Chapter 252: A Trip to Cuiwei Palace
On the tenth day of the first lunar month in the twenty-first year of the reign of Zhenguan, Li Er issued an edict to go to Mount Tai in the middle of the next spring to seal the first mountain of the Zen Society; the rest of the matters were handled according to the agreement of the fifteenth year of the reign of Zhenguan. In
February, Crown Prince Li Chengqian went to the Imperial College to perform the ceremony
of offering sacrifices to the Buddha. In the summer, in April, Li Er caught a cold and suffered from the scorching heat in the capital. Li Er ordered the repair of the abandoned Taihe Palace in Zhongnan Mountain and renamed it Cuiwei Palace.
The Cuiwei Palace was completed in May, and Li Er brought Li Chengqian to Cuiwei Palace.
Cuiwei Palace is one of the famous palaces in the Tang Dynasty. It is located south of Chang'an, on the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, and southeast of Qinghua Mountain. It
is located on a flat land with a radius of 0.47 square kilometers in Zhongnan Mountain, with an altitude of 1,568 meters.
From Cuiwei Palace, you can see the Guanzhong Plain and Chang'an City. Its main gate faces north and is named Yunxia Hall. The court hall is Cuiwei Hall and the sleeping hall is Hanfeng Hall.
Cuiwei Palace also has a prince's palace. Its main gate opens to the west and is named Jinhua Gate. The hall is named Anxi Hall.
After Li Er climbed up Cuiwei Palace, he looked at the northwest plain and Chang'an City in the distance, and then looked at Cuiwei Palace. Suddenly, he had an idea.
Li Er decided to chant a poem: "The autumn day is condensed on the green hills, and the cool breeze blows away the palace. The lotus leaves are sparse and the canopy is missing, and the trees are cold and half of the curtain is empty."
This is the Cuiwei Palace in Autumn written by Li Er in Cuiwei Palace in May of the 21st year of Zhenguan, which was later included in the 50th poem of the first volume of "Complete Tang Poems".
"What a good poem! What a good poem! Your Majesty's literary talent is unparalleled in the world, and this poem is very appropriate!" As soon as Li Er finished speaking, someone jumped out to flatter him.
This made Li Er very dissatisfied. He hoped that his ministers could tell him the truth instead of flattering him!
Li Er ignored it and toured all the way from outside Cuiwei Palace to Cuiwei Hall. The ministers followed closely and entered Cuiwei Hall.
Li Er sat on the throne, and the ministers sat on the left and right sides. The crown prince Li Chengqian and the prince of Jin Li Zhi sat in the first seats on the left and right sides respectively. When
renovating Cuiwei Palace this time, Li Er ordered people to place some chairs in Cuiwei Hall, so that the ministers would not have to kneel to talk to the emperor when they met the emperor.
Kneeling for a long time will easily cause numbness in the legs and feet, resulting in poor blood circulation in the legs.
Of course, except for important court meetings and some solemn matters, ministers were allowed to change their postures at other times to avoid any problems from kneeling for too long.
Especially when the emperor and ministers discussed some things for a long time without any results, if they kept kneeling, no one would be able to stand it!
When he came to Cuiwei Palace, maybe Li Er was in a good mood, his face was rosy, and he was much more energetic.
So Li Er chatted with these ministers, and everyone was not bound by the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers, and they were all very casual.
When people get older, they tend to talk about the glorious years of the past, and often talk about their glory in the past.
At this time, Li Er, who was already fifty years old, was no exception. He talked with the ministers, starting from the time when he started his army in Jinyang to establish the Tang Dynasty.
Having experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, ascending the throne and other things, this man tends to recall the past when he is old.
When talking about the excitement, Li Er would clap his hands and laugh from time to time, and talk about some of his sad things in the past.
"The reason why I can take what the ancients could not take from the Rong and Di, and serve what the ancients could not serve, is because I follow the wishes of the people."
"In the past, Yu led the people of the nine states, dug mountains and cut wood, and dredged hundreds of rivers to flow into the sea. It was very hard, but the people did not complain because I followed the people's wishes, followed the situation of the land, and shared the benefits with the people." Li Er said this out of the blue.
Not only were all the officials stunned, but even Li Chengqian and Li Zhi didn't know what to say.
Li Er didn't dwell on it and directly changed the subject to avoid embarrassment for everyone.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, finally not dwelling on this issue any more.
But Li Er obviously did not intend to let it go. After talking for a while, he returned to this topic.
Li Er said: "Since ancient times, although emperors have pacified Zhongxia, they could not make Rong and Di surrender. My talents are not as good as those of the ancients, but I have done much more than them. I am not in a position to talk about this. You can tell me what you think about this matter."
"Your Majesty's merits are equal to the heaven and earth, and cannot be described in words." A minister stood up and said.
He didn't know what to say, so he could only deal with it like this, and his words also meant to flatter Li Er.
Seeing that Li Er was not angry, the other ministers echoed the words of the minister just now.
Li Er waved his hand and said, "It's not like that. What you said is not right. Does the prince know the reason?"
Li Chengqian didn't expect Li Er to turn the topic to him and force him, an outsider, to join in.
It would be bad not to answer. Li Chengqian frowned and thought of a countermeasure. The ministers were all waiting for the prince's answer.
"Father was able to do all this. I think there should be five aspects." Li Chengqian said.
Li Er's eyes lit up, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Just tell me, what are the five aspects?"
Everyone's eyes were focused on the prince, waiting for the prince to reveal the answer.
"Since ancient times, most emperors have envied those who are more talented than themselves. Father, when you see the advantages of others, you treat them as if they were your own. No one is omnipotent, but you abandon their shortcomings and take their strengths."
"When a ruler recruits capable people, he wants to hold them in his arms, and when he dismisses unworthy people, he pushes them into the ditch and keeps them away. When you see a virtuous person, you respect him, and when you meet an unworthy person, you show mercy to them, allowing them to each get what they need."
"Since ancient times, rulers have disliked tough and upright people, and have secretly punished and publicly executed them. There has been no generation without this. Since you took the throne, upright people have been on par with each other in the court, and you have never demoted or punished anyone."
"Since ancient times, the Chinese have always been valued, while the Yi and Di have been despised. Only you have always loved them, so these tribes rely on you, just like their parents."
"These five points are the reason why my father can achieve the current achievements." Li Chengqian said.
This is what he had seen in history books, and he still remembered that this was what Li Er said to him at that time.
"Good!" Li Er smiled and said, "What the prince said is true. It is because of these five points that I can achieve today's achievements!"
Li Er turned around and looked at Chu Suiliang and said, "You have been a historian. Is the prince's evaluation of me just now consistent with historical facts?"
"Your Majesty's great virtues are beyond description. Just based on what the prince just said, I think it is still too modest!" Chu Suiliang saluted.
Only Chu Suiliang himself knows whether what he said was sincere or intentional flattery.
Anyway, after hearing Chu Suiliang's words, Li Er laughed and was very happy.
"My dear minister, you are too kind! What the prince said is a true portrayal. There is no such thing as humility. I just speak the truth. I hope you can speak the truth like the prince, and never take shortcuts." Li Er laughed and taught these ministers how to do it.
"Yes!" The ministers saluted and responded.