Chapter 58: Proud to Be a Healer

Chapter 58: Proud to Be a Healer

"Are you telling me that you turned the dividends from my one hundred thousand ducks into these bricks?"

Li Shimin was left between laughter and tears. Although he possessed the entire realm, these dividends were entirely unexpected, windfall wealth. Even if you are my son, how could you dare to touch this money!

Li Tai knew that Li Shimin had no intention of punishing him. The reason was very simple: from beginning to end, Li Shimin had never laid eyes on that sum of money, and the exact amount was entirely up to Li Tai to decide. One hundred thousand chickens and ducks—if Li Tai calculated thirty wen per animal, that amounted to three thousand guan. What did such a sum mean to an emperor? The money itself was not what truly mattered.

Li Tai continued, "If Your Majesty does not wish to have this dividend, I can naturally convert it directly into hard currency and present it to you. However, those three thousand dried chicken meat rations would then have to be donated to the army in my own name."

Upon hearing this, the civil officials present instantly grasped Li Tai's underlying intention. It was obvious that Li Tai wished to avoid any appearance of suspicion and preferred to cede the opportunity for benevolence and grace to Li Shimin. If Li Shimin chose to accept it as a dividend, the money would be considered as coming from him, and the generals who received the meat rations would naturally feel a sense of gratitude toward Li Shimin; otherwise, the recipient of that gratitude would be Li Tai.

Wei Zheng decisively stepped forward and spoke, "The Sage encouraged the Prince of Yue to raise chickens and ducks to eradicate the locust disaster, and now the established duck farms yield a regular revenue. At this moment, the Prince of Yue is presenting his achievements to the Sage, which is akin to the filial crows feeding their parents. For the Sage to accept the Prince of Yue's achievements is to perfect the Prince's filial piety. This affair should become a celebrated tale of our times; why speak further of mere worldly wealth, which would only dilute the deep affection between father and son?"

Hearing Wei Zheng's words, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling exchanged a glance and communicated silently through their eyes:

"This old fellow is still just as good at flattering. I honestly couldn't bring myself to say such things!"

"Just bear with it!" Fang Xuanling's eyebrows twitched slightly as he replied, "There aren't many tactful remonstrating ministers left at court. If he were not here, would you have us two bluntly remonstrate with the Sage? How much that would damage the ruler-minister relationship."

Very well. Hearing Wei Zheng step forward to speak, Li Shimin stroked his beard and felt that Wei Zheng's words were entirely appropriate.

Meanwhile, Li Tai looked at Wei Zheng with a face full of surprise. According to legend, Wei Zheng was supposedly the ultimate iron-headed remonstrator of the Zhenguan era. Whether he was the foremost loyal minister of Zhenguan was uncertain, but he was undoubtedly the premier remonstrating minister of the era. Yet, the few times Li Tai had encountered him, he was nothing like the legend at all!

On this matter, Fang Xuanling was far more qualified to speak about Wei Zheng, who had transitioned from a rival to an ally. For instance, when Emperor Taizhou of Tang, as a founding sovereign, once raised the question of whether it was more difficult to found an enterprise or to maintain it, Fang Xuanling, as the primary strategist who had accompanied Li Shimin in conquering the realm, naturally argued that founding an enterprise was harder. This reflected both his class standpoint and his ruler-minister relationship with the emperor, while also subtly elevating Li Shimin.

However, Fang Xuanling quickly learned what it meant to fight without playing by the rules! Because the fellow whose designated role was to be a remonstrating minister actually engaged in flattery—and top-tier, rainbow-level flattery at that!

Wei Zheng had replied that at the founding of an enterprise, a monarch rises in accord with the Mandate of Heaven; the realm is imbued with benevolence and righteousness, and the hearts of the people point the way, so naturally it is not difficult when everyone works with one heart. On the contrary, once the great enterprise is accomplished, it becomes all too easy to embark on grand construction projects, running completely counter to the people's desire to rest and recuperate. Therefore, maintaining an enterprise is even harder!

