The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 71 The Best Deal

Changsun Wuji did not eat the tea eggs in front of him, but listened to the messenger's story and thought.

Seeing that his uncle didn't want to eat it and the tea egg was about to get cold, Li Chengqian picked up the peeled egg and started eating it.

Sambuza, who came to the Tang Dynasty as a Tubo envoy, still had a proud look on his face.

Li Chengqian whispered, "So the Prime Minister was ill? Is he well now?"

Sambuza nodded, "Exactly."

"uncle?"

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded and said, "Don't eat this when you are talking to the envoy in the Honglu Temple."

Li Chengqian finished the tea egg in one gulp, chewed it in his mouth and swallowed it, then he said: "I was just about to ask, if the Tubo Prime Minister has recovered now, will it be too late to send a message to come to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy?"

Changsun Wuji looked conflicted, and was thinking for a while.

Upon hearing this, Sambuza hurriedly said, "Your Highness, our Tibetan Prime Minister is discussing important matters with Nipola."

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and asked again: "Uncle?"

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded and said, "Your Highness, please speak."

Li Chengqian continued: "Which is more important to Tubo, Nipula or the Tang Dynasty?"

Hearing this, everyone in the Honglu Temple looked at Sangbuza.

The Tibetan envoy bowed and explained: "Your Highness, the Tibetan Prime Minister has absolutely no such intention."

Everyone in the Honglu Temple still looked at the messenger with suspicion.

Sambhota stood with his head bowed, and continued, "The Nibhara affair involves the holy river behind the Tibetan snow-capped mountains. Throughout history, wars have been fought over the holy river, and countless Tibetan warriors have died on the other side of the river."

Nibora, located on the banks of the Nibora River, is actually a small country. This river flows all the way down from the Great Snow Mountain in Tubo, passing through Nibora and also through India.

Therefore, it is crucial to control the upper reaches of the river.

Li Chengqian whispered again: "Uncle?"

Zhang Sun Wuji nodded, "Your Highness, please speak."

"Since the Tibetan envoy said that their prime minister could not come to the Tang Dynasty, why did they just say so? Why did they say that he was ill?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spoke in a low voice, but the officials of the Honglu Temple could hear it clearly.

Li Chengqian continued, "Uncle, do you think the Tibetan leader is disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty? Did he find an excuse to not come because he was sick?"

Sambuza bowed again and said, "Your Highness, the Prime Minister of Tibet has absolutely no such intention."

"I am just guessing, the envoy does not need to be nervous."

As he was speaking, a eunuch hurried into the Honglu Temple and placed a cube that could just be held in his hand in front of him.

The eunuch explained: "Duke Zhao, this is a gift from His Majesty."

Chang Sun Wuji frowned and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After saying thank you, Changsun Wuji saw that the man was still standing in front of him, and asked, "Your Majesty, do you have anything else to say?"

"Yes, Duke Zhao, please complete the numbers on the Rubik's Cube and present it to Your Majesty later."

Changsun Wuji took the cube and looked at it carefully. Now the numbers on the six sides of the cube were very messy.

Li Chengqian glanced sideways and realized that this was not the Rubik's Cube made by the East Palace.

It seems that my father asked the craftsmen to imitate the Rubik's Cube in the style of the Eastern Palace, and it is also better than the one in the Eastern Palace.

At least it's not as loose as the ones I made myself.

Changsun Wuji turned the Rubik's Cube, frowning and saying nothing.

Before leaving, the eunuch said, "His Majesty has also distributed magic cubes to everyone in the Secretariat. Whoever can complete it first will be rewarded by His Majesty."

In fact, the Rubik's Cube toy is far from being advanced enough to surpass the technology of an era.

It's like a chair. As long as an experienced carpenter looks at it more, he can understand the secret and imitate it.

This technology is unstoppable and will surely become popular in Guanzhong.

In comparison, the uniqueness and secret recipe of the soap were not discovered for a short time.

Therefore, creations like chairs can at most help Jingyang earn its first pot of gold, and their value will soon become cheap due to overcapacity.

This kind of market reaction cannot be controlled by humans at all.

Looking again, the Tibetan envoy was still bending over.

Changsun Wuji turned the Rubik's Cube, pausing from time to time to look at it.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and asked, "This messenger?"

Sambuza still bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, Tubo has always been very respectful to the Tang Dynasty."

"The envoy doesn't need to be nervous." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "In fact, I just miss the Tibetan Prime Minister. It would be better if he came to the Tang Dynasty in person."

Sambuza finally smiled, and his expression relaxed from the tension just now. He said, "Your Highness, I still treasure the soap you gave me."

"The barley wine that the Prime Minister gave me is now treasured in the East Palace. I hope he will come to the Tang Dynasty again so that I can drink with him."

