Chapter 63 Taishan Fengshan Modern workers enter the Lingyan Pavilion!
Li Shimin never thought that the one who saw through his dilemma was actually his nominal sister and Princess Zheng.
He personally helped the man up and asked seriously:
"Have you really thought it through? The bitter cold over there is far from comparable to the Andong and Anxi Protectorates."
[Yes, the main reason is that the altitude there is too high!
Many people simply can't stand it. Even with our current medical technology and conditions, it's not easy to survive there.
[It is thanks to modern Chinese infrastructure technology that we finally have a train line!
In ancient times, it was very difficult to travel such a long distance and return intact!
[Furthermore, Tibet still has echinococcosis, a parasitic disease. If you come into contact with wild marmots and other animals there, you could contract the infectious disease, which is life-threatening!]
Princess Hezheng nodded firmly and said:
“I naturally made up my mind.
"Tibet has always been a great threat to the Tang Dynasty. Now that the Tang Dynasty has finally brought it under control, how can we allow this hard work to change hands so easily after just a few decades?"
If it were governed by outsiders, the emperor would be far away and decades or even hundreds of years later, that place might not still belong to the Tang Dynasty.
But if a man from the royal family was appointed king, Li Shimin would certainly be worried. Princess Hezheng saw through this.
"You have to know that once you go there, you may never come back in this lifetime."
Based on the travel speed of the Tang Dynasty, referring to Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet, the outbound journey alone would have taken nearly a year, with more than a thousand people accompanying her, and it is said that nearly a hundred people were lost.
This is also one of the reasons why Princess Wencheng did not return to her homeland after her husband's death.
"Back then, Princess Wencheng married into the Tibetan empire as a daughter, helping to stabilize the borders of the Tang Dynasty.
Now, Princess Hezheng, who has my Li Tang bloodline, has been crowned a queen in Tibet, leaving her name in history. I feel that my life has been worthwhile."
She wanted to let future generations know that although a princess is a girl, she can also be crowned king and achieve great things.
The women of the Tang Dynasty were no worse than the men.
In the past, when she read history, she admired Taizong's elder sister, Princess Pingyang Zhao. The story of Princess Zhao personally leading the troops in the Taiyuan uprising filled her with longing.
Then one day, she suddenly dreamed of the Tang Dynasty after the An-Shi Rebellion.
Many of her sisters were captured by the rebels, and some were sent to marry into the Uighur tribe, but she was unable to do so.
Before giving birth, she hurried into the palace to discuss state affairs with her brother Li Yu, and died suddenly during childbirth the next day.
She was unwilling to die at such a young age!
Rather than giving birth to children for her husband's family at home, she yearns for the vast world and hopes to protect the peace of the Tang Dynasty.
"If the Prince Consort is not happy, I will divorce him and go alone."
Seeing Princess Hezheng's determination, Li Shimin sighed:
"Sometimes I really can't do anything with you women.
Okay, I agree. I will appoint you as Prince Hezheng and lead the Tang army to defend Tubo.
The Tibetan king must consult with you before implementing any important military and political matters concerning Tibet."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help."
Princess Hezheng kowtowed and stood up, then called out:
"Grandpa, I'm so happy that I can see your elegance with my own eyes.
Your granddaughter is very happy that you can come back to revive the Tang Dynasty."
That day, all the officials did not go to court, and Princess Hezheng stayed at home all day.
In her dream, she witnessed with her own eyes the shattered mountains and rivers and the precarious Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty is doing well now and will be even better in the future.
Princess Hezheng was about to kowtow, and Li Shimin quickly helped her up and patted her shoulder:
"Alright, alright, excuse me.
You are different from those unfilial grandchildren. You are a good child of my Li family!"
Princess He Zheng was very happy to receive the approval of Grandpa Taizu. Before leaving, she mustered up the courage to ask:
"Grandpa Taizu, how do I compare to Princess Pingyang Zhao?"
When she was fleeing Chang'an with her father and grandfather, although she fearlessly commanded the army to repel the enemy, she was ultimately not as good as Princess Pingyang Zhao who personally went into battle to kill the enemy.
Throughout history, the only princess who could lead troops into battle was Princess Pingyang Zhao. She was truly far behind.
