The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 555 Nothing has changed

He Zhizhang is thirteen years old this year. After all, he is just a thirteen-year-old boy. Listening to his father-in-law's words, it seems that he wants to take care of him.

Li Chengqian said: "I always felt that you, father-in-law, respected the nature of children."

Su Tan stroked his beard and asked, "Why do you say that, Your Majesty?"

"I am not the only one who thinks so." Li Chengqian looked at the scenery in the distance and said, "When Yao Chong, Su Weidao and others were shouting for the new policy in Chongwen Hall, there were people in the court who opposed the students shouting for the new policy in groups. Even if I really have some new policy, I should not add fuel to the flames like this."

Listening to His Majesty's story, Su Tan's expression gradually became nervous.

Li Chengqian said, "But some people saw that the Chongwenguan director did not stop the students from fueling the new policy, and some people spoke up for my father-in-law, saying that he respected the nature of the students. Sometimes I would be shaken after listening to their words, let alone my father-in-law."

Su Tan sighed, "I am ashamed."

"Don't be ashamed. I think everyone has different ways of teaching children. There is no need to say whose way is better or worse. There will always be smarter people and people with extraordinary talents in this world. There is no need to compare them."

"I understand."

Li Chengqian looked at the fields in the distance and saw his father walking with Qingque.

"My father loved Qingque the most. I still remember when I was a child, my father gave Qingque the military power to lead seven states. I was still young at that time, and Qingque was also young."

Su Tan said, "When I first heard about this, I learned that Duke Zheng had advised Your Majesty not to give too much reward to his young son, lest he become arrogant. In the end, Your Majesty still issued an edict, but did not actually hand over the military power of the seven states to the King of Wei."

Qingque had been away for two years, and now he is back. Actually, not so many things have changed.

It's still the same, father still loves Qingque so much.

"With Qingque by my father's side, my father smiles more often. In fact, my father has always been partial to Qingque, and it has not changed over the years."

Su Tan sighed slowly and whispered, "In fact, your majesty never cares about the emperor's partiality for the king of Wei."

"Yes, I never care. If Qingque can make my father smile more, isn't that a good thing?"

Although Su Tan was the emperor's relative by marriage, he did not know much about the emperor's family affairs.

In the past, he had only heard some rumors in the palace and had dinner with His Majesty and the Emperor Retired, but he did not know much about the relationship between the Emperor and his son.

When His Majesty walked towards the Supreme Emperor and the King of Wei, Su Tan originally thought that His Majesty would just look at them silently for a while and then leave, but he did not expect that he would walk towards the King of Wei and the Supreme Emperor.

Su Tan saw from afar that the King of Wei saluted his majesty, and then the father and his two sons were having a conversation.

The distance was too far, and Su Tan didn't want to go close and disturb them, so he could only stand there and watch quietly.

As the cold evening wind blew, Su Tan noticed Ying Gong standing next to him again.

Seeing Su Tan's gaze, Li Ji did not speak, but nodded slightly and continued to look at the emperor and the other two in the distance.

Li Ji knew very well that when the retired emperor interacted with His Majesty, he was often serious and rarely smiled. This had been the case for decades.

Even when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince and had accomplished many fruitful things, Your Majesty had never laughed heartily, either then or now.

That is why Your Majesty was closer to Emperor Gaozu of the Wude Dynasty.

It is also because Gaozu was the emperor and the grandfather of your current Majesty. Whenever your Majesty made any achievements when he was young, your Majesty's grandfather laughed the happiest.

It is for this reason that Emperor Gaozu is also a very important person in Your Majesty's heart.

After the passing of Emperor Gaozu, Your Majesty did not grieve for long and had to continue to handle state affairs.

Su Tan whispered, "How does Lord Ying feel about His Majesty compared to the King of Wei?"

Li Ji looked forward, expressionless, and said, "A spoiled child cannot become a good emperor. Your Majesty has a strong heart. A person with a strong heart can definitely endure more things. Only a person with a cold heart can bring more benefits to the country."

At this point, Li Ji paused for a moment and added: "Those who are indecisive cannot lead thousands of troops. This is a taboo for generals. It is better to be wrong than to be weak."

Su Tan sighed with emotion and said, "It is better to be wrong than to be weak. Lord Ying's words are really cruel."

Li Ji said: "I have watched your Majesty grow up. Your Majesty has been a strong person since he was young. A person's strength does not lie in how many people support him, but in his perseverance even when he is alone."

Li Ji was a great general, an outstanding general. He analyzed the person sitting on the emperor's position from the perspective of a great general.

