Don't be a prince

Li Daozong smiled, his eyes full of longing: "The old man will wait and see."

After half an hour, the investigators of the "Death Squad" returned to report that the three docks were basically safe.

Until this time, the group of people went back again.

Standing in front of the No. [-] dock, which is the dock to which Li Chengqian belongs, everyone couldn't help but gasp when they saw the messy deep pit.

The previous construction had dug out the basic shape of the dock, but at this time, the dust dug out of the pit filled it up again.Large pieces of permafrost piled up one after another, piled up in a mess in the pit. If you don't clean it up, you don't know how deep the blast is.

Yan Liben was also very satisfied with the results, and said with a smile: "It only takes three to five days to clear out the permafrost. Even if we come again twice, the dockyard can be dug out. Gantry cranes, etc. These things are all ready, but if they are assembled, the speed is very fast, no accidents, the shipyard can build [-]% of them a year ago, and it will be completed within the first month!"

"That's good, let's continue with the construction. Since the people in Dengzhou are willing to come to work during the Chinese New Year, then give them some extra wages and prepare more sumptuous meals."

Looking at the messy land in front of him, Li Chengqian realized the truth of "you can't cover a thousand miles without taking a few steps".Expectations are good, but the reality is cruel.The plan he made is still too taken for granted.

I used to think that the shipyard could be built years ago, but now it has been pushed to February. It seems that this year is really going to be spent on the construction site....

The next day, the migrant workers who had a day off started working happily again. The construction site, which had been silent all night, became busy again.

——Chang'an, Liangyi Hall

After temporarily handing over the harem to Concubine Yang, especially after severely disposing of the two concubines, the harem finally calmed down, and Li Shimin was able to return to the harem.He didn't go to the Ganlu Hall, the sleeping palace, but stayed in the Liangyi Hall where the eldest grandson lived.Although the building is empty, living here is still more comfortable than staying with other concubines or the cold Ganlu Palace.

The desk in Ganlu Hall could not be moved, so the emperor, who was not short of money, also assembled one in Liangyi Hall.After dealing with government affairs, it was time for the sun to set.When the emperor is like this, except for some specific days, basically every day is a fixed pattern of getting up-morning exercise-morning court meeting-handling government affairs-sleeping.Many times Li Shimin would ask himself, is it really worth it to live such a fixed pattern of life at the expense of setting off a bloodbath, and even dismantling the family relationship to pieces?

It's probably worth it. Li Shimin feels uncomfortable when he thinks about giving up the throne to whom.As proud as he is, what he hates most is being inferior to others, even if this person is his own father or brother.

The calendar on the table has been turned over. Today is the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Chinese New Year is coming soon.Seeing this desk calendar, Li Shimin remembered that it was a birthday present from the crown prince.Originally, he had already informed the court officials that he was not planning to celebrate his birthday, but the crown prince still prepared a gift for him.

When he received the gift back then, he scolded the prince for being too wasteful, and printed a stack of thick paper as days. Isn't this a waste, what is it?But it took a year, and the prince didn't need to give it to him in the second year, so he asked someone to print another copy.With such a thing, you don’t need to think back and forth or ask others when you want to live, you can know it just by looking at it.The blank space at the bottom can also be used for memos.The most rare thing is that the important days related to him are all recorded on it.

Turning over two calendars, the third one marked his birthday.Well, the emperor's birthday.Although celebrating birthday is an opportunity to bribe Xungui, Li Shimin doesn't like it because celebrating birthday will make him look old.After careful calculation, only the queen and the prince have always remembered his birthday.Especially since the crown prince became independent in the East Palace, every year on his birthday, he would receive filial piety from his son.

It doesn't matter what the gift is, what he is most satisfied with is the attitude.Since I always remember it, it means that this son is still very filial.Unlike that bastard Qing Que, who only remembers to eat and can't remember anything left!

Recalling the three princes again, Li Shimin only felt a sense of loneliness spontaneously.This year the Empress and Crown Prince and Qingque are not in Chang'an, not to mention the birthday, even the New Year, it is extremely boring.

