Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

When the three members of the Zhao family, father and sons, entered Yangcheng Palace under the guidance of Sun Yi.

When they finally saw their beloved Crown Prince Li Chengqian in the Shougong Hall, the eyes of the three men instantly welled up with tears.

"Your Highness, this old man...this old man has finally seen you again! Waaaaah..."

Old Zhao couldn't hold back any longer, and tears streamed down his face, etched with the lines of years of hard work.

He stepped forward excitedly.

Wang De was about to stop him, but Li Chengqian stepped forward first and helped him up.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

"What's wrong, Mr. Zhao? Is someone in Hehe County bullying you?"

Although the transportation along Bingzhou Road today would have been considered quite advanced in ancient times.

But the past is the past.

In an ordinary family, which family would suddenly send all the men on a long trip like this?

Li Chengqian quickly figured out who the county magistrate, county lieutenant, and even the prefectural magistrate appointed this year in Hehe County were, and what their performance ratings were in last year's year-end evaluations...

Meanwhile, inside the county government office in Hehe County, several figures who were eating lunch while reviewing documents suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

Old Zhao and the others shook their heads excitedly.

"No, no one bullied us... This old man just missed Your Highness and couldn't resist coming to see you..."

As they spoke, Old Zhao and the others hurriedly placed some of the local products they had brought with them in front of Li Chengqian.

Eggs, some mountain fruits, and a bag of flour.

In an ordinary household, this would be considered a very generous gift.

But in this Shougong Hall, in front of Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

After their initial excitement, the three members of the Zhao family, father and sons, immediately realized this as well, and their faces showed a mixture of embarrassment and unease.

"Hehe, not bad, Old Zhao, looks like your family had a good harvest last year..."

Li Chengqian stopped Wang De and the others with a look.

He squatted down and opened the cloth bag in front of him.

It was obvious that the eggs had been sorted; the whole basket was full of large eggs, carefully placed on a burlap lining.

Then look at the cherries, still bright red and fresh.

Li Chengqian's eyes revealed genuine joy.

He grabbed a handful of cherries and popped one directly into his mouth. The sweet taste was nice, but it was naturally no match for the fruit that Yangcheng Palace had specially purchased.

however.

Just because Old Zhao and his family traveled a long way to deliver it.

At that moment, Li Chengqian felt that the cherries were so sweet they almost touched his heart.

"Hmm, not bad. I was thinking a couple of days ago that the mountain fruits were almost ripe, but I didn't expect you, Elder Zhao, to send them over today. Hahaha, does this mean I'm telepathically connected with you?"

Old Zhao's face flushed with excitement.

"If Your Highness likes it, this old man will send you one every year from now on!"

"Haha, then you'll live to be a hundred years old!"

Old Zhao was overjoyed. After the bumpy journey, seeing Crown Prince Li Chengqian actually eating the fruit they had picked, he felt completely satisfied, even if he closed his eyes in peace.

His face, etched with deep wrinkles, wore a simple yet warm smile.

Just as it was lunchtime, Li Chengqian instructed the imperial kitchen to begin preparing the meal.

Inside a side hall.

Old Zhao sat nervously and happily in a chair, holding a cup of tea that the Crown Prince had personally poured for him, listening to the Crown Prince ask him about the situation in Jiao Niu Village.

An old face broke into a wide smile.

"Hahaha, Your Highness said last year that our lives would definitely get better, and sure enough, in just one year, every household is living a very prosperous life. Your Highness, you don't know, just now, I bought five slaves outside the city!"

As Old Zhao spoke, he held up a hand, his face showing excitement and disbelief.

It felt like waking up the next day to a wonderful dream, and then sharing it with someone.

"Haha, now we won't have to worry about taking care of the fields, right?" Li Chengqian said, sipping his tea.

Such casual conversations not only provide an opportunity to learn about the situation in rural areas.

It can also help you relax and feel good.

to be frank.

Compared to watching dancers perform or the acrobatic shows that were very popular among the common people of the Tang Dynasty, this was a much better option.

Li Chengqian preferred listening to operas, fishing, and chatting with his subjects.

The genuine happiness on these people's faces brings him more spiritual satisfaction than anything else in the world.

Lunchtime at Shougong Hall.

Prince Li You of Chu, who returned to the palace at noon today, also came here for a meal.

Li Chengqian's decision to have Zhao Lao and his family dine with them was not only not surprising, but rather seemed as if it had been expected.

He brought a bottle of wine with him when he arrived.

"Greetings, Your Highness, the King of Chu..."

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Zhao family hurriedly bowed, but Li You waved his hand.

While the palace maids and eunuchs were serving the food, he naturally sat down next to them, opened the wine, and poured it for them.

"Young Master Zhao, have some. This wine is different from what's sold in the market; it was developed by the winemaking department of my Agricultural Academy. It has a strong aftereffect..."

"Good good..."

Old Zhao was practically buried up to his neck, yet he still managed to make something of himself in his old age.

The crown prince poured him tea, and the King of Chu poured him wine.

This is probably because all the ancestral graves of the Zhao family's eighteen generations of ancestors, somewhere unknown, have been set on fire.

"To be honest, Your Highness, life is good now. This old man can enjoy a cup or two of wine every day. Seeing that my two sons have children and have started their own families, I have no regrets in this life."

Old Zhao, holding his wine cup, suddenly stood up.