At that moment, Fang Xuanling was stunned. Wei Zheng first praised Li Shimin as being destined by Heaven, and then praised him for steadfastly upholding virtue and sharing the hearts of the common people. Most importantly, the fellow said it with an expression of utter solemnity, as if he were not flattering Li Shimin at all.

Is this what a remonstrating minister is supposed to do?!

Fang Xuanling knew very well that he had been outdone in this round. In fact, it was not just this single instance; there was also the self-defense regarding good and loyal ministers at the very beginning of the Zhenguan era, and so on. One could clearly see that Wei Zheng did not resemble a stubborn and unyielding remonstrating minister of direct admonition; rather, he was full of tact and wit, and above all, he was exceptionally skilled at delivering top-tier flattery!

Looking at his actual deeds often gave one the strange impression that he was not a remonstrating minister, but a sycophant.

At this moment, the most important thing for Wei Zheng was to prevent Li Tai from having any entanglement with military power, thereby averting a repeat of the Xuanwumen incident. Fortunately, although the Prince of Yue was young, he possessed the ambition of Gan Luo and still kept his wits about him, knowing full well that military power was not to be touched! Therefore, he handed over these supplies under the guise of Li Shimin's dividends to present them to the army.

"Xuancheng's words are very true. Then I shall accept Qingque's kind intentions!" Li Shimin looked at Li Tai and said, "Since Qingque is so considerate of the state's condition and shoulders heavy responsibilities, I cannot fail to reward him. Just as autumn gradually approaches from the east, I bestow upon you one thousand copies of the *Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie* (Remnants of Snow on a Clear Day). As long as even a single copy captures six-tenths of the spiritual essence of this cursive script, the *Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie* shall be granted to you. Have the copies ready for me before the Spring Festival!"

"Thank you, Father!" Li Tai's eyes brimmed with grateful tears, and he was on the verge of weeping.

Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Li Chengqian, and the others all wore expressions of envy when Li Shimin bestowed the *Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie* upon Li Tai. In truth, much like how the Roman world sparked a silk craze ever since Caesar popularized silk, throughout the entire Zhenguan era, because Li Shimin deeply adored the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, a natural calligraphy craze had erupted, with Wang Xizhi's works naturally reigning as the absolute pinnacle.

Therefore, everyone viewed Li Shimin's bestowal of the *Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie* as a sure thing for Li Tai.

Yet Li Tai himself knew very well that achieving six-tenths of that spiritual essence was truly beyond his capability. The underlying issues were complex; simply put, people in this era held a certain reverence and worship for calligraphy. When writing, it was as if one's vital energy and spirit naturally fused into the characters, thereby displaying a person's bearing and grace.

The adage "seeing one's handwriting is like seeing the person" was by no means an empty phrase in this era; evaluating calligraphy was primarily about evaluating its spirit. However, Li Tai's problem was that he had never possessed such a devout emotional attachment to characters. This caused Li Tai's written characters to lack that artistic spiritual charm; instead, they resembled standardized yet spiritually vacant forms, brimming with the mechanical craftsmanship of a woodblock printer.

In other words, Li Shimin was well aware of Li Tai's flaw. By setting this rule, he meant that Li Tai could write a thousand sheets of calligraphy, and as long as even a single one passed the standard, the *Kuai Xue Shi Qing Tie* would be given to him. To Li Tai, this reward was like the Chinese national football team wishing to enter the World Cup—the goal seemed simple, but the hope was utterly remote.

Faced with this situation, what could Li Tai do? He still had to express his gratitude. After thanking Li Shimin, he bolted!

Li Chengqian watched Li Tai's retreating back and listened as his father and the senior ministers continued to discuss the proposals Li Tai had put forward. While it was fine to leave the chicken jerky and the medical camp for Li Jing to arrange without difficulty, the specialized corvee labor teams proposed by Li Tai sparked heated debate among the assembly, who debated whether it was truly necessary to maintain a dedicated corvee workforce.

