Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 236 You and I, ruler and subject, are walking on thin ice
The rider only slowed down when he was still more than a hundred paces away from Wen He.

Wen He looked closely and realized it was Zhang Wenxiao.

He wasn't wearing armor today, just a plain blue-green short jacket.

Given their hurried manner, could it be that something has happened to the Hundred Riders again?

Wen He frowned as she thought of this.

Zhang Wenxiao stopped his horse a dozen steps away, dismounted, and came forward to pay his respects.

"Wei Chen has met His Highness the Crown Prince."

"King of Han, King of Wei, King of Chu."

After bowing to the four children, he greeted Wen He with a beaming smile: "Greetings, young master."

Seeing his smile, Wen He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that nothing had happened to the Hundred Riders.

What brings you here today?

"His Majesty has decreed that a hundred cavalrymen should guard the area. Today, the hundred cavalrymen guarding the area are all under the command of the young master."

Zhang Wenxiao laughed.

Wen He then understood why Zhang Wenxiao had come looking for her.

He didn't know whether to say that Li Shimin trusted him or that he was afraid of him being idle.

Why not just leave the task of guarding the hundred cavalrymen to Xu Jingzong?

Or any military general will do.

He sighed inwardly and asked Zhang Wenxiao, "How many people came today?"

“His Majesty only allowed fifteen people to be dispatched, and they are all waiting for the young master outside the market,” Zhang Wenxiao replied.

"so little?"

Wen He thought that at least a hundred cavalrymen would have to be mobilized.

"His Majesty has no intention of disturbing the people, County Magistrate Wen. Don't dawdle any longer. I'm afraid His Majesty is about to leave the city. He only has three or five guards by his side."

Gao Yue was getting anxious. By the time he left the palace, Li Shimin had already set off.

At this point in time, I'm afraid everyone will have to leave Chang'an.

However, he was more worried about Li Shimin's safety.

If something goes wrong, it could cause a huge mess.

"Don't rush, Senior Official. You escort His Highness the Crown Prince and the others. Zhang Wenxiao and I will go ahead first."

After saying that, Wen He waved to Zhang Wenxiao.

The latter immediately understood what he meant and picked him up.

"Sir, I'd like to ride a horse too."

Upon seeing this, Li Chengqian was suddenly tempted.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Wen He turned around and glared at him: "Have you forgotten what I told you before? Just sit in the carriage and don't ride a horse."

Li Chengqian immediately lowered his head after being shouted at like that.

"Alright, brother, riding in a carriage is much more comfortable, why ride a horse?" Li Tai chuckled, patted his shoulder, and then turned and climbed into the carriage.

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him ride a horse."

After Zhang Wenxiao helped him onto the horse, Wen He gave him a word of advice, and then told him to speed up and leave.

Li Chengqian was depressed and could only get into the carriage.

Why aren't you coming up?

Li Tai suddenly pointed at Li Ke.

The latter pointed seriously to the carriage behind him.

“Since the master isn’t here, I’m worried that Xiaorou will be scared, so I’ll go and keep her company.”

"Heh heh, you'd better watch out, or Mr. [Name] will beat you up!"

Li Tai rolled his eyes at him, then looked at Li You and said, "Don't even think about it, or he and the master will beat you up together."

He pointed towards Li Ke's direction, and Li You, who originally wanted to go to the car behind, suddenly noticed the sharp look the former was giving him.

He immediately shrank back, no longer daring to covet it, and hurriedly got into the carriage where Li Tai was.

"Huh? Where's my brother?"

Wenrou was waiting for Wenhe in the carriage, but when she saw Li Ke getting on, she tilted her head and blinked in confusion.

"Sir rode ahead on horseback, let me accompany you."

"Hmm, okay, okay... Did you bring any good food?"

Wenrou was still a little sad, but suddenly she smelled a fragrance, like the sweet scent of pastries.

Li Ke nodded and took out a small box from his sleeve.

"Eat less."

"Hmm, you think I'm too fat too!" Wenrou pouted and glared at him resentfully.

No, you're not fat.

"Hehe, I like it when you tell the truth."

Wenrou happily took the pastries from his hands, but didn't notice Li Ke's face, which looked as ripe as an apple.

Meanwhile, Wen He, who was completely unaware of this, was meeting up with the Hundred Riders.

The Hundred Riders have not yet been expanded, so everyone who came today was an acquaintance of Wen He.

However, the appearance of three of these acquaintances caused Wen He to stare wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Why are the three of them here too?"

Wen He pointed to the three excited faces in the middle.

These three were none other than Dugu Chen, Wu Yuanshuang, and Wu Yuanqing.

