Chapter 199 Li Zhi Seeking Help (Please Subscribe)
With Lao Li's permission, Li Xiang officially established the first subordinate department in Jingzhao Prefecture - Chang'an Health Administration.

Afterwards, he summoned the veterans who were staying at Princess Gaoyang's manor to Chang'an and incorporated them into the Health Administration Bureau one by one.

Although they have only experienced one war, these soldiers are already worthy of the title of veterans.

From Beisha City to Jian'an City, from Jian'an City to Jili City, and then to Fenghuang Mountain, Pyongyang, and Xiongjin, their footprints were left everywhere.

Considering that it was almost the end of the year, Li Xiang had no plans to ask anyone to work overtime.

The holiday will last until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Li Xiang worked overtime in the government office of Jingzhao Prefecture and began to plan the health plan for Chang'an City.

Hygiene must be maintained. Even after repeated sanitation patches during the Zhenguan, Yonghui and Kaiyuan periods, the sanitation situation in Chang'an City was still not alleviated.

Han Yu once wrote a poem to describe the environment of Chang'an City, "In the morning, flies need not be driven away, and in the evening, mosquitoes cannot be swatted. Flies and mosquitoes fill the eight districts, and they can all be fought against."

It can be seen from the poem that the sanitary conditions in Chang'an area were very poor. Even after generations of legislation, it was difficult to alleviate the sanitation problems in Chang'an City.

Not only that, since the Sui Dynasty established its capital in Daxing...that is, Chang'an City, the population of Chang'an City has increased dramatically.

Under population pressure, forests in surrounding areas have also been cut down on a large scale.

"Mencius" said that axes and saws are used in the mountains and forests from time to time, and the wood is inexhaustible. However, under the pressure of population, there is no time to worry about much.

The consequences are not only soil erosion, but also flying dust in the spring.

Fortunately, it is now the Zhenguan period, and the forests in Guanzhong have not been over-cut down, so there is still room for recovery.

In fact, the reason for excessive deforestation is not just for daily use. In that era, charcoal was still used on a large scale for iron smelting, and coal was not used much in smelting.

Li Xiang plans to take a multi-pronged approach to manage the environment around Chang'an City, not only to ensure the sanitation of Chang'an City, but also to protect the ecological environment of the Tang Dynasty!
Green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains!
Historically, due to soil erosion and deforestation in the surrounding areas, Chang'an City gradually became unable to serve as a capital. This situation must be nipped in the bud.

Chang'an's problems went far beyond this. Due to food shortages caused by the population explosion, the emperor even had to "go to Luoyang for meals" every year, which roughly meant going to Luoyang to eat for free.

During Li Zhi's reign, there was even an incident where "some of his entourage died of starvation on the road because they were in a hurry to leave."

Ordinary residents even have to go to the mountains to find hazelnuts, oak leaves, fern roots and other foods to fill their stomachs during the two months of winter every year.

Li Xiang was also annoyed. There were too many troubles in the Jingzhao area, but he couldn't ignore them. He could only solve them one by one.

Food must be eaten bite by bite. After solving the hygiene problem, the next problem is food in Chang'an City.

When Li Xiang returned to the Eastern Palace, he saw Li Chengqian playing football with Li Jue, and felt a little emotional.

If we follow history, my father has been in Qianzhou for several days...

Thinking of this, Li Xiang felt a sense of accomplishment.

This was not the first historical event he had changed, but it was the one that gave him the most sense of accomplishment.

After traveling through time for two and a half years, he has seen how Li Chengqian treats him.

No matter what, his father still listened to him and didn't hold him back. He even cooperated with the transformation.

While Li Xiang felt pleased, he also felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

"Kick the ball over here!" Li Chengqian waved at Li Xiang from afar, interrupting Li Xiang's thoughts.

Li Xiang saw the football rolling towards him, so he kicked it. With a bang, the ball drew a beautiful parabola and landed far away.

"Fuck you, you little bastard!" Li Chengqian cursed.

"I can't hear you!" Li Xiang didn't hear clearly.

"I'm going to marry your mother!" Li Chengqian shouted loudly.

"What did you say? I still can't hear you--" Li Xiang stretched out his voice. This time he heard it, but wanted to pretend.

Li Chengqian waved his hands at him, meaning that he should get out of here as soon as possible, out of sight, out of mind.

Li Xiang laughed happily. It seemed that his father didn't have any big objection to Li Yifu being demoted out of the capital.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to play football with Li Jue so heartlessly.

