Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 115 The Influence of Movable Type Printing

As evening fell, the tedious and complicated grand court assembly finally came to an end.

With the formalities concluded, the subsequent banquet became much more relaxed.

The seating arrangement was still strictly based on rank and official position, with civil officials on the left and military officials on the right, and the higher the official position, the closer they were to Li Shimin.

Lin Chuan was assigned to the civil officials' camp on the left, in a position that was neither too far forward nor too far back, right in the middle of the hall. He was surrounded by middle-aged and old men he didn't recognize, and he, a young man, stood out conspicuously in the middle.

Lin Chuan didn't know any of them and had no intention of getting to know them. He simply drank his wine and admired the dancers gracefully performing in the center of the hall.

After he had drunk two or three cups, the middle-aged man sitting to his left suddenly cupped his hands in greeting and said politely, "My name is Chen Xu, a Doctor of the Imperial Academy. I greet Physician Lin!"

"Greetings, Dr. Chen!" Lin Chuan quickly returned the greeting.

"I had long heard from Lord Yan that Physician Lin was exceptionally talented. A few days ago, I visited Lord Yan's residence and learned that the method of printing books also came from Physician Lin. Physician Lin has been a great benefactor to us scholars!"

"I'd like to offer a toast to Physician Lin!" Chen Xu raised his wine cup and said to Lin Chuan with a smile.

"Dr. Chen, you flatter me!" Lin Chuan replied awkwardly.

After Chen Xu began speaking, another person beside him bowed to Lin Chuan and introduced himself, "I am Lu Shou, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial. Greetings, Physician Lin!"

"Greetings, Young Master Lu!"

After Chen Xu and Lu Shou started, more people began to greet Lin Chuan.

After going around socializing with a wine glass in hand, Lin Chuan realized that Yan Shigu and Yan Xiangshi had been deliberately helping him to make a name for himself. With movable type printing technology and the endorsement of Yan Shigu and Yan Xiangshi, he was finally accepted into the Shilin circle.

For him, this was perhaps the real benefit of movable type printing. In the future, whenever these scholars thought about printing books, they would always feel a sense of gratitude towards him, the inventor of movable type printing.

Alcohol is indeed a good thing for quickly building rapport. After two rounds of drinks, Lin Chuan had become acquainted with a group of middle-aged men.

Drinking and chatting with a group of people, and commenting on the dancers' moves, is naturally more interesting than drinking alone, and that's when the banquet truly becomes fun.

After Li Shimin repeatedly advocated frugality in court and set an example with Empress Zhangsun, the supply of wine in Chang'an decreased significantly, especially strong liquor. Therefore, the wine served at banquets at this time was ordinary rice wine.

The alcohol content was not high, and the taste was a bit mild, but it had a refreshing fragrance when you drank it. Even if you drank too much, it wouldn't make you drunk. Lin Chuan didn't pretend to be reserved and accepted all the drinks offered.

After drinking for about half an hour, a eunuch suddenly approached Lin Chuan and whispered, "Lord Lin, His Majesty requests your presence!"

Lin Chuan hesitated for a moment, then could only hold his wine glass and apologetically say to the group of drinking buddies he had just met, "Excuse me!"

Following the eunuch to the front of the main hall, they saw that Li Shimin had stepped down from his desk at some point and was drinking with Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Yuchi Gong, Li Xiaogong, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Yan Shigu, Yan Xiangshi and others.

Besides these people Lin Chuan was familiar with, there were also great Confucian scholars such as Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Lu Deming, and Kong Yingda, whom Lin Chuan was not very familiar with.

Beside them sat Li Chengqian, dressed in the crown prince's robes, and Li Tai, who had just been enfeoffed as the Prince of Yue at the grand court assembly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities! Please sit down!"

Li Shimin waved his hand, gesturing for Lin Chuan to sit in the empty seat next to Li Tai.

The eunuch quickly brought wine and dishes and placed them on the desk in front of Lin Chuan.

