roccoschili Chapter 20 You've been going around in circles all this time, so you just wanted a raise?
Chapter 20 You've been going around in circles all this time, so you just wanted a raise?
"Oh, is that so?"
Li Shimin paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, thinking to himself that the Empress was indeed insightful and had long since noticed that something was wrong with Li Taitai.
"So, who is that mysterious woman?"
"Your humble servant was unaware!"
"Don't make this public," Li Shimin said.
Wei Zheng naturally understood Li Shimin's meaning: he was afraid that if this matter were to spread, it would tarnish the reputation of the Prince of Yue.
"Your Majesty understands. So, what should be done with those people from the Literature Academy?"
"They were all recruited by Tai'er to help him compile the 'Kuodi Zhi'. At this time, no improper behavior or inappropriate remarks have been found from them. It's best to leave this matter to Tai'er to handle himself."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng thought to himself, "You still say you're not biased!"
No wonder people say the emperor is so fond of women; it's true!
"Your Majesty, is the matter of sending Chang He to lead the Imperial Guards to search the Eastern Palace just going to be left like this?" Wei Zheng asked with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin frowned, thinking to himself, "Why are you bringing up the very thing I don't want to talk about?"
"Then, what is your opinion, my dear minister?"
With his left hand behind his back and his right hand stroking his beard, Wei Zheng paced back and forth in the hall, shaking his head and saying, "Your Majesty, this matter may seem like a small thing, but in fact, it is not. On a larger scale, it may concern the safety of the Tang Dynasty."
"Why do you say that?"
"Chengqian is different from ordinary princes. His status is very special. He is the eldest son of the legitimate wife and also the crown prince."
Because of his leg disability, he is very sensitive and often feels ashamed of himself, believing that he does not have the appearance of an emperor. However, His Majesty often sends Chang He to lead the Imperial Guards to surround his Eastern Palace without careful consideration. What kind of shadow will this cast on the Crown Prince's mind?
Back then, wasn't it because of mutual distrust that Emperor Wu of Han and Crown Prince Liu Ju ultimately turned against each other?
If small conflicts are not resolved, they will escalate into major disasters!
Li Shimin leaned back in his chair: "But I've already done it, what can I do now? Am I supposed to go and apologize to Chengqian?"
Wei Zheng continued, "Your Majesty, do you remember when Emperor Wu of Han issued the 'Edict of Self-Reproach'?"
Emperor Wu of Han, a brilliant and ambitious emperor in history, made many mistakes in his later years. In the end, he was able to repent and issue an edict to the whole country to admit his mistakes. What a magnanimous spirit that is!
People did not look down on Emperor Wu of Han for admitting his mistakes; on the contrary, they thought he was magnanimous.
To be frank, Your Majesty acted rather hastily in sending Chang He to besiege the Eastern Palace.
If an ordinary person speaks ill of the Crown Prince to His Majesty, His Majesty will immediately become suspicious of the Crown Prince.
"Then, Your Majesty, I would like to ask, if someone spoke ill of the King of Yue before Your Majesty, would Your Majesty believe them?"
"This—." Li Shimin choked on his words.
"Your Majesty, Chengqian and Li Tai are both your sons, so why do you have different opinions about them?"
"I treat everyone equally."
Wei Zheng laughed: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid only you believe what you're saying."
In my humble opinion, Your Majesty's favoritism towards the Prince of Yue has reached a point of utter lack of principle.
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin thought to himself that this old Taoist priest was indeed showing no mercy in his words.
Li Shimin smiled and said, "My dear minister, although Tai'er is the king, he is still just a child. Why do you care so much about him?"
"Still a child? If he's a child, how come he went to Pingkangfang North Lane?"
Is that a place a child should go?
"Uh—." Li Shimin didn't know how to answer him.
At this moment, a guard entered and announced, "Kong Yingda requests an audience!"
Li Shimin thought to himself that this old master Confucius usually wouldn't come to see him, so there must be something he wanted to discuss.
"Oh, then let him in quickly."
"promise!"
The guard agreed and turned to leave.
Wei Zheng said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, I would like to temporarily excuse myself."
"What, are you afraid of him?"
"It's not that I'm afraid of him, but I'm annoyed by his incessant chatter."
Li Shimin listened, glanced at Wei Zheng, and thought to himself, "You complain that others talk too much, but don't you talk enough? I'm annoyed to death by you old men all day long."
Just as Wei Zheng exited through the side door, Kong Yingda entered through the main entrance, kneeling on the ground and shouting, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Li Shimin emerged from behind the desk and helped him up with both hands: "My dear minister, no need for formalities!"
