Chapter 278 "To Xiang'er" (asking for monthly tickets)
Li Shimin's words are certainly thought-provoking.

This angle was the first time he had heard of it, and Li Xiang also found it somewhat novel.

When I was in school, I was busy criticizing Emperors Huan and Ling with my teacher.

But then again, even though Emperors Huan and Ling have been criticized for so many years, they are not actually at the bottom of the list. After all... there were so many other stars shining in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and they really could not compete for the top fifty in history.

This is thanks to the excellent matching mechanism of the Northern and Southern Dynasties region.

Right, the end of Southern Liang was its incorporation into the Northern Dynasties.

But then again, we have to look at these so-called "virtuous ministers" from different perspectives.

If we stand from the perspective of court officials, then naturally we should be close to "virtuous ministers".

But from the emperor's perspective, if he relies too much on these "wise ministers", there will be only one outcome, that is, he will be completely sidelined by these so-called wise ministers and become their stamp-stamping machine.

As the saying goes, the butt determines the head, this is the truth.

"Such a wise minister." Li Shimin concluded, looking at Li Chengqian and Li Xiang with a look of great concern: "Gao Ming, Xiang'er, do you think we should get close to him?"

"Of course that shouldn't be the case." Li Chengqian replied immediately.

Li Tai looked like he was deep in thought, and he had indeed listened to it.

But Li Zhi had a look of disapproval, and Li Shimin noticed this expression.

Old Li frowned and asked, "Zhi Nu, do you think what I just said is wrong?"

"That's right and wrong." Li Zhi crossed his legs and sat in a very bossy manner: "In fact, where are there any truly virtuous ministers? Sometimes they have no say in whether they are virtuous or not. When they are virtuous, they are used, and when they are not virtuous, they are dismissed!"

Ouch……

Hearing this, Li Shimin took a deep breath.

You may ask whether what he said makes sense or not. It does make sense, but it's all fucking nonsense.

Old Li was even thinking that it was a good thing that the throne of the Tang Dynasty was not given to him, Li Zhinu.

Li Xiang was not too surprised. After all, Li Zhi was just a bigger version of Zhu Houcong. He was called bigger not because of his ability, but because he was lucky and had a good inheritance.

What he inherited was the rapidly rising Tang Dynasty, a divine legacy left to him by Li Shimin, the peak Tang Dynasty.

As for this inheritance, if the Taoist priest were to take over, he would do no worse than Li Zhi...

Why do you say that?

Because the Taoist priest does not love women, there will be no disaster like Wu Zetian.

Considering that Li Zhi would not take over the Tang Dynasty, Old Li did not commit any domestic violence against him, but chose to ignore this bastard.

"I understand what you mean, old man." Li Xiang said with a smile, "Don't worry, old man. I will keep Xu Jingzong for a great use."

"Since you said so, I won't say much." Li Shimin looked at him meaningfully: "Everything should be done in moderation. You can use Xu Jingzong, but don't rely on him too much. Do you understand?"

"Of course." Li Xiang nodded hurriedly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Shimin's imperial classroom started again. Old Li patiently broke down various historical stories and told them to his sons and three grandsons.

Li Chengqian also found it new and interesting. After all, this was the first time that Li Shimin explained history to him.

As he was telling the story, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

After all, the crown prince cannot be completely taught by his ministers. He still has to learn the profound knowledge of the way of emperor himself.

When the get out of class was over, Li Xiang suddenly asked, "Why don't you write a book on how to be a ruler, so that it can be used as a model for future generations?"

Hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly became interested.

Yes, why don’t I write a book?

It must be said that Li Shimin's governing ability is definitely the undisputed top 1 in the history of ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. It doesn't matter if fans don't agree with it, after all, that is the fact.

After three generations, Han Wen was the recognized benchmark for emperors; and after Li Shimin, the person all emperors wanted to surpass was Emperor Taizong of Tang.

That old man, who was well-versed in everything, once spoke highly of Li Shimin, saying "Li Shimin had four working methods", namely, Li Shimin pacified the four directions with a conciliatory policy, did not seek quick success and instant benefits, and exhausted the people and lost the army; he did not indulge in pleasure, but held court every morning, listened carefully to various suggestions, and spoke carefully; after the court was dismissed, he had a heart-to-heart discussion with ministers about right and wrong; and in the evening he talked about classic literary matters with others.

He spoke highly of the ancient leader's ability to govern.

The key point is that Li Shimin's outstanding qualities were not only in governing, but he was also strong in military affairs, which is a bit confusing.

There is no need to mention people like Xue Rengao and his son, Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, Liu Heita, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, they are all old stories.

