The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 83: Jie Li's Current Situation

Li Chengqian whispered, "Talking about costs has always been a difficult problem. Selecting a site for building a trade market is a cost, sending a large army to garrison is also a cost, and arranging management and deploying troops is another cost. How long will it take to reverse these costs through the trade market?"

"As they say, even without considering the cost, the risk alone is enough to make one's teeth ache."

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "Do you know what His Majesty said to Prime Minister Fang last night?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"then you……"

Li Chengqian said while holding his hands in his pockets: "So-called costs and risks are actually trust issues in essence, just like the refugee issue I think is essentially a land issue for construction. Maybe my way of thinking is not mature enough. If I say this, my uncle will probably laugh at me again."

“Why is it a trust issue?”

Changsun Wuji spoke.

"Of course this is a trust issue. For example, the Turks would not choose to buy, but would choose to rob, because we do not trust the Turks. Therefore, the fundamental reason is still a trust issue. The Central Plains people trust the Central Plains people, because we all know that buying and selling is an equal exchange."

Li Chengqian picked up a few small stones from the ground and placed them on the ground.

Changsun Wuji lowered his head and looked around again. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he squatted down and listened carefully.

"Uncle, please look, there is a group of Turks here. They said they want to come to the Tang Dynasty to buy things. Can we trust them?"

Seeing his uncle shaking his head, Li Chengqian said, "Of course, if we encounter a group of Turks, they are most likely here to rob. Moreover, for some reasons among these Turks, even those who don't want to rob will join the robbing team because of the herd mentality."

Chang Sun Wuji frowned and asked, "Do you know anything about the Turks?"

In a sense, I do understand a little bit, if not I don’t understand.

Li Chengqian took out another stone from the pile and said, "If it is a person who comes to buy goods, then he is most likely here to buy, not to rob. Can he be trusted?"

Changsun Wuji frowned and said nothing.

"Uncle, if this person has traded with the Tang Dynasty before and is an old buyer, then can he be trusted?"

"Ah."

This time my uncle finally nodded.

"Okay then." Li Chengqian broke up the stones and picked up a few more. He said, "If these scattered stones are the trading representatives of the tribes, and they have obtained the permission of the Tang Dynasty to trade goods, and have certificates and documents, and are the trading partners recognized by the Tang Dynasty, can we trust them more?"

Changsun Wuji still nodded.

Li Chengqian stood up and said, "So the essence of mutual trade is not a question of cost and risk, but a question of trust."

Zhang Sun Wuji also stood up, looked at his nephew and said with a smile: "Why don't you talk about this in the Secretariat?"

Li Chengqian said: "These are all told to me by my uncle."

"Li Xiaogong?"

"Exactly."

Li Chengqian nodded very seriously.

Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, didn't want to say more, waved his sleeves and left.

Walking into the Secretariat, the official boots made slow and heavy footsteps on the floor.

Fang Xuanling had just finished reviewing a memorial. When he looked up and saw the visitor, he smiled and said, "Duke Zhao, is there anything else?"

Chang Sun Wuji sat down at the side in annoyance and said, "What kind of person do you think the prince is?"

Fang Xuanling pondered and said, "He is a very mature child."

"Is it worthy of your and my assistance?"

"That's natural."

Zhang Sun Wuji said again: "Why do I always feel uneasy when facing the Crown Prince?"

Fang Xuanling smiled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The prince learns very quickly and grasps things very quickly. He breaks down principles and rules and uses them for his own benefit. Ordinary people of his age don't have this ability."

"Everyone has their strengths, isn't that good?"

Hearing Fang Fan's question, Changsun Wuji nodded slowly, "That's good. Many people of the same age are still ignorant at this age, but the prince..."

After a pause, Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice: "At such a young age, you have such far-sighted plans. It's really frightening."

"What did His Highness say to you?"

In a conversation at Chengtian Gate, Changsun Wuji repeated what he had said before verbatim.

As an elder, Changsun Wuji felt embarrassed and even powerless to teach such a prince.

Fang Xuanling sighed after hearing this and said, "Fuji, you don't have to worry too much. It's just that the way of learning various principles is different. It's not just His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but the other children in the East Palace are also like this. Those children learn everything very quickly. Compared with their peers, they are better at mastering the tricks."

"Perhaps other children need half a day to learn a question in the Nine Chapters of Mathematics, but the children of the East Palace only need half an incense stick of time."