With a sigh, Li Shimin picked up his pen and thought it would be better to write a letter to all three people in the distance.Letters had been coming and going since he first wrote to them.It's good to read the words without seeing people.

After writing the reply, it was already late at night.The head eunuch who temporarily replaced Li Jian saw that the emperor had finished writing, so he asked the emperor about today's arrangements in a low voice.

"I still don't go anywhere today, and I will sleep in the two ceremonial halls. These three letters were sent to Dengzhou overnight."

After handing the letter to the chief eunuch, Li Shimin stood up, but suddenly sat down again.Just for a moment, he felt the long-lost back pain.But thinking about it, it’s no wonder my back doesn’t hurt after sitting for several hours today.

This time carefully straightened his waist, the emperor suddenly became playful, opened the calendar, and wrote down a paragraph on tomorrow's calendar:

"Order the Secretary of State to issue an announcement to the state capitals of the world. From now on, all business-related memorials and coefficients will be sent to Dengzhou for the prince to make a decision!"

Chapter 357

After writing the memorandum, the emperor laughed wickedly like a child who had succeeded in a prank.

The twelfth lunar month was originally a period when the imperial court had frequent contacts with the local government. Throughout the year, each state government had to report on its achievements, make a summary of the year, and also gently flatter the emperor in the memorial.And the various departments of the court also have to make a summary of their own work.In particular, the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Household Affairs are the two busiest departments.The former needs to select officials with outstanding achievements or crimes, and submit them to the emperor for review, reward or punishment.

The household department, as the financial department of the court, is the busiest.Especially after the prince created the "decimal point", "accurate to two decimal places" has become a rigorous attitude recognized throughout the world.As a model for the world, the Ministry of Finance naturally has to follow the trend.However, being accurate to two decimal places has virtually increased the difficulty of the work.

There are still eleven days left before Chinese New Year.But these eleven days were enough time for Hongling to make an urgent announcement of the imperial court's announcement to the whole world.

He was at the construction site in Dengzhou, but Li Chengqian, who had received the memorial from Dengzhou, had a wonderful expression on his face.

"Your Highness, this is His Majesty's will. All business-related memorials in the world must be sent to Dengzhou for your decision. You can make decisions directly on small matters, but on major matters, after you have reviewed them, you can package them and send them back to Chang'an." .”

Zhao Yi clearly felt the prince's continued anger, and he spoke cautiously.

Li Chengqian had no choice but to sit on the wood on the construction site, and directly opened Zhao Yi's memorial to check.

The memorial in Dengzhou is very simple, it is just an application to expand the port of Dengzhou.Even if such a memorial is sent to Chang'an, everyone including the emperor will agree.Dengzhou is near the sea, and agriculture is not very developed. Although the fishery industry is well developed, it also lacks distribution channels. The expansion of the port in Dengzhou can significantly improve the poverty situation in Dengzhou.

There is no reason not to agree!

Stretching out his hand to dig in his bosom, he remembered that his seal was in the palace, but he didn't bring it with him.

Taking a look at the construction site in embarrassment, Li Chengqian really felt that he was out of control.

"Brother Huang, you can go back. I'll watch over here, so there won't be any problems. Besides, it's almost Chinese New Year, and there's no one to take care of the empress. It's not very good."

Fortunately, Li Tai was considerate and took the matter over without hesitation.

Patting Li Tai on the shoulder, Li Chengqian said earnestly, "Since that's the case, I'll leave the matter here to you. I'll come over and have a look after the New Year."

Li Tai stretched out his thumb, as if everything was up to me.Although this guy is often messed up, but when he really has to rely on him, he can be at ease.

Holding the Dengzhou memorial, Li Chengqian galloped all the way back to the palace.

