The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 570 People Who Are Not Here
The word "old gentleman" made Li Chengqian smile knowingly, and he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you here."

Zhang Jiuling bowed again and said goodbye with a very respectful look.

After the people walked away, Li Chengqian still stood here. In his eyes, Zhang Jiuling's figure blended into the group of young people.

These young men just rested for a while by the stream beside Mount Li before continuing on their way to Chang'an City.

These young students are of different heights, weights and shapes. Some are well-dressed, while others... are shabby-dressed. However, their eyes are full of pride and the light that young people should have.

"I really like the look in their eyes. It's great that they are so enterprising and have the courage to ask questions."

Li Daoyan handed over the file with both hands, "Your Majesty, this is the record about Zhang Jiuling."

Li Chengqian took the file and looked at it as he walked. The file recorded all about Zhang Jiuling's past. According to local records, Zhang Jiuling was already famous when he was young.

He was able to write articles at the age of eight, and after he was ten, his talent and knowledge were well-known in Lingnan and Jiangnan.

The current Shaoqing of the Imperial Household Department, Wang Fangqing, has a lot of praise for this young man.

After reading the file, Li Chengqian handed it to Li Daoyan and returned to Mount Li.

A month later, Li Chengqian once again came to the stream at the foot of Mount Li, and Zhang Jiuling came here again.

Li Chengqian continued to conceal his identity and talked to him, "I heard that you are going to teach in rural areas?"

Zhang Jiuling was also observing the old gentleman. This old gentleman was no different from the one he met a month ago, except that he was surrounded by two more rows of guards, about twenty people.

However, the old gentleman was dressed very casually. It was rumored that there were still many nobles in Guanzhong, and it was common for a village or county to have one or two nobles.

The last time he saw this old gentleman, he had no guards with him. He saluted and asked, "Why did you bring guards with you today, old gentleman?"

Li Chengqian explained: "They want to follow us."

Zhang Jiuling smiled awkwardly.

"Don't worry, they are just holding knives to make a loud noise, they won't hurt anyone."

The faces of several guards were a little stiff. They were the imperial guards selected from the Flying Tigers to protect the retired emperor, and they all survived the fighting in the Western Regions.

Li Chengqian pointed at the neat stone beside him and said, "Sit down."

This old gentleman was extremely extraordinary in both his conversation and knowledge. Zhang Jiuling bowed again and sat aside very respectfully.

Seeing that he was sitting upright and very reserved, Li Chengqian picked up the fishing rod on the shore and handed it to him, "Fishing!"

"Thank you, Mr.

"What did you gain from this trip to Chang'an?"

Zhang Jiuling replied: "I will go to Chongwenguan in Chang'an this time. I need to study in Wenlinguan for three months before I can go to other places to teach."

Li Chengqian asked, "So you'll still be in Chang'an for three months?"

"Ah."

"When did Chongwenguan have this rule?"

"It seems that the old gentleman has lived here for a long time. He probably doesn't care about the affairs of the court?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Haha, I am already this old, why should I ask about the affairs of the court? The affairs of the court have nothing to do with me."

"But..." Zhang Jiuling asked doubtfully, "How does the old gentleman know the examination questions from previous years?"

Li Chengqian participated in the imperial examination questions every year and even added or reduced questions.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment, found an excuse and explained: "Look at those young people passing by Mount Li. I often talk to them and can hear a few words."

"Has the old gentleman ever served in the court?"

After saying this, Zhang Jiuling noticed that the other party did not reply, so he said, "I'm sorry to ask you a question."

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "Yes, I was working in Chang'an City at that time."

The old man and the young man started chatting. The famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty mentioned in history books was sitting next to them, and he was still a teenager.

Zhang Jiuling also asked about issues related to governing the customs of the people. For example, people are indeed becoming more and more wealthy nowadays, but how to make people continue to be frugal and refrain from extravagance.

It is indeed difficult for people who have become wealthy to return to the extremely scarce period in the early Zhenguan period. Since Guanzhong is becoming more and more prosperous, Guanzhong and Luoyang have become the two richest places in the Central Plains.

It is impossible to allow Guanzhong and Luoyang to have huge wealth while letting people still live the life of the early Zhenguan period.

Zhang Jiuling's problems are exactly the contradictions in people's lives today. It is hard to imagine that a person who has only been in Guanzhong for two months could find fault to such an extent.

