The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 58: Loyal and righteous, a hero

Chang Sun Wuji whispered: "This matter involves the Eastern Palace again."

"Are you annoyed?"

"It would be annoying if there were too many things involving the Eastern Palace." Changsun Wuji continued to make moves, intending to make up for the disadvantages on the chessboard.

Gao Shilian sighed and said, "Is the Eastern Palace involved?"

Chang Sun Wuji added: "The Crown Prince is in charge of government affairs, so it is reasonable for Wu Shigui to resign. He apologized to the Crown Prince for his inappropriate words afterwards, but it just so happens that the Crown Prince has a habit of practicing archery outside the Wude Hall recently."

Gao Shilian closed his eyes and stroked his beard.

After a while, Changsun Wuji said, "The traces are not obvious."

Gao Shilian sighed, "Since it is just a coincidence, it is not something that the East Palace deliberately arranged. You are always like this, clinging to other people's opinions and never achieving great things."

Facing his uncle's criticism, Changsun Wuji said, "My uncle is absolutely right."

"The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace doesn't care about these things, so why should you care? You are the supervisor of state affairs. Even if you rashly approved it and didn't inform Lishan, it's not a big mistake."

Gao Shilian brewed a bowl of tea and said, "Alas, I shouldn't have let you make friends with him in the first place."

"Uncle!" Changsun Wuji's words became more serious.

"Hehe." Gao Shilian tasted the tea and said, "Actually, this way of drinking is quite good. You should try it more."

In Jingyang, Wei Chang had been arranged by Minister Xu. Recently, in addition to doing some carpentry work, he also took people to guard the village.

Because this village is very important and has a lot of money.

He sat at the entrance of the village with three or two idle men, peeling walnuts and staring at everyone who passed by.

A horse-drawn carriage was coming towards Jingyang from the official road.

Wei Chang had a rather dark face. He stretched out one leg to block the road, picked up some raw walnut kernels in his hand, and put them into his mouth to chew.

The groom quickly pulled the reins, stopped the horse and shouted, "Stop the legs!"

Wei Chang raised his head and asked, "Who is coming?"

The groom asked, "What kind of place is Jingyang? Do we need to inform the police before we can come in?"

Hearing this, several men behind Wei Chang also stood up.

Seeing them surrounding him, the groom was a little scared and asked, "What do you want to do?"

The carriage curtain was finally opened, and a young man in a blue shirt stepped out. He bowed and said, "I heard that Jingyang produces paper, and I'm here to buy some."

Wei Chang asked in return: "Who said that paper is produced in Jingyang?"

Jingyang does have paper, but it has never been sold to the outside. It is obviously not normal for the other party to want to buy paper right away.

The scholar in blue shirt bowed again and said, "Don't you think the paper produced in Jingyang can be sold?"

Wei Chang looked unhappy and said, "Jingyang only sells soap and chairs. Do you want to buy them?"

The scholar in green saw that more and more people were gathering around him, and there were many people guarding the outskirts of the village.

He bowed quickly and said, "Excuse me."

After saying this, he got back into the carriage and told the driver to leave quickly.

After the carriage left, Wei Chang waved to a few people and said, "Follow this carriage and see where it came from."

"Here!" Immediately, several people followed the wheel tracks and chased after them.

Wei Chang was still sitting at the entrance of the village, continuing to peel walnuts, peeling three or two and eating a few bites at a time.

The days of taking care of Dr. Sun were very torturous. It was not until he came to Jingyang that he felt he had something to do.

Seeing Minister Xu and Shangguan Zhubu walking out of the village again, Wei Chang put on a polite smile and asked, "Are you two going to Chang'an?"

Xu Jingzong walked along the way without stopping, looking hurried, and said, "You keep an eye on the village."

"Yes." Wei Chang bowed with both hands and bent over to salute very respectfully.

Others didn't know, but Wei Chang always thought that he was working for the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, so he didn't dare to mess around. Even if it offended his old friends, he didn't dare to neglect his job.

Because he was too dedicated to this job, he attracted many complaints from his former friends.

Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu each rode their horses and rushed to Chang'an City.

The horse ran on the official road for an hour before arriving in front of Chang'an City.

Shangguan Yi walked along and said, "Minister Xu, I advised you to be cautious in your actions. Now the Duke of Zhao knows about this matter, and the Crown Prince has sent a letter to criticize you. If you had listened to my advice earlier, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

Xu Jingzong said impatiently: "You kept nagging all the way here. Who would have thought that the old villain Changsun Wuji's eyes could still look at Wu Shigui? I miscalculated."

Shangguan Yi added: "You still need to be cautious in your future actions and think twice."

"If you are so cautious about everything, you will miss the opportunity."

"But you can't let your impatience ruin the whole thing."

