The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 55 A Serious Arrow

It was still freezing rain outside the palace. The temperature in Guanzhong dropped suddenly and the cold was unexpected. The vegetables in the East Palace were planted early, and there was no telling whether the seedlings would be frozen.

Li Chengqian took a sip of hot tea and did not agree immediately. Instead, he looked to the side and asked, "Yu Zhanshi?"

Yu Zhining quickly replied: "What do you want, Your Highness?"

Li Chengqian first waved his sleeves, put one hand on his knee, looked at Wu Shigui, and said, "What are the rules for retiring to hometown in the court now?"

"Your Highness, according to the official rank, if it is an ordinary vice minister or below, the Ministry of Personnel can approve it. If it is above the vice minister, His Majesty's approval is required."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Duke Ying, why don't you go to Mount Li to resign from your post to my father, the Emperor?"

"Your Majesty..." Wu Shigui hesitated to speak.

Compared to last year, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's speech and manner are becoming more assertive now.

He was still the humble prince who was approachable and easy to get along with.

Xu Xiaode sat next to the prince, concentrating his attention and not daring to neglect a single word from his highness.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has grown too fast in this year, and his words already have authority.

"Duke Ying, don't be so reserved." Li Chengqian sighed, "Too many officials have retired and returned home this year."

Yu Zhining, Xu Xiaode, and Wu Shigui were all silent.

It was because Gao Shilian, Yu Shinan, Wang Gui and others gradually withdrew from the court, and it was the time for power transition.

Nowadays, the transfer of power in the court is still very smooth, and my uncle has smoothly transitioned to the position of Minister of Personnel.

Fang Xuanling held the position of Pushe and presided over the government affairs with great power.

The old people from the Prince of Qin's Mansion who had followed my father in the past made their debuts one after another.

The old people also left one after another.

Xu Xiaode handed over a memorial and said, "Your Highness, this is what Duke Ying has done over the years."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "Old Xu, how is the water level in Tongguan?"

"Replying to Your Highness, there have been some ups and downs, but it is still one foot lower than in previous years."

After saying this, seeing that His Highness did not open the memorial but put it aside with no intention of reading it on the spot, Xu Xiaode could only frown and lower his head.

The wind was still blowing hard, and you could hear the rustling of freezing rain falling to the ground.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked at Wu Shigui again, and said slowly: "Duke Ying, it's not that I don't agree to your retirement. I still need to discuss this matter with Prime Minister Fang and others. I hope you don't worry."

"Yes." Wu Shigui bowed and saluted, "I, your humble servant, will take my leave first."

Seeing him turn around and leave, Li Chengqian said again: "Xu Changshi, see Duke Ying off."

After Xu Xiaode and Wu Shigui left together, Yu Zhining whispered, "Your Highness, Xu Changshi has always been a warm-hearted person. Ever since Duke Ying came to Chang'an, he has been running around for him for many days."

Li Chengqian looked at Xu Xiaode's memorial, which was all about Wu Shigui's deeds in the Central Plains over the years. In the eighth year of Wude, he was transferred to Yangzhou, in the ninth year of Wude, he was transferred to Yuzhou, then to Lizhou, and finally to Jingzhou.

He had almost traveled across most of the Central Plains from south to north.

In fact, Wu Shigui's ability in calculation was still very good, but in the era when capable officials and talented people emerged in large numbers in the Tang Dynasty, the stars shone during the Zhenguan period, and the talents of the Tang Dynasty were almost becoming worthless.

Wu Shigui was also overshadowed by people like Fang Xuanling, Cen Wenben, Zhangsun Wuji, and Chu Suiliang.

Besides, the Wu family came from a merchant family, and they almost used up all their family fortune to finance the emperor’s uprising in Jingyang.

What good can it do just by relying on the friendship between Wu Shigui and the Emperor?

But now the one sitting on the throne is my father.
If the emperor still considered our past friendship and compensated them by returning the favor and fulfilling his promise, this court would have been in chaos long ago.

Just like the Guanlong clans supported the emperor in his uprising back then, the promises made back then were all made by the emperor.

What now?
After my father ascended the throne, he ignored the Guanlong clans.

Back then, friendship was not as important as the country.

After reading the memorial, Li Chengqian whispered, "In the past, the Wu family was engaged in business. Are they still engaged in business now?"

Yu Zhining replied, "No longer in business, Duke Ying came here to retire for a reason. His family is all in Bingzhou, and now he is only accompanied by his little daughter, so he is probably eager to return home."

Li Chengqian was eating a tea egg and gave one to Yu Zhining. "Yu Zhanshi?"

