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

Chapter 258 Xiao Yu: What is the Crown Prince planning? (Part )
The sound of carriages and horses neighs.

The Wei River is clear and quiet.

Li Chengqian sat in the carriage, opened the curtain, looked at the Chang'an City that had appeared in the distance, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Lowering his head to look at Wang Youlan who had been lying on his chest, Li Chengqian suddenly felt a wetness on his chest and whispered, "My beloved, what's wrong?"

Wrapped in a white cloak, Wang Youlan raised her head and looked at Li Chengqian, tears in the corners of her eyes, and whispered, "Your Highness, after returning to Chang'an, I will no longer be able to see you every day."

"So this is what makes you unhappy." Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh.

"Your Highness!" Wang Youlan couldn't help but pout.

During the past half month in Luoyang, Wang Youlan accompanied Li Chengqian to rest almost every day, so she was used to it.

But this shouldn't be a habit.

Li Chengqian patted Wang Youlan's shoulder and said softly, "I have a lot of things to do every day. The reason I can accompany my beloved concubine every day in Luoyang is because there is not much to do in Luoyang. But it's different when I return to Chang'an. Chang'an is the imperial capital, and my father is away. I have to supervise the country, getting up early and going to bed late every day. I can see my beloved concubine every three or four days, which makes me feel relaxed at court."

Wang Youlan lowered her head with a sad look.

"But..." Li Chengqian had just said two words when Wang Youlan couldn't help but look up.

"Although I am the regent in Wude Hall, my two imperial sisters, Chengyang and Xincheng, can enter and leave the imperial palace and the Eastern Palace freely. My beloved concubine can spend more time with them. And Concubine Zhang and Concubine Su, you are about the same age. You can play more on weekdays, so I can visit more often. After all, it is my father's will that I look after the imperial sisters." Li Chengqian's eyes flashed.

"Okay!" Wang Youlan nodded blankly.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh, then reached out and pinched Wang Youlan's cheek, but shook his head in his heart: No wonder you can't beat Wu Meiniang.

However, Wang Youlan was born in Taiyuan after all.

Li Chengqian didn't know whether Wang Youlan could attract Wu Meiniang's attention. She always had ways to know what was happening outside the palace.

While Li Chengqian was thinking, he had already arrived at Chunming's door.

He returned to Chang'an.

……

In the Wude Hall, Li Chengqian sat on the main couch.

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yang Shidao, Xiao Yu, Yu Zhining, Liu Dewei, Cui Renshi, Cui Dunli, Wen Wuyin and others stood on the left side of the hall.

Yuchi Jingde, Zheng Rentai, Li Anyan, Du He, Zuo Kuangzheng, Li Mengchang, Li Xuansi, Zhang Xuan, Liu Renshi and others stood on the right side of the hall.

Most of the civil and military officials in Chang'an are located here.

Li Chengqian looked at everyone and said, "Now that the snow has fallen, the people are resting, and the various departments that need to rest are also resting. Only the Ministry of Justice cannot rest at this time."

The Minister of Justice, Liu Dewei, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness!"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Now that the court is engaged in war, the local areas are bound to be in turmoil. The Ministry of Justice must take charge of the local areas, clean up the lawsuits, and punish those who should be punished and exiled. Especially those who need to be sent to the front line of the army, we must speed up the process, as the front line of the army is very short of people."

"Yes!" Liu Dewei bowed seriously. He understood the subtext of Li Chengqian's words and that he should take things more seriously.

When the emperor is away, punishments are severe.

"And the Ministry of War." Li Chengqian looked at Cui Dunli.

Cui Dunli immediately stood up and said, "Your Highness!"

"In addition to dispatching personnel and weapons, I hope you will pay close attention to the Turks, Xueyantuo, Tuyuhun, and Tubo." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said with a cold expression, "Send a message to all prefectures. If any foreign tribes provoke me, strike back fiercely."

"Yes!" Cui Dunli immediately bowed.

"It's better to strike the first blow than to provoke a hundred." Li Chengqian sighed, then looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "Prime Minister Fang, that's all I have to say. The rest, regarding the Ministry of Revenue's grain and fodder transportation, the Ministry of Works' military equipment, and the governance of the country, I leave it to Prime Minister Fang."

"I obey your order." Fang Xuanling bowed immediately and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had just casually asked if the prince had any other instructions, and Li Chengqian immediately threw out a lot of words. What's more, these words were all very reasonable and Fang Xuanling could not refute them.

"Your Highness must not sit idle." Gao Shilian stood up and bowed, smiling and saying, "Your Highness still needs to learn how to govern the country."

"Uncle is right!" Li Chengqian bowed slightly to Gao Shilian, then pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know much about the things south of the Yangtze River."

Hearing Li Chengqian say this, the ministers couldn't help but look up, wondering what this meant.

"Southern Hunan, Jiangyou, Fujian and Guang, these places." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "With Prime Minister Fang and other ministers in charge of Chang'an, Guanzhong, Longyou, Jiannan, Hedong, Henan, Shannan, Huainan, and the Wuyue states will not be in chaos. The only area that the emperor can't take care of without his father is the vast area south of the Yangtze River."