Not only was the atmosphere in the East Palace cheerful, but even the Prince of Wei's Mansion was filled with joy.

This joy is not just because the year is coming to an end, it is also related to what is happening in the court.

Ever since Li Yifu was impeached so easily, the entire palace was filled with an aura of "how can we lose?"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty." Wei Ting congratulated Li Tai and said, "It seems that the Saint still loves Your Majesty very much. Otherwise, he would not have driven Li Yifu out of the East Palace so easily."

"It is still unknown who will win." Liu Li also began to put pressure on Li Tai: "There is still room for great things, Your Majesty, do not give up easily!"

Following the two of them, people from the Prince of Wei's palace spoke up and began to open champagne for Li Tai.

Li Tai certainly didn’t know what Liverpool was, nor did he know about nuclear warheads, let alone the miracles of Constantinople (crossed out) and Istanbul.

Being flattered by the people around him, he is now muttering to himself.

Could it be... that I really still have a chance?

However, Li Tai did understand one thing.

Nowadays, his elder brother Li Chengqian has turned over a new leaf, and with the help of his good eldest son Li Xiang who is looking after him, it is basically impossible to expect him to make mistakes.

If you want to win the battle for the throne, you can't just wait. Just like what Li Xiang often said, a blacksmith must be strong himself.

This was the idea he had in mind when he was in charge of compiling the Comprehensive Geography.

However, after a series of stupid moves by Li Chengqian, Li Tai began to expect him to continue making mistakes.

"That being said, I think that if you want to fight for that position, it is useless to just criticize the East Palace." Li Tai looked around and said in a deep voice: "You also need to make achievements that are eye-catching enough."

"Although the crown prince has no outstanding political achievements, he has a good son. The crown prince and Li Xiang are one and the same. The achievements Li Xiang made in Dengzhou and Liaodong are the crown prince's political achievements."

At this point, Li Tai was still sighing.

Oh, how great it would be if Xiang'er was my son!
After hearing Li Tai's words, the officials of Prince Wei's Mansion fell into deep thought.

This is indeed the truth, and the saint also punished them for criticizing the Eastern Palace.

If he continued to commit crimes and besiege the Eastern Palace, it would not be as simple as taking a warning from a saint. Since this road was blocked, he could only take another road, which was to make political achievements.

"Your Majesty is the governor of Yongzhou, and the Prince of Hengshan is the prefect of Jingzhao. In theory, he is also under your jurisdiction..." Wei Ting suggested cautiously.

Li Tai sat up straight, shook his head and said, "I am not so mean as to cause trouble to my juniors."

"Since we are competing, we must do it openly. I want to let Aye know that I am the most suitable person for the position of Crown Prince!"

As he said this, he gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart, isn't it just that I have a good son!
The next day, which was December 28th, everyone in the palace began to prepare for New Year's Eve.

The eighteenth year of Zhenguan was the year of Jiachen. December was a short month and there was no New Year's Eve.

This is because the "month" in the Chinese lunar calendar is defined according to the cycle of the moon's waxing and waning, which is called the "synodic month."

The average length of a synodic month is 29.53 days, which is not an integer, but the number of days in a month must be expressed as an integer, so sometimes it is a short month of days, and sometimes it is a long month of days.

At the same time, in order to ensure that the first day of each lunar month must be the new moon day, the arrangement of long and short months is not fixed, which needs to be determined through precise calculations.

Therefore, if the twelfth month of that year happens to be a short month with only twenty-nine days, there will be no New Year’s Eve.

In the East Palace, Li Xiang met Quan Wanji who had returned from Dengzhou, as well as the two generals who guarded him, Zhang Sizheng and Hegan Chengji.

Although Quan Wanji held the position of the Crown Prince's Right Assistant, Li Chengqian's relationship with him was not very good.

After all, Quan Wanji has a bad reputation and a bad temper. Li Chengqian is really worried that he will be the next Zhang Xuansu or Yu Zhining.

Li Xiang was also worried about this, so after asking Li Shimin for instructions, he transferred Quan Wanji out of the Eastern Palace and temporarily appointed him as the chief secretary of Jingzhao Prefecture.

The so-called chief secretary is the right-hand man of the Jingzhao Yin. He is mainly responsible for the secretarial, clerical, official documents and other work of the Jingzhao Yin. He also needs to provide the Yin with various policy and decision-making suggestions.

Quan Wanji had no objection. Anyway, he was not very interested in the Prince's Right Son.

In his eyes, the prince did not look like a monarch, so instead of offering advice and remonstrances, it would be better to ignore it and not be bothered by it.

