Chapter 21: Taming Li Chengqian

  Chang Sun Chong walked to the shore and asked: "Are you guys thinking of learning how to swim?"

  "Big brother, I want to learn! I want to learn!" Er Lang, San Lang, and Si Lang exclaimed happily. Before Father left, he said they should listen to Big Brother's words. Now that Big Brother wants to teach them how to swim, of course, they will learn.

  Li Chengqian was eager to try, but seeing Huo Gang's disapproving face, he lowered his head and said nothing.

  Changsun's face sank as he said, "Chengqian, you are the Crown Prince of Tang, if there is something you want to do, just say it out loud, as long as it is not treasonous. If you have something to say, say it clearly and openly. Although secret plots can sometimes achieve temporary success by surprise, in the face of open schemes, they will be exposed and unable to hide. The best way is to let people see your ability with a clear conscience."

  Li Chengqian stood barefoot by the water's edge, facing Huo Gang, and said in a deep voice: "General Huo, I want to learn how to swim!"

  When Huo Gang arrived, he was entrusted by the Emperor to protect the safety of the two princes. The prince cannot swim, and if something unexpected happens, his whole family will be in danger. He directly refused, saying: "Return to the crown prince, take care of your body, the emperor will not allow it."

  Chang Sun Chong waved his hand and said, "General Huo, this is an unusual statement. The Emperor let the Crown Prince come over to train him, if he doesn't know how, then we should learn. We shouldn't refuse, especially since it's guaranteed that the Crown Prince will be safe. General Huo, rest assured, I, Chang Sun Chong, will take responsibility for everything."

  "This......" Huo Gang was embarrassed and hadn't even had time to refuse when Changsun Chong had already pulled Li Chengqian into the water.

  Li Chengqian and Li Ke were so excited that they took off their clothes, leaving only their underpants on, and wanted to go deeper.

  Chang Sun Chong grabbed the fourth son, who was walking towards the deeper part of the water, and slapped him twice on the buttocks, saying: "Since you want me to teach you how to swim, you must listen to what I say. Second Son, Third Son, Fourth Son, all of you come here! If you continue to recklessly walk into the deep water, be careful or I'll beat you up!"

  Li Chengqian, Li Ke, Erlang, Sanlang and Silang, the five of them stood in a row in the water up to their waists, and replied together: "Yes, elder brother (older paternal cousin)"

  Huojing was worried and called two guards who knew how to swim. He took off his clothes, stood in the deep water, ready to rescue the two princes at any time.

  Chang Sun-cheon, two meters in front of them, said: "First, let's practice deep breathing together. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale all the air out of your lungs, and fill up your entire lung capacity."

  Li Chengqian and Li Ke, the two princes, looked like they were suffering from severe malnutrition, with their ribs showing one by one. It's unknown whether Emperor Taizong was reluctant to give them food or not. On the other hand, looking at the second, third, and fourth princes, they were typical cases of over-nourishment, with no bones visible on their bodies, and flesh bulging everywhere.

  "Right, that's it! Come on, move forward, further forward, feel the water all around you. Breathe in, breathe out!" Zhang Sun was very serious teaching the five bear cubs how to swim, "Getting a bit tired? Move back, take a rest, I'll teach each of you one by one."

  "Chengqian, you're the crown prince, you go first, don't be afraid, Big Brother is here and won't let anything happen to you. You should know that as a dragon's son and grandson, you can't be afraid of water. Just look at the several brothers from the Cheng family, they're swimming so happily." Changsun said encouragingly, Li Chengqian was still just under ten years old.

  Li Chengqian nodded heavily and said, "Big brother, I know. It's just like when I first learned to write. At the beginning, my handwriting was not good, but after diligent study and practice, writing more will make it look very beautiful."

  Changsun Chong knew that the Changsun family was a die-hard supporter of the Li clan, and in the situation where neither Li Chengqian nor Li Tai could inherit the throne, he went all out to make the ninth prince Li Zhi the emperor. However, after this wall-top grass became the emperor, he joined forces with his concubine Wu Zetian to deal with Changsun Wuji, leading to the downfall of the Changsun family.

  Changsun Wuji didn't know how long he would stay in the Tang Dynasty, so he wanted to go all out to protect and teach Li Chengqian, to ensure that the Changsun family's prosperity would never decline!

