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

"Okay, remember what you said today." Chen Huai'an gave him a serious look.

He needs reliable people, and Ouyang Shu is a very suitable candidate.

He is intelligent, reliable, doesn't ask questions he shouldn't, and is not greedy.

"Your humble servant understands," Ouyang Shu replied solemnly.

Chang Gui and Yu Shao looked at each other, puzzled as to why Ouyang Shu had suddenly become so loyal.

Although the two did not understand, they still followed Ouyang Shu's lead and expressed their opinions.

After all, their achievements during the time they followed Chen Huai'an were quite remarkable.

Having such a powerful and influential person as a follower would be wonderful.

Chen Huai'an didn't say anything, but agreed to everything.

Although these three individuals each have their own strengths and weaknesses, they are at least trustworthy.

"Alright, I have a few things to remind you of now, so please remember them..."

Immediately afterwards, Chen Huai'an went through all the details of preventing locust plagues, giving detailed instructions.

After doing all this, Chen Huai'an went to the Ministry of Revenue without stopping.

"Minister, you're looking for me?" Liang Bingyi rushed to the Minister's Hall and greeted him with a bow.

Chen Huai'an took a sip of tea and said, "Pass down the word: from now on, the wholesale of refined salt and bamboo paper will be uniformly charged at the same value in grain, and copper coins will not be accepted."

"For copper coin income, ironware alone is sufficient."

"The national treasury currently has too many copper coins; it's time to reduce the collection."

Liang Bingyi was startled and hesitated, saying, "Minister, won't this cause fluctuations in grain prices, or will well-informed grain merchants take the opportunity to raise prices?"

"Moreover, this matter is quite serious; should we report it to the Ministry of Personnel?"

Chen Huai'an said nonchalantly, "Then tell them that if grain prices rise, salt prices will also rise, by the same amount as grain prices."

"As for reporting... no need. His Majesty has already personally approved this matter. Just write a memorial and submit it directly, and then proceed with the rest."

"I understand," Liang Bingyi said, suddenly realizing.

Today, the salt supply in the country is controlled by the imperial court, so naturally they are the ones who set the rules.

Chen Huai'an's meaning was clear: if someone doesn't follow the rules, then they won't follow the rules either.

The system of government-owned production, government approval, and commercial sales was indeed feasible, but it did not mean that the imperial court could only use this one system.

If you take the opportunity to flip the table, then nobody can play anymore.

"There's one more thing," Chen Huai'an said with a slight smile. "Go and have a good talk with Cui Xuan. Ask him which region would be best to choose if the Ministry of Revenue wanted to conduct a survey of a portion of the land and population."

Ask for his advice.

"Wait until he tells me, then come back and tell me!"

Liang Bingyi raised his head blankly: "Minister, this..."

He could hardly believe his ears.

To investigate the land and population, do we still need to ask the Cui family?

Aren't these aristocratic families the ones who hide the most people and land?

What's the difference between this and directly asking a tiger, "When is the right time for me to come and take your tiger penis?"

Chen Huai'an raised his hand and laughed, "Go ahead and ask. If I went, it would be a bit of a nuisance, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you."

Liang Bingyi immediately understood that this was probably another exchange of benefits.

"Yes, Minister."

"Wait, call everyone else over, I have something to tell you."

Chen Huai'an spent almost the entire day in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue.

With frost and locust plagues emerging, war is imminent.

During this critical period, Chen Huai'an dared not act rashly; he had to inquire about and carefully instruct on all matters.

"......"

At the same time, Li Shimin acted very quickly, directly issuing an edict to confer the title of Duke upon Feng Ang. Due to special circumstances, his eldest son, Feng Zhidai, temporarily received the edict on his behalf.

At the same time, various rewards and honors followed one after another.

No one has any objections to these things.

The court has made a huge profit by exchanging the title of Duke for stability in Lingnan. Who would dare to object?

Another thing is that, as agreed, Li Shimin granted the Feng siblings a mansion, which was not far from the Duke of Anguo's mansion.

Yongxingfang is not a place where ordinary people can live.

Located at the northernmost end of the third street east of Zhuque Street, its north wall directly connects to the east wall of the imperial city, and it is close to the Jingfeng Gate of the imperial city to the west. It is only one street away from Taiji Palace and East Palace, making it one of the most convenient locations for officials to attend court. It belongs to the residential area of ​​the core political circle of Chang'an City.

Wei Zheng and Chen Huai'an both lived here, as did the former Changsun family, though they have since moved away.

After moving, while the maids bestowed by Li Shimin were tidying up the mansion, Feng Qiao'er prepared gifts and, accompanied only by one maid, went to the gate of the Duke of Anguo's mansion.

"Please inform them that Feng Qiao'er has come to visit."

Feng Qiao'er spoke softly to the two gatekeepers.

The two exchanged a glance, not daring to underestimate the situation. One of them led Feng Qiao'er inside, while the other quickly went to inform the only person in the household who could make decisions at the moment.

"Madam, a guest has arrived. It's a young lady who moved in today, and she seems to be of high status," a servant reported.

"Have we had guests?"

Chen Sujin was startled and quickly stood up. Then, as if realizing something was wrong, she straightened her appearance and, after confirming that there was nothing amiss, felt somewhat puzzled.

It's perfectly normal for neighbors to visit each other after moving to a new place to get to know each other better.

But unmarried women would not do this.

At the very least, an elder in the family should be taking care of them.

As for why Chen Sujin knew the visitor was an unmarried woman, it's quite simple; she could tell from the way the servant addressed her.

Generally speaking, the makeup and hair styling of married women are very different from those of unmarried women, and it is easy to tell them apart at a glance.

Moreover, only unmarried women are addressed as "little lady," which is a respectful term; otherwise, they would be addressed as "so-and-so's wife."

Chen Sujin thought about it for a moment, but still didn't understand, so she simply stopped thinking about it and said softly, "You go and ask Yunyan to make tea for the guests first, I'll be right there."

"Yes, madam."

After the servant left, Chen Sujin calmed herself down, forced a polite smile, and then went to her destination.

In fact, Chen Huai'an never asked her to do these things. He always told Chen Sujin to do what she liked and hoped that she could live in the way she wanted.

But Chen Sujin lived her whole life for two people: Chen Huai'an and Xiao He.

She didn't want to embarrass her brothers because of her.

Inside the main hall, Feng Qiao'er sat upright. Upon Chen Sujin's arrival, she immediately stood up and smiled, "This lady must be the Lady of Anding County, right?"

"I am Feng Qiao'er. I just came from Lingnan and live across the street. I heard that the Duke of Anguo and the Lady of Anding County live here, so I came to pay my respects."

When Chen Sujin first saw this girl, she was amazed.

Then an idea unconsciously popped into my head.

This girl is lovely, beautiful, and dignified. I wonder if she's engaged. If not, it would be wonderful if she could be Huai'an's wife.

"..."