Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 224: Draw a circle with a red pen, the temptation of two consecutive promotions

A heavy snow came and covered the city of Chang'an.

Winter has come.

The whole court was busy trying to keep the people warm so that they wouldn't freeze to death or be crushed to death by house collapse.

Especially near Chang'an, such a situation must not occur.

Some froze to death, some were crushed to death.

That's okay.

Isn't this a slap in the face to the Holy Emperor?

In addition, they also have to do a year-end work summary, calculate the annual expenditure, plan for next year, and so on.

Changsun Wuji was the busiest one, because he was in charge of the affairs of both the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel.

These two departments have the most things to do, one is about money and the people, the other is about officials.

Changsun Wuji was so busy that he had almost no time to eat or sleep, and staying up late almost became the norm.

I sleep later than a dog and wake up earlier than a chicken every day.

Everyone at home felt a little uncomfortable with this, and his subordinates were also somewhat concerned about his health.

Li Chengqian sent Sun Simiao to pay special attention to Changsun Wuji's physical condition.

Use it, but don’t break it.

But no matter how busy he was, Changsun Wuji never complained about it. Instead, he enjoyed it.

what is this?
This is authority.

The taste of power made him addicted and nostalgic.

After so many years, he finally tasted the pleasure of power again.

He was also very clear about the importance of this year. Once he achieved the goals set last year, the position of Right Prime Minister of the Shangshu Province should be a sure thing.

"Why is it that the number of acres of cultivated land reported by Hebei Province and Hedong Province is less than 500,000 acres?"

"And how come the tax revenue over there is less than 1.5 million strings of cash?"

"Isn't this calculated?"

Changsun Wuji was furious at home and looked very gloomy.

Twenty million acres of fertile farmland and 80 million strings of cash in taxes were his bottom line, and he could only give more, not less.

But now, let’s check the details reported by various places.

The two provinces of Hebei and Hedong reported the most deficiencies.

The total gap is nearly one million acres of fertile land, and the tax of five million strings of cash is still unknown.

Are you trying to put some eye drops on him?
Changsun Wuji couldn't help but suspect that the family in Shandong was deliberately embarrassing him.

The difference is not big, but just this point will greatly reduce his promise and his achievements.

"What a bunch of ungrateful wolves."

Changsun Wuji cursed angrily. He couldn't understand what the Shandong family was thinking.

What good would it do them to make things difficult for him?
Could it be that Cui Lu and the other two couldn't even tell the difference between the importance of this?
No matter what, he must find a way to make up for this shortcoming.

There are still two months left, which should be enough.

But as luck would have it, it happened to snow heavily, and once the land was frozen, it would have been even more difficult to cultivate the land.

As for taxes, he is not too worried and he should be able to make up for it.

……

"Isn't this too bad for Duke Zhao?"

Cui Dunli said.

Lu Chengqing said calmly: “What’s wrong with that?”

"If I don't let him know that some things can't be done without the help of the Shandong family, can he understand our importance?"

"It's just to make him clear that we also played a role in his promotion."

They calculated it very well.

We must definitely help Changsun Wuji.

However, only by providing timely assistance at the last moment, when Changsun Wuji is at his wits' end, will he pay more attention to the Shandong family.

To put it bluntly, they still want benefits.

"The Zheng and Wang families have already reached an agreement."

"Let's just hold on to it for now and see how to talk to him about it when the time comes."

Lu Chengqing said with great emotion: "Changsun Wuji wants to sit in the position of Right Prime Minister, but he has been thinking about it day and night and dreaming about it."

"If he misses this time, I don't know how long he will have to wait."

"He has the favor of His Majesty and is the uncle of the Crown Prince, but he has not accomplished his mission. If he is forced to take the throne, it will not be popular."

Changsun Wuji's identity as a relative by marriage is very sensitive.

It's not easy to get promoted without any achievements.

The central ministers in the court are all very clear about this.

Your Majesty may use relatives by marriage, but it will not work if they do not have some ability and merits that can convince the people.

"That's true."

Cui Dunli nodded and said, "If we don't do anything, I'm afraid Xiao Yu and the others will take action."

"The income over there on the grassland is quite high this year, right?"

"Speaking of this, it's unexpected." Lu Chengqing said with a smile: "Not to mention the mineral resources, just the cattle, sheep, horses, etc., are enough to make every family rich."

"Especially cashmere. After it is woven into warm cloth, this amount..."

He stretched out his hand and pointed with three fingers.

"three……."

"so much?"

Cui Dunli was overjoyed and said, "I didn't expect wool to be so valuable."

"Then with the addition of cattle and horses, wouldn't there be more minerals?"

Lu Chengqing shook his head slightly and said unhappily: "If Li Xiaogong hadn't passed it on, the cashmere would have been even higher."

"The cattle and horses also made a lot of money under the national policy of subsidies."

"As for the minerals, the amount leaked to us is not much, but the value is at least tens of millions of guan."

The development of the grassland was beyond the expectations of the Shandong family.

