Chapter 175
Li Er leaned casually against his armchair and opened the letter, only to find two characters “Chengqian.” He raised an eyebrow, realizing Li Yuanying had made a blunder.
He has never adhered to the principle of “not looking at other’s stuff,” and since the letter was already in his hands, he naturally read it. He saw that Yuanying was excessively praising Chengqian. He only managed to pick out 1 important point out of 10 sentences, so he immediately snorted coldly, thinking that the boy was writing nonsense!
After carefully reading through it, Li Er finally understood that they were discussing Xuanzang’s return.
Xuanzang hadn’t notified the court of his westward journey, but upon his return, he specifically requested travel documents because he had brought back over six hundred scriptures and about one hundred relics. With so many scriptures, it would have been difficult for Xuanzang to translate them without assistance.
Chengqian immediately informed the Emperor stating that he had selected a group to assist Xuanzang in translating Buddhist scriptures and compile <>.
Both were more interested in the <> and even considered asking Xuanzang to return to secular life to manage the Western Regions. However, Xuanzang himself was clearly more interested in translating Buddhist scriptures.
Since the scriptures could inspire monks to travel long distances, Chengqian believed that with sufficient profit in place, many merchants would be willing to travel the Silk Road. Therefore, he planned to have Feng Thai restaurant compile stories, not necessarily related to Buddhism, as long as they were engaging.
The Tang’s territory is currently limited, its grain production was finite, and its wealth wouldn’t magically increase. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage individuals to travel to the Western Regions for exchanges, buying what they want, learning what they need, selling what they lacked.
Even if they couldn’t achieve Li Yuanying’s boastful claim of “harmonious neighborliness,” they should at least turn all neighboring countries into fertile ground to support the development of the Tang.
Only through such reciprocal exchange could Tang truly flourish.
These views were the result of discussions between Chengqian and Yuanying. Chengqian didn’t hide anything and told Li Er everything truthfully.
Because the important points were already known to Li Er, he found the letter utterly worthless, full of nonsense!
He scoffed at each sentence in his heart. When he read that Yuanying miss the days playing with his nephew, he felt that the boy was utterly immature—how could someone his age still be thinking about play?
Li Er immediately wrote a letter of reprimand, beating Li Yuanying mercilessly, saying that if he could even make a mistake in sending out a letter, how could he possibly be any better at anything else? Halfway through writing the reprimanding letter, someone came to report that the Crown Prince had arrived.
The Emperor in the middle of his tirade, was in a bad mood and ordered Chengqian to be let in.
Chengqian was responsible for overseeing the situation in Chang’an and shouldn’t have left without permission, but upon seeing the letter delivered to him, he couldn’t sit still. The letter from Yuanying probably didn’t contain anything shady, but considering his usual unrestrained speech, Chengqian felt he had to personally bring it back!
To retrieve the mistakenly sent letter, Chengqian headed straight for Cuiwei Palace without rest. Along the way, he thought of several topics he needed to consult with the Emperor and plans to casually mention the letter after getting his advice.
Father probably wouldn’t read Li Yuanying’s letter immediately!
Chengqian’s plan was perfect, and the Emperor cooperated perfectly, not mentioning at all that he had already read the letter, listening leisurely to Chengqian’s impromptu list of important matters.
When Chengqian felt important matters had been discussed sufficiently, he told the Emperor about Li Yuanying’s mistake.
“I read the beginning and felt something was wrong, so I didn’t read any further.”
Chengqian was telling the truth; he had no reason to secretly read Yuanying’s letter. After all, father had a habit of showing his letters to others in private; he didn’t have to secretly read it!
Li Er remembered the letter and calmly said: “I have read the letter your youngest uncle wrote to you.” He ordered someone to retrieve it and returned it to Chengqian.
Li Chengqian: “…”
Chengqian silently took back the letter. If he had known the Emperor had already read it, he wouldn’t have rushed over to intercept! He inwardly grumbled at Li Yuanying; couldn’t the brat have checked the letter before packing it? Now, father had read it openly!
At this point, Chengqian could only secretly pray that Yuanying hadn’t written anything he shouldn’t have.
Since his son had come, Li Er didn’t send him away. He invited him for a meal, and read Yuanying’s letter. It was equally extravagant, first praising Yan Lide then Li Chunfeng, claiming that with them, his “Pearl of the Orient” project would be greatly enhanced! The rest of the letter detailed his plan to issue coupons, stating that if everyone in Henan Province contributed one string of cash to support the port’s construction, it would be completed quickly!
After reading the letter, Li Er found that Yuanying had offered yet another novel idea.
It sounded easy, but putting it into practice would be difficult! Wouldn’t it amount to tens of millions if every citizen of Tang contributed one string? As for profit, building a port and training a navy were both expenditures; how could there be any profit?
“Your uncle is being too optimistic.”
“Perhaps he can do it?”