After returning to the study, as expected, there were already a lot of memorials piled up on the desk, all of which were from the state capital closest to Dengzhou.The messenger who delivered the official document came all the way from Chang'an and finally arrived in Dengzhou. This caused Dengzhou to be the first to send the memorial even though it was the last to get the news.This is not the point, the point is that in this way, the memorials from all the state capitals were basically gathered at one time and sent over.

Good guy, how long did it take to process all these memorials!

In addition, there are priorities, things that he, the prince, can't easily decide, must be important things, or things that are urgent, if they are sent to Chang'an, and finally distributed by the court to other places, I don't know how much time will be wasted.It stands to reason that this kind of arrangement is simply a brain-dead arrangement.

It was impossible to say, seeing the large package of memorials that Zhang Yun brought into the study, Li Chengqian felt that he was close to the truth.

"What a dog you are, making yourself uncomfortable and making me uncomfortable too?"

Pointing his middle finger in the direction of Chang'an, although helpless, he sat down and began to process the memorial.

No matter how unwilling, things still have to be done. After all, he is also a prince, and he can't get angry with his father on national affairs.The emperor was sure of this, so he did such a shameless thing so happily.He could make a move, but Li Chengqian couldn't do it.The memorial, after all, needs to be dealt with.

It is just catching up with the end of the new year, and this year has seen the role of business for the first time, resulting in a lot of special memorials about business this year.

The first batch of people who ate crabs have now made their jurisdiction relatively rich.Even now, even if some local officials still have concerns, they can only join the galloping chariot.

"What can I develop here?" This is the question that officials everywhere are racking their brains this year.But no matter what the development is, communication with the outside world is the most important.

Looking through a lot of memorials, Li Chengqian found that most of these memorials were asking about the court's views on their local development.This is really a joke. If the normal process is followed, these memorials will be sent to the Ministry of Education. Fang Xuanling will select the important ones and hand them over to the emperor for decision. The unimportant ones will either be approved by him or sent to the East Palace or the Ministry of Household Affairs.But now that he, the crown prince, is not in the East Palace, these memorials will be the work of the Ministry of Household Affairs and Zhongshu Sheng.

However....

Asking Fang Xuanling or Changsun Wuji to give a reply is really bullying.From Li Chengqian's point of view, these two people are clearly the two smartest bumpkins in Datang.From the point of view, although they are the most outstanding among the courtiers, but looking at the whole Tang Dynasty, they can only be regarded as country bumpkins.The products of many places, these two people don't know what they are at all, and after asking around to no avail, they will make assumptions before making a decision.As for the ones that can't even be imagined, they will only agree with each other.

Although he does not think he is omniscient, Li Chengqian feels that he is better than these two people.

When I returned to the palace in the afternoon, I processed the memorials until dinner time, but I didn't see how much was processed.Looking at the mountain-high memorials on the table, Li Chengqian basically gave up hope for his life years ago.If all these are dealt with seriously, it will be 27-[-].

But fortunately, after dealing with the memorial, there will be additional kills.Lying on the big bed, Li Chengqian moaned from time to time.

"A little bit further down, yes, that's right there, use your strength! Ah~ Shushuang!"

"Don't make such a strange sound, the concubine is already ashamed enough, you still do this!"

Stretching his neck, Li Chengqian reluctantly turned his head to look at Su Yuan, feeling very heartwarming.

At this time, Su Yuan was stepping on his back with her bare feet. She weighs more than 70 kilograms, if she massages with her hands, she doesn't have much strength at all. Now it's so simple, just step on it.But there is a big problem here. I don't know what strange rules the ancients made. Women's feet cannot be touched casually, making it seem more important than chastity.Many married women, even though they have been in and out of their husbands countless times, still do not allow their husbands to touch their feet.

In other words, Su Yuan was able to help him step on his back with bare feet, and the sense of shame she endured at this time was not much stronger than running on the street naked.To be able to do such a thing, it can only be said that she regards him as extremely important.

After a full two quarters of an hour...

"Are you feeling better? Would you like me to step on you more?"

"Well, it's much better. Come down, that's all for today, and help me step on it tomorrow night."

