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

"The silver armor has faded from the Vermilion Bird tiles, and the frozen soil has just cracked, revealing mulberry buds."

"The Hu merchant unloads his camel and re-tethers the wine, while the Han merchant opens the cabinet and brushes off the new gauze."

"A mischievous child throws snow, startling the drum in the workshop; an old woman adds firewood to the stove to continue cooking tea."

"Suddenly, the sound of the drums of the West Market was heard, and it was then known that the year's harvest had changed again."

.......

After the heavy snow stopped, people from all walks of life in Chang'an, especially merchants from various regions and foreign merchants, were busy calling on their caravans to set off.

The air in Chang'an was still chilly as the snow melted, so much so that His Highness the Crown Prince specially ordered that an extra set of cotton-padded clothes be distributed to the soldiers this year. The imperial court's order for this batch of purchases made the merchants from Hexi Road stationed in Chang'an excitedly compete for the contracts at the bidding venue.

The lingering snow on the glazed tiles, smoke from the chimneys of the West Market's hutongs, gleamed with a reddish-golden sheen in the twilight. A Persian merchant by the second-floor window, clutching a silver jug, forgot to pour wine; his sheepskin boots tapped lightly on the floor with the rhythm of the gavel. Beneath the storyteller's worn blue robe, glimpses of Shu embroidery with cloud patterns were visible—the attire the courtesans of Pingkang Ward had pooled their money to buy him last month.

"And then there was Guan Yu, wielding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, his Red Hare neighing through the sky!" The old man's withered fingers suddenly parted the peppery aroma that filled the room, and the silver bells of the Kucha musicians rang without wind.

The bartender, wearing a purple silk jacket, stood frozen at the top of the stairs, holding a brass kettle. The scalding hot tea dripped down and soaked through the robe of a certain scholar from Lingnan.

Suddenly, a Turkic warrior wearing a tunic hat slammed his fist on the table in the corner: "I'm betting ten strings of cash that Hua Xiong won't live past three rounds!"

The burst of laughter startled the sparrows on the beams, causing them to fly into the caisson ceiling painted with the image of a Kunlun slave.

The storyteller didn't respond, but gently pressed his gavel onto the glossy oak table, and the room suddenly became so quiet that the sound of melting snow dripping from the shaft of the mule cart outside could be heard.

"Do you all know that warm wine is still too hot?"

The old man suddenly shook out half a roll of yellowed Xuan paper from his sleeve. The tea server in the front row could see it clearly; the corner of the paper was distinctly stamped with the vermilion seal of the Chongrenfang woodblock printing workshop.

Suddenly, a jade chime was lightly tapped in the second-floor private room, and a hand adorned only with a jadeite armlet emerged from behind the gauze curtain, tossing a cat's-eye stone from the Western Regions into a gilded lacquer tray.

As the snowflakes began to flutter against the wine flag again, the storyteller was saying, "The drums before Hulao Pass have fallen silent."

The shopkeeper, who was doing the accounting behind the counter, suddenly noticed that the scholar in the corner, who was supposedly preparing for the Imperial University's College of Arts exam the following year, had somehow filled the back of the tattered copy of "Ode to the Three Capitals" with the lyrics of a play about "plum wine".

Meanwhile, the troupe leader of the Dongshi Mingke Opera had been waiting for three hours, clutching his mutton-fat jade pendant—all to ask for the key details of tomorrow's new play, "Fengyi Pavilion."

In the tavern's VIP section, a young man, exuding an air of nobility, was holding a baby and watching the scene below with a smile. Beside him, a white-faced, beardless old man was happily blowing on his "young master's" new ink to dry.

They were carefully collected.

Princess Chang Le, who was already in her teens, after tipping the storyteller downstairs, grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts from the snack box on the table.

"Brother, why have you been writing poems and lyrics so frequently lately? Mother already has a thick stack of them..."

As she spoke, her gaze suddenly fell on the Crown Prince Li Yutong, who was in her elder brother's arms.

A mischievous smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Could it be that Your Majesty is preparing introductory reading materials for Xiangyu?"

As she spoke, a hint of schadenfreude, a sign of someone who had been through it all, crept onto her pretty, bright face. Her eyes darted around, probably thinking about how she would tear her nephew's umbrella to shreds in the future.

She suddenly reached out and gave Li Yutong, the little guy, a hard swipe on the cheek.

It sounded like a witch croaking.

"Hehehe, little Xiangyu, you're so lucky! You'll definitely surpass your father in the future!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and slapped the girl's hand aside.