"Please sit!"
A young eunuch brought him a chair and he sat down.
"Serve tea!"
Then a young eunuch brewed him a cup of tea.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"My dear minister, what brings you to see me?"
Kong Yingda picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "The Crown Prince's studies have been neglected lately."
"Why?" Li Shimin was also very concerned about Li Chengqian's studies, so he was surprised to hear him say this.
"It's not for any other reason than that His Majesty sent him too many memorials. He could not finish reviewing them even after he got up in the morning and was working late into the night. The Crown Prince is cautious and reviews every memorial very carefully, for fear that there might be something wrong with it."
In that case, where would he find the time to study?
However, this is precisely the opportune time for the Crown Prince to begin his studies. If we were to deprive him of his right to education, I believe it would be a greater loss than a gain.”
"I see."
Originally, Li Shimin felt that Chengqian had already undergone the coming-of-age ceremony and should be properly trained in handling government affairs. Therefore, he sent the crown prince many memorials. Of course, there was another reason, which was also to reduce his own burden.
Li Shimin would also conduct spot checks on the memorials reviewed by Li Chengqian, and he found nothing wrong with them, which satisfied him.
However, unexpectedly, this affected Li Chengqian's studies.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is the foundation of the nation, and his studies are of paramount importance."
Back then, Your Majesty assigned me and Lu Deming to tutor the Crown Prince. I was filled with trepidation and worked tirelessly day and night, fearing that I might delay the Crown Prince's studies.
Your humble servant knows all too well how important education is for the Crown Prince.
Throughout history, emperors have placed great importance on the education of their crown princes.
For example, Emperor Xuan of Han attached great importance to the education of his crown prince. He invited the famous teacher Shu Guang to teach the crown prince the Analects and the Classic of Filial Piety. Through five years of continuous study, the crown prince finally read through those classics.
When Shu Guang was about to resign and retire, Emperor Xuan of Han presented him with generous gifts.
"In my humble opinion, it is somewhat putting the cart before the horse to have the Crown Prince spend so much time reviewing memorials at this juncture."
Li Shimin understood that Kong Yingda meant well, knowing that he wanted to cultivate the crown prince into a qualified heir apparent: "Then, in your opinion, how should this be handled?"
"Your Majesty, I believe that the number of memorials sent to the Crown Prince should be reduced by at least half, so that he can have more time to study."
"Reduce it by half?"
Li Shimin thought to himself, if the Crown Prince's workload is reduced by half, wouldn't that mean he would have to increase his workload by half?
Tasks like reviewing memorials should not be easily delegated to others, as doing so could easily lead to the loss of power.
However, what this old master Confucius said was reasonable and well-founded. If he did not agree, and the prince did not complete his studies in the future, then people would have something to say.
So Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
"Your Majesty is wise!" Kong Yingda paused here, "However, this humble subject has another matter to discuss with Your Majesty."
"What is it? Just tell me."
"It is like this, as I get older, it is inevitable that I will catch a cold or cough, which often costs more than half of my salary!"
However, prices have been rising year after year, but my salary has not increased by a single penny. My livelihood is extremely difficult, therefore…
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was furious. He thought to himself, "So you've been going around in circles all this time just to ask for a raise. No wonder you mentioned Emperor Xuan of Han, saying how good Emperor Xuan was to Shu Guang and how much wealth he gave him. So you had something else in mind."
Although I destroyed the Eastern Turks and captured Khagan Jieli last year, the Western Turks still exist, Goguryeo is still eyeing us covetously, and other Western Regions countries such as Tuyuhun and Tibet are also making moves.
Therefore, our Great Tang Dynasty must reduce all expenditures and expenses in preparation for military action against the Western Turks and Goguryeo.
I just don't understand, how can you, as the Crown Prince's teacher, have no awareness at all?
If salaries are increased, can I possibly improve only yours?
If that were the case, wouldn't the other ministers have objections?
But Confucius is so old, it wouldn't be appropriate to shut him up if he opened his mouth.
Li Shimin thought for a moment and said, "Well then, the Tang Dynasty has only been established for a short time, and there are many things that need to be rebuilt. There are too many places where money is needed. Due to the wars every year, the population has decreased sharply. Our current population is only more than 3 million, which is equivalent to one-third of the peak population of the Sui Dynasty. The situation is not optimistic."
Therefore, salaries cannot be increased.
"Huh?" Kong Yingda thought to himself, "So all I've said was for nothing."
