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

Chapter 163 Talking Ma Zhou (Part )

At the Chongde Gate of the Eastern Palace, Ma Zhou took back his badge and then followed Feng Yandao, the prince's messenger, towards the Chongde Hall.

The sound of "bang bang bang" came from the direction of Prince Chongwen Hall.
Ma Zhou knew that it was the place where the Eastern Palace compiled the "Kaogong Zhi" and that the Eastern Palace had made some achievements in this regard in recent years.

All the officials in the Eastern Palace seemed to have become accustomed to this sound, and their movements were orderly.

When Feng Yandao arrived outside Chongde Hall and was about to go in to report, Ma Zhou suddenly grabbed him and shook his head calmly.

Feng Yandao glanced at Ma Zhou and took a step back with a serious expression.

……

Inside Chongde Hall, Li Chengqian sat on the main couch and looked at the ministers of the Eastern Palace. He said, "The New Year has passed, and everything should be put back on track quickly. You ministers have been a bit lazy recently."

"It is our fault." All the ministers bowed in unison.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I won't talk about that anymore. Three things. First, the Eastern Palace Secretariat hearings must continue. The servants and generals must take turns going to the Secretariat. If anything happens, they must immediately inform the Eastern Palace. Xiao Qing will prepare a monthly schedule."

"Yes." Xiao Jun bowed seriously.

"Secondly, the editing of the 'Kaogong Zhi' must be expedited, as must the preparations for the editing of the 'Southern History' and the 'Northern History'." Li Chengqian looked at Yang Wulian and Li Yanshou, who immediately bowed and said, "I obey your orders."

Li Chengqian nodded, looked at Zhang Xuansu and said, "Mr. Zhang, you will be in charge of this matter."

"Yes!" Zhang Xuansu accepted the order solemnly.

"Third, Yang Qing should focus on improving the plow. Then notify the Sinong Temple to prepare a medium-sized piece of arable land for trial planting. Also, have the Sinong Temple Minister provide me with a count of all the plant seeds currently in the Sinong Temple." Li Chengqian looked at Linghu Defen and said, "Xi Ma, you will be in charge of communication."

"Yes!" Linghu Defen immediately bowed.

Li Chengqian looked up at Li Anyan and said, "If you have any problems that are difficult to solve, please go directly to the Household Master. If the Household Master cannot solve it, please go to me."

"Here!" Everyone raised their hands in unison.

"Okay, that's it. Has the Secretariat sent any memorials today?" Li Chengqian subconsciously looked outside the door.

"Your Highness!" Feng Yandao immediately walked in, stood at the door and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "The Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Ma Zhou, requests an audience outside the palace."

"Oh, why did they come in person?" Li Chengqian said in surprise. He glanced at Li Anyan and nodded, "Please come in!"

Feng Yandao immediately turned around and looked outside the hall, making a gesture of invitation.

Ma Zhou, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, dressed in a light crimson official robe and a black jade hat, walked into the hall with a solemn expression.

Standing in the hall, Ma Zhou bowed earnestly and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is here to see Ma Zhou, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat."

"Ma Qing, please stand up!" Li Chengqian looked at Ma Zhou in surprise and asked, "Why did you come to the Eastern Palace in person today? Is there anything going on with the Secretariat?"

"Yes!" Ma Zhou bowed and said, "I have come to see Your Highness by order of the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Please dismiss your attendants. I have an important matter to report."

Li Chengqian frowned, then looked around and said, "Mr. Zhang, stay. Everyone else, please leave."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed in unison. Although they didn't know what had happened to the Minister of the Central Secretariat Yang Shidao, they were not worried as Zhang Xuansu was there.

……

Li Chengqian sat on the main couch, looked at Ma Zhou, and asked, "Ma Qing, if you have anything to say, please tell me. I will not hide anything from Mr. Zhang."

"Yes!" Ma Zhou bowed gently. In his opinion, it was a good thing that Li Chengqian respected Zhang Xuansu so much.

"Your Highness!" Ma Zhou bowed slightly, then said seriously, "Your Highness, I have come to the Eastern Palace today on the orders of Duke Zhao, Duke Liang, Duke Shen, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Prime Minister Liu, and Cen Wenben. I ask Your Highness to personally present the Eastern Palace's Record of the Crown Prince's Words and Deeds to Your Majesty."

"Hmm?" Li Chengqian frowned instantly and looked at Ma Zhou and asked, "Why is that?"

When the emperor wanted to retrieve his Records of the Crown Prince's Words and Deeds, Li Chengqian had nothing to hide, because the Records of the Crown Prince's Words and Deeds had always recorded his words and deeds when handling government affairs in the front hall. He had always paid attention to them, and there was nothing wrong with them.

But this action was unusual.

You know, the five people Ma Zhou just mentioned are all the prime ministers in the Political Affairs Hall today.

Their desire for these things was equivalent to an investigation into the Eastern Palace and all of Li Chengqian's words and deeds.

It was one thing that Li Chengqian had nothing to hide, but he was also afraid of being deliberately framed by others.

Ma Zhou fell silent, pondering for a moment. He then asked cautiously, "May I ask, Your Highness, have you ever read the records of the Crown Prince's words and deeds in the Eastern Palace?"

