Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 237 The current peace and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is not due to my own merit.
Li Shimin's eyes were bright as he placed his hands on Wen He's shoulders.

Fortunately, he was careful not to use too much force; he just held him like that, as if he was worried that the boy would run away.

"Actually, this is a very complex problem. If we want to solve it, it's the same old story: increase productivity."

"Developing technology, such as the steam engine, electric motor, internal combustion engine, and external combustion engine in later generations..."

"Wait, how are we supposed to cook all these chickens?"

Li Shimin was completely confused. He had only ever heard of steamed chicken and roasted chicken. What was the use of this steam engine?

Wen He smiled at him, shrugged, and said, "I won't."

Li Er's face immediately fell.

"If you don't know how to do this, why are you saying all this!"

"But I know that theory can be learned by craftsmen gradually."

Solving the problem of cattle and horses is indeed not easy.

Wen He turned to look at Li Shimin's somber face, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Majesty, although we lack cattle and horses, the Turks do."

"Besides, if we don't have enough cattle and horses, we can go outside to find them. We can go find slaves. Doesn't our Great Tang have human slave traders who go to Silla to capture Silla maids? We can also capture strong men."

Wen He chuckled.

Weren't all those colonial powers of later generations built on the slave trade?

"This matter is against etiquette and law."

Li Shimin said this not because he followed etiquette and law.

It's mainly because it doesn't sound good when people say it.

Even if he were to actually do these things, he would definitely be working behind the scenes, arranging for others to do them.

"This matter cannot be rushed. I am asking you what to do now?"

Seeing the old man and the young man from earlier, Li Shimin was deeply moved.

He had always considered himself an emperor who cherished his reputation, and although he had only been on the throne for less than half a year, he was still shocked by what he had just witnessed.

He still felt it was his responsibility.

"Actually, there is a solution: the imperial court can buy cattle and distribute them to each village. They can be lent to the villagers for plowing, and each household only needs to pay for the fodder."

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, when tractors were scarce, this method was also used.

That is, a collective system.

However, at that time, only one tractor was shared among several production teams, and this was compounded by some special circumstances later on.

That's why the system has been damaged.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin did not immediately answer Wen He; he was lost in thought.

After a long pause, he nodded and said, "This would solve the problem of too few cattle and too much land."

Seeing that he seemed inclined to accept the suggestion, Wen He added.

"However, this matter also has its flaws, namely the management of cattle and whether anyone will take advantage of it for personal gain. But we cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. If horses and cattle can be raised on the grasslands in the future, then this system can be gradually abolished."

"Another point is that household registration statistics are difficult to compile, and when allocating land, we also need to take into account the amount of farmland in each village, as well as how many households in the village originally had cattle and how many did not. This requires a large number of people to compile statistics."

In short, this is not something that can be decided simply by talking.

Someone needs to go and investigate on-site.

The Single Whip Law implemented by Zhang Juzheng later was precisely because it was not verified in practice.

This led to lower-level officials taking advantage of the situation to commit wrongdoing and completely ruin the policy.

In the end, it enriched the officials and the Ming Dynasty's treasury, but caused suffering to the common people at the bottom of society.

But Lao Zhang meant well. Although the Single Whip Law had loopholes, if its implementation and supervision were stronger, it might really change the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

It can only be said that Zhang Juzheng was somewhat naive, believing that the civil officials would share his concern for the Ming Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded.

"I understand."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his horse around and headed back towards the main force.

The crowd had been watching from afar and saw that Li Shimin and Wen He had been on horseback the whole time, so they naturally understood that their sudden departure was not for relieving themselves.

Du Ruhui couldn't help but laugh.

"It seems His Majesty has a solution."

"Why do you say that, Prime Minister Du?"

Those who didn't know Wen He's identity just found it strange.

Why did Du Ruhui know that His Majesty had a plan as soon as he saw the emperor return?

Du Ruhui was taken aback, realizing he had spoken out of turn. He stroked his beard and chuckled dryly, but offered no explanation.

Changsun Wuji, who was standing to the side, said, "The Ministry of Civil Affairs has already submitted a memorial on this matter. I imagine that His Majesty, with his wisdom, has been considering it for a long time."

His words effectively silenced the ministers present.

Are you trying to say that His Majesty is not wise?
Not long after Li Shimin returned, everyone paid their respects.

He nodded to the crowd and then said, "When Wen He was relieving himself just now, I talked to him about the shortage of cattle and horses. He gave me some suggestions. How about we discuss them as we walk?"

