The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 571 This is the prosperous era

Li Shizhi took advantage of the fact that the other party was not in front of him and whispered, "Grandpa, do you know what Zhang Jiuling said outside?"

Everyone needs some spare time. Li Chengqian feels that if he can train one or two useful disciples, it can be regarded as a kind of entertainment in his retirement life after the end of his career.

As it's just for fun, there's no need to teach too seriously. Just give a few pointers from time to time. Whether it's useful depends entirely on the disciple's understanding.

Li Shizhi added: "My grandson heard that Zhang Jiuling said outside that he worshipped an old man from Mount Li as his teacher and received guidance from the old man. In the eyes of the outside world, grandpa is an unfathomable old man from Mount Li, and he once served in the court."

"Will they know my identity?"

"As long as my grandson doesn't tell us." Li Shizhi looked back at the group of guards following behind him and said, "If they don't tell us, no one will know who Zhang Jiuling's teacher is."

After a few words, Zhang Jiuling stopped abruptly when he was about to approach.

At just the right time, the whispers stopped.

Zhang Jiuling is still just a student at Chongwenguan, or maybe after this year he will be a volunteer teacher.

There are tens of thousands of such volunteer teachers, and Zhang Jiuling is just one of them. He seems very ordinary and average. Therefore, Zhang Jiuling now has no idea what the emperor looks like, nor does he know what the grandson of the current emperor looks like.

Li Shizhi was a very low-key prince. Even when he was out and about, he was at most a child of a noble family and would not easily make his identity public. Like his grandfather, he was good at observation, good at observing many people and many things.

He is low-key, observant, and able to restrain his edge. Is this the current crown prince and the future fifth emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty?

In the fragmentary words of the court officials, or in those fragmentary words, or in the few officials who had seen the true face of the prince, they believed that compared with the free and easy Emperor Gaozu, or the extraordinary talent of Emperor Taizong, the next best was the powerful and cruel emperor of the Qianqing period.

As well as the current sunny and kind emperor, compared with these four emperors, the crown prince Li Shizhi is more low-key and has a weak presence. Even the court does not know who the crown prince of the Eastern Palace is or what his name is.

Some even forgot that there was already a crown prince during the Shangyuan Dynasty.

This is Crown Prince Li Shizhi. No one understands him, and no one can detect the accomplishments of this crown prince, and no one can even see him.

On the contrary, this made Li Shizhi feel freer. He enjoyed the games with his grandfather very much. It was like playing with the world. He could hide himself, conceal his identity, and observe anyone freely.

Li Shizhi would often dismiss the people around him. He would walk alone in the imperial city wearing the official uniform of a clerk or a blue shirt, and not many people would notice him, because there were too many young people like him in the court.

Even if Li Shizhi sat in the Secretariat for an afternoon and was not there the next day, no one would notice.

Li Shizhi found this kind of thing very interesting and enjoyed it.

Just like Zhang Jiuling in front of him, he had no idea who the grandfather and grandson were. He just felt that they were very noble people and they always had guards when they traveled. They were probably the nobleman in Guanzhong.

From the Zhenguan period to the present day, there are countless noble families living in Guanzhong.

Li Chengqian asked: "When was the last time I saw you?"

Zhang Jiuling first looked at the young man next to the old gentleman, who was about his own age, and then bowed and said, "The last time I saw you was half a month ago."

"Yes, I remember now." Li Chengqian added, "Last time you were in the rain at the foot of the mountain for a whole day before you saw me."

Zhang Jiuling smiled awkwardly and said, "Now that I have solved the confusion in my heart, it is worth it to be in the rain for a whole day."

Li Chengqian smiled silently and continued walking with his grandson. He saw a group of soldiers riding past on the official road.

The other party was walking very fast and in a hurry, and it seemed like it was a very urgent matter.

Zhang Jiuling followed suit and bowed again, saying, "Teacher, I still have some doubts. Can I..."

"Go ahead and tell me what I know. If I don't understand, don't keep asking."

Li Shizhi suddenly smiled.

Zhang Jiuling didn't know what the young man's smile meant. He asked honestly, "Back then, the imperial censors punished salt merchants in various places and set the current price of salt at five cents a bushel. Isn't the court worried that those salt merchants won't sell salt?"

"Just for a mouthful of salt, should the court give in to them?"

Zhang Jiuling then asked: "If the salt in the Central Plains is not enough, what should the court do?"

Li Chengqian stopped and replied, "I don't know what to do either."

This answer confused Zhang Jiuling, and the old man looked like he was not going to answer.

