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

Chapter 162: Your Majesty Wants to View the National History, What to Do (First Update)
On the viewing platform, Li Shimin was talking to Zhangsun Wuji sideways, with a smile on his face from time to time.

Hearing the voice from afar, Li Shimin subconsciously looked up, and then saw Li Chengqian and Zhao Yuankai, the Minister of Agriculture, talking about something seriously, and coming together in the direction of the Guangeng Terrace.

His gaze fell on Hou Junji behind him. Seeing Hou Junji's solemn and confused expression, the emperor's face inexplicably turned cold.

"Your Majesty!" Zhangsun Wuji wanted to say something, but Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Don't say anything. I gave him the opportunity. If he can't seize it, it's his problem."

After saying this, Li Shimin looked up and said, "If he is unwilling to bow his head before the Crown Prince, then who else can do it?"

Changsun Wuji sighed, turned around and looked at Li Chengqian and Hou Junji who were walking towards him in the distance.

The emperor did not hide many things from him, such as the conversation between Li Chengqian and Wei Zheng.

Today, the prince will persuade Hou Junji and talk to him more about the farming season so that he can calm down and do something.

But now it seems that the prince's persuasion did not work.

Hou Junji is still the same Hou Junji. He doesn't want to change, he won't change, and he has no intention of changing.

What a fool!

……

Arriving at the foot of the plowing platform, Li Chengqian, Zhao Yuankai, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yang Shidao, Prince Teng, Prince Zhao, Hou Junji, Tang Jian, Li Daozon and other ministers all bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the plowing is complete. Please give your instructions."

"Agriculture is the foundation of the world. No matter where you are, you must pay close attention to it." The emperor warned solemnly.

"We respectfully accept His Majesty's instructions." All the ministers bowed their heads.

Li Shimin smiled calmly and waved his hand, saying, "Okay, everything is done. Relax a little."

"Yes!" The ministers then stood up.

The emperor turned to look at Li Chengqian and Zhao Yuankai, and said with a smile, "Prince, I saw you talking to the Minister of Agriculture just now. Can you tell me what you were talking about?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed, stepped forward, and said, "Your Majesty, I was plowing the fields myself today and suddenly found that the plow was somewhat inconvenient. So I was thinking about whether I could improve it to make it go faster. This would benefit all the farmland in the world."

"Oh!" The emperor leaned forward slightly and asked seriously, "Is it feasible?"

"It's feasible, but in this case, the oxen will have to bear greater force." Li Chengqian carefully found an excuse. He didn't want to give others too much hope. In this way, when the results exceeded their imagination, they would be even more surprised.

"Let's talk about the cows later. Let's make the plow first." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Mr. Zhao, the Sino-Agricultural Ministry will fully cooperate with this matter."

"Yes!" Zhao Yuankai immediately bowed, and as he lowered his head, he looked a little confused. It was just an improvement on the plow. The Eastern Palace could do it by itself. Why did it need the full cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture?
"Let's put it this way. From now on, the Crown Prince will have his ideas on farming, and the Sino-Agricultural Temple will assist him. All government affairs will be submitted to the Secretariat at the same time as a copy is submitted to the Eastern Palace. Similarly, everything the Eastern Palace and the Sino-Agricultural Temple do will also be submitted to the Secretariat." The emperor set the tone directly.

Zhao Yuankai was stunned. What the emperor meant by these words seemed to mean that the Sinong Temple would be under the control of the crown prince in the future?
The emperor's words were euphemistic, but that was exactly what he meant.

"Your son obeys the order." Li Chengqian bowed on the side.

"I obey your order!" Zhao Yuankai immediately followed suit and bowed.

The ministers subconsciously looked at Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling. Both of them bowed their heads and no one spoke.

The ministers immediately understood that the emperor had already made the decision on this matter, and Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling all knew about it.

But after thinking about it, the ministers felt relieved.

Although Sinong Temple is one of the nine temples, to be honest, it is the last of the nine temples and has no real power at all.

It is not even as good as the Honglu Temple, let alone the privileged temples such as the Taifu Temple, Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Zongzheng Temple, Dali Temple, Weiwei Temple, and Taifu Temple.

Sinong Temple is the kind of institution that does thankless work.

Thinking of this, all the ministers bowed their heads.

"Okay, that's it, let's go back to the palace." The emperor walked down from the Guangeng Terrace with a satisfied look on his face, and the ministers immediately lined up on both sides.

Li Chengqian followed closely behind the emperor, and the others followed behind Li Chengqian.

Chai Lingwu stood a little further back. Although he was the commander of the imperial son-in-law, the court officials in front of him were either the prince's father-in-law or his sons were married to princesses. Chai Lingwu had no way to move forward.

