zheng again.

This shows how important Duke Zheng is to Your Majesty and to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian said to Lu Zhaolin in the back: "You all should retreat."

"Here."

Everyone responded and left. Only Liu Rengui and Pei Yan were left in front of Li Chengqian. He withdrew his gaze, looked at the calm river and said, "Yu Zhining is busy in the court, there are some things I just want to talk to you two about."

Pei Yan would not spoil His Majesty's interest. As long as His Majesty had an order, he would be loyal and dedicated. He then bowed and said, "I dare not disobey."

Liu Rengui also followed suit and saluted.

Li Chengqian took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Pei Yan first.

The two men looked together at the paper handed over by His Majesty. This was a secret letter sent from Tubo, which talked about the current internal conflicts in Tubo. More and more people hoped that Tubo would join the Tang Dynasty, while some people resisted the Tang Dynasty.

Those who resisted the Tang Dynasty were people of the same generation as Lu Dong. They were now Tibetan ranchers or clan leaders.

And those young people who were eager to join the Tang Dynasty were like rebellious children in the eyes of those clan leaders.

Liu Rengui said: "Your Majesty, I wish to go to Tubo in person."

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and shook his head, saying, "You don't have to go in person. The two of you should stay in Chang'an City. The Ministry of War will be very busy in the next two years."

Pei Yan said: "I heard that the Ministry of Rites has sent people to Tibet to lobby."

"Lobbying?" Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "Lobbying requires reasoning. In my opinion, reasoning is a very inefficient thing. I want to redistribute the pastures of Tubo so that all the people of Tubo can get the pastures of the Tubo nobles."

"After redistributing them, set up the prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty. After that, anyone who dares to resist the Tang Dynasty will be charged with treason."

When he heard the word "treason", Liu Rengui's eyes twitched noticeably.

Pei Yan's expression remained calm. It turned out that His Majesty was not going to ask for the opinions of the Tibetan nobles, but the Tang Dynasty unilaterally announced that Tibet would be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty and the land would be redistributed to Tibet.

If the Tang Dynasty unilaterally announced that Tubo would be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty, it would be considered as treason.

There will be no lobbying, just merge them first and then directly convict them, which is really quick, accurate and ruthless.

Then the envoys sent by the Ministry of Rites were not there to lobby, but to warn.

This way of doing things is truly typical of Tian Khan... Haha, Pei Yan smiled secretly. Tian Khan had never negotiated conditions with anyone, nor had he ever negotiated conditions with others, so there was no need for lobbying.

(End of this chapter)