If we talk about writing a textbook on emperors, Li Shimin is definitely qualified.

"Okay, this is a great idea!" Li Shimin nodded happily, and then looked at Li Chengqian, "The book I wrote is called "The Emperor's Model", which means a model for future emperors; hum... Gao Ming must copy it ten times by then!"

Li Chengqian:......

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, Grandpa." Li Chengqian could only say this against his will. In his heart, he didn't agree with it at all.

Anyway, I will let someone else write it for me and say that I wrote it myself. What can you do?
Li Shimin was a little surprised that his eldest son was so obedient for the first time in his life.

Therefore, when Li Chengqian returned, Li Shimin specially asked Wang De to pack some lychees for him to eat, which made Li Tai so envious that even a fool could see the jealousy on his face.

This treatment was clearly mine before!!!

In modern times, lychees are not a rare commodity. After all, there are amazing means of transportation such as airplanes, as well as a series of preservation methods. However, it was different in ancient times. If you wanted to eat lychees in ancient times, you could only use fast horses to deliver them. It would take at least five or six days to deliver lychees from Lingnan to Chang'an at the fastest speed.

With the ancient preservation method, it might have gone bad before reaching Chang'an...

Li Xiang did not forget to take a few back for his sister to try. When he returned to Wude Hall with the small basket, Pei Xueqing was practicing the piano.

"Try this." Li Xiang placed the fruit basket on Pei Xueqing's piano.

"Is this lychee?" Pei Xueqing asked in surprise.

"Hey, you even know about lychees?" Li Xiang was also surprised.

"Of course I know, but I've only seen lychees in books." Pei Xueqing said with emotion. She took one and then said to Baoqin, "Baoqin, take these lychees and give them to Feng Liangdi, Xiao Liangdi, and Zhang Liangyuan to try. Each of them should take three."

There are only ten lychees in this basket.

Although this amount is small, it is actually one-fifth of the tribute from Lingnan to the palace this time.

Even a thousand years later, the Qing Palace, which loved to search for delicacies from all over the world, could not achieve lychee freedom.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, out of the forty lychees obtained at one time, ten were sent as tribute to the Buddha. Only the Empress Dowager got two, while the other dowager concubines, as well as Emperor Qianlong's empress and other concubines, could only get one each to try.

You want to eat as much as you want? Dream on.

Li Xiang's harem had three concubines for each woman, which was already very luxurious.

In this era of insufficient productivity and transportation capacity, being able to eat lychees in a place other than their origin is already a very happy thing.

"Why did you only keep one?" Li Xiang asked with a frown.

Pei Xueqing chuckled and said, "As the principal wife, I naturally have to set an example. How can I compete with my sisters?"

"Alas." Li Xiang reached out and rubbed the back of Pei Xueqing's head: "Sister is so considerate, it really makes me feel distressed."

"Let's not talk about this." Pei Xueqing said to Li Xiang with a faint smile: "Xiang'er, I have never eaten lychees, can you teach me?" Li Xiang grinned, reached out to take the lychees, peeled them carefully, and put them in front of Pei Xueqing's red lips.

"Here, try it." Li Xiang said.

Pei Xueqing opened her mouth and glanced at Li Xiang with her bright eyes. She then gently took a small bite of the lychee flesh and ate the lychee flesh in front bit by bit. She then bit off the lychee core and spit it aside. She raised her head again and glanced at Li Xiang.

Li Xiang took a deep breath and endured it again and again.

However, what he didn't expect was that Pei Xueqing smiled faintly, put her hair behind her shoulders, opened her mouth again, and took Li Xiang's fingers into her mouth.

Then, Li Xiang felt Pei Xueqing's small tongue scraping his fingers.

"Is it delicious?" Li Xiang swallowed his saliva. He was not craving for the lychees, but for his sister.

"Well, it's OK." Pei Xueqing leaned on Li Xiang's shoulder and said with a chuckle, "Xiang'er's fingers are still delicious."

"I'll keep a record for you first." Li Xiang took a deep breath and said, "Wait ten months and I'll tell you how I'll deal with you!"

Pei Xueqing smiled softly and said to him, "I have nothing to do these two days, so I composed a song. Can I play it for you?"

"Okay." Li Xiang forgot about the grudge he had just had and changed his posture. "Play it for me."

"Yeah." Pei Xueqing nodded, and her slender fingers began to stroke the piano keys, playing the song she had just composed for Li Xiang.

It's very nice to listen to. The music is like a gurgling stream, flowing in the heart, which is very relaxing.

"What is the name of this song?" Li Xiang suddenly asked.