Li Shimin thought of his sister, his eyes full of nostalgia:
"You are as outstanding as she is. You are both the best princesses of the Tang Dynasty and a blessing to the people of the Tang Dynasty."
Hearing this, Princess He Zheng left with a smile on her face, like a child who had eaten candy, and was satisfied.
When Princess Hezheng left the capital to enter Tibet, Li Yu's eyes were red and swollen from crying.
Fortunately, although the prince consort did not quite agree, he was still willing to go to Tubo with her to guard the border.
Upon hearing the news, modern workers rushed to produce an ancient version of the Tibetan survival manual and also gave Princess Hezheng and her entourage a number of simple oxygen cylinders.
"The oxygen concentration is not high, but it's better than nothing. If you don't feel any discomfort, use it sparingly.
Be sure to pay attention to the climate, wear more clothes, and try not to catch a cold, as colds there are very difficult to cure."
"By the way, make sure to take these pills with you. Every two or three years when they're about to expire, have someone come back to refill them. Also, be sure to take good contraceptive measures and don't have any more children!"
[Think about the noble women of the Tang Dynasty, the queens, and princesses. Many of them were loving couples, had many children, and then died in their thirties.
I could have lived longer!
We women should pursue careers! Ancient women were incredibly conscious!
I was very moved when I saw this. I hope our modern daughters can encourage each other like the princess!
Princess Hezheng said goodbye to her relatives, and finally looked back at the prosperous Chang'an City, and then at Emperor Taizong and his wife waving at her on the city wall.
Seeing their affirmative and appreciative eyes, she did not look back and set off with a mighty team of more than a thousand people.
This time I will be away for at least ten years, or maybe I will never be able to return home in my lifetime.
Li Shimin remembered what he had said to Princess Hezheng and decided to write the biography of heroic women again, engraving her name and the names of her sister and others in history, instead of just the code name of princess.
[To explain, the biographies of heroic women in the Tang Dynasty are different from those in the Song Dynasty.
The biographies of heroines in the Tang Dynasty mostly recorded outstanding women, such as those who followed their fathers to war and died in the city after being defeated, those who advised their husbands to be honest, those who wrote "The Analects of Women", and Princess Pingyang Zhao who led troops.
It showcases the diverse values of women and reflects the inclusive imperial culture of the Tang Dynasty.
[However, the biographies of heroic women in the Song Dynasty had changed in nature. More than half of them recorded women who remained chaste after their husbands' deaths or committed suicide to preserve their chastity. The content was mostly moral teachings.
A cowardly man is not good at fighting the enemy, but he is the best at forcing women to death! Pah!]
[Don't call this "The Story of a Heroine." It's from the Song and Ming dynasties, so it doesn't sound good to later generations!]
Li Shimin originally thought that this word was nothing, but when he learned that Tianmu was talking about the biographies of heroic women in the Song Dynasty, he suddenly felt a little disgusted.
The men of the Tang Dynasty were not so shameless, and Confucian ethics were not so authoritarian.
"Then let's call them 'Heroine Biographies' and 'Tang Dynasty Women's Biographies'."
Wen Yuping and others applauded the boss and wanted to participate in the writing. Empress Changsun also joined in.
"'Biographies of Heroines' can write about outstanding women from ancient times to the present, while 'Biographies of Women of the Tang Dynasty' begins with the daughters of our Tang Dynasty."
As for "Rules for Women", Empress Changsun wanted to change the writing style, no longer emphasizing the importance of supporting husbands and raising children, but instead encouraging women to realize their self-worth and become brave, intelligent, resolute and decisive.
“‘Rules for Women’ should have been written by women. Rather than letting future generations use it as a shackle to bind women, it is better for me to write it.
I hope this time it can be passed on and spread more widely.”
Li Shimin always strongly supported his wife in whatever she wanted to do.
Before his wife even started writing, he had already begun acting as a propagandist, vigorously promoting the work to the court officials, implicitly asking them to promote it.
In a word, giving face to the Queen is giving face to me!
Of course, all the officials could only say yes, yes, good, good.
Now that they knew the identity of Emperor Taizong, everyone quickly guessed the true identity of Queen Wei.
As a result, no one dared to discuss matters in the harem in front of Emperor Taizong anymore.
Those who were waiting for the couple's relationship to break down so that they could add more people to their harem are now all done for.