Sambuza bowed again and said, "Our Prime Minister has also been looking forward to this day."

"Ugh……"

Hearing the prince's sigh, the expressions of many officials in the Honglu Temple became tense.

Li Chengqian said slowly: "Although I am in the Tang Dynasty and he is in Tubo, we may not see each other for many years, but I am thinking about it."

"Many years later, when Lu Dongzan stood on the snowy mountain and looked at the Tang Dynasty from afar, he would still remember the soap I, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, gave him in front of the Taiji Palace in the winter of that year, and what I said to him."

Sambuza said: "The Prime Minister will definitely remember it."

The conversation between the Tibetan envoy and the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty at the Honglu Temple went very pleasantly.

When the two of them walked out of the Honglu Temple together, the officials from the Ministry of Rites all stood by with smiles on their faces.

Only Changsun Wuji was still in the dim Honglu Temple, turning the Rubik's Cube with a troubled look on his face.

Outside the Honglu Temple, Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "Look, our Honglu Temple in the Tang Dynasty is so dilapidated. It hasn't been renovated for many years."

Sambuza smiled and said, "His Majesty the Khan of the Tang Dynasty is wise and powerful. He does not need a magnificent mansion. As long as the Khan is still here, Chang'an will be glorious."

Li Chengqian whispered, "You envoys always like to joke around."

"I came to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy and saw how prosperous it was. This summer, I also witnessed the bravery of the Tang soldiers during the battle of Dafeichuan."

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "I have said it many times, the reason why Tuyuhun was defeated was because of the stupidity of the Tuyuhun king."

"Our Prime Minister thinks so too. A foolish king cannot protect his territory and his cattle and sheep."

"So the reason why the Tang Dynasty was able to defeat Tuyuhun was not because the Tang Dynasty was so powerful."

Sambuza bowed and said, "Your Highness is too modest."

Li Chengqian asked, "Will the envoy come and leave in a hurry this time, just like he did before?"

"I must meet the Heavenly Khan when I come to the Tang Dynasty. After paying homage, I will return to Tubo." After saying this, he shook his coat with animal skins hanging on it, saluted and said, "The Tubo gift is on the way. Our Zamp is offering 3,000 cattle and sheep, and they are on the way."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Then the envoy should go and have a rest first. See you at the next grand court meeting." Sambuza wanted to talk more with the prince, but since the topic had come to this, he said in the Tang etiquette, "See you at the next grand court meeting."

After seeing off the Tibetan envoy, I looked inside the Honglu Temple and saw that my uncle was still turning the Rubik's Cube.

Li Chengqian stood outside the Honglu Temple with his hands in his pockets, looking at his uncle's twisted expression. He felt mixed emotions for a moment, sighed again, turned around and left.

The officials of the Honglu Temple looked at each other in confusion. They whispered to each other, wondering what the Crown Prince's two sighs meant.
Or is it that the officials on duty did not do their job well?
It was already the rest season, but officials from the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites had to be on duty during the rest season, which made them feel uncomfortable.

My father was a wise and brave emperor, and he was also a very confident emperor.

This confidence comes from the fact that the emperor feels that if he cannot solve the Rubik's Cube well, then the ministers in the court may not be able to do so either.

Several craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were still making magic cubes and sending them to officials of all levels in the court who were resting at home.

Whether or not one can solve this Rubik's Cube first has become a competition of wits between the government and the opposition.

The Rubik's Cube game is very interesting and tests your thinking ability.

Shangguan Yi, as a scholar of the Hongwen Academy, had to come here every day to work, and he was also the chief clerk of Jingyang County.

During the rest season, the scholars are not actually forced to come here to work, and most of them just do it for the sake of courtesy.

At this moment, Shangguan Yi was walking on the busy Zhuque Street, where people were coming and going.

Chang'an City is the busiest at this time of year.
I thought there wouldn't be many people in Hongwenguan today, but as soon as I walked into the museum, I saw a lot of people sitting together.

Everyone was discussing something, and there were a few anxious and angry shouts.

For some reason, Shangguan Yi leaned forward to take a look, and saw three people spinning a cube surrounded by a crowd.

"You are wrong, you can't turn it this way!"

"You've been spinning for an hour. If it doesn't work, just give up and let me do it."

After saying that, someone snatched the Rubik's Cube, kicked one person away, took the seat, sat down, and turned the Rubik's Cube.

Shangguan Yi watched carefully and saw a person stamping his feet in anger. After failing, he dropped the Rubik's Cube and the next person continued to study it.

The person in charge of Hongwenguan set a time limit of half an hour for each person to solve the Rubik's Cube.

