Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 532 The Years of the Fief
In the eyes of many people, the fiefdoms bestowed by the royal family on men of merit have always been permanent, and there is no age limit. This has been the case in all dynasties.

Therefore, when Gao Ming said that the feudal period bestowed on the heroes this time was 70 years, everyone in the court hall were all surprised.

"The fiefdom is only 70 years? Isn't that too short?"

"I've never heard of such a short-term fiefdom before."

"Yes, yes, this is indeed too short..."

Looking at the civil and military officials who were discussing a lot, Gao Ming did not show any surprise on his face, obviously the reactions of all the officials were within his expectations.

Gao Ming let everyone discuss, and waited until everyone was talking about it, then he nodded with a smile, and then looked around.

"Do you all think that the fiefdom is only 70 years long? Then let me ask everyone here, who of you can live another 70 years? Raise your hand and let me see if you think you can live!"

"..."

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, the hall suddenly fell silent.

The average life expectancy of the Tang Dynasty was 50 years old. In this era, "a life of seventy is rare" is not empty talk, because there are really very few people who can live to be 70 years old.

At this time, the officials who can stand in the hall of the court, except for the prince who is on duty, the youngest officials are all over 25 years old. If they live another 70 years, they must be at least 95 years old.

Obviously, this is very difficult!

None of the civil and military officials present had the confidence to live to 95 years old, so when faced with Gao Ming's question, they all remained silent.

Looking at the silent crowd, Gao Ming smiled again, then nodded again.

"Okay, the question just now seems to be a bit embarrassing for everyone, so let me change the question and ask everyone here, who can guarantee that their son will live another 70 years? Raise your hand and let me see!"

"..."

Hearing Gao Ming's question, the officials present immediately looked at each other, but no one raised their hands.

Datang was an era where early marriages were serious. Men generally married and had children at the age of 15. Take Li Zhi as an example. He just turned 16 this year, but his son Li Zhong is already one year old.

Even the prince Li Zhi is like this, not to mention the other ministers, even the youngest son in the room can now recite the Analects of Confucius.

Although everyone wants their sons and daughters to be healthy and live a long life, no one dares to raise their hands in front of Gao Ming and Li Shimin in the hall to guarantee that their sons will live another 70 years. Hands up.

Therefore, the hall fell into silence again.

Seeing this scene, Gao Ming immediately shrugged his shoulders, and then spread his hands towards everyone.

"You see, you yourself will not live to be 70 years later, and some of your sons will probably not live to be 70 years later, and even the grandsons of many people present may become very old in 70 years. Do you think 70 years is too short?"

"This……"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, everyone's eyes suddenly revealed a look of thought, and a few began to discuss in low voices again.

"Hearing what His Royal Highness said, it seems that 70 years is not short!"

"Isn't it short? The old man's grandson is fourteen today, and he will be able to marry a wife in a year. After 70 years, the old man's grandson will probably have gray hair!"

"Yes, yes, that's true..."

Seeing that everyone had begun to accept what he said, a smile flashed across Gao Ming's face, and then he cupped his hands towards the ministers around him.

"Perhaps many people present are thinking that the fiefdoms of the previous dynasties were permanent, why is the fiefdom of my Tang Dynasty changed to 70 years? Is this too stingy? Regarding this question, I want to tell everyone , In fact, this so-called 'permanent' is not as long as you think."

Hearing Gao Ming's words, everyone immediately stopped discussing, and then turned their attention to Gao Ming, waiting for his explanation.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Gao Ming immediately smiled and nodded.

"To talk about this issue, first of all, we have to count down the Guozuo of all dynasties since Qin Shihuang ruled the world!"

Having said that, Gao Ming stretched out five fingers towards everyone.

"Everyone sees that when Qin Dynasty II died, Guozuo was only 14 years old, Guozuo in the Western Han Dynasty was 210 years old, Guozuo in the Eastern Han Dynasty was 195 years old, Jin Dynasty was 156 years old, Sui Dynasty was only 38 years old, Tang Dynasty... Well……"

Gao Ming originally wanted to say "Guozuo of the Tang Dynasty", but he realized that he had slipped his mouth when he was halfway through, so he quickly changed his words.

"That... Tang Dynasty is still unknown!"

"..."

Looking at everyone's surprised eyes, Gao Ming quickly squeezed out a compassionate expression.

"Everyone, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty in the first year of Wude, it has been 26 years. This is the result of the joint efforts of the first emperor, my father, and all the adults. No one knows how far we can go in the future. , after all, human life is too short!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, many people present expressed emotion.

"His Royal Highness is right!"

"Yeah, a person's life is really too short!"

"Indeed..."

Seeing that everyone was successfully diverted from the topic by himself, Gao Ming's heart immediately blossomed, but on the surface he still had a look of compassion.

"Using history as a guide to know the rise and fall, so my lords, compared with the 14th year of the Qin Dynasty and Guozuo, and the 38th year of the Sui Dynasty, our Tang Dynasty has a fiefdom of 70 years, which is much more than the sum of the two dynasties. Is it short?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, many ministers couldn't help but nodded their heads immediately, obviously they also recognized Gao Ming's statement.

At this time, Gao Ming also walked to the top of the hall, and then bowed his hands towards everyone.

"You are all the ministers of my Tang Dynasty. It is because of you and the efforts of two generations of virtuous emperors that we have the prosperity of Zhenguan today. I would like to thank you here in advance!"

Having said that, Gao Ming bowed to everyone with a sincere face.

Although everyone didn't know why Gao Ming made such a move, but seeing this scene, everyone present quickly bowed to Gao Ming in return.

"Eating the king's salary, loyalty to the king, this is our duty!"

"His Royal Highness is absurd!"

"Yeah yeah……"

Although everyone was humble, the smiles at the corners of their mouths betrayed their inner thoughts. At this moment, almost every official present was full of affection for Gao Ming, and they were all thinking in their hearts.

"What a reasonable and reasonable His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is!"

In addition to the officials, Li Shimin, who was sitting at the top, was also secretly happy.

"Two generations of virtuous emperors? Even if this kid can talk!"

Seeing the joy of the people around him, the corners of Gao Ming's mouth curled up again.

"Sure enough, it's a thousand wears and a flattery, it seems that this step is the right one, and the rest will be easy to handle!"

(End of this chapter)