I didn't expect there was a huge treasure there.

They really can take whatever they want.

However, their investment was not small, and fortunately, they are about to make a profit.

The sweetness is tasted.

"In that case, we can ask Duke Zhao to give us more minerals..."

"Of course."

The two of them were talking and laughing, and each family got benefits, which was the best thing.

Just then, the housekeeper arrived and said, "The prince has sent an order, summoning you to the East Palace." This was at Cui Dunli's house, so the person he was talking about was naturally him.

The Eastern Palace didn't know that Lu Chengqing was in Cui's house.

"Why did the prince summon me?"

Cui Dunli was quite curious and said, "Brother Lu, go back and see if the prince has summoned you. If so, how about we meet in the East Palace?"

"it is good!"

When Lu Chengqing returned, he was indeed summoned.

He rushed to the Eastern Palace just in time to enter the palace with Cui Dunli.

Inside the Apocalypse Hall.

Although the wind was howling outside, it was warm as spring inside the palace.

Li Chengqian took off his boots and put on his footwear, right on the map of the Tang Dynasty.

He was holding a thermos in his hand to warm his hands.

The general kept sticking to Li Chengqian, acting cute and adorable.

It was freezing and snowy outside and it refused to go out.

"Get out of the way, you're blocking me."

Li Chengqian kicked the general lightly, and the latter moved away with a wronged look on his face.

He picked up his pen and drew a circle with a red brush at the exit of the Yangtze River on the coast of Jiangnan.

"Brother, what is the purpose of this circle?"

Li Zhi asked when he didn't understand.

Li Chengqian smiled without saying anything, his eyes fixed on the name in the red circle.

It's called Shanghai!

The advantages of this place are so unique.

At the exit of the Yangtze River, starting from Chang'an and going down the river, the journey will be smooth and you can arrive in a short time.

It is an extremely important fulcrum both domestically and at sea.

"Your Highness, Ministers Cui and Lu have arrived."

"please come in."

"Yes!"

Chang Sun Chong led Cui Dunli and Lu Chengqing in. After the greetings, Chang Sun Chong took off his shoes and walked forward, and the two followed suit.

"You two, what do you think when you look at the territory of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Chengqian said casually.

"Your Highness, the territory is vast and boundless..."

Cui Dunli said.

He was the Minister of War and was very clear about this.

"That's right."

Li Chengqian sighed and said, "Recently, the Ministry of Personnel has been selecting capable and virtuous officials in the court. Do you know?"

This change of tone was too fast.

The two were a little slow to react, but soon thought, what did the prince mean?
"I have heard something."

Lu Chengqing said: "The Ministry of Personnel selects officials as a talent reserve."

"Any ideas?" Li Chengqian asked.

idea?

The two of them were stunned.

This is none of their business.

Any ideas?
Cui Dunli hesitated and said, "Your Highness, I don't quite understand."

"Hmm..." Li Chengqian took two steps, looked at the map, and said with his back to the two of them, "You are also talented and capable people. Although you are assistant ministers, your qualifications are still shallow."

"Have you ever thought about joining the talent pool and being trained by the court?"

what?
Not the prince.

What do you mean by that?

We are all assistant ministers. As long as we endure the years and wait for the people above to come down, we will be promoted.

Is it necessary for him to be trained by the court?
Li Chengqian's words made both of them confused and gave rise to a sense of crisis.

The prince would not say this for no reason.

There must be something going on with them.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid this is not appropriate." Lu Chengqing said.

Cui Dunli didn't say anything either, waiting to see the prince's reaction.

"Nothing inappropriate."

Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "I think you can be sent out to hone your skills. With your experience as a central government official and your achievements in the local areas, it will be a natural thing for you to step into an important position in the central government."

"I remember your official rank is below the fourth rank, right?"

Cui Dunli said: "Yes."

"Didn't you think of mentioning it?"

"Your Highness, we have been doing our job obediently and serving the court. We have been appointed and promoted by our superiors and by the grace of Your Majesty." Cui Dunli's heart skipped a beat. Was the prince trying to give them a chance?

How to upgrade?
What will it be like?

A hint of joy also flashed in Lu Chengqing's eyes.

Having been sitting in the position of Minister for so many years, who wouldn't want to be promoted?

But the position of Shangshu is held by all the old ministers and generals who have followed Your Majesty.

There's no way it'll be their turn.

"That's right, Your Majesty has grace."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I remember that the governor of a state is an official of the third rank."

"The court has recently been thinking of sending officials from the court to other places and promoting them to higher positions."

"I just don't know if the officials who have been in the court for a long time are greedy for the comfort of the court and don't want to be sent out to serve as officials."

At this time, the two of them still didn't understand that they had wasted all those years of studying.

The prince meant to send them to other provinces as provincial governors.

They were officials of the fourth rank, and the governor of Shangzhou was promoted two levels at once.

This is a huge temptation for them.

But the court is not like other places. Being far away from the center means losing too much.

Especially the information and direction of the court.

To their family, it is more important than anything else.

(End of this chapter)