It was a wandering knight who exposed the Duke of Yun Guo, bringing with him the dying words of a sorcerer. While the evidence wasn’t concrete, it pointed Ma Zhou in a few directions. Emperor Li sent someone with the sorcerer’s last words to chase after Ma Zhou, and for the next few days, he remained gloomy and uninterested in replying to Li Yuanying’s letter.
By the time Lu Zhaolin returned to Chang’an, the investigation had concluded and the Duke of Yun Guo, Zhang Liang, was being escorted back to the capital. With such a turn of events, Emperor Li had no heart to preside over Gao Yang’s wedding and directly postponed the ceremony by a month.
After meeting his parents in the capital, Lu Zhaolin found that they were also oblivious to the court’s inner workings and could only patiently wait.
This was the downside of marrying into royalty. When to get married and where to settle down, everything was at the Emperor’s discretion. If Lu Zhaolin hadn’t genuinely liked Gao Yang and hadn’t had Fang Xuanling as a matchmaker, Lu Zhaolin’s parents wouldn’t have been eager to marry him off to a princess.
While Lu Zhaolin waited, Gao Yang was also displeased. She and her younger sister, Sizhi, berated the Duke of Yun Guo, finding it utterly infuriating that he chose to rebel at this precise moment, almost as if he was deliberately causing trouble for Gao Yang.
“In my opinion,” Gao Yang declared, “Father should have the entire family of the Duke of Yun Guo executed!”
“You’re about to get married,” Sizhi retorted. “How can you say such things?” She wasn’t concerned about the ill omen of blood spilling around her marriage.
Gao Yang snorted. She didn’t understand anything about the state or the world, nor the gravity of a treasonous crime. Her only frustration was having to wait another month to see Lu Zhaolin. Naturally, she had to vent her displeasure at the Duke of Yun Guo, the culprit behind her extended wait.
Unlike Gao Yang, whose grievance stemmed from the delay of her wedding, the entire court was shocked by the news of the Duke of Yun Guo’s rebellious aspirations. The Duke had been a loyal follower of Emperor Li since the beginning and was stationed in Luoyang, a strategic city that guarded the gateway to Chang’an. How could he be so foolish?
However, Ma Zhou’s investigations in Luoyang uncovered a trove of incriminating evidence, each piece corroborating the wandering knight’s accusations.
The Duke had privately fostered five hundred adopted sons and shielded his wife’s family, who had been stirring up trouble in the region. This wasn’t particularly serious; every family had a few black sheep, and a “righteous execution of relatives” would usually suffice – which is exactly what the Duke had done. The real problem was his belief in the sorcerer’s pronouncements and his conviction that the world should be ruled by the Zhang clan. He had secretly amassed weapons and armor!
Fortunately, Ma Zhou encountered a survivor among the sorcerers who had been caught in the crackdown. From him, Ma Zhou learned about their clandestine meeting that fateful night: Zhang Liang truly desired to overthrow the Li Dynasty!
Emperor Li, furious, ordered the Duke of Yun Guo’s capture and imprisonment in Chang’an.
During his imprisonment, the Duke repeatedly requested to see Emperor Li, hoping to salvage his reputation by begging for forgiveness. However, Emperor Li was resolute in his decision to punish him and refused to meet him again.
In the wake of these events, Emperor Li abandoned his plans to spend the summer in a retreat and returned to the palace. He gathered with officials like Fang Xuanling to discuss how to deal with Zhang Liang.
Conspiring against the throne, regardless of the era, was a capital crime. However, Emperor Li acutely felt the dwindling number of those who had shared his journey from the beginning.
Having come this far, Fang Xuanling and the others believed that Zhang Liang, even if he hadn’t yet rebelled, was a potential rebel and should be treated accordingly. While many generals in the court had been accused of treason, Zhang Liang’s case was different. He had both physical and eyewitness evidence against him, leaving no room for denials. Even if he hadn’t taken action, he deserved to be beheaded as a warning to others!
Emperor Li put off the decision for a few days before sending Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling to the prison to bid farewell to Zhang Liang.
As he watched the two officials leave, Emperor Li leaned back against a couch and closed his eyes.
Perhaps Zhang Liang wouldn’t have actually rebelled. Maybe he was just swept up in the moment by someone else’s instigation and made some preparations. Yet, the stability of the empire couldn’t tolerate any chance-taking. The Li family, if they wanted to secure their position on the dragon throne, had to extinguish any potential for turmoil.
He may not have been as tolerant and forgiving as he thought. After all, he had become the very kind of person he once despised, the one who crossed a bridge and burned it behind him, who killed the donkey after the mill was finished.
Zhang Liang’s conviction for treason was finalized. Those who deserved to die were executed, and those who deserved to be stripped of their possessions were stripped. Millions of wealth flowed into the imperial treasury, and heroes and beauties turned to dust.
From the moment Emperor Li gave the order to the conclusion of the affair, it only took a month. The name Zhang Liang disappeared from the court.
