At the end of the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan reign, Crown Prince Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying went to Jiangnan (the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) to inspect the region and prepare for the next International Expo, which would take two years to organize. Jiangnan was chosen because of its many suitable locations for expanding trade ports.
Jiangnan was originally a land of mountain barbarians. It wasn’t until the Three Kingdoms period, when the Eastern Wu established its kingdom in Wu and Yue, that the region began to be developed. In the first year of the Eastern Wu’s founding, they sent envoys to Liaodong (in present-day Liaoning province) by sea to establish diplomatic relations. Later, they sent a total of 10,000 people to Liaodong, Japan (倭国, literally “dwarf country”), and other places. Therefore, Jiangnan’s maritime trade was far ahead of other regions in terms of its early development.
After touring Jiangnan, Li Chengqian and his party initially chose Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo) to expand its seaport. However, the powerful families in Mingzhou, unwilling to share the spoils, obstructed the project, bullying the Crown Prince and Prince Tang, who were young and inexperienced.
Li Chengqian was furious and went to the neighboring Suzhou, selecting Huating County. Huating was not prosperous and did not have a proper wharf along its coastline, but its location was advantageous, and both Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying were satisfied. They settled in Huating and began to make plans for the port.
Unlike the resistance encountered in Mingzhou, the people of Huating County welcomed the arrival of the Crown Prince and his entourage. The Suzhou prefect also went to Huating County several times to cooperate with the construction of the port, demonstrating great enthusiasm.
Leveraging the success of the “Pearl of the East” bond (东方之珠一号券) and the efforts of foreign merchants who had become loyal patrons, Li Yuanying quickly raised the necessary funds and materials using the “Pearl of the East” bond (东方之珠二号券). With the combined efforts of the entire prefecture, they built a magnificent seaport in Huating County, large enough to accommodate all the ships in Jiangnan.
With the establishment of Huating Port, the sea route south became even smoother, invigorating many small wharves further south. Within two years, Huating County leaped forward to become the most prosperous county in Suzhou, even threatening to surpass Suzhou City itself.
The powerful families in Mingzhou were filled with regret.
If they hadn’t obstructed the port project, it would have been built in Mingzhou!
The second International Expo was scheduled to be held in Huating. Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying jointly submitted a petition to Emperor Li (李二陛下), requesting him to visit Jiangnan and preside over the opening ceremony.
This proposal met with fierce opposition from the court officials. The phrase “visit Jiangnan” was too sensitive, conjuring up memories of Sui Wendi (隋炀帝), who had embarked on a series of extravagant projects related to his trip to Jiangnan. Moreover, the Crown Prince was already in Jiangnan, and if Emperor Li also went, who would oversee Chang’an? This seemed utterly reckless!
Emperor Li was getting older and more stubborn. The more people opposed his proposal, the more he believed it was a good idea, pushing through the objections and declaring that he would go.
Emperor Li summoned his sons and asked who was willing to stay behind in Chang’an.
A few years ago, everyone would have been eager to seize the opportunity, believing that they had a chance to advance their position. Now, things were different. Everyone in the court was working tirelessly, coming in early and leaving late every day.
Just when they were finally able to take a day off, Li Yuanying and his brothers sent them letters, praising Jiangnan’s beauty and describing how wonderful it was. They couldn’t help but feel envious.
It wasn’t enough that those two scoundrels bragged to them about their exploits in their letters. They also constantly sent their children amusing toys and delicious treats, making their own children ask when they could go to Jiangnan. If they couldn’t take them, they should just send them over. They didn’t need their father to accompany them!
Li Tai, in particular, felt this keenly and was enraged by the situation. It was utterly unfair! They were toiling away in Chang’an, while those two were living it up in Jiangnan!
Rumor had it that Li Yuanying even brought Su Qiniang (苏七娘), a famous courtesan from Fengtai Tower (丰泰楼), and his close friend, Chen Xin (称心), to Jiangnan. He was also organizing something called the “Great Tang Talent Show” (大唐好歌手), inspiring the courtesans of Jiangnan to practice their music, pipa (a four-stringed lute), and singing.
It was simply outrageous!
When Emperor Li asked who would stay behind, Li Tai was the first to declare that he did not want to. He insisted on accompanying his father. Jiangnan was so wonderful; he had to see it for himself.
After Li Tai, Li Ke followed suit. He stated that his fiefdom was in Jiangnan, and he had been away for a long time. He missed his friends there and wanted to go back.
Those who spoke first had the advantage. When it was Li Zhi’s turn, his brothers had already eloquently explained their reasons, leaving him with no better options. He could only say that he was too young to shoulder such a responsibility.
Emperor Li, recognizing this excuse as the weakest, ordered Li Zhi to stay behind while the others followed him.
Li Yuanying was a year younger than Li Zhi but had already taken on great responsibilities. How could Li Zhi use his age as an excuse to decline?
Emperor Li settled the matter. He left the elderly and frail officials like Fang Xuanling (房玄龄) in Chang’an to handle the affairs of the government and finalized the list of people accompanying him to Jiangnan.
Li Zhi sought advice from Fang Xuanling. Both men were naturally prone to hesitation. They discussed the matter back and forth without reaching a solution, helplessly watching Emperor Li make his own decisions about the trip.
To be honest, Emperor Li had no particular impression of Huating County. He didn’t know what made it special. If he went to Jiangnan, he preferred to visit places like Jianye (江宁), Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. At least he had some knowledge of those places and could write a few nostalgic poems to commemorate his journey.
Regarding Huating, Emperor Li couldn’t think of anything deep or profound to write about to showcase his cultural refinement as an emperor. It was a real headache!
