Chapter 517: Frog in the Well

"Father, mother, how did you know we were here?" Li Tai stood up and asked while shaking his neck.

I kept my head down flipping through books and copying, which made my cervical spine stiff and my wrists sore. It was more tiring than discussing academic matters with the scholars on a normal day.

"I heard that you are raising money to invest in Fang Yiai's HNA Trading," asked the emperor.

"Yes, Prime Minister Fang asked Yiai to go to Quanzhou Port to work for HNA. Of course we have to fully support it and each of us will buy a share." Li Tai's chubby face was full of energy.

"Do you know that HNA is facing huge risks?" The emperor did not comment.

"I know, Aye, nine out of ten ships never return! But, Aye, the greater the risk, the greater the profit, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people going out to sea." Li Tai said indifferently.

These words made the emperor stunned. This brat is quite knowledgeable.

Changle and Yuzhang came back to clean up their family assets, which alarmed the other princesses of Fengyang Pavilion.

When I learned that they had a stake in HNA and were going to Dengzhou to take a big ship to Quanzhou for a trip, I really stirred up a hornet's nest.

The little princesses were locked up in Fengyang Pavilion all day long and had longed for the outside world. They ran to Empress Changsun to make a fuss, saying that they also wanted to leave the palace and go to Dengzhou to take a big ship!

This left Empress Changsun completely confused, and she had to call Changle and Yuzhang to clarify the situation.

Laugh at these kids making trouble. It’s no problem for them to leave the palace and stroll around Chang’an, but don’t even think about traveling a long distance to Dengzhou to take a boat!

If more than a dozen princes and princesses left the palace together, what a big commotion that would be!

"Mom, I'm only going out once! I've never seen a big ship or the sea, I want to go and see it!" Changle said to her mother.

"Changle! It's time for you to discuss your marriage and learn how to manage the household!" Empress Changsun felt a little reluctant.

But if Changle is released, the others will follow, causing waste of money and manpower along the way and bringing heavy burdens to various places.

"Mother, I don't want to be a princess!" Changle pleaded with her eyes.

She was only eleven years old and didn't want to move from the palace to another large mansion, where she could only see the palm-sized world for her entire life.

She didn't want to be like A Niang, busy taking care of the harem all day, giving birth to children constantly, and burning herself out.

That’s right, Empress Changsun is pregnant again, and Chengyang is only six or seven months old.

The body has not yet fully recovered after childbirth and needs to consume the mother's nutrients.

Changle felt sorry for her mother as she looked at her increasingly thin mother. She didn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps and be bothered by trivial matters.

She wanted to live freely and happily.

"Alas!" Empress Changsun sighed softly, "Mother, please discuss this with your father."

Seeing her eldest daughter's lost expression, Empress Changsun finally softened her heart.

Come on, come on, my daughter is about to get married, so let’s indulge her for once and let her see the world outside!

"Thank you, mother!" Changle's eyes sparkled with light, more radiant than ever before.

Empress Changsun went to Liangyi Hall to discuss matters with her husband.

The emperor was straightforward. Changle was his most beloved daughter and had been well-behaved and sensible since childhood. It was not excessive to make such a request before their marriage.

Worried that the children didn't have enough money, he sent someone to find out how the fundraising was going.

Several eunuchs came back and said that the crown prince and several princes had gone to the Hongwenguan.

The emperor and empress were curious about what they were doing at the Hongwenguan during the New Year, so they went to the Hongwenguan, where several children carefully read the classics and sorted out various materials.

The emperor and empress were very pleased.

"Seventh brother, what are you looking for?" the emperor asked Li Yuanchang.

"My dear brother, I want to find out which materials can make steel sharp, elastic, and strong in bearing capacity!" Li Yuanchang said seriously.

"Well, Seventh Brother, you are thoughtful! Have you found any clues?" asked the Emperor.

Li Yuanchang shook his head. "There are very few inscriptions on bronze and stone tablets, and even fewer records of this kind."

"No rush! Take your time! With so many craftsmen and thousands of years of accumulated craftsmanship, we will definitely find it." The emperor patted Li Yuanchang on the shoulder.

"Ke'er, what are you investigating now?" The emperor looked at Li Ke, the person most like him, with a smile in a gentle tone.

"Reporting to the Emperor, Ke'er is looking into the structure of the water-powered wheel. Fourth brother is considering using water power for his sugar-making equipment to solve the problem of insufficient human and animal power."

Li Ke's face flushed red as he got his father's attention.

"Well! Ke'er is doing well!" The emperor nodded with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty, I am here to look up information as well!" Li You saw that his father ignored him.

"Where will You'er start next?" The emperor was in a good mood and he liked these five boys.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. Master Xiao Su said that steel can be made with different materials according to its different uses. I'd like to learn more about the uses of steel first."

This time Li You did not brag and what he said was more reliable.

"Well, that's good. Study hard! Once you've done it, I'll give you another task!" The emperor made a promise.

I don’t know who this child takes after, but he’s always a little twisted and not very close to me. There seems to be something between father and son.

Because Uncle Yin would fan the flames and light ghost fires from time to time, talking about how cruelly the emperor treated the entire Yin family.

The young and ignorant child was brainwashed and became afraid when he saw his father.

The father and son were separated unknowingly and could not get close to each other.

As he grew older, he felt resentful when he saw that the Crown Prince, Li Tai and Li Ke were all favored, and he often made trouble to attract attention.

"Yes, father!" Li You's brows were raised with joy. His father finally looked him in the eye.

"How are you raising the money for your investment?" the emperor asked with concern.

The treasury was full and he could afford to provide subsidies.

"Everything is ready! We will send it to Fang's house tomorrow!" the children said in unison.

"Father, look at the map drawn by Lord Su!" Li Chengqian remembered that he had not yet handed it in.

The emperor took the picture, stroked the paper, and said in surprise: "This is the paper she made."

"No, it's Xuan paper produced in Jing County, Xuanzhou." Li Chengqian replied.

"I think the paper used for drawings in the palace is not as good as this rice paper."

"Xu Zhi, have the Supervisor of the Imperial Household order a batch of Xuan paper from Jing County, Xuanzhou!"

"Yes!" Xu Zhi turned around and went out to explain.

Opening the drawing, a map with a latitude and longitude grid appears on the paper, one of which is outlined in blue.

"Father, this is the territory of our dynasty!" Li Chengqian pointed to the blue area.

"That's all!" The emperor couldn't believe it.

The Tang Dynasty was powerful throughout the world and all nations came to congratulate it. Compared with all nations, it was a giant, but how come it only looks so small in this picture!

"Yes! Lord Xiao Su said that this is Tianzhu, this is the Kingdom of Daqin, and this is the Western Regions. This is the limit of our current reach.

But in fact, there is still a lot of territory that has not been conquered!" Li Chengqian replied.

The emperor looked at the map with a gloomy expression.

Incorporating the Western Regions into the territory was the limit of the Tang Dynasty's ruling tentacles.

Including Goguryeo in the northeast.

No matter how far away it is, we cannot defend it if we conquer it, and we are powerless to rule it.

The mountains are high and the roads are long, government orders are not implemented smoothly, the integration of different ethnic groups takes time, and the people's hearts cannot be united in a short time.

In the past, I really thought that the territory of the Tang Dynasty was very large and among all the countries, so it was called China.

But now it seems that I am just a frog in a well.

But how to take these territories, how to firmly control them in the hands of the Tang Dynasty?

His Majesty was feeling very anxious and uncomfortable.