The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 92 Three Brothers
Walking outside the Taiji Hall, Li Ke stared at his brother with wide eyes in disbelief as he arrived earlier than usual today.

My brother, the emperor, who usually comes to court on time, arrived half a minute earlier today.

Li Chengqian looked at the palace and saw that there were already many civil officials standing there. He took out a warm bun from his arms and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Li Ke took the bun and said, "Thank you, brother. I haven't eaten it yet."

Not long after, Li Tai also arrived. He came later than usual. After the elder brother, the emperor, took the lead, the younger brother seemed to become tired.

"Royal brother." Li Tai bowed and saluted.

Li Chengqian took out another bun from his arms, handed it to him and said, "Qingque, have a bun too."

Li Ke had just eaten one, feeling a little unsatisfied, and whispered, "Brother, are there any more?"

Li Chengqian whispered, "I only brought two. I was planning to eat them to fill my stomach after the morning court session ended late."

The three brothers stood in front of the Taiji Hall, talking, and were in no hurry to enter the hall.

Li Chengqian said again: "Qingque, you seem to have gained weight again."

Li Tai had just finished eating a bun, looked at himself, and said, "The doctor from the Imperial Medical Bureau said that it's okay for my brother to eat more at his age."

Li Ke said: "Actually, my brother eats a lot."

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "You are in the army, and Qingque hangs out with scholars all day long. The consumption of the two of you is not of the same order of magnitude."

Li Ke smiled innocently.

"Come here, both of you," Li Chengqian asked his two younger brothers, "Has there been any news about the Crown Princess from inside or outside the palace, or from Father recently?"

Li Ke asked in surprise: "Is my brother in a hurry to get married?"

Li Chengqian said: "I am also very curious, when do they usually get married?"

Li Tai said: "Around twenty years old."

Li Ke also counted on his fingers for a moment and said, "It will indeed take a few years."

Noticing the looks from his two younger brothers, Li Chengqian sighed and said, "I have just reached adulthood this year, so naturally I don't want to get married too early. There are so many things going on in the court that I can't handle them all."

Li Ke and Li Tai also smiled awkwardly.

It’s almost time, wait for my uncle and others to enter the Tai Chi Hall.

Li Chengqian also walked into the hall with his two younger brothers.

The three brothers rarely spoke like this.

But then, Li Tai returned to his confused, frowning and silent look.

The emperor walked into the hall and the morning court session began.

An official stepped forward to impeach, saying, "Your Majesty, recently the Crown Prince has set up checkpoints in the court, causing great suffering to the various departments. I think that since your Highness is young, he needs to be taught rather than participate in court affairs too early."

The censor who was speaking was very confident and looked quite old.

But Li Chengqian didn't care about the other party's impeachment. Instead, he was somewhat happy.

There are still people who raise objections, and there are still people who care about the existence of this prince, so that's good.

It is normal for people to talk about you as a prince.

My father gave me a bow. Does it mean that I, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, should continue to practice archery diligently so that I can have the same demeanor as my father as soon as possible?
Or, out of public interest, is your father commending the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and hoping that he will continue to contribute to the Tang Dynasty?

Soon, Cen Wenben stood up to refute, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has never set up any obstacles on the expenditure, but has ordered each department to make a clear budget before submitting it. Even if they don't know how to make a budget, the Secretariat can make a budget on their behalf."

"You guys can't make a good budget, but you blame the crown prince for setting up checkpoints. If there is no order in the court, won't it be a mess?"

Zhang Xingcheng, who was then the Imperial Censor, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the expenses of the court are always different, and each department arranges them according to their needs and whether they are in a tight situation. I think it is unacceptable to impeach someone for not making timely arrangements."

I heard that Zhang Xingcheng became famous at an early age, from a small county lieutenant to the current Palace Censor. Like Ma Zhou, he was born in poverty, but his words and deeds showed that he was the kind of person who was not afraid of power.

Over the years, my father has been consciously or unconsciously selecting people like Zhang Xingcheng and Ma Zhou to become newcomers in the Taiji Hall.

Such people are certainly beneficial to the Tang Dynasty. From an emperor's perspective, the more such people there are, the better.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was impeached, and the impeachment of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was exposed, and even the current emperor did not care.

People walked out of the Taiji Hall in twos and threes. Li Chengqian prepared to go to the East Palace for dinner and then go to the Secretariat.

Then he said to his uncle, teacher, and Lord Zheng, "Why don't we go to the East Palace to have dinner together?"

Fang Xuanling said: "The Turks and Mobei have gone to war, and three urgent reports came last night. I dare not delay and must report to Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian asked again: "Then would Lord Zheng and uncle be able to make it convenient for you?"

