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

Chapter 161: Hou Junji, I gave you a chance, but you are useless (Part )

Pingkangfang under the night sky.

Chai Lingwu sat by the window on the third floor, looking at the streets below where people were coming and going.

He held a wine glass in his hand and casually poured the wine into his throat.

His eyes were blurry, but when he glanced at several places downstairs, he couldn't help but pause for a few times.

"How is it, have you found the people from the Hundred Cavalry Division?" A familiar voice sounded again from the shadows opposite.

"It's just a resemblance, but not necessarily the case." Chai Lingwu didn't turn around, still looking out the window, and said calmly, "I don't care about the people from the Hundred Cavalry Division, but the problem is that His Majesty and the Prince of Wei's attitude is a little off. I originally thought that after this incident, I would be transferred out of the Prince of Wei's palace, but for some reason, it's been almost ten days and there has been no movement at all."

"Your Majesty's thoughts are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people." The figure in the shadows calmly shook his head and said, "But you still need to be cautious here. Aye has intercepted all messages reaching you, so you don't have to worry about other things implicating you."

"Thank the General for me." Chai Lingwu looked outside and couldn't help but sigh. "I originally thought I could see through everything, but I didn't expect that the Crown Prince couldn't see through it, the King of Wei couldn't see through it, Your Majesty..."

"Stop talking." The figure in the shadows waved his hand, interrupting Chai Lingwu and saying, "Aye asked me to tell you something. In the future, don't easily target the Crown Prince."

"Why? I serve the King of Wei, and it is my responsibility to target the Crown Prince." Chai Lingwu glanced at his companion opposite him in surprise, then looked outside.

"Aye said we must get to the root of everything." The figure opposite him said seriously, his eyes becoming serious. "The Crown Prince's root is Your Majesty. When Your Majesty has given up on changing the crown prince, you are targeting Your Majesty as well. If you go head-to-head with Your Majesty, you will not get any good results."

Chai Lingwu nodded slightly and sighed in his heart.

He had indeed misjudged the situation. He thought the emperor was still very suspicious of the prince, but he did not expect that the emperor actually trusted the prince so much.

"Also, the other families are very dissatisfied with you. They believe that it is your misdeeds that have caused His Majesty to intensify inspections throughout the Northeast, causing them considerable losses." The figure opposite shook his head and said, "You should be careful. Although Aye doesn't care about them, if they think you are an obstacle..."

"I understand." Chai Lingwu nodded and said, "I will be careful."

"Okay, I should go back." The figure opposite stood up, and a tall and burly figure was vaguely visible.

"Sorry for the trouble, Brother Zhang." Chai Lingwu just glanced at him and then continued to look out the window.

With a creak, the door of the compartment was closed, and Chai Lingwu poured another glass of wine into his throat.

He needs to rethink what to do next.

As for the King of Wei, he couldn't escape for the time being, but he still needed to continue with the previous plan.

As for the Crown Prince, we still need to target him, but we must be careful not to overdo it.

It would be best to find another opportunity to target the prince once more, and then escape from Prince Wei's Palace.

At the same time, King Wei also needs to find him a qualified assistant.

who?

Suddenly, a figure flashed through my mind.

Chai Lingwu smiled.

At this moment, there were three knocks on the door. Chai Lingwu turned around and the knocking had stopped.

Taking a deep breath, Chai Lingwu straightened his clothes a little, then picked up the wine jug and stood up with the wine glass.

Opening the door, Chai Lingwu walked into the corridor outside.

There was no one in the quiet corridor.

Soon, Chai Lingwu walked downstairs and the noise was heard immediately.

Chai Lingwu walked calmly to a noisy room, then opened the door and walked in.

In an instant, the originally bustling room suddenly became quiet.

A group of young men who were doing things with female prostitutes had angry looks on their faces, but the moment they saw Chai Lingwu, they suddenly sobered up.

A young man in fine clothes sitting in the innermost seat stood up and bowed to Chai Lingwu, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness. I didn't know you were here today. I am guilty. Please drink three cups as punishment."

"That's not necessary." Chai Lingwu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I'm about to leave. I heard that the young master was here, so I came to say hello. Come on, young master, I toast to you and everyone else."

"I dare not. Thank you very much, my Lord." The young men in the room immediately raised their glasses and drank it all together with Chai Lingwu.

Compared with the real top second generation like Chai Lingwu, these people can only be regarded as playboys.

So they were flattered by Chai Lingwu's toast.

Chai Lingwu nodded and said, "Everyone, please continue. Young Master, I'll have a few drinks with you later when I'm free."

"Thank you, Prince Consort." Hou Zhiyi nodded immediately.

"Goodbye." Chai Lingwu raised his glass, then turned and walked out of the room. By the way, he also closed the door.

After leaving the restaurant, Chai Lingwu rode his horse and headed out of Pingkangfang.

Above the night sky, the stars are shining, but there is no moon.

A cold wind blew, and Chai Lingwu pulled the reins, his expression gradually becoming colder.

What is the secret hidden in the Mansion of Duke Chen?

……

On February , the dragon looked up.

In the eastern suburbs of Chang'an, outside Chunming Gate.

The ministers stood in front of the "one acre and three points of land" on the south side of the Xiannongtan Temple, watching the emperor, the crown prince, and Zhao Yuankai, the Minister of Agriculture, plowing the fields.

Zhao Yuankai was leading the ox, the emperor was holding the plow, and the prince was supporting the plow beside him.

It is not difficult to plow one and a half acres of land.

This place itself is the softest land.

