Chapter 371 Meeting the Saint
"Da da da..." Footsteps sounded behind him and Su Zhongyan turned around.
"Zhongyan, why are you walking so fast without even waiting for your brother!" Su Shiyan and Su Chenyan caught up with him, warmly and intimately.
Su Zhongyan looked at his two cousins, a smile he hadn't seen in almost a year.
"Two brothers..." Su Zhongyan looked at the two brothers.
"You can't take care of so many children by yourself, let's do it together!" Su Shiyan said kindly.
My grandfather was right. My second brother and I are also village teachers. How could I be left out when seeking titles?
"Brother, you..." Su Zhongyan felt his head buzzing, and his two cousins became more and more reckless.
This is to meet the emperor, not to stroll on the street!
"Zhong Yan, you're right. Why are you going alone for such a big event as the Emperor? We are also teachers. How can we let you bear such a heavy burden alone?"
Su Shiyan remained calm. He was a little embarrassed to speak before, but now he could speak fluently and felt more and more confident.
Just as my grandfather said, we are all teachers to the children, so how can we be left out of the rewards?
"My two brothers, the emperor did not mention this in his oral instructions. Be careful not to cause disaster by being so reckless!" Su Zhongyan whispered.
"What do you mean, Zhong Yan? Didn't the oral instruction mention all the students? Except for you and Ah Hei, who isn't one of the students?" Su Shiyan argued.
"Su Shiyan, do you know what the crime of deceiving the emperor is? Can your little cleverness escape the emperor's keen observation?
You can't harm the Su family and these children just for your own selfish desires!" Su Zhongyan scolded harshly.
"Zhong Yan, we are both village teachers, how could we ever deceive you?
I didn't participate in the early stages, but since Xingyang, we've been traveling together, taking care of the children's food, clothing, housing and transportation. How can I not be considered a part of the study tour?"
Su Shiyan praised his own cleverness.
"Big brother, second brother, you'd better not go!" Su Zhaoyan slowed down when he saw that his two brothers were still arguing with his cousin.
"We are also teachers, why can't we go? Third brother, who did you learn this from? How did you become so materialistic and can't tell the difference between relatives and strangers?" Su Shiyan scolded his brother.
"Hmph! Big brother and second brother, I advise you to listen to my advice. The emperor is not someone you can fool!
Who doesn't want wealth and glory? But you have to be lucky enough to enjoy it! Be careful, or you might be too clever and end up losing your life!
Su Zhaoyan advised for the sake of being a fellow countryman that if he played too much, he would lose his life.
"Third brother! What are you talking about?" Su Shiyan was angry and his voice rose unconsciously.
"Who's making noise?" Xu Zhi had already heard an argument behind them.
"My Lord, it is..."
"Sir, I, Su Shiyan (Su Chenyan), greet you." Su Shiyan and Su Chenyan interrupted Su Zhongyan.
Su Zhongyan shook his head secretly. He wanted to die but couldn't be stopped, so he kept silent.
"Who are you from the Su family?" Xu Zhi looked at him. He didn't look like Su Zhongyan, but he said his surname was Su.
"I am the son of Su Buqing, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works, and Su Bucheng, the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture, is my uncle!
The student, also a village school teacher, accompanied the children all the way from Xingyang to Chang'an. "Su Shiyan had never been so wise.
Xu Zhi looked at these people. Su Zhongyan lowered his eyes and remained silent. Su Zhaoyan initially wanted to dissuade him, but later he also lowered his eyes and remained silent.
"My two gentlemen, we are following the emperor's order to bring Second Young Master Su, Ah Hei and the children who are studying abroad into the palace!" Xu Zhi repeated.
Su Shaoyin was in a powerful position in front of the emperor, so Xu Zhi couldn't offend him directly, so he spoke more tactfully.
"Sir, student..." Su Shiyan wanted to lobby again.
Xu Zhi flicked his whisk and walked away without listening to the two people's chatter. Su Zhongyan and Su Zhaoyan also followed him.