Back pain and so on are trivial matters, and it is worth dying of exhaustion to enjoy this.

Turning over, she only took a sip of tea when Su Yuan hesitated to speak.

"If you have anything to say, just say it. When did we see each other like this?"

Sighing, Su Yuan said: "At first, the empress mother told me not to talk too much, but I still feel that I should tell you. I believe you have seen it today. After learning that you will stay in the palace for the New Year, the empress mother is very upset. I'm happy. When you didn't come back, the queen mother often complained to us, saying that you and Qingque were not filial enough, and the old one was still doing things outside, as if a few ships were more important than her.

But, after a while, she will tell us that it's good to be busy, and we don't need to sulk about it.Husband, tell me, are you and Qingque coming back for the New Year? "

Reaching out and pinching Su Yuan's nose, Li Chengqian said with a smile: "Fortunately, you reminded us, otherwise we would still be busy on the construction site in a daze. The queen mother is right, it's just a few broken ships, how could she It's important. It's not a problem even if all the work on the construction site is handed over to Yan Liben and the others. Anyway, the shipyard will be completed in the first month. Forget it, I'll send a letter to Qingque Li Ke and call them back."

Stretching, getting out of bed, putting on slippers, and walking to the desk, Li Chengqian began to write letters to Li Tai.It's easy for people to get involved when doing things, and once they have the idea of ​​"I can't do without it", they are even more jerks.If he was still on the construction site at this time, he would probably have ignored Su Yuan's words.But now that I'm not there, I see it more openly.

In terms of professionalism, he and Li Tai were no match for Yan Liben and the others. They stayed at the scene at most to come up with some ideas, but these ideas were not of much use.Furthermore, it is probably close to the people.Every day the three of them showed up at the construction site, and the migrant workers would see them, which would elicit cheers.It's okay once or twice. After a long time, it's not the same thing.Since in the eyes of most people, "behavior close to the people" is like a show, there is no need to do too much, because it is easy to make people sick.For Dengzhou folks, as long as the money is in place, it is enough.Who is in the mood to see the prince all day long, and then work harder?

Let's celebrate the New Year together. Since the ancestors left behind the festival of "New Year", it has its meaning after all.

After writing the letter, she put down the pen, and when she looked back, Su Yuan was already lying on the bed and fell asleep.I don't know if it was intentional, but this girl was half covered with a quilt, and the side hall was very hot because of the "heating".Dressed in gauze, half untied, although there is no lace, but this time is still full of temptation.

Good guy, how can this be tolerated?

Xiao Chengqian was about to stand up and protest, but he had no choice but to be honest.Thinking of the experience of Princess Wu Qi's family, Li Chengqian felt that it would be better to endure for her for another two years.Having a child when you are not old enough is really like going to hell.Especially in this situation where medical treatment is not advanced, Li Chengqian felt that he would definitely go crazy once he heard the question of Wen Po's "protecting the big and protecting the young".

Go to bed honestly, sleep honestly.As a man, you still have to be responsible.

The next day, before evening, Li Tai and Li Ke rushed back.Now, the two sons, along with one Li Ke, came back to celebrate the New Year, and the eldest grandson immediately reaped [-] times the happiness.Originally, she was also planning to make do with the New Year, but when there were more people, she became in a mood.As a result, the quiet palace suddenly became lively.The court ladies and eunuchs were called like donkeys, and began to walk around the streets to buy things for the New Year.

If it is the original Dengzhou, the sea is frozen in winter, and only salted fish can be bought, and live fish is very rare.But Dengzhou at this time is different. Materials from all over the world can be bought here.And because it is the reason for the royal purchase, there is no need to go from house to house to buy, just say a word, and the merchants will send their goods to the palace.This is an opportunity to show your face in front of the prince and queen, as long as your family's name can be known by these two, it is still appropriate to give a discount of seven or eight.