"This is my plan for Chang'an City. Take a look." Li Xiang picked up the paper beside the table and handed it to Quan Wanji: "The sewers built in Chang'an City during the pre-Sui Dynasty..."

As soon as he finished saying the word "sewer", Quan Wanji rolled his eyes.

"Hey..."

Li Xiang: …

Well, I forgot about Quan Wanji’s conditioned reflex.

"Mr. Quan, you really need to treat this problem." Hegan Chengji said with concern: "Look at me and Zhang Sizheng, nothing happened to us. We just swam out from that place. What's the big deal..."

It was not easy for Hegan Chengji to say this, after all, he came out with Quan Wanji and even swallowed a piece of vegetable leaf.

"Yes, you eat very delicious food." Zhang Sizheng muttered to the side, "I don't want to see that green stinking ditch in my life..."

Quan Wanji: “Hmm…”

"In theory, this should be a psychological trauma. It will be fine once you get used to it." Li Xiang said helplessly: "But... since Secretary Quan is so interested in the sewer..."

Having said that, Quan Wanji endured it again and again, and finally did not vomit.

"Hey, this is a good start." Li Xiang nodded and said, "You should learn from Hegan Chengji and Zhang Sizheng. You see, they both had no problems. Just get used to it and overcome it."

"Your subordinate..." Quan Wanji's face turned pale and blue: "I obey your command!"

That expression was just like the one when Hegan Chengji stood in front of the sewer and died heroically.

"General Hegan, and General Zhang." Li Xiang looked at the two and said, "I have also asked the Saint for permission. From now on, the two of you will be the chief and deputy chief judges of the Health Management Institute under Jingzhao Prefecture."

When you go to Rome, you must follow the local customs. The bureau is definitely not as suitable an institution as the hospital.

"The so-called Health Management Institute is an institution responsible for the health and environmental protection of the entire capital region. With the permission of the Saint, I have transferred the wounded soldiers of the Dengzhou Navy to the Health Management Institute. You will be in charge of dispatching and commanding them to maintain the appearance of Chang'an City."

"Thank you, Prince!" The two responded happily.

"Don't be so quick to thank me. You still have to pay attention to this matter." Li Xiang said seriously, "This is the first fire I will start as a new official. I must make sure it burns thoroughly and vigorously. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" the two men replied with their hands crossed.

"The top priority for Chang'an City is to put cleaning work on the agenda. The specific outline has been written in the plan given to Secretary Quan. After you go back, if you don't understand something, discuss it with Secretary Quan. If you really don't understand, come to me." Li Xiang reminded again.

While speaking, Li Xiang was still sighing.

The rats that can spread the plague in Chang'an are mainly house mice, whose activity distance is about 20 to 30 meters. Fortunately, when Chang'an was first designed, the width of the main roads was sufficient, and the open channels between the market towns extended along the walls, without direct connection between them. In addition, Chang'an implemented a strict market system, separating residents from the market, which also reduced the number of rats to a certain extent.

In addition, Chang'an City adopted the Fangshi system, which was divided into 108 Fangs and surrounded by 2.3 to 3 meter high earth walls. Although it was a public security measure, it also avoided a large-scale outbreak of the plague.

However, the Song Dynasty gradually broke this system, the city streets became narrower, the residential houses were lined up in a row, and Kaifeng City was plagued by epidemics.

What Li Xiang needs to do is to prevent this tragedy from happening.

After seeing off Quan Wanji and the two generals Hengha, Li Xiang welcomed an unexpected guest.

It was his youngest uncle, Prince of Jin Li Zhi.

Li Xiang was a little confused by his uncle's sudden visit.

But since people are here, we should always be polite.

"Uncle." Li Xiang greeted him: "What brings you here?"

"This is not the place to talk." Li Zhi took Li Xiang's hand mysteriously and dragged him into the hall.

After entering the hall, Li Zhi glanced at Li Xiang, then raised his chin towards the servants standing beside him.

Li Xiang understood and ordered, "You guys retreat."

When everyone had left, Li Xiang asked with a smile, "Uncle Yao, what happened?"

"To be honest, I have something to ask of you, Xiang'er." Li Zhi said with a sigh.

Li Xiang's heart was filled with alarm, and he did not agree immediately. Instead, he said, "Uncle, just ask. As long as you ask, I will definitely help you if I can do it. If I can't do it, I hope you can understand my difficulties."

(The date can be checked accurately. There was indeed no 30th day in the twelfth month of the 18th year of Zhenguan.)

(End of this chapter)