After all, everyone had witnessed the effectiveness of Li Tai's corvee labor team. It could be said that this relatively small workforce had undertaken all the corvee labor for Gaoling, yet achieved remarkably high completion efficiency. Compared to temporarily conscripting commoners for corvee labor every year, this kind of professional corvee team seemed far more efficient. Thus, the group debated whether the tax-and-corvee system should be further professionalized.

In the end, Du Ruhui suggested observing the performance of the Gaoling County corvee labor team first and discussing matters further once results were in. Most importantly, if they professionalized these corvee laborers, who was going to pay them?!

The assembly looked at one another, and the discussion temporarily trailed off.

To be honest, Li Chengqian deeply envied how Li Tai's proposals were discussed by a group of senior ministers. If possible, Li Chengqian also hoped that his own suggestions would gain the attention, importance, discussion, and implementation of the court.

Yet the reality was that whenever he tried to imitate the memorials of these senior ministers, although his imperial father would praise him in the end, it never resulted in his proposed policies actually being used. His father wouldn't even discuss them with the ministers; at best, he would offer praise and show them off.

To speak frankly, Li Chengqian truly could not understand why Li Tai's proposals were deemed worthy of importance while his own were not.

On this point, it was a matter of course. No matter how brilliantly phrased Li Chengqian's suggestions might be, unless it was a matter of absolute necessity, no one would choose the advice of someone completely devoid of practical governance experience.

Li Tai, however, was different. Although Li Tai appeared somewhat foolish and every task he undertook seemed thankless—with no results visible in the short term, at least—wise men would never choose the arduous path Li Tai had taken. Eradicating the locust disaster was like this, establishing the academy was like this, and even serving as the magistrate of Gaoling County seemed far too minor for a Prince of Yue.

Yet Li Tai had walked forward step by step, down-to-earth and resolving every single issue he encountered. Along the way, there was Dou Jing's non-cooperation, the screening of academic teaching talent, the establishment of the library, and, most importantly, the refugees flooding toward Chang'an, who were quietly pacified by Li Tai without a ripple.

Solving problem after problem allowed the senior ministers in the court to recognize Li Tai's competence. Whether Li Tai could become a prime minister at the age of twelve like Gan Luo, everyone doubted. But Li Tai's ability to govern a county was definitely sufficient—even if Li Tai took some shortcuts. Because the one truly responsible for execution was Ma Zhou, who exercised the authority of a county magistrate under the title of county丞 (assistant magistrate), helping Li Tai handle the miscellaneous affairs of Gaoling.

However, the fact that Li Tai possessed the discerning eye to discover and select a talent like Ma Zhou was proof of Li Tai's own ability in itself. Therefore, it was only natural that everyone attached importance to the proposals put forward by Li Tai. Because Li Tai had succeeded in his governance.

Not listening to the suggestions of someone who had already achieved success through practice—wouldn't that be the truly strange thing?

Yet, harboring a trial-and-thought mindset, the Three Departments quickly passed the imperial decree allowing the Gaoling corvee laborers to assist, while also providing corresponding supplies. To be frank, managing the autumn harvest and planting across various regions—figuring out how to arrange it reasonably and efficiently—was a troublesome task for anyone. Li Tai simply took one look at it and decisively dumped the matter on Lü Cai.

Lü Cai stayed up for a whole night, and the next day, carrying heavy dark circles under his eyes, he handed Ma Zhou a project schedule for the corvee labor team. The required number of people for each location, the sequence of arrangements, and the underlying reasons were all written down quite clearly. With this document, as long as one followed the steps methodically and remained diligent, everything could basically be accomplished.

Meanwhile, Li Chunfeng had been taken away by Dou Jing, and among Li Tai's subordinates working at the county office who held official posts, there were actually very few. Du Chuke was busy managing the docks, and the matters he handled daily left him utterly overwhelmed and unable to spare a hand, forcing Ma Zhou to step up personally.