After all, they were Emperor Wen and Empress Wen, a famous loving couple in history!
They are not so stupid as to not care about the nine clans and go to cause trouble for the couple.
All affairs of the Tang Dynasty were progressing smoothly, and the Tubo region was also stabilized. Li Shimin was thinking about enfeoffment of various civil and military meritorious officials.
For example, rebuild the Lingyan Pavilion and include the new twenty-four heroes in it and arrange them in order.
But all the officials had blank expressions on their faces, as if they had no interest?
"What's going on? That's Lingyan Pavilion. Don't they want to go to Lingyan Pavilion?"
[Ah, this one.]
The Twenty-Four Heroes are the founding heroes, they are famous and everyone remembers them, who wouldn’t want to be one of them!
But later on in history, there were many, many people in the Lingyan Pavilion! 】
[Tang Suzong gradually added a few more, and later Tang Dezong and others added quite a few more, until there were over a hundred people in the end!]
[Hilarious! Lingyan Pavilion inflation has caused the status of famous officials to depreciate. Who will remember the people behind them?!]
At this time, Lingyan Pavilion, the Tang Dynasty honor ranking list, had not yet reached the stage where more and more people were trying to squeeze in.
But the ministers thought that the further they were ranked on the list, the worse it was, which didn't seem like a good thing.
Therefore, I am not very interested, but I dare not say it out loud.
But modern workers are very straightforward and dare to express themselves. They stand up and say directly to their bosses:
"Your Majesty, your Lingyan Pavilion is already ranked behind twenty-four people. If we add us in, no one will be able to take first place.
The first person who dares to taste all the herbs will be remembered, but who will remember the second, third, and one hundred and first person's names?
"Yes, because only the first pig standing on the wind's vent can succeed. Even the people who come after can only be cabbages!"
Li Shimin: ...
Well, the truth is there. Each generation should have its own Lingyan Pavilion.
So this time Li Shimin decided to rebuild a pavilion called "Mingzheng Pavilion" to the east of Lingyan Pavilion, and list the names of the 24 heroes who made great contributions to the restoration of the dynasty during this period.
As a result, the ministers became much more interested, their eyes lit up, and they almost fought on the spot for the ranking.
As modern people say, the first person is always impressive.
In order to compete for the first place, the ministers all flirted with His Majesty Li Shimin.
The first, second and third are definitely Guo Ziyi, Li Mi and Li Guangbi. Modern workers don’t compete with them.
But you can still fight for the top ten.
So when others were vying to flatter her, Wen Yuping cleverly stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, it is a pity that Emperor Taizong did not perform the Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai.
Now that our dynasty is strong and the people are living and working in peace and contentment, it is time for Your Majesty to perform the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai."
All the ministers:……!!!
Oh no, these overseas people have picked up a huge bargain! Why didn’t they think of this?
Sure enough, Li Shimin was very happy to hear this.
It just so happened that Li Shimin thought of the great contribution Wen Yuping made in the economic warfare during the last attack on Tubo.
So they took this opportunity to appoint her as the Minister of Revenue and listed her fifth among the new version of the Lingyan Pavilion.
"Economic achievements are related to the people's livelihood and the survival of the country.
The fifth hero, well-deserved!"
Wen Yuping: Thank you to my colleagues at Datang for their help!
[Ahhhhhhh sister, you are so awesome!
It's only been a few years now, and he's already been promoted to the head of the Ministry of Revenue, which is equivalent to the Minister of Finance!
[How many modern officials would envy you to death, and you have even entered the Lingyan Pavilion!
That's the Lingyan Pavilion, where you can display portraits and poems written by famous people!
[Er Feng was really good at having fun. He even asked contemporary painters and writers to write pamphlets for the heroes.
Each booklet contains a portrait of the character, as well as poems and praiseworthy descriptions written by famous people.
Anyway, it looks a lot like our modern online bios, and it's also a little cute. Why is that?]
[Woo woo woo, no wonder so many people in ancient times would rather risk their lives to leave their names in history!
This value is truly enormous! Even a modern person like me would be jealous!]
Wen Yuping proposed to offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, and Li Shimin was very happy.
This time he is finally not as pitiful as he was during the Zhenguan period.
After all, the country had just been founded at that time, and there was really nothing available, and life was very tight.