"Go away, go away, surpass me? Do you think I'll give him that chance?" He laughed smugly, looking at his younger sister who was growing more and more graceful.

"How's work at the National General Hospital lately? Is it going well?"

Li Lizhi nodded. Perhaps because of her medical studies, Li Lizhi, as the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty, did not like to wear those fussy ornaments. Even her hair was simply tied up with a jade hairpin.

But her otherworldly Taoist aura, combined with her royal lineage, ensures that she attracts a great deal of attention wherever she goes.

"Fortunately, a few days ago Dean Sun asked me to personally perform surgery on a patient. I was a little nervous at first, but after everything went smoothly and I followed the steps and methods I had learned, I felt like I had truly entered the field."

Although Li Lizhi seemed to have a natural talent for medicine, and was very hardworking and quick to learn, this was inseparable from the generous teaching of all the doctors and instructors, including the deans of the two institutions, at the Royal College of Medicine and the National College of Medicine.

Ordinary people would never receive such treatment.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly; he wanted the Tang Dynasty to become the only empire in the world.

It would be even more impossible to promote equality for all at this time, to let the common people see a certain level of prestige and nobility, while giving them opportunities and paths for advancement, and at the same time suppressing those nobles to prevent them from becoming too powerful.

That is the safest way to govern.

After a day of playing, Empress Zhangsun sent someone to ask for her beloved grandson, so Li Chengqian took his sister and his one-year-old son back to the palace.

As the year draws to a close, officials from various government departments will finally enjoy a long holiday after a busy year.

The efficiency in handling matters has improved significantly.

Just as Li Chengqian handed over the little brat Li Yutong, who couldn't even control his own bodily functions, to Empress Zhangsun, who was desperately missing her grandson, he received a report from his personal eunuch, Sun Yi.

Feng Deyi, the Minister of Revenue, requested an audience.

"That old bastard is truly obsessed with officialdom..."

Looking at Feng Deyi, who had aged another year at the end of the sixth year of Zhenguan, and who had to take a deep breath when crossing the threshold of the main hall, he resembled a runner crossing the finish line.

Li Chengqian chuckled inwardly.

It was fortunate that he had that [Eight-Headed Serpent Gall Wine], and would give these old ministers a cup whenever he had the chance; otherwise, Li Chengqian estimated that, according to the original course of history, that old fellow Feng Deyi would have been long gone.

In addition, Du Ruhui has also passed away.

Feng Deyi had no idea what the Crown Prince was thinking. He entered the hall, still breathing heavily, and hurriedly bowed to Li Chengqian.

"Your subject Feng Deyi pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince... I have something to report."

"Duke of Mi, please excuse the formalities and take a seat!"

Feng Deyi expressed his gratitude and then handed the prepared documents to the eunuch Sun Yi standing to the side.

"Your Highness, the Ministry of Revenue's population statistics for the sixth year of the Zhenguan era have been released. From the end of last autumn to the end of this autumn, the population of our Great Tang Dynasty has surged..."

Li Chengqian opened the document and looked at the population census and statistical information of various regions of the Tang Dynasty that were clearly listed inside.

In the past, it was very difficult to keep such population censuses accurate.

After all, aristocratic families would hide their population, and common people would also conceal female infants or recently born children in order to pay less tax.

However, nowadays, people born into the Tang Dynasty are entitled to land, and female infants are strictly protected by law by the government, and buying, selling or drowning is absolutely forbidden.

The current census data is still very valuable.

Li Chengqian looked at the data and saw that the national population had increased by 1280 million in the sixth year of the Zhenguan era.

Li Chengqian: "......"

Li Chengqian's smile faded, and his eyes revealed a hint of confusion and astonishment.

There were quite a few entertainment activities in the Tang Dynasty today.

These people, all they do is have sex with their wives, and nothing else?!

Feng Deyi also looked worried.

"Your Highness, the situation in the southern regions such as Jiangnan, Jiannan, and Lingnan is still manageable, but in Guannei and Hedong regions, some villages and counties already lack sufficient land for distribution. If this is not addressed, I fear there will be many problems in the seventh year of Zhenguan."

He hesitated for a moment, noticing that Crown Prince Li Chengqian's brows were furrowed.

He cautiously inquired, "Your Highness, perhaps it would be possible to relocate some of the people from Guannei Circuit and Hedong Circuit to surrounding areas such as Longyou, Zhenbei, and Hebei Circuit?"

Li Chengqian didn't speak, but just flipped through the population statistics document in his hand.

"Hiss... an average of six infants per household?!"

"A couple, six children...and they're all very young..."