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

"Grandfather, it's not that I don't want you and Father to take concubines, but shouldn't there be some restraint in this kind of thing?"

"It's one thing to take them into the harem, but for the emperor to keep mistresses outside the palace, and even have affairs with the nieces of his ministers, and twins at that... is this appropriate? Is this outrageous?"

"If this gets out into the common people, what will become of the dignity of the Li Tang imperial family?"

The palace was renamed from "Gui Shou Dian" back to "Wu De Dian".

Li Yuan was drenched in cold sweat.

Despite being the retired emperor, Li Chengqian, the crown prince's grandson, was sitting there, looking at the reports from the Imperial Guards and shaking his head in sighs, and his body was tense and nervous.

He listened to Li Chengqian criticize Li Shimin, who was the emperor.

He quickly corrected his stance, revealing a righteous and stern expression of anger.

"Hmph! That rebellious son Shimin has become wild and unruly while leading troops in battle. How virtuous and kind is the Empress? Any one of the concubines in the harem is no match for that wild woman outside!"

"The Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty is doing nothing but shameful and disgraceful things... If he returns to the capital this time, I will definitely give him a good beating!"

"Guards, gather all the horsewhips in the palace. When that rebellious son returns, I'll teach this lawless and licentious tyrant a lesson!"

Li Chengqian glanced sideways at his imperial grandfather: "...Imperial grandfather, please don't make a fuss over nothing. The first six months of the western expedition were fine, but when you were stationed there to establish Xizhou Prefecture, you were quite busy, weren't you?"

"You've given your grandson at least six new imperial uncles and aunts in just one year. It's not that my royal family can't afford to support them, but... lust is a dangerous thing. Everyone loves to play around, but there should always be a limit, right?"

"You're already quite old, why are you still indulging in such low-level pleasures?"

Li Yuan's face flushed red. Being lectured by his own grandson made him extremely embarrassed. He wanted to retort, but then he thought of his grandson's frighteningly disciplined lifestyle.

He hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan confessed to the crimes he had committed.

Despite being the crown prince, Li Chengqian still looked troubled.

Several of his younger brothers, such as Prince Li Ke of Han and Prince Li You of Chu, were clearly of marriageable age, but they were all single-mindedly pursuing their dreams.

However, elders like Li Yuan and Li Shimin were still in a state of indulging in the pleasures of life without restraint or self-control.

"Looks like the burden on my shoulders is still a bit light."

Li Chengqian muttered a sentence, which made Li Yuan's forehead sweat even more profusely.

Seeing him turn his head with a half-smile, her body involuntarily tensed up.

"Ha, Chengqian, I'll listen to you, I'll change! Starting tomorrow, I'll abstain from lust!"

Li Chengqian chuckled and shook his head.

He asked out of the blue, "My grandson is getting married in the second half of this year. Grandfather, are you still going to leave the capital for Xizhou County?"

Li Yuan nodded cautiously.

Seemingly afraid of Li Chengqian's objection, he quickly tried to make amends: "I will rush back for your wedding. Besides, the Duke of Song and a few others in Xizhou County are not enough to support the situation. We still need a member of the royal family to oversee things."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded.

He slowly stood up, took the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard behind his back, and walked towards the outside of the hall.

"Alright, since you're going, Grandfather, then I'll prepare some things for you..."

Preparing things?

what to prepare?

Li Yuan had a feeling that he wasn't a good person.

Just as he had expected, after Li Chengqian returned to the Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace, he immediately sent someone to summon the princes and princesses who happened to still be in Chang'an.

"Brother, what is it you wanted to do by summoning us here?"

Li Ke looked puzzled. The "medical supplies" he brought back from Japan had already been sent to Datong under the escort of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Prince of Han's personal guard.

He is also preparing to set off for Dengzhou to handle government affairs.

Beside him, Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, who had also been summoned and whose dark circles were clearly visible, stared at his elder brother with dead fish eyes, as if he had lost all life.

He didn't say a word, his eyes were full of resentment.

When Prince Lu, Li Yuanchang, and Prince Jing, Li Yuanjing, arrived in a hurry, Li Chengqian finally coughed lightly.

"Cough cough..."

"I called you here for a very important matter... How much of a person's life do you think should be dedicated to striving for their dreams and career?"

"Ten years? Twenty years, or thirty years?"

Such opening remarks caused the expressions of Prince Li Ke of Han, Prince Li Yin of Liang, and others to change drastically.

As for Prince Li Tai of Wei, he snorted coldly on the spot and stood up as if to leave.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to flaunt your seductive words in front of us. Aren't you just trying to get everyone to continue working for you so you can go off and enjoy yourself with your concubines after your wedding?"

"Forget it, don't even think about it. I can only oversee the country for two more years at most, not a second longer!"

Prince Li Ke of Han shook his head with a wry smile and stood up: "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that... I'm already overwhelmed with work."

He stood up abruptly, looking as if he was about to flee on the spot.

Li Chengqian stiffly turned his head to look at the others.

King Li Yin of Liang avoided eye contact: "Brother, I'm already busy enough with things in Silla, I really can't spare the time."

Prince Li You of Chu spread his hands: "Brother, don't look at me. All I know is farming. If you want me to do those things like reviewing government affairs, you might as well just tie me up and send me to the Imperial Guard prison."

Prince Yan, Li Yun, had tears welling in his eyes: "Your Majesty, these past few days I've been so busy with the railway project that I've only been able to sleep for less than three hours a day, sob sob sob..."

King Li Zhen of Yue gasped and gestured dramatically with his hand: "Brother, do you not take a look at how many scrolls and legal texts I have to read every day in my palace?"