"However, considering your hard work and great achievements in educating the Crown Prince, I will reward you with ten catties of gold to supplement your household expenses. Do not announce this to the outside world."
Kong Yingda bowed again: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Li Shimin sneered, thinking to himself, "If I give you money, I'll be wise; if I don't, I'll probably become a tyrant like Jie or Zhou."
night.
The Eastern Palace.
Li Chengqian looked out the window, where a light rain was falling.
Li Chengqian felt a chill creeping over him and hugged his shoulders.
In the past two days, the number of memorials sent by Li Shimin has decreased by half, which has made him feel somewhat relieved.
It seems that Confucius's words still carried some weight in front of the Emperor.
However, when the night was deep and quiet, and he thought about that intractable "dead end," a shadow fell over Li Chengqian's heart.
After all, it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death!
As a time traveler, he originally thought that the crown prince was the heir apparent of the country, with a noble status, living a life of luxury, having power, money, and beautiful women. He thought he must be the most carefree person in the world. However, he never expected that most of them would not have a good end.
Earlier, he hadn't seriously considered this question, but now he couldn't help but wonder why it ended this way.
This seems to defy common sense.
Wherever Li Chengqian's thoughts stirred, the simulator screen displayed...
One possible cause of death for Crown Prince Dao of Qin was that his father, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, lived too long, exceeding seventy years of age, and Crown Prince Dao had been crown prince for too long.
Secondly, he served as a hostage in the State of Wei for a long period of time;
On the one hand, he was living under someone else's roof and felt depressed; on the other hand, he believed that his father did not love him, which was why he was sent away as a hostage. In the end, he died in depression.
Analysis of Fusu's cause of death: It was mainly due to his personality. Fusu was weak-willed, blindly loyal, and lacked the ability to see the truth of things.
He committed suicide before he could ascertain the authenticity of the imperial edict sent by Zhao Gao.
If he had been more assertive, he would have been with Meng Tian at the time, commanding 300,000 troops, and had a real chance to turn the tide.
Another very important reason is that when Qin Shi Huang was in good health, he did not establish Fusu as the crown prince, nor did he appoint an empress.
The Death of Liu Rong:
Firstly, his father, Emperor Jing of Han, was a cold-blooded man who showed no regard for father-son affection;
Emperor Jing of Han was an extremely rational person. When he decided to depose Crown Prince Liu Rong and install Liu Che as the new crown prince, the ministers Zhou Yafu, Dou Ying and others tried to persuade him, but to no avail. Instead, they made Emperor Jing determined to clear the obstacles for Liu Che.
Secondly, Liu Rong's mother, Consort Li, was a simple-minded person.
She simply believed that once her son became the crown prince, everything would remain the same, and that she would one day become empress.
Therefore, she resolutely rejected Princess Guantao's proposal to marry Chen Ajiao and Liu Rong, thus offending Princess Guantao.
Princess Guantao then betrothed her daughter Chen Ajiao to Liu Che, forming an alliance with Lady Wang.
Princess Guantao was Emperor Jing's elder sister. She spoke ill of Consort Li in front of Emperor Jing every day. Lady Wang was extremely intelligent and skilled in political maneuvering, which ultimately led to Consort Li's deposition and Liu Rong's deposition as well.
Thirdly, after Liu Rong was demoted to the Prince of Linjiang, he did not restrain himself and continued to carry out large-scale construction projects, and even occupied the land of the ancestral temple.
Fourth, Liu Rong was interrogated by Zhi Du, a cruel and ruthless official who ultimately forced Liu Rong to commit suicide in prison.
Analysis of the cause of death of Crown Prince Liu Ju:
Firstly, Wei Qing had already died, and Liu Ju had lost the support of his maternal relatives;
Secondly, Liu Ju offended Jiang Chong, who was a favorite minister of Emperor Wu of Han. Jiang Chong was worried that Liu Ju would be detrimental to him after he succeeded to the throne. Therefore, he planted a wooden figure in the Eastern Palace beforehand and then sent people to search for it. Liu Ju could not defend himself and could not clear his name.
Third, there was a lack of communication between Liu Ju and Emperor Wu of Han, and a rift existed between father and son;
In his later years, Emperor Wu of Han did indeed have some reservations about Liu Ju.
Fourth, Liu Ju had too few troops under his command, and was in a losing position when fighting against the imperial army.
Fifth, Liu Ju had weak psychological resilience. If he had not committed suicide after his defeat and had chosen to return to the court, he might have had a chance of survival.
Sixth, Liu Ju's mother, Empress Wei Zifu, was old and faded, and had lost Emperor Wu's favor.