Coupled with the criticism and advice from his ministers at that time, he ultimately regretted not being able to go to Mount Tai.
[Times are different now. The Tang Dynasty is still quite wealthy.
But that's just the way it is. As more ministers are appointed to the Lingyan Pavilion, it becomes worthless. Similarly, over time, as more emperors perform Fengshan rituals on Mount Tai, Mount Tai becomes worthless.
[The Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han went to offer sacrifices to the gods, so they should have gone; Li Zhi went, after all, mainly to help his father to be granted the title, so it was barely acceptable.
But what about Li Longji going to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to the gods?]
[It is said that his specifications are even higher than those of previous emperors, and his team stretches for hundreds of miles!
Bah! What? You think you have surpassed the achievements of all the emperors in history?
Ah indeed, he is number one when it comes to destroying a nation! 】
Li Shimin: ………My Mount Tai is dirty!
Why did you go to Mount Tai for no reason? To make future generations laugh at you?
Just thinking about this made Li Shimin feel disappointed, but in the end he felt that it was not Taishan's fault, but Li Longji's fault.
If he goes to Fengshan again, the value of Mount Tai will be restored!
And Mount Tai can become pure and innocent again!
Thinking of this, Li Shimin became happy again, and wanted to take his wife with him!
From ancient times to the present, among the five emperors who performed Fengshan rituals on Mount Tai, only Li Zhi brought Wu Zetian with him, while the others went alone.
Therefore, when Li Shimin proposed to let his queen participate in the Fengshan ceremony, no one objected, but they were still fed another wave of dog food.
Okay, okay, you are Emperor Taizong, you have a good relationship with your wife, you can do whatever you want.
We, a group of passing dogs, will not get involved.
However, along the way, Li Shimin still demanded to be frugal as much as possible and would never make a grand event like Li Longji did, wasting manpower and material resources.
Sometimes during the journey, he would suddenly become restless and snatch the horses of the imperial guards.
While everyone was staring at each other in bewilderment, he took a few personal guards and ran to the farmland near the farm, asking the local people about their harvest this year, how each household was doing, whether there were any unjust cases, or whether they were being bullied by local officials and powerful people.
The officials who passed by along the way were all under increased pressure and were sweating profusely.
But when the people learned that the emperor was passing by, they all beat drums and gongs and walked for ten miles to see him off, vying to see his holy face.
The people today have experienced wars and the periods of the previous two emperors, when harsh policies were rampant and taxes were collected everywhere.
Someone in my family was forced to do corvée labor, and we even starved to the point of having no food to eat. Therefore, the good times of the past five or six years were particularly fond of me.
Thanks to the new emperor for his hard work and reduction of corvee labor and taxes!
There are even some wealthy areas where the education is as good as it was during the Zhenguan period, where people do not pick up things on the road and do not lock their doors at night.
When the people talk about the current emperor, they are of course grateful and proud.
This is the emperor of their Tang Dynasty, the Khan who forced foreign barbarians to submit obediently, and a monarch who was benevolent and kind to the people.
They are so lucky to live in such a great Tang Dynasty!
Li Shimin looked at the people along the way and found that they were no longer in the state they were in during the war a few years ago. They all had food at home, and even some surplus.
The situation he has now is much better than that in the Zhenguan period.
This kind of Tang Dynasty is the Tang Dynasty he truly wants to realize!
Therefore, when he arrived at Mount Tai, he was filled with great passion, joy and excitement.
Accompanied by important civil and military officials of the court and his wife who had always been by his side, Li Shimin personally held his wife's hand and walked step by step to the top of Mount Tai, kneeling down to worship and offer sacrifices towards the sky.
This time, in addition to Li Tan, Li Shimin ordered people to carve his own name, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, on the stone tablet of Mount Tai, finally making up for the regret of not being able to perform the Fengshan ceremony.
Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, finally got what he wanted.
“Hundreds of years later, when people read our history, they will find our great achievements and accomplishments splendid and impressive, not just the stories of the Long Zhou, Yan Han, Jian Wu, and Yong Ping periods.”[1]
Looking back now, whether it was then or now, I have always done it."
Standing on the top of Mount Tai, looking at the red sun in the distant east, further away is the rolling sea of clouds, endless fields and the endless sea level.
Li Shimin held Empress Changsun's hand and said with a hearty and free-spirited smile.