Despite his concerns, Emperor Li did not delay his departure. Li Yuanying had been secretly working on the Grand Canal (运河) over the past two years, deepening and strengthening it. Now, transporting goods north and south was incredibly convenient. As soon as the imperial procession reached the Grand Canal, they switched to water transport.
It was springtime. The imperial boat sailed southward, passing by the gradually thawing banks. The further south they went, the more lush the vegetation became. Willow trees were green, flowers were in full bloom, and young birds were chirping. It was a scene of beauty unmatched by anything in the north.
Perhaps influenced by Li Yuanying, the young princes, including Li Xiang (李象), were not at all afraid of Emperor Li. On board the ship, they were restless and ran around everywhere. Li Youyu (李幼玉) spent the entire day running outside the cabin, pulling Emperor Li to see this and that. She was full of energy.
Li Tai tried to reprimand her, telling her to be more composed, but she wouldn’t listen. She immediately repeated his words to Emperor Li, explaining her perspective with a certain logic: “I don’t think what Elder Brother said is right. Little Sister (幺幺) says that Great Grandfather is our Great Grandfather and definitely loves us. With Great Grandfather around, we can do whatever we want!”
Emperor Li enjoyed Li Youyu’s lively nature and often took her outside the cabin to admire the spring scenery along the banks.
When they reached Yangzhou, they happened upon a stretch of blooming snow-white qionghua (琼花, a type of hydrangea) along the shore, a breathtaking sight. Before Emperor Li could marvel at the beauty, Li Youyu started to exclaim in wonder. Li Xiang was older than the others but still looked curiously at the shore, trying to see for himself how the qionghua that had fascinated Sui Wendi was blooming.
After a series of stops along the way, the imperial procession finally arrived in Huating County.
Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying, along with all the officials, stood waiting by the shore, ready to welcome Emperor Li from afar.
These past two years, Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying had been busy developing Jiangnan and hadn’t returned to Chang’an much. This was their first meeting in two years. Emperor Li, walking at the head of the procession, spotted his eldest son and youngest brother waiting among the crowd.
Perhaps due to the many things he had accomplished in the past two years, Li Chengqian appeared more mature than when he had left the capital. While he might not be considered exceptionally handsome or noble, he stood out among the crowd, his presence commanding attention.
As for Li Yuanying, he had also grown taller since leaving Chang’an. However, he still retained a youthful air, giving the impression that he would never grow up.
Upon seeing Emperor Li, Li Yuanying immediately ran towards him, calling out in greeting. Before Emperor Li could say anything, he turned to the group of young princes behind him and began to lift them one by one, playfully guessing their weights. He claimed he was checking to see who hadn’t been eating properly.
Emperor Li’s head ached when he saw Li Yuanying’s over-excited demeanor. He missed his troublesome younger brother when he wasn’t around, but when he was, he wished he could stuff his mouth shut and stop him from being so boisterous.
The imperial procession settled in the Huating Palace. After a day of rest, they held a banquet for the officials and local elders, fulfilling their usual duties.
The next day, Emperor Li went on a private tour of Huating. He discovered that it could no longer be called a county. The area surrounding Huating Port had grown into a new city rivaling Suzhou in size and prosperity.
Emperor Li was satisfied with Li Yuanying’s ability to manage the economy. Look! Huating not only had a new seaport but also increased tax revenue. It didn’t cost the government a single penny, and it even brought in additional revenue for the imperial treasury!
This explained why the officials were not as steadfast in their opposition. If Emperor Li’s trip to Jiangnan didn’t cost the government any money and even made them money, maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with him going after all?
After touring Huating, Emperor Li returned to the palace and bumped into Li Tai walking towards his own residence with a strange expression.
Emperor Li found this curious and asked Li Tai what was wrong.
Li Tai replied: “Father, you don’t know. Uncle Yu (幺叔, literally “Little Uncle”) has gone a bit mad. He’s having Eunuch Yan (阎少监) paint a ‘Hundred Sons and Thousand Grandsons’ painting (百子千孙图) for him, saying he wants to hang it in his bedroom and see if it helps him have children sooner.”
He recounted to Emperor Li the bizarre events he had heard from the Yan family. Ever since Li Yuanying had broken his virginity, he had diligently taken his wife’s pulse every morning and night, insisting on being the first to know when she became pregnant. But even after a year of this, there was still no sign of a child.
This had made Li Yuanying extremely anxious, which explained why he came up with the absurd idea of having Yan Liben (阎立本) paint a “Hundred Sons and Thousand Grandsons” painting.
Emperor Li listened, speechless. Li Yuanying was always reluctant to have conjugal relations after his marriage, and he would even get annoyed when others worried about him. Now, after several years, he finally had relations with his wife, and yet they still hadn’t conceived!
Emperor Li dismissed Li Tai and summoned Li Yuanying for a chat. He asked Li Yuanying if he would consider taking on a couple of concubines. Perhaps a change of partner would make all the difference.
Of all the princes, Li Yuanying was the only one who did not have concubines. Emperor Li thought that some of his ideas were extremely stubborn and unconventional.
Li Yuanying felt that Emperor Li was being ridiculous. He retorted: “I don’t need children.” While he loved children, he didn’t want to have them with anyone else. There were so many other people’s children. If he really wanted, he could just trick someone else’s children into becoming his. He wanted a child with his beloved Wei Jiu (魏姝), and even if he never conceived, he wouldn’t have children with anyone else.
The author has something to say:
Little Prince: Actually, I still have a full bonus for this month.
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