Until His Majesty returned, the Prince of Wei was still accompanying the Emperor, which is truly a beautiful story. Even though the Emperor doted on the Prince of Wei back then, it is truly a beautiful story that the Prince of Wei has had a good end now.

After His Majesty got back into the carriage, Li Ji first looked at the sky and asked, "Your Majesty, have you returned to the palace?"

"Let's go fishing at Taiye Lake."

"Here."

When the last ray of light disappeared at the western end of the horizon, lights were lit up beside Taiye Lake, like a few stars in the summer night.

These lights surround the entire Taiye Lake, making the scenery even more beautiful.

Li Chengqian was sitting in the water pavilion, holding a fishing rod in his hand, while his youngest daughter Meng Ji was telling him about her achievements.

Yes, the scenery of Taiye Lake is her achievement.

Meng Ji was born in heavy snow. Li Chengqian thought of the snow leopard, which was good at hunting in the cold winter and was swift and strong.

The snow leopard is called Mengji. It is agile, fast and smart.

This is Li Chengqian's hope for his daughter.

"Father, how is my daughter's lighting arrangement going?"

Li Chengqian stretched out his hand and slapped a mosquito that was about to fly towards his daughter and said, "It looks good, but it attracts insects easily."

Hearing this, the little girl snorted unhappily, turned around and left.

Li Chengqian smiled silently, took out a tea egg from the stove beside him, peeled the eggshell carefully, ate the tea egg, and looked at the surface of Taiye Lake leisurely.

The sound of children laughing and talking could be heard from behind. It was Empress Su and Concubine Ning who were telling stories to the children.

Li Chengqian thought of the story of the Red Mansion. In the Tang Dynasty, this story still had no ending. So many years had passed, and he didn't know whether people in the future would still remember it.

Time is ruthless. It can erase all traces of a person's existence and make a story disappear.

The only thing we can do is pass this story down from generation to generation.

In the fourteenth year of Qianqing's reign, winter came and went, and it was winter again.

Li Chengqian no longer cared about the general direction of state affairs, but would discuss every detail with court officials. The Tang Dynasty had passed the digestion period after the Battle of Pamirs.

The Tang Dynasty is now back to a down-to-earth stage and is developing the country step by step.

Some people have proposed changing the rent, labor and tax system, probably with the intention of simplifying the taxation system of the Tang Dynasty, but this idea was refuted by Chu Suiliang.

Li Chengqian also felt that it was inappropriate to change the tax law now. Firstly, the current taxes had been corrected time and time again, and taxes would only change when there was demand.

If there is no specific demand or need among the masses, it is inappropriate to impose taxes too far in advance.

Since the Tang Dynasty was going to take a path centered on the mass line, it was most important to truly understand the needs of the masses. The emperor did not like those big and empty policy papers, and because the emperor did not like them, the court officials did not like them either.

In the imperial city, Princess Anding and a group of little girls are learning to read. Their teacher is Princess Linchuan.

That is Princess Anding’s aunt Linchuan. This aunt seldom comes to the palace. Only when the court encounters some difficulties will this aunt come to help solve the problems.

This time, after Princess Linchuan criticized the so-called tax reform, she handed the revised article to the court, and the court rejected the proposal to reform the rent, labor service and levies.

"your Highness."

Hearing the words behind him, Xiao Que'er turned around and saw that it was Shangguan Wan'er, who was three years younger than him, calling him. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Shangguan Wan'er looked at Princess Linchuan with admiration and whispered, "I also want to be such a person."

Lin Chuan listened to the two girls' words and asked, "Do you want to learn this knowledge?"

Shangguan Wan'er nodded.

"Except for Que'er, the rest of you have such a poor foundation that you won't be able to keep up."

Hearing this, all the girls lowered their heads.

Shangguan Wan'er, who was wearing a skirt, asked again: "Princess Linchuan is more powerful than those ministers in the court."

Lin Chuan shook his head and said, "The most powerful one is His Majesty, not me or anyone else."

"Why?"

Little Que'er looked up proudly and explained, "Because my aunt was taught by my father."

Linchuan glanced at them again.

A group of girls lowered their heads and wrote the articles they needed to copy.

The cold wind this year lasted a long time, and until February of the fifteenth year of Qianqing, the winter had not yet ended.

It should have been a warm spring in Guanzhong, where the four seasons are on schedule, but it is still snowing heavily. The cold air comes from the north in waves, and the sunny and snowy days in Guanzhong keep changing. It was sunny for just three days, and it snowed heavily again today.

