Chapter Thirty-Six: Flights of Fancy

Luo Tong curled his lips. “What a wild fantasy!”

“How could His Majesty possibly issue such an edict? Unless you somehow capture him in a game of chess! But… you’ve already managed to do that once before, so it won’t be easy this time!”

“We’ll see,” Li Zhi replied, undaunted.

For he already had a preliminary plan in mind.

...

Within the imperial study.

The Crown Prince, Li Chengqian, was reviewing memorials.

Beside him stood Li Shimin, offering careful guidance.

“Father, there is something I wish to say, but I’m unsure if I should,” Li Chengqian slowly raised his head.

“What is it?”

“My younger brother Zhi wishes to open a tavern outside the palace. He said… he would come see you for an edict soon, and that you would surely grant his request. Father, will you agree?”

“Hmph!” Li Shimin trembled with anger.

He barked, “I have repeatedly instructed you all not to leave the palace! It is dangerous outside!”

“Father, I have not gone out without permission...”

“Hm!” Li Shimin was, at least on this point, satisfied with Li Chengqian.

But!

The thought of the mischievous Li Zhi made his liver ache.

“Your Majesty, Prince Jin requests an audience!” The old eunuch announced.

“I will not see him!” Li Shimin waved his hand. “Send him back to reflect on his actions! Only when he has done so may he see me again!”

“As you wish!” The eunuch relayed the emperor’s words to Li Zhi, preparing to send him away.

“Wait…” Li Zhi was a bit stunned. “What’s going on? Why is Li Shimin angry? Could he already know I want to leave the palace? Impossible!”

“Your Highness… it’s best you return to Lizheng Hall and reflect. The emperor’s will cannot be defied!”

“I refuse!”

“I have something important to report to my father. Please, would you inform him once more…” Li Zhi insisted.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is in a foul mood. Why bring trouble upon yourself? Better to return to Lizheng Hall!”

“Why is His Majesty angry?” Li Zhi countered.

“That… I do not know!”

“Look there!” Li Zhi’s eyes spun mischievously as he pointed into the distance.

The eunuch instinctively turned to look.

Li Zhi seized the moment to slip into the imperial study.

“Ah…” The eunuch blanched in terror. “Your Highness, you must not disturb the emperor!”

It was too late.

Li Zhi rushed in, standing before Li Shimin. “Father, while reading the Spring and Autumn Annals last night, I came across a question I simply cannot unravel! I wish to consult you!”

“If you have questions, ask Fang Xuanling!”

“Father, my question is rather difficult. I doubt my teacher could answer it. That’s why I’ve come to you!”

The implication was clear: Li Shimin’s wisdom surpassed even that of Fang Xuanling.

The flattery was skillful, almost invisible.

Li Shimin was pleased, his tone softening. “What is it you wish to ask? Speak.”

“I wish to speak with you alone.”

Li Shimin glanced at the Crown Prince, frowning. “The Crown Prince is no outsider. Speak freely! He may as well learn.”

“Yes, Father.”

Leaving Li Chengqian was no hindrance. After all, just a child... At his age, he could hardly participate in such matters.

Li Zhi organized his thoughts, clasped his hands behind his back, gazed upward at a forty-five degree angle, and spoke slowly: “Father, do you know from which dynasty the division of society into scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants originated?”

“The Spring and Autumn and Warring States era—it was proposed by Guan Zhong!”

“Indeed, you are learned, Father… but do you know why he established this hierarchy?”

“That…” Li Shimin had never given it much thought.

“I believe it was to clearly define ranks and inspire all to study, so they might serve the state. Since officials were held in highest esteem, only by diligent study could one bring honor to the family.”

“Under such a hierarchy, people naturally believe officials are noble and merchants contemptible! Everyone strives to study, disdaining trade.”

“The consequence, directly, is the decline of the nation’s economy.”

...

Li Zhi spoke at length, but his central point was simple: merchants ought not be held so lowly.

“My son, what are you trying to say?” Li Shimin’s head was spinning, his patience waning.

Li Zhi changed tack: “Father, in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the realm was not yet unified, competition was fierce. It was indeed necessary to encourage learning and farming to support the armies. That was not wrong. But after Qin Shi Huang unified the land and the nation stabilized, the hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant became less crucial. Especially now—our Tang Empire is vast, its influence felt across the world, the nation prosperous and at peace…”

At this, Li Zhi paused, smiling. “Father, in your opinion, which of the four—scholar, farmer, artisan, or merchant—is most important?”

“Ahem!” Li Shimin was completely bewildered by Li Zhi’s argument, and dared not answer lightly. What if he was caught off-guard like Fang Xuanling or Kong Yingda, left speechless?

“Gaoming, you answer—which is most important?” Li Shimin turned to the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian, styled Gaoming, considered carefully. He knew Li Zhi’s long speech was just a prelude—his real goal was to get permission to open a tavern, a merchant’s pursuit! Could merchants be the most important?

No, impossible… Even if Li Zhi were a master debater, he couldn’t invert the hierarchy to make merchants or artisans come first. Li Shimin wasn’t so foolish; he’d get a beating for such talk.

After some thought, Li Chengqian replied, “Father, I believe the ancients had their wisdom; the hierarchy must have its reason. Since it begins with ‘scholars,’ they must be the most important.”

“Is that so?” Li Shimin asked Li Zhi.

Li Zhi replied unhurriedly, “I do not object to this hierarchy; the people are used to it, and their thinking cannot be changed overnight. But as the state grows stronger, the economy becomes ever more crucial! What is the economy? It is the lifeblood of the nation—without it, the country is but an empty shell.”

“A simple example: if Father wishes to wage war, what is needed besides the army? Exactly, vast funds!”

“The scale of military expenditure determines how long a war can be sustained.”

“Military funds are the economy, and it is merchants who sustain it. Throughout history, nations have faced poverty. Why? Because merchants were despised, seen as selfish and shameful! How could a nation be wealthy under such thinking?”

After hearing this, Li Chengqian wiped the cold sweat from his brow and thought, “What a tongue! He almost convinced me merchants are the most important!”

Li Shimin’s brow furrowed, as if a thought had struck him. “Zhi’er, these words… did you think of them yourself, or did someone else put them in your ear?”

Li Zhi replied, “No one could sway me. I brought this matter to you because, in reading the Spring and Autumn Annals at night, I was moved to reflect. Father need not take it to heart.”