Chapter 261 Emperor's Model
"Your son pays respects to your father!" Li Chengqian bowed to Li Er. Li
Er called him to the two ceremony halls right after the morning court session. He didn't know what he wanted to do, and he didn't dare to ask.
There was no one else in the two ceremony halls except him and Li Er, not even his filial son Li Zhi who rarely left on weekdays.
"Sit down!" Li Er pointed to the seat next to him.
"Thank you, father!" Li Chengqian thanked him and sat next to Li Er, waiting for Li Er to speak.
"Do you know why I called you here this time?" Li Er asked.
"Your son doesn't know, please tell me, father!" Li Chengqian said.
"Look at this!" Li Er pointed to a pile of things on the table.
Due to the angle and the high pile of memorials, Li Chengqian thought Li Er wanted him to look at those memorials, but in fact Li Er was referring to a set of books next to the memorials.
At first, Li Chengqian thought that these memorials were all memorials to impeach him, but then he changed his mind and thought that he had not done anything out of line, so he should not be impeached.
"What are these memorials?" Li Chengqian asked nervously.
Li Er was stunned! He clearly asked him to read books, so how could it be related to memorials? When he saw the memorials blocking the books, Li Er realized that Li Chengqian was wrong!
"I didn't ask you to read the memorials, but to read these books!" Li Er pushed away the memorials and pointed to the exposed books.
Li Chengqian suddenly realized that it was not the case and that he had misunderstood. He couldn't help but blush.
Li Er took the book and placed it in front of Li Chengqian, saying, "Look, this will be good for you."
Li Chengqian picked up the book and found that there were still some wet ink marks on it, which means that the content on it should have been written not long ago.
On the cover of the book, the words "Emperor's Model" came into view.
This book was actually written by Li Er, and it was a collection of classic quotations used to warn the prince how to be a good emperor in the future.
"Emperor's Model" is divided into twelve chapters, namely "The King's Body", "Building Relatives", "Seeking Virtues", "Examining Officials", "Accepting Advice", "Getting Rid of Gluttony", "Beware of Excess", "Respecting Frugality", "Rewarding Punishments", "Working with Agriculture", "Reading Military Affairs", and "Respecting Literature".
Among the twelve chapters of "Emperor's Model", "The King's Body" talks about the knowledge of self-cultivation as an emperor, and "Building Relatives" talks about the knowledge of using power.
Seeking talents, examining officials, accepting advice, and eliminating greed respectively talk about the knowledge of using talents, selecting officials, listening to opinions, and eliminating villains.
Avoiding greed, respecting frugality, rewarding and punishing, working on agriculture, reading military, and respecting literature respectively talk about preventing arrogance from mistakes, preventing extravagance from falling, and preventing injustice from causing chaos.
Caring about "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" is conducive to social stability, and military preparation is the cornerstone of long-term peace. Educating the people is also necessary to educate oneself.
This is a highly concentrated summary of Li Er's political experience.
In history, Li Er said to Li Zhi, who was still the crown prince at the time: "The way to discipline oneself and govern is all in it. Once I don't discuss it, I have nothing to say."
It can be seen that Li Er was highly confident in "The Imperial Model", which was indeed the case.
In "Emperor's Model", he gave very insightful answers to the personal cultivation of politicians, the knowledge of selecting and governing subordinates, and even the economic livelihood, education, military and other family and state affairs.
To be precise, "Emperor's Model" is a summary of Li Er's life experience in governing, and a true portrayal of his life as an emperor. When
Li Chengqian opened "Emperor's Model", the first sentence was: I heard that great virtue is called life, and great treasure is called position. Distinguishing between superiors and subordinates, establishing the monarch and ministers, so as to nurture the people and cultivate the common people, one must be wise and prudent, both military and literary...
... Therefore, I look back on the past, read extensively in historical books, and gather the key points, so as to serve as a warning.
Next is the first chapter of Emperor's Model, the monarch's body, which begins to talk about how a qualified emperor should improve his own cultivation.
"Take this "Emperor's Model" back and read it carefully, remember it in your heart, and think more about it." Li Er said.
Li Chengqian said in harmony with the Emperor's Model: "Your son understands! I will definitely study it carefully."
"Just reading is not enough, you have to put the knowledge in it into practice!"
"This first chapter teaches you how to cultivate yourself as an emperor in the future. This is a very important issue." "
Only by constantly cultivating yourself can you better use the power in your hands and use talents to contribute to this empire." Li Er said.
"You must remember all these words I said!"
"Your son will follow your father's teachings!" Li Chengqian said. With Li Er's experience summary, he will be much smoother as an emperor in the future.
"The principles of self-cultivation and state governance are all in these twelve chapters. If you don't explain them, there will be nothing left for you to say."
"You should take the ancient sages and wise kings as your teachers. I am not worthy of imitating them. If you imitate the best, you will only get the middle, and if you imitate the average, you will inevitably get the lower."
"Since I took office, I have made many mistakes. I have been constantly surrounded by brocade, pearls and jade, and I have been constantly building palaces and terraces."
"Dogs, horses, hawks and falcons are brought from all over the world. I traveled to all directions, causing trouble for people everywhere. These are my big mistakes. Don't think they are correct and imitate them." "
Looking back, I have benefited a lot from helping the people, and I have made great contributions to the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. There are many benefits and few harms, so the people have no complaints; the merits are great and the mistakes are small, so the kingship is stable."
"However, if you demand perfection, you will feel ashamed. You did not have my merits and hard work, but inherited my wealth. If you do your best to do good deeds, the country will be stable; if you are arrogant and lazy, you will not be able to protect yourself."
"Moreover, success is hard to come by, but failure can be brought about quickly. For the empire, it is easy to lose but difficult to gain. For the throne, how can you not cherish it? How can you not be cautious!" Li Er admonished Li Chengqian. "
I will definitely keep my father's teachings in mind and never forget them for a moment. I will always remind myself not to make mistakes and will never forget the foundation created by my ancestors with hard work." Li Chengqian stood up and said.
After Li Er's preaching, Li Chengqian was deeply touched.
"If you can keep my words in mind, I can rest assured. I can rest in peace when the Tang Dynasty is in your hands!" Li Er said.
"Father will surely live a long life. I will always listen to your instructions and admonitions!" Li Chengqian said.
"Everything I can give you is in this book. When you go back, no matter how busy you are, you must take time to read it. You will benefit a lot." Li Er said.
"Yes!" Li Chengqian replied.
"Okay! It's getting late! You should go back first! I'm a little tired and need to take a rest." Li Er said.
"I'll take my leave!" Li Chengqian stood up and bowed.
After returning to the East Palace, Li Chengqian carefully read Li Er's masterpiece, a summary of his life's experience in governing - "Emperor's Model".