“Then let him do it.”
Since he had allowed Yuanying to bring Li Dejian and Du He along, the Emperor is essentially authorizing them to build a navy.
Goryeo had surrendered and returned most cities to Silla and also sent substantial tribute and currency. The Emperor couldn’t persuade the court to attack. However, in his eyes, they will one day need to go to war because Yeon Gaesomun hadn’t taken Tang seriously; their surrendiring this time was merely because they were beset by internal and external troubles and didn’t want to invite Tang army!
Since war was inevitable, the navy had to be well-trained to conquer Goryeo in one fell swoop.
The Emperor trusted Yuanying and Chengqian completely, and he was willing to let them try. Of course, if they betrayed his trust, he would show no mercy.
Chengqian understood the meaning behind father’s words. “Uncle will certainly not disappoint you, Father.”
The Emperor said nothing. After father and son had eaten together, he sent Chengqian away.
It was still early, so Li Er continued writing a reply to Yuanying. In the latter half of the letter, he continued to berate Yuanying, accusing him of being boastful and impractical. It was one thing to act recklessly in Chang’an, but did he really think anyone would support him in Henan Province?
After much criticism, the Empror reminded his brother: “If you can do it, do it. The court isn’t paying for it anyway. If Wei Zheng and the others scold you, you’ll have to bear it yourself!”
Only after thorough scolding did Li Er feel a little better. Thinking about Yuanying’s lavish praise on Chengqian, he still felt uneasy. This boy actually praised everyone he met—he had no principles whatsoever, a complete sycophant!
He was, after all, a prince of the Great Tang; how can he so shamelessly praise the Crown Prince? Who knows what people would say about him if they saw this!
The more the Emperor thought about it, the more he realized the boy’s faults. He immediately added a paragraph, sternly warning Yuanying never to write such letters to Chengqian again. It’s fine if he didn’t care about his own reputation; he shouldn’t drag Chengqian down with him and cause gossip!
In short, the Emperor wants his brother to stop writing to the Crown Prince, but he can continue to write to him. Li Er read his reply and thinks its perfectly reasonable.
He send the thick letter away to Tengzhou and specifically instructed the messenger to make sure Li Yuanying read it carefully and reflect on his actions.
After all the drama, the Emperor wanted to meet Xuanzang. He sent word to Hongfu Temple to summon him the next day.
Although Li Er was not religious, he was very interested in the things Xuanzang brought back from the Western Regions. He even wanted to personally persuade him to return to secular life and become an official.
Xuanzang had managed to travel to over a hundred countries without the Court’s support; his abilities were truly remarkable. The Emperor thinks it’s a great pity that such a capable person could not be used!
Early the next morning Xuanzang arrived just as the Emperor was finishing up his discussion with his ministers.
Compared to his previous meeting with Chengqian, Xuanzang now had a clearer understanding of the current state of Chang’an and a deeper understanding of Li Yuanying. He could tell that both Li Yuanying and the Emperor was not a believer and only wanted to use religion as a tool.
Xuanzang was deeply saddened.
If it weren’t for his ambition to spread religion through scriptures, he would rather not meet te Emperor. He was not interested in position nor to be admired by thousands; he only wanted to pass on his sincerity to more Buddhist disciples. Unfortunately, even among Buddhist disciples, many were unwilling to sincerely study the scriptures!
Among the masses, those who truly believed were few, while those who used Buddhism’s name for personal gain were many; even the serene Buddhist sanctuary was not peaceful.
Xuanzang sighed inwardly and went inside to meet the Emperor.
As expected, the Emperor expressed his hope for Xuanzang to return to secular life.
Xuanzang refused once more.
Li Er was not surprised by the response. He invited Xuanzang to drink tea and share his experience travelling the Western regions.
Perhaps influenced by Li Yuanying, the Emperor now enjoy listening to stories. He didn’t care about the truthfulness of the tales; he figured sending more people to the Western Regions in the future would naturally reveal the truth.
The two chatted quite well, and the Emperor generously assigned Xuanzang a group of men who had just returned from the Tibetan Empire and had experience helping his younger brother compile <>. These men were well-suited to participate in translating scriptures and compiling the <>.
Xuanzang gratefully accepted.
The Emperor then rewarded him with watermelon, telling him to try it. He mentioned that his younger brother found it in the west of Tibetan Empire, and watermelon was truly a refreshing and thirst-quenching treat.
The Emperor kept referring to his younger brother, and Xuanzang quickly understood and readily praised Li Yuanying a few times.
The Emperor was pleased and gladly let him leave.
Xuanzang carrying a large watermelon left Cuiwei Palace thinking to himself: 20 years ago, who could have imagined that Emperor Taizong would raise his younger brother like a son? And not only did he raise him, he is even fishing for compliments openly about how well he has raised him! What a nasty habit!
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A close call during his trip!
The young prince: What about me? What about me?