Li Yuanying was a classic case of someone who would take an inch and want a mile. He figured that Emperor Li wasn’t angry with him anymore, so he started making demands. He didn’t outright ask for these people and refuse to return them, but rather borrowed them for a while, claiming that he would share all the tools and techniques he developed with his funding and manpower with the entire Tang Dynasty. He didn’t feel a bit embarrassed about making these requests.
After finishing the letter, Li Yuanying personally handed it to the messenger, clutching the man’s hand and urging him to deliver it to Emperor Li as quickly as possible. Time was of the essence; he was eager to get more manpower so he could fulfill the promises he made to the wealthy families of Tengzhou. Ideally, the people would be sent before the New Year, so he could show them off in the pilot counties after the holiday: “Follow Prince Tang, and you’ll have everything!”
Li Yuanying sent off the messenger with a satisfied grin.
After the autumn harvest, the people were all free. Except for the three pilot counties working on bridge construction, road paving, and infrastructure, everyone else had the same idea: fatten up for winter and stay home.
Li Yuanying was fully focused on preparing the quarterly edition of the *Qi Min Yao Shu* (Book of Agriculture). He was running around everywhere, inviting renowned scholars and eminent Confucians from Tengzhou and neighboring prefectures to join him, preparing for a scenario where Emperor Li might refuse to give him any resources.
Wei Jiu, Wu Mei, and Chengyang weren’t idle either. They were discussing going to the villages and counties below to spread the word.
Tengzhou Academy had opened a women’s school right from the start, but the number of female students over the past two years was very low. Wei Jiu and the others felt they needed to mobilize and tell girls about the benefits of learning and acquiring skills.
They couldn’t just go around preaching without preparation. Especially since Wei Jiu, Wu Mei, and Chengyang were not from ordinary backgrounds. They were either from wealthy official families, or they had plenty of family wealth. Chengyang, being born into the imperial family, had always lived a life of comfort and ease. They rarely encountered the struggles that most girls faced.
Wei Jiu realized that if they went directly to preach, it might not be effective. It was better to first understand why these girls weren’t coming to school.
She had people find a group of merchant women in the city. These weren’t the kind who just sat at home and enjoyed their wealth. They were the ones who traveled with their husbands, or even sold small trinkets themselves.
When these merchant women heard that the future princess wanted to meet them, they were both surprised and delighted. They quickly found their best clothes and headed to the academy. Upon arriving outside the academy, they couldn’t believe this was the same desolate wasteland from a few years ago. Prince Tang had brought so much change to Tengzhou. They were merchants after all, and felt they shouldn’t go to the academy often, afraid of disturbing the scholars’ quiet.
In the eyes of ordinary people, studying had always been a noble pursuit.
Arriving at the academy’s reception hall, the merchant women entered in a stream, quickly seeing the future princess Wei Jiu waiting for them.
In the eyes of many, Wei Jiu was always referred to as the “future princess,” and only then did some remember that she was Wei Zheng’s granddaughter and the youngest female Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examinations) of the Tang Dynasty.
Having the opportunity to be received by Wei Jiu, these merchant women were immediately impressed by her.
When she stood with Prince Tang, everyone felt they were a perfect match, a golden boy and a jade girl. But when she appeared alone, her unique charm shone through.
She was different from most girls. She was composed and confident. Even without the title of princess, even before marrying into the royal family, she could still accomplish great things. No wonder Prince Tang loved her so much!
The merchant women all admired her in their hearts and collectively stepped forward to pay their respects.
Wei Jiu was not yet a princess, so she naturally wouldn’t accept their bows. She rose to greet them, inviting them to take seats and offering tea and fruit, treating them with such warmth that they were taken aback.
Once everyone was seated, Wei Jiu briefly explained the recruitment problem they were facing at the women’s school. She hoped they could learn about the reasons why girls weren’t enrolling while accompanying their husbands on their business trips. They could then find a solution based on these insights.
Only merchants were still traveling around after winter set in. Hearing such a simple request, the merchant women readily agreed. They shared the insights they had gathered:
City girls, needless to say, started thinking about finding husbands at the age of seven or eight. The next few years were spent preparing for marriage, learning basic literacy from female tutors hired by their families or their mothers, as well as needlework and household management. Naturally, they wouldn’t go out to study.
As for girls from farming families, they were busy from the age of six or seven. They might not be able to handle farm work, but they were still responsible for cutting grass, feeding pigs, chasing ducks and chickens, feeding cattle, and helping in the kitchen or doing some sewing.
