The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1088 True Growth

If this kid could stay in Chengqing Hall every day to deal with these memorials, then I could also free myself up and enjoy life.

After all, he is your own son, not an outsider.

Let him be the crown prince who works hard to govern the country, and I can be an emperor who enjoys pleasure and relaxes. I can hold the military power, financial power and personnel power, and control the major policies. And he can do some specific things as the crown prince. Isn't it the best of both worlds?

There is no need to worry about power falling into the wrong hands or criticism from officials.

He would be freed from the heavy chores and have time to tour the beautiful land, show off his skills with his men, and enjoy the countless beauties in the world. Li Xiang would also no longer worry about the instability of his position as the crown prince because he would personally review memorials and gradually get involved in actual government affairs.

It can be said that both parties will be satisfied.
Li Yan looked at his son with a sturdy face in front of him and sighed. Even if he started to train him now, looking at the silly boy in front of him, it would probably take at least 10 to 20 years for him to reach his ideal state.

After frowning and thinking for a while, Li Yan thought of a solution based on Li Xiang's personality and situation, so he said: "Xiang'er, I will give you a task today, I wonder if you can complete it?"

"Ah! Father, is it true?"

Li Xiang was overjoyed. It seemed that he had come to the right place. His father wanted to train him. He quickly stood up and accepted the order: "I will definitely live up to your trust."

"Very good. Is there a martial arts arena in front of the Chongren Hall in the East Palace? Is it still there?"

Li Xiang was stunned, thinking that his father wanted to go riding, and quickly said, "Father, my mother is afraid that I will fall, so she rarely lets me ride a horse for martial arts practice. That piece of land is still empty now, but it has become barren and covered with weeds, so I can't ride a horse anymore."

"Well, starting tomorrow, you will do it yourself and open up this piece of land."

Li Yan said in a serious tone: "If you were an ordinary noble family, you could live a life of luxury. But you are the crown prince, the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty, so I have to be strict with you."

"You should know that more than 90% of the people in our Tang Dynasty are ordinary farmers who make a living in the fields all their lives."

“If you want to shoulder the heavy responsibility of governing the country, you must know farming, you must understand farmers, and you must know the true nature of this world.”

Looking at the memorials beside him, Li Yan said, "You are too far away from these things now, and this is not something you can handle. You don't have to think about serving me in the future. Just do the things I give you."

"People plant seeds in the spring, but actually they start nourishing the land after the autumn harvest. This is the perfect farming season."

"You can go to the fields outside Chang'an and see how ordinary people farm. You can learn from them and ask them for advice. Then go back to the East Palace and reclaim the land. I estimate that you can reclaim ten acres of land."

"There are many wheat species in Guanzhong, so you should also plant wheat."

"When the autumn harvest comes next year, I hope to see the crops you have grown yourself. Remember to do it yourself, don't ask others to do it for you. Do what ordinary people do. If you want to shoulder the responsibility of the world, be a commoner first."

Li Yan's original plan for Li Xiang's training was to place him in a local area, in a town that was neither too big nor too small, to start as a grassroots official, to develop his abilities in all aspects, and to slowly work his way out from the people step by step.

Later, after he ascended the throne, he felt that this arrangement was somewhat impractical.

Not to mention that the ministers in the court would not agree to this proposal. As a prince, he would be too big a target, and it would be difficult to keep track of him even if he went to the local level. If he fell into the eyes of someone with ulterior motives, a mistake would be disastrous.

Neither Li Yan nor the court could accept it.

But an eagle that soars into the sky cannot fly out of a greenhouse, and without experiencing wind and rain, there can be no complete transformation. After much thought, it is better to find him something to do in the East Palace, where he can be safe and endure hardships.

Speaking of hardship, there is nothing more difficult than farming.

Li Xiang was stunned. He didn't expect that what his father had entrusted to him with such a serious task was such a simple one. He had no idea about farming. When he was a child, he went out of town with his grandfather to hunt and saw people busy in the fields.

However, he just rode his handsome horse and hurried by, and thought the neatly-lined wheat fields were beautiful. The breeze blew, raising the waves of wheat, the grass fragrance filled the nose, and the scenery was pleasant. Under the setting sun, it was quite poetic.

Those people who worked hard in the fields all smiled with relief when they saw this scene.

In Li Xiang's opinion, farming should be a wonderful thing, so he was a little excited at this time. Farming is the work of every household of ordinary people. If those people can do it well, then I, a descendant of the emperor, should not be bad either!
"Don't worry, father. It's just farming. I will definitely not let you down."

Li Xiang was full of confidence and determined to hand over a bumper wheat field to his father by this time next year.