Fang Xuanling added: "The children of the Eastern Palace are good at taking conditions and arguments out of various forms. Whether imitating or guessing questions, they are always one step ahead of others. You just need to go to the Imperial College and see how the princes solve the questions, and you will understand."

After noon, the children in the East Palace were taking a nap.

Li Chengqian looked up at the windmill hanging on the eaves of the East Palace, watching the speed of the windmill sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

"Has Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng figured out how to measure wind speed?"

Ning Er replied: "No news has been sent yet. There are windmills like this in front of the Imperial Observatory now."

Li Chengqian said: "It would be great if we could measure the wind speed. Then we can use the wind speeds of previous years to determine what to do in different weather conditions. Strong winds... strong winds... are just strong winds. Without a standard for judgment, how can we draw lessons from them?"

Ning Er said, "I will send someone to urge the Taoist priest."

Li Chunfeng is also contributing to the Tang Dynasty, which is a very good thing. Wisdom must be passed on, and the wisdom summarized from life experience is also valuable. The record of every detail is invaluable.

Li Zhi came with a memorial and said, "Brother, this is from the Secretariat."

Li Chengqian still looked at the windmill. He took the memorial handed to him by Li Zhi, walked into the hall, and began to read it.

The memorial was written by Prime Minister Fang. After discussing with his uncle, the original trade was replaced by exchanges between Tang envoys.

In this way, there is no need to build checkpoints or trading places. The goods can be traded as long as the other party sends one or several people to the border.

In the memorial, Fang Xiang drew inferences from one instance and found ways to check and divide the Turks.

Li Chengqian let out a long sigh, feeling much more at ease, and whispered, "This is a memorial that will be recorded in the annals of history."

Li Zhi said: "Is it very useful?"

Li Chengqian said: "Of course, I can let you eat a lot of zong gao."

Li Zhi grinned and said, "That's great."

As for who made money from the trade in the future, it is none of the East Palace's business. Even if Jingyang became rich, it would still be Prime Minister Fang, his uncle, and the civil and military officials in the court who implemented this national policy.

These days, envoys from various countries have come to the Tang Dynasty, and there are more Hu people in Chang'an City.

After mid-November, at the end of the month, Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong came to the East Palace. Li Chengqian held a banquet in the East Palace to welcome his two uncles and dine with his grandfather.

Seeing the bruises on his uncle's face, Li Chengqian asked, "Uncle, did you get into a fight?"

The corners of Li Xiaogong's dark blue eyes twitched again, and he said, "I don't know what kind of strong medicine this old thief Changsun has taken recently. When we met yesterday, he punched me without saying anything. It still hurts."

Li Yuan stroked his beard and smiled, "You probably provoked him."

"I haven't been out for half a month, how could I have provoked him?" Li Xiaogong said angrily, "When I asked him why he started the fight, he just wouldn't say. If I asked again, he would start beating me again."

Li Daozon sat down and saluted with a smile.

After everyone sat down, they talked to grandpa about the recent events in Chang'an City.

Li Dao Zong said, "Today is really busy. Those barbarians just like to throw things around. Someone wants to chop off their hands when they throw things. I used to sweep the streets twice a day, but now sweeping five times a day is not enough."

Li Chengqian asked: "Uncle, have you achieved any results in recent days? Before the Hu people came."

"Yes." Li Dao Zong nodded and said, "We raised the city taxes in the East and West cities, and collected more money."

Li Chengqian nodded in understanding and said, "The court is probably really short of money."

Li Daozong asked again: "Didn't His Majesty order you to participate in the allocation of money and grain in the court?"

"Uncle, you are joking. I also want to make my own decisions, but I am young and inexperienced after all."

Li Xiaogong said, "The court has always been doing things this way. Your Majesty said he would reward us with 10,000 coins. Did he really give us 10,000 coins? It's just to gain a good reputation. In reality, it's only 30,000 coins. Your Highness the Crown Prince is only participating in the government affairs, but he is just watching from the Secretariat."

The four people, uncle, nephew, grandfather and grandson, all sighed and ate the food in front of them.

November is about to pass and the twelfth lunar month is approaching. The heavy snow in Guanzhong has stopped for about ten days, and freezing rain has started again.

At night, the freezing rain hit the roof with a rustling sound, as if countless sands were falling from the sky.

In Chang'an City, a group of soldiers came out of the city gate.

Ashina She'er followed Su Dingfang all the way.

The freezing rain hit the face so painfully that it was difficult to open the eyes. It also made clanking sounds when it fell on the armor of the Tang soldiers beside them.

The group came to Xinfeng County, one mile away from Chang'an City. There was a small house in the village.

