179 Chapter 179
◎Preference. ◎
Li Chengqian's plan is good, but will the Khan of Heaven play by the rules?
The answer is of course no.
"So it's just such a trivial matter." Li Shimin took Li Chengqian's hand and asked him to sit down next to him. At the same time, he smiled at Kong Yingda and said, "I have an idea that coincides with the Prince of Zhongshan's."
Li Chengqian looked at him in surprise. The rulers must want to break the monopoly of the aristocratic families on reading, but this is not something that can be rushed. It must be planned slowly, otherwise it will backfire and all the efforts will be wasted.
But Li Chengqian immediately put his mind at ease. The young Tian Khan was very clear-headed and would not ask for trouble.
Kong Yingda was even more surprised: "Your Highness...I don't understand what you mean. Please explain."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Now that we have the printing method, I plan to have the rare ancient books in the palace printed. This will allow them to be passed down to future generations and spread throughout the world."
Kong Yingda bowed and said, "Your Highness cares about the people of the world."
"Then I thought, not only does the palace have collections of books, but every family has them as well. I have to teach you the art of engraving and printing so that you can collect and pass them on to future generations." Li Shimin smiled again.
Kong Yingda hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"No need to be so polite, Mr. Kong." Li Shimin smiled and raised his hand. "Today's lecture ends here. Mr. Kong, please withdraw. I have something to say to the King of Zhongshan."
"I still have..." Li Chengqian's words were interrupted by someone.
Seeing the prince covering the mouth of the King of Zhongshan and restraining the struggling King of Zhongshan, Kong Yingda hesitated to speak, as he had a lot to say about etiquette and rules.
However, the prince asked again: "Mr. Kong, do you have anything else to say?"
Kong Yingda understood that he had better leave quickly, so he said, "I'll take my leave."
This father and son pair in the Eastern Palace are just too weird, and the prince's gesture of goodwill is even more confusing. Can this matter really be exposed so easily?
Kong Yingda thought about it and walked slowly. When he reached the screen wall, a child's loud cry came from the study: "...Li Shimin!"
Kong Yingda couldn't help but stop and call the prince by his name! He even called his father by his name! The King of Zhongshan really had no idea of etiquette and human relations!
Kong Yingda turned around and was about to go back, but was stopped by the prince's attendants: "Mr. Kong, His Highness has ordered us to escort you out of the palace."
Kong Yingda: “…”
Kong Yingda left the Eastern Palace in frustration, and the next day the crown prince told him that he no longer needed to come to lecture to the King of Zhongshan because the crown prince wanted to give him another important task.
——As for what the important matter was, Kong Yingda had not received any imperial edict yet.
It was obvious that the prince was protecting the King of Zhongshan. Kong Yingda became more and more depressed. Thinking of the King of Zhongshan's misconduct and the prince's indulgence, his eyes went darker and darker. He felt that the Tang Dynasty would soon repeat the tragedy of the fall of the Sui Dynasty.
Let’s not talk about Kong Yingda’s unfounded worries, and return to the friendly exchange between Donggong and his son that day.
"What are you yelling for?" Li Shimin said with a fierce face, "Listen carefully to what I have to say."
Li Chengqian straightened his sleeves and collar and said unhappily, "From what you said, I can tell you have long-term plans and good intentions, but what does that have to do with me?"
Li Shimin said helplessly, "Cheng Qian, you know the use of woodblock printing, otherwise you wouldn't have given it to me. Since you gave it to me, you naturally want me to make the best use of it. How did I do this that didn't meet your expectations?"
What he said certainly made sense, and he was showing weakness. If it was something else, Li Chengqian would have just let it go, but Li Shimin's handling of this matter once again brought back the shadow of Li Chengqian's previous life.
Both Li Tai and Li Zhi had been criticized, but Li Shimin would always stand on their side without exception. Only Li Chengqian was the only one. As long as others said something bad about him, Li Shimin would think it was Li Chengqian's fault. He never asked any questions, but just sided with those who criticized Li Chengqian.
Although they were all sons, Li Shimin always treated Li Chengqian and Li Tai, and Li Chengqian and Li Zhi with double standards.
More than a thousand years have passed, and Li Chengqian could only explain it to himself this way: he was destined to be the unfavored son and crown prince of the Heavenly Khan.
Li Chengqian said expressionlessly, "Bamboo paper and woodblock printing are two different things, so I can ask for two rewards from Your Highness."
Li Shimin was becoming increasingly helpless: "Cheng Qian, do you really have to be so clear with Aye?"
"Let's get this straight, Father. You'd better write down everything. How many mistakes have I made? Write them down one by one. It will be useful in the future." Li Chengqian said, "First of all, I don't want Kong Yingda to be my teacher anymore."
Li Shimin subconsciously wanted to say no. Even if Cheng Qian disliked Kong Yingda, he had no obvious fault. If he fired him without authorization, it might cause discussion in the court and the public, which would be detrimental to Cheng Qian's reputation.
But on second thought, Li Shimin was afraid that if he forcefully went against Cheng Qian's wishes, it would create an even more irreparable situation.
It was inevitable that he, as a father, would cover up for his son.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Okay, Kong Yingda will not come tomorrow. I will choose another teacher for you."
At this point, he asked again: "Cheng Qian, do you have a favorite teacher?"