Upon hearing this, Du Ruhui smiled knowingly and said, "Your subject will listen attentively."

Although Changsun Wuji was indignant and knew that Wen He was just repeating what others had said, he had no choice but to pretend to obey.

The others looked at Wen He with some surprise.

What's wrong with this kid's brain?

He was able to offer advice to His Majesty in the blink of an eye, and he was only ten years old.

Li Shimin pretended not to see the surprised looks on those people's faces and repeated what Wen He had just said.

However, he did not mention the machines or the matter of going out to capture slaves.

After all, it would be rather uncivilized to discuss such matters openly.

Those bigwigs couldn't help but fall into deep thought upon hearing this.

"In this way, it will be time-consuming and laborious, and the situation in different places is different, so it cannot be treated in a one-size-fits-all manner."

It was Wei Zheng who spoke first.

Wen He thought it would be Du Ruhui or Yuwen Shiji or someone like that.

But it makes sense, since Wei Zheng suffered hardships in his childhood, unlike others who lived in luxury.

He was probably the most understanding of the poor among this group.

"Moreover, someone must be sent to supervise it to prevent any favoritism. I believe this matter should not be handed over to the local county government, but should be supervised by the Censorate."

As soon as Wei Zheng finished speaking, the officials from the Six Ministries and the Three Departments present all frowned.

Is Wei Zheng trying to seize power for the Censorate?

The Censorate was arguably the lowest in terms of real power among the upper echelons of the Tang Dynasty.

Aside from impeaching people and supervising officials, he had no other valuable powers.

Moreover, censors are a universally despised figure in the court.

Who wants to be stared at like that all the time?

However, if this matter were handed over to the Censorate, their status would rise accordingly.

“The censors are all upright officials, and it is probably not appropriate for them to do this. Since it is related to the people, it should naturally belong to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.”

Changsun Wuji also jumped out.

"I believe this is a feasible plan. After returning today, I will have the junior officials and clerks in my department investigate among the people. How about we follow the precedent of Gejiazhuang and start with Chang'an County?"

Although Wen He didn't particularly like Changsun Wuji.

But it must be admitted that his abilities are indeed quite good.

In just this short time, they had already figured out what to do next.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and nodded at him: "Fuji's considerations are far-sighted. In that case, let the Ministry of Revenue investigate first, and then submit the findings to me later."

"The minister obeys the order."

Is it over?

Wen He was somewhat surprised.

He thought there would be at least some more time to discuss it.

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin entrusted this task to Changsun Wuji so easily.

She really does trust her brother-in-law.

Wen He shook her head with a chuckle to herself.

"Your Majesty, I think this is unacceptable." But just then, someone spoke up.

Wei Zheng said stubbornly, "Your Majesty, I believe this matter still needs the supervision of the Censorate. The Censorate can accompany the Ministry of Civil Affairs officials to prevent any favoritism."

As soon as he finished speaking, Changsun Wuji's expression changed repeatedly.

"Doctor Wei, do you think that the people of my Ministry of Civil Affairs are incapable of self-discipline?"

“Vice Minister Changsun has misunderstood. Human nature is inherently greedy, especially low-ranking officials who often forget righteousness for personal gain. Without supervision, this approach is unacceptable.”

Wei Zheng dismissed Changsun Wuji's questioning.

What he meant was that people are inherently greedy, so there needs to be oversight, otherwise the matter cannot be accomplished.

Changsun Wuji was somewhat embarrassed.

He couldn't oppose it, nor could he not oppose it.

It was reasonable for the censors to supervise, but Wei Zheng's actions secretly allowed the censorate to gain the upper hand over the Ministry of Revenue.

Wen He felt a headache coming on as she watched the two of them locked in this standoff.

I hope he won't do the same thing in the future.

Does being an official really have to involve such arguments?

Wouldn't it be better to live together peacefully?
"enough."

It wasn't until Li Shimin gave a cold shout that Changsun Wuji and Wei Zheng stopped and turned their gazes to him.

"The Censorate should oversee this matter. The Assistant Minister should not object. This is to guard against petty people, not virtuous ones."

Since Li Shimin had already reached a conclusion, Changsun Wuji naturally dared not say anything more.
"The minister obeys the order."

He and Wei Zheng stepped forward to receive the imperial decree.

Seeing this, the others couldn't help but feel somewhat disheartened.

