Chapter 48

The two stood up together, Li Chengqian's brow furrowed slightly:

"Let's go! Go see what happened?"

The two walked in the direction of the sound, and before long, they saw a large group of people gathered together, surrounded by wood and stones.

There were also some sitting on the three-zhang-high wall looking down, their legs trembling slightly.

"What are you gathering for? Disperse!"

Yan Lide directed everyone to leave. After the crowd dispersed, Li Chengqian saw a middle-aged man lying motionless under the wall, with a stone right under his head, and blood slowly flowing from the stone.

"Supervisor Wang, find a few people to carry him away, tell his family to come and collect the body, and then send five hundred coins to his family."

"Yes!"

Yan Lide was already used to it; when building palaces and mausoleums, people would die from time to time. He was kind-hearted, so he sent five hundred coins.

If someone else encountered this, it would be normal to just throw the person into a mass grave.

Li Chengqian looked at the ten-meter-high wall and left with a frown:

"Let's go! Go back and continue drinking and eating fish."

"Oh!"

Li You looked at the figure lying on the ground, and a sense of sorrow rose in his heart; he didn't expect that the person who was teaching him how to move wood in the morning would be dead in less than an hour.

Returning to the shade, Li You couldn't help but sigh:

"Big Brother, if I weren't an Imperial Prince, I would eventually end up like him one day."

"Commoners are just like this; from ancient times to the present, they have been at the very bottom, which is the place that Laozi said all men dislike. This is why Father said the people are like water!"

"Father said this because of Emperor Yang of Sui, right?"

Li Chengqian nodded in agreement: "That's right. Emperor Yang of Sui was because he didn't spare the people's strength and didn't care about the people's hearts, which is why everyone in the world rebelled."

"What I want to tell you is that no matter what your status is, it is impossible to be carefree."

"But someone has achieved it! The perfect man has no self, the spiritual man has no merit, and the sage has no name."

"I don't need to be a sage; I just need to be a perfect man, just like Song Ranzi."

"Slap!"

Li Chengqian patted Li You's head: "What I just told you, you didn't listen to a single word."

"Only by entrusting your heart to the world outside can you become a perfect man; otherwise, everything is in vain."

"What is the world outside? The land of nothingness?"

"What is 'nothing'?"

"Isn't 'nothing' just having nothing?"

Li Chengqian pointed to the room on his left:

"There is nothing in here; is it 'nothing'?"

"Yes!"

"If the wall is torn down, does it count as 'nothing'?"

"It counts!"

Li Chengqian said indifferently: "Where does it count? Aren't we also inside?"

"Being and nothing are relative; the land of nothingness does not exist."

Li You argued urgently: "'Nothing' is the beginning of heaven and earth; how can it not exist?"

"'The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao; the Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two.'"

"The Dao is an indescribable existence; 'nothing' cannot represent the Dao; Laozi just used it as a substitute."

Li Chengqian did not want to discuss philosophy with Li You here, so he stopped continuing this topic:

"Do you know why that person died, and those who were also laborers didn't have a trace of sadness on their faces?"

"Do you know why there is no pension when a laborer dies, and why prefecture soldiers have to prepare their own swords and horses before going to the battlefield?"

"The Great Tang gave them land; if they don't want land, naturally they don't have to follow the Rent-Tax-Labor system, and they don't have to go to the battlefield."

"As long as you understand!"

Li Chengqian was calm: "Everything requires a price; if you want to be carefree, you also need to pay a price."

"And what is this price? You can choose it yourself; this is your right as an Imperial Prince."

"Big Brother hopes you can think of it before returning to the palace. Understand?"

"I understand!"

"Think about it carefully; Big Brother will come to see you again in a few days."

After finishing, without waiting for Li You to speak, Li Chengqian left on his own.

After returning to the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian's face turned gloomy instantly:

"Who was the one who went just now?"

A guard walked out slowly: "Your Highness, it was this subordinate!"

"Bang!"