As someone with the potential of a prime minister, County Assistant Ma, upon shouldering the extra task of corvee coordination, remarked that had he not been pushed, he never would have known he was this capable!

As for what Li Tai was doing—naturally, he had come before Sun Simiao at this moment to make a clean confession.

Although Sun Simiao had been invited to the university, the opportunities for him to personally take action were quite few; most of the time, he allowed Liu Shenwei to serve in his stead and practice filial devotion to his teacher. However, the treatment Li Tai afforded Sun Simiao was by no means low, and Sun Simiao reciprocated by helping Li Tai sort out a corresponding medical system. Although it was basically just the initial step, it was enough to rapidly train battlefield medics.

With the establishment of the medical system, to a certain extent, it was also a sorting out of Sun Simiao's own pharmacology. Thus, Sun Simiao vaguely felt the urge to put pen to paper and write the *Qian Jin Yao Fang* (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold), yet felt as though something was still lacking.

Coincidentally, with the newly established library requiring the organization of classic texts, Sun Simiao had run over to organize herbal medicine and Daoist classics while building up his own foundation for the final compilation of the *Qian Jin Yao Fang*.

Right at this moment, Li Tai sought out Sun Simiao. Although it had already become inevitable for the medical camp to go to the battlefield, Li Tai still hoped that Liu Shenwei would also go along, so he had to inform Sun Simiao in advance.

"I wonder what brings the Prince of Yue to see this old Daoist today?" Sun Simiao asked, looking calmly at Li Tai.

"Old Immortal, today I hope you can consent to let Shenwei lead the medical cohort northward with the Tang army!"

For some reason, facing Sun Simiao, Li Tai could never engage in the wild, glib deception he used with Li Chunfeng! Whenever he met Sun Simiao's gaze, it felt as though he were looking into the illusion of a tranquil lake, which only reflected his own image all the clearer.

"Shenwei, do you wish to go north yourself?" Hearing Li Tai's words, Sun Simiao turned and asked Liu Shenwei.

"Reporting to Teacher, Shenwei has witnessed the devastating scenes of the Turks pushing south. Now that there is an opportunity to contribute a share of strength to the Great Tang, Shenwei is more than willing!" Liu Shenwei replied to Sun Simiao with utmost sincerity.

"Then go." Sun Simiao nodded to Liu Shenwei, then turned his gaze to Li Tai and said, "Prince of Yue, ever since you had this old Daoist build the system for new healers, the very first things that needed treatment were blade wounds and bone-setting capabilities. I vaguely perceived from this that the Prince of Yue hopes for healers to participate on the sword-and-spear battlefield."

Upon hearing Sun Simiao's words, Li Tai fell silent.

To someone capable of transcending the ordinary and entering the sacred, many things could be seen clearly through analogy; concealing anything from them was utterly meaningless. Yet Li Tai did not know what Sun Simiao ultimately wanted to say. For a moment, Li Tai gave no reply and remained silent.

Seeing that Li Tai did not respond, Sun Simiao continued, "In these days, although this poor Daoist remains outside worldly affairs, I can still perceive that the Prince of Yue truly cares for the common people at the bottom. Therefore, I wish to know: what exactly is the status of healers in the heart of the Prince of Yue?"

Faced with Sun Simiao's direct and piercing inquiry, Li Tai fell silent for a moment before raising his head to look at the triangular area on Sun Simiao's face.

Confronting those eyes that seemed capable of reflecting his very soul, Li Tai acknowledged, "It is hard for me to define the position of healers in my heart.

"I hope that in the future, every village can have a healer to cure the illnesses of the common people.

"I hope that in the future, every county town can have a pharmacy to store the medicinal herbs of the realm.

"I hope that in the future, every prefecture can have a divine physician like the Old Immortal presiding over it.

"I hope that in Chang'an, there can be a research institute dedicated to conquering those fatal diseases, so that any literate healer can simply follow a prescription and overcome those afflictions!

"I hope that this realm will no longer view healers with shame, but take pride in being a healer!"