Seeing his son's confident face, Li Yan also smiled.

Li Xiang, who was ignorant of the sufferings of the world, did not know what kind of difficult life he would face this year. But Li Yan knew that for Li Xiang, who had been born in the deep palace and raised by women, this was definitely an experience no less than purgatory. If he could hold on until the harvest next year, Li Xiang would get rid of his current frivolity and immaturity.

Become mature and steady, like a real man.

Practice is the best teacher, which is more effective than any of the old scholars in the East Palace. In this process, Li Xiang can find the true meaning of life, the attitude of being a down-to-earth person, and the energy from the land that cannot be learned from books.

In the future, he will naturally know how to be a prince, and he will also know how to survive in the core of power.

Li Yan has always felt that the coming-of-age ceremony for the children of aristocratic families should not be those cumbersome and ostentatious ceremonies, but a piece of land that they planted with their own hands. Through this difficult process, they can temper their will and perseverance, and wash away their vanity and naivety.

Lay a solid foundation for your future life.

In the next few days, everyone in the East Palace found that Crown Prince Li Xiang was like a different person. He would run to the fields outside the city with his guards all day, get together with the old farmers, and ask them questions.

Then he ran to the East Market in Chang'an, bought a hammer today, a sickle tomorrow, and later he drove two oxen and even bought several plows for tilling the fields, leaving the guards and eunuchs of the Eastern Palace confused.

One day a week later, Li Xiang set a fire and burned the barren land of the East Palace Parade Ground.

After that, Li Xiang started to open up the land with a hoe, and did not allow others to help.

The teachers who taught the prince in Chongwen Hall saw that he was not doing his job properly and reported it to Queen Haitang.

Haitang was busy replacing the palace in the palace and didn't take care of her son.

Upon learning that his son had visited Chengqing Palace, the father and son drank and talked happily, and they got along very harmoniously. The emperor even assigned his son an errand. He was so happy that he put all his energy into decorating the new palace.

Originally, she thought her son was busy with his errands and had no time to come to the palace. It was not until the officials from the Eastern Palace came to visit her that Haitang realized her son was so absurd. Is this what a crown prince should do?
Hou Junji was the grandson of Hou Zhi, the governor of Pingzhou in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was born into a family of officials and became the Duke of Tang, the General of the Left Guard, and the Grand Commandant, one of the Three Dukes. Haitang grew up in a honeypot, with maids accompanying her when she went out and brocade clothes when she came in.

She felt that farming was something done by the lowest common people. As a prince of a country, he should study government affairs instead of studying hard. How could he go to the fields to farm?

Haitang no longer cared about the new palace, and rushed into the East Palace with her maid Ling'er and a large group of eunuchs and guards.

When they arrived at the martial arts arena at the back, Haitang was stunned.

I saw that my son was wearing a short-collared jacket, leggings and shorts, a pair of cloth shoes, and a coarse linen shirt. He was holding a hoe that was almost as tall as himself, and was digging the ground with sweat all over his body, grunting as he dug the ground with the hoe.

Haitang could hardly believe that the figure who was clearing the land was her own son.

But looking at the guards standing around and the many officials of the Eastern Palace standing guard nearby, she had to believe it. So, regardless of the maid's attempts to stop her, she rushed to the field in her exquisite long skirt and grabbed her son.

My heart suddenly ached and tears started falling.

In just one morning, my son was already panting with sweat on his head, face, and neck, and even his clothes were wet. His white and tender palms were red from being rubbed, and blood was about to come out.

"Xiang'er, my son, what are you doing?"

Haitang was heartbroken and hugged Li Xiang in her arms, and said anxiously: "You are the prince, how can you do such a thing?"

"These are things that ordinary people do. You have been pampered since childhood. How can you have experienced such hardships and do such things?"

Li Xiang broke away from Haitang and said with his neck stiff, "Mother, are you saying that I am not even as good as an ordinary citizen? Any old man or child can do it, and it is something they need to do every day, but I can't do it?"

"Oh, you kid."

Haitang frowned, "That's not what my mother meant. They have their own lives, and you have your responsibilities. You are the crown prince of a country, so you should study hard, learn government affairs, assist your father, and govern the country. Farming is not your job."

"This is the task that the Emperor has entrusted to me!"

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue. Haitang was stunned for a moment. She pointed at the wasteland next to her and asked tremblingly, "What did you say? Your father asked you to farm. Doesn't that mean he doesn't want you to be the crown prince?"

"How is this possible? Does your father hate you or is he not satisfied with you and wants to make Li Jue the crown prince?"

(End of this chapter)