Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 129 Wei Zheng, Only One Year Left to Live (Part )
Inside the bedroom, the stove was warm.

Wei Zheng was lying on the bed, raising his hand to gesture slightly. Wei Shuyu immediately bowed and then carefully retreated.

Li Chengqian sat in front of the stove, making hot tea.

He glanced at the eighteen-year-old Wei Shuyu, and a trace of pity flashed through his heart.

Before Wei Zheng's death in his previous life, the emperor granted Wei Shuyu the marriage of Princess Xincheng, but the emperor cancelled the marriage not long after Wei Zheng's death.

Princess Xincheng was Li Chengqian's biological sister. After her marriage with Wei Shuyu was cancelled under Chengyang and Jinyang, she later married Changsun Quan. However, ten years after the marriage, Changsun Quan was exiled for implicating Changsun Wuji. She then remarried to Wei Zhengju and died of illness four years later.

Although Wei Shuyu was much older than Princess Xincheng, he was a kind and honest man with upright character, and had no involvement with the Changsun family.

If Li Chengqian had not been implicated, he would have been the best husband choice for Princess Xincheng.

Watching Wei Shuyu leave, Li Chengqian focused his gaze back on the tea. Wei Zheng, Wei Zheng, there was only a year and less than a month left from now until his death in his previous life.

His current illness is already a precursor to a serious illness...

"I heard that Your Highness submitted a memorial to His Majesty regarding the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song?" Wei Zheng said in a low voice, and Li Chengqian suddenly looked up.

"Father, have you sent someone to seek Prime Minister Wei's opinion?" Li Chengqian thought for a moment and immediately understood what was going on.

The Tang Dynasty now has a population of only 15 million, and even if the Turkic tribes that have migrated inland are included, it is far less than the nearly 60 million population of the former Sui Dynasty.

The emperor was indeed an amazing man of both civil and military powers, but no one could change the basic situation.

The thought that he might not be able to ascend the throne in the future would be unbearable even for his father, the greatest emperor in history.

That's why he sought the opinions of Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling and others.

……

"If the population is insufficient, will Your Highness really not go to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods after he ascends the throne in the future?" Wei Zheng asked curiously.

"The Fengshan ceremony is just a waste of reputation." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "Although the Fengshan ceremony can unite people's hearts, it can also easily corrupt people's hearts due to arrogance. If we are not careful, the cost of a Fengshan ceremony may not be recovered in three years."

Li Chengqian did not want to offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai before the world was fully prepared, as population was a hard indicator.

When Yang Jian almost performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, the world had a population of nearly 60 million. Now, after more than 20 years of establishment, the Tang Dynasty's population is less than one-sixth of that of Yang Jian's time. The more Li Chengqian thought about this, the more he felt that performing the Fengshan ceremony at this time was not a good idea.

I'm afraid that the more his father thinks about this, the more unwilling he will feel, but he can do nothing about it.

The previous Fengshan ceremonies had to be stopped due to various reasons. Thinking about it now, these things may have been a warning.

Later, Li Zhi offered sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, but in the end he let Wu Zetian usurp the throne. Not only did a large number of his own children and grandchildren die, but even his brothers, uncles, and the entire Li Tang royal family were killed, severely damaged.

Later, when Li Longji was enthroned, the Anshi Rebellion broke out.

After counting carefully, Li Chengqian didn't think Fengshan was a good thing.

……

Wei Zheng was very surprised by Li Chengqian's firm tone and expression.

The prince was actually not interested in things like the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

"If I had the financial resources, I would rather exempt the people of Chang'an from taxes for three years." Li Chengqian snorted coldly.

Wei Zheng ignored the question and said, "Your Highness believes that the problem is still insufficient population. However, this has been a problem since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Despite various measures, such as tax and labor reductions, lowering the marriage and childbearing age, and even direct food grants, population growth remains slow. Even Your Majesty has no better solution."

"Actually, Prime Minister Wei, from my perspective, this is because the people are burdened too heavily." Li Chengqian raised his head, gazing at the sky outside the window, and sighed, "Although my father is called the Heavenly Khan, and the Tang soldiers have fought across the vast expanse of the land without a single enemy, the people have been able to hold on despite years of fighting. In reality, there's very little left each year, and even the temporary relief provided by the court only lasts a year or two... Without money, how can we afford to raise a child?"

The population problem is easy to solve. All we need to do is have five or six more children for every family in the world.

A population of 10 million can instantly become 30 million.

But you have to be able to afford it.

This problem cannot be solved by reducing taxes and labor service for one or two years or giving away a bushel of grain.

The common people raise their children so that they can have money for a long time.

Some losses are lessons learned after one occurrence.

From Li Chengqian's perspective, the problem of the Tang Dynasty was superficially a population problem, but fundamentally an economic problem.

The Tang Dynasty waged foreign wars for many years, but apart from the Silk Road, it did little to truly benefit the world. ...

"Then according to Your Highness, what should we do?" Wei Zheng pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Chengqian seriously.

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow, not expecting Wei Zheng to ask him such a question. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "First, let's talk about the Sino-Agricultural Ministry. Zhao Yuankai, the Minister of Sino-Agriculture, has served mostly in local positions, but to be honest, his knowledge of Sino-Agriculture is not as good as mine, let alone leading the agricultural affairs of the country."

