The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 60 Return from the Autumn Hunt
All these things were recorded by Li Ji, including the Crown Prince's inquiries about recent developments in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Your Highness is worried about being silenced? In fact, as long as Your Highness does this, no one will dare to silence him.

No one dared to slander His Highness, because His Highness was a crown prince who could personally inquire about important matters in the counties of Guanzhong.

Then all the officials in the court and the country will work hard.

Even if there is a mistake, it must be reported truthfully.

Anyone who dared to hide the truth from the prince would surely be scolded to death by a group of down-to-earth and enterprising officials.

It is a good thing that the court and the country are in peace. The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is supervising the government affairs these days, and everyone is very busy.

Knowing that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace had personally gone to Jingzhao Prefecture to inquire about the matter yesterday, the officials from the three provinces and six ministries have been working more diligently these days and they dare not be negligent.

After the morning court session today, Li Chengqian, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were discussing things in the Chongwen Hall.

The form was placed in front of him. It was this year's account, and all the expenses of the court were in sight.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh when he saw the food and money his father used for the autumn hunt, including the various expenses for repairing the Lishan Palace, which amounted to a huge amount of 30,000 strings of cash.

Fang Xuanling said: "Fortunately, the rice subsidies in the Heavenly Dynasty have been paid off, and the remaining can be used next year."

The workshop in Jingyang only made a little over 10,000 strings of cash a year, which was not even enough to cover the expenses of my father's autumn hunting trip. The food and fodder for tens of thousands of soldiers outside were all consumed.

Also, starting from the fourth year of Zhenguan, the emperor exempted Lantian, Gaoling, Bashang, Sanyuan and Liquan counties from taxes for three years.

Therefore, although there was a bumper harvest in Guanzhong, the amount of land tax collected was actually not much.

As the central government, the counties in Guanzhong should have been an important source of taxes.

But not only that, the collection of taxes in various parts of the Central Plains is still difficult, and there are many areas that are exempt from taxes.

It is a dilemma. Every extra day that my father goes on the autumn hunt means more food and fodder will be consumed.

From the perspective of production relations, joining the army is a state of being off the job. The tens of thousands of people who followed the emperor to Mount Li were all in a state of being off the job.

The military system of the Tang Dynasty was relatively good. Soldiers could farm in their spare time, but once a war broke out, they would have to join the army.

Given the weak foundation, this low-cost military system is very suitable for the current situation.

If the troops are stationed permanently, then millions of people will be unemployed, and those who are unemployed will have no production tasks and will be supported by taxes.

The more soldiers and horses there are, the greater the taxes will be.

The small peasant economy in the Central Plains, which relies on the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, is actually not strong.

Li Chengqian looked at the accounts with a headache and could only remain silent.

Chang Sun Wuji said: "So, after all the expenses for this year are settled, they can be filed away before the holiday?"

Fang Xuanling turned and looked at the prince beside him.

Then my uncle also looked over.

Li Chengqian asked: "Does the court have any taxes for entering the country?"

"Your Highness, are you talking about the tax on entering the market?"

Li Chengqian took out a memorial and said, "I asked Xu Xiaode to investigate this in the streets."

Looking at the mayor and uncle in front of me, both of them had puzzled expressions.

He then explained, "Xu Xiaode, you two may not remember him, but he was my official in the Eastern Palace. A few days ago, he rashly brought Duke Ying to the Eastern Palace to ask me to resign."

Fang Xuanling nodded in understanding.

Then Changsun Wuji took the memorial and began to read it. People from the Western Regions or the Turks had always made a lot of money by selling horses, fruits, agates and jade.

Li Chengqian whispered, "I also know that it is already very difficult for the common people in this world to survive by relying only on the surplus in their hands. Therefore, without increasing taxes or various levies, we can only choose to increase income and reduce expenditure."

"The so-called saving..." Speaking of saving is a distressing issue. The biggest problem with saving is my father.

As long as your father doesn't spend money recklessly, the problem of saving money will not be a big deal.

Li Chengqian changed the subject and said, "Let's not talk about saving money for now. How about we talk about increasing revenue?"

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

"Actually, it was my uncle who told me about this. He said that the people of the Western Regions and the Turks made a lot of money from us people of the Central Plains, so my uncle has been holding a grudge against this for a long time. If only the flying general of Longcheng were here one day, no Hu horse would be allowed to cross the Yinshan Mountains."

Fang Xuanling sighed and said, "What a good sentence."

Changsun Wuji snorted coldly. If such a sentence really came from Li Xiaogong's mouth, it would most likely be that his family was blessed by gods and Buddhas.