Yu Zhining had just peeled the egg and hadn't eaten it yet, so he put the peeled tea egg into the bowl again and sat upright and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

"You have been working in the Secretariat these days."

Yu Zhining said: "That's right."

"How are the preparations for next year's imperial examination going?"

"Your Highness, the imperial examination will be held in June next year. After the holiday this year, Prime Minister Fang will preside over the announcement and inform all counties in the Central Plains."

Li Chengqian thought about it and decided to wait until after the holiday before posting the notices in various counties. The time available was quite tight.

Yu Zhining picked up the peeled tea egg, took a bite and savored the delicious taste carefully.

"Will the names of those who take the imperial examinations be covered?"

"Hush name?" Yu Zhining was still chewing a tea egg and asked curiously, "What does huh name mean?"

Li Chengqian gestured and explained.

Yu Zhining roughly understood what he meant and nodded, "Why do you want to cover your name on the paper?"

"What if someone sees my name and place of origin and uses it for personal gain?"

Yu Zhining put the half-eaten tea egg into the bowl, frowned and thought: "Since the imperial examination is presided over by the court, it is naturally fair. The success of the examination is also based on the essays of each author. If the names are covered, it means that the court does not trust the scholars, or the scholars do not trust the court. This is not the way of a gentleman."

"Yu Zhanshi, do you usually read a lot of books by sages?"

Yu Zhining said: "I haven't watched it for a long time."

"Then I'll ask you one more question." Li Chengqian lowered his voice and said, "What if, I mean what if, the imperial examination becomes a way for examiners to make money in the future, and someone really acts in a biased manner, what should we do?"

Yu Zhining's expression showed a little more fear, and he said slowly: "Many people will die."

The imperial examination system was still in its infancy and needed to be improved.

Furthermore, before the Sui Dynasty, the official selection system in the Central Plains used the Nine-Rank System, under which local gentry or wealthy families evaluated a person's qualifications.

This system of selecting officials judges a person's virtue and talent based on his or her identity, background, and even the identity and family background of his or her parents.

It lasted for hundreds of years?

This led to the funny situation that there were no commoners in the upper class and no nobles in the lower class.

There are no high-ranking officials who come from poor backgrounds.

Among the talents below, there are no people from aristocratic families.

The fact that aristocratic families were able to last for hundreds of years and even influence the imperial power was all due to these bastards.

The flowing emperor, the iron-clad family.

The monopoly of the aristocratic family is that it is better to be born well than to be well-educated, and the main points are one is willful and the other resigns himself to fate.

The imperial examination is about to begin, and the Li Tang dynasty will challenge the aristocratic families. It is estimated that many people will die.

Yu Zhining whispered, "It's fine to hold the imperial examination, but let's see how many officials in the court are from aristocratic families. If you don't use any of them, most of those people will scold Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian asked: "Why? Do we have to depend on their attitude before we can hold the imperial examination?"

After hearing what His Highness said, Yu Zhining hesitated to speak.

"Haha, I really like this world more and more." Li Chengqian shook his head and smiled.
Yu Zhining left the East Palace only when the freezing rain outside the palace stopped a little.

Li Chengqian sat alone in the hall. Yu Zhining did not deny the necessity of covering his name, but only agreed to submit the memorial to the Secretariat.

Walking out of Chongwen Hall, the sky was gloomy and there was a little drizzle. It was not yet time for dinner, but Xiaofu was already busy in the kitchen.

Li Lizhi came to the East Palace again. She sat and talked with Ning'er.

Li Chengqian sat alone in the hall, staring at a piece of iron in a trance.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm thinking about killing someone."

"Kill people? Who are you going to kill?" Li Lizhi immediately looked inside the hall and scanned the surroundings.

"Nothing." Li Chengqian put on a gentle smile again.

Xiaofu came with a clay pot. She placed the pot in front of His Highness and said, "Your Highness, according to the rules of the East Palace, you must eat on time."

Li Chengqian took the chopsticks and opened the casserole, which contained radishes, celery, some noodles and meatballs.

A simple casserole is today's dinner.

Xiaofu added: "Your Highness must eat well. This is also the rule of the Eastern Palace."

Li Chengqian was eating and nodded, "I understand."

"Yes." Xiaofu nodded in satisfaction, took out two more casseroles and put them in the food box, and whispered, "Princess, remember to heat them up on the stove before eating."

Li Lizhi took the food box and said with a smile: "Xiaofu's cooking skills are getting better and better."

Originally, Ning'er had always been the one cooking for the Eastern Palace, but her talent and skills were certainly not as good as Xiao Fulai's.

Things like cooking naturally fell on this girl.

It rained all night, and the weather became even colder after the freezing rain.

The next day, the morning court ended in less than half an hour.

