To be a teacher is a desire that many people have from the very beginning.
Under normal circumstances, when a person teaches others from the standpoint of a teacher, he can always gain a sense of satisfaction from being respected and having a higher self-esteem status.
As for the courtiers, including Hao Chujun, as courtiers, they could override the prince and teach him knowledge. Especially when the prince is also very respectful, the pleasure he gets can be imagined.
Henry Zhang was very excited and even wanted to stop until dark. However, Li Xian did not refuse and listened to his story carefully.
The Li Zhi period was sandwiched between the two wonderful dynasties of Tang Taizong and Wu Zetian, so the various historical events that occurred during this period were originally unpopular.
Although Li Xian understood a little bit out of curiosity, it was not thorough enough.
This is true internally, let alone externally.
These are all blind areas of knowledge. As a prince or future emperor, how can he do it without understanding foreign enemies?
Along with Zhang Xuanze's narration, Li Xian had a general understanding of the countries surrounding the Tang Dynasty.
The first and greatest threat to the Tang Dynasty was naturally Tubo. This fierce nation that emerged from the plateau occupied a lot of land with its passion, especially the influence brought by the marriage with the Central Plains during the Taizong period. Especially because their soldiers are brave and good at fighting, even the elite soldiers in the pass can't do well when fighting them.
As for the West, since the destruction of the Eastern Turks during the Zhenguan period, the Western Turks have been unable to support themselves and have gradually weakened. The Kunxu Prefecture Governor's Office in the Tang Dynasty is even close to bordering Persia. However, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. In any case, the Turks, as the most ferocious of the grassland peoples, still have good combat power. If Tibet is a direct threat, then the Western Turks are a potential threat.
To the north, the Guligan and other tribes around the Jiankun Dudu Mansion have also surrendered. Although it is nominally the land of the Tang Dynasty, like the Kunxu Prefecture Dudu Mansion, due to the particularity of its location, it has always been Datang did not relax its surveillance on them. Further north, apart from a few tribes surviving against the cold wind, it was all barren land.
In the northeast, with the destruction of tribes such as Goguryeo, Kumoxi, and Bailin, now only tribes called "savages" such as Mohe and Shiwei survive in that barren land.
As for the East, before the fall of Goguryeo, Baekje had already explored the path to its destruction. And because Silla's attitude has always been respectful, she is still able to stay in a corner.
but....
Li Xian knew very well what the emperor and senior officials of the Tang Dynasty thought.
Today's Silla has the Tang Dynasty close to the west and the Japanese country on one side of the strait, which has no room for development. Caught between the behemoth of the Tang Dynasty and the larger maggot of the Japanese state, its final choices were either to be conquered or to take the initiative to be incorporated into the territory. As for whom it should choose to incorporate, there is no need to think too much.
However, what is speechless is that the king of Silla still cannot see the situation clearly. If he chooses to surrender at this time, it is still okay to become a prince who has been handed down from generation to generation. Moreover, for the sake of face, the life of their royal family in the Tang Dynasty will be much better than that of ordinary princes.
And once Datang's patience is exhausted...
Tsk tsk.
After Silla, the only enemy country in the east of the Tang Dynasty was the Japanese country.
"Although the Japanese state is separated from the Tang Dynasty by a long sea route, they have never stopped offering sacrifices since the Zhenguan period. Every time they send envoys to the Tang Dynasty, they will offer a large amount of gold and silver. Now that Goguryeo has been destroyed, the Japanese envoys can They can go to Hajj by land without worrying about capsizing by sea. In this way, they can bring more gifts when they come back. As for sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty to study, the tuition fee paid is almost as much as the weight of the students. This is the envoy's responsibility. What a model!”
Seeing Zhang Xuan's expression full of emotion, and even vaguely intending to say good things to the Japanese envoys sent to Tang Dynasty, Li Xian couldn't help but have a headache.
Perhaps, to the current Tang Dynasty, Japan was nothing, or perhaps its attitude toward pilgrimage was surprisingly good.
However, history has proven the aggressiveness and bad nature of this nation. Before the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese people could be said to be no different from savages. It was precisely because of the various advanced production technologies and plagiarized culture obtained from the Central Plains that the Japanese people grew up and finally became a serious problem.
This is a real-life version of learning from China and developing skills to conquer China.
