People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1545 King Peng, a Saint
On the sixth day of February, it was drizzling.

Raindrops fell thinly from the sky.

Like a bead curtain, it looks very poetic.

Li Xuan held an oil-paper umbrella in his hand and walked slowly along the palace road, finally arriving at the gate of the East Palace.

"Young Guardian!" Dozens of soldiers in golden armor, holding swords and spears, bowed solemnly to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded calmly, his eyes falling on the palace gate guard, Prince's Right Guard Commander Sima Wei Sili, who also bowed solemnly.

Wei Sili was the son of Wei Siqian, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, and the younger brother of Wei Chengqing, the Assistant Military Officer of the Household Department of the Grand Military Governor's Office of Yangzhou.

After Li Xuan returned to Chang'an, he immediately used his position as the Prince's Guardian to transfer Wei Sili, the magistrate of Shuangliu County who happened to be in Chang'an, to be the Prince's Right Guard Commander.

The Minister of Personnel Guo Zhengyi did not care much about it and approved it.

Wei Sili was the cousin of the Queen and the uncle of the Crown Prince, and his status and position were suitable, so no one obstructed this appointment.

Not only Wei Sili, Li Xuan transferred many old members of the Eastern Palace to serve in the other sixteen guards, and at the same time, he also transferred many sons of aristocratic families from the other sixteen guards to serve in the Eastern Palace.

Of course, they are all military positions.

Li Xuan was the Prince's Guardian and the General of the Right Guard.

When the young men from the noble families of the Sixteen Guards saw that it was the position of the Eastern Palace, they surrendered without hesitation.

The reason why those people left before was actually because the prince was too young.

Only five years old.

Li Xuan smiled and walked into the East Palace.

People had already started walking around in the official residences on both sides.

……

In the Mingde Hall, Li Chongzhao was sitting behind a desk, and Song Zhiwen, a scholar from the Prince's Chongwen Academy, was teaching Li Chongzhao to read the Analects.

The prince's household official Wu Sansi stood to one side.

Li Xuan walked in calmly, her footsteps neither light nor heavy.

Li Chongzhao looked up and saw Li Xuan standing outside the hall. He couldn't help but look up and said with a smile, "Uncle!"

Li Xuan walked into the hall with a solemn look, bowed and said, "Your servant, the Crown Prince's Guardian, Prince Peng Xuan, greets the Crown Prince."

Li Chongzhao looked solemn and nodded, "Young Master, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Li Xuan bowed slightly, then walked to the side and sat down. He looked up at Wu Sansi, then looked at Li Chongzhao gently and said, "I came here today to bid farewell to Your Highness. I will set off to the west tomorrow."

"Go west?" Li Chongzhao was slightly stunned and said, "Is my uncle going to leave Chang'an?"

"Yes!" Li Xuan smiled and said, "I am the pacification envoy of Luoshui Road, the governor of Fanzhou, and the governor of Fanzhou. This year I will travel west to assist the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Liu Xiang, the Duke of Pengcheng, in pacifying the Turks.

If everything goes well, perhaps I will be able to return to Chang'an at the end of the year and discuss academic matters with Your Highness."

Li Chongzhao's face turned slightly bitter, and then he looked at Li Xuan and said, "Uncle, do the uncles in your family also need to study?"

"Of course." Li Xuan glanced at Wu Sansi and said, "My eldest son Zhizhao and my eldest daughter Xiaer have both become students of Li Zhaode, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. When Your Majesty returns from Chang'an, we will also invite Li Zhaode to give lectures at their home when he is free."

"Li Zhaode, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was previously the chief secretary of Prince Peng." Wu Sansi said. Seeing that Li Chongzhao seemed to be thinking about something, Wu Sansi looked at Li Xuan and said, "Your Highness, isn't Wang Yinke, the chief secretary of Prince Peng, the teacher of Prince Jinchang and Princess Fuchang?"

Li Xuan shook his head and said, "Changshi is now serving as the Sima of Fanzhou. He and Xuan are going to Fanzhou to take up their posts. Sanlang and Wulang are still in Luoshui, so it's a good opportunity to invite Changshi Wang to give lectures in Luoshui."

"Are Minister Li and Chief Clerk Wang competent?" Li Chongzhao looked up with some curiosity.

Li Xuan turned sideways to look at Song Zhiwen and winked, signaling him to speak.

