My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

Chapter 164 Li Longji's Incognito Visit

"Goodbye, both of you." Chang An stared blankly at them leaving and said mechanically.

"Mr. Ji Kangbo is too polite. Please be sure to read this book." Yang Mo and Ma Huai turned around and said with a smile, then stood at the door and saluted him again before leaving.

Chang An smiled and nodded, and watched them leave. He turned around and saw Gu Li, who was sitting next to him, had already picked up the thick medical book and started reading it.

But after flipping through the book for a while, she seemed to feel bored and closed it, then yawned. Chang An smiled and hugged her in his arms, rubbed her face lovingly, and said:

"What's wrong, my dear Gu Niang? Are you sleepy and want to go to bed?"

Gu Li yawned again, nodded and said, "I'm sleepy."

Then Chang An held her up and said as he walked towards the room: "Let's go back and take a nap..."

Chang An also yawned at this time, and Gu Li chuckled twice while lying in her arms, saying, "Chang Lang is sleepy too."

Chang An nodded. At this time, Huaiqin appeared again inexplicably and asked, "Master, Sanniang, are you going to rest?"

"Well, you can put the books in the pavilion into the study. Let's go back to the room and sleep for a while." Chang An yawned again and said, "Let's go back to the room and sleep for a while."

"Okay, son."

Huaiqin responded, and then Changan turned around and asked Gu Li to close the door. But what she didn't expect was that she closed the door and even bolted it.

Chang An smiled, then put Gu Li on the bed. The two of them undressed and took a simple nap.

Chang An slept until almost twilight hour when he was woken up by Gu Li. He opened his eyes and heard Gu Li say, "Chang Lang, Chang Lang, it's time to get up!"

"Hmm..." Chang An sat up and felt a warm feeling on his face.

"Okay, okay, Chang Lang has already taken advantage, hurry up and get up." Gu Li seemed a little anxious. He pulled him out of bed, quickly dressed him, and then brought the basin of water in front of him.

After Chang An finished washing up, he asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to wake me up? What does Gu Niang want to do?"

Gu Li then picked up a book on the low table and said, "I want to learn this."

Chang An glanced at Gu Li and took the book from her hand—Zuo Zhuan? He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Mother Gu wants to read?"

Gu Li nodded and said, "I only studied the Analects before, and then read some poetry collections, nothing else."

Chang An pulled her to sit down at the low table and asked, "It's very difficult to read the books of sages. Do you really want to learn it, Gu Niang?"

Gu Li climbed into his arms, found a comfortable position and nodded. Chang An pinched her cheeks. He didn't care why Gu Li wanted to learn these so-called saintly words. He just spoiled her.

He opened the book and asked, "Where would you like to start learning, Madam Gu?"

"Hmm..." Gu Li thought for a moment, then randomly turned a page, pointed to a certain sentence and said, "That's it. I learned this before."

"Have you learned this far? Did Gu Niang teach herself?" Chang An was a little surprised. He didn't expect that when he went to the Imperial College, Gu Li was still studying with him at home.

"Yeah." Gu Li nodded.

Chang An smiled, and then read the sentence that Gu Li had just learned: "Why? Madam retired every morning and evening to discuss whether the ruling is good or not. I will do what she thinks is good, and I will change what she thinks is bad. She is my teacher, why would you destroy her?"

"The meaning is: why destroy it? People come back here from work in the morning and evening to gather and discuss the pros and cons of the policies implemented. We implement what they like and correct what they hate. This is our teacher. Why destroy it?" Chang An explained.

"What do you mean? The rural school is just a place for learning and reading, and the people inside are just students. Why are they talking about state affairs?" Gu Li asked puzzledly.

"To be more precise, it is better to understand that the rural school is a place where people can speak freely and express their views on national policies again."

"Only the people and the common people are the mirror of the present. Emperor Taizong once said: Water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. The common people have a relatively fair standard of measurement in their eyes. They focus on the actual performance of the rulers, not their empty talk."

"No matter what decrees are issued by the emperor, whether they are good or bad, only the people can know. If the people are not allowed to discuss these things, then how can the emperor know whether these decrees are good or bad? In this way, there is no way to make more correct and more beneficial things for the people."

When Chang An said this, he thought of the red land where he once lived.

"Only when the people speak out can we know whether the country and society of the Tang Dynasty are good or not, and whether it is peaceful or not. The people are the most ruthless and true mirror before your Majesty's feet. Only through the people can we know the country and society."