Listening to Shangguan Yi chattering again, Xu Jingzong felt a headache. He didn't know if he had been getting irritated recently, but he always felt a toothache.

After taking a few breaths of cool air, Xu Jingzong continued walking towards Wu Shigui's house in Chang'an.

"I don't know how Minister Xu handled things in the past, but things are different now. The bureaucracy in the court will have to be cleaned up sooner or later..."

As the two of them walked along, Shangguan Yi kept complaining. The Crown Prince had sent someone to deliver a message to criticize him a few words, which seemed like a huge mistake to him.

Xu Jingzong took a few more breaths of cold air. Things were indeed not done well. Now the only thing he could do now was to do it better in order to save face in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

This time when I arrived at Wu Shigui's house, the door was open.

Xu Jingzong and Shangguan Yi stood at the door and saluted.

Wu Shigui was sitting in the hall, holding a book in his hand. He just raised his eyes to see the guest standing at the door and said, "Come in."

Xu Jingzong put on a smile, walked into the courtyard first, and said, "Mr. Ying, I am here to disturb you again."

When I got closer, I saw a picture on Ying Gong's desk. This picture was also a table, with various series and items clearly arranged.

Following Xu Jingzong's gaze, Wu Shigui sat down and said, "This is what I got from the Ministry of Personnel. I don't know when the files in the court started to be written in this way."

Shangguan Yi smiled and said, "In fact, Jingyang started using it a long time ago."

Wu Shigui stroked his beard and said, "Is that so? I just learned today when I came back from the court that Minister Xu is also the county magistrate of Jingyang, and you, Shangguan Yi, are the chief clerk."

Xu Jingzong added: "I heard that Mr. Ying finally retired as he wished, so we came to congratulate him."

After successfully retiring and getting the approval of His Majesty who was on the autumn hunt in Mount Li, Wu Shigui felt much better and the burden on his shoulders suddenly became much lighter.

He whispered, "I have already been to the Wude Hall. Thank you Minister Xu for your advice that night. If I had not gone to confess my crime to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I would not be retiring today."

Looking at Xu Jingzong's expression again, Wu Shigui put down the book in his hand, put his hands on his knees, and whispered: "I owe you a favor."

"No, Mr. Ying doesn't owe us two a favor. He should owe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a favor. These things were arranged by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shigui looked even more discouraged.

"Mr. Du He has opened a workshop in Jingyang. If Mr. Ying really wants to repay this favor, why don't you go to Jingyang with me?"

Wu Shigui understood what was said, but he didn't know who the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was.

Now, it is rumored in the court and the public that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is humble and polite, and that he values ​​people's livelihood and agriculture, and can allow the Khan of Tuyuhun to die with a legitimate reason.

But the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has a secret, and this secret is right in front of him, waiting for him to go to Jingyang to see it clearly. Wu Shigui agreed to the request and went to Jingyang to take a look tomorrow.

After walking out of Mr. Ying’s yard, he walked for a while on Zhuque Street.

Shangguan Yi finally broke the silence and said, "Minister Xu is very suitable to be a lobbyist."

"It is a waste of my talent to be a county magistrate."

Finally, smiles appeared on their faces again.

Originally, when Shangguan Yi came to Chang'an, he kept chattering all the way, which was very annoying to listen to.

Now he doesn't nag about it anymore.

Because both of them felt that the road ahead was full of light.

Sometimes he really couldn't stand Shangguan Yi's nagging. It annoyed him, and when he was annoyed it was like there were a hundred thousand troops chanting scriptures in his ears.

Even so, Xu Jingzong never thought of breaking off his relationship with him.

In the Tang Dynasty, to the people of the Tang Dynasty, friendship is very important, so important that one is willing to sacrifice one’s life for it.

So no matter how many bad habits Shangguan Yi has, once you make friends with him you cannot break up with him and you have to help him in times of crisis.

Li Chengqian received Xu Jingzong's reply the next day, and Xu Jingzong took Wu Shigui to Jingyang.

As for whether Ying Gong will help Jingyang run the workshop, that is another matter.

If Xu Jingzong couldn't even keep this person, he might as well just go to the kaner well to water the land and farm.

It was not until the fifth day that a reply came from Jingyang, in which Wu Shigui agreed to use his connections in Bingzhou to help Du He's workshop sell chairs and soap.

Li Chengqian sat in the East Palace drinking tea and was very satisfied with the result.

Wu Shigui was one of the old ministers who died a good death.

Many of the old ministers of the Zhenguan period had a good end, at least that is what is recorded in history books. Whether they were military generals or civil officials, most of them were not liquidated by the emperor.

Because various rebel kings rose up in rebellion that year, various heroes and heroes became famous.

