Chapter Two: Devoting Oneself to Farming

Chapter 2: Devoting Himself to Agriculture

As in days past, Li Tai rose under Bai He’s care and supervision. Yet the first thing he did every morning was go to Lu Anshou, the Palace Commandant, to temper his body.

The Prince of Yue, Sima Tong, commanded the soldiers and officers of the princely residence. He could be regarded as the commander of the palace guard, and he was a master who possessed inner qi.

Li Tai wanted to learn as well, but since he was only eight years old, he focused mainly on physical training for the time being.

As Lu Anshou put it, he was still growing and could lay a solid foundation at this age. But if he truly wished to practice martial arts, he would have to wait until his body had fully developed.

After finishing his exercises and washing up, Li Tai was naturally refreshed and full of energy. Even so, his main concern during the day had to remain his studies.

No matter how capable he was, an eight-year-old prince still had to attend school.

His teacher was Yan Qinli, a Confucian scholar personally selected by Li Shimin from the Academy of Literature.

Although Li Tai himself was disliked by the Confucians, a prince could hardly be unable to read and write.

Yan Qinli excelled at explaining the meaning and origins of classical texts, so Li Shimin had appointed him as Li Tai’s personal tutor.

Because of Kong Yingda, Yan Qinli had originally assumed that Li Tai was an unruly child. But after becoming his teacher, he discovered that Li Tai was diligent, eager to learn, and extraordinarily intelligent.

Unfortunately, Yan Qinli merely made a living at the Academy of Literature. In terms of official rank and standing, he was only an Eighth-Rank Assistant Author. Overturning Kong Yingda’s judgment would likely be impossible.

“Your Highness is exceptionally gifted,” Yan Qinli said. “You have already studied the Thousand Character Classic, the Book of Songs, the Book of Rites, and other texts. What would Your Highness like to study next?”

“History.” Li Tai pondered for a moment. “By taking history as a mirror, one may understand the rise and fall of dynasties. From now on, I shall focus on history.”

Perhaps this was the advantage of having a personal tutor: he could choose his own courses.

Compared with studying alongside a group of children at the government school, where he had casually remarked that the Great Han had perished because of Confucianism and was consequently ostracized by the Confucians for no apparent reason, Li Tai could not help feeling that his life was truly tragic.

“Excellent! What a wonderful sentiment!”

Li Shimin had not yet arrived, but his booming voice preceded him.

He strode in and first praised Yan Qinli.

“Qingque has made such remarkable progress. Assistant Author Yan, you must have devoted no small amount of effort to him.”

“I pay my respects to Your Majesty. His Highness the Prince of Yue is naturally gifted and intelligent. I have merely fulfilled my duty,” Yan Qinli replied hastily, bowing at the waist.

Li Shimin helped him up without requiring him to complete the formal ceremony. Then, in a tone carrying a hint of unquestionable authority, he said, “I have something to discuss with Qingque. I hope I am not interrupting your lesson.”

“I understand.” Yan Qinli turned to Li Tai. “Today, His Highness is to copy the Book of Rites once. I shall inspect it at our next lesson.”

“Yes, Master,” Li Tai replied respectfully. He saluted Yan Qinli and watched him leave.

Once Yan Qinli had gone, Li Tai turned his gaze back to Li Shimin.

“Father, what brings you here today?”

“Was it you who had Yu Zhining submit that memorial?” Li Shimin asked bluntly.

As he spoke, he reached out and vigorously rubbed Li Tai’s head, making the boy feel like a dog being aggressively petted.

Yes, he was the dog.

“Let go, let go!” Li Tai cried indignantly, batting Li Shimin’s hand away.

He truly could not understand why Li Shimin had developed the bad habit of rubbing his head.

Still, Li Tai answered honestly. “I’m not good with words, so I had Secretary Yu organize my thoughts and submit them in a memorial.”

“Who told you to do that? You are a prince and have the authority to submit memorials independently!” Li Shimin’s expression grew stern as he withdrew his hand.

“But this concerns public affairs.” Li Tai blinked his bright eyes at him. “If it were a private matter, I would naturally submit it under my own title as a prince. But this is an official matter, so of course I had the Chief Secretary submit it to the Secretariat.”

“You have made a clear distinction between public and private affairs. That is very good…” Li Shimin fell silent for a moment before asking, “Then who taught you how to deal with the locusts?”

“I researched it myself.” Li Tai patted his chest and said with complete confidence, “Father, you can trust me.”

Thunk!

Li Shimin flicked him sharply on the forehead.

“Tell me the truth. Who taught you?”

Li Tai clutched his head, his forehead slightly reddened. With a trace of defiance, he said, “No one really taught me! Father, wait a moment. I’ll fetch something.”

Before Li Shimin could react, Li Tai had already instructed Bai He to bring over a small booklet.