  Chang Sun Chong was not tired of teaching Li Cheng Qian how to swim, because he trusted his elder brother very much. Li Cheng Qian did not feel afraid or fearful and soon learned how to swim. Soon after, Li Ke, Er Lang, San Lang, and Si Lang also learned how to swim. Although it was dog paddling, they could still be considered as knowing how to swim. Once they were familiar with swimming in the water, he would then teach them breaststroke and butterfly stroke.

  Huo Gang was in the water, but he was sweating profusely on his head, closely watching the two princes. However, seeing the two young princes learn to swim so quickly, he couldn't help but be surprised, this eldest grandson of Changsun really had some skills.

  Actually, swimming is not that difficult, as long as you overcome your mental fear and have someone guide you, you can learn it quickly.

  "Great elder brother, you're amazing, you can do anything!" Li Chengqian said with a smile as he put on the clothes brought by the eunuch, this was his happiest day.

  Chang Sun Chong rubbed Chang Sun Chong's head and said: "From now on, swimming every day can also make you stronger."

  Li Ke looked at the interaction between Zhang Sun-chong and Li Cheng-qian with envy, although he also followed Li Cheng-qian in addressing Zhang Sun-chong as "Big Brother", but Big Brother and Big Brother were close relatives, he was just basking in the glory of his big brother.

  Chang Sun Chong turned his head to look at Li Ke's envious expression, stretched out his hand to pull Li Ke and said: "Ke'er you're not bad today either, keep practicing!"

  "Big brother, what about us?" Si Lang narrowed his small eyes, waiting for Zhang Sun Chong's praise.

  "You're not bad either!" Zhangsun Chong said with a smile. "Let's have a good lunch today, and then I'll take you to the fields."

  "Oh, farming, farming!" The little fatties gathered around Zhangsun Chong, looking forward to farming in the afternoon.

  Chang Sun suddenly remembered that there was still a small bag of corn seeds, and at this time, it's not too late to plant them. The half-acre land in the house originally used for seedlings had been turned over, just right, let Li Chengqian, Li Ke, and Cheng Chumou practice their hands.

  Having eaten and drunk their fill, Li Chengqian and Li Ke each ate an extra bowl of rice and took a sweet afternoon nap.

  "Big brother, big brother, you've been sleeping for a whole incense stick, get up and let's go farming!" Li Chengqian had only dozed off for a bit, his mind preoccupied with the farming tasks, unable to sleep soundly. He now thought that big brother was really impressive, knowing everything and being especially interesting, much better than before. In the past, he thought of big brother as an adult who wouldn't play with kids like them.

  Chang Sun rubbed his eyes and stretched, saying: "Alright, let's go. Brother Biao, you lead the way to the fields."

  Found a good spot, Changsun Chong arranged and said: "I'll dig holes at the front gate, Chengqian, you put only one grain in each hole; Erlang, Sanlang, you two carry water, Silang pour half a ladle of water into each hole; Ke'er, you just follow behind me and use your feet to push the dug-out soil back into the holes. Do you understand? If not, I'll say it again."

  "Got it!" The five kids said in unison.

  Chang Sun Chong held the ? head, dug a small pit, Li Cheng Qian put corn, Fourth Brother poured water, and Li Ke buried the soil. The planting instructions on top, each plant spaced 80 cm apart, one small bag of corn should be enough to plant half an acre.

  "Big brother, what are we planting?" Chang Sun Er Lang asked curiously, as if he had never seen it before.

  "This thing is golden yellow and looks great. I call these things corn." Zhang Sun bent his waist, puffed out his fat buttocks, and dug a hole.

  "Brother, where did you get this from?" Li Chengqian asked, he really didn't expect that the things he planted would grow into anything, but rather just enjoyed the process of planting.

  An old Taoist gave it to me, saying it was celestial grain. I don't know if it's true or not, so I'll just give it a try." Changsun said with his head down, "But I'd rather believe it's true and do it sincerely. If we really get high-yielding grains, that would be the blessing of our Tang Dynasty people. If it's fake, at most it will be in vain, and I can just take it as exercise."

  "Brother, you're really amazing!" Li Chengqian followed behind Changsun Chong, praising him.

  "What's the big deal? I just don't want to live like before, bringing shame to my father. Besides, we're living in the countryside, isn't it great?! We can practice martial arts, read books, take baths in the river, and even go hunting in the nearby mountains. This is the way to live!"

  A small bag of corn seeds was enough for half an acre of land and still one-third remained.