If this happened in the imperial court, Zhang Jiuling's inexplicable question would most likely cause people's disgust.

The amount of wealth has nothing to do with a person's living habits. Even if a person has a fortune of millions, if he lives frugally, is it anyone else's business?
Of course I have no control over it.

Zhang Jiuling certainly hopes that people will continue to maintain a frugal lifestyle even in times of prosperity.

Li Chengqian is very patient and has plenty of time to waste since he retired.

Starting with setting examples, we are talking about positive influences, such as people who are thrifty or helpful, or in many stories about the Tang people, these examples are needed as people's spiritual aspirations.

From a practical perspective, frugality is necessary for Guanzhong as the population has declined compared to the early Zhenguan period.

But compared to now, Guanzhong has become a typical area with a booming population but scarce resources. The reality is that water, coal, soil and fabric, food and even land are all in short supply.

So even though Guanzhong has an area of ​​50,000 square kilometers, it also has a population of three million. Under this situation, Guanzhong's food, water, and people's material needs must maintain a delicate balance.

For this reason, people in Guanzhong had to live very frugally. Even collecting rainwater, storing water, and building water cellars were life concepts preserved from the early Zhenguan period and continued to the present.

After that, Li Chengqian explained: "This is the current situation. While the population base and material needs remain unchanged, we should try to maintain the balance as much as possible."

Zhang Jiuling asked again: "Then when will the austerity end?"

"Of course we have to keep going. I never said we would end it."

The old gentleman talked about the two things of spirit and matter today, which gave Zhang Jiuling great inspiration. For this reason, he wrote an article in Wenlinguan and gave it to Zhang Jianzhi, the Imperial Counselor.

Zhang Jianzhi was very satisfied with his article after reading it, and after sending it to the court, it was highly praised by everyone in the court.

A young man who had not yet entered officialdom and was about to go to teach became famous in the court.

After receiving these affirmations, Zhang Jiuling often went to Mount Li to talk with the old gentleman.

In the palace, Li Zhi held a wrench in his hand and listened to the emperor's complaints. "Uncle, do you know? Father actually accepted a disciple."

"Which disciple did you accept?"

Yu Tu shook his head and said, "No one on my father's side has said anything, so I don't know. I don't know anything about Mount Li now. Even I, the emperor, cannot inquire about what my father doesn't want others to know."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "Could it be the famous Zhang Jiuling?"

"maybe."

The Secretariat in the imperial city, most of the people here are young officials, and the current Secretary in charge is Lu Zhaolin.

Lu Zhaolin was a famous talent in Youzhou at that time. It is said that he was the Minister of Rites at that time.

How could a good Minister of Rites end up working as a Secretary General?
In the words of people around him, it’s no wonder that Lu Jianzheng always looks depressed and frustrated.

The Secretary General is always busy. Some people are walking back and forth all the time, some are arguing with the officials who come and go, and some are even sorting files while eating.

Everyone is very busy in this place, so busy that they have to proofread documents all the time and transport documents back and forth all the time.

Wang Bo looked at the people present. Many young people started their careers as officials in the court as secretaries-general.

In this place so busy that one could even see papers flying, Wang Bo felt that this was a battlefield. Even Li Jiao, who passed the imperial examination in the same year, had to start from here. Everyone was at the same starting point. Even if he was a Jinshi, he would only be looked up to by court ministers in the future during his promotion process.

But in Wang Bo's opinion, he still has many opportunities and is more confident to get out of here first. As for the young man named Zhang Jiuling, he has not even finished his teaching journey yet, so he is still a threat.

In this noisy secretariat, there was just one person shouting: Brothers, passing the imperial examination is just the beginning. Whoever does not work hard will fall behind. The court has only given us a few places. Do you want to stay in Chang'an or go to other places to serve as officials?

In the perception of so many people, of course they want to try to stay in Chang'an City.

This is a battlefield where the strong prey on the weak. If your outstanding policy proposals are valued by people in the court, then you will be able to leave the Secretariat sooner or later.

Wang Bo noticed that someone was fighting over a document. He then looked at Lu Zhaolin, who was still reading the book calmly.

It was not until the fight between the two sides became more and more fierce that someone called the Jinwu Guards over, and the Secretary's Office was safer and not demolished.

After a busy day, Wang Bo walked out of the Secretary's Office. Yao Chong came over and explained, "The Secretary's Office was not here before, but in front."