Chang Sun Wuji looked at Wei Zheng and said, "Let's go to the East Palace to have a meal."

Wei Zheng bowed and said, "I am sorry to bother you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian walked in front and said, "Don't disturb me, don't disturb me."

Emperor Retired Li Yuan was playing sepak takraw with his younger brothers and sisters.

When they arrived in front of the Chongwen Hall, Xiaofu brought up the food. For lunch, they had millet rice and braised meat with pickled mustard greens.

Wei Zheng said, "I thought the food in the East Palace was so good, but it turns out that His Highness eats the same as ordinary people, with only one or two dishes every day."

Li Chengqian gave half of the salted duck egg to his uncle and gave his half to Duke Zheng, saying, "Is there anyone out there who is talking about the East Palace? They are saying how bad the food is?"

Wei Zheng said slowly: "There was some discussion at first, and it was spread by the Prince of Hejian. Later, after several explanations, not many people saw it with their own eyes. It was only when I came here in person that I realized that the food in the East Palace is nothing more than meat, eggs and vegetables, nothing special."

Because the first few days of the new dynasty were the busiest, Li Chengqian had to sacrifice his nap time and go to the Secretariat to take up his duties after lunch.

"Your Highness, this is the report from Yinshan and Liangzhou."

Li Chengqian took the memorial handed to him by Yu Zhining and looked at it quietly.

According to the trade plan decided last year, the court planned to use documents to select people from the Western Regions and Turks. Only those who possessed the documents could come to the Tang Dynasty for large-scale trade.

This kind of trading power was only arranged in the memorial. Fang Xiang and others made some more arrangements in this regard and selected important leaders of each tribe.

Firstly, in order to divide the tribes, and secondly, in order to control the development of the Turks, they would deliberately choose the enemy.

Ashina She'er sold five thousand sheep to Guanzhong and also bought five hundred bars of soap and twenty stones of soap residue.

On the one hand, the Turks sold sheep to get money from Guanzhong, and on the other hand, they bought soap and used the soap to exchange for war horses from the Uighurs.

Murong Shun must have arranged all this.

Not to mention how he did it.

At least this transaction reduced a lot of pressure on the court.

According to the current market price, a good Turkic horse can be sold for eight strings of coins, and a sheep can be sold for a good price of three to four strings of coins if it is sold to some distant places.

Of course, because Guanzhong has developed well in recent years, sheep are not very valuable in Guanzhong, so keeping them in Guanzhong for self-consumption would definitely be a loss.

Therefore, the sheep should be sold in some places east of Guanzhong. Li Chengqian wrote the annotation and handed it to Yu Zhining, saying, "Please make a file on the price fluctuations in various places in Guanzhong these days and have the Ministry of Revenue give it to me."

Yu Zhining nodded and said, "Yes."

Soon, Prime Minister Fang came back. After approving the report, he made arrangements with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue in advance, and then went on to make arrangements with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works.

With the help of two officials from the Eastern Palace, things became much easier.

Li Chengqian asked, "Prime Minister Fang, will I be responsible for handling the files related to the trade in the future?"

Fang Xuanling picked up the pen and wrote as he wrote: "After your Highness has finished his comments, I will read them again. There is no need to be timid about impeachment."

"Teacher, you are considerate. I am really grateful."

Seeing how busy the teacher was, Li Chengqian didn't say anything more and continued to read the reports sent in by various counties this year.

The current price of rice in Guanzhong is around 20 coins, and flour is 37 coins per dou.

The prices of linen and fine cotton vary greatly, and a piece of slightly better linen cloth costs four hundred coins.

At least it was maintained. The price of twenty cents for a dou of rice was neither good nor bad.

Today, envoys from various countries have gradually received the return gifts from the Tang Dynasty and are preparing to return.

Li Baiyao said to the Prince of Gaochang: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince learned that the King of Gaochang worshipped Buddha, so he gave him many scriptures."

Gaochang Prince Qu Zhisheng smiled and said, "Your Highness is thoughtful."

Li Baiyao added: "I hope the prince has a safe journey back this time."

Qu Zhisheng got on his horse and said, "After we return, I will report to you, my father, what happened in Chang'an."

Looking at the tens of thousands of bars of soap that Qu Zhisheng had loaded onto several carts, Li Baiyao said, "Your Majesty has something you would like to advise the King of Gaochang about. I hope the prince can convey it to you."

Prince Gaochang was already a little impatient and just wanted the Tang people's farewell to be over quickly.