For example, the Minister of Revenue Tang Jian, his fifth son Tang Shanshi, married Princess Yuzhang, and his fourth son Tang Heshang married the second daughter of Yan Lide, who was the legitimate brother-in-law of Prince Wei.

The others all had similar backgrounds.

Even without these backgrounds, they and his father Chai Shao were comrades-in-arms who fought side by side, not to mention that their official positions were all higher than Chai Lingwu.

However, Chai Lingwu was not in the mood to think about these things now. What he really cared about was the prince's involvement in the Sinong Temple.

Although the emperor did not say directly that he wanted the prince to take over the Sinong Temple directly, this was his intention.

The Sino-Agricultural Ministry must fully cooperate with the Eastern Palace in its actions, and the Sino-Agricultural Ministry must report to the Crown Prince in its actions.

This is equivalent to the prince taking over the Sinong Temple.

Although Sinong Temple has the lowest status among the nine temples, it is still one of the nine temples.

I really don't understand why the emperor gave the prince such great power.

Sinong Temple, Sinong Temple.

On the way back to the palace, Chai Lingwu kept thinking about this question.

If the emperor gives, then the prince will want it first.

So what does the prince want the Sino-Agricultural Temple to do, and what can the Sino-Agricultural Temple give the prince?

Chai Lingwu did not figure out this problem until he returned to the palace, watched the emperor enter the palace, and returned to the Prince of Wei's Mansion.

Chai Lingwu sat in his duty room, tapping the table lightly. He couldn't understand what was going on in the Sinong Temple that could have caught the prince's attention.

As for improving the plow, Chai Lingwu didn't believe it.

"Is it the manpower of Sinong Temple?" Chai Lingwu couldn't help but frowned. Sinong Temple had the most manpower among the nine temples, but they were all farmers. Could it be that the prince was counting on these farmers who couldn't even enter Chang'an City to help him consolidate his position as prince?
"Prince consort!" The voice of his subordinates sounded outside the door: "There is a secret letter."

Chai Lingwu stood up, opened the door, took the secret letter, then returned to the room and opened it.

Outside the Sinong Altar, the Crown Prince and Hou Junji had a secret conversation.

Chai Lingwu instantly put the matter of Li Chengqian and the Sinong Temple behind his mind.

What did the Crown Prince and Hou Junji secretly spy on? Does Your Majesty know about this?
Chai Lingwu took a deep breath, stood up, and opened the door. He was going to find Hou Zhiyi.

We must deal with Hou Junji’s matter as soon as possible.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, the light of dusk shines into the hall, and under the golden light, the entire hall appears to be getting darker.

Li Shimin put down the memorial in his hand and looked at the golden light spreading on the ground. Suddenly, the emperor turned sideways and looked to the right side of the hall: "Mr. Chu, what do you think of the improvement of the plow that the crown prince proposed today?"

"The Crown Prince is wise." Counselor Chu Suiliang immediately stood up and bowed earnestly, saying, "If the plowing project can be carried out, the national grain harvest will surely increase. Even if it increases by even a fraction, who knows how many people will be saved. This is a great act, and the Crown Prince is truly wise."

"If I remember correctly, before Yang Guang ascended the throne, he was also frugal, humble and polite, and made many great contributions. He was known as a wise king at that time." Li Shimin's face turned inexplicably cold.

Chu Suiliang was immediately frightened by Li Shimin's words and knelt down directly. "Your Majesty, why do you say that? The Crown Prince is kind-hearted, filial and respectful, and cares for the people and sympathizes with their efforts. How could he become like Yang Guang... Of course, if the Crown Prince has done anything wrong, Your Majesty, please point it out and summon important officials to deal with it appropriately."

The emperor's gaze fell on Chu Suiliang, and he asked calmly, "Do you still know the daily records? Can you record all the events related to the crown prince?"

Chu Suiliang has been the recorder since the tenth year of Zhenguan, specializing in recording the emperor's every word and action for more than six years.

His official position also rose several levels from the Recorder to the Chief Censor, and now to the Grand Counselor.

However, even though he is now a Counselor, he is still the Inspector of the Records, and he is still the one who records the emperor's every word and action.

Hearing the emperor's question, Chu Suiliang felt a strange sense of tension in his heart. He then bowed and said, "Of course. Your Highness, everything we say and do will be recorded truthfully."

Although the recorder only recorded the emperor's words and deeds, the emperor's words and deeds often involved important officials in the court, not to mention the crown prince.

Not to mention that there were left historians and right historians in the court.

The left historian records words, and the right historian records actions.

The words and deeds of the ministers in the court were all recorded.

