My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 128 Forbidden

When the brothers were studying with Zheng Faxian, they learned the saying, "The benevolent find joy in mountains, and the wise find joy in water." Once, when Li Shimin was out with his two younger brothers, he joked about this principle and said some nonsense.

Unexpectedly, Li Yuanji remembered these words.

So, when Li Yuan wanted to test his sons' knowledge on one occasion, Li Yuanji loudly proclaimed: "The wise are as soft as water, flowing wherever it is lowest, only daring to bully those weaker than themselves! The benevolent are as rigid as mountains, closing their eyes and sitting there, doing nothing and caring about nothing!"

Then there is no more.

Li Yuan was so angry that he was unwilling to test his other sons anymore.

Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng were reprimanded, so Li Jiancheng had to personally send someone to teach Li Yuanji a lesson, which led to the current situation.

Li Xuanba could only comfort his younger brother, telling him that he would talk to their grandfather about it and see if his brother could study with him.

A carriage stopped in front of the main gate of the mansion.

Looking exhausted, Li Jiancheng stepped off the carriage and rubbed his forehead.

These past few days, Li Jiancheng has been extremely exhausted.

In order to help his father appease the people in the prefecture and to save these poor people, Li Jiancheng proposed to recruit laborers to do the work. This corvée labor was free, with laborers bringing their own food and working for the emperor for free. However, this was not the case with recruitment; laborers had to be paid.

Li Yuan did not object to his plan, and let him go and check the situation in the three counties of the prefecture, which could also be considered as a way to train his son.

In the past few days, Li Jiancheng visited all three counties. He checked on the conditions of the common people, inspected the areas that needed repair, examined the granaries, and met with several officials.

Although Li Jiancheng was a commoner, as the legitimate heir to the Duke, no one made things difficult for him.

After making this round, Li Jiancheng was exhausted, but it wasn't without its gains. He learned a lot of information and made many improvements to his plans. His retainers had already recorded many things.

However, when Li Jiancheng returned, his grandfather had not yet returned.

In the past few days, Li Yuan has been traveling back and forth between various counties to resolve problems.

Li Jiancheng rested in his residence for a while, and it wasn't until evening that he learned of Li Yuan's return. He hurriedly took several of his retainers to pay his respects.

Both father and son were quite tired, and Madam Dou was also there.

Li Jiancheng sat below, while Lady Dou sat next to Li Yuan.

Li Jiancheng had his retainers place the recorded documents in front of Li Yuan, and then asked them to leave, leaving only the three of them in the room.

"Grandpa, I've already seen them all."

"Fleeing incidents have already occurred in various counties, and the officials' grain collection efforts are going very poorly. If this pressure continues, it will inevitably incite a popular uprising sooner or later. I've also heard that popular uprisings have broken out in several other counties, but the officials dare not report the truth to the authorities."

Li Jiancheng recounted what he had seen and heard, and then described his brand-new plan.

Develop wasteland and rebuild roads!

He discovered that Loufan did not lack arable land; it was just that excessive corvée labor had led to a large amount of farmland being abandoned and overgrown with weeds. However, redeveloping arable land was much easier than developing some wasteland that was not suitable for planting.

Another issue was the roads. Li Jiancheng traveled around to various places and almost shook his head off!

The road itself isn't even difficult to travel; it's riddled with potholes, and in many places, even a horse-drawn carriage can't pass, forcing the driver to get off and push. What a terrible road!

Li Yuan and Lady Dou listened attentively to their son's thoughts, occasionally exchanging glances with joy and satisfaction in their eyes.

Their sons all seem to have grown up.

It was this desire to share the adults' burdens that made them very happy.

"You're right."

Let me tell you my thoughts.

Li Yuan cleared his throat and began to speak, “At present, the people do not trust the officials. Under such circumstances, if you want to recruit people, it may directly incite a popular uprising. Therefore, we must first use some simple means to appease them.”