"Qingque, Lin Chuan is even more skilled in mathematics than Yan Qiju. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him!" Li Shimin said to Li Tai with a smile.

Li Tai immediately stood up and respectfully replied, "Yes, Father!"

After replying to Li Shimin, he turned to Lin Chuan, bowed respectfully, and said, "Greetings, Lord Lin!"

Lin Chuan was caught off guard and quickly stood up to return the greeting: "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yue!"

"Alright, sit down and have a drink!" Li Shimin waved his hand with a smile.

It seems that Li Shimin simply called Lin Chuan over to sit and drink with him. After Lin Chuan sat down, Li Shimin went to continue drinking and chatting with Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, and others.

Lin Chuan took a couple of bites of food, and Li Tai, who was sitting next to him, raised his wine cup and said to Lin Chuan, "I've been studying the Zhoubi Suanjing (a mathematical classic) recently, but there are many things I don't understand. I'll ask Lord Lin for clarification another day!"

Seeing that eight-year-old Li Tai acted like an adult, Lin Chuan had no choice but to pick up his wine glass and reply, "Okay!"

Li Chengqian didn't want to get involved, and Li Tai wanted even less to get involved.

After dealing with Li Tai, Li Chengqian raised his wine cup and said to Lin Chuan, "Greetings, Lord Lin!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lin Chuan had no choice but to deal with Li Chengqian.

Looking at the two brothers who seemed to have a fairly good relationship, Lin Chuan secretly shook his head.

Although Li Chengqian was only nine years old, he appeared calm and intelligent. The ministers also thought highly of him. They wondered what Li Shimin was thinking, as he doted on Li Tai so much.

Not only was Li Tai granted the title of Prince of Yue, but he was also appointed Grand General of Yangzhou and General General of Yuezhou, holding the title of Military Governor of sixteen prefectures including Yangzhou, Changzhou, and Hezhou. Although these were all nominal titles, the favor bestowed upon him was genuine.

If this continues, Li Chengqian and Li Tai will naturally develop some bad ideas.

The banquet lasted until midnight.

Although the alcohol content wasn't high, he had been drinking continuously. When he stepped out of the main hall and was hit by a cold wind, the effects of the alcohol kicked in. Lin Chuan, who was already somewhat delirious, felt waves of alcohol rising in his head. Cheng Yaojin grabbed his arm and helped him walk outside.

Empress Zhangsun finished entertaining the female relatives a little earlier, and Lady Li and Lady Cui were already waiting outside.

Cheng Yaojin helped the dazed Lin Chuan into the Lin family's carriage, and said with a smile to Li Shi, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, he didn't drink much!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Cheng!"

"Haha, we're all family, no need to be so polite!" Cheng Yaojin waved his hand with a smile.

The next morning, Lin Chuan got out of bed and took Mei Xiang to the front yard. As Li served him breakfast, she sighed softly, "Her Majesty the Empress is so approachable. Not only did she bestow a hairpin upon him, but she also praised Da Lang a couple of times!"

"What did you praise me for?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.

"Kua Dalang is of good character and exceptionally talented!" Madam Li said with a smile.

"Heh—" Lin Chuan chuckled to himself.

"Her Majesty is pregnant, and she will probably give birth in two months at most!" Madam Li said in a low voice.

Lin Chuan nodded. The baby in Empress Zhangsun's belly should be Li Zhi. Moreover, when Liu Zhengqi occasionally came to the Lin family, he cautiously mentioned that Empress Zhangsun's health seemed to be not very good.

Lin Chuan simply instructed him to pay more attention to Empress Zhangsun's health. There was nothing else he could do. He didn't know any medicine, so what could he do even if he knew that Empress Zhangsun was unwell?

After the grand court assembly on New Year's Day, the Tang Dynasty officially entered the second year of the Zhenguan era.

After resting for a few more days, Lin Chuan once again returned to the arduous task of getting up early every day to attend the morning assembly.