"That's not the case." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "The Prince's Words and Deeds Record was recorded by Xiao Qing, who arranged for the various servants, including the Literary Master, the Chief Clerk, the Proofreader, and the Proofreader, to take turns recording. I trust Xiao Qing, so there's no need for me to look at it."

Ma Zhou raised his eyebrows. The prince's words were somewhat beyond his expectations.

After a brief silence, Ma Zhou said, "This matter is due to your Majesty's oral order to retrieve the records of the Crown Prince's words and deeds from the Eastern Palace, as well as the text about the Crown Prince's words and deeds in the daily notes."

Li Chengqian paused slightly, frowned, and asked, "When was the emperor transferred? Why did you ask me to go and see him off personally... No, what did you say? The daily records?"

Ma Zhou bowed deeply and said, "Yes!" Li Chengqian was speechless. He thought that he had done something wrong that made the emperor suspicious. Who knew that his affairs were just a cover, and the emperor's real purpose was to check the daily records.

No, to be more precise, it is national history.

The national history records the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Wude period, and the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Li Chengqian looked at the Prince's literary records in the inner hall and suppressed the words in his heart.
This was not the first time the emperor had asked to review the national history. He would do so every three or two years, and usually in the first six months of the year.

Why? Because the Xuanwu Gate Ceremony was held on the fourth day of June that year.

It was on that day that the emperor killed his elder brother and younger brother.

The first time the emperor asked to see the daily records was on May 24, the ninth year of Zhenguan.

The reason why Li Chengqian remembered that day so clearly was because his grandfather, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, died in Chuigong Hall on May 14th.

The next time was in the 14th year of Zhenguan.

That year was the 50th anniversary of Li Jiancheng's death.

Li Chengqian suddenly looked up, and he suddenly realized that this year was the 40th anniversary of Li Yuanji's death.

No wonder his father suddenly asked to see the daily records.

The two previous times he tried to check the daily records, he was stopped by court officials. This time, his father took a detour and used him as an excuse to ask to check the daily records.

As long as a loophole is opened, the emperor will be able to smoothly check the entire daily records and the national history compiled over the years.

The national history records everything about him founding the Tang Dynasty, the Wude period, and the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

……

Li Chengqian's brows suddenly furrowed. He looked at Ma Zhou and asked, "What did you just say? Asking me to personally deliver the record of the Crown Prince's words and deeds to our father?"

Ma Zhou felt a little embarrassed, but he still reluctantly bowed and said, "Yes!"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel angry. His father wanted to check the national history. Li Chengqian held the record of his prince's words and deeds in front of the emperor. What happened? In the future, he would also follow his father's example and check the national history or something?

Then he asked his father to set an example for him and stop looking at the daily records.

It turns out that he was the evil one and the one who offended the emperor.

"Did you just say that this was the common opinion of all the ministers in the Council of State?" Li Chengqian looked at Ma Zhou with gritted teeth.

"Yes!" Ma Zhou bowed calmly, then said seriously, "Your Highness, you understand the seriousness of this matter. The daily records can be shown to Your Majesty, but what Your Majesty sees will also be recorded in the history books. If that happens, how can future generations believe that the history books compiled during the Zhenguan period are true?"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, and his expression immediately became serious.

"I just heard that the Eastern Palace is also compiling the Southern History and Northern History. If they continue to distort history, how can we convince future generations that the history books compiled by us are true?" Ma Zhou bowed and said sincerely, "How can we convince future generations that the Six Dynasties History compiled by Prime Minister Wei, Prime Minister Fang, and Duke Zhao a few years ago was written with impartiality and from a completely objective perspective, especially the History of Sui?"

Li Chengqian immediately looked up. Ma Zhou's words from "Book of Sui" completely convinced him.

The Tang Dynasty succeeded the Sui Dynasty. The final conclusion of the Sui Dynasty in "Book of Sui" was extremely important to the Tang Dynasty.

The legitimacy of the Tang Dynasty's founding cannot be questioned.

If future generations have doubts about the "Book of Sui", they will also have doubts about the Tang Dynasty's conquest of the country.

Li Chengqian turned around, looked at Zhang Xuansu, and said, "Mr. Zhang, please ask Mr. Zhang to go find Xiao Qing and ask him to prepare a record of the Crown Prince's words and deeds. I will personally deliver it to my father later."

"Yes!" Zhang Xuansu looked at Li Chengqian with some concern.

This matter may be beneficial to the country, but if it is not handled properly, Li Chengqian may very likely directly anger the emperor.

……

On the palace road, Li Chengqian sat on the imperial sedan chair and headed towards Chengtian Gate.

"Minister Ma, you could have just told our father about this matter directly. Why did you make me come all the way here?" Li Chengqian looked at Ma Zhou curiously.

Ma Zhou's words of persuasion were enough to convince the emperor, so why bother coming to him?

"Some things may be more effective if your Highness tells them, but I am afraid that even if we tell them, it will only make Your Majesty stop for a while. In the long run, there will definitely be another wave of trouble." Ma Zhou bowed with some concern.

"But if I do this, I will most likely directly anger my father, so..." Li Chengqian looked forward and said, "You should go with me to see my father. If I really do accidentally anger him, I hope you can find some way to smooth things over."

"That's what I really want, but I dare not ask you." Ma Zhou bowed seriously.

"Ok!"

(End of this chapter)