The morning court sessions have become increasingly leisurely lately.

As usual, Li Chengqian practiced archery in front of the Wude Hall.

Li Yuan stroked his beard, looked at the target, and nodded: "Cheng Qian, you have a good talent."

Li Chengqian said: "Because my grandson has murderous intentions in his heart, I feel very good today."

Another arrow was shot and hit the bull's eye.

The eunuch then placed the target further away and said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, it's six feet away."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Who made my grandson want to kill me?"

Li Chengqian said: "My uncle said that the noble families are all insects and they all deserve to die. I want to nail them to the wall with arrows."

"Or did Xiao Gong say that?"

"Yes."

Li Yuan frowned and said, "That's not right. I remember Xiaogong went to Mount Li early yesterday morning."

"My grandson and my uncle have a telepathic connection. He told me this in a dream."

Li Yuan looked worried and called the eunuch beside him and whispered, "I heard that Cheng Qian's childhood illness should be cured?"

"I don't know, old slave."

Seeing his grandson shoot another arrow, but the arrow hit the target but didn't hit the center, Li Yuan still said loudly: "Good archery!"

In fact, all the eunuchs present knew that the Crown Prince's archery skills were nothing compared to those of the rest of the army.

Basically, ordinary soldiers are better archers than Your Highness.

So what can be done?

After all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the most beloved grandson of the retired emperor.

A eunuch came with a fat little man in brocade clothes.

This fat man was none other than Li Tai, the King of Wei.

When Li Chengqian drew his bow and arrow and stood up, Li Tai immediately moved a few steps away and hurriedly came behind the emperor.

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Qingque, are you back from Mount Li?"

Last night's rain stopped in the morning, and the ground is still a little wet.

Li Tai bowed and said, "My grandson was concerned about the compilation of the Comprehensive Geography, so he came back early and arrived in Chang'an this morning."

Then, he bowed again and said, "Royal brother."

Li Chengqian still held the bow and said, "It's good that Qingque is back. I am too busy to supervise the government affairs alone."

Li Tai added: "Father has been asking about state affairs these days, and people from all walks of life have praised my brother. Father is very pleased."

"Ah That's good."

There was something else behind the conversation between the two brothers.

Is it really true that the eldest grandson is supervising government affairs and guarding Chang'an?
He was obviously very free, so free that he could come to the Wude Hall to practice archery.

Li Yuan smiled and opened the lid of the pot beside him, fished out a tea egg, handed it to him and said, "Qingque, this is a tea egg, your brother thought of the way to eat it."

"Thank you, Grandpa." Li Tai's every move was very polite and upright.

Compared to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is often lazy, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei's posture when saluting is impeccable.

Li Tai ate tea eggs and sat down on the chair beside the emperor. He whispered, "I heard that my brother arranged a Persian to be the editor of the Literature Museum?"

Li Chengqian nodded without denying it. He waited for the eunuchs in the distance to take all the arrows off the target and continued shooting arrows.

Normally, the prince would practice archery as he pleased, and today he practiced the longest.

Li Chengqian took the arrow handed to him by the eunuch, stretched his muscles and said, "That Persian controls the main road between Persia and the Western Regions. I wondered if it would be helpful for you to compile the Comprehensive Geography, so I had it sent to your Literature Museum."

"Thank you for your guidance, brother."

"I will also expand the outline of the Comprehensive Geography. I don't know if it suits your taste. I hope you don't think that I am meddling in other people's business."

"Why would I feel that my Royal Brother is meddling in other people's business? I will definitely listen to your instructions."

Li Chengqian put down his longbow, sat down and drank some water.

Li Tai bowed again and said, "Grandson will go visit mother first."

"Well, go ahead." Li Yuan still had a relieved smile on his face. Li Tai was not as tall as Cheng Qian and was a little fatter, but he was also a sensible child.

Li Yuan said again: "Cheng Qian, you can't be anxious and impatient when practicing archery, you..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengqian picked up the horn bow beside him, drew the bow and shot another arrow, which hit the center of the target with a whistling sound.

The target that I couldn't hit just now, this time I hit it right in the center.

"Grandpa, your grandson is very lucky."

This time even Li Yuan was somewhat moved. Such a serious shot did not seem to be a matter of luck.

After saying this, Li Chengqian put down his horn bow and walked towards his own East Palace.

Li Yuan peeled the shell of a tea egg and muttered to himself slowly: "My eldest grandson has something on his mind. When a man has something on his mind, he has grown up."

The old eunuch said again: "Your Majesty, you can't eat too many tea eggs."

"Help me eat together."

There was a pot full of tea eggs, which was too much to finish, and the eunuchs standing by all looked bitter.

(End of this chapter)