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

Just like when Chen Huai'an first saw these things, Li Shimin and the others all fell silent.

Perhaps, in Feng Ang's eyes, these things, though valuable, were not worth much money.

But in their eyes, the boxes displayed here are no less valuable than gold.

There were large quantities of ivory, rhinoceros horn, jade, and various precious spices, ranging from camphor, which was worth more than gold, to pepper, which cost one or two hundred coins per catty.

All sorts of rare and precious items, which were once seldom seen, were now neatly arranged before them.

"This... damn it!" Yuchi Gong muttered to himself, "I've hardly ever seen anything like this!"

Qin Qiong couldn't help but nod. These military generals, after winning battles, could earn quite a bit of money and see even more.

But even after fighting all their lives, they rarely saw such a scene.

Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but say, "Damn it... this is probably no less than what that old bastard Pei Ji has saved up."

Li Shimin swallowed hard; he had accumulated just as much wealth as Pei Ji... You see, Li Shimin had won over a large number of soldiers by confiscating Pei Ji's property and squandering the vast sums of money he had amassed.

Otherwise, the outcome of the Eastern Turks' southward expansion would not have been like this.

Even now, he hasn't spent all the money he got from Pei Ji, so you can imagine how much he has.

Of course, the fact that Meiren Pass was always profitable was partly due to that, but Pei Ji was indeed extremely greedy.

Li Shimin looked at Chen Huai'an with burning eyes: "These... are all congratulatory gifts for me?"

"Of course," Chen Huai'an said jokingly. "The Duke of Yue transported these things all the way from Lingnan. If he doesn't present them to His Majesty, does he intend to sell them?"

"The Duke of Yue is not a greedy person."

Li Shimin knew that Chen Huai'an was hinting at him, but he didn't care. Not to mention that this was something everyone had discussed in advance, he didn't know how much money he could make just from these things.

Why would you care about that little reward?

Suddenly, Li Shimin noticed that some eunuchs and officials were carrying boxes in. He suddenly remembered Feng Ang saying that there were quite a lot of things and realized that something was wrong.

He turned to Wei Zheng and the others and coughed lightly: "My dear ministers, let's end the banquet here for today."

"I will reward each of you with ten thousand taels of gold and ten bolts of silk."

"I will summon all of you to the palace for a discussion next time!"

Everyone present was shrewd enough to know that Li Shimin was trying to get rid of them and issue a gag order. They all said they had something to do here or there, and then left one after another.

In the end, only Chen Huai'an remained.

"Your Majesty, let's get together again next time!" Chen Huai'an said with a smile, and then turned to leave.

"Oh, Huai'an!" Li Shimin came up with a smile, affectionately putting his arm around Chen Huai'an's shoulder. "Do we, as ruler and subject, need to put on such formalities?"

"You don't need to leave. I'm hosting a banquet especially for you and the Duke of Yue. Today, let's drink until we're both drunk!"

Chen Huai'an found it somewhat amusing; indeed, money talks, no matter the circumstances.

"Tell me honestly, how many things did your good father-in-law send over?" Li Shimin asked in a low voice.

Chen Huai'an made an eight-shaped hand gesture.

"Eight teams?" Li Shimin was extremely excited.

If these are supplies from the Eighth Transportation Team, then these items are indeed only a small part of it.

"No!" Chen Huai'an shook his head. "It's not Team Eight, it's eight ships!"

"...Eight ships?" Li Shimin's eyes widened. "You're not lying to me?"

"I do love Your Majesty, but when have I ever lied to you?" Chen Huai'an said speechlessly.

Li Shimin said with a mocking expression, "If you're not lying to me, the grass on your grave should be three feet high by now!"

"Don't doubt why it grows so fast, because I will definitely water the grass on your grave."

Chen Huai'an: "..."

"Okay, I admit I was wrong, I admit I was wrong, okay?" He smiled helplessly, "But Yafune is indeed real."

"Of course, before the Duke of Yue sent them over, he really didn't know these things were so valuable, and they were almost all the stuff that the Duke of Yue had accumulated over several generations."

Li Shimin laughed heartily: "Speaking of which, it's rare to see someone admit their mistake like that. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing it happen more than a few times."

"Eight ships... eight ships!"

Li Shimin clicked his tongue in amazement: "I understand now why you went to such great lengths to open up the canal transport between Lingnan and the Central Plains. Putting aside unification and politics, even these benefits alone are enough to drive people crazy."

"That's why I've always said that as long as we get through these two years of natural disasters, things will get better." Chen Huai'an said with a sigh, "Lingnan has always been underestimated, though it's not that no one has noticed it."

"When Qin Shi Huang built the Ling Canal, he may have had this intention, but the Qin Dynasty..."

"It's better not to say anything."

Li Shimin expressed his understanding: "In that case, we've gotten a good deal."

"If I remember correctly, judging from your construction route, the Lingqu Canal was a key passage connecting the Central Plains and Lingnan regions. You spent a lot of manpower and resources to rebuild the Lingqu Canal."

"Yes." Chen Huai'an nodded slightly. "We did get a good deal. Otherwise, without the Spirit Canal, we would have had to choose water and land transportation and build a land route to replace the Spirit Canal."

"However, the Lingnan region is mountainous and has many rivers, making it very difficult to build land routes. Fortunately, there is the Lingqu Canal, which is readily available and inexpensive. It can be used after some repairs."

Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder, then looked at the goods being transported over the miles, his eyes filled with excitement, but even more so with exhilaration.

Chen Huai'an once said to Li Chengqian, "A country is often calculating its accounts."

If one day the accounts become unclear, then the country is doomed.

A monarch who knows nothing is easily deceived by his subordinates.

Therefore, Li Shimin was quite supportive of Chen Huai'an teaching Li Chengqian and the others how to do accounts. After all, there were already specialists teaching the Four Books and Five Classics, so it wouldn't affect anything.

This issue is essentially a matter of national finances.

But now, the Tang Dynasty is clearly experiencing natural disasters, and so many large-scale projects are underway, yet its finances are in excellent condition.

Leaving aside land reclamation and the construction of granaries in prefectures and counties, these projects were not considered large. The largest project at present was undoubtedly the Yellow River repair.

If an emperor were to undertake such a project during a famine, there would likely be widespread discontent and rumors, and if things went wrong, it could even lead to a rebellion.

But Chen Huai'an, that eccentric fellow, managed to turn this into a meritorious deed.

To get the people to do it willingly, and even wish that the court would do more projects.

Looking back now, it's truly moving.

The idea of ​​achieving sainthood seems to no longer be a myth.

"..."