Gu Li nodded, and then heard Chang An say: "The people are the touchstone of a society and the creators of history."

"it is good!"

Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside the house. Chang An was stunned for a moment, then he felt Gu Li crawling out of his arms and whispered, "Chang Lang, I'm sorry..."

"A good people is the touchstone of society, a good people is the creator of history!"

Chang An raised his head and looked towards the door, and saw Li Longji walking in. Behind him were the Crown Prince Li Ying, a eunuch, and a princess dressed in luxurious clothes.

Chang An quickly changed his sitting position to a kneeling position with Gu Li, and kowtowed, saying: "Your Majesty, I greet you..."

"No need to be polite." Li Longji waved his hand, then walked over to the low table and sat down. Li Ying and the woman also sat down with him.

"Ji Kangbo, you don't have to be so nervous. Sit together."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chang An and Gu Li sat opposite Li Longji, and Chang An asked, "Forgive me for being so rude, but I don't know why Your Majesty suddenly came today?"

"Isn't it because of this rebellious son of mine?" Li Longji smiled and pointed at Li Ying who was sitting next to him. Chang An looked at Li Ying, and the other party also looked at him with an "apology" expression.

"I don't know how, but my prince heard that you, Ji Kangbo, had introduced smallpox and wanted to sneak out of the palace to look for you. If I hadn't happened to pass by, I wouldn't have known about this."

Li Longji said this like a father scolding his disobedient son. Chang An was speechless and didn't know what to say.

"That's perfect. I'll come here to look for you and see you two." Li Longji said.

Finally, someone answered the question. Chang An smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

"You two have been infected with smallpox. How are you now? Are you feeling unwell?" Li Longji asked.

"Your Majesty, there is nothing serious. It's just some normal symptoms and he will be cured in a few days." Chang An said.

"That's good." Li Longji nodded and said, "Just now, you, Earl Jikang, were taking a nap, and Lord Zichuan was also outside the courtyard, so I wanted to test you."

Test me, it turns out that what happened just now was all a "conspiracy" of our emperor.

"Don't blame me, my Lord. It was just an idea that came to my mind at the time. I didn't expect that you, Ji Kangbo, could have such an opinion." Li Longji said, "But I don't know why Ji Kangbo has such an opinion?"

Chang An was stunned for a moment, then said: "Because most of the township schools are located in the countryside, far away from Your Majesty. So the saints at that time set up township schools, not only to teach knowledge, but also to discuss state affairs."

"This is a corner that belongs to the people. All the policies and decrees made by your majesty are for the people. But to know whether it is good or not, you have to learn from the people."

"The reason why our Tang Dynasty is so prosperous is because the people live and work in peace and contentment and the army is invincible. Soldiers and people are all citizens of our Tang Dynasty. Today, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is not only due to your majesty's wisdom, but also to the cooperation of the people."

"The foundation of a country lies in its people. That is why the people are the touchstone of society."

Li Longji asked again: "What about the creator of history?"

"Your Majesty should know that every dynasty changes, and every change is the result of the efforts of every citizen. The king issues edicts and policies, and the people are responsible for acting for Your Majesty. It is under such actions that each era cycles and changes."

“So, a good era and a good history depend half on the rulers and half on the people.”

Of course, the real story is not like this, Chang An changed his story. Otherwise, if he really read out the words in the political textbook, he would be dragged up and beheaded in public tomorrow.

After listening to this, Li Longji held his chin in thought, and then asked: "So according to what Ji Kangbo said, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty today is also the credit of the people of the Tang Dynasty?"

"That's right. Your Majesty issued a decree. No matter what, it is your Majesty's achievement. Whether it can be achieved depends on the people. Only when the people follow the instructions and succeed can it be considered a success."

"So that's how it is..." Li Longji nodded and said.

"I really could not have imagined that Ji Kangbo, who is not even an adult yet, could have such insights into national policies." Li Longji breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had understood what Chang An said.

Li Longji has not met Yang Yuhuan yet, and is still far from the state of "the king no longer attends court early in the morning".

"Is what Ji Kangbo just said true?" Li Longji asked again.

"That's right. Your Majesty is wise and can issue policies that benefit the people. Only loyal subjects can contribute to the country." Chang An said, "If there are no subjects to serve Your Majesty, even the best policies will be difficult to implement."

"That's why Emperor Zhaolie of Han, Liu Bei, led tens of thousands of disaster victims to flee the city."