Li Chengqian talked about the idea of ​​entry tax. In fact, the idea is very simple, which is to impose additional taxes on people from outside the customs who enter the customs to trade.

The wisdom of people of this era should not be underestimated. After some explanation, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji quickly drew inferences from the experience and came up with a feasible plan.

If collecting too much would make the Western Regions or the Turks unhappy, they could limit the amount of goods, or large quantities of goods.

Li Chengqian drank tea and listened to the arrangements made by the two officials in front of him.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace supervises the government affairs. Now everyone knows that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has two principles in doing things, that is, specific problems should be solved specifically. Different environments should be adapted to local conditions.

This was the most pertinent evaluation of the crown prince given by all the civil and military officials in the court during his tenure as the governor of the country.

Basically, it sets the tone for the prince's code of conduct.

During the two months that Your Majesty has been away from Chang'an, the court and the people have been acting in accordance with this tone.

As long as you stick to this tone, you probably won't go wrong.

Winter had not yet arrived, but the first snow fell in late October in Guanzhong, and it came very early.

After Li Chengqian handed over the issue of collecting taxes at the border to Fang Xiang and Zhangsun Wuji, he no longer cared about it.

Because he is the one who controls many important affairs of the government.

To make up a random excuse, this idea was thought up by the emperor's uncle Li Xiaogong.

Li Chengqian put it out of his mind. The reality was that, in the end, this kind of thing would have to be discussed later.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to formulate a national policy, in order to analyze the pros and cons and decide on its position and interests, no results would be achieved without a few fights in the Taiji Hall and arguments among the civil and military officials for several months, or a year or two.

It was not too cold tonight. Li Chengqian stood in front of the window of the East Palace. With the light of the oil lamp, he could only see the falling snowflakes in front of him.

Li Lizhi, wearing a warm red coat and holding a lantern, walked into the hall and said, "Brother, the stove is ready. Now Queen Mother's Lizheng Hall can be warm."

Li Chengqian took the oil lamp back, put it on the table, and said, "Bring some midnight snacks to mother."

"My sister thinks so too." Li Lizhi put her hands on the stove to keep warm. Her nose and ears were red from the cold. She added, "I don't know if my brother and sister will get cold in Mount Li. There are hot springs in the Mount Li Palace, so it's probably not the case."

Li Chengqian drank his tea and asked, "Have you ever been to the Lishan Palace?"

Li Lizhi said, "I went there with my brother when I was a child. At that time, my grandfather was still in power. My brother must have forgotten."

Li Chengqian stroked his temple, half lying lazily and said, "I have forgotten a lot of things from my childhood."

"At that time, my brother was fighting with Qingque."

When she was a child, she went to the Lishan Palace and fought with Qingque. At that age, she was only four or five years old?

Li Chengqian sighed, "So many years have passed without me noticing."

Li Lizhi sat on a chair nearby and whispered, "At that time, the Lishan Palace was very dilapidated, with ruins everywhere. It was Grandfather the Emperor who ordered it to be repaired. This year, when Father went to the Lishan Palace, it was repaired again."

Li Chengqian picked up a book beside him, read it silently, and listened to his sister talking about the past.

When Xiaofu prepared the midnight snack, Li Lizhi said, "Brother, I'm going back."

Li Chengqian warned: "Xiaofu, you go with me. If you are afraid of the dark, stay at Lizheng Hall and don't come back."

"Xiaofu is not afraid of the dark." She said firmly. The two girls, each holding a lantern, walked quickly into the snow.

After waiting for half an hour, the tea in the bowl had become cold. Li Chengqian looked out the window and saw a little fire flickering in the wind and snow.

Only after confirming that it was Xiaofu who was carrying the lantern and walking back to the East Palace from Lizheng Hall alone did he feel relieved.

Seeing this, Ning Er smiled and said, "In fact, Your Highness is still very worried about her."

Li Chengqian whispered, "They need more exercise."

Ning Er bowed and said, "Your Highness, it's getting late, go to bed early."

"Ah."

After saying that, she walked out of the bedroom and closed the door.

Arriving at the front hall of the East Palace, Ning'er saw Xiaofu covered in snow, still warming himself by the stove, and asked, "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"As long as I look at the lights in the East Palace, I will know where to go and won't be afraid."

Ning'er took her red, frozen hands and held them in her own palms.

The East Palace is a small world, which is different from the outside world. The outside world is other places in the palace.

The sisters in the East Palace are united and friendly. Occasionally there will be some laughter and scolding, but there is no rift between them.

With the candles still burning on the candlesticks in the front hall, the East Palace became quiet again.

As dawn approached, an urgent report was delivered to Chang'an City.

Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, the morning court, which was originally scheduled on time, was delayed by half an hour.