He did not judge the truth of the matter, he just followed orders.
The emperor highly values Su Yuanwailang because he repaired Dayuling Mountain. It is unexpected that such a hardworking person has such a incompetent son!
Xu Zhi shook his head in his heart, who said that a tiger father will not have a dog son?
"Brother!" Su Chenyan's face flushed.
Xu Zhi turned around and left without saying a word, and slapped them hard in front of all the students.
"Hmph!" Su Shiyan's face twisted and his fists clenched.
How could this happen if Su Zhongyan didn't make a fuss?
No wonder Su Ying wanted to bring them to Tong County, it turns out she had already planned it!
Su Shiyan hated himself for being easily fooled by Su Ying to go to Tong County! Otherwise, he should have brought the children to the palace to meet the emperor!
The children followed Xu Zhi silently through the imperial city, entered the Taiji Palace, walked along the long palace road, and came to the Ganlu Palace.
"Your Majesty! Su Erlang, Ahei and a group of students have been brought here and are waiting for the announcement outside the hall." Xu Zhi bowed.
"Okay, announce!" The memorials on the desk had just been reviewed.
Fu Zhong and Hu Erlang had already left.
"Hey, where are you from?" Su Zhongyan and others waited nervously.
A young man of about eleven or twelve years old came, wearing a five-noble crown on his head and a yellow robe embroidered with a red coiled dragon pattern.
"Imperial College student Su Zhongyan greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Su Zhongyan recognized that this was clothing that only the Crown Prince was qualified to wear.
"No need to be so polite! What are you doing?" Li Chengqian saw dozens of people in front of him, big and small, all wearing orange vests and holding an abacus.
"Your Highness, these children are students studying in Wu County, Lingnan. The emperor heard about it and specially summoned them." Su Zhongyan replied.
"Study abroad? You..." Li Chengqian tried his best to act calm, but was shocked and was about to ask in detail.
"Announce! Su Erlang, Ahei, and the students who are studying abroad are here to see you!" Xu Zhi said loudly.
Su Zhongyan and Ah Hei brought the children into the hall.
"Imperial College student Su Zhongyan pays homage to His Majesty!" "Wei Ahei, a Li native from Jinfeng Village in Wu County, pays homage to His Majesty!"
The emperor took a quick look and was amazed to see the bright orange color.
"Oh, your clothes are quite neat!" The emperor found it funny that the students from Lingnan looked like this.
Most of the children were between eleven and twelve years old, and there were a few younger ones as well.
"What's your name?" The emperor walked up to the youngest, Su Zhaoyan.
"Your Majesty, I am Su Zhaoyan." Su Zhaoyan tried to remain calm.
"How big?" asked the emperor.
"Your Majesty, eight years old!"
"Is it hard to study abroad? What did you learn?" the emperor asked again.
"Your Majesty, traveling and studying is not tiring. We will follow the caravan to Guangzhou Port, take a large ship to Quanzhou Port, then go to Jiaozhou, Hebei Road, Henan Road, and then to Jingji Road.
Look at the famous mountains and rivers, and see the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty!" Su Zhaoyan's eyes sparkled.
"Oh, what about Henan Province and Hebei Province? What did you see?" the emperor said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, I see the plight of the victims!" Su Zhaoyan thought for a moment and answered truthfully.
"Oh, are there many victims?" asked the emperor.
"Not many. Some returned to their hometowns to farm, and when the autumn crops were harvested, the disaster was over; some went to Lingnan to reclaim wasteland." Su Zhaoyan said.
"If that's the case, why do you still think the Tang Dynasty is prosperous?"
“Your Majesty, if the Tang Dynasty had not prospered, the victims would have long been displaced and forced to trade their children for food. However, in Henan and Hebei Provinces, grain prices were stable, and the victims were properly and orderly resettled.
To achieve these goals, it is not enough to have honest officials; it also requires a wise and benevolent ruler and sufficient financial resources.”
"Hahaha!" The emperor felt relieved and laughed heartily.
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