It was also at this time that Li Chengqian realized that Dengzhou was no longer as cool as it used to be, but had gathered a lot of businessmen.The sense of smell of the businessman group is extremely sensitive, and since he came out of Chang'an, the eyes of the businessman have been closely following him.Now he is staying in Dengzhou for the winter, and he has started to build a shipyard. Anyone who is not a fool can guess that Dengzhou is about to prosper.Whether it develops in shipbuilding or becomes a large port in terms of sea and river transportation, Dengzhou can stand out among the state capitals in Shandong Province.

Those who arrive early eat meat, and those who arrive late cannot drink soup.Therefore, the rich and powerful businessmen all took the risk of spending money in vain, and transferred part of their industries to Dengzhou.

What they did was destined to be wise. Now the land price in Dengzhou is the same as free gift, and in the future, it is bound to surpass Bianzhou and catch up with Yangzhou.If one or two unscrupulous real estate businessmen get involved, it will not be a problem to go straight to Luoyang.

Datang has no professional real estate businessmen, and this alone is enough to make Li Chengqian applaud.

Since the 27th, the Xinggong began to receive supplies from Chang'an one after another.These were specially sent by the emperor. Of course, no amount of supplies could compare to Sun Simiao alone.

The arrival of Sun Simiao made Li Chengqian completely relieved.If he was still worried about the birth of his eldest grandson before, Sun Simiao's arrival seemed to give him a reassurance.

"When I received the imperial decree, Lao Dao, I was sorting out medical records at the medical school. I came from Chang'an, and the whole journey was day and night. The fleet was sailing forward with full sails, and I almost crashed and capsized several times..."

After talking about the dangers of the journey and confirming that he was all right, Sun Simiao plunged into the Dengzhou market.The emperor's imperial decree was only one of the reasons why he came here. What really made him plan to go was his curiosity about seaside medicinal materials.

Chapter 358 New Year

Today's Sun Simiao, relying on his hundreds of apprentices and a group of fellow doctors, has already retrieved all kinds of prescriptions that have been collected.As he predicted before, many folk prescriptions are useless.However, those who tested suitable also successfully enriched the medical school's prescription reserves.

After completing this task, Sun Simiao turned his attention back to the exploration of new medicinal materials and new prescriptions.In this field, he never gets bored of a day.

In order to make it easier for Lao Sun, Li Chengqian sent Zhang Yun to his side without hesitation, and would pay for him no matter how much it cost.

As for Lao Sun, he was used to having Li Chengqian's support, so he was not polite, asked for a room in the palace, and began to experiment with his own prescriptions.

How many business-related memorials are there in all state capitals in the world?At least Li Chengqian couldn't deal with it at all years ago, which caused him to sit on the sidelines and process the memorial even when he stayed with his eldest grandson to watch the New Year's Eve.

Through these memorials, he probably also understood the current business development of Datang.Generally speaking, the development of commerce is still in its infancy, and it is still limited to the field of "physical objects".Maybe some smarter businessmen have already started the initial service business, but no one has gone one step further and created a high-end hotel or something.

As for tourism and the like, there is no market at all in the current Datang.Except for businessmen and officials, few people traveled north and south.The old peasants who have lived in the valleys all their lives are not in the mood to enjoy the scenery and recite poems at all.Planed food is still not enough to eat, who has the time to fix those useless things?

Just as he was about to pick up another memorial, his arm was pulled by Su Yuan.

Throwing the new memorial in his hand aside, Li Chengqian stretched, left his cubicle, and walked into the banquet scene in the main hall.

Although people are in Dengzhou, the scale of the annual banquet is still not small.Including the governor of Dengzhou, Sima, Bie Jia and others, they all became the invitees of the eldest grandson.Although there are no singing and dancing in the palace hall, there are only folk juggling and shadow puppetry, which seem nondescript, but looking at the corners of the eldest grandson's lips, it is clear that she enjoys the feeling of being in charge of herself.

When she was in Chang'an, although she was the lord of the harem, most of the state banquets were planned by the officials of the Ministry of Rites. As a queen, she only needs to ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to buy things back, and there is no room for meddling.