Of course, the prince is just the prince. Although he is the crown prince, many things he does involve the emperor and naturally have to be recorded.

"In addition, there are also the Crown Prince's Chamberlains who record everything the Crown Prince says and does in the Eastern Palace." Chu Suiliang bowed carefully.

The Prince's Secretary was in charge of the Eastern Palace's records, orders, memorials, and other matters.

"Very good. I order you to copy out all the records of the prince's words and deeds from the Eastern Palace and my daily notes, and send them to me together." Li Shimin stared at Chu Suiliang closely.

Chu Suiliang's heart sank completely, but he still bowed seriously and said, "I accept your order."

……

Menxia Province, Zhengshitang.

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, and Cen Wenben hurried to the Ministry of Personnel one after another, and in the Political Affairs Hall, Zhangsun Wuji, Liu Li, and Chu Suiliang were already present.

There are five prime ministers in the current government hall: Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Cen Wenben and Liu Li.

Under normal circumstances, Chu Suiliang would not be qualified to enter the Council of State, but today's circumstances were special.

After hearing what Chu Suiliang said, Fang Xuanling slapped his forehead and said helplessly: "It starts again!"

"Whether it's started again or not, I must give His Majesty an answer on this matter." Changsun Wuji sat in the central seat, looked at Chu Suiliang, and said, "Dengshan, tell me, what are you going to do about this matter?"

"Prime Minister," Chu Suiliang stood up and bowed to the ministers, saying, "Your Majesty may have said that he wanted to see the records of the Crown Prince's words and deeds in the Eastern Palace, as well as the records about the Crown Prince in the daily records, but in reality, what Your Majesty wants to see is the national history."

Or to be more precise, it is the record in the national history about the Tang Dynasty's regent, Wude, Xuanwu Gate, and Zhenguan to the present day.

Today, using the prince as an excuse, I can interfere with the daily records. Tomorrow, I can directly view the entire daily records, and the day after tomorrow, I can directly view the national history.

"No, the national history must not be shown to His Majesty." Zhang Sun Wuji shook his head firmly, then he stared at Fang Xuanling closely: "Prime Minister Fang, what do you say?"

Fang Xuanling was a famous fence-sitter and a coward. Once the emperor said something harsh, Fang Xuanling would immediately fall in love with him.

"Of course not." Fang Xuanling met Zhangsun Wuji's gaze, smiled bitterly, and shook his head. "Duke Zhao, have you forgotten? In the tenth year of the Zhenguan reign, when His Majesty requested to see the daily records, it was this humble official and the Imperial Counselor Zhu Zishe who prevented him from doing so."

"Prime Minister Liu." Changsun Wuji looked at Liu Li.

"In the 14th year of Zhenguan, it was me and Doctor Chu who stopped it together." Liu Li, the Yellow Gate Minister, turned his head and looked at Chu Suiliang.

Chu Suiliang nodded slightly.

"This is the third time Your Majesty has asked to read the national history," Gao Shilian concluded, looking at Yang Shidao and asking, "What does Jingyou say?"

"Mr. Gao has always known that Jingyou never talks much." Yang Shidao nodded slightly.

"Very good, it's the same this time, so, Dengshan, tell me, what can you do?" Changsun Wuji looked at Chu Suiliang again.

"Since Your Majesty wishes to excerpt the portion of the account concerning the Crown Prince, then excerpt this separately, leaving only the Crown Prince's words and deeds. Do not include any other supporting information." After a brief pause, Chu Suiliang said, "As for the Crown Prince's side, it's not a big deal. Have the Crown Prince's Chamberlain, Xiao Jun, present it."

"No!" Fang Xuanling suddenly spoke up, shaking his head. "If that's the case, it will only be a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution. Your Majesty will continue to find ways to make further demands."

"What should we do then?" Changsun Wuji couldn't help but ask.

"Prince, since His Majesty has implicated you, then we will use you to convince His Majesty." Fang Xuanling looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said seriously, "Your Majesty should be made aware that since His Majesty is reviewing the national history today, the Crown Prince will also review it tomorrow after he ascends the throne."

What to do after checking the national history? Of course, if you are dissatisfied, you will revise the national history.

If the emperor wants to revise the national history today, then the prince will also want to revise the national history tomorrow.

What the emperor wants to revise are the events of Wude and Xuanwu Gate. So what will the prince want to revise after he ascends the throne?

"It's a good idea, but the prince won't accept it." Liu Li shook his head.

"Find someone to persuade the prince to personally present the record of his words and deeds to Your Majesty." A sneer flashed in Fang Xuanling's eyes.

"Who's going?" Changsun Wuji asked directly.

"Let Ma Zhou go." Fang Xuanling's expression calmed down.

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)