Li Chengqian kicked him directly in the stomach:

"Who told you to kill? Break the leg, lie down for a few months; can't you understand seven words?"

"Killing! What good does killing him do for you? What good does it do for me?"

The guard was clearly a bit unconvinced: "It's just a commoner; why is Your Highness so angry?"

"This subordinate didn't kill him on purpose; who knew he would just happen to fall on a stone."

"Slap, slap, slap!"

Li Chengqian raised his right hand and slapped his head crazily:

"Just a commoner; do you know I almost became a commoner?"

"If I can't ascend the throne, the best outcome for everyone in the Eastern Palace is to become a commoner."

"Can you guarantee that your children and grandchildren won't become commoners?"

"Not on purpose! Not careful! You tell me you weren't careful while fighting for the throne."

"If you are not careful and send everyone to their deaths, is that also understandable?"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone present knelt down in unison:

"We did not listen to orders; please punish us, Your Highness!"

Li Chengqian scanned them coldly: "Wang Qi, send them all to Yuwen Ding; come back after they are trained."

"Tell Yuwen Ding, those who don't listen to orders, chop them all up and feed them to the dogs."

"I will give you one last chance. If you come back from Yuwen Ding and still act on your own,"

"Then you won't even have the qualifications to feed the dogs."

If it weren't for the fact that these people all came from the Guanlong aristocratic clans and had all been on the battlefield, he wouldn't have given them a chance at all.

He originally thought about letting that person break his leg for a few months, and then guide Li You to visit this person often, to see the life of an ordinary commoner's family, and stir up the unbearable heart within him.

Finally, use Mencius to teach Li You; in this way, Li You might understand responsibility, and only by understanding responsibility can he take on the heavy burden.

'Think of another way! If it still doesn't work in the end, I can only choose someone else.'

'Sun Simiao hasn't been found yet, and the nineteenth year of Zhenguan is almost here; I hope it's in time.'

While Li Chengqian was thinking about Sun Simiao and Xuanzang, Xiao Yu also came to Li Chunfeng's mansion.

Just as he arrived in the backyard, Xiao Yu saw Li Chunfeng writing and drawing in front of a piece of yellow paper.

"Hmm?"

A look of suspicion appeared on Xiao Yu's face: "Li Taichang, you are not at the Taichang Temple; what are you doing hiding at home?"

"Is this rattan paper? Why does it look so soft?"

Li Chunfeng put down the brush in his hand and smiled:

"It's bamboo paper; the process is complicated, but it has the effect of preventing insect damage."

"You also know I'm revising the Book of Jin; I'm afraid of improper storage, so I found my mentor and asked for the bamboo paper technique. This was also just made not long ago."

"Does Xiao Tejin want to try it? If you like it, take some back."

"Okay, I'll try!"

Xiao Yu didn't stand on ceremony, picked up the brush, and wrote a few words quickly: 'The movement of heaven is full of power; the gentleman makes himself strong and untiring.'

Looking at the words he wrote, Xiao Yu couldn't help but shout:

"Good paper! Li Taichang just said it can also prevent insect damage?"

"Yes! If it weren't for preventing insects, why would I need this paper?"

"Can you give me some more?"

Li Chunfeng shook his head slowly: "Why speak of giving? As long as Xiao Tejin promises me not to use this paper to make money, the papermaking technique is yours."

Xiao Yu looked solemn: "Please rest assured, Li Taichang; the Lanling Xiao Clan has no one who is blinded by greed."

"No matter who uses this technique to make money, that is to be an enemy of the Lanling Xiao Clan."

"It's not that serious!"

Li Chunfeng waved his hand repeatedly: "The cost of bamboo paper is cheaper than rattan paper, especially in the bamboo-producing areas of the Jiangnan Circuit and Jiannan Circuit."

"Originally, my mentor hoped to let the children of poor families be able to afford paper, but later discovered that papermaking also needs people, and people need money, plus the cost of transporting paper."

"If no one makes money, no one will sell paper; if they make money, the children of poor families can't afford it, so I just kept it and will wait until later."