The Japanese pirates invading Linhai and the war of aggression against China, the source of the war in China, can really be traced back to the Tang Dynasty.
Of course, simply blaming all the blame on the Tang Dynasty is a typical groundlessness. Perhaps the Tang Dynasty should bear part of the responsibility, but the blame should never be placed on this dynasty.
It is the most boring behavior to focus on the past history to discuss who takes the blame. It may be possible to summarize something, but it is still not as important as looking forward. Therefore, Li Xian no longer thinks about these useless things, but decides to use his power as much as possible from now on to prevent history from going on the established track.
Taking a deep breath, Li Xian asked: "Zhang Honglu, seeing how you speak for the Japanese people, could it be that the gifts they gave to Honglu Temple were very rich?"
In the Tang Dynasty, it was not unethical for government offices to accept red envelopes from outsiders. On the contrary, if Honglu Temple collected too many red envelopes, they would be secretly rewarded by the emperor. After all, part of the red envelope must be paid into the national treasury, and only a small part will be used as welfare and distributed to officials of Honglu Temple.
Therefore, Henry Zhang could only hand over his hands and said helplessly: "As His Highness said, the Japanese people are very good at getting things done, and they are very generous when it comes to managing things. To be honest, a small island country can have such wealth. It is really a humble minister. Unexpected.”
"The Japanese country is not big, but its gold and silver production is very abundant, which shows that their mineral resources are very rich. Zhang Honglu, I am very curious about the Japanese people. When I receive them another day, why not let me see them?"
Seeing the prince say this, Zhang Xuanze's first reaction was that the emperor was moved by the gift from the Japanese people. However, thinking about it, it is probably a helpless move for the prince to blatantly set up an estate for the East Palace.
After Prince Hong's death, all the assets of the East Palace were consumed by funerals and burials. His Royal Highness, the Prince, used to be a vassal king, so he didn't have much savings. Although the royal family has a lot of examples, it is definitely not enough for the prince to live a luxurious life. It is already rare for the prince not to think about taking things by force but to make money for himself.
Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but feel pity for the prince: "Since your highness is curious, when receiving the Japanese envoys, I will introduce you to them. If you are curious, you can also come to Honglu Temple."
Can I go to Honglu Temple?
This is really hard to refuse.
To be honest, Li Xian is quite curious about today's foreigners. Although I have seen Japanese people and grassland people in film and television works more than once, there is no doubt that they are unreliable.
As a history major and a major that interests him, Li Xian really has no resistance to meeting foreigners.
"In that case, let's make an agreement. When the envoy comes, remember to send a message to Gu."
Henry Zhang naturally agreed to such a simple thing.
The class lasted until nightfall. After having a dinner like Zhang Wenguan and others, Henry Zhang left with satisfaction.
He hasn't finished his class yet, and he will still come to visit in the next few days.
After sending Zhang Xuanze away, Li Xian thought about it and chose to return to Cheng'en Palace to accompany his eldest wife.
Women are creatures that become stupid and suspicious as long as they are pregnant. Although Fang Furong did not suspect that he had a mistress, it was not a good thing to make her feel that she had fallen out of favor.
Thinking about the hardships a woman goes through during ten months of pregnancy, Li Xian still chooses to pamper her a little.
Passing by the study and taking a look at Shangguan Wan'er who was cleaning up inside, Li Xian warned: "Go and tell the three Liang Di that I will sleep with the Crown Princess tonight."
"Wan'er knows."
After agreeing, Shangguan Wan'er put down her work for the time being and was not ready to deliver the order.
Walking out of the study, looking at the back of the prince, she suddenly realized that His Highness was very different from other men.
Because she was qualified to leave the palace and walk, even though her mother objected, she would occasionally leave the palace to see her mother, even just for a brief moment. Hearsay, coupled with the fact that when he was in the palace, the ladies would gather together and chat, so he still knew a lot of things.
For example, King Qi took two more singers from a brothel as his concubines, and the Minister of Civil Affairs divorced three concubines and remarried four more...
Taking all the topics together, it seems that the men in Chang'an are full of desire for women; it seems that the men in Chang'an like the new and hate the old.
However, to her great surprise, His Highness the Crown Prince did not seem to be like this.
Even though the Crown Princess was pregnant, he did not relax his care for the Crown Princess.
