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

Li Shimin leaned back slightly, looking at Chen Huai'an, who was extremely serious in front of him, with a somewhat complicated expression.

Li Shimin naturally supported Chen Huai'an's proposal.

I believe that no wise monarch would refuse such a proposal.

The saying "better safe than sorry" is something even a child understands, let alone Li Shimin, who was facing internal strife and external threats at any moment.

If we have these public granaries, we'll have at least three!

The three granaries are located in different places, which is sufficient to cope with most situations.

For example, if a natural disaster breaks out and the situation is severe, the grain from the nearest public granary can be used for disaster relief. If a rebellion breaks out in the area... as the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach."

The establishment of charitable granaries is certainly a good thing.

But where does the grain for the granaries come from? Doesn't it come from the people? And how should the granaries be built? How much does it cost to build them?

Chen Huai'an said he would lead people to reclaim the wasteland. How would he do that?

Where will the manpower come from? Through corvée labor?

The problem is that he has only just ascended the throne and immediately began to impose large-scale conscription, which doesn't seem appropriate at all.

Chen Huai'an's ideas and foresight were undoubtedly correct, but the timing was wrong.

Li Shimin said helplessly, "Huai'an, it's not that I don't want to agree to your request. When I saw your memorial, I knew in my heart that you were right, the establishment of the granary was right, and the land reclamation was also right."

"If you had brought up this idea two years later, I would have agreed to it without hesitation."

"Now......"

At this point, Li Shimin shook his head: "Today it's just the two of us, so I'll speak frankly. Don't you understand the problems involved and my current situation?"

"Even if I agree, will the officials agree?"

"I know what Your Majesty is worried about," Chen Huai'an said, bowing slightly. "But... what if I could resolve Your Majesty's concerns and persuade the officials?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was somewhat taken aback. He carefully examined Chen Huai'an for a few moments before uttering, "Huai'an, you know I trust you the most."

"...Then I thank Your Majesty."

"..."

The next day, he attended court.

Chen Huai'an arrived at court looking radiant.

Seeing him like this, Wei Zheng and the others were quite surprised.

Is this still Chen Huai'an?

Could it be that he's been possessed by a demon?

"What are you looking at?" Chen Huai'an asked sideways.

Du Ruhui smiled and said, "Mr. Chen seems to be in a very good mood. Has something happy happened?"

Changsun Wuji thought for a moment: "Could it be that Mr. Chen is getting married?"

"If that's the case, then I'd better prepare a gift."

Chen Huai'an: "..."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Chen Huai'an's expression froze instantly, which made many people laugh, except for those who were on good terms with him.

In recent days, Li Shimin had often teased Chen Huai'an about this matter, and over time, everyone knew about it.

A rare smile appeared on Wei Zheng's face: "Mr. Chen, is that so?"

"It seems we really need to prepare a gift."

Chen Huai'an said quietly, "Yes, but you don't need to prepare a wedding gift. Prepare your dowry instead. I'll wait for your daughter to grow up."

Wei Zheng: !!!

"You son of a bitch! Are you even human? My daughter was only born a short time ago!"

Wei Zheng was instantly on the defensive.

The smile doesn't disappear, it just moves on.

Just like now, the smile has shifted to Chen Huai'an's face.

The group chatted and laughed, clearly in a good mood.

But there was nothing they could do about it. Li Shimin ascended the throne and the Turks retreated; it was hard for them not to be happy.

Before long, the court assembly began, and the officials entered the hall in an orderly fashion.

With Chen Huai'an's current status, he is no longer a lowly subordinate; as one of the six ministers, he is now at the forefront.

"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, pay our respects."

"No need for formalities." Li Shimin gestured with his hand, waiting for the officials to present their reports on court affairs.

Nowadays, there aren't really any major events happening in various places. Officials just pick out a few things worth mentioning and they're quickly resolved.

Chen Huai'an was not in a hurry and waited for them to finish dealing with the trivial matters.

However, Li Shimin was somewhat anxious.

Because yesterday Chen Huai'an didn't tell him how to resolve his worries, he only said that he should understand.

Li Shimin exclaimed, "I don't understand at all!"

So, seeing that everyone had finished their reports, Li Shimin nodded and said, "Yesterday, Minister Chen handed me a memorial, which said that he hoped I would be mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace."

"He wants me to order the construction of granaries to store grain, while also expanding the scale of military farms and recruiting refugees and demobilized soldiers to reclaim wasteland in the Guanzhong region."

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Jianyi Granary?

When Li Shimin finished speaking, many people in the court were stunned.

"May I ask Your Majesty... is it similar to the charitable granary system of the previous dynasty?" Xiao Yu inquired.

"Not bad." Li Shimin nodded and took out the memorial written by Chen Huai'an. "However, with your improvements and optimizations, Minister Chen, I think it is much more complete than the previous dynasty's granary system and is indeed usable."

"But this is no small matter. Whether it is building granaries or recruiting refugees and demobilized soldiers to reclaim wasteland in the Guanzhong region, it will require a lot of manpower and resources. So I would like to hear your opinions."

There was a flurry of whispers in the court, with some thinking it was feasible and others thinking it was not.

In short, at this moment, the court immediately split into two factions.

Fang Xuanling and the others remained silent, as if they were deep in thought.

Xiao Yu frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, since you have already read Minister Chen's memorial and said it is feasible, I naturally have no doubt about Your Majesty's judgment."

"But just because a method is feasible doesn't mean it will be practically usable!"

"It is true that we should be prepared for danger in times of peace, and Minister Chen's idea of ​​building public granaries is also a good one."

"However, there were many natural and man-made disasters during the Wude era. Since the chaos of the previous dynasty, the population has been greatly reduced and has not recovered much even now. The most urgent task should be to reduce taxes and levies, vigorously develop agriculture, and allow the people to recuperate."

"Given that you have just ascended the throne, it is really not appropriate for you to levy corvée labor, build granaries, or lead people to reclaim wasteland."

Many officials nodded in agreement upon hearing Xiao Yu's words.

Indeed, it was inappropriate for Li Shimin to undertake such a wasteful and burdensome undertaking so soon after ascending the throne.

In addition, the Ministry of Revenue has already spent a lot of money recently in order to forge the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) and support Li Shimin in sending troops out.

At this point, how could those money-grubbing officials in the Ministry of Revenue possibly be willing to spend so much money to support Chen Huai'an?

As expected, the Minister of Revenue, Pei Ju, spoke up the next moment: "If it were two years later, I would definitely have wholeheartedly supported Minister Chen's proposal, but now, please forgive me for being powerless to do so."

The implication was clear: don't even think about asking me for money now.

No!

Li Shimin had anticipated this, and looked at Chen Huai'an with great interest: "Minister Chen, it was you who proposed building the granary, but other officials seem to think your proposal was a bit premature."

"..."