Now she is the biggest in Dengzhou, so she naturally wants to do whatever it takes to have fun, so she brought the shadow puppet show here without hesitation.

With the lights and candles all extinguished, the hall was a bit dark.After touching the small cubicle for a long time, I managed to reach the eldest grandson's side.

"I asked Mrs. Su to call you here. Although the memorial is important, don't wear yourself out. Your father is also true. Although it is a good thing to completely delegate power to you to make decisions, it is a good thing to let the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Finance all matters. It's too wrong to hit you."

Li Chengqian took a sip of the tea from the eldest grandson and said, "Actually, I don't blame my father very much. Although this is a bit tiring, it is very safe. Once the development of business exceeds its suitable speed, it will be better for you." For Datang society, it is a kind of devastation instead. Down-to-earth development is the most important thing, any development without a foundation is a castle in the air, and problems are prone to occur."

After listening to Li Chengqian's words, the eldest grandson just nodded, but did not answer.She knew that she had no right to speak in this regard, and her eldest son's business accomplishments were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.At least, my elder brother used to compare the ancient Tao Zhugong with him.Thinking of Changsun Wuji, Changsun couldn't help but miss him.After all, it is a brother-sister relationship who share weal and woe, and a momentary anger will not affect each other's respect and love.

"Chengqian, how about we head back to Chang'an after the first lunar month is out? I miss Chang'an a little bit, my mother."

Hearing the eldest grandson's words, Li Chengqian shook his head: "Mother, don't you look at what time it is now. In less than four months, you are going to give birth, and you are on your way with a big belly. You can't bear this kind of trouble." You'd better bear with it and wait for the child to be born safely and grow up before setting off and returning."

The eldest grandson touched his big belly and nodded.In other words, she said that the reason why she said this was because she wanted to hear such a reply from her son.After all, he has grown up, and with such a smart and filial son, the eldest grandson feels that he is already very satisfied.It's just a pity that her mother is about to have another child, but the eldest son has not given her a grandson yet.

Seeing how the eldest grandson looked at Su Yuan and sighed, how could Li Chengqian not know what she was thinking.However, if the empress wants to become a grandma, she still has to wait another two years.

Li Chengqian had no choice but to turn around and watch the shadow puppet show.Shadow puppetry has a long history, dating back to the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Of course, this is as far as later generations are concerned. From the perspective of the Tang Dynasty, there is only an interval of less than 800 years.Moreover, because of the strife in the world before the Tang Dynasty, there was no chance for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin to be born. The most common stories were stories like 24 filial piety, which seemed simply boring.

After staying until midnight, the shadow puppet show finally ended, and the bell to announce the time outside the hall also rang.Li Chengqian got up from the table and led the crowd to pay New Year's greetings to his eldest grandson.

At the end of the New Year's greetings, the eldest grandson stood up with a big smile, and distributed the money bags embroidered by himself to everyone.The money bag embroidery is very simple, it is the three characters of Fu Lu Shou, but the things inside are not simple, each person has a small gold nugget!There are also the words Fu Lu Shou on the small gold nuggets, which are not only auspicious, but also can be used as money to spend.

In fact, before this, the money distributed to the younger generation during the Chinese New Year was generally pressured money, not currency, but specially minted imitation copper coins, which could not be used for currency purposes.However, since Li Chengqian "self-assessed" distributed "lucky money" of silver to his younger siblings, the eldest grandson also accepted this.After all, it is the royal family, and she also felt that it was a bit too stingy to use copper coins, so she replaced them with silver ones.

The reason why gold is not used is because they are afraid that officials and the like will not like the way the royal family is doing, so they make use of it.But now in Dengzhou, no matter how bastard the officials are, they can't control here, so the eldest grandson didn't hesitate to use his own money to get a small gold nugget for Li Chengqian and others.When the emperor sent her money from Chang'an, Li Chengqian was speechless when he saw it.A few small gold nuggets are just a drop in the bucket!