Zhang Jiuling asked again: "If it really comes to that, what should the court do?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I thought there was enough salt in the world. The amount of salt was just a matter of transportation, not a matter of salt itself. You asked the wrong question. You shouldn't have asked that."

Hearing this, Zhang Jiuling understood and said, "Where there is no shortage of salt, there is no way to consume all the salt. Salt itself is not a problem, and the amount of salt is not a problem either. The only thing that can cause a shortage of salt is transportation. If you control the flow of salt by controlling transportation, the price of salt will be different."

After talking to himself for a while, Zhang Jiuling looked up again and the old man had walked away. He was very ashamed that he had not even figured out the problem and told the teacher about the person's problem.

Seeing that Zhang Jiuling was still stunned, Li Shizhi asked again, "Do you understand now?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Li Shizhi had a very friendly smile on his face, "Have you ever been to the beach?"

Zhang Jiuling replied, "I have been there."

Li Shizhi went on to say: "If the sea could produce salt, then people wouldn't have to be afraid."

"But the sea water is bitter."

"Yes, isn't it that people are afraid that the salt will run out? If people knew that there is a place with an inexhaustible supply of salt, they would not be afraid."

Zhang Jiuling said: "What you said makes a lot of sense."

The other person's eyes were bright and full of spirit, and there was also a hint of sharpness in them.

Zhang Jiuling, who has always been confident, became less confident when facing this peer.

Li Shizhi said: "You are one of Grandpa's most proud disciples."

"Does the old man have other disciples?"

"There will be in the future. Grandpa said that you will not be his only disciple."

Hearing this, Zhang Jiuling's expression became even more confused.

Li Shizhi asked: "Are you going to teach in rural areas this year?"

"Exactly."

"Go ahead. Grandpa won't say goodbye to you." Zhang Jiuling saluted the old man's back, then turned around and got on a donkey cart, heading east.

On a snowy day, my grandfather would sit by the river and fish. Li Shizhi would sit beside him carrying a small stool. He hunched his neck in the cold wind, his hands in his pockets, and said, "My aunt told me to let my grandson read more books from Beiyuan."

"Que'er's knowledge is indeed very good. You can read more when you have time."

Li Shizhi said: "My grandson always feels that my aunt herself is not good at those studies."

Li Chengqian put down his fishing rod, closed his eyes, put his hands in his pockets, and put his weight completely on the back of the chair, and whispered, "Watch the fish."

"Yeah." Li Shizhi nodded and helped his grandfather carry the fishing rod.

In the summer of the 13th year of Shangyuan, people in Chang'an heard that the Congling people and the Indians had begun to eat with chopsticks. Some even said that the former Persian prince had re-established a country in a distant place, and some said that the Arabs were also eating with chopsticks.

This summer, there are more rainy seasons. Li Chengqian sat on Mount Li and could look out into the distance, where teams of soldiers were patrolling the river.

Wang Zhihuan returned to Luoyang from Laizhou, stopping and walking on the way back. He should have arrived in Luoyang a long time ago, but he encountered many things along the way, which delayed him for quite some time.

Because of Uncle Zhang Shuo's frequent stops and starts, as well as various trivial matters, the trip was delayed for month after month. During this period, he was even transferred by the court, sending Zhang Shuo to Taihu Lake again, which delayed him another three or two months.

Because Taihu Lake is so beautiful, even Wang Zhihuan himself forgot the time and played by the lake all day long.

Wang Zhihuan, who was only ten years old, picked up his pen to write his travel notes on Taihu Lake. It was rumored that Yu the Great dug three rivers and five lakes to control floods. The 36,000-hectare Taihu Lake was so beautiful that Wang Zhihuan would never forget it in his life. He planned to visit Taihu Lake again in a few years.

Today's Luoyang is still very prosperous. There are many people here, and every place seems very crowded. At the port of the canal, there are many businessmen, and it is also the most prosperous place for business.

Wang Zhihuan asked Xiang Zhang, "If we want to go directly to Guanzhong by boat, can we only go to Nanyang?"

Zhang Shuo waved his palm-leaf fan and explained, "Originally, we could have gone up the Yellow River to get through the pass, but after the Yellow River changed its course, it bypassed Hangu Pass and had to go a long way around. It would have been better to go by carriage. The river from Nanyang to Guanzhong is actually not easy to travel."

Wang Zhihuan said: "There are so many merchants in Luoyang, so there must be a lot of taxes."

The child asked the previous question and then asked the next question which was completely unrelated. The child was always like this. Zhang smiled and shook his head and did not answer any more.