"Hmm..." Pei Xueqing looked at Li Xiang affectionately with her bright eyes: "Let's call it "To Xiang'er"."

Li Xiang thought that this song is not the same tune as "To Alice", but he said, "Okay, let's call it this..."

"Yes." Pei Xueqing picked up the pen beside him and wrote the three big words "To Xiang'er" on the title page of the music score.

"Play it again." After Pei Xueqing finished writing, Li Xiang reached out and gently held Pei Xueqing's slender waist: "I want to listen again."

After all, she is just pregnant, so it is not obvious yet.

"Okay." Pei Xueqing did not refuse and played the song for Li Xiang several times.

……

The next day, Li Xiang got up refreshed.

There's nothing I can do about it, it's someone else's fault for having such happy events.

Yesterday, Pei Xueqing realized that there was no way to drive him to someone else's room, and was afraid that he would suffocate, so she thought of another way to help Li Xiang.

Very happy. Li Xiang thought about it for a long time and still felt happy.

"You little elephant." Pei Xueqing walked into the house from outside, followed by Baoqin and Baoyu, both of whom were holding plates in their hands.

She walked to Li Xiang's side and gave him a reproachful look: "Are you happy now?"

"Happy, of course I'm happy." Li Xiang said with a silly smile.

"Humph, you're so silly." Pei Xueqing put her hand on Li Xiang's face and turned back to say, "Bring it up."

Baoqin and Baoyu came forward, and Li Xiang finally saw clearly what was on the plate.

"What is this?" Li Xiang asked, pointing at the thing that looked like a burrito.

It’s called a burrito, but it doesn’t quite look like one.

The "cake" was crystal clear and didn't look like a cake at all. Instead, it looked a bit like cold noodles.

And in the middle, there is a red sauce rolled up, which looks like a cherry?
"This is cherry cake." Pei Xueqing said with a faint smile: "Cherries are ripe these two days. I thought you like cherries, so I researched this dessert for you. You can try it."

Li Xiang reached out, picked up a cherry cake and put it into his mouth.

Hmm...it's delicious. The dough is soft and chewy, with the fragrance of glutinous rice. The cherry filling is sweet and sour, very refreshing.

"It's delicious." Li Xiang praised repeatedly: "I'll eat it for breakfast today--"

"Slow down, no one is competing with you for it." Pei Xueqing said angrily.

"Hmm." Li Xiang responded vaguely. Before he could swallow it, he heard Li Jue's voice coming from outside.

"Quick!" Li Xiang lowered his voice and shouted, "Hide this cherry bun and don't let that glutton see it!"

However, it was too late for him to speak, Li Jue had already walked in.

When Li Jue saw the cherry cakes in Baoqin and Baoyu's hands, his eyes lit up.

"Brother, sister-in-law!" Li Jue bowed to the two of them very respectfully.

Li Xiang asked fiercely, "Why are you here instead of attending classes in the East Palace? If my mother finds out, she'll give you a good beating!"

"Yes, I told my mother." Li Jue said calmly, "Brother is leaving for Youzhou today, I'm here to see you off."

While speaking, his eyes kept looking at Cherry Bun.

But he felt embarrassed to go eat without Li Xiang's permission.

"Try the steamed buns made by your sister-in-law." Li Xiang sighed.

Li Jue cheered, then slipped to Baoqin, picked up a cherry bun, and stuffed it into his mouth with a "ah-wu".

"Delicious! Delicious!" Li Jue praised repeatedly: "Wow, what kind of delicacy is this! It's so delicious!"

Li Xiang took a deep breath, waved his hands and said with a sad face: "Give these two plates of steamed buns to him..."

Let him fight with the little brat for food...

He really couldn't do such things as eating pumpkin raw or splitting toad alive.

Seeing Li Jue's delighted expression, he was actually quite happy too.

But Li Xiang was still a little unwilling. Hey, Li Jue, this bastard...

So much so that it seems to have lost its color.

Seeing Li Xiang's unwilling look, Pei Xueqing leaned close to Li Xiang's ear and said softly, "I know you like it, and I left a lot for you in the kitchen."

Hearing Pei Xueqing's words, Li Xiang regained his color.

he asked delightedly.

"How could I lie to my brother?" Pei Xueqing's eyes wandered as she spoke softly, "I've made a lot more for you to eat on the way."

Li Xiang suddenly understood why the ancients said that the land of pleasure is the grave of heroes.

Just now, for a moment, he suddenly didn't want to go to Youzhou anymore.

Fortunately, his career ambition prevailed. After all, Xiaoxiang has always been a career-oriented man.

(Please give me some monthly tickets, I’m going to sleep——)
(End of this chapter)