The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

The only solution is to first build some charitable granaries in areas like Jiannan; otherwise, there is no point in establishing charitable granaries in these disaster areas.

Of course, Chen Huai'an was looking at it from God's perspective, so he refused.

Liang Bingyi did not have the means, but under the pressure of various disasters, he wanted to build a charitable granary, which Chen Huai'an could understand.

This was not a dereliction of duty; on the contrary, everyone considered Liang Bingyi's proposal to be appropriate.

Right now, the most important thing is still open source.

Chen Huai'an tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his face showing deep thought.

To be honest, as a science student, Chen Huai'an has a lot of open-source solutions in his head.

But reality is always cruel. The operation of salt and iron and papermaking techniques had already reached their limits, and there were only a few ways to open up new avenues.

However, these things were basically controlled by powerful and influential families.

Chen Huai'an's relationship with them is currently very delicate. If conditions allow, he really doesn't want to continue to push the powerful families to their limits at this time.

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Huai'an still couldn't make up his mind. Just as he was about to go out for a walk, Liang Bingyi returned again.

"Minister, His Majesty has sent someone to summon you, saying he has important business to discuss with you and urges you to hurry!"

Chen Huai'an was taken aback.

Important matters?

What important matters could there be right now?

With that in mind, Chen Huai'an didn't delay and immediately headed to the East Palace.

When Chen Huai'an arrived, he happened to run into Du Ruhui and his group.

Upon seeing him, Du Ruhui asked in confusion, "Mr. Chen, does His Majesty know why he summoned us here so hastily today?"

"I was about to ask you that too," Chen Huai'an said, speechless.

Du Ruhui twitched the corner of his mouth, and was about to speak when Fang Xuanling arrived: "Gentlemen, what is the matter that His Majesty summoned us in such a hurry?"

Chen Huai'an: "..."

Du Ruhui: "..."

"Alright." Fang Xuanling could tell from their expressions that they didn't know either. "Let's go in together. Something big must have happened."

The two men looked grave.

In the past, unless something major happened, Li Shimin would not have been in such a hurry to summon them.

Upon entering Xiande Hall, one finds that quite a few people are already seated inside. In addition to the military officers from last time, there is also Changsun Wuji, and even Empress Changsun and Li Chengqian.

This makes everyone even more certain that something significant happened today!

After everyone had arrived and taken their seats, seeing Li Shimin's stern face, Yuchi Gong finally couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, what is the purpose of summoning us here today?"

"Could it be... that we're going to attack Liang Shidu ahead of schedule? But our planned deployment date is November, and it's only October now."

Li Shimin nearly lost his temper, saying irritably, "The date for dispatching troops has already been set, how can it be changed so easily? The Ministry of Revenue has just prepared all the grain, and the issues of distribution are still being resolved. Are you so eager to take action against Liang Shidu?"

"Why is that?" Yuchi Gong laughed heartily, not annoyed by Li Shimin's reprimand.

Li Shimin tensed up for a moment, but ultimately couldn't hold back and burst into laughter: "Good news, of course it's good news!"

"In August, following the advice of Minister Chen, I sent Li Gongyan, a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, as an envoy to convey my condolences. Now Li Gongyan has returned."

"Oh?" Changsun Wuji quickly pressed on, "May I ask Your Majesty, has Li Gongyan ascertained Feng Ang's attitude? Has he plotted a rebellion?"

Everyone held their breath and listened attentively.

Chen Huai'an clicked his tongue, understanding their attitude perfectly.

Don't be fooled by the constant calls for exile to Lingnan, which makes it seem like Lingnan is a place of certain death. In fact, present-day Lingnan is what later became known as Guangdong and Guangxi, plus Hainan, Vietnam, and other places.

Take all these places together, and you'll see.

If Feng Ang wanted to, he could truly become a local tyrant, not a half-baked sycophant like Liang Shidu, but a real local emperor.

"Do you know who Li Gongyan brought back?" Li Shimin did not answer immediately, but asked instead.

"Who?" Du Ruhui's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Judging from His Majesty's appearance, he is clearly in a very good mood. I suspect that Feng Ang, as Mr. Chen said, has indeed no intention of rebelling and has simply followed Li Gongyan back to Chang'an to report on his duties?"

"Hmm!" Li Shimin shook his head. "No, no, guess again!"

Chen Huai'an raised an eyebrow and asked, "Li Gongyan brought Feng Ang's son back?"

Li Shimin: ?

His attempt to feign composure froze instantly.

Seeing Li Shimin's expression, the others knew that Chen Huai'an must be right, and they all suddenly realized what Chen Huai'an meant.

Feng Ang truly had no intention of rebelling, so he sent his son as a hostage to dispel the court's suspicions.

Of course, it's not just any ordinary son who can be taken hostage.

He must be the legitimate son, and preferably the eldest legitimate son.

Du Ruhui cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, which of Feng Ang's sons returned with Li Gongyan?"

Li Shimin chuckled and said, "Feng Zhidai is the same Feng Zhidai who followed Feng Ang in the campaign against Goguryeo in the seventh year of the Daye era. He is Feng Ang's eldest son."

"Your Majesty, we offer our congratulations on your renewed subjugation of Lingnan. With the pacification of Liang Shidu under your rule, the unification of China will be just around the corner!"

Everyone offered their congratulations.

Li Shimin couldn't stop smiling, because although Feng Ang only sent a son, the attitude he conveyed was the most important thing.

This proves that Feng Ang truly had no intention of rebelling; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent his eldest son here.

Having recovered Lingnan without bloodshed, he had eliminated a major threat. Once he dealt with Liang Shidu, he could truly achieve unification.

How could he not be happy?

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Minister Chen has rendered meritorious advice; reward him with five hundred bolts of silk!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you." Chen Huai'an accepted the offer without hesitation.

Li Shimin stared at him for a moment, feeling indignant, and said, "Minister Chen, Feng Ang sent two people back in total. Besides Feng Zhidai, the eldest son of the legitimate wife, there was another person."

Why don't you guess who it is?

ha?

Chen Huai'an was somewhat puzzled. He clearly remembered that only Feng Zhidai had come here in history.

Why is there still one person?

After thinking for a moment, Chen Huai'an shook his head: "I don't know."

"Alas!" Li Shimin laughed heartily, "See? Our Mr. Chen, who has always been so meticulous in his calculations, has finally made a mistake."

"Historian historian, historian, quickly record this for me!"

Chen Huai'an: "..."

A few good-natured laughs filled the hall. Chen Huai'an chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, please don't overestimate me. I'm just an ordinary man; how could I possibly be so cunning as to be able to calculate everything perfectly?"

Li Shimin remained noncommittal, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Let me tell you, there's also Feng Ang's youngest daughter. I heard she's only seventeen this year. She's been clever and intelligent since childhood, beautiful both inside and out, a true beauty."

"The Lingnan region is rich in sea salt. When she heard that you were going to do some kind of salt production, she asked to come along."

"Furthermore... this young lady Feng holds Duke Anguo in extremely high regard!"

"..."