Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 458 Control
When Chen Qingsi heard that Li Hongqing was coming to Chang'an, he didn't say much, but just nodded slightly to show that he understood, and then said: "You came at the right time. There are more important things here that need your attention."

He smiled and said, "If you come back later, I believe you have received the message asking you to come back."

Chen Qingsi knew that there must be something wrong with the Wu family's abnormal behavior.

He now holds considerable power in his hands, but when it comes to loyalty and reliability, the only one is Zhou Kui.

When it comes to the Wu family's matter, he would rather delay it for a moment than hand it over to others.

After noticing the Wu family's abnormal behavior, he sent someone to Jiangnan to call Zhou Kui back.

However, Zhou Kui had returned to Beijing first, so the people who went to inform him had gone there in vain.

Chen Qingsi told Zhou Kui about the Wu family's unusual behavior and asked him to pay attention to the Wu family's movements. He also emphasized: "Don't act too hastily. This unusual behavior gives me the feeling of a trap. That's why I don't trust others. The overall situation is on our side, and stability is the most important thing."

Chen Qingsi was very satisfied with the suppressive effect of Empress Wu.

The main reason was that he had opened his eyes and regarded Empress Wu as his rival from the beginning. He did not take action at first because he was not in a high position and did not have enough power. After he gained a certain position, he set a trap for Empress Wu intentionally or unintentionally.

Although Empress Wu was powerful, she had never expected to have such an inexplicable enemy as him, and she suffered repeated setbacks.

The current Empress Wu has lost the political legacy brought to her by Fengshan, which is very different from her situation in history.

You have to know that at this time in history, Empress Wu was almost regarded as the second saint together with Li Zhi. The two of them attended court together, but now she was only helping Li Zhi with hard labor and revising memorials.

Chen Qingsi also knew that given Empress Wu's suspicious nature, she had probably already suspected him.

But as long as there is no confirmation, it won’t count.

Empress Wu offended too many people: she killed Empress Wang and Consort Xiao Shufei, offended the Guandong and Jiangnan gentry, took the blame for Li Zhi, killed Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, offended the Guanlong nobles. She also took the blame for Li Zhi, killed Shangguan Yi, and offended the Qingliu.

The harem regent, the hen crowing at dawn, divided the power of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince's faction probably had some opinions about her, the Crown Prince's mother...

With so many enemies, it is possible that they could have planned all this.

If targeted revenge was launched because of suspicion, Empress Wu would have a lot of work to do.

Besides, she needs to have the qualifications and strength. Now Empress Wu is still at the stage of relying on the power of others to bully others. She has no hard power and without Li Zhi's protection, she really has no ability to deal with any opponent.

In general, Chen Qingsi was the active party. He had suppressed Empress Wu's arrogance and made her lose the most important political capital.

There is no need for the party in the upper hand to be too radical.

But Zhou Kui learned a lot of tricks from the sorcerers in the south, and he can change his moves freely. With him around, we can do some research...

Zhou Kui was quite confident in his ability and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will be careful."

"I am confident in your ability!" Chen Qingsi also affirmed Zhou Kui's ability and said, "First, investigate it as if it is a trap. If it is a trap, find out who set the trap. Once it is confirmed that it is not a trap, then conduct further investigation."
-
Da Ci'en Temple!

Li Chongde looked a little pale and his eyes were bloodshot, obviously he had not slept well for several nights.

Li Chongde was talking with Master Kuiji of the Da Ci'en Temple. The two had a good relationship and were having a very pleasant conversation.

Seeing Li Chongde like this, Kuiji said with some concern: "Donor Li, you look bad, and your eyes are full of bloodshot. You look seriously ill. Don't overwork yourself."

The word "labor" means literally.

Kuiji was a highly respected master, but he was not serious before he officially became a monk.

Kuiji's surname was Yuchi and his courtesy name was Hongdao. He was a descendant of Yuchi Shuo, a famous official and general of Pingdong in the Northern Wei Dynasty. His uncle was the famous door god Yuchi Gong, a descendant of a general.

When Master Xuanzang returned from his journey to the West in search of Buddhist scriptures, he wanted to receive a disciple to teach him the Buddhist scriptures. The first disciple was the famous Master Bian Ji, and the second disciple was Master Kui Ji.

Xuanzang returned with honor and was highly regarded by Li Shimin. By chance, he met Yuchi Hongdao, who had not yet become a monk, at a party. After hearing Yuchi Hongdao's profound knowledge of Buddhism, he was inspired to take him as his disciple and convert him.

Yuchi Hongdao didn't buy it, so he made three requests: if he liked to eat meat, he had to be followed by a cart of meat. If he liked to drink, he had to be followed by a cart of fine wine. If he liked beautiful women, he had to be accompanied by a cart of beautiful women.