After all, the meat wasn't actually delivered to their mouths.

However, they were also observing, because no one knew whether the piece of meat was fat or bone that would break teeth.

So they all decided to wait and see.

If there is profit to be made in the future, it is not impossible to get involved again.

With their own thoughts, the group followed Li Shimin towards Gejiazhuang.

The hundred riders returned to report almost every incense stick's time.

Dugu Chen wanted to become a familiar face to Li Shimin, so he volunteered to become a spy.

Unfortunately, Li Shimin didn't bother with this matter at all.

Not long after they left, they encountered the old man and the young man who had been plowing the field earlier.

Seeing such a large display, both the old man and the young man were somewhat surprised.

Although they didn't know where the group came from, they could tell from their fine clothes and tall horses that they were a group of nobles.

However, when Li Shimin approached, the older man suddenly froze, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"

The old man exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment.

Li Shimin pulled on the reins and stopped, turning to look at the old man.

The old man quickly pressed down on the head of the boy beside him and bowed deeply in their direction.

"Does this old man recognize me?"

"I gonna go see?"

Wen He asked.

Li Shimin shook his head, dismounted, and walked over himself.

Seeing this, the people behind him also quickly dismounted.

Wen He waved his hand, and several hundred riders quickly passed by the crowd and followed behind Li Shimin.

As Li Shimin and the others walked away, the old man trembled uncontrollably, tears welling in his eyes.

"This humble servant pays his respects to the King of Qin."

“Grandfather, it’s His Majesty, it’s His Majesty,” the boy quickly reminded him.

With tears in his eyes and a trembling voice, the old man said, "I was wrong. I have met Your Majesty."

He was about to bow deeply when Li Shimin helped him up first.

Have you ever served in the military?

The old man was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at Li Shimin excitedly, saying, "In the first year of Wude, my three sons and I followed Prince Qin to fight against the false emperor Xue Ju. In the third year of Wude, my second son and I followed you to pursue Song Jingang to Jiezhou. I was also there at Wulao Pass. Later, when we were fighting against Liu Heita, I lost this hand and had no choice but to retreat."

He smiled wryly.

Li Shimin looked down at the mutilated arm and his eyes welled up with tears.

"how old are you?"

"I am forty-eight years old."

Li Shimin fell silent.

Wen He, standing behind him, was somewhat taken aback.

Forty-eight?

But the old man looked to be in his sixties.

His beard and hair had turned completely white.

"Is this your child?" Li Shimin asked, looking at the boy beside him.

The boy lowered his head in fear, not daring to look Li Shimin in the eye.

The latter chuckled and reached out to pat his head.

The boy was stunned.

His Majesty touched my head!
The old man shook his head and said sadly, "This is my grandson. My eldest son died in Beiman Mountain, my second son died in Wulao Pass, and my third son died in Binzhou. My eldest and second grandsons both perished in Huizhou. This child is my third son's only son."

Li Shimin and Wen He were both stunned.

Huizhou!

Wen He's body trembled uncontrollably.

"A family of loyal martyrs."

Li Shimin grasped the sleeve of the old man's severed arm.

“This is nothing to me. There are still families who haven’t returned. I am already content with this. Now that I can see the King of Qin, no, His Majesty, I can die without regret.”

The old man spoke sincerely.

Li Shimin could no longer control his tears.

In the short nine years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it was engaged in war almost every year.

From Taiyuan to the interior of China, every household had white banners fluttering in front of their doors.

"The peace and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty today is not due to my efforts, but to the sacrifices you all made with your blood and flesh," Li Shimin sighed.

The ministers behind him also sighed and lamented, their faces full of sorrow.

But how many of these meat-eaters are truly sincere?
"Your Majesty, please do not grieve excessively." Many people came forward to advise you.

But they were all trying to comfort Li Shimin.

Wen He, however, was sizing up the old man and the young man in front of her, noticing their ragged clothes and the boy's emaciated body.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"Old man, have you received the pensions and military rewards from the court over the years?"

If what the old man said is true, their lives could never be so miserable.

The compensation money was enough for them to buy a cow.

As soon as Wen He finished speaking, Li Shimin's sorrowful expression froze.

The expressions of the high-ranking officials around them changed repeatedly.

"Ugh."

The old man let out a long sigh.

Lu Chengqing, the Vice Minister of War who was following behind the procession, broke out in a cold sweat.

(End of this chapter)