These tasks seemed insignificant, but they were time-consuming, keeping them busy all day. When they got older, it was time to find a match and marry early to have children.
Men reached adulthood at twenty, and were expected to go out and perform labor or military service. Once they left home, they might encounter unexpected dangers, so families generally had their children married and produce a son to carry on the family line before they reached twenty. Otherwise, they faced the possibility of their lineage being cut off!
Therefore, studying was a waste of time and money. Why should girls do it? If they had to send a child to study, it would be the boy, not the girl, who would do all the chores. The boys would study and bring glory to the family.
Girls, on the other hand, no matter how well-educated they were, would be part of someone else’s family, helping to raise their children. It had nothing to do with their own family!
Wei Jiu didn’t find these words surprising. If her grandfather hadn’t spoiled her, and if she hadn’t been betrothed to Li Yuanying, she wouldn’t be able to live as freely and easily as she did now.
She asked the merchant women many questions, and then formally asked them to investigate further in the villages and counties.
If possible, they should help spread the word about the generous benefits and promising prospects of studying at the women’s school.
It would be easier for the merchant women, who frequented the streets and alleys, to get genuine feedback. If they went themselves, they would only receive nervous and insincere responses. Some things were only suitable to be persuaded by merchant women.
Wei Jiu’s earnest request further surprised the merchant women, and they readily agreed. Some of them were also from farming families, and had married into merchant families early because they were struggling. Putting themselves in Wei Jiu’s shoes, they thought: if they were in her position, they would be provided for, with servants at their beck and call, and their only worries would be choosing their clothes and jewelry, or who to invite for flower viewing. They wouldn’t bother with such demanding and thankless tasks.
After leaving the academy, the merchant women all planned to send their eligible daughters to the women’s school. Wei Jiu had told them that the academy never refused merchants’ children, and daughters from merchant families could also enroll.
With Wei Jiu’s words, they felt obligated to express their enthusiasm. Of course, they all harbored a little hope: that their daughters could achieve even a tenth of Wei Jiu’s brilliance and marry a husband who was even a tenth as good as Prince Tang!
After the autumn harvest, every household needed to stock up on winter supplies. Peddlers and merchant women set off for the villages, hawking their wares in the crisp autumn air.
Peddlers and merchant women were excellent talkers, able to chat with anyone. The unusual thing was that their topics this time were all the same: how many daughters each family had, and if any of them were studying.
Hearing that none of them were sending their daughters to school, they began to brag about the women’s school at Tengzhou Academy: they provided food and lodging, and if the girls did well, they could even bring money home. Any family with intelligent daughters should send them there; they would earn more than a year’s worth of farming. They also heard that the academy provided clothes, and the fabric was of the finest quality, something that many people had never touched in their lifetime!
It was said that peddlers were liars, but they spoke so convincingly, with their wives chiming in from the side, saying they were going to send their own daughters to the academy next spring. Many people were swayed.
As long as there were no riots and their food wasn’t affected, farmers were generally honest and hard-working. They would toil tirelessly all year round, tending to their crops. Even if they heard something, they wouldn’t apply it to themselves.
Hearing the peddlers’ words, it seemed like sending a girl to school wasn’t a bad deal! If they sent their smartest daughter, maybe she could even bring money back. Besides, they heard that the most outstanding sons from Tengzhou City and neighboring prefectures were all studying at Tengzhou Academy. If their daughter was well-prepared, she might catch the eye of a good family and marry into a higher social class!
For a time, every household was discussing whether to send a daughter to the women’s school. They couldn’t send all their daughters as they couldn’t leave their families completely unattended, but if they had many daughters, it wouldn’t hurt to send one or two. If they could study for a few years and come back to marry, it would save them the cost of raising them, a win-win situation!
As for Wei Jiu’s meeting with the merchant women, there was still some private discussion about it.
Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants ranked last, and those who entered the merchant class had a lower social status. Even if they earned a lot of money, they couldn’t wear fine clothes or ride in grand carriages. Wei Jiu was the future princess, how could she stoop to talk with those merchant women? But Li Yuanying had been elevating merchants for a long time, and although people felt uneasy, no one dared to speak up about it. They only felt that the Prince and his wife were really unconventional!
Li Yuanying wasn’t really a stickler for convention either. Since conventional methods didn’t work, using the most straightforward and direct approach to persuade the people was actually a good way. He asked Wei Jiu: “What if more people come? Will you be able to handle it?”