A war report was sent to Luoyang. It was about a war that took place in the southwest. The Tibetans were defeated when they went south to attack the Pyu Kingdom and had to retreat.

The court also decided to let Tubo withdraw its troops and to recall the troops sent by Nanzhao.

Wang Zhihuan asked again: "Are we going to withdraw our troops just like that?"

Zhang said: "The mountains and forests in the southwest are dense, and it is difficult for the army to move. In fact, we talked about withdrawing the troops many years ago. Even if your majesty is more warlike now, you can't ignore the situation in Pyu."

Wang Zhihuan added: "The jungle is full of poisonous insects and snakes."

The war in the southwest was finally settled, except for those who were on the expedition, or the wars of the expedition.

It is now very difficult for the Tang Dynasty to have wars again, and there will be no more large-scale wars. During the 20th year of Zhenguan and the 29th year of Qianqing, roughly these 50 years, the Tang army defeated all the enemies it could fight.

It's nightfall. Luoyang city becomes more beautiful after dark. The beautiful lights and the hustle and bustle of people create the beautiful scenery here.

Zhang Shuo drank the wine happily and said loudly: "The current emperor draws his sword and looks around, but can't find an opponent. The emperor only has his subjects in his eyes, not his enemies."

It is very impertinent to say this, and as a subject I should not talk about the emperor like this, but who cares?

Zhang said that the person in front of him was a ten-year-old child, while the rest of the people were still in joy.

"If the emperor came to Luoyang now, he would know that the prosperous times have really arrived."

Zhang Shuo spoke while drunk. The Central Plains had been in war for many years. If it were in the past, people might not dare to say that the prosperous times had arrived.

But now, the Tang Dynasty has become so powerful that it has no enemies. Hasn’t such a Tang Dynasty reached its heyday?

This is a prosperous age, a prosperous age so powerful that it can make people forget themselves.

Just withdraw your troops, it's nothing. What's the point of fighting in that broken place deep in the mountains and jungles of the Pyu Kingdom?

In the fifteenth year of Shangyuan, Zhang Jiuling was teaching in a classroom in a small village in Lingnan. He walked from Lingnan to Chang'an City, and now he has returned to Lingnan to teach.

A child asked: "Teacher, is the emperor of our Tang Dynasty very powerful?"

Zhang Jiuling put away the scroll in his hand and said, "Of course."

The child asked again: "Teacher, what is the history of world civilization and why do we need to learn it?"

Zhang Jiuling explained: "The History of World Civilization is a book that is still being written. Your Majesty has been studying history since childhood. The historian Lai Ji was your mentor. So the current emperor has summoned two thousand students to write the History of World Civilization. The Tang Dynasty is the most powerful dynasty in this history book, and it also has the largest territory."

"How big is the Tang Dynasty?"

Zhang Jiuling explained with his hands behind his back: "The Tang Dynasty is still expanding and on expedition. When you grow up, the westernmost part of the Tang Dynasty will probably be adjacent to the Gauls."

While he was giving a lecture, soldiers and a young man holding a book came to the door.

When he saw the people outside the door, Zhang Jiuling remembered that his teaching career had ended. Today, the government brought people from Chongwenguan to take over.

The class was over and the children ran out of the school following him.

Zhang Jiuling took the document from the official of Chongwenguan and said, "Thank you for taking this trip."

The new volunteer teacher has followed the officers and soldiers into the library, and he will teach the children the next knowledge.

Zhang Jiuling needed to return to Chang'an City to report to the Chongwenguan and also to train in the army for two years.

In the winter of the fifteenth year of Shangyuan, Zhang Jiuling returned to Guanzhong. He would wait at the foot of Mount Li every morning, but usually he would wait until noon and still hadn't seen his teacher.

When asking the villagers here, no one knows who the old man who used to fish here was. The people here only know that there was such an old man.

Zhang Jiuling came to his senses and realized that not only he knew nothing about his teacher, but even the villagers here knew nothing about their teacher.

It was not until now that Zhang Jiuling began to wonder who the teacher was, with whom he had been a disciple for only half a year.

It is winter again at the foot of Mount Zhongnan. Li Chengqian, who is over seventy years old, is still accompanied by his grandson, and standing in front of him is a young man named Zhong Kui.

He explained several times that his last name was Zhong but his name was not Zhong Kui.

But Li Chengqian was like an old stubborn man, always saying that if people called you Zhong Kui, you should be called Zhong Kui, no matter what your previous name was.

Li Shizhi was helpless. His grandfather was tired of living in Mount Li, so he came to live in Mount Zhongnan and was still pestering a man named Zhong Kui.

(End of this chapter)