Yuchi Hongdao was originally teasing Xuanzang.

As a result, Xuanzang actually agreed and successfully brainwashed Yuchi Hongdao, who gave up wine, meat and beautiful women and became Xuanzang's most proud disciple. Because of the incident of three carts of wine, meat and beautiful women, Kuiji was revered as the Three-Car Master.

Kuiji had been crazy before, and suspected that Li Chongde's current state was due to excessive indulgence in sexual activities.

He is just a monk, so he speaks in a reserved manner.

Li Chongde's originally pale face was a little hot, and he said: "Master Kuiji has misunderstood. For several nights in a row, my father appeared in my dream, and I don't know what he said. Thinking of my late father, I am exhausted and come here. I came to find you, Master, to find a quiet place in your temple, eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha to commemorate my father."

"So that's it!" Kuiji suddenly understood and said, "There is a separate courtyard in the west wing that is idle. Donor Li can move in anytime."

Da Ci'en Temple is the most famous Buddhist temple of this era, and its abbot is the famous Master Xuanzang.

During every special festival, this place would be reserved for royal nobles, and only now during the off-season would the yard be vacant.

Even so, ordinary people cannot make an appointment.

You have to be willing to spend a large sum of money on incense and offerings.

Otherwise, where did the brass on the Buddha statue come from?

Li Chongde is one of those people who can afford the money for incense offerings...

Li Chongde was quickly arranged to stay in the clean west wing.

However, Li Chongde had no intention of eating vegetarian food or chanting Buddhist scriptures. Instead, he paced back and forth in the room like an ant on a hot pan, extremely anxious. He even glanced at the roof inadvertently, thinking that if he could not reach an agreement today, he might as well just die.

Li Chongde was naturally afraid of death, but he had committed a scandal that would not only cost him his life, but would also make him infamous for eternity. Rather than end up like that, why not just die?
Ever since he got the incriminating evidence that someone had placed on the desk in his study, Li Chongde had never had a good night's sleep, waking up from his dreams every night.

Until yesterday, he received a message from a stranger, asking him to arrange a separate courtyard for him in the Da Ci'en Temple, eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, and someone would come to find him.

After hearing this arrangement, Li Chongde gave up the idea of ​​catching the person behind the scenes.

Da Ci'en Temple is the most famous temple in Chang'an, with tens of thousands of believers visiting every day.

There are countless tourists...

It is extremely difficult to find someone among them.

What if you anger the other party, won’t you be ruined?

He was a person of strong appearance but weak heart, otherwise he would not have agreed to include Li Yifu in the genealogy of the Zhaojun Li family after being pressured by Li Yifu.

He is no match for his opponent, so he can only accept it. "Li Jieshizhong, there is no need to be so anxious. My master just wants to make friends with you."

An unpleasant voice sounded.

Li Chongde's hair stood on end as he looked at the burly man who suddenly walked in from outside the house.

The man who came in was extremely burly, with a face full of fat. His fat was shaking as he spoke, which was chilling.

"You..." Li Chongde was so frightened that he couldn't speak for a moment.

The sturdy man said with a hint of mockery in his eyes, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Wan Guojun. As for my identity, you can check it yourself. I am just a nobody. My death is not a pity. It is my blessing to be buried with a person like Jieshizhong."

Li Chongde was so angry that his face turned blue. He stamped his feet and said in a trembling voice: "Who are you? How do you know about that? Wasn't that thing... destroyed by someone?"

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself." Wan Guojun quoted a famous saying and said, "I am not here to discuss the past with you. I will give you wealth and honor first to show my sincerity. Tomorrow when you go to court, you can submit a proposal to repair and manage the Wei River and dredge the canal."

Li Chongde was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "What kind of wealth is this? This is going to kill me!"

The proposal to control the Wei River and dredge the canal was made by Shangguan Yi when he was prime minister, but it was not approved. Instead, Shangguan Yi died not long after.

Shangguan Yi died suddenly, reportedly because he had a conflict with Empress Wu.

But a prime minister died suddenly, and no one knew the reason.

Who would dare to suggest that he stay?

Wan Guojun smiled grimly and said, "The Imperial Secretary, do you not understand your situation? If I don't see your letter tomorrow, your scandals will spread all over Chang'an the day after tomorrow morning."

As he said this, he ignored Li Chongde and quickly left Da Ci'en Temple, leaving only a map of the canal plan.

Wan Guojun was obviously an expert in tracking and anti-tracking. He walked around the streets of Chang'an and made sure that no one was following him before entering an inconspicuous alley and courtyard in Yongpingfang, Chang'an.