Chai Lingwu stood at the back of the court, watching the affectionate and filial scene between the Emperor and the Crown Prince with an expressionless face, yet a wave of sneers welled up in his heart. Hadn't the King of Wei initially challenged the Crown Prince just because the Emperor flirted with him? Now, he had turned against him.

snort!
You know, when they were young, the relationship between the prince and the King of Wei was also okay.

Chai Lingwu lowered his head slightly, his expression calmed down, his eyes fell on Li Chengqian's left leg,

He walked calmly and vigorously, without any signs of stumbling even in the fields.

There is no trace of any mechanism.

Quite a number of court officials even thought that the prince's leg had completely healed, and that Master Sun's treatment of the prince's leg was merely a minor acupuncture treatment.

Only a few people knew that the prince still had serious problems with his legs.

Yan Liben once said that the reason why the prince's actions were normal must be due to the support of the authorities.

Yan Lide had also confirmed this, but no one knew what kind of mechanism it was.

Many people believe that the mechanism was invented by Yang Wulian, a doctor and the chief minister of the imperial court. However, the Prince of Wei's palace clearly records that the prince already had this mechanism on his body before Yang Wulian entered Chang'an.

It's a pity that no one can detect it.

Similarly, many people are unable to find out the true situation of the prince.

Although Chai Lingwu's impeachment of the prince had failed, judging from some traces in the manor in the western suburbs of Chang'an, the prince's situation was still not objective.

But now he is being closely watched by the people from the Hundred Cavalry Division, and it is not easy for him to take action against the prince.

However, he could stare at the prince's legs every time he saw him.

There will definitely be gains.

……

After plowing one acre and three mu of land, the emperor went to change his clothes.

Li Chengqian led a group of officials from the Eastern Palace and headed towards the land belonging to the prince.

The registered fields of the officials were outside the Xiannong Temple and varied in size.

Li Chengqian stood in the field, holding the plow handle in his hand and pressing down hard. Li Anyan helped to press the plow beside him, and Dugu Dabao was leading the cow in front.

The soil is soft and three acres can be cultivated without much effort.

That’s right, as the crown prince, Li Chengqian needs to plow three acres of land himself today.

Of course, this is only for today. After today, these fields will be handed over to the people for rent and cultivation. Li Chengqian only needs to collect rent from the Ministry of Households every year and does not have to worry about the specific farming matters.

The so-called personal farming was nothing more than letting the prince, kings, and officials understand the hardships of farming for the common people.

Until the three acres of land were plowed, Li Chengqian's eyes were still on the straight-beam plow in his hand. In the memory of Li Qian, a later generation, the plow should be curved, not straight, and the straight-beam plow looked a bit ugly, and the plowing efficiency was not fast.

If you plow too quickly, not only will the plowing not be deep enough, but the soil turned up in front will also block the crossbar, so you have to be slow and patient.

Li Chengqian didn’t care about it before, but now, he has the idea of ​​reforming the plow.

Standing by the roadside, Li Chengqian straightened his clothes a bit, then looked to the side and said, "Go see where Sinong Qing is now, and ask him to come see me if he's free."

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed seriously, then turned around and left quickly.

After plowing the land, Li Chengqian headed towards the Xiannongtan Temple. As he walked, he saw Hou Junji not far away.

"Duke Chen!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly in greeting.

Hou Junji immediately turned around and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Prince."

"Are you done?" Li Chengqian asked with a smile.

"Yes, it's done." Hou Junji nodded.

"Let's take a walk together." Li Chengqian looked forward.

Hou Junji immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

Looking at the fields on both sides, Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh, "Sow a grain of millet in spring, and harvest ten thousand grains in autumn... The people's annual harvest all depends on spring farming.

Duke Chen, I have a question.

Of the farmland currently owned by the people of Yongzhou, that is, the land that is subject to rent and labor service, what percentage does it account for in the entire Yongzhou?"

"The overall proportion is 70%, but the closer to Chang'an City, the smaller the proportion of land owned by the people. Almost 50% of the land near Chang'an belongs to the people, and even 50% belongs to the nobles and officials." Hou Junji explained briefly.

"The people living near Chang'an pay 50% of the taxes on all the fields near Chang'an because they own 50% of the land, right?" Li Chengqian turned sideways and looked at Hou Junji.

"Yes!" Hou Junji nodded affirmatively.

"I've heard there's a rumor that the official lands of noble relatives and officials often secretly encroach on the common people's fields, and the officials of Chang'an and Wannian counties often cooperate." Li Chengqian turned and looked at the fields beside him. "For example," he said, "someone deliberately cut off a small piece and assigned it to the nobles. The common people who lost this small piece of land still count as the original number in the official measurements and registrations."

"Your Highness, what you mean is that the people's fields have been encroached upon, the harvest has decreased, but they still have to pay the original taxes?" Hou Junji looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, saying, "I am the Crown Prince now, so I can still investigate some things. Look at my father, it is no longer convenient for him to investigate these things."

"Your Highness, this is a difficult matter." Hou Junji stopped and bowed with a serious expression.

"It is very difficult, so it is necessary to achieve great merit." Li Chengqian's eyes grew deep as he looked at Hou Junji and said, "Duke Chen, the affairs of Chang'an are complicated, but achieving great merit is not easy. However, if we can find all the hidden farmland in Yongzhou Prefecture that has been hidden by the nobles and return it to the people, I believe my father will be very happy."

Hou Junji's eyes twitched slightly, and he immediately bowed and said, "I understand. I will do my best."

"That's great." Li Chengqian nodded with a smile, then strode forward with his back to Hou Junji, but his eyes turned cold.

Hou Junji, I gave you a chance, but you are useless.

(End of this chapter)