Li Chengqian has been very busy recently, but knowing that his son has returned, he still returned from the yamen early. Now Li Chengqian has been ordered to supervise the country, and Li Shimin is also happy to be free. He handed over most of the things to Li Chengqian and hid in the harem to enjoy a peaceful life.
"Has father really lost so much weight?"
It had only been less than three or four months since he left, but Li Chengqian had already become much thinner than before.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's just that I have too many things to deal with every day. Sometimes I don't have time to eat, so it became like this. Now I have sorted out most of the things, and it won't happen again in the future."
Li Chengqian said very happily. Although he was also the regent and the crown prince, Li Shimin's people were around him. To put it bluntly, it was not a real religious power, so Li Chengqian had never enjoyed the treatment of holding great power. But now it is different. All the things are piled on Li Chengqian. Although his body has suffered some damage, he is very satisfied in his heart.
Li Xiang felt relieved after hearing this. In modern society, if a person loses weight rapidly, it must be that there is something wrong with his body. But seeing that Li Chengqian is in good spirits, he is no longer worried.
"Your father is now desperate to move his family into the government office. He's been working non-stop at the six ministries in the capital, going here in the morning, there in the afternoon, and sometimes not even back at night. With so many officials in the Tang Dynasty, are they simply not doing their jobs? Are they putting all the pressure on the Crown Prince?"
Mother Liu said somewhat depressedly.
What a woman cares about most is her husband's health. Liu could see clearly how Li Chengqian had been getting through this period. There were always endless official documents to deal with every day. Before he even opened his eyes in the morning, the officials were waiting outside. Even when he was about to rest at night, there were still people lingering at the door.
"This is a woman's opinion. With such a vast empire, is there really nothing to do every day? There's already a huge backlog of daily matters. Father used to handle them all. Now, he should have a couple of years of peace and quiet."
What Li Chengqian said was the truth. In the past, he always wanted to take power into his own hands, but when he actually had these powers, Li Chengqian felt how heavy the burden on his shoulders was.
Although the memorial in his hand was light, just a few sheets of paper, it concerned the lives of thousands of ordinary people, or the training of tens of thousands of soldiers, so Li Chengqian dared not neglect anything. If he did not understand some things, he could only go to the various government offices to ask the officials.
After hearing what Li Chengqian had said, Li Xiang smiled and nodded. As the eldest son of Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, how could he not be smart? He had only taken a detour in his early years. As long as he was willing to take the right path these days, nothing would be a problem.
"I have a suggestion, just a suggestion. Father, you could assign more advisors. These people would be responsible for specific tasks and be more meticulous. If you're worried, you could assign two or three advisors to each area. They could supervise each other and you could ask them directly if you don't understand something. They wouldn't have to do everything themselves."
Li Xiang's words made Li Chengqian's eyes light up. At the beginning, Li Chengqian also felt that he should do everything himself so that he could become a good emperor. However, after being busy for a few months, Li Chengqian found that if he did everything himself, he would have to go to the fields before he could become emperor.
"The method you proposed is indeed good. We can find a few people from the Hanlin Academy, and some filial and honest people from the public will also do."
Li Chengqian has also learned a lot about the current officials in the court during this period of time. These people are equivalent to several people in their quarrels. If they are asked to do some serious work, it will be extremely difficult.
Therefore, when Li Chengqian was choosing assistants, the first people he thought of were those who had passed the imperial examinations, and the second was some prestigious people recommended by various places, who were relatively good.
"In addition to these people, I think father should also select some from among the nobles, especially those illegitimate sons."
While eating, Li Xiang said that he would also share his experiences over the years with his father. Li Xiang had just started the conversation, and Li Chengqian understood what was going on. After all, as someone who grew up in the palace, how could he not understand the separation of powers?
Regardless of whether they are candidates for the imperial examinations or some poor families recommended by local officials, these people don't know much about certain things, especially some relationships in the capital, so the children of aristocratic families still have to be allowed to join in. Both sides are still in opposition, and allowing the children of aristocratic families to join in can actually promote competition better.
Of course, as a leader, you must control their competition. Only by controlling the scale of their competition can these talents be used by you.
If the scale cannot be controlled, then there will be no time to do serious work. I am afraid that this kind of internal strife will occur every day. After a long time, it may evolve into a party struggle, which will then become a major event for the court and the country.
"Could you two please stop talking about state affairs as soon as you get back? I'm almost going crazy hearing about state affairs every day. Let's just have a good meal together as a family and stop talking about things outside. It's like the entire Tang Empire can't survive without you."
Seeing that the food was already cold, mother Liu knocked on the table. This would be a taboo for others, but because of Li Xiang's deliberate change, when there were only three of them in the family, eating at home was very casual.
"Eat, eat."
Li Chengqian smiled and nodded. He also enjoyed this rare family time very much. A family should not be bound by those cumbersome etiquette. They should just act like a family. Isn't it like this in ordinary people's families?
Seeing a great general and a prince give up those things and eat honestly under her orders, Liu felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Looking at the entire Tang Empire, if there is any woman who can have such power, it is probably myself. If Empress Changsun were still alive, then she would be the next one.
"Come home quickly after eating. It's not a good idea to keep avoiding me."
After dinner, Liu could see that her son didn't want to go home...
