Tanabata Diva Concert: Happy Breakup

On the way to the palace, Jiang Ci was thinking. Now that the rainy season was over, with more than 100,000 Turkic captives building the river embankment, and the situation was better this year, there was no flash flood.

At this moment, Jiang Ci was thinking about asking Li Shimin to transfer those people back to build roads.

Jiang Ci arrived at the palace very quickly.

imperial study room,
Li Shimin drank the Bamboo Leaf Green Tea from Blue Star and said to the eunuch standing beside him: "Wang De, you should try it too. The tea sent by Prince Xian is really fragrant."

Wang De was smiling from ear to ear. He was a rootless person, but Li Shimin treated him very well. In ancient times, people like them would be looked down upon by many people, especially those from big families.

However, Prince Xian never looked down on him and was always very polite.

Wang De replied with a smile: "Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Xian has a lot of good things. And, Your Majesty, when Princess Huainan returned to the palace today, Princess Jiujiang and Princess Gaomi from the palace also followed her to Prince Xian's palace."

Li Shimin was shocked when he heard this, holding the teacup, and then shook his head: "My father is really like that." After all, Princess Gaomi and Princess Jiujiang are still his sisters. Since he went to Prince Xian's mansion, he could only think that Prince Xian was really lucky.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Xian is here to see you." One of Wang De's men announced outside the imperial study.

Li Shimin looked at Wang De with a smile and said, "Well, this guy came to my house so quickly."

Wang De just smiled and said nothing. He knew his duty, what he should do and what he should not say.

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Please invite that boy in."

Jiang Ci quickly entered the imperial study, bowed to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty," then looked at Wang De and nodded.

Wang De smiled and bowed, saying, "This servant greets His Highness Prince Xian."

Jiang Ci smiled and nodded.

Li Shimin asked, "I just heard that Jiujiang and Gaomi followed Huainan to the Prince Xian's Palace. Why did you come to my imperial study instead of staying at home with your beautiful wife and concubines?"

Jiang Ci smiled and said, "Princess Jiujiang and Princess Gaomi have already arrived at Prince Xian's mansion, haven't they? I was thinking that I should give His Majesty some gifts."

After all, the production of cement and sugar is beneficial to the people's livelihood and the country.

As for the glass, this is a money-making tool that Jiang Ci plans to sell to several major families. It is not of much use to people's livelihood for the time being. He will deal with it after finding a suitable opportunity in the future.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up and he asked, "What gift?" You know, Jiang Ci had given Li Shimin the method of making refined salt before, and then the papermaking technique and movable type printing technique.
During this period of time, several major families have lost their temper.

In order not to shock the world or mess with Li Shimin's mentality, Jiang Ci took out a few A4 papers from his pocket and handed them to Li Shimin, saying, "Your Majesty, I wonder if you think the villa is sturdy. This is the method of making cement. It can be used to build the Tang Dynasty, to build roads and bridges. It is first-class and sturdy. Of course, it can also be used to reinforce the city wall."

Li Shimin was immediately shocked, and he took the paper in surprise. He knew the villa Ling Xue gave him, and the solid Tang Dynasty machete only left a white mark on the wall.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up as he looked at the paper that showed how cement was made.

I thought with great excitement: "If all the city walls of the Tang Dynasty are made of cement in the future, who will be able to capture them?"

When Li Shimin was lost in his fantasy, Jiang Ci interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, cement is very useful, for example, in road construction. There is a saying that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. The first thing is to connect the roads from Chang'an to major cities in various places. In this way, both transportation and the circulation of goods will be greatly improved. In this way, commercial tax revenue will increase a lot."

Hearing this, Li Shimin asked in confusion: "Ah? What do you mean?"

Jiang Ci said, "Your Majesty, if we travel from Lingnan to Chang'an at full speed, it will still take quite a while. If the road is repaired, I think the time from Lingnan to Chang'an can be shortened by at least half."

Li Shimin thought it made sense, and then asked: "But such a large project requires a lot of money. Although the national treasury is now much richer, it is still a drop in the bucket."

"Your Majesty, building a road is not something that can be done overnight. It will take a long time. We can call back the Turkic captives to do the work. Last year's coal is enough for the people of the Tang Dynasty to use for many years.

Moreover, when the road is completed, Your Majesty can even take the Queen on a tour of the country and make a private visit in disguise."

Jiang Ci then told Li Shimin about the various benefits that would come after the road was repaired.

Li Shimin also kept nodding.
Later, he made a decision and said, "I know about this matter. I will definitely strongly support anything that is beneficial to the people's livelihood. I will explain everything to the six ministries at the court meeting tomorrow."

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he started to look at the next document. When he saw the meaning of the text on it, he said, "Is this the method of making sugar?" One has to blame him for being amazed. After all, in the Tang Dynasty, there was no white sugar or rock sugar. There was only brown sugar, and the purity of brown sugar could be said to be quite low.

Jiang Ci nodded: "Why don't you start your own sugar factory?"

Jiang Ci shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, these are beneficial to the people's livelihood. So I will not compete with the people for benefits."

Li Shimin stared at Jiang Ci and said, "So, for this kind of thing, you want me to go against that peasant Wei Zheng, right?"

Jiang Ci shook his head and said, "How is that possible? This is a matter related to people's livelihood. Wei Zheng will not oppose you. And your Majesty. Use copper as a mirror to correct your clothes and hats; use history as a mirror to understand the rise and fall; use people as a mirror to understand gains and losses. You should know what kind of person Wei Zheng is, otherwise, he would not have brought the Crown Princess to the Ministry of Justice to advise him."

Li Shimin nodded, but he was still angry, and then he said: "My good son-in-law, can you help me think of a way to deal with Wei Zheng?"

Jiang Ci said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you must not let such a loyal minister who is so outspoken and loyal downhearted be disappointed."

"Okay, I understand. I will mention the production methods of sugar and cement at the court tomorrow." Li Shimin said so. The Five Surnames and Seven Families had been beaten by Jiang Ci and lost their temper. They were like a tiger with its teeth pulled out. They were no longer a threat to Li Shimin. Moreover, if Li Shimin wanted, he could completely eradicate the Five Surnames and Seven Families within three years.

(End of this chapter)