"This was personally selected by His Majesty," Zhang Wenxiao said helplessly.

"What use are these three good-for-nothings? Are they just here to cause trouble?" Wen He shouted without any politeness.

The three of them, Dugu Chen and his companions, who were beaming with joy, suddenly looked dejected.

"Wen He!"

"Ok!"

Just as Dugu Chen was about to retort, he noticed that more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring intently at him.

Wu Yuanqing, who was standing next to him, quickly pulled him back and said, "These are all his men. Don't suffer a loss now."

"Young master, we were appointed by His Majesty!"

Although Dugu Chen was unwilling, he had no choice but to accept that the cavalry was led by Wen He.

People have to bow their heads under the eaves.

"It's quite remarkable that His Majesty personally appointed you. You'd better stay put for now. If you dare to act without my orders, you'll bear the consequences!"

Wen He glared at them and warned them.

"Yes."

Dugu Chen and the other two responded reluctantly.

They also wanted to show off their skills in front of the emperor.

If they could gain His Majesty's favor, they might be able to escape the misery of the Hundred Riders.

"Set off."

Ignoring the three men's defiant expressions, Wen He gave an order, and Zhang Wenxiao led the way, followed by a dozen or so riders.

When Wen He led his troops to catch up with Li Shimin, they had just left Chang'an.

He was going to pay his respects to Li Shimin, so he ordered his hundred cavalry to spread out to the left and right, and sent Zhang Wenxiao to scout ahead.

He dismounted and came to Li Shimin's side.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Wen He bowed.

Before he could even look up, a large hand suddenly grabbed his collar.

He suddenly exclaimed in surprise, only to see Li Shimin lift him onto his horse.

"His Majesty!"

The people around were taken aback.

If it were before, it wouldn't have mattered, but now Li Shimin is the emperor.

Only princes could enjoy such treatment.

Wen He, a mere county magistrate in the founding of the dynasty, had no right to ride a horse with the emperor. Wei Zheng, standing to the side, was about to speak again when Li Shimin preemptively said, "You brat, you didn't even come in a carriage. If you don't get on a horse, are you going to walk?"

Upon hearing this, everyone finally realized what was happening.

Wen He couldn't ride a horse, and they didn't have a carriage for this trip.

Even so, why did Your Majesty have to do this when you could have simply let Wen He ride on the same horse as the guards?

Wei Zheng opened his mouth, but still didn't say anything.

This is a trivial matter, and mentioning it would only spoil His Majesty's mood. Let's just pretend we didn't see it.

"Okay, let's go."

Li Shimin ignored the surprised expressions of those around him, waved his hand, and signaled the procession to continue.

They left in a leisurely manner, as if on a spring outing.

But the scene outside Chang'an City lacked the vibrant life of spring, only the desolation of autumn.

“There are quite a few more irrigation ditches and wells around here.”

Halfway there, Li Shimin suddenly mentioned it.

Upon hearing this, Yan Lide, who was following behind him, knew that this was his chance to shine, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the water conservancy projects near Chang'an have also been contracted out. The section of canal you see now was built by merchants, and the Ministry of Works only spent less than five thousand strings of cash."

He was trying to take credit for this.

But he certainly has the qualifications.

"Only five thousand strings of cash?" Li Shimin looked at the long, narrow canal connecting to the Wei River and couldn't help but be surprised.

"I remember that in previous years, repairing such a canal would have cost at least eight or even nine thousand strings of cash. Why is it so little this time?"

He was worried that the merchants would cut corners and deceive the imperial court.

Although he had previously agreed to Wen He's contracting strategy, he still harbored some prejudice against those businessmen.

After all, he came from a clan, and even in the former Sui Dynasty, Li Shimin could be considered a member of the imperial family.

Although he had a long-term vision, his upbringing instilled in him a natural disdain for businessmen.

"Your Majesty, merchants are naturally profit-driven, so they will lower the price of materials they purchase, saving much more than the Ministry of Works. In addition, they all have labor at home, which can save a lot of costs."

Yan Liben's last sentence was very cryptic.

But Li Shimin still understood what he meant.

"Yan Qing, are you referring to the hidden households?"

"Whether they were unregistered households, farmers, or tenants, the merchants exempted them from a year's rent in exchange for wages."

In this way, the merchants would have almost no labor costs.

"Hmph, they're just sucking the people's blood!"

Li Shimin's eyes were cold.

"That's not entirely true," Wen He coughed lightly, trying to help Yan Lide out of the predicament.