Prince Li Zhi of Jin clenched his fingers, trembling: "Your Majesty, you know me well. My days are already fully scheduled. Wu Zetian is chasing me around with a schedule every day."

Li Chengqian's hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, were already clenched tightly.

Why are these little brats getting less and less cute?

He glanced at Prince Lu, Li Yuanchang, and the others with a deep gaze.

"Your Highness, please spare me! I'm so sick of train travel that I'm constantly traveling between Chang'an and Taiyuan. I practically sleep on the train, so I can't sleep at all in my bed at home..."

Li Yuanjing stammered, unable to utter a single word, and was merely glanced at by Li Chengqian.

He then promptly knelt on the ground.

It looked like he was about to urinate at any moment.

Li Chengqian: "......"

"Inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale..."

After taking several deep breaths, Li Chengqian finally managed to suppress the urge to give these guys a good beating.

"I didn't tell you what to do!"

He gritted his teeth: "What I mean is, don't you think that Grandfather and Father are living a rather leisurely and decadent life these days?"

"I have decided to give them a comprehensive governance strategy for Chengdu Prefecture and Xizhou County, preferably including a full-fledged development outline and detailed rules, so that they can spend their time contributing to the Tang Dynasty instead of wasting it on women's bellies."

Prince Li Tai of Wei, who had already taken one more step at the palace gate and was about to leave, suddenly turned his foot.

They quickly turned back in a few steps.

The Prince of Han, Li Ke, and his entourage, who had just stood up, sat down again.

Li Ke seemed to have instantly become more agile.

Li Yin's eyes gleamed.

Li Tai pondered for a moment, seemingly having already formulated a plan in his mind.

Li Zhen coughed twice and spread her arms out, as if to indicate that her views on the new laws and regulations could be put into practice.

Li You wore a strange smile as he began to calculate in his mind the several crop seeds that the Agricultural College had successfully improved.

Li Zhi seemed to have given up on the idea of ​​studying nail art and turned around to raise his hand first.

“Your Majesty, although both Xizhou County and Chengdu Prefecture are implementing new policies, many aspects are merely imitations. My suggestion is that Father and Grandfather must establish and put into operation the most important Commerce Bureau and Land Bureau within one year!”

Li Yuanchang shook his head, his face showing a complex expression of tension and excitement, as if he had finally gotten his revenge.

“Your Highness Prince Jin, a year is too long. Which of the government orders in Taiyuan Prefecture and Chang’an of our Great Tang Dynasty is not issued with every second counts? Chengdu Prefecture and Xizhou County are located in the south of our Great Tang Dynasty and in a new place further north of our Great Tang Dynasty, respectively.”

"The new policies need to be implemented even faster, Your Highness... I believe that both the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty the present are exceptionally wise rulers, and six months should suffice!"

Li You also excitedly raised his hand.

“The scale of cotton cultivation in Xizhou County is still too small. We don’t lack slaves now, so we can cultivate a larger scale of cotton fields and even establish a state-owned chamber of commerce to grow and produce cotton textiles.”

Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi, also seemed to be infected by this atmosphere of "hoping her father would become a dragon".

Thinking of the recent rumors circulating in the palace that her father had taken another concubine, her eyes darted around.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the birth rate in Xizhou County and Chengdu Prefecture is too low. I think it's because basic medical care is not keeping up. The Xizhou County Medical College and the Chengdu Prefecture Medical College must be built as soon as possible, and medical journals must also be established!"

The other princesses also raised their hands to chime in, excitedly offering their suggestions and advice.

“Yak meat is very expensive in Tibet. Since Jiannan Road is close to Tibet, we can definitely develop yak breeding together with Tibet!”

"The western expedition has reduced the number of foreign merchants in Xizhou County. This year, many foreign merchants are staying in Chang'an and dare not leave. We should ask the Emperor and his family to motivate the foreign merchants. We have so many goods that we must export to earn foreign gold coins!"

"Brother, brother, I think we can encourage some of the herders from Zhenbei Road to move to the land of the Western Turks. Anyway, there's no one there anymore. Let's settle there first and then ask Grandfather and the others to help develop animal husbandry in the area..."

Li Chengqian was overjoyed.

As expected, a man needs two helpers; for things like brainstorming, the more people involved, the better.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and immediately gave instructions to the two eunuchs beside him.

"Sun Yi, Gao Hai! Go and prepare writing materials, and summon another group of scribes to write this book for me!"

On that day, hundreds of clerks in the Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace quickly recorded government orders and policy guidelines.

Officials from the Six Ministries of Chang'an were also summoned to assist in the preparations.

Meanwhile, the princes and princesses of the Tang Dynasty, each with a radiant expression, dictated their views on the development of Xizhou Prefecture and Chengdu Prefecture to the scribes around them who were recording their thoughts.

They are not people who only have theories but also engage in empty talk.

Furthermore, it was revised with the assistance of officials from six departments.

Just as Li Yuan was preparing to leave Chang'an as soon as possible and return to Xizhou County to continue being a carefree retired emperor.

Li Chengqian, accompanied by Sun Yi and Gao Hai, arrived at the Wude Hall in the early morning with a copy of "The General Outline of the Western Regions and Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty," which consisted of more than a dozen volumes.

He dismissed the eunuchs and refused to send word to Li Yuan, who was still fast asleep.

Li Chengqian arrived at Li Yuan's bedside, looked at his grandfather who was snoring loudly, and smiled strangely. He then instructed Sun Yi and the others to place all the books on the other's bedside table.

He just sat there quietly, without waking the other person.

"Grandpa, go to sleep. It'll be hard to sleep until noon again from now on..."