Wu Mei was responsible for the entire academy, while Wei Jiu and Chengyang had a smaller scope, managing the women’s school. Next year, they wanted to expand recruitment, and Li Yuanying was worried about chaos.
Wei Jiu said, “We have two years of experience. Even if the number doubles, it won’t be a problem.”
Li Yuanying was mainly concerned that Wei Jiu would be overworked. Seeing her spirited and confident, he wouldn’t stop her. He patted his chest and promised that if she needed people or money, just ask. Anything he had, she could have.
Both sides needed to prepare before spring, so even though it was the most leisurely time of year, winter, the young couple were both busy, finding only a few moments when they could be together to chat.
Li Yuanying was busy day and night, and his letter to Emperor Li had arrived back in Chang’an.
Emperor Li had just punished an old subordinate and married off another daughter. He wore a stern expression, his emotions unreadable.
Changsun Wuji and the others felt that these days were a bit difficult. They couldn’t tell if Emperor Li was happy or unhappy, whether he approved or disapproved.
They would rather endure Emperor Li’s occasional bragging, “I’m so amazing, sometimes I can even take care of the duties of a general and prime minister,” even if it was a bit too much, than this unpredictable Emperor Li. At least back then, even if Emperor Li was a bit self-absorbed, he was in a good mood, not shrouded in mystery.
Luckily, the messenger who delivered Li Yuanying’s letter returned.
Since he was delivering a letter to Emperor Li, he naturally had to be quick. The messenger had ridden on horseback day and night, both going to Tengzhou and returning to Chang’an. But before he could even sit down to rest, he was rushed to meet Emperor Li.
This treatment shocked the messenger, and he nervously entered the palace with the letter.
When Emperor Li heard that a letter had arrived from Tengzhou, he summoned the messenger, but didn’t immediately read the letter. Instead, he asked about the situation in Tengzhou. Li Yuanying could ask Lu Zhao’lin to check if he was thin, so he, as Li Yuanying’s elder brother, also had to do his duty and see what he had been up to in Tengzhou.
The messenger recounted his observations in detail, from not seeing Li Yuanying at first to seeing him in the fields cutting rice stalks, from the good治安 (peace and order) in Tengzhou to the bustling night market, without omitting any details.
Even Changsun Wuji, who was known for his professional skepticism of Li Yuanying for a hundred years, felt that Li Yuanying had grown up a lot and was doing things properly.
Emperor Li nodded in agreement and asked for Li Yuanying’s letter to be presented. He sent the messenger away, leaned against the railing, and began to read the letter.
Changsun Wuji and the others focused on their official documents, avoiding looking at Emperor Li’s reaction to the letter. They didn’t want to be the first to be singled out to share the letter of Emperor Li’s beloved brother.
They would inevitably be asked to share, but it would be more fun to watch others’ reactions first!
Emperor Li had been quite pleased to hear about the situation in Tengzhou from the messenger, thinking that his younger brother had finally grown up and stopped being a troublemaker, and that he would eventually become a good prince of the Tang Dynasty who would benefit the people. But after reading Li Yuanying’s letter, his face instantly turned black. This kid was taking advantage of his leniency and making more demands!
Look at what he was saying. He wanted every person with skills, whether they were in astronomy, geography, agriculture, water conservation, or anything else, just give him a bunch, as many as he wanted!
Emperor Li was furious.
The year Li Yuanying left the capital, he had already swept away most of the talents from that year’s imperial examinations, and even poached a group of people from Hongwen Hall.
With such a small piece of land as Tengzhou, how dare he ask for more people?!
He wanted to improve education and local development, but didn’t other places want the same? If he took all the talents, wouldn’t his fiefdom be flourishing, with renowned scholars in every village and county?
So many talents, wouldn’t they be useful anywhere?
Emperor Li slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “This brat!”
Changsun Wuji and the others quickly asked what was wrong.
Emperor Li glanced at them and told them about Li Yuanying’s request: he wanted talents, all kinds of talents. If the court had any unnecessary talents, just send them to Tengzhou. It didn’t matter if they had a bad temper or were unpopular, as long as they had ability, just send them to Tengzhou!
Changsun Wuji’s face twitched.
Changsun Wuji’s thoughts aligned with Emperor Li’s: Li Yuanying had already taken enough people, and he wasn’t satisfied yet, what a shameless rascal!
They all discussed it and felt that they couldn’t indulge Li Yuanying’s audacity, otherwise he might next think of moving the entire court to Tengzhou.