Li Jing returned home from court, leaning on his cane as he stood before the beast taming field for a long time, sighing heavily. He had long ago claimed to be ill and excused himself from many duties. He had repeatedly requested to retire, but Emperor Li had repeatedly urged him to stay. He was forced to hold a position in the court, only appearing when absolutely necessary and avoiding attending court meetings whenever possible.
Perhaps fewer desires meant fewer misfortunes.
With the treason case concluded, Emperor Li finally had the time to inquire about Gao Yang’s wedding. Realizing he hadn’t yet met his future son-in-law, Lu Zhaolin, the Emperor chose a time to summon Lu Zhaolin to the palace for a meeting.
Lu Zhaolin, hailing from a noble family, was naturally nervous about meeting the Emperor and his future father-in-law, but he managed to hold himself together with remarkable grace. Seeing his handsome appearance and polished demeanor, Emperor Li was slightly more pleased with his daughter and younger brother’s choices. He offered Lu Zhaolin a seat and engaged in an amicable conversation between father-in-law and son-in-law.
Lu Zhaolin, his heart pounding, kept his answers concise until he remembered Li Yuanying’s instructions. He discreetly cast a few glances at Emperor Li. He had only met the Emperor once before, and they had been quite far apart. He couldn’t recall the Emperor’s stature back then, so he couldn’t tell if he had become thinner. He simply noticed a bit of frost at Emperor Li’s temples, a smattering of white hair.
Emperor Li, a keen observer, immediately caught Lu Zhaolin’s somewhat bewildered gaze. He didn’t take offense at the slight breach of etiquette but asked Lu Zhaolin kindly, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Zhaolin quickly recovered from his daze, stammering nervously, “No, nothing.”
Emperor Li knew he was hiding something and didn’t blame him. He remained kind and said, “You are Gao Yang’s husband. In private, you can also call me ‘Yeye’ [father-in-law] with her. Don’t be so nervous. If you have something to say, just say it.”
A national sovereign treated him like a regular father-in-law, making Lu Zhaolin deeply touched. In a moment of impulsiveness, he told Emperor Li everything Li Yuanying had instructed him to say, even mentioning Li Yuanying’s mumbling comment, “My brother is probably really angry with me. He hasn’t even replied to my letters.”
Hearing Lu Zhaolin’s relayed words, Emperor Li also recalled how he had ignored Li Yuanying’s messages, not even bothering to write back. The young man was self-aware enough to realize that his actions would cause displeasure.
Emperor Li felt a bit of a lift in his mood. Dismissing Lu Zhaolin, he called for pen and paper and wrote a letter to Li Yuanying, telling him to stay put in Tengzhou and not to dwell on things. As long as he didn’t engage in any reckless acts that endangered the Tang Dynasty, the affairs of the court had nothing to do with him.
After reprimanding Li Yuanying in the letter, Emperor Li felt a sense of relief.
Just an ordinary eunuch, and yet Li Yuanying was so protective of him, deliberately orchestrating this “hiding at sea” scheme, knowing it would upset Emperor Li!
The rascal deserved to be properly scolded.
Since the rascal was willing to trust those around him, then let him see what they could accomplish.
Emperor Li was not yet old. If anyone dared to cause chaos, they had to weigh the consequences carefully.
Emperor Li sealed the letter and ordered it to be sent to Tengzhou.
Tengzhou was not a large prefecture. Even if one walked from one village to another, one could traverse the entire area in a month. There weren’t many towns, and even if they were to rotate bridge and road repairs, they could be paved throughout the prefecture in three to five years.
Li Yuanying, having been chastised with a beating last year, had become more diligent. He no longer delegated all his responsibilities to others.
When Gao Yang married in the capital, Tengzhou also selected three counties as pilot projects, and all the prefecture’s human and material resources were directed towards these three counties, aiming to turn them into model counties of Tengzhou.
The pilot counties were selected, bringing joy to some and disappointment to others. Li Yuanying didn’t let the powerful and wealthy families who participated in the vote send money to the government office. Instead, he had them mobilize resources and manpower locally and, after the autumn harvest, immediately begin construction on the county’s infrastructure.
While Li Yuanying valued commerce, he also understood that agriculture was the foundation of the current era. As autumn approached and the crops gradually ripened, taking advantage of the clear weather, he brought the people from the academy to the towns and counties to assist in the harvesting of rice and wheat.
Li Yuanying hadn’t even seen how rice grew in the palace. He had to travel to the towns and counties outside the palace to gain a better understanding, but he still hadn’t witnessed the rice bearing fruit.
Now, back in the fields, he found the heavy rice ears quite novel. He asked the elderly farmers to explain how much rice the land yielded, how long it took for the rice to mature, how much wheat the land yielded, how long it took to grow, and what kind of land was suitable for which rice varieties.
Li Yuanying didn’t personally participate in farming, but he did listen curiously. He personally visited the three pilot counties, personally cut a few stalks of plump rice ears, and officially kicked off the harvest season in Tengzhou.
The Emperor’s messenger arrived in Tengzhou only to discover that Li Yuanying had gone to the pilot counties. He immediately chased after him.
Upon reaching the location, he saw Li Yuanying surrounded by a group of farmers dressed in coarse linen. The farmers were talking amongst themselves, their voices overlapping, their gestures becoming increasingly animated, their words flying in all directions.