Song Zhiwen smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, Li Zhaode, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was admitted to the government through the Mingjing examination, and is the son of Li Qianyou, the former minister of the Ministry of Justice. Wang Yinke, the chief secretary of Prince Peng, was a Jinshi in the second year of Xianheng, and passed the imperial examination several years earlier than me."

Song Zhiwen was a man of considerable learning, and even if he were compared face to face with Li Zhaode and Wang Yinke, he would not feel inferior to them.

But there are some things that it is one thing to understand in your heart and another to say out loud.

Li Zhaode was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who was of the fourth rank, and Wang Yinke was the Chief Clerk of King Peng and Sima of Fanzhou, who were both higher in official rank than him.

Moreover, Li Zhaode was the confidant of the late emperor, and Wang Yinke was the confidant of the empress dowager. Putting aside their knowledge, they were better than Song Zhiwen in many aspects.

The key is that the two of them have their own spies in the court and the East Palace. If he says anything nonsense, it will be heard by the two in a blink of an eye.

"Your Highness is still young, and it is not appropriate for him to be exposed to criminal law and the art of government. After a few years, you can ask the two wise men to teach you." Wu Sansi persuaded with a smile.

He looked at Li Xuan and Song Zhiwen with great vigilance in his eyes.

Li Xuan smiled gently. Wu Sansi wanted to control the prince, so naturally he didn't want more people to appear around him.

Especially Li Zhaode.

Wang Yinke didn't care. After all, he was Empress Wu's man and was about to leave Chang'an.

"Actually, King Peng is the great master of literature." Song Zhiwen seemed not to understand Wu Sansi's eyes.

Standing aside, Song Zhiwen said with emotion: "King Peng is proficient in rhyme, law, and poetry and writing. The poems written by King Peng in recent years have long been compiled into poetry collections and circulated throughout the world. I don't know how many people want to worship King Peng as their teacher but cannot do so."

Li Chongzhao suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Li Xuan with excitement.

Wu Sansi's expression changed slightly, and he smiled and said, "That's not the point. When Your Majesty was the Crown Prince, you received a lot of instruction from King Peng. Now King Peng is teaching Your Highness, and he will teach Your Highness's son in the future. He will be the third generation of the Crown Prince's teacher."

Li Xuan immediately looked at Wu Sansi with a wry smile on his face: "My Lord, three generations of princes' teacher is not a good word." The previous three generations of princes' teacher was the teacher of Li Gang, Yang Yong, Li Jiancheng, and Li Chengqian.

Wu Sansi just smiled and said nothing. He was ready to spread the name of the prince's teacher for three generations throughout the world.

"Your Majesty has been the tutor of three generations of crown princes. There are few people in the world who can compare to you." Song Zhiwen stood aside and bowed to flatter him.

The smile on Wu Sansi's face suddenly became even brighter.

Li Xuan smiled helplessly and said, "A teacher is someone who teaches, accepts students and resolves doubts."

Song Zhiwen understood something and quickly bowed: "Please explain in detail, Your Majesty."

Li Xuan looked at the bewildered Wu Sansi, then looked at Li Chongzhao and said, "No one is born knowing, so who can be without doubts? If you are confused and don't seek guidance from a teacher, your doubts will never be resolved."

Li Chongzhao nodded subconsciously, and Li Xuan continued, "Those who were born before me, they heard the Tao before me, so I follow them as my teachers; those who were born after me, they heard the Tao before me, so I follow them as my teachers. I am the teacher of the Tao, so how can I know whether they were born before or after me? Therefore, there is no distinction between noble and humble, no distinction between old and young, where the Tao exists, the teacher exists."

Song Zhiwen, who was standing by, had his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but walk over to the table at the side and sit down, quickly writing down Li Xuan's words.

Li Xuan also suddenly sighed at this time: "Alas! The teachings of teachers have not been passed on for a long time, and it is difficult for people to have no doubts!
The sages of ancient times were far superior to ordinary people, yet they still followed their teachers and asked questions. People today are far inferior to the sages, yet they are ashamed to learn from teachers.

Therefore, the wise become wiser, and the foolish become more foolish. Is it because of this that wise men become wise and foolish men become foolish?

Wu Sansi looked bewildered, wondering why Li Xuan suddenly became so emotional.

Li Xuan shook his head, then looked up at Wu Sansi, and said, "If one loves his son, he will choose a teacher to teach him; but if one is ashamed to have a teacher for himself, he is confused.

The teacher of that boy, who teaches him books and helps him recite and read, is not what I call one who teaches him the truth and helps him solve his confusions.