At that time, everyone mingled together and there was no such thing as a monarch-subject relationship. People only made friends with heroes and righteous men.

Looking around the world, not to mention the Wude period, even now the spirit of chivalry is still very strong in the streets and a promise is worth a thousand gold.

People generally attach great importance to friendship, such as Li Ji's promise to return to Chang'an after traveling thousands of miles, and Qin Qiong's bloody battle in Liyang.

The emperor does not like having too many knights. He hopes that everyone can live and work in peace, cultivate the land, and contribute to the country.

Just like Wu Shigui, Li Ji, Li Jing, Qin Qiong and so on.

The words "love" and "righteousness" are particularly important to the Tang people.

All the people in the Eastern Palace now are a lobbyist, a chief clerk, a bad guy, and a money bag.

Now there is one more person, Ying Gong, is he the new manager?

Generally speaking, Jingyang's team is considered to be successful.

But no matter how you look at it, this team seems petty.

"After all, I only run a small workshop." Li Chengqian frowned and sat at the table with his hands in his pockets.

Hearing His Highness' whisper, Ning'er, holding a stack of clean clothes, asked curiously, "Your Highness, are you going to build another workshop?"

Li Chengqian said distressedly: "Nothing, I just feel that I am a loser."

"Why did Your Highness say this?"

You must know that now all the civil and military officials in the court know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is quite effective in supervising the government.

"I am the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Logically, I should run a bigger business. If I tell others about this, they will laugh at me."

Sighing, Li Chengqian said in frustration: "No wonder the emperor's uncle always makes fun of me. He really deserves to be laughed at. The Crown Prince of the East Palace should have a bigger career."

In the entire Eastern Palace, only Ning'er could understand His Highness's complaints.

Ning'er put all the clothes for changing into a box. Winter was approaching and she had to take out the clothes for winter.

She picked up one and looked at it carefully, then felt that the dress was no longer suitable for His Highness. His Highness the Crown Prince was only fifteen years old, and would only be sixteen next year.

Boys at this age can still continue to grow taller, and most of their clothes from last year will no longer fit into them.

His Highness has grown a lot taller this year alone.

Thinking in her mind, she continued, "Your Highness, as long as you are a good prince of the Tang Dynasty, I think this is the greatest cause."

What is a great undertaking? For example, it took one year to come up with movable type printing, and it took two years to increase the number of books in the Tang Dynasty tenfold.

It took another three years to promote the imperial examination system, which greatly increased the number of scholars in the Central Plains by a hundred times.

Cultivate talents, continue to smelt iron for five years, and make iron wheels that can turn?

That is the great cause that will make the Tang Dynasty shine throughout the world.

Therefore, the spiritual realm that has been infinitely elevated by the predecessors of all ages is nothing in the face of the material foundation.

Li Chengqian stared blankly at the blue sky outside the East Palace, seeing that winter was approaching.

Tian Khan is still hunting in Mount Li. He may have almost forgotten that he is the emperor. All the subjects in Chang'an City are waiting for the emperor to come back.

It was the time when he was growing taller. Li Chengqian wanted to take a nap after dinner. During his sleep, he had a nightmare. He dreamed that his father had become a savage, eating raw meat and drinking blood in the mountains, and he could not even speak human language.

When I woke up from the nightmare, the East Palace was still very peaceful.

There was some sweat on my forehead, probably because the heater was too hot and made me sweat.

Li Lizhi and her mother were taking a walk in the vegetable garden at the rear hall of the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian took a few gulps of cold water, put on his coat, and came to his mother's side to pay his respects.

Empress Changsun looked at the growing leaves and said, "Recently, people in the palace have been complaining that I don't eat the food they cook. They all want to die to atone for their sins."

Li Chengqian's eyebrows jumped.

Before she could open her mouth, her younger sister Li Lizhi beside her covered her mouth and laughed.

Empress Changsun continued, "It's because this girl brings me food from the Eastern Palace every day that the people in the palace think that I think their food is not tasty or that I dislike them."

"Last night, several people knelt in front of the Lizheng Palace and asked me to punish them."

Li Chengqian whispered: "What happens next?"

"They didn't do anything wrong, so Li Zhi let them leave the palace and gave them the status of good wives. But from now on, no one will cook in Lizheng Palace."

Li Chengqian looked down and saw that his sister was still very proud. She would make decisions for their mother.

Li Chengqian said with his hands in his pockets: "From now on, Queen Mother's meals will be in the East Palace, so they won't be needed."

Li Lizhi hugged her mother's arm and said, "The food they cook is too rough. The food in the East Palace is delicious and exquisite."

With a son and a daughter by her side, Empress Changsun couldn't refuse. She smiled and said, "Can your filial mother refuse?"

Li Lizhi grinned happily.

(End of this chapter)