Before the others could react, they suddenly downed the drinks in their glasses.

Her eyes were red again.

"This kind of life is something that even the wealthy families in the village could never dream of, let alone a humble countryman like me. Your Highness... you will surely be a wise ruler!"

"With you here, even if I close my eyes, I won't worry about my two sons suffering any calamity."

The eldest and second eldest sons of the Zhao family quickly helped their father up.

Li Chengqian's expression was complicated.

How is Mr. Zhao and his family doing now?

It's definitely good.

After all, if things don't go well, what does all his hard work over the past few hundred days and nights amount to?

But how long has it been?

The good days had only lasted a few months when this old man, who was already considered quite old in the Tang Dynasty, went to great lengths to travel a long distance to Taiyuan to thank him.

Li Chengqian felt that the people of the Tang Dynasty were truly easy to satisfy.

Fortunately, Li You, who was standing nearby, was quick-witted.

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat heavy, he quickly spoke up and began to inquire about the farming situation of the people around Hehe County.

The food at lunch was so good that the two sons of the Zhao family almost swallowed their tongues.

However, Old Man Zhao was well past the age of indulging in culinary desires.

But more than anything, they were happy to share some things about their side with the Crown Prince.

Jiao Niu Village's school has been teaching literacy for almost half a year now, and even he can recognize some characters.

The village headman heard that village heads could be promoted to county government officials and serve as clerks.

They are busy every day cleaning up the village environment, paving the village roads, and raising funds to build a clinic for the village doctor so that they can see a doctor and buy medicine more cheaply...

In the end, Old Zhao, still somewhat dazed, drank and chatted until he finally got drunk.

After being helped down to rest,

Li Chengqian was unable to extricate himself from these complex emotions for a long time.

At the Shougong Hall, Li Gang, the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, who happened to be on duty, saw this scene and couldn't help but smile and stroke his beard.

Looking at that figure standing on the steps in front of the hall, I sighed.

"I have thought about what a wise ruler who loves his people like his own children should look like."

"King Wen of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and Emperors Wen and Jing of the Han dynasty, loved the people like their own children. They simply reduced taxes and levies and clarified the laws. No matter how wise the people were, they could only get a few more grains from their meager land."

"The suffering of the people has been constant. Even if they could summon a great ruler and a prosperous era, how much of that prosperity would actually benefit them?"

"Though one's clothing may not be particularly elegant, one's learning may not necessarily bring greater wisdom."

"There is still no chance for him to rise above others, and he cannot bear the slightest natural disaster or man-made calamity... There have been many wise rulers in China, but none of them can be called a ruler for ten thousand generations."

"Even the First Emperor's great achievements and accomplishments pale in comparison to this!"

As he spoke, Li Gang's eyes involuntarily reddened.

aside.

Yu Shinan nodded deeply, looking at Li Chengqian's figure standing with his hands behind his back.

Suddenly, I felt as if the classics I had studied could actually be verified in a single person in the world.

“A good ruler will reward the virtuous and eliminate the people’s suffering, love the people like his own children, cover them like the sky, and embrace them like the earth.”

Li You also drank a few glasses of wine, and his face showed signs of intoxication.

Given the special circumstances today, even Emperor Taizong of Tang would have to show some respect to Old Man Zhao in this day and age.

Li Chengqian then let the other party drink a few cups.

Li You took a deep breath to clear his head.

He was still muttering to himself.

"If there were more people studying agriculture, and if the agricultural research of our Great Tang Dynasty were more advanced, let alone tens of millions, there would be hundreds of millions, even millions!"

"We can afford to feed them!"

"An endless supply of grain, fruits and vegetables, and meat..."

Li Chengqian winked at Wang De, who was standing to the side, signaling him to help Li You, who was so drunk that he could barely stand, back to rest.

"Your Highness, Miss Zheng has been waiting for you in the side hall for quite some time..." Sun Yi carefully walked over.

Li Chengqian nodded.

I took a deep breath to clear my head and strode directly toward the side hall.

at the same time.

Side hall of Shougong Hall.

Zheng Lizhen nervously and anxiously pondered in her mind why her future husband, the Crown Prince, who showed no interest in her, had suddenly summoned her today.

Her elder brother, Zheng Wuyang, has recently been serving as Xiao Rui's deputy, the head of the Commerce Department. He leaves early and returns late every day, and sometimes he doesn't even have time to go home, living directly in the prison cell.

My second brother, Zheng Wuhe, volunteered a while ago and led a delegation to the Western Turkic Khaganate with the determination to die. There has been no news of him since.

And recently, she has been diligently studying economics and management at Imperial University...

Just as she was brainstorming, Li Chengqian walked in.

"This humble woman greets Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

“Hmm…” Li Chengqian responded.

He waved his hand, sat down, and got straight to the point.

"Your Zheng family of Xingyang has had much contact with foreign cultures, and in the previous dynasty, you were involved in many affairs of foreign lands... Does anyone in your Zheng family know anything about the Niva Kingdom next to Tibet?"

Zheng Lizhen was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and looked at the Crown Prince with some doubt.

"The Kingdom of Nepal and our Great Tang have never had diplomatic relations. However, they did send envoys during the previous dynasty, but contact was lost after only one or two occasions. Your Highness, do you wish to..."

Li Chengqian's eyes held a hint of coldness.

"I have a connection with the Kingdom of Nipo, and I wish to bestow upon them a great fortune!"