Su Dingfang pulled the reins, stopped the horse in front of the hut, and said loudly: "Dismount."

Everyone dismounted together. Su Dingfang rubbed his face which was hurt by the ice particles and led Ashina She'er into the hut.

Zhen Quan is here. He just gave Jie Li a needle.

When Ashina She'er saw Jie Li lying on the bed, his eyes suddenly turned red. He knelt beside the bed, ignoring his wet clothes and hat, and said in Turkish: "Uncle!"

Jie Li opened his eyes slightly, took a weak breath, and said, "You're here?"

Ashina She'er knelt beside the bed and nodded, "Here I come."

"Is everything okay on the grassland?"

"Okay!" Ashina She'er said loudly, "When I see the Heavenly Khan, I will ask for the title of Khan and kill all the people in Mobei!"

Jie Li said slowly: "Tian Khan is a hero."

Ashina She'er nodded slowly and said, "We all miss you."

Jie Li patted She'er on the forehead and said, "You are the eagle on the grassland and the most ferocious wolf. You must lead the tribe to live well."

"Uncle!" She'er looked at Jie Li, who was breathing weakly, and choked up and said, "Uncle!"

Jie Li closed his eyes, leaving only the rise and fall of his breathing.

Seeing Zhen Quan walk out of the hut, Su Dingfang followed him to the eaves and said, "Please tell me the truth, Zhen Shaojian. I will report to His Majesty."

Zhen Quan's graying hair fluttered in the wind. He put his hands behind his back and said, "Two months at most. I'm afraid I won't live until next spring."

"Can it be cured?"

"It would be useless even if the immortal Sun came." Zhen Quan shook his head, put away his cloth bag, and sighed: "Go and report to His Majesty. I will be here to take care of Jie Li these days."

"Here!"

Su Dingfang left a team of soldiers to guard the place, then mounted his horse and returned to Chang'an City in the freezing rain.

Jie Li was about to die. Li Chengqian heard the news at dawn the next day, and the freezing rain turned into a drizzle.

Li Lizhi and Dongyang sat under the eaves.

The current Princess Dongyang is the deputy monitor of the Donggong class.

Li Chengqian took the umbrella Ning Er handed over and said, "I'm going to the Secretariat."

After saying this, Li Lizhi and Princess Dongyang watched their brother walk into the rain alone.

Dongyang whispered, "Sister, my brother always keeps to himself."

Li Lizhi said: "My brother is the crown prince, and all those who want to be emperor are like this."

"But my brother has no friends or confidants. Won't you be lonely?"

In the eyes of his younger brothers and sisters, the emperor is a very lonely person, and the only person he can talk to and even joke with is Sister Ning.

Sometimes the emperor can be very serious in front of his younger brothers and sisters.

Li Lizhi whispered, "When my brother is alone, he always scolds the saints. The saints in the book are my brother's friends, so my brother always scolds them."

Ning Er said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince still has a friend, Master Du He in Jingyang."

"Although Master Du He is my brother's friend, but..." Princess Dongyang whispered again, "But I haven't seen my brother bring him to the East Palace."

Ning Er added: "His Royal Highness's friends include Xu Jingzong and Shangguan Yi."

Li Lizhi said: "Your Highness, we still have so many brothers and sisters. We should study hard."

The palace was soaked by the rain. Li Chengqian walked to the gate of the Secretariat holding an umbrella. With the arrival of the twelfth lunar month, this place should have been quieter, but today was even busier than yesterday.

"Brother Wenben?" Li Chengqian walked under the eaves, put down his umbrella and greeted him.

"Your Highness." Cen Wenben bowed. Another person came hurriedly in the rain. He smiled and said, "Ma Zhou is here too."

Noticing the gazes here, the man in dark green official robes came forward and saluted, saying, "I am the Censor Ma Zhou, and I am honored to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian said, "I have long admired you, Censor Ma."

Cen Wenben said: "Jie Li is seriously ill. Your Majesty has sent troops in three directions to various passes, fearing that if Jie Li dies, the Turks will rebel."

Ma Zhou said: "As long as Jie Li is given a decent death, if the Turks dare to rebel, I am willing to go to the border to wipe them out personally."

There is no need to hesitate about fighting for the country. The Tang Dynasty will go to war as soon as it says no matter whether it is civil officials or military generals.

This was the result of unity between the top and the bottom. The martial spirit of the Tang Dynasty was such that civil officials were willing to fight if they could get war horses.

(End of this chapter)