There is always some annoying and abnormal weather, and Li Chengqian sat by the Taiye Lake fishing as usual.

If Your Majesty cannot be found in the palace, then Your Majesty must be fishing in Taiye Lake. He always goes fishing regardless of the seasons.

The children in the palace were also raised with the fish caught by Your Majesty.

Including the Crown Prince, two princesses, and a little prince, His Majesty's four children love eating fish the most.

In the howling cold wind of Chang'an City, a kind of delicacy appeared, and that delicacy was tofu.

A eunuch brought a basin of tofu and came behind the emperor, holding the basin in both hands, "Your Majesty, this is the tofu sent by Xuanzang."

Li Chengqian asked: "Did he return to Chang'an City?"

"Your Majesty, Xuanzang came once and left again, saying that he had returned to Guzang City. When someone went to inquire again, he had already left Chang'an City and said that this piece of tofu was presented to Your Majesty."

The texture of the tofu was not great and it was already cold.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and asked, "Does he have anything else to say?"

"Yes, Xuanzang said that people in Guanzhong will cherish beans more in the future. After the emergence of tofu, beans in Guanzhong are more valuable, and the people in the fields can harvest more. This is indeed a great blessing in the world. Xuanzang congratulates Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty, and thousands of people."

Li Chengqian said: "Xuanzang only congratulates people, he will not congratulate the Tang Dynasty. To him, people are still the same people, whether it is the Tang Dynasty or something else, he does not care."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch knelt on the ground immediately.

"There are too many ignorant eunuchs in the palace now. I'm sorry to have embarrassed Your Majesty." Eunuch Yang bowed.

I wanted to say something to please His Majesty, but I said the wrong thing, especially a lie.

Even if it is for the pleasure of His Majesty, you cannot lie. The more lies you tell, the bigger they will become.

Li Chengqian straightened his sitting posture and said, "Put down the tofu, and send the people to build Zhaoling."

Eunuch Yang bowed and said, "Yes."

Xuanzang did come to Chang'an City and presented tofu to His Majesty, but he did not say much.

Li Chengqian asked, "Have all the ducks in the village gone into the water?"

"Your Majesty, the ducks that were kept outside have already entered the water and are swimming in the river."

Li Chengqian looked at the gloomy sky. When the wind blew, the wool on the cloak was blown up. At the back collar of the cloak, some thin strands of wool were sticking to His Majesty's chin.

His Majesty still grooms his beard every day, and you can still see his blue chin and some stubble.

Yesterday morning, the Empress Dowager trimmed Your Majesty's hair. In fact, this has been the case every year since you were a child. Every New Year, the Empress would trim Your Majesty's hair and facial hair.

Seeing that no fish had taken the bait, Li Chengqian turned around and walked out of the waterside pavilion, instructing as he walked, "Now Zhinu's money is about to run out again. In a couple of days, he will probably be timid and look for money everywhere. Have someone send him three thousand strings of cash, but he must write an IOU for the money."

"Here."

"We still need to keep an eye on Luoyang's fruit trees. Cultivating crops and expanding the planting area are still top priorities."

"Here."

"By the way, let's ask the Literature Museum if it is really possible to dig through Zhongnan Mountain. If so, let them try to draw a map and formulate a charter."

"Here."

"I didn't say I wanted to dig it, I just asked casually."

"Here."

"We also need to speed up the construction of the Tubo-Tang Chi Road. The Tang-Tibet Chi Road should be renamed the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road. It is said that this is the ancient road that Songtsen Gampo took to seek medical treatment in the Tang Dynasty. These beautiful stories must be passed down through this story."

……

The row of eunuchs following His Majesty left one after another. Each of them remembered one thing, and could only remember one thing.

Every time His Majesty gave an order, a eunuch would bow and leave, one after another.

Although Your Majesty is often idle and often fishing, whenever there are state affairs, Your Majesty can always arrange the current state affairs one by one, and can talk about everything from agriculture and sericulture to water conservancy construction, from water conservancy construction to diplomacy between the two places.

The emperor's life was more leisurely than before, but his ability was stronger than before. Often, in just a few words, the emperor could talk about things that had accumulated for months or even years.

It is also possible that Your Majesty was thinking about these things while fishing. It is truly rare to have an emperor who can build the country while fishing.

Even if the court officials had just slacked off for ten days or half a month, the emperor would pull them up, turn over the many backlog regulations one by one, and make them continue to worry about it.

(End of this chapter)