Wu and Yue had a navigable canal, so it wasn't a big deal. But other places felt a bit out of reach. "So I want to understand the governance of prefectures and counties in places like Xiangnan, Jiangyou, and Fujian. I want to learn more about the county magistrates, the local noble families, and the common people. I want to find out more about them so that I can help the court find and fill in any gaps." Li Chengqian sighed softly. He had mentioned this to the emperor, but even the emperor could only send people to govern these places and could not do anything else.

Xiao Yu looked at Li Chengqian in surprise. He seemed to sense something in the situation and stood up, bowing, and said, "I wonder what Your Highness plans to do?"

"Let's take a look at the archives of each department." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "I'll take my time, one county at a time. A year will be enough for me to fully understand these places."

"Then Your Highness will have to work hard." Xiao Yu bowed. Although there were only about a hundred counties in these places and he could visit two in a day, in fact, those were just superficial tours. If he really wanted to conduct in-depth research, he might not be able to finish studying the affairs of a county in half a month.

"That's all right." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "There are so many officials in the Eastern Palace. I'll be in charge of the overall situation, and I'll report to you all. I'll also check the key points. I'll get up early and go to bed late every day. It's worth the hard work to understand the world."

Li Chengqian's words of getting up early and going to bed late are not just about getting up early and going to bed late. It is very rare for him to have three hours to sleep.

"Since Your Highness is willing, we will accompany you." Xiao Yu bowed directly.

Before Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and Yang Shidao could say anything, Xiao Yu had already agreed.

But after thinking about it, they all bowed and agreed.

……

The night was hazy, and Li Chengqian returned to the East Palace after a busy day.

In Yichun Palace, Li Chengqian sat on the main couch, and Su Shu gently tapped his shoulders.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and asked with his eyes closed, "Did anything happen to those kids back there today?"

"No, they are having a lot of fun." Su Shu smiled. She knew that what Li Chengqian was talking about was actually Wang Youlan, Zhang Xuan, Su Yi, Princess Jinyang, and Princess Xincheng. They were all about the same age and it was easy for them to get along with each other.

"That's good." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "In another month it will be the end of the year. My father is not in Chang'an, and the princes and princesses will not come to the capital this year. So when the time comes, I plan to call a few close royal family members in Chang'an to come, such as Gao Yang, Cheng Yang, Du He, Fang Yiai, Zhao Jie and others."

Su Shu nodded slightly.

"When the time comes, have Chengyang and Gaoyang go to Lizheng Palace. My beloved concubine will also go there to entertain the concubines in the palace with the noble concubine." Li Chengqian looked up at Su Shu and said, "Since your father is away, some matters in the harem are inconvenient. My beloved concubine will handle them. This is what your father has instructed."

"Yes!" Su Shu nodded. She was the emperor's daughter-in-law, and her status in the palace was second only to the queen.

That is, when the emperor was around, it was not convenient for her to enter the palace, but when the emperor was not around, there were some things that Concubine Wei was unable to handle, so she needed to deal with them.

Although the imperial concubine Wei Gui is the most respected in the harem now, the other concubines, such as the virtuous concubine and the virtuous concubine, are not completely convinced by her, not to mention the likes of Xu Hui and Wu Meiniang. If there is no one who can make the final decision at the critical moment, the harem will be in chaos.

"Your Majesty is in Jizhou now, and everything is being adjusted intensively. The troops will be dispatched in February of next year." Li Chengqian raised his head and said softly, "I hope everything goes well for Your Majesty."

"Yes!"

……

Pingkangfang, Hongyun Pavilion.

The night is hazy and light snow is falling.

Wu Yuanqing, dressed in a black robe, pushed open the small door and entered the room. He took off his cloak and looked at Yun Hongsi, who was already sitting at the table by the window, enjoying the snow with a warm glass of wine. He said, "It's rare to see you come to Chang'an, and to see me!"

"Now you and I are both down and out, and all we need is a drink together to comfort ourselves." Yun Hongsi lowered his head and poured a glass of wine for Wu Yuanqing.

"That's not true. Although I, the Shangyi Fengyu, have a leisurely job, I am still a fifth-rank official. You, the Jinzhou Changshi, are also a sixth-rank official, and you hold real power. How can you be in such a state?" Wu Yuanqing drank the whole glass of wine.

"It's been almost ten years since your father passed away, and my uncle was exiled to Lingnan. We were kicked out of those things, so how could we not be in dire straits?" Yun Hongsi said lightly.

Wu Yuanqing's face darkened. His family's support depended on his father, but...

"Just tell me what you want to say." Wu Yuanqing said, picking up the chopsticks.

"I heard that your family has established contact with the prince?" Yun Hongsi asked directly.

"You're talking about the court's recruitment for next year, right?" Wu Yuanqing shook his head and said, "It's just that someone in my family bumped into the prince at the Longmen Grottoes and bravely asked him about it. We haven't had any contact since then."

"I see." Yun Hongsi was not disappointed and asked, "I heard that Prince Jin and the Guo family are now in contact."

Wu Yuanqing finally understood why Yun Hongsi was looking for him. He slowly shook his head and said, "Our Wu family has not yet had any contact with Prince Jin."

"No rush, I'll wait." Yun Hongsi smiled and raised his glass.

(End of this chapter)