Li Baiyao said: "The war between the Turks and Mobei is a feud between the two places. The Tang Dynasty is only trying to persuade them to make peace. I hope Gaochang will not interfere."

Qu Zhisheng nodded, then called on his followers to ride out of Chang'an City.

"Minister Li, there's actually no need to say so much to him."

Hearing this, Li Baiyao turned around and saw Xu Jingzong bowing and said, "So it's Xu Shilang, should he be called Xu County Magistrate now?"

Xu Jingzong said: "The arrogant and conceited Gaochang father and son, guarding the rich Gaochang without strengthening the army, is a way to death. They are interfering in the feud between Mobei and the Turks, which is also a way to death. Sooner or later, they will seek death. What's the point of talking to them about this?"

"Xu County Magistrate's words really woke me up."

Even though Xu Jingzong is now a county magistrate, he was one of the eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace. It is rumored that the prince also has an unclear relationship with Jingyang.

Such a person should not be underestimated even if he is just a county magistrate.

Li Baiyao said: "The more I talk to him, the more he cares."

Looking into the distance in the direction where the Gaochang group left, the further they walked, the more their figures seemed to become hazy, as if they would disappear at any time.

Xu Jingzong added: "There are still many things to do in Jingyang, so I will take my leave first."

Li Baiyao bowed and asked, "How can County Magistrate Xu be so sure that Gaochang will destroy itself?"

Xu Jingzong walked out of the city gate and raised his head and said: "Arrogance will destroy Gaochang sooner or later. Does this need a reason?"

Li Baiyao stood in front of the city gate, bowed slightly, then returned to the city and went to the imperial city to report the news.

The envoys from various countries had all left. When Li Baiyao brought the list of gifts in return, Li Chengqian looked at it and asked, "How many books have been given away today?"

"Your Highness, most of them are Confucian classics."

"How did the messengers feel after receiving the gifts in return?"

Li Baiyao added: "They say that the Khan is wise and powerful."

Li Chengqian said slowly: "This year's gifts are much smaller than in previous years. They should say that the Tang Dynasty is stingy."

Li Baiyao smiled awkwardly and said, "The envoys dare not say such things in front of the Tang people, nor do they dare to say so in Chang'an City. Compared with previous years, according to your highness's arrangement, the silk and silk sent are less, and the Confucian classics sent are more."

After listening to his work report, I was generally satisfied.

Li Chengqian returned the gift list in his hand to him and said, "The rest of the matter will be handled by the Ministry of Rites."

"Yes." Li Baiyao put away the silk and walked a few steps, then hurried back and said, "I have another question to ask."

"You said."

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to postpone the ceremony. I asked His Majesty, and His Majesty said that it is up to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to decide. May I ask which day would be more suitable? The Ministry of Rites must prepare in advance."

Li Chengqian was still busy sorting out the files, and said, "Don't worry, go back and get busy first."

"Here."

Li Baiyao bowed and saluted.

Half a month later, the policy of mutual trade brought the court an income of more than 5,000 strings of cash, which undoubtedly gave the court a sigh of relief.

Fang Xuanling stood before His Majesty and reported the whole story. He said, "Your Majesty, before the grand court meeting began, envoys from various countries had just arrived in Chang'an. Xu Jingzong had been interacting with the envoys from various countries and sold a lot of soap."

As he spoke, he handed another memorial to His Majesty.

Li Shimin looked at the file and motioned for him to continue.

Fang Xuanling added: "Prince Gaochang bought 10,000 bars of soap."

Hearing this, Li Shimin smiled contemptuously.

After a pause, Fang Xuanling continued, "Your Majesty, Prince Gaochang took the soap and introduced the purpose and usage of soap to the nobles in the Western Regions. Now all the people in the Western Regions know about the existence of soap, and many people have come to Guanzhong to inquire about it."

Li Shimin said: "It's just soap. The Gaochang prince is just showing off his wealth for a while."

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "That's right. Their temporary pursuit of new things will gradually subside, just like the situation in Guanzhong before."

"Well, how is the prince these days?"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is often busy in the Secretariat until dark these days. The court has been very busy in the past half month since the start of the court."

Li Shimin said: "It is difficult for this child. I hope the Prime Minister can teach him more."

"I will do whatever it takes."

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian listened to Li Zhi reading the urgent report sent by the Turks.

Ashina She'er's troops were driven back to Tongluo, where they were met with a fierce counterattack by the people of Mobei.

The two sides were entangled in a fight at Tongluo, with one advancing and the other retreating.

I thought the Turkic cavalry were fierce, but I didn't expect that they would encounter such great resistance when fighting against the people from Mobei.

(End of this chapter)