"Do you think there is something hidden in this Rubik's Cube, and gold will fall out when it is solved?"

"How is that possible!" Someone immediately denied it: "If there really was gold, it would have been smashed."

Someone else said: "The wisdom that can unlock this little thing is worth a thousand gold, you are so short-sighted!"

Shangguan Yi listened to the discussions around him, stood aside silently, and started queuing up. He also planned to give it a try.

"It's solved! It's solved!" Someone shouted, "Master Li Chunfeng from the Imperial Observatory was the first to solve it. Your Majesty will reward you with ten thousand coins."

After hearing this, everyone who was originally in high spirits suddenly lost interest.

Some people are studying it, “Could it be that there is a Taoist mystery in this thing?”

Wisdom is always the source of motivation that people pursue. After the first person solved the Rubik's Cube, the discussions about it in the government and the public soon subsided.

A quiz contest ends when the first person successfully deciphers the solution.

Of course, this was a bummer.

When Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng arrived at the East Palace, Li Chengqian was playing chess with his grandfather.

"Your subject, Li Chunfeng, greets the Supreme Emperor, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Yuan nodded and continued to look at the chessboard. The chess made by the Eastern Palace was very interesting. The old man was concentrating on it. He whispered, "When I learn it, I will go and teach Erlang a lesson."

Li Chunfeng handed over the Rubik's Cube and said, "I solved the Rubik's Cube. Your Majesty said that this object was made by the East Palace?"

Li Chengqian also looked at the chessboard and played with the chess pieces in his hands, saying, "I originally gave them to my younger brothers and sisters to exercise their thinking, but later they were taken away by my father."

Li Chunfeng was in his early thirties, less than forty years old. He was wearing a thin Taoist robe and stood there in confusion.

Li Yuan pushed his cannon and said, "General."

Li Chengqian pulled the car nearby over, took his grandfather's shot, and resolved the crisis, but his expression was still solemn.

"I heard from Gao Shilian that you are a great chess player, but now it seems that you are just so-so."

The chessboard was full of fighting. Li Chengqian jumped his horse forward and said, "Checkmate!"

Li Yuan was about to move his general, but found himself in check by two horses. Seeing this, he took a big sip of tea and pointed at the chessboard, saying, "When did your horse get here?"

Li Chengqian whispered, "Just when Grandpa was only focused on attacking."

"My grandson has a plan that is perfect, what a pity!"

"What's a pity, Grandpa?"

Li Yuan said with regret: "It's a pity that you are the crown prince of the Eastern Palace."

While packing up the chessboard, Li Yuan felt his interest was disturbed and asked unhappily, "Why are you still standing here?"

Li Chunfeng held the magic cube in both hands, "This thing was made by the East Palace."

"I heard that Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng was the first to solve it?"

"Since this thing was made by the East Palace, I dare not take the first place."

"You are the first one, so you are the first one. Taoist Li is proficient in mathematics and should have thought of it earlier. Apart from you, who else has such ability in this court?"

"Your Highness, it is a compliment."

Li Chengqian gave Ning'er a look.

After Ning'er understood, she took out another piece of paper from the East Palace. On the paper was the blueprint of a sixth-order Rubik's Cube.

Li Chengqian took the blueprint and handed it to him, saying, "This is a higher-level Rubik's Cube. Taoist priest, take it and make it."

Li Chunfeng took the drawing and looked at it carefully.

"My paintings are not very good."

"I understand."

"Master, this is the only blueprint in the world. If this fortune doesn't belong to the East Palace, it should belong to you, Master Li."

Hearing this, Li Chunfeng bowed again and said, "Your Highness is a man of good fortune."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled, "Grandpa, I've said it before, I am the auspicious sign of the Tang Dynasty, and I can bring greater fortune to the world."

Li Yuan also stroked his beard and smiled, "Auspicious sign for our Li family, would you like to give this extraordinary wisdom to others?"

"My grandson hopes that the subjects of the Tang Dynasty can achieve greater success, so I naturally cannot be stingy."

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "Please leave and do not disturb me and my grandson from playing chess."

"I obey your command." Li Chunfeng emphasized these three words and bowed deeply to the prince.

The chess pieces were laid out on the chessboard. Li Yuan suddenly thought of something and stared at his grandson and whispered, "Are you interested?"

"Using the reputation of others and taking advantage of their popularity and people's hearts is a skill I learned from my father." Li Chengqian sat on the chair with his hands in his pockets and continued, "A game that I thought of at the last minute can win the service of a great numerologist. Isn't this the most cost-effective deal in the world?"

Note: Sambhota, whose full name is Thonmi Sambhota, was a minister to the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo after he unified the plateau, and one of the Seven Wise Ministers of Tubo.

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(End of this chapter)