Emperor Li wrote another letter to scold Li Yuanying, but in the evening, while walking in the imperial garden, he thought of how Li Yuanying had often accompanied him on walks in Chang’an, and he felt a bit bad not giving him anything at all. After all, Li Yuanying was trying to do something beneficial for the people, and he should support him.
Having just scolded Li Yuanying in front of Wei Zheng and the others for being a rascal, Emperor Li couldn’t back down so quickly, he had to maintain his dignity. So he called for Li Chunfeng and asked him to make a list, selecting a group of people who met Li Yuanying’s requirements and sending them to Tengzhou. Li Chunfeng was close to Li Yuanying, so he would definitely be able to find suitable candidates.
Emperor Li put on a stern face and instructed Li Chunfeng, “Don’t pick too many, just under a hundred, let them follow Gaoyang and the others to Tengzhou at the end of the month.”
Li Chunfeng received the order and couldn’t help but grumble in his heart: the court only selected so many people in each imperial examination, how could he pick a hundred from the court at once? When Changsun Wuji and the others found out, they were bound to explode!
With the emperor’s order, Li Chunfeng didn’t dare to say anything more. He quickly drafted a list for Emperor Li, selecting a group of people with various skills as Li Yuanying requested.
Emperor Li was very satisfied after reading it. He thought it was good, there weren’t many people with high ranks, so it wasn’t too outrageous.
Emperor Li calmly added these people to the list of those accompanying the others.
Fang Xuanling was still unaware of Emperor Li’s maneuverings. It wasn’t until the list drafted by Emperor Li was brought to him for his seal and signature that he realized Emperor Li was secretly poaching the court’s talents for Li Yuanying.
Even Fang Xuanling, who was known for his good temper, couldn’t help but huff and puff. He immediately took the list to find Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng, asking them to see what kind of mischief Emperor Li was up to this time!
Was it easy to attract talents to the court?
Was it easy to select talents through the imperial examinations?
Emperor Li just waved his hand and sent a hundred people to Li Yuanying. Was that not morally bankrupt? Did he have any regard for the court? He didn’t have to do the work of selecting and training talents, so he wasn’t at all心疼 (心疼, to feel sorry for)?!
Tengzhou was such a small place, why did he need to send a mini-court there?!
When Fang Xuanling presided over the major court reshuffle, the number of officials in Chang’an was never less than six hundred. Now Emperor Li was sending a hundred people with proper backgrounds to Li Yuanying!
Those two brothers were really something. One dared to ask for it, and the other really dared to give it!
The three old men stormed into the imperial palace to demand an explanation from Emperor Li, threatening to stay put in the council chamber until he gave them one!
Seeing this scene, Emperor Li felt a bit of a headache. He reluctantly crossed out half of the people on the list, reducing it to fifty. After deleting them, he sighed: “Yuan’ing has been away in his fief for so long, and he never asked me for anything. It’s rare that he opens his mouth. Shouldn’t I even grant him this little request? When Father passed away, he had no worries, except for this youngest son. He held my hand and entrusted him to me, asking me to take good care of him…”
Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, and Fang Xuanling looked at each other and decided to grit their teeth and accept it.
If they didn’t, Emperor Li would definitely continue to sigh and say that his father and mother died early, leaving them brothers behind, so they were particularly pitiful and lonely.
Li Yuanying had used this trick once when he was in Chang’an. After hearing that pitiful and helpless “little cabbage” speech, they hadn’t been able to eat for days.
Were there any “little cabbages” who enjoyed the wealth and prosperity of the world?
They had seen shameless people, but they had never seen such shameless people!
Author’s Note:
Little King: Even though I’m not in Chang’an, my legend still lives on there!
Update!
May has arrived!
The first chapter is five thousand words long!
Five thousand words! Is ten thousand far away?
Do you have any magical fluid that can be used to nourish the Little King?
The magical fluid was briefly withdrawn last night at midnight, and now it’s back!
If you have subscribed to all the chapters before, you will get the Little King’s second set of ten magical fluids before midnight today! Click on “Magical Fluid” in the afterword, or click on “Nourish the Little King” in the synopsis. If you want to secretly nourish the Little King, you can use the “Nourish the Little King” option on the synopsis page without leaving a comment. You can nourish him without leaving a comment! If you haven’t received it, it might take a day or two! Please nourish the Little King! Help the fat second chapter be born!
Also, I won’t explain it one by one. The other story, “Deeply”, is not the successor to this one. The Little King will be followed by Chongchong and then Fusu after this story is finished. The other story does not affect the order. I was inspired by a dream and wanted to write it (bushi).
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