The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 67: Enthusiastic Civil and Military Officials in the Court (Updated)

"I have seen people with great archery talent in the Central Plains, but they are a minority. Most soldiers need to practice for at least half a year to become a bowman."

Li Ji spoke in a loud voice.

Li Yuan walked out of the Wude Hall with a heater in both hands, and saw his eldest grandson practicing archery diligently. He nodded with satisfaction and walked back to the warm hall with a relieved smile.

Seeing the prince's arms start to tremble, Li Ji asked, "Can't you hold it back?"

Li Chengqian nodded, "Yes."

Li Ji helped the prince slowly retract the bowstring, and then said, "Rest for half an incense stick, and then practice again."

Practicing archery is definitely not easy, and you need to start from the most basic.

Although archery was occasionally successful at first, to hit the target with one arrow in the chaos not only required extraordinary judgment, but also the need to pull the bow at all times, which required the arm to maintain steady strength at all times.

The wind and snow embraced the entire Chang'an City. As soon as there was a thin layer of snow on Zhuque Street, it was melted by the passers-by.

Fu Yun's son has been given back the surname of the Central Plains people. He is now Murong Shun. The former Fu Yun was also a member of the Murong clan.

Today is his first day studying at Sifangguan.

There were not many people here. Apart from three or two Turks, he was the only Tuyuhun person.

"Are you new here?"

Hearing the poor Guanzhong dialect, Murong Shun looked sideways and saw a middle-aged man with blue eyes and brown skin.

When he laughed, his dry skin was twisted together, and he asked again: "Hu people?"

Murong Shun nodded and said, "The Tuyuhun people."

"You don't look like a Central Plains person. Your hair is brown."

"Who are you?"

"I am a Persian, and I have come all the way to the Tang Dynasty." The Persian envoy whispered, "Our Persian prince will also come to the Tang Dynasty in the future. I have expressed my utmost sincerity to the Khan of the Tang Dynasty."

It was a headache to listen to the way this Persian messenger spoke because his words were not clear.

There are also scholars from Hongwenguan who come to give lectures in Sifangguan, and there will also be many students from Guanzhong. After completing their studies at Sifangguan, students from Guanzhong can go to Hongwenguan, and if they are talented enough, they can even go to Guozijian.

But people like Murong Shun can't do that.

The Persian envoy asked again: "Weren't all the Tuyuhun people killed?"

Murong Shun shook his head and said, "I was found from the pile of dead bodies by that devil Hou Junji. If I want to live, I must live according to the will of the Heavenly Khan."

The Tang people who gave lectures here were very domineering in their words. Most of what they taught were some Tang people's etiquette or their way of speaking.

In fact, Murong Shun knew all of these. He could only accept them passively and live in fear under the eyes of the Tang people.

Soon, another man in a green shirt walked into the Sifang Pavilion quickly. He asked in a loud voice, "Who is Murong Shun?"

Hearing this, Murong Shun stood up quickly.

The young man in the green shirt said, "Come out, I have something to tell you."

"Here."

Murong Shun followed this man out of Sifang Pavilion and let him lead him along Suzaku Street.

He brought himself out of Sifang Pavilion so easily, and the teacher of Sifang Pavilion didn't even ask a single question?
I was very surprised, and my mind was filled with the strength and confidence of the Tang people. They were so strong that they didn't care whether the people walking on the streets were Hu people or Turks.

Murong Shun followed the man into a tavern, went upstairs and entered a room.

There was also a middle-aged man sitting in the room, who was enjoying the smell of a cup of hot tea with some tea leaves floating on it.

"Xu County Magistrate, the people are here."

"Brother Shangguan, please sit down too."

Murong Shun stood in front of the door and didn't dare to go in. In his ears was the shouting of a group of people from Guanzhong drinking downstairs.

Shangguan Yi saw that he was still outside the door and said with an unhappy look, "Come in."

"Yes." Murong Shun bowed like a servant, walked into the house humbly, and then stood in a corner of the house, keeping a distance from the two people in front of him, with his hands on his abdomen and his head lowered, not daring to make any big movements.

Xu Jingzong said again: "Close the door."

"Yes." Murong Shun closed the door again and stood in the corner of the room. This corner should be his position. As long as he stood here, they should give him safety, he thought so in his heart.

Shangguan Yi whispered, "So everything has been arranged for you to leave the country?"

Xu Jingzong said with a smile on his face: "Do you know what Du He wants to sell the Turks?"

Shangguan Yi also poured himself a bowl of tea, put the pot on the stove beside him, and whispered, "Isn't it just soap?"

Xu Jingzong said: "It's soap scum."

"Scum?"

Xu Jingzong nodded and said, "These are the residues from when we trim the soap. They are usually used for washing clothes. Master Du He plans to sell these accumulated residues to the Turks."

