Changle's eyes widened: "Brother Su Chen, don't be so evil!"
Su Chen smiled and said: "What do you think I should do so that His Majesty can punish me not to go to the palace to celebrate the New Year? Or should I give Changsun Wuji a beating?"
Changle quickly covered Su Chen's mouth: "Brother Su Chen, what are you talking nonsense about?"
I almost forgot that Changsun Wuji is Changle's biological uncle, and he is still considered a relative of himself.
"Then throw that Li Ke into the river..."
Chang Le said angrily: "Brother Su Chen, please stop thinking wrongly!"
"This is a great etiquette of the country. Tomorrow, not only will I have to accompany my father to watch the New Year, but the ministers will also prepare a New Year's gift for my father."
"There will be a Zhengdan dynasty meeting at Chaotianmen the day after tomorrow. The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and envoys from various countries will all participate..."
Princess Chang'an tried her best to persuade Su Chen not to have his own way.
"Master, Duke Lu wants to see you."
Wu Mei leaned in again to report.
"Chen Yaojin?
Why did he come to my house instead of continuing to accompany His Majesty to visit the steam engine after taking the medicine?"
"Brother Su Chen, Mr. Lu Guogong is my father's confidant, so my brother should treat you seriously."
Changle advised.
"Okay, let's see what Cheng Yaojin wants to do together."
Su Chen knew: Although Cheng Yaojin looked simple and honest, and his words and deeds were rude, he was by no means a reckless person.
On the contrary, Cheng Yaojin is thick on the outside and delicate on the inside, and he is very shrewd!
And he is very cunning and full of bad intentions!
Cheng Yaojin, with one hand wrapped like a ball, walked into the living room laughing.
First, he saluted Changle: "I have met Princess Changle!"
Then he said to Su Chen: "Mr. Protector, it's too cold outside. I'm here to ask for a cup of hot tea. Please don't dislike me, Mr. Protector!"
"What are you talking about, Duke Lu? Just call me Su Chen!"
"I just thought that Duke Lu had to go to accompany His Majesty, so he was a little negligent. I would like to ask Duke Su to forgive me."
Cheng Yaojin laughed: "Then I won't be polite. Brother Su Chen, just call me Lao Cheng from now on!"
"Lao Cheng is a rough man. Lao Cheng can't understand the magical things you made, brother. Why don't you come here to keep warm, brother?"
Brother?
You will be familiar with it!
Cheng Yaojin said, taking out a few pieces of paper from his sleeves: "I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess wants to buy a piece of land by the Wei River. It happens that my family has several acres of wasteland by the river. It's a little barren. I'll water it anyway.
convenient."
Su Chen was confused by Cheng Yaojin's sudden move: Are you so straightforward about giving gifts?
You, the majestic duke of the country, and Li Er's confidant, can't commit the crime of giving a gift to a princess, right?
Su Chen looked at Chang Le: "Li Zhi, our family doesn't lack land, right?
Why did you buy so much land?”
There were few people in the Tang Dynasty who dared to say that they had no shortage of land, and Su Chen happened to be one of them.
?Li Er rewarded Changle with so many fields that Su Chen didn’t even bother to count them!
Changle was also confused by Cheng Yaojin's move and said hurriedly:
"no!"
"The steward responsible for managing the briquettes business reported that the supply of briquettes exceeds the demand. The space in the city is narrow and there is no way to expand production. He wants to buy a piece of wasteland outside the city to dry the briquettes. Water transportation is convenient along the Wei River..."
Su Chen nodded: these days, briquettes and briquettes are all made by hand. After forming, they need to be spread on the ground to dry, which takes up a lot of area. In addition, Su Chen's coal is transported through the Wei River.
It is normal to have a piece of wasteland on the side.
Before Su Chen could speak, Cheng Yaojin laughed again and said: "I see, it's a coincidence. My few acres of wasteland are full of sand and I can't grow crops at all, so I just gave it to the princess to dry briquettes!"
"
Su Chen thought for a while and said to Chang Le: "Since Mr. Lu Guo has such kindness, let's accept it."
"this……"
Changle was in a bit of a dilemma. Although other princes and princesses also accepted many bribes from courtiers, their reputation was not good after all, and Changle did not want to ruin his reputation for a few acres of land.
"Your Highness Princess, Lao Cheng is not giving a gift!"
Cheng Yaojin saw that Princess Changle was unwilling to accept it, so he continued: "How about your Highness Princess converting it into briquettes and coal stoves for Lao Cheng?"
"The coal stove that brother Su Chen made is really useful, but it's hard to buy. Lao Cheng's housekeeper failed to get the goods several times. Lao Cheng is going to shamelessly ask the princess for a few!"
Su Chen nodded towards Chang Le, who then took the land deed, looked at it and said: "It's not like we need such a big place to dry the briquettes. I asked the person in charge to go to the river and pick some wasteland for use, and return the rest to Lu Guogong
.”
After Changle finished speaking, he left the living room.
Su Chen gave Cheng Yaojin more tea and said: "General Cheng, what does this mean?
I, Su Chen, and Princess Changle are not worth being so humbled by you."
Cheng Yaojin took a sip of tea: "Brother Su, you don't have to belittle yourself. Although Lao Cheng is a rough man, he is not blind. I admire Lao Cheng from the bottom of my heart for Brother Su's ability."
Su Chen was too lazy to beat around the bush with this old scoundrel: "General Cheng, you don't have to do this. If there is any need for Su Chen's help, just say so."
Cheng Yaojin laughed and said, "Brother Su is indeed a cheerful person, so Old Cheng is not hypocritical or pretentious."
"Lao Cheng came to see me shamelessly today just to ask, is your navy still short of manpower?"
Su Chen was stunned. The whole fuss has been going on for a long time. Is Cheng Yaojin trying to recruit people into the navy?
However, Su Chen was very confused and asked: "Gong Lu, you are His Majesty's favorite general. You are worshiped as General Youwei. You have great prestige in the army. How can you think so highly of the newly established navy?"
"To be honest, if it weren't for my title of Lord Protector, the commander of the navy in the military would not have as much weight as the words of one of your generals!"
Cheng Yaojin shook his head: "The navy is indeed not famous at present, but what about the future?"
As he spoke, Cheng Yaojin sighed again: "Old Cheng, I have been in the military all my life, but recently this battle has become increasingly difficult to fight!"
Su Chen was stunned and said in confusion: "Why did Duke Lu say this?
As far as I know, in recent years, Datang has been invincible and victorious, and I haven’t heard of any defeats?”
Cheng Yaojin nodded and said: "In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty has indeed been invincible, but the army is also fighting farther and farther."
"Now our territory of the Tang Dynasty has been several times that of when Your Majesty ascended the throne. Goryeo in the east has been destroyed, the grasslands in the north have been pacified, and Tubo in the west has disappeared. If there is another war in the future, it will be to the west of the distant Western Region."
"But such a long distance requires an expedition, which is easier said than done!"
"I'm dissatisfied, brother. Your Majesty wants to take advantage of Tianzhu. All the generals of the Sixteenth Guards are well aware of this. In the past, everyone would have asked for a fight, but this time no one came forward."
"It's not that everyone is afraid of death, it's just that this journey lasts for at least a year or three years. This is a great test for our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. If we are not careful during the process, hundreds of thousands of our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty will be buried in a foreign country.