The position of the Secretary General has changed. It used to be near the Secretariat, but now it is placed at the very end, still the closest to the Suzaku Gate. As you move towards the Chengtian Gate, the fewer people there are, the greater the power.

Wang Bo bowed and said, "Congratulations, Brother Yao, you are leaving the Secretary General's Office. I heard that you are going to work in the Ministry of Revenue's Duzhi Division?"

Yao Chong shook his head and said, "Su Weidao is more capable than me. He went to work in the Ministry of Justice three years ago. I heard that he was transferred to the Ministry of War this time."

Noticing Wang Bo's expression, Yao Chong patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. The court is fair now. Talents are promoted. People's livelihood, official administration, military affairs, borders, diplomacy and many other matters are opportunities for you."

The next month, when Wang Bo was about to follow a group of colleagues to take up the post of Secretary General, he heard that Lu Zhaolin, who had been frustrated for a long time, had resigned and was immersed in busy official duties early in the morning. Looking outside the door, Wang Bo was actually a little envious of Lu Zhaolin.

Outside Chunming Gate, Pei Yan escorted Lu Zhaolin to the official road.

"I didn't expect you to resign like this."

Lu Zhaolin sat on the horse, looking more relaxed than ever before. He smiled and said, "The life in the court is not suitable for me."

Pei Yan handed him a cloth bag and said, "I recently found a few books in Chongwenguan. If you go far away and can't find anyone to talk to, just read some books."

Lu Zhaolin smiled and said loudly: "I like to walk alone in a quiet place. If no one talks to me, then it's also good to read a book."

Pei Yan bid farewell to him in front of Chunming Gate.

In the twelfth year of Shangyuan, a young man named Meng Haoran came to Laizhou. He saw large ships connected together and heading towards the sea.

Meng Haoran and his brother followed their father to meet General Su Dingfang, but the old general was too old and didn't want to meet them, so they met Zhang Shuo, a doctor from the Ministry of War.

Zhang Shuo looked like a young official in his thirties. He was very decisive and never dragged his feet in doing things.

After the two families met, Zhang Shuo felt that Meng Haoran was a very talented kid, and asked, "How about you go to Chang'an with me next year?"

"Chang'an?"

"Yes." Zhang Shuo added, "There are the best teachers in Chang'an. Children like you should go to the Chongwenguan in Chang'an to study."

Meng Haoran was a very gentle and refined child, which was probably related to the education he received since childhood. He was born into a very classical family of poetry and literature.

Meng Haoran replied: "I still have to study and learn swordsmanship, so I'm afraid I won't have time to go to Chang'an City."

Zhang Shuo asked again: "When do you plan to finish learning swordsmanship and studying, and when will you go to Chang'an?"

"The student wants to wait until... until he is fifty years old before going to Chang'an City."

"Fifty years old?" Zhang said with a sudden smile, "Why?"

"There are so many books in the world. How can we read them all in just a few decades? The same is true for learning swordsmanship. Without... decades of hard work, how can we achieve anything?"

The more Zhang listened, the more he thought this kid was interesting and talented, but it was a pity that he was probably just a bookworm.

In the remaining few days, Meng Haoran really did not mention going to Chang'an City again. It seemed that for him, he really did not plan to go to Chang'an City. For him, poetry, books and swords were his lifelong pursuits.

However, Meng Haoran made a friend named Wang Zhihuan.

Wang Zhihuan was a child from Guanzhong. He grew up in Guanzhong and was the same age as Meng Haoran. The two children naturally became friends.

He often talked with Meng Haoran about the people and things in Guanzhong.

Zhang Shuo originally planned to take Wang Zhihuan back to Chang'an City, but after Wang Zhihuan said so much to him, Meng Haoran remained unmoved.

It was not until the transfer document arrived from the court that Zhang Shuo took Wang Zhihuan on the carriage back to Chang'an City.

When leaving, Zhang Shuo felt it was a great pity. Meng Haoran was extremely talented, but he was unwilling to go to Chang'an with him.

In winter of the twelfth year of Shangyuan, Li Chengqian was standing at the foot of the snow-capped Mount Li wearing a cloak, with Li Shizhi walking with him.

Zhang Jiuling ran over quickly on the snow, shouting, "Teacher!"

Before the man came close, Li Shizhi whispered, "Grandpa, why did you accept him as your disciple?"

Li Chengqian said, "I have nothing to do."

Li Shizhi nodded, "Grandpa has nothing to do, that's amazing."

(End of this chapter)