Even occasionally, she could see His Highness the Crown Prince wiping the corners of the Crown Princess' mouth in person.
To be honest, His Royal Highness...
He is really the ideal other half...
"oops."
On the way to deliver the order, Shangguan Wan'er didn't see the road ahead clearly because she was in a trance, and she bumped into someone.
Seeing the other party's luxurious clothes and the medicinal materials scattered on the ground, Shangguan Wan'er was stunned and quickly knelt down: "Wan'er didn't have eyes, and she bumped into Liang Di. She really deserves death. Please punish Kong Liang Di. "
Kong Xinyu, who was hit by Wan'er, was not angry. She glanced at the medicinal materials scattered on the ground and sighed: "They have all been soaked in water. Now that they have fallen to the ground, they cannot be used."
Glancing at the medicinal materials on the ground with regret, and then looking at Shangguan Wan'er, Kong Xinyu said indifferently: "Just calm down, I was thinking about something just now and didn't look at the road. However, these medicinal materials are all rare and good products, so I'd better give them to you. The medicinal ingredients prepared by His Highness the Crown Prince are brewed at different times, so you will be punished to brew the medicinal ingredients on my behalf all night tonight."
(Kong Xinyu lived in a separate palace, and those in the East Palace could call themselves his own palace)
She was just fined to stay up late and brew medicinal herbs. It wasn't much of a punishment. Shangguan Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Standing up, she thought for a while before speaking: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent Wan'er to inform Liang Di that he will stay at the Crown Princess's place tonight, so you don't have to go there."
Hearing what Shangguan Wan'er said, Kong Xinyu didn't feel disappointed. Instead, she smiled slightly, said "I got it", and turned back to her exclusive cabin.
Remembering that there were still two Liangdi who had not been notified, Shangguan Wan'er had no choice but to grab two passing maids and order them to pass the order on her behalf.
Although she is the prince's personal official, she rarely gives orders to the palace maids.
As soon as she entered the small room, Shangguan Wan'er was shocked, because although the inside was not big, the several medicine cabinets were all filled with small drawers, and there was a strong medicinal fragrance in the whole small room.
That's right, it's the medicinal aroma. Because he only wanted to study medicinal foods, Kong Xinyu didn't store too many medicinal materials with other flavors here.
After picking out some from each small drawer and placing them in categories, Kong Xinyu pointed to a few ceramic bowls filled with water and said: "Next, I will tell you when to start brewing which medicinal materials. Can you You have to remember to be careful. Although it will not affect the taste if you soak it incorrectly, it may affect the medicinal properties."
Although Kong Xinyu also doubted whether these red tapes were effective, but when she thought that the medicinal diet was for her husband, she would rather follow the records in the medical books.
Kong Xinyu told them all, and Shangguan Wan'er remembered them all. Thanks to her strong memory ability, even though she was only told once, she remembered everything.
Seeing that Shangguan Wan'er didn't even ask, Kong Xinyu asked, "Did you remember everything?"
Shangguan Wan'er nodded and recounted it from beginning to end.
Seeing that she had indeed memorized everything, Kong Xinyu couldn't help but be surprised.
However, just when she was about to praise this smart girl, her personal maid stumbled in outside the door.
"Liangdi, Liangdi, the King of England has come to visit."
"Um?"
After taking a look at the sky, Kong Xinyu couldn't help but be surprised and said: "The King of England is here to visit? Although he is also living in the East Palace now, he shouldn't be so abrupt. What did he say?"
"His Royal Highness the King of England said that he would like to ask you to treat the Princess of England."
"this...."
After looking at the sky outside, although Kong Xinyu wanted to refuse, she had a parent-like attitude towards doctors. Since she was here to see a doctor, she had no choice but to refuse.
Although she decided to leave, she called several of the palace maids and eunuchs around her, as well as the guards patrolling inside the East Palace, as witnesses.
After all, it was going to be night soon, and it was easy for Liangdi to gossip about her when she saw someone other than her husband at night.
Outside the hut, Li Xian was sweating a lot because he was anxious and running too fast. Seeing that Kong Xinyu had come over, he quickly took a breath and said with cupped hands: "I know that it is inappropriate to visit late at night. , However, the matter is urgent and the imperial doctor of the East Palace is not here, so I have no choice but to come and invite you in person."