"Your Highness, do you have a deep understanding of the Ministry of Agriculture?" Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

"Normally." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I just read the 'Qimin Yaoshu' while compiling the 'Kaogong Zhi'. I can guarantee that Zhao Sinong's knowledge of this art is not as profound as mine."

"Follow the will of Heaven and measure the advantages of the terrain, then you will use less effort and achieve more; follow your own will and go against the will of Heaven, and you will work hard but gain nothing." Wei Zheng calmly recited a few key points from "Qimin Yaoshu". He was not completely ignorant of this.

Li Chengqian glanced at Wei Zheng in surprise, then said, "We've improved agricultural tools, reformed the farming system, built water conservancy projects, visited experienced farmers, collected information about weather patterns, summarized their experiences, observed practices, and summarized the methods, techniques, experiences, and rules for improving farming, seedling cultivation, breeding, grafting, and animal husbandry. What has the Sinong Temple done?"

Wei Zheng was stunned. All he knew about "Qimin Yaoshu" was actually just a few sentences of the general outline. He didn't know much about the deeper content.

"Your Highness is wise, and I am convinced." Wei Zheng nodded with a rare smile, then asked, "Does Your Highness have any other methods?"

"Then there's the trade route. Although the Tang Dynasty conquered Gaochang, annihilated Tuyuhun, and even the Eastern Turks, it lacked in-depth cultivation. The most direct example is Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun is located at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains and has abundant salt, iron, jade, and possibly even copper. Yet the Tang Dynasty has practically ignored it. This is something I could never have imagined."

"Tyuhun has a vast territory and a sparse population, and the weather is harsh. It is extremely difficult to find these things, and Tuyuhun pays a lot of tribute every year." Wei Zheng couldn't help shaking his head.

"No matter how much others give you, can it be as much as what you snatch away?" Li Chengqian glanced at Wei Zheng indifferently.

Wei Zheng was speechless for a moment.

"The third is the matter of medicine. Women always need medical help when giving birth, but the current medicine in the Tang Dynasty..." Before Li Chengqian finished his words, a voice outside the door interrupted him.

"The medical skills of the Tang Dynasty are indeed not good. I am sorry to disappoint Your Highness." Sun Simiao personally walked in from outside, carrying the medicine box on his back. He then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "I wonder if Your Highness has any suggestions?"

"Greetings, Immortal." Li Chengqian quickly bowed and said, "How dare I show off my skills in front of you, Immortal?"

"Your Highness is the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince must have profound insights." Sun Simiao put down his medicine box, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "I have practiced medicine for a hundred years, but I still feel that I am lacking. I would like to ask Your Highness for guidance."

"How dare I, kid?" Li Chengqian smiled bitterly.

"Your Highness, please speak frankly." Wei Zheng glanced at the somewhat sarcastic Sun Simiao, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness has been very concerned about the people's affairs in recent years. It is inevitable that we have overlooked some of them."

"Then I'll just say a few words." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious, and he continued, "For women, raising children is one thing, but giving birth is another. The other day, I accidentally read the documents of the Ministry of Revenue and discovered that half of women in the world have difficult births, and only half succeed. Some even die in one child... Haven't the doctors in the world given this matter any serious thought?"

Sun Simiao stood there in a daze.

Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian in surprise and said, "Your Highness, if you have any ideas, please speak frankly."

"What can I think? I'm just an outsider talking nonsense." Li Chengqian bowed earnestly to Sun Simiao and said, "Master, I know that men and women shouldn't touch each other, so doctors all over the world put very little effort into this matter, which is why we have this situation..."

"Medical experts also say that a doctor should be like a parent. If they are like this, what else can we talk about? It's our fault." Sun Simiao sighed, walked to the side of Wei Zheng's bed, then pressed his pulse and began to take his pulse.

"So what I mean is, can we train a group of female doctors, or give those local midwives some medical knowledge, encourage them to compile some of their experiences and methods during childbirth into a book, and then spread it all over the world. In this way, even if 30,000 to 50,000 more babies survive every year, it will be a great thing for the Tang Dynasty." Li Chengqian said, bowing solemnly.

Sun Simiao paused for a moment, looking at Wei Zheng in surprise. He then raised his gaze to the curtain and nodded, saying, "If Your Majesty supports it, I'm willing to give it a try."

"Thank you, sir. I will write a memorial on this matter when I get back." Li Chengqian nodded seriously.

"Yeah!" Sun Simiao nodded, then closed his eyes and began to concentrate on taking Wei Zheng's pulse.

Li Chengqian also shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Wei Zheng only has one year left to live. If Sun Simiao can take care of him properly, it will be most beneficial to Li Chengqian. This is why he came here in person today.

……

After a moment, Sun Simiao shook his head solemnly and said, "The disease is between the liver and kidneys. Huoqi Decoction can delay it, but it can only delay it..."

Li Chengqian was standing on the side and suddenly shuddered.

"I'm already sixty-two years old, so it's normal for me to have some illness." Wei Zheng waved his hand, then said, "If I can live another three to five years to see the prince become... cough cough... cough cough cough!"

At the end of his words, Wei Zheng suddenly started coughing uncontrollably.

Li Chengqian hurried forward, helped Wei Zheng up, and patted his back a little harder, and Wei Zheng's cough subsided.

However, as soon as the coughing stopped, Wei Zheng's face turned terrifyingly pale.

(End of this chapter)