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

Of course, it's unclear when he achieved sainthood.

Logically speaking, Li Shimin should have been averse to such things, but he hoped that Chen Huai'an could become a saint.

Both publicly and privately, I hope the other party can succeed.

Therefore, on some occasions, Li Shimin did not hesitate to specifically point out Chen Huai'an's background in the court gazette, as well as the merits Chen Huai'an had performed and the speculations made by various Confucian scholars.

But Li Shimin also knew that Chen Huai'an was somewhat resistant to this matter, so he didn't say anything.

Just let things take their course.

Then, he looked at the treasures: "With this money, and the glass gradually being transported to various places, we'll soon have a large sum of money coming in. Repairing the Yellow River shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Chen Huai'an found a step to sit down and pondered, "What we mean by repairing the Yellow River is not the whole river, but some key sections. The project is very large, but not small either."

"But the money we have now is enough to support the repair of the Yellow River."

"If there is a major flood in the future, as long as these key points do not have problems, other places can be repaired as they are, and it will not cause too much damage."

"After all, we're using cement to repair it, so to be honest, it's quite difficult."

Li Shimin nodded: "As long as it's not a massive project like building the Great Wall or digging the Grand Canal, our Tang Dynasty can withstand it."

"The Grand Canal..." Chen Huai'an sighed, "The Grand Canal's role was truly immense..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Li Shimin understood and glanced at him: "In private, there's no need to worry too much. Although I say that Emperor Yang of Sui was a tyrant, I also know that Emperor Yang of Sui had great achievements."

"After the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Jiangnan region was gradually developed. By the Sui Dynasty, the prosperity of the south had far surpassed that of the north. The north had to face various foreign enemies, and the capital had to be located in the north. The political center and military strongholds were all located there."

"Before the Grand Canal, the emperor was in the north, while the money and grain were in the south. The Huai River, the Yangtze River and countless waterways separated them, making it difficult for the court to control the south."

"But after the Grand Canal was built, it completely connected the north and the south, and transported the wealth of the south to the north in a continuous stream. This made the south no longer just a distant vassal state. Its role is irreplaceable, and it is no exaggeration to say that it has benefited people for generations to come."

"However..." Li Shimin changed the subject, "You'd better not even think about continuing to build the Grand Canal, at least not now!"

"The public's attitude towards the Grand Canal... is certainly not good!"

Chen Huai'an was speechless: "Am I that stupid?"

"The Grand Canal is sufficient for now and there is no need to repair it. Moreover, during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, a million laborers were conscripted to build the Grand Canal, which was tantamount to gambling with the fate of a nation."

"That's definitely not the right thing to do."

"I'll just repair the Yellow River."

"Once the Yellow River is repaired, the people on both banks will probably treat us like royalty!"

Li Shimin laughed loudly: "I think it's more than that. If we repair the Yellow River, the people on both banks will not only worship us, they might even build temples for us!"

Chen Huai'an didn't respond to that sentence, but instead brought up something else: "Just now, I heard His Majesty say that with this money, repairing the Yellow River will no longer be a problem."

"Could it be that His Majesty intends to put all these supplies into the national treasury?"

Li Shimin scoffed, "To be added to the national treasury? What a load of rubbish! What kind of pipe dream are you having?"

"This is my money, my money!"

"Do you even understand?"

"When the national treasury is empty, can't I just use my own private funds? I'm warning you, don't even think about taking money from my private treasury!"

Chen Huai'an questioned, "The imperial treasury is His Majesty's personal private fund, used for household expenses, while the national treasury is managed by the Ministry of Revenue and is used for national purposes!"

"The boundaries between family and state must be clearly distinguished. Family use is for private purposes, while state use is for public purposes. Does Your Majesty mean to use private funds to support the public treasury?"

"Is there a problem?" Li Shimin frowned. "The national treasury is empty. As the emperor, what's wrong with me taking some money from the imperial treasury to replenish it and help the court overcome this crisis?"

"What if one day the emperor's private treasury runs out of money?" Chen Huai'an asked again.

Li Shimin was stunned.

It wasn't because of Chen Huai'an's slightly questioning tone; plenty of people questioned him, so who did Chen Huai'an think he was?

He doesn't care about these things at all.

What Li Shimin cared about was the meaning Chen Huai'an pointed out!

At first he didn't understand, but now he does.

Today, the national treasury is empty, but Li Shimin has money with the help of Chen Huai'an, so he can use it to help the court overcome its difficulties.

But after setting this precedent, if the private treasury of later Li dynasty emperors ran out of money, could they also consider taking a sum of money from the national treasury to use first?

Once this precedent is set, what need is there for the national treasury?

Let's just consider it all from the imperial treasury!

Li Shimin's expression suddenly turned serious: "So you mean, public and private matters must be clearly separated? I cannot set a precedent for this?"

"That's right." Chen Huai'an nodded. "Since Emperor Wen of Han, all subsequent idealistic monarchs have followed his example."

"If one day Your Majesty establishes the country through military force and then governs it through civil administration, you will become a role model for emperors, especially for future monarchs of the Li family, who will certainly take Your Majesty as their role model."

"If His Majesty does it, they can do it too, or even the opposite!"

"Does Your Majesty consider this feasible?"

"Of course not!" Li Shimin realized his mistake and breathed a sigh of relief.

When Chen Huai'an pointed out his mistake, he also took the opportunity to flatter him, which is the difference between Chen Huai'an and Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng was straightforward and confrontational, only offering a solution after he had finished his confrontation.

This made Li Shimin very uneasy, and sometimes he really wanted to kill him.

But Chen Huai'an's role was more about guidance, and in doing so, he always found a way to make Li Shimin feel comfortable.

Therefore, Li Shimin felt extremely comfortable.

Chen Huai'an's meaning was simply that in the past, everyone's benchmark was Emperor Wen of Han, but in the future, it would be him, Li Shimin, so you have to set a good example.

If he didn't have some self-respect, he wouldn't be able to suppress his smile right now.

Li Shimin tried his best to control himself, and coughed lightly. "Forget it, with the existence of the beauty trap, my private treasury... isn't particularly short of money. Since public and private matters should be kept separate, let's decide on it from the beginning."

"Of the eight ships of goods sent by Minister Feng, five... no, six should be confiscated and put into the national treasury."

"What eight ships of goods?" Chen Huai'an asked, puzzled. "Didn't the Duke of Yue only send six ships?"

"..." Li Shimin could no longer suppress his smile. "Yes, yes, my dear minister is right. I was confused and remembered it wrong. It was indeed six ships."

"In my opinion, you have a talent for being a historian!"

"Hahaha...hahahahaha!"

"Reward him! Reward him handsomely!"

"..."