Shangguan Yi leaned back and took a deep breath in understanding.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and a voice came from outside the door, "Guest, the food is here."

"Bring it in." Xu Jingzong said casually and continued talking to Shangguan Yi.

The waiter at the tavern placed the food on the table, then bowed and walked out.

Seeing that the servant did not close the door when he went out, Murong Shun hurried to close the door.

The house was still very quiet, with only a few loud shouts from outside reaching the ears occasionally.

The clay pot on the stove was still boiling, and the water in the pot could be heard bubbling.

Murong Shun looked up and saw that it was still snowing outside the window.

Speaking of selling soap outside the pass, Shangguan Yi whispered: "How many times a year do the Turks take a bath? Do they need soap? Not to mention whether they will take a bath in this winter."

Xu Jingzong looked solemn and said, "Master Du He said that even Turkic women would rub soap on their bodies as perfume, and they must sell it. Next year, they may sell tea leaves. Lord Ying has already started sending people to plant tea trees near Bingzhou."

Shangguan Yi scratched his temples and said in annoyance: "Can this Master Du He..."

"Bang!" Shangguan Yi slammed the table heavily and said angrily: "Selling soap to the Turks? This is too much!"

Xu Jingzong shook his head helplessly.

Shangguan Yi stood up and said, "I quit. I will go and say goodbye to Master Du He now."

"Go ahead." Xu Jingzong whispered, "After you leave, find a kind family and live under their roof for the rest of your life."

Shangguan Yi stopped in front of the door, then came back with heavy footsteps and sat down in the same position again.

This was expected, Xu Jingzong smiled softly.

Shangguan Yi asked: "What should we do now?"

Xu Jingzong whispered, "Master Du He said that he wanted to make those soap scum become something like pepper in Guanzhong in the Western Regions and the Turks."

“They are Turks.”

Xu Jingzong added: "It doesn't matter who they are. Even if we tell the Turks that soap is a delicacy, we will sell it."

Shangguan Yi held his forehead in pain, closed his eyes in agony, and said, "Kill me."

"You and I don't need to leave the confinement." Xu Jingzong nodded and motioned Murong Shun, who was standing in the corner, to come over. "You are the son of Fu Yun."

"My name is Murong Shun. It's the name given to me by Tian Khan." He whispered.

"Do you want to have a better identity in the Tang Dynasty?"

"My name is Murong Shun," he repeated. "Ah!" Shangguan Yi stamped his feet anxiously. He said angrily, "Why did Master Du He insist on choosing him?"

Xu Jingzong comforted him, "Brother Shangguan, please be patient. He is a Tuyuhun and the son of Fuyun."

"My name is Murong Shun."

"Shut up!" Shangguan Yi said angrily.

Xu Jingzong took out some soap residue and whispered, "A Tuyuhun person selling soap to the Turks is more convincing than a Tang person."

"Can it be useful?"

Xu Jingzong smiled contemptuously and said, "Do you know that the court has already started planning for mutual trade?"

"Trade?"

"You don't have enough experience as an official, so naturally you don't think long-term enough."

"Please give me some advice, County Magistrate Xu."

Xu Jingzong pointed to the cold food on the side and said, "Eat it."

Murong Shun sat down immediately and started eating the food in front of him.

Xu Jingzong took a sip of tea and said slowly: "As long as we tell the Turks that the Tang people like to use soap and would like to trade with the Turks who have washed their sheep with soap, then those Turks who want to have business with Guanzhong will buy a lot of soap, even if they use soap to wash their sheep and then sell them to the Tang people."

"Does it work?"

"Let me explain in detail." Xu Jingzong waved the two bowls in front of him and said, "As long as we give benefits to some of the Turks who use soap first, avoid those who don't use soap, and only choose those who use soap for better business."

The room fell silent again. Shangguan Yi was silent for a long time before saying, "Soap is used for bathing."

Xu Jingzong nodded and said, "That's right."

"You are very suitable to be a businessman. County Magistrate Xu, please don't be an official. It's a waste of your talent."

Xu Jingzong smiled, looked at Murong Shun beside him, and said, "Do you want to become an envoy to the Tang Dynasty?"

Murong Shun replied: "Tian Khan asked me to stay at Sifang Pavilion."

"Do you want to be a very wealthy man?"

"think."

"Okay, now go back to Sifang Pavilion and continue to live as Tian Khan ordered. Our people will come to find you in half a month at most."

"Here!"

With just two simple sentences, Murong Shun was sent back.

Shangguan Yi and Xu Jingzong also walked out of the room and said goodbye to Murong Shun in front of the tavern.