“Those tenant farmers plant two crops a year, and after paying rent and taxes, they still struggle to make ends meet. But now that they don’t have to pay rent, they have more to eat and can at least be fed.”

This is also a helpless move.

With current productivity, it is almost impossible to feed everyone in the world.

In this era, even starting from scratch is futile.

Apart from that one in later generations, who else truly stands up for the people of the world?

The wheat has ripened thousands of times, but this is the first time we've seen it ripen – Long live the people!

"Ugh."

Li Shimin sighed, changed the subject, and asked.

"How is the repair of the irrigation canals in Guannei Road progressing?"

"We've completed eight or nine tenths of it; the rest can be finished by winter." Yan Lide secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

What he feared most was that the emperor would blame him for mistreating the people.

Finally, some good news arrived. Li Shimin nodded and then said to Changsun Wuji, "Fuji, keep all the tax grain collected this year in case of unforeseen circumstances."

"promise."

Changsun Wuji had already planned for this.

Apart from a portion being used as military rations, the rest will be temporarily withheld so that we can respond promptly should a famine occur next year.

"Alas, the Tang Dynasty is in dire need of reconstruction, and we, as emperor and minister, are walking on thin ice."

Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh, and those around him echoed his sentiments.

Even Wei Zheng rarely praised Li Shimin.

Wen He didn't say a word, but looked at the old man walking unsteadily on the path not far away, and the boy carrying a curved plow.

The boy looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, covered in mud, and it took him a lot of effort to drag the curved plow.

The old man seemed to have only one arm, and his left foot appeared to be injured, causing him to walk with a limp.

"These two looked as if they had just finished plowing the land."

Li Shimin followed Wen He's gaze and noticed the two of them.

"Yes, we need to plow the fields right after we harvest the wheat to loosen the soil and prevent pests."

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard and laughed.

He used this as his stage to showcase his talents.

This was to tell Li Shimin that he hadn't been appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for nothing.

Your Majesty, you see, I also know about farming.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and cast an appreciative glance at Changsun Wuji.

He then looked down at Wen He and asked, "Jia Ying, do you know?"

He assumed that Wen He was looking at the two men because she was wondering why they had brought the curved plow out at this time.

“I know, and I also know things that Vice Minister Changsun doesn’t know,” Wen He replied calmly.

Li Shimin let out a long "Oh," and asked with a smile, "Then what is it that Fu Ji doesn't know?"

Changsun Wuji didn't take it to heart, but on the surface he still put on a kind appearance and asked, "I am indeed not omniscient and omnipotent, but I don't know what I have missed. Please enlighten me, sir."

Wen He glanced at him and laughed, "I wouldn't presume to offer advice. Didn't Vice Minister Changsun notice that they don't have any oxen or horses?"

"They don't even have donkeys, so how do you think they plow the fields?"

Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin were taken aback. A sigh suddenly came from behind them.

"It depends on people, of course."

Wen He turned around and saw Wei Zheng shaking his head at the old man and the young man.

“Chang’an is prosperous, but if the people under the emperor’s nose are like this, what about the rest of the country?”

Li Shimin's good mood vanished instantly.

"The consumption of beef in Chang'an City has been repeatedly prohibited but continues unabated." Li Shimin said, glancing at Wen He as he spoke.

You little rascal, you're being treated with compassion, but you've eaten your share of beef too.

"Your Majesty, it has little to do with this. Even if they raise cattle, they still can't afford them. Their annual rations are barely enough to feed themselves, so where would they buy cattle?"

Even if the whole world stopped eating beef, these people still couldn't afford to use cattle.

A cow costs several tens of strings of cash; for a farming family like this, it would take several years of saving every penny to afford one.

Therefore, they still pray to God to bless them with freedom from illness and disaster.

"You bastard."

Li Shimin was somewhat annoyed. He glared at Wen He and then said to the people beside him, "This brat needs to relieve himself. You wait here, I will take him there."

"Leave the palace? Didn't we already leave... Hey, Your Majesty, slow down!"

Suddenly, Li Shimin spurred his horse forward.

Everyone around was stunned.

"What is Your Majesty doing?"

Xiao Yu and the others exclaimed in surprise and were about to order the guards to chase after them when Du Ruhui blocked their way.

"Since His Majesty does not allow us to wait together, let us wait here. He and Wenxianzi will surely return soon."

What do you mean by "going to the toilet"?

His Majesty is going to seek advice.

Li Shimin led Wen He and galloped for hundreds of steps before stopping at a water channel.

Wen He was still bewildered when Li Shimin glared at him and asked, "Tell me, how do you improve this situation of lacking oxen and horses?"

(End of this chapter)