[Yes, Erfeng, you did it!
When it comes to civil administration, no emperor from ancient times to the present can compare to you!
[How could the Zhou Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Jianwu and Yongping be comparable to our Tang Dynasty!
Before you, ministers of all dynasties took Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty as their standard; and after you, emperors of all dynasties have taken you as their standard!
Our Erfeng will always be the brightest rising sun in the Tang Dynasty!
His Majesty Erfeng always takes on the heavy burden of troubled times, and ultimately restores the country to a peaceful and orderly state.
[Even after thousands of years, the Tang Dynasty you created will still be the eternal yearning of us Chinese people!
The Tang Dynasty is one of the most important chapters in the Chinese people's national confidence and cultural origins!
[Wow, I'm so moved. The prosperous Tang Dynasty revitalized by Erfeng has just begun. The future Tang Dynasty will surely become an even more brilliant historical pearl!]
"Don't worry, I will."
Now he is thirty years old, and he still has at least twenty to thirty years in the future. He will eventually do what he should do and what he has not done before!
After leaving Mount Tai and returning to Chang'an City, a grand song and dance performance was held in the palace to celebrate this event.
The culture, dance, poetry and songs of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty were a fusion of foreign Hu style and the traditional graceful style of the Han people of the Tang Dynasty. They were dazzling yet elegant and beautiful.
When Lei Haiqing played "The Qin King's Breaking Formation Music" again, Li Shimin was delighted and went down to the scene to dance with all the generals.
A group of ministers drank wine from the Western Regions and tasted the exquisite Mixue Bingcheng pastries. They all stayed up until late at night and still didn't want to go home.
After Li Shimin got drunk, he began to write in Feibai script, and the ministers around him rolled up their sleeves and waited to grab it.
First of all, His Majesty Taizong’s calligraphy is beautiful!
Secondly, this was written by His Majesty Taizong!
If I don't get it back, won't my mother at home scold me for being useless?
However, at this time, Guo Ziyi and Yan Zhenqing finally began to regret why they did not snatch the throne when His Royal Highness Prince Yan got married. As a result, there are now many competitors, making it much more difficult to snatch the throne.
Our current opponents include not only the local officials of the Tang Dynasty, but also a group of overseas workers.
Family members, if you can grab this painting and take it home to keep for the present day, it will be worthy enough to be put in a museum!
This heirloom is worth a fortune!
No matter whether you are Li Guangbi, Yan Zhenqing or Li Bai, just grab it first!
So, everyone watched the modern workers and the ancient Tang people fighting for it, but the modern people were really too weak in fighting and were no match for Li Guangbi and his ilk.
Modern workers who only know how to squeeze in were soon pushed to the periphery by the Tang people and could not even touch the edge.
Fortunately, modern workers are more flexible in grabbing things. They would stand in front of the emperor while scrambling, throw themselves on the emperor's desk, and even push the stunned Li Shimin aside.
So in the end, it was us modern workers who got it!
Oh yeah! We win!
People of the Tang Dynasty: ………
You can do it, you are awesome, you overseas people can do it!
Li Shimin laughed heartily while watching from the side, feeling extremely satisfied and having a sense of accomplishment, and he did not mind that these modern people had no rules and were clumsy.
When the party was about to end, he suddenly took out something bulging from his sleeve and said mysteriously:
"I recently received a precious calligraphy and painting by Wang Xizhi.
Do you want to see it?
Who wouldn’t want to watch it!
The people of the Tang Dynasty and modern workers all stared with wide eyes and nodded like chickens pecking at rice, all gathered around waiting to open their eyes.
At this moment, Li Shimin put the calligraphy and painting into his arms:
"I won't show it to you."
After saying that, Li Shimin stood up with a big laugh, took his wife away, and left, leaving a group of ancient and modern workers staring blankly.
Bah, how could such an emperor lie to others?
Everyone in the sky was laughing so hard that they almost dropped their heads. Li Shimin was also laughing happily. He was just taking personal revenge on the ministers who criticized him every day.
Empress Changsun smiled and shook her head, wanting to persuade her but ultimately remaining silent. The two men returned home, each holding the little prince in one hand and the little princess in the other.
I am very drunk tonight, and tomorrow is a new day in the Tang Dynasty.
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