Lu Yuanlang was Cheng Qian's favorite teacher. Li Shimin had only heard praises about his eldest son from him. He was completely different from Kong Yingda, who always criticized the King of Zhongshan in this way and that way.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin also became dissatisfied with Kong Yingda. Cheng Qian was obviously very good, but he, the teacher, was not good enough. Look at Lu Yuanlang, how did he act as a teacher?
It was also because of this idea that Li Shimin abandoned the compensation he had originally planned to give to his eldest son's teacher.
Li Chengqian had many teachers in his previous life. In addition to Lu Yuanlang and Kong Yingda, there was also Gao Shilian, the later Prince's Junior Tutor, and Wei Zheng, the Prince's Grand Tutor.
——Yu Zhining, who loves to find fault with everything, is just an assistant to the Eastern Palace, not his formal teacher.
However, Gao Shilian gave him many lessons, but Wei Zheng rarely did, because when Gao Shilian became his teacher, he was already ill and not very energetic. Moreover, his appointment as his teacher was just a balance for Tian Khan to indulge King Wei once again and not be so attentive in the future.
Tian Khan did many such things, and Li Chengqian could count them all in a day and a night without repeating them.
"Whatever." Li Chengqian said without much interest.
Li Shimin frowned. His eldest son's mood was always so unpredictable and he acted as he pleased. This was really not the temperament of a qualified heir.
But even though he was dissatisfied, Li Shimin felt very reluctant when he thought that the child was frightened by the terrible ending in the future, which caused his temperament to change drastically.
Li Shimin planned to teach and correct him slowly. He believed that his eldest son would be outstanding, clear-headed and wise.
…
After the woodblock printing was acquired by the aristocratic families, led by Zhangsun Wuji, each family selected two volumes of printed books and plates and presented them to the prince as a way of returning the favor.
"Is this what they call boiling a frog in warm water?" Li Ying asked. "Now they think your father has figured out woodblock printing so far, but he's actually taken it a step further."
When Tian Khan holds great power and encourages people to engage in agriculture and sericulture, and then when the world is at peace, the true role of woodblock printing will be revealed. Now he is just paralyzing those aristocratic families, making them think that the crown prince is just trying to gain fame for himself.
It's only been a few years, have they forgotten how General Tiance was so skilled in strategy and how he won every battle?
Li Chengqian was copying medical books and had no time to pay attention to him, and he didn't want to participate in the discussion of Tian Khan.
Li Ying then asked, "Are you sure the medical book can lead Sun Simiao to Chang'an?"
Li Chengqian didn't even look up. He simply said, "Sun Simiao came to Chang'an during the Zhenguan period, so he wasn't opposed to seeing the emperor. The medical book was just bait, making him make up his mind early."
"He's obsessed with medicine. It's hard not to take such a tempting bait." Li Chengqian pointed across the street, "Stop talking. Copy yours."
"You're just like Jiang Taigong fishing." Li Ying reluctantly picked up the pen. "Prince Wei is the best. He won't let me copy books."
Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "It's a pity that you have an unscrupulous boss now. Just accept your fate."
Li Ying said, "It doesn't matter if you're unscrupulous, as long as I can complete the task. By the way, I found a problem, do you want to know?"
"What?"
Li Ying said seriously, "I left Daqin and Dahan after Fengshan. I think the key to the problem may lie in Fengshan."
Li Chengqian rolled his eyes: "Congratulations."
"You discovered it a long time ago?" Li Ying asked hurriedly, "Then..."
"Emperor Taizong of Tang never performed a fengshan ceremony. It was his son who performed it," Li Chengqian said. "You must know this, right?"
"And his daughter-in-law and concubine." Li Ying added.
Li Chengqian burst out laughing: "That sounds much more interesting. How about I reveal it to him some other day..."
Li Ying held his forehead and said, "Let me remind you, Boss, your father is ill. He is really ill. Don't make him angry to the point of causing harm, otherwise your mother will be very sad."
Li Chengqian said disappointedly, "It's boring."
Because of the lack of a teacher, Li Shimin was still considering choosing a suitable teacher to teach his eldest son. Therefore, Li Chengqian had a lot of free time recently. Apart from accompanying his mother and sisters, he just stayed at home copying books.
However, nothing major happened in the month before Li Yuan abdicated. Instead, there was a happy event in the Eastern Palace: one of Li Shimin's concubines gave birth to a son.
This child was the seventh child. For Li Shimin, he had no shortage of sons, and his mother did not hold a prominent position or receive any favor. Therefore, although it was a happy event, the birth of this child did not attract many people's attention. Li Shimin only went over to take a look and left the rest to the Crown Princess.
The wet nurse and the people who served the young master had been prepared long ago. Chang Sun gave instructions one by one, and also asked the maid to pay special attention to Wang, who was in confinement, and to make sure she was given all kinds of supplements so that she could rest assured and recuperate.
Li Chengqian watched from the side and poured a cup of tea for his mother: "Mother, have some tea to moisten your throat."
Chang Sun rubbed his head and said with a smile, "Mother, these things are very boring. Your father has chosen a master to teach you horse riding and archery. Go and see him. Don't practice on your own recklessly or you might get hurt."
It was not easy to find a teacher to teach literature, but after careful selection, Li Shimin finally found a satisfactory master for martial arts.
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