Wan Guojun walked into the main hall and said humbly towards the bedroom:
"Sir, I have already told Li Chongde. Judging from his bad look, he will probably bite the bullet and file a petition tomorrow."

A hoarse voice came from the room: "100%, this damn idiot Li Chongde can't escape control again."

His tone was filled with hatred as he said, "Guojun, you should follow him from now on. He is an excellent shield and can be controlled."

"Okay!" Wan Guojun responded.
-
Taiji Palace, court meeting.

"I have something to report..."

Li Chongde was certainly terrified, but faced with the fact that his scandal was known to the world, he could only bite the bullet and submit his report: "Your Majesty's great reputation continues the momentum of the Zhenguan period and the glory of our Tang Dynasty. The prosperity of Chang'an today is the highest in thousands of years. One million and a half million people gather in one city, which is unprecedented."

"However, the gathering of the four vassal states and the gathering of the heroes of the world also made it difficult for Chang'an to be self-sufficient in food. The silt in the Wei River and the dirt in the canal make it difficult to transport materials from the Central Plains, which is very disadvantageous to the court. I propose to recruit corvée labor to control the silt in the Wei River and clear the dirt in the canal to improve the transportation capacity of the two capitals and save Chang'an from the danger of food shortage."

Li Chongde's proposal made Li Zhi and Chen Qingsi's eyes light up.

Chen Qingsi looked at Li Chongde in surprise. He didn't expect this guy to have such a sharp eye.

After thousands of years of development, Chang'an's land carrying capacity has become oversaturated. Coupled with severe soil erosion and frequent natural disasters, it is no longer worthy of the reputation of the 800-li Qinchuan and the Land of Abundance.

At this time, the economic status of Guanzhong was not as good as before, and the grain was far from meeting the needs of the population in the capital. It was much more difficult to transport grain from Jiangnan to Chang'an than to Luoyang, and the court often had to go to Luoyang for food, so there was a saying that the emperor was chasing grain.

But this situation can be changed...

Historically, in the late period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the great Tang emperor was really unwilling to run between two sides, and he made up his mind to manage the Wei River and the canal, thus solving this problem. It is recorded in history that the amount of grain transported to Guanzhong reached as much as 4 million shi. The reserves in Guanzhong were overflowing, the economy of the capital was prosperous, and the emperor no longer visited the Eastern Capital.

Later, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty built the Xingcheng Canal starting from Xianyang and ending at Tongguan, which closely connected Chang'an and Luoyang, making the economy more prosperous.

There were various reasons why Li Zhichao failed to manage river transportation in a timely manner.

But now that the Tang Dynasty's strategy has shifted westward, it will face decisive battles with Tubo and the Arab Empire at Qinghai Lake and in the Western Regions, requiring large amounts of food reserves.

The granaries of the Tang Dynasty were in the south of the Yangtze River, in the Central Plains, in Huainan, in Jingxiang, and in Qingxu, but not in the west.

Food had to be gathered in Chang'an from all over the east, so it was inevitable to control the Wei River, dig canals, and increase transportation capacity.

Chen Qingsi knew this, and Li Zhi understood it even better.

A few days ago, Li Zhi talked to Chen Qingsi about this matter.

Chen Qingsi agreed readily, but he only knew that river control and dredging canals were effective, but he had no idea how to control and dredge them. On the one hand, he only had a vague understanding, and on the other hand, he had not conducted any physical investigations.

Li Zhi has consulted the Ministry of Industry for advice...

Now that the Ministry of Industry has not given a reply, Li Chongde took the lead and did it.

There is indeed some ability...

Chen Qingsi looked at him with new eyes...

Li Zhi also looked at Li Chongde with some surprise.

Li Zhi did not discuss the matter in the court, but discussed the details privately with the ministers, the Ministry of Works and Li Chongde after the court meeting.

Li Zhi looked at the memorial in his hand again and found that many of the ways of dealing with problems therein were to his liking.

He hasn't felt this way for a while...

Li Zhi's temperament was very complicated, and only those who followed him earliest and those who were very close to him understood it.

After he became emperor, his status was different and few people were able to have close contact with him, so there was no possibility of getting to know him in depth.

Chen Qingsi had given him this feeling at first, but as he became more and more capable, it was he, the emperor, who recognized and indulged him.

Li Chongde's thoughtfulness gave him a strange feeling.

"Queen, what do you think of Li Chongde?"

Li Zhi asked casually.

Empress Wu said, "He must be a talented person to have Your Majesty ask me this. I don't know him, but his advice is excellent. Such a person is hard to come by."

The most amazing thing about Empress Wu was that she would never make the same mistake again after suffering a loss once. She did not give any suggestions and gave all the choices to Li Zhi, but she also said everything.

Li Zhi nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with this statement.

(End of this chapter)