The urgent report came in through Chunming Gate, and it was most likely from Mount Li.

Then he went straight into the Suzaku Gate from the Chunming Gate, and then into the Chengtian Gate.

Li Chengqian washed up, and Ning'er came hurriedly and said, "Your Highness, I'm here urgently."

"What urgent report?"

"The urgent report from Mount Li has arrived at Taiji Hall."

Li Chengqian put on his coat, took off his cloth shoes, put on boots, and hurried to the Taiji Hall.

At this moment in the Taiji Hall, Li Daliang, wearing armor, held the imperial edict in both hands.

When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived, he said loudly, "The autumn hunting army will set out at noon today and return to Chang'an."

Li Chengqian took the imperial edict with both hands. He did not say when his father would return to Chang'an, but only said that the autumn hunting army would return.

Of course, the emperor's whereabouts would not be revealed in public again.
Except falling from the sky.

Generally speaking, Chang'an is the only city with these few gates.

According to the army's pace, if they set out at noon today, they would arrive in Chang'an at dusk tomorrow at the earliest. It all depends on how the army moves.

Li Chengqian looked at Fang Xiang who was standing beside him.

Fang Xuanling asked, "Is Li Daoyan, the Right General of the Jinwu Guard, available?"

A man from the imperial army stood out from the line and said in a clear voice, "I will be here."

Fang Xuanling ordered: "I order you to take thirty scouts and follow the official road to investigate the movements of the Lishan army. Report back every hour."

"Here."

"Is Li Mengchang, the deputy commander of the Left Guard, available?"

Another general stood up and said in a loud voice, "I am here."

Fang Xuanling held a tablet in his hand and ordered: "I order you to gather three hundred soldiers to open the gates of Chang'an at noon tomorrow to welcome the return of the autumn hunting army."

"Here!"

The two generals left in a hurry.

Zhang Sun Wuji said again: "Zhongshu Province, the four assistant ministers will file all the important documents in the court before noon tomorrow."

Another row of civil officials in the court saluted and said, "Yes."

"All secretaries of the Secretariat should prepare the records of recent government affairs by tonight and present them to His Majesty when he summons them."

"Here!"

Fang Xuanling added: "All the generals in the army, check the number of people in each guard house. Before noon tomorrow, all the soldiers and civilians must be present. If there are any who are not present, they will be arrested."

"Here!"

Orders were issued one after another in the Taiji Hall, and preparations to welcome the emperor who was away on the autumn hunt were being arranged in an orderly manner.

As for the prince, we can just go out of the city gate to welcome him.

Inside Chang'an City, three riders on fast horses arrived in front of the city. All three of them wore bamboo hats and ordinary blue cloth shirts.

Yuchi Gong helped His Majesty get off the horse.

Li Shimin looked up at the city wall of Chang'an and saw rows of soldiers standing there.

After greeting the guards at the city gate, Cheng Yaojin came over quickly with a smile and said, "I knew your majesty would come back early, so I have been waiting here for a long time."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Don't make it public."

Cheng Yaojin smiled and said, "I understand."

Several people walked into the city. Li Shimin looked at the situation in the city and said with a smile: "Zhijie knows best when I will leave and when I will come."

Cheng Yaojin replied: "Your Majesty, since the urgent report has reached Chang'an, Your Majesty will definitely come."

Yuchi Gong knew very well that the old man Cheng was fooling around and didn't reveal the truth, because his majesty had a habit of personally checking the enemy situation or the terrain whenever the army was about to go to a place.

Therefore, Your Majesty will definitely set out at the same time as the urgent report and arrive in Chang'an City first.

After fighting together for so many years, we both understand each other very well.

Li Shimin walked into a tavern, ordered a bowl of wine and a plate of mutton, and just after sitting down, he looked back at the street and said, "Wait!"

"What are your orders, guest?"

Li Shimin frowned and looked at the man sweeping the floor and asked, "What is this person doing?"

The servant bowed and laughed dryly, "I don't know either. May I ask if the guest needs anything else?"

Cheng Yaojin sat down and ordered, "Two more jars of wine!"

"Hey!"

After his servant walked away, Yuchi Gong whispered, "Your Majesty, I will go and fetch the man sweeping the floor for questioning."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Don't alarm us. We will know what that person is doing in half an hour."

"Yes!" Yuchi Gong pursed his lips and nodded, then took the wine jar and poured wine for His Majesty.

Everything in Chang'an City was the same as before. The three people in the tavern were still drinking and eating meat. When the sweeper finished his work, an official came quickly and gave them a few copper coins.

Yuchi Gong took one more look and continued to lower his head.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I have been away from Chang'an for more than two months, and there have been some changes."

(End of this chapter)