Li Tai handed it to him. “I began studying locusts before I left the Eastern Palace and established my own residence. Later, Mother caught me and gave me quite a scolding. These are my observations of locust behavior.”

Li Shimin accepted the booklet doubtfully.

Most of it consisted of diary entries recording the habits of locusts: the weather, their vitality, their food, and eventually even their mating.

As Li Shimin leafed through the diary, he saw that each entry had been carefully dated. Every crooked page was filled with notes on locust behavior. Yet something about it struck him as strange. After examining it for a while, he finally understood what the entire book was saying:

“Neglecting one’s proper duties!”

The more Li Shimin read, the angrier he became.

“Qingque, you must have started writing this diary when you first began studying the Thousand Character Classic! You were neglecting your proper duties so badly that you even angered Kong Yingda into fainting. No wonder you spouted that nonsense about the Great Han perishing because of Confucianism!”

Li Tai groaned inwardly.

Father, you are focusing on entirely the wrong thing!

He quickly raised both hands to block another flick and said, “Father, I truly have studied locusts. The scholars claim that locusts appear because Your Majesty’s virtue is deficient. They are merely repeating the nonsense of that literary thief Dong Zhongshu. Anyone who has actually studied locusts will naturally understand where they are born and what they feed on. If we wish to eradicate them, it is not difficult at all!”

Li Tai closed his eyes for a long while, but no flick landed on his head. He cautiously opened one eye and peeked at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin’s hand had ultimately not come down. Instead, his expression held a trace of doubt.

“You can really solve the locust plague?”

“I can’t deal with flying locusts.”

Li Tai shook his head. Li Shimin immediately moved as though he intended to strike him, but Li Tai hurriedly continued, “Flying locusts are poisonous. I truly cannot solve that problem. However, locusts have short lifespans and generally live for only one season. If we control them properly during that season, we can basically curb their expansion. At the very least, the plague will not spread.”

“Starting tomorrow, report to Dou Jing at the Directorate of Agriculture. Offer whatever suggestions you have, but follow Dou Jing’s lead in all things.”

Li Shimin picked up the diary and gave Li Tai a light tap on the head.

“I’m taking this locust journal.”

“Wait, Father!” Seeing Li Shimin’s imposing manner, Li Tai hurriedly called after him. “Father, could you give me some money?”

“Are you lacking food, clothing, or daily necessities?” Li Shimin asked with a frown.

“That I am not,” Li Tai replied frankly. “But I need money to raise ducks and geese. They will be useful in dealing with the locusts.”

“Did you not say that flying locusts are poisonous? Do you intend to have those ducks eat them?”

Li Shimin immediately understood.

“Flying locusts are poisonous, but before they take flight, they are excellent food for poultry. Give me some money to raise chickens and ducks. When the time comes, we can sell them and divide the profits seventy-thirty.”

“Seventy for me and thirty for you?” Li Shimin asked with a hearty, joking laugh.

“Agreed! Father, you said it yourself: seventy for you and thirty for me. This is a business of the imperial household, so you must not deny the arrangement later!”

Li Tai agreed without hesitation.

What a joke. If the emperor went into business with you and only wanted seventy percent of the profits, what greater honor could there be?

Seeing how decisively Li Tai had accepted, Li Shimin was caught between laughter and tears. He realized that he had fallen straight into the boy’s trap.

“Report to Dou Jing tomorrow. If I hear from him that you are making a mess of things, I will confiscate both the money and the people.”

Li Shimin waved his hand, not believing that Li Tai could produce anything of consequence.

“Understood!”

Li Tai agreed at once and gave Li Shimin a broad smile.

“Also, Yan Qinli will accompany you. Whenever he believes you have free time, he will continue teaching you to read and study. You must not neglect your lessons!”

Li Shimin seemed to remember something and added the warning.

“I know.”

Li Tai’s face fell slightly. It seemed there was no escaping the more than five thousand characters in the Book of Rites after all.

Holding the locust diary, Li Shimin did not go to the Secretariat. Instead, he returned first to the Eastern Palace to see Empress Changsun.

When Empress Changsun saw him arrive, she asked in surprise, “Why has Your Majesty come at this hour today?”

“It is because of Qingque.” Li Shimin took out the locust journal. “Guanyin Maid, take a look.”

Empress Changsun accepted the diary from him. Her expression shifted slightly as she flipped through it.

After having everyone else withdraw, she finally said, “Qingque has been interested in observing agricultural affairs since childhood. He is skilled in calculation and the investigation of natural phenomena. Although his observations of locusts may be somewhat improper, they do not interfere with affairs of state. Why must Your Majesty be so harsh with him? After all, Qingque is only eight years old.”

Li Shimin seemed to come back to himself. He raised his head and looked at her.