I don’t know how to read and understand sentences, I don’t understand puzzles, I have a teacher but not a teacher, I learn the basics but miss the big picture, I don’t see how it can be enlightened.”

The entire hall had fallen completely silent, with only the sound of Li Xuan's chanting and Song Zhiwen's quick writing remaining.

"Witch doctors, musicians, and craftsmen do not feel ashamed to be teachers. But among the scholars and officials, if they call each other "teacher" and "disciple", the crowd will laugh at them.

When asked, he said: "They are about the same age and have similar ideals. If they are in a low position, they will be ashamed. If they are in a high position, they will be close to flattery."

Alas! The teacher's virtue is no longer known. Gentlemen despise witch doctors, musicians, and craftsmen, but now their wisdom is beyond their reach. Isn't it strange? "

Li Xuan turned to look at Li Chongzhao, bowed solemnly and said: "A saint has no permanent teacher. Confucius's teachers were Tan Zi, Chang Hong, Shi Xiang, and Lao Dan. Tan Zi's disciples were not as virtuous as Confucius. Confucius said: 'When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher.' Therefore, a disciple does not have to be inferior to the teacher, and a teacher does not have to be virtuous than the disciple. There are differences in the order of learning the truth, and in the specialization of skills, that's all."

Although Li Chongzhao was young, he knew that something big seemed to have happened and stood up subconsciously.

Wu Sansi on the side was completely confused.

He knew that if this article got out today, Li Xuan's reputation as the prince's teacher would be firmly established.

It is not a title like Li Gang's that carries with it an aura of bad luck, but rather a title that has some saintly connotations.

"Your Highness." Song Zhiwen stood up, walked to the desk in front of Li Xuan, and respectfully put down the copied article.

Li Xuan picked up the pen beside him and wrote softly: "Prince Chongzhao, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, is fond of ancient literature and hopes to learn all the six arts, classics and commentaries, regardless of time, and learn from me. I admire his ability to follow the ancient ways, and I wrote "On Teachers" to give to him."

Li Xuan took out the seal from his waist and stamped it directly.

Song Zhiwen turned around excitedly, bowed deeply to the prince, and then carefully placed the article in front of Li Chongzhao, saying softly: "I will keep this article in Chongwen Hall as a treasure of the hall, and I will copy it again and send it to Your Highness later."

"Okay!" Li Chongzhao nodded subconsciously.

Without any hesitation, Song Zhiwen immediately picked up the article and walked quickly outside.

At this time, Li Xuan also stood up, looked at Li Chongzhao, and bowed solemnly, saying: "Your Highness, all I have to say today is here. I hope Your Highness will be healthy for the rest of his life. I will take my leave now."

"Farewell, great uncle." Li Chongzhao bowed in return.

Li Xuan bowed again, turned around and walked out of the hall.

……

Li Xuan was walking on the road to the East Palace with a calm expression. At this moment, Wu Sansi's voice came from behind him: "Your Majesty."

Li Xuan stopped in surprise and turned around, bowing and saying, "County Lord."

Wu Sansi stepped forward and said with emotion: "Your Majesty has done a great job today!"

Li Xuan sighed softly, shook his head and said, "I just felt inspired at the moment."

"Song Zhiwen, who is that killer?" Wu Sansi looked at Li Xuan with curiosity in his eyes. Deep in his curiosity, there was a hint of murderous intent.

"It's just a good name." Li Xuan shook his head slightly.

"Your Highness will be heading to the Western Regions tomorrow. Sansi wishes you a safe journey." Wu Sansi stopped and bowed seriously to his opponent Li Xuan.

"The prince is in Chang'an, I hope the Duke will assist and take care of him." Li Xuan suddenly smiled and said, "Perhaps one day, the Wu family will have another queen, and then it will be a blessing for the country."

Wu Sansi finally relaxed and said to Li Xuan, "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. By the way, yesterday there was a rumor in Chang'an that Your Highness had said in front of the late emperor that he was willing to be buried alive with the emperor?"

Li Xuan didn't look at Wu Sansi, but he knew that there was endless malice hidden in his eyes. He just nodded calmly and said, "It is true, but the late emperor did not allow it. With the left and right historians present that day, I believe the late emperor's kindness will be passed down through the ages. As for Xuan, if there is a stone statue standing on Qianling Mausoleum, it will be enough."

Li Xuan glanced at Wu Sansi sideways, then stopped talking and walked out.

Wu Sansi did not send her off again, but just looked at Li Xuan with a serious expression.

He always felt that if he said anything else, a sword would come and kill him.

(End of this chapter)