“I have met with many officials these past few days and have already formulated a plan.” “I have decided to reward filial sons in the county, give clothes and money to the elderly, and punish several officials who previously led the disputes with the people to reduce the dissatisfaction of the local people.”

"Then, we can try using your method to recruit people from the three counties to do things. I will send people to keep an eye on it to prevent the officials from embezzling too much, so that at least the people can get through this cold winter."

Li Yuan had a very formal discussion with his son about many issues related to governing the region.

Madam Dou simply watched from the sidelines.

The father and son discussed many things, and after Li Jiancheng left with a smile, Madam Dou suddenly spoke up.

“In the past, we have always prevented him from taking up an official post, firstly because we were worried that the court was not stable enough, and secondly because we were afraid that he would cause trouble. I think he has matured a lot, so perhaps it is time to let him take up an official post?”

Li Yuan, however, became hesitant again.

In these powerful and influential families, their disciples often enter officialdom at a very young age and begin to assume important positions.

Li Jiancheng was not young; Chai Shao, at a similar age, had already become a Qianniu Beishen.

Li Yuan never intended for his son to serve in the government.

The top figure among the younger generation of nobles under the emperor's rule had always been a commoner, without any official position or post.

The main reason is that the current court is not stable. Not only after the emperor ascended the throne, but also in the later years of Emperor Wen's reign, many things happened in the country. In the later years of Emperor Wen's reign, many corvée labors had already begun, and many contradictions emerged in the court.

Li Yuan didn't want his successor to get involved in these matters. If they entered officialdom too early, they would be easily fooled by some old guys. For example, there was an old man in the court who was trying to befriend the younger generation of noble sons and bring them to his side.

Li Yuan pondered for only a moment before rejecting his wife's idea.

“Even among the nobles, Jiancheng is too conspicuous. Let him continue to work by our side. Isn’t it good to befriend heroes and scholars like this? If things become a little calmer in the future, it won’t be too late to let him take office then.”

Madam Dou said no more.

After the two had settled their discussion about Li Jiancheng, Li Yuan brought up another person.

What do you think of Chai Shao?

Mrs. Dou was not surprised at all.

Madam Dou knew everything about the household. She knew exactly what each child did, who met whom, and what they said.

Upon hearing Li Yuan mention Chai Shao, Lady Dou pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "He is talented and of good character, but he is slightly rash."

“He is still young. If someone is cunning and calculating at such a young age, I would not like him.”

"I think this young man is quite good. What do you think of him as my son-in-law?"

Li Yuan had no reluctance to part with his daughter, nor did he have any reason to keep her from getting married. The most important thing was to find her a suitable husband so that she could live a happy life in the future.

Li Yuan thought Chai Shao was a good person. There wasn't much of a age gap between them, his character was good, his abilities were decent, and he hadn't heard of any bad habits. His family background was also a good match. Although Chai Shao's father had passed away, he still had many relatives and friends in Hedong. Moreover, when he came last time, his eyes lit up when he saw his daughter.

"Well, I'll talk to his mother about this when we get back to the capital."

"it is good."

Li Yuan wasn't worried that the matter wouldn't succeed. His daughter was so outstanding; she could shoot down birds in the sky while riding a horse. What family wouldn't want to marry her? In his mind, the matter was already settled.

But Madam Dou was a little worried. Her daughter had a temperament and manner just like a man, and often went out to ride horses and shoot arrows dressed in men's clothing. Chai Shao didn't care, but what would his mother think?

Li Yuan wasn't worried about that at all, and at this moment he brought up the matter of his memorial to the emperor.

"I've asked around, and it's not just me; prefects from various places have also submitted memorials. They didn't explain themselves very clearly, but they reported that people within their jurisdictions were using knives to commit misdeeds. I'm afraid the Emperor is going to issue an order prohibiting the private possession of knives by the people."

P.S.: In the first month of the fifth year of the Daye era (1268), on the day of Ji Chou, it was decreed that iron forks, hooks, blades, and similar weapons be prohibited among the common people. — *Zizhi Tongjian*

(End of this chapter)