“You already knew about this?”

Empress Changsun placed the diary on the table and met his gaze calmly.

“Qingque has kept a diary ever since he learned to read and write, so I know some of his innermost thoughts. In the first year of the Zhenguan era, you were constantly speaking of making agriculture the foundation of the state. He took your words to heart. From the moment he learned to write, he resolved to devote himself to agriculture.

“He believes that, as a member of the imperial family, he should eat what the people of the realm eat and wear what they wear, and truly become a member of the imperial family founded upon agriculture.”

“Why did you not tell me this earlier?” Li Shimin asked, both excited and delighted.

He paced back and forth several times.

That boy Qingque truly had such promise? It was almost unbelievable.

“How can one trust the words of a child?” Empress Changsun said. “Only by observing what he sees and does can one recognize the strength of his character.”

She paused, then suddenly lowered her voice.

“If Qingque discovers that I have been reading his diary in secret, how will I ever face him again?”

“No wonder you never forbade him from neglecting his proper duties,” Li Shimin murmured thoughtfully. “Do you think he still writes a diary?”

“He has had that habit since he first learned to read and write. How could he suddenly abandon it after leaving the palace?”

Empress Changsun shook her head.

“However, now that he has established his own residence, even if he continues writing, he would not leave the diary in the study as he did when he lived in the Eastern Palace. We can no longer see it.”

“Hmm…”

Li Shimin nodded thoughtfully.

“Qingque claimed that he was skilled at eliminating locusts, and I was somewhat skeptical. But if he truly intends to devote himself to agriculture, I plan to have him study under Dou Jing.”

Empress Changsun let out a faint sigh of relief.

“Director Dou is upright, firm, and capable. He has handled agricultural and land-reclamation affairs ever since the uprising at Jinyang, and he is also a member of our imperial clan. With him to guide Qingque, I believe Qingque will surely follow the right path.”

To tell the truth, both Li Shimin and Empress Changsun were highly pleased that Li Tai had chosen to devote himself to agriculture.

Li Shimin had seized the throne through the Incident at Xuanwu Gate, and this made him deeply worried that his descendants might imitate him and bring about another such tragedy.

Now Li Chengqian had been established as Crown Prince. He was handsome and noble in bearing, benevolent, filial, and deeply sincere. Li Tai had devoted himself to agriculture, his ambitions lofty yet grounded in reality.

It could be said that Li Shimin was extremely satisfied with both sons.

Li Tai in particular reassured him. Since ancient times, people had heard of generals raising armies and rebelling, but no one had ever heard of an agricultural official launching a rebellion.

If the two brothers could continue treating each other with affection, Li Shimin would have nothing more to ask.

Li Shimin and Empress Changsun shared the same hope.

They did not want their sons to slaughter one another in the future over Li Shimin’s throne.

Now that Li Tai, the emperor’s second legitimate son, was not stirring up trouble, what reason would Li Shimin’s other sons have to cause trouble either?

At that thought, both of them relaxed, feeling that they ought to take even greater care of Li Tai.

Li Shimin had gone to Empress Changsun because he wanted to know whether Li Tai truly had some understanding of locusts or had merely been deceiving him.

With Empress Changsun as his witness, however, it was at least proven that Li Tai was genuinely devoted to agriculture.

For Li Shimin, that was enough. So long as Li Tai had resolved to devote himself to agriculture, what harm was there in giving him a little assistance as his father?

Ultimately, this was a state founded upon agriculture. Li Shimin did not expect Li Tai to make any great contribution. As long as Li Tai worked diligently on the land for the rest of his life and became a carefree prince, that would be sufficient.

With this thought in mind, Li Shimin spent a tender while with Empress Changsun before issuing an edict ordering Dou Jing to guide Li Tai.

Neither the Secretariat nor the Chancellery raised any objection to the appointment.

When the edict reached Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui, they immediately understood that Li Shimin intended for Li Tai to follow the path of a loyal subject while allowing Li Chengqian to serve as Crown Prince.

To the three men, this was naturally the best possible outcome.

Maintaining an orderly succession within the imperial system was, to the vast majority of clear-headed officials, the very definition of legitimacy.

Moreover, if another incident like the one at Xuanwu Gate were to occur, they, as men who had personally lived through it, would once again face a sweeping reshuffling of power. No sane person wished to experience that a second time.

After all, no matter how skilled a gambler might be, he could never guarantee victory every time. And if he lost even once, his entire clan could be wiped out. Thus, having Li Tai devote himself to farming was truly the best arrangement imaginable.

Thanks to the efficient operation of the bureaucracy, the decree reached the bewildered Dou Jing that very day.

“The Prince of Yue…”

Dou Jing felt as though, beneath a clear sky, a scalding burden had suddenly been dropped into his hands.

End of Chapter