Li Yuanying, the pampered prince, didn’t find the farmers’ coarseness off-putting. He listened to their words with great interest, even following them to the fields and picking up a sickle to cut down a handful of rice, a look of unmistakable pride on his face. Without getting closer, one could tell he was showing off his newfound skill in cutting rice.
The messenger was taken aback, but he approached Li Yuanying after receiving confirmation from the guards.
Li Yuanying had been chatting with the local farmers under the bright autumn sun for a while, and his face was flushed. He received the letter with a smile, politely bid farewell to the farmers, and rode back to the city. He urged the messenger to stay in Tengzhou for a few more days. After reading the letter, he might even write a reply.
The messenger didn’t refuse and stayed in Tengzhou.
Li Yuanying had hired an additional two thousand people to manage security, and Tengzhou was orderly. Even without a curfew, there were very few security incidents. There were more patrols and guards than thieves. Doing something wrong would be easily caught, so who would risk it?
Moreover, Li Yuanying outfitted these patrolling and guarding “security personnel” with standardized uniforms and weapons, just like the imperial guards. Every morning, as soon as the city gates opened, they would march around the city. Their uniform, disciplined steps, and imposing presence sent shivers down the spines of those with criminal intentions.
As the messenger traveled along, he noticed that Tengzhou was indeed different.
Perhaps this was because Li Yuanying didn’t spend all his money and manpower on himself, but rather on building Tengzhou. Which prince could truly do that? Most treated their fiefdoms as their personal property, demanding endless resources to satisfy their private desires.
Back at the government office, Li Yuanying opened the Emperor’s letter, only to find another scolding. He hummed and read the letter, muttering to Wei Jiu, “This brother of mine, either he doesn’t reply to my letters for days, or he spends all day writing to scold me.”
After complaining about Emperor Li, he also complained to Wei Jiu about Wei Zheng, saying he was the same. He was constantly writing letters to scold him. He had been so obedient and well-behaved lately, and yet neither of them had praised him once!
Having finished his complaints, Li Yuanying began discussing with Wei Jiu how to educate their children: “When we have children in the future, we can’t be like this. We must praise them more. Children who grow up with praise, regardless of whether they achieve anything, will live happier lives.” He looked at Wei Jiu with shining eyes and made another decision. “If we have to scold them, you can do it!”
Wei Jiu was exasperated. “Why should I do the scolding?”
Li Yuanying said with a matter-of-fact tone, “You’re more intimidating. I can’t be stern.”
Wei Jiu didn’t want to talk to him. He wanted to be a kind and loving father, so she had to be the mean mother?!
Wei Jiu ignored Li Yuanying for half a day. Only then did he realize that he had angered her and rushed to ask Wu Mei for advice on how to appease his “Shu sister.”
Upon learning the reason behind their argument, Wu Mei couldn’t help but chuckle.
This couple hadn’t even been intimate yet, and they were already arguing over disciplining their children!
Wu Mei had no experience with such petty squabbles and could only say helplessly, “Shu sister is not a petty person. Just talk to her nicely, and she won’t ignore you.”
Li Yuanying thought that was right. He didn’t seek further advice, and with his usual thick skin, he went after Wei Jiu to coax her, patting his chest and assuring her that he would take care of any scolding or even spanking, adding that if their son was mischievous, he would surely beat his bottom until it bloomed!
He would spare their daughter, though. She couldn’t take a beating. A few words of reprimand would be enough.
Wei Jiu heard Li Yuanying’s vows and found the whole situation rather amusing. How could she still be angry with him?
Once the two reconciled, Li Yuanying started discussing serious matters with Wei Jiu. He planned to “trick,” or rather “request,” more people from Emperor Li.
With the availability of cheap paper and ink, printing books had become much easier. With the support of the court, libraries had sprung up everywhere, becoming standard features in every prefecture.
Sun Shi’s *Thousand Golden Prescriptions* was about to be printed. Once this batch was completed, there would be manpower available. Li Yuanying planned to have libraries across the land gather information on agricultural tools, grain varieties, fruits, vegetables, and cash crops. Once they had gathered enough information, he would have Dong Xiao’er conduct experiments in a dedicated experimental base. They would select the most efficient and labor-saving tools and the best-quality, most productive varieties. With the influence of libraries across the land, they would promote and popularize these findings.
After all, land was still the foundation for the common people. If they could help people cultivate more grain with less time and effort, the people would certainly listen.
Li Yuanying planned to publish an up-to-date, easy-to-understand agricultural book based on *Qi Min Yao Shu,* promoting new agricultural tools and grain varieties.
Even if an idea or a prototype was just a concept, he was willing to have people try it out. After all, if successful, it would be a great benefit to both the people and the court.
So, for such a crucial matter, wouldn’t Emperor Li have to allocate some manpower?
Among these people, it would be best to have those with expertise in agriculture, astronomy, geography, literary creation, and water conservancy. Basically, whatever the court had and was willing to provide, Tengzhou needed it!
Previous Chapter | TOC |