In Chang'an City, at the residence of Duke Xu, three elderly men, Gao Shilian, Yu Shinan and Wang Gui, were playing cards. Gao Lin led a eunuch from the palace into the yard.

The eunuch read out the decree and left.

The three old men looked at each other.

Yu Shinan found it incredible. "Your Highness the Crown Prince asked His Majesty for permission to teach His Highness the Prince of Wei?"

Wang Gui said, "I have never had any contact with the Crown Prince or the King of Wei."

Gao Shilian whispered, "Aren't you going to live in seclusion in Mount Zhongnan to retire?"

Wang Gui hesitated to speak, "This..."

"Hahaha!" Gao Shilian suddenly slammed his head and laughed, "You were asked to teach the King of Wei, but it was the Crown Prince who suggested teaching the King of Wei."

Wang Gui's face was very long, and he couldn't continue the card game.

Gao Shilian said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is very capable! Very capable!"

Gao Lin stood aside with a smile. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was certainly very capable. The sensible Crown Prince naturally hoped that his younger brothers and sisters could be more sensible.

Wang Gui taught the King of Wei, but one day, the King of Wei also wanted to thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his recommendation and Wang Gui for his teaching.

Wang Gui threw away the cards in his hand and said, "I'm tired. I don't want to play anymore."

Yu Shinan sighed, "I am already old and about to die. The emperor and the prince don't want us to spend our old age well."

Gao Shilian said leisurely: "Mr. Wang Gui, we will be worried if you go to Mount Zhongnan. Just stay in Chang'an and let His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei support you as a teacher."

"Your Highness the Prince of Wei is a good child. With the guidance of an old gentleman like you, he will naturally become a great man."

Wang Gui's face darkened. "Being an emperor, being a prince, or wanting to be an emperor is not a good thing."

The heavy snow in Guanzhong lasted for three days, so the court was suspended for three days. All parts of Guanzhong were caught off guard by this sudden heavy snow.

The same thing happened in the Eastern Palace; all the newly planted vegetable seedlings were frozen to death.

Xiaofu was sad for a long time.

What you can eat depends entirely on God's will.

God was unhappy and it snowed heavily, which not only left Guanzhong with no food to eat, but also the Eastern Palace with nothing to eat.

At least there were some pickled radishes and dried plums in the East Palace, but Xiaofu was still sad. She was so sad that she began to curse the heavens.

Princess Dongyang advised, "What's the point of scolding? He's already frozen to death. How can scolding bring him back to life?"

Li Shen was also comforting Xiaofu. Besides being the cook of the East Palace, she was also a good friend of the princesses and princes. "My brother taught us that scolding the heavens is the most useless thing."

With the comfort of the princes and princesses, Xiaofu finally felt better.

In the bedroom of the Eastern Palace, Ning'er handed a cloth soaked in hot water to the prince. Li Chengqian applied hot compress to his arm. He had been training archery too intensely in the past two days, and his arm joints ached when he woke up from a sleep.

General Li Ji delayed for two days and did not need to practice archery during these two days.

Seeing His Highness gritting his teeth in pain, Ning'er frowned and said nothing.

Li Lizhi came over with a medicine pot in her hand. "Brother, this is what I asked for from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Father used to apply this medicine for a day after returning from the battle."

Li Chengqian opened the wooden stopper of the pottery pot and smelled it carefully.

Li Lizhi continued, "I don't know what happened, but I heard that my father was very happy when he learned that my brother had injured his arm while practicing archery."

"Really? That's what Father said."

"I don't know what my father said. I heard it from the palace maid in the main hall." She crossed her arms in front of her, feeling indignant.

Li Chengqian poured out some liquid medicine, which smelled of alcohol. It turned out to be medicinal wine, but this Tang Dynasty medicinal wine was black with yellow and a bit sticky.

Li Lizhi poured the medicine into hot water to dissolve it, then soaked a cloth in it and pressed it on her brother's shoulders.

The snow scene in the palace was beautiful. Li Chengqian placed his arms on the wooden racks on both sides, sitting cross-legged with his arms outstretched.

There were warm towels hanging on her arms, and Li Lizhi would change them when one of them got cold.

The pain was relieved, and Li Chengqian finally lowered his wide sleeves. "Does the emperor have any more requests for help?"

Li Lizhi shook her head and said, "My father didn't say anything, and the court is also suspended."

Outside the palace, a maid held up a wooden basin and said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Hejian and the Duke of Zhao also sent a lot of medicine for healing."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Leave it there."

Another hour later, Prime Minister Fang and Shizhong Wei Zheng also sent people to bring medicine for the wound.

Li Chengqian looked at the pile of medicine jars in front of him and said with a smile: "I